BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6 hit northern Ethiopia and the neighbouring Eritrea on Tuesday evening.

No deaths or destruction have so far been reported.

It shook several towns in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region, including the capital, Mekelle, Tigray TV reported.

Senior Tigray official Solomon Maesho said all districts near the border with Eritrea felt the tremors.

The epicentre was in the Eritrean town of Irafayle, according to Eritrea's information minister.

It comes amid growing anti-French sentiment, with France's embassy recently coming under attack.

The Newsroom
BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

Tunisia's autocratic President Kais Saied has sacked Prime Minister Najla Bouden.

Ms Bouden - the country's first ever female prime minister - was hand-picked by President Saied to lead the government after he removed her predecessor two years ago and took control of almost all state powers.

Her late-night dismissal was followed by the immediate swearing-in of another political unknown, Ahmed Hachani, who previously worked at the Tunisian central bank.

The move comes during a deepening economic and social crisis that has seen a shortage of many key commodities.

Ms Bouden's government had supported an economic reform programme geared towards securing a $2bn (£1.6bn) IMF bailout

Cat Wiener
BBC World Service Newsroom

Image source, AFP

Military chiefs from West Africa's regional bloc, Ecowas, are meeting later on Wednesday in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, to discuss the military coup that took place in Niger last week.

The bloc previously warned it was giving Niger's new rulers a week to reinstate President Mohamed Bazoum before it considered the use of force.

Overnight, the first of three French planes sent to evacuate European citizens arrived back in Paris with more than 250 people on board.

The evacuation comes after demonstrators attacked the French embassy on Sunday. Italy has also flown out dozens of its own nationals as well as other Europeans, and American citizens.

The military government has announced the re-opening of Niger's borders with Algeria, Burkina Faso, Libya, Mali and Chad. However, the land border with Nigeria remains closed.

• Read more: Niger coup: A litmus test for democracy in West Africa

Noel Ebrin Brou
BBC News, Abidjan

Image source, AFP

The former president of Ivory Coast Henri Konan Bédié has died.

He was 89.

Mr Bédié took over as the country's second head of state after the death of Félix Houphouët-Boigny in 1993.

But allegations of widespread corruption and an economic slump led to him being ousted in a military coup in 1999.

Despite being born into a relatively poor family, he excelled at school and was picked to study in France where he gained a doctorate in economics.

He attempted to return to power three years ago but was defeated by his long-time political rival President Alassane Ouattara.

The cause of Mr Bédié‘s death is unknown.

His death will be felt as a big loss for the whole country.

Despite his rivalry with President Ouattara, he was mostly seen as a wise man who always cherished peace and an advocate for national unity.

Many Ivorians are paying tribute to him on social media.

Our proverb of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

That's all for now from the BBC Africa Live team - we'll be back on Wednesday morning.

Until then you can find the latest updates on the BBC News website, or listen to the Focus on Africa podcast.

A reminder of Tuesday's wise words:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

We leave you with this photo of Moroccans at the beach last weekend, in the city of M'diq:

Image source, AFP

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

The French company, Orano, which operates a uranium mine in Niger, says its operations will not be affected by the evacuation of a number of its expatriate staff.

Around 15% of France's supply of the mineral ore comes from Niger.

A European Union spokesman said the coup in Niger did not pose a problem for supplies of nuclear fuel for the EU.

Around a quarter of the EU's uranium comes from Niger.

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

Authorities in South Africa say the number of rhinos killed for their horns has decreased in the first six months of the year following efforts to tackle poaching.

The environment ministry said 231 of the country's rhinos were killed for their horns between January and June - that's 28 fewer than in the same period last year.

Joint efforts by South Africa's law enforcement agencies, customs officials and private security have led to some convictions for poachers, says the environment ministry.

But South Africa, Botswana and Namibia still struggle to stop well-armed poaching gangs from killing the the endangered animals whose horns are still so prized in China and Vietnam.

Muthoni Muchiri
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

Nigerian afrobeats musician, Wizkid, is the first African artist to receive the BRIT Billion Award which recognises artists who've achieved over one billion digital streams in the UK.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, external, the BRIT Awards said they presented the gong to Wizkid after his recent performance at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Saturday.

Since making his debut in 2011, Wizkid has become known for a plethora of hits like Essence, Ojuelegba and Joro. Some of his famous collaborations include artists from Beyoncé and Drake to fellow Nigerian star Tems and Skepta to name a few.

His fourth album, Made in Lagos, was also awarded gold certification in the US in 2022 after selling more than 500,000 copies - yet another first for an African artist.

Frank Gardner
BBC News, Security Correspondent

Image source, AFP

There are no good options in Niger. The West looks set to lose its strategic counter-terror bases there and military intervention by Ecowas would almost certainly lead to a civil war.

The current evacuation of French nationals is quite likely to be followed by the abandonment of US and French military bases and the departure of their 2,500 troops that have been engaged in helping Niger fight jihadist insurgents.

So who benefits from all this? Certainly not the population of Niger.

The presence of Western forces was far from universally popular but the country was receiving hundreds of millions of euros in annual financial aid and military assistance. That has now stopped.

Russian flags have appeared on the streets suspiciously quickly, so it is likely that Russia's Wagner mercenary group will be looking to fill in behind the departing troops.

And for the jihadists of Boko Haram and the al-Qaeda and Islamic State groups active across the Sahel, all this disruption and uncertainty is a strategic gift.

Muthoni Muchiri
BBC News

Image source, Reuters

Kenya's President William Ruto has scolded top government officials for arriving late to a scheduled meeting saying it showed lack of discipline.

"If you cannot keep time with your employer, you have basically dismissed yourself. It's just as simple as that," he said.

The officials were supposed to be there to sign performance contracts.

"If you do not take this performance contracting seriously it means we do not take the contract with the people of Kenya on performance seriously," the president added.

According to local media reports, multiple senior government officials were prohibited from entering State House in the capital, Nairobi, and left waiting in the car park as the event ensued.

Kenyan state officials have been signing similar contracts as a way of measuring the performance of their ministries and state agencies for the past 20 years.

The president also vowed to address the misuse of taxpayers' money as well as putting a halt to the cycle of unfulfilled promises.

"It will not be business as usual. I made a commitment to the people of Kenya that there will be no money to steal. There is only money to deliver on the projects and aspirations of Kenyans," he added.

In June, Mr Ruto signed into law a controversial finance bill that doubled the tax on fuel and introduced a new housing levy among other measures. The plans have been criticised by the opposition and led to a series of protests across the country.

False claim about 'ultimatum' to Niger ministerpublished at 14:38 British Summer Time 1 August 2023

14:38 BST 1 August 2023

False claims have been made that the finance minister in Niger was given 48 hours by the new military leaders to explain about sums of money missing from the country’s finances or face execution.

A video clip has been circulating widely on social media showing a man seated at a table in front of a microphone, sobbing and trying to compose himself. But this is not Finance Minister Ahmat Jidoud, because he looks completely different from the man in the video.

Some fact-checking sites say the video shows Niger's former Justice Minister Marou Amadou in December 2021.

We also found a video was posted that month - shortly after the launch of a new research body involving Mr Amadou. Other images and video from that event show a person clearly fitting his description, wearing the same clothes and seated at a table addressing people in the room., external

It's now been confirmed that Nigeria's Super Falcons are set to face England next Monday in the round-of-16 at the Women's World Cup.

England sealed their place in the knock-out stages after thrashing China 6-1 in their final group game on Tuesday.

Nigeria qualified yesterday after drawing 0-0 with Ireland.

Twitter CEO Elon Musk has accused black South Africans, external who sing "Kill the Boer" of inciting the "genocide of white people", but last year a court threw out a similar hate-speech claim made by a right-wing pressure group, external.

"There is no causal link between the chants and actual violence being committed on anyone," Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party spokesman Sinawo Tambo told BBC Newsday.

EFF leader Julius Malema led thousands of party faithful singing "Kill the Boer, Kill the farmer" at their 10-year anniversary rally at the weekend.

Footage of the left-wing, majority black audience chanting was posted on Twitter soon after, prompting Mr Musk's reply that this was a call to white genocide and that South Africa's president must act. Mr Musk was born in South Africa but moved to Canada aged 18.

Mr Tambo says his comments are nonsense:

While Mr Tambo says there have been no attacks on farmers since the rally, the News24 website reports that a farmer was killed in the northern Mpumalanga province, external on Sunday.

Some white nationalists in the US have claimed that there is a plot to wipe out white people in South Africa.

They say that white farmers are being increasingly targeted in murders.

Yet there is no evidence to suggest that such murders are on the rise.

Update 11 September: This post has been updated with the News24 report of the attack on a farmer

Thomas Naadi
BBC News, Accra

The UK and its allies stand ready to support any efforts made by Ecowas leaders to restore democracy in Niger where the president was recently overthrown in a coup, says British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.

Speaking to the BBC in Accra, Mr Cleverly said it was important for African leaders to head up the response, and that if the UK receives specific requests for assistance it will consider them.

Regional leaders and Western countries have condemned the coup in Niger and imposed sanctions on the country. But the military men in charge of Mali and Burkina Faso have disagreed with this approach.

The UK announced on Monday it was suspending aid to Niger, but Mr Cleverly has not specified any targeted sanctions for the coup leaders.

When asked about Russia's Wagner group expansion in Africa, the British foreign minister stated that Vladimir Putin and the Wagner group are not friends of the African people due to the exploitative nature of their activities.

Meanwhile, the UK aims to be a partner of equals on the continent, Mr Cleverly added.

Image source, AFP

Kenya's foreign ministry has been accused of being “unprofessional” over the “leaking” of information about former President Uhuru Kenyatta and his family’s trip to the UK on Wednesday.

It came after a blogger linked to the government on Monday shared on social media what appeared to be a letter from the ministry to the British high commission seeking assistance for entry visas for 16 Kenyatta family members.

The blogger claimed in the social media post that they were taking a holiday “to chill away from the pressure that’s Kenya” following a "disturbance" on their family.

Last week, the former president accused the government of harassing his family.

He told local media that he was ready to protect them after an attempt by security officers to raid his son’s residence to confiscate guns.

He said his two sons had applied for and legally acquired three guns each when their security was withdrawn after the current government took over power last year.

Mr Kenyatta is also reported to have told journalists last week about the upcoming trip to the UK, following the incident at his son’s residence.

“In fact, I want to go on vacation with my children and grandchildren. Do not say I have run away. I need rest and they need me," he is quoted by K24 TV website as saying.

Kenya has in recent weeks been gripped by deadly opposition protests over the rising cost of living. The government has accused the Kenyatta family of funding the protests, which they have denied.

The government and the opposition coalition have since agreed to talks to resolve their differences “amicably”.

What do you want to know about the coup in Niger?

On Tuesday 1 August our experts on Outside Source radio on the BBC World Service will be answering your questions from 15:00GMT about the situation in Niger.

This is your chance to ask us anything and we'll answer as many questions as we can.

You can send your questions in any of the following ways:

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In some cases a selection of your comments and questions will be published online, displaying your name and location as you provide it unless you state otherwise. Your contact details will never be published.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, AFP

Sierra Leonean police have arrested several people including unnamed senior military officers, for "working to undermine the peace and tranquillity of the state".

In a statement, police said those arrested were planning violent protests between 7 and 10 August.

Police accused unnamed individuals "at home and abroad" of plotting to undermine peace in the country.

They said they were "fully in control" and urged Sierra Leoneans to remain peaceful and go about their normal businesses.

Unease has gripped the West African country since the controversial re-election of President Julius Maada Bio on 24 June.

On 5 July, Mr Bio accused Western countries of creating confusion in the country after they expressed concern over the conduct of June's election.

The country has enjoyed relative peace since the end of an 11-year-long civil war in 2002.

Dorcas Wangira
Africa health correspondent

Image source, AFP

Forty-one people who were rescued from a doomsday cult in Kenya earlier this year are to be charged alongside the leader with murder and other offences.

Prosecutors say the victims-turned-suspects were parents or grandparents of children who died or are missing - and allege that they were culpable for what happened to them.

The cult's leader, Paul Mackenzie, is accused of encouraging his followers to starve themselves to death to enter heaven before the world ended.

Police investigating the apparent mass suicide have so far exhumed over 400 bodies from the Shakahola forest in south-eastern Kenya.

More than 600 people are still missing.