Elettra Neysmith
BBC World Service News

Police in Nigeria's central Plateau state say at least 21 people have been killed in separate attacks on two villages.

Seventeen people were shot dead when gunmen stormed a community in Barkin Ladi early on Thursday.

At least four died a short time later in a similar attack nearby.

The killings come despite an ongoing military operation aimed at stemming attacks that have killed several hundred people since May.

Civil society groups blame ethnic Fulani herders for the killings, which they say are aimed at displacing indigenous farming communities so the herders can seize their land.

It's unclear if Fulani groups have commented on the accusations.

Simon Ponsford & Nkechi Ogbonna
BBC News

Image source, AFP

West African leaders say dialogue with the leaders of the coup in Niger will be the "bedrock" of their approach to the crisis.

The regional group Ecowas is meeting in Nigeria, to discuss how to push Niger back to democracy.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu said the organisation was prioritising diplomacy.

Earlier, there had been threats of military action if Niger's ousted President Mohamed Bazoum was not reinstated.

But Niger's coup leaders have ignored the warning, and correspondents say opposition to a military solution appears to be growing - not least from within Nigeria and from Mali, which has backed the coup leaders.

The military junta has announced a new 21-member government with key posts going to those who led the coup.

Yet Mr Tinubu has expressed confidence that this second Ecowas summit on resolving Niger's crisis will be a "defining moment" towards a "stronger, more resilient, and integrated West Africa".

Related stories:

• US and UN concerned for ousted Niger president Mohamed Bazoum's health
• Niger's coup leader General Tchiani: The ex-UN peacekeeper who seized power

Wedaeli Chibelushi
BBC News

Fans have praised Nigeria's football team who've arrived back in their home country after narrowly missing out on the quarter-finals at the Women's World Cup.

They're also calling on the national football authority to hand over the players' unpaid bonuses, allowances and expenses.

On Wednesday morning local time, Nigeria's women's basketball team posted this picture on X, formerly known as Twitter, of the Falcons at an airport:

The Super Falcons had sailed through to the last 16, but were knocked out of the competition by England following a dramatic penalty shootout.

Despite losing to the European champions, Nigeria were arguably the better team throughout Monday’s clash. They held the game at 0-0, but eventually lost 4-2 on penalties.

In the group stages, the nine-time African champions had beaten co-hosts Australia and finished above Olympic gold medallists Canada.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu was among those who praised the squad after they were knocked out of the tournament, writing on X: "I must commend the effort by our Super Falcons at the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Your brilliant performance did not go unnoticed despite the final outcome. You made Nigeria proud on the global stage!"

Gloria Aradi
BBC News

Image source, AFP

Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Wednesday told Zimbabweans that they would be lost if they failed to re-elect him, in a clarion call for them to vote for him in the upcoming election.

Mr Mnangagwa also told his supporters that they would suffer if they voted for the opposition, whom he termed as clueless failures.

Regardless, the president said that nobody would stop him or his party from winning the elections, amid accusations of political crackdowns and intimidation against opposition politicians and suspicions of planned election rigging.

“We, Zanu-PF, will not stand by and let our people suffer at the hands of these clueless opposition-led councils. We must kick them out on 23 August," he told the more than 150,000 supporters who attended his campaign rally in the capital Harare.

According to the president, Zanu-PF, which has ruled Zimbabwe since the country’s independence in 1980, is the only party with the capacity to lead the country.

Zimbabwe is set for presidential and parliamentary elections on 23 August.

The presidential race has attracted 11 candidates, including the 80-year-old incumbent president and 45-year-old Nelson Chamisa, who leads the Citizen's Coalition for Change (CCC) and whom many Zimbabweans consider to be the most formidable challenger to Mr Mnangagwa.

Mr Mnangagwa formally assumed the presidency of Zimbabwe in 2018, following a military coup that toppled dictator Robert Mugabe in 2017, ending his 37-year rule of the southern African country.

During his rule, Zimbabweans have continued to grapple with the historical challenges of hyperinflation and runaway poverty and unemployment.

Nicolas Négoce
BBC News

Image source, AFP

A former Tuareg insurgent-turned-tourism minister in Niger says his new political party will aim to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, who has been detained at his home since members of the presidential guard took power two weeks ago.

Rhissa Ag Boula told BBC Newshour:

Mr Boula was a leader in two Tuareg ethnic insurgencies in the country, one in the 1990s and the other from 2007 to 2009.

Today, he claims most people in Niger don't back the uprising against the president and argues that regional powers must take robust action:

Listen to the full interview here:

Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC News, Addis Ababa

Image source, AFP

Local militias who have been fighting against government troops in Ethiopia’s turbulent Amhara region have retreated from some of the major cities.

Residents in the region’s two biggest cities, the capital Bahir Dar and the historic Gondar, told the BBC that relative calm had returned on Thursday morning after a week of violence.

A command post set up by the government to oversee a state of emergency declared in the region in relation to the clashes has imposed a night-time curfew in six cities and towns.

It’s also banned the carrying of weapons and public demonstrations.

According to residents in Bahir Dar, the relative calm has allowed burials of civilians killed in the violence to take place.

Rights watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the international community to “forcefully urge the government to protect civilians”.

In a statement on Wednesday, the group accused the authorities of responding to the growing violence in Amhara with “increased repression”.

The UK has reiterated its earlier call for its citizens who might be stuck in the violence to shelter in safe places and stay there until its safe to leave.

Gloria Aradi
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, AFP

The Kenyan government and the opposition have formed technical teams to steer talks aimed at resolving the long-running stand-off that has led to deadly protests in recent months.

Representatives of the two sides met for preliminary talks on Wednesday to decide the way forward on negotiations, which will formally begin on 14 August.

The appointed technical teams are set to clarify the agenda for the negotiation.

One of the key points of contention is the increased cost of living. The opposition wants to discuss the issue but the government insists it is already working to fix inflation and reduce the cost of basic commodities.

The opposition’s other demands include an audit of last year's elections, a bi-partisan reconstitution of the electoral body, respect for political parties and inclusion of the opposition in national issues.

The leader of the opposition delegation, Kalonzo Musyoka, said the party would not be pursuing a power-sharing deal.

The government delegation, led by the leader of the majority party, Kimani Ichung'wa, affirmed the commitment of the government’s delegation to co-operate and resolve the issues raised by the opposition.

Kenya’s President William Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga did not directly participate in the latest talks.

The opposition suspended demonstrations in April and May to allow a similar bi-partisan dialogue process, but protests resumed after talks collapsed.

Image source, Getty Images

Mali has indefinitely suspended the issuance of visas to French nationals at its embassy in Paris, its foreign ministry has said.

In a statement, it said the move was reciprocal after it “learnt with surprise” that France had classified Mali to be in a “red zone” due to supposed "strong regional tensions".

France earlier this week suspended the issuance of visas and closed the visa centre at its embassy in Mali’s capital, Bamako.

The regional tensions reportedly come from Niger where the military overthrew the democratically elected government of President Mohamed Bazoum about two weeks ago.

The junta-led Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea governments have declared their support for the Niger coup and warned against any military intervention there.

Relations between Mali and France have been strained since Malian troops seized power in 2020 and 2021 military coups.

Last year, France withdrew its forces after the military junta leaders brought in mercenaries from Russia's Wagner group.

African football's governing body, Caf, says it looking into allegations against Samuel Eto'o, president of the Cameroonian Football Federation.

Image source, AFP

A lawyer representing leading Senegalese opposition figure Ousmane Sonko says the authorities there "feel very threatened" by the case he's taken against them to the International Criminal Court.

Juan Brano told BBC Newsday that he has evidence of crimes against humanity by top officials in Senegal, that there are hundreds of political prisoners and that arbitrary detentions have become commonplace:

These claims have been dismissed by Senegal.

Mr Branco himself was accused by Senegalese officials of entering the country illegally then was charged with a number of offences, including conspiracy to spread false news.

Senegalese authorities issued an arrest warrant and alerted Interpol, after which Mr Branco alleged he was "kidnapped" by masked Senegalese men in Mauritania "without a court warrant".

Refusing to eat and drink during detention was part of Mr Branco's strategy:

Mr Branco has since been expelled from Senegal and returned home to France.

But his client, Mr Sonko, remains detained and his political party Pastef has been dissolved by the authorities.

It remains unclear if Mr Sonko will be free to run in next year's presidential election.

Listen to the full interview here:

Andrew Harding
BBC Africa correspondent

Image source, AFP

West African leaders are meeting on Thursday to try to decide whether to use military force or diplomacy to restore democracy in Niger.

It’s a fortnight since Niger’s President was detained by his own guards who then seized power - the latest in a string of military coups stretching across the continent.

Leaders of the regional Ecowas bloc are meeting in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja.

There are no easy options for them. They’re anxious to restore democracy in Niger – a vast, impoverished nation already battling against Islamist insurgents.

But the soldiers who seized power in Niger have, so far, shrugged off diplomatic and economic pressure.

The regional bloc led by Nigeria has also threatened to use military force. A few years ago, that might have been a fairly straightforward option.

But other neighbouring countries – Mali, in particular – have recently succumbed to military coups, and since started working with Russian mercenaries. And they’re now siding with Niger’s generals.

There is a lot at stake now – for a huge and increasingly unstable slice of Africa.

Gloria Aradi
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, AFP

Outraged mortuary workers in Kenya have criticised the country’s police chief after he accused them of leasing corpses to opposition politicians.

Head of police Japheth Koome earlier this week claimed that opposition politicians hired bodies from mortuaries and planted them at the scenes of protests so as to blame the police for brutality.

Mr Koome did not provide any evidence to back up his allegation.

The association of mortuary workers in Kenya has demanded that the police chief proves his claim or withdraw his allegations, which they say risk tainting their professionalism.

In July, Amnesty International reported that the Kenyan police had killed at least 30 protesters during the opposition protests between March and July.

It attributed most of the deaths to police shootings or suffocation from tear gas thrown by police.

The police response has been criticised by Kenyans including opposition politicians and rights groups, who accuse the police of using excessive force against the mostly peaceful protesters.

However, both President William Ruto and Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki - who previously pledged to end unlawful police killings - have commended the police response to the protests.

Mr Kindiki applauded the police for acting professionally while Mr Ruto commended the police for maintaining peace in the country.

The Azimio La Umoja opposition coalition, which led the protests, last month held a vigil for the dead protesters and called on the International Criminal Court to investigate the killings.

The Premier League features some of the best African players in the world - but who are the fresh faces to look out for this season?

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Niger’s junta leader Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani has appointed a cabinet in defiance of calls by regional leaders to restore ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.

The cabinet was announced on state TV at 00:30 GMT (01:30 local time) on Thursday.

The new government is made up of 21 ministers, including two ministers of state and a delegate minister.

The new transitional government, made up of military and civilian personalities, is led by interim Prime Minister Lamine Zeine Ali Mahamane, who will also double up as the minister of economy and finance.

Former chief of staff Lt Gen Salifou Mody, widely considered to be Gen Tchiani's deputy, has been named minister of national defence.

Col Maj Abdourahmane Amadou, who has been reading the majority of communiques on state TV since the 26 July coup, is the minister of youth and sports.

The junta has already named new military chiefs and sacked most of the senior government officials who served in Mr Bazoum’s administration.

Rory Gallimore
BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

Wildlife campaigners are calling for an end to the commercial breeding of lions in South Africa.

The charity World Animal Protection says it's seen evidence of cruelty, squalid conditions and links to the illegal trade in body parts.

It says unregulated sites are selling lion bones for use in East Asian traditional medicine.

In 2021, the South African government announced plans to close all captive lion facilities.

But it backtracked on the commitment last year.

There are thought to be more than 8,000 lions living in captivity in South Africa. Many are bred for tourists to hunt.

Read more:

• Meet the 'Brave Ones': The women saving Africa's wildlife
• The bold plan that could save South Africa's leopards

Nkechi Ogbonna
BBC News, Lagos

Image source, AFP

Nigeria’s former central bank governor and former Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, met Niger’s military coup leader on Wednesday in the Nigerien capital Niamey in a bid to mediate the crisis.

This is the first delegation the coup leader, Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani, has met personally, having shunned several envoys, including a delegation from the West African regional bloc Ecowas.

Gen Tchiani has also previously snubbed Nigeria’s religious leader, the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III, US Acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and several African Union and UN delegations.

On Wednesday, Mr Sanusi said he had spoken to Gen Tchiani and will deliver a “message” to the Ecowas chairman, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu.

“We came hoping that our arrival will pave the way for real discussions between the leaders of Niger and those of Nigeria,” Mr Sanusi added.

It comes as Ecowas heads of states are due to meet in Nigeria's capital Abuja to discuss the way forward after the military junta in Niger ignored a deadline to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.

Image source, EPA

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has accused the World Bank of seeking “to coerce” the government over its anti-LGBT legislation.

It follows the announcement by the lender that it was suspending any new loans to the country on the grounds that the law against same-sex relations contradicts its values.

But in a statement posted on social media, external, President Museveni said that “Uganda will develop with or without loans”.

He said it was unfortunate that the lender was seeking to “coerce us into abandoning our faith, culture, principles and sovereignty, using money”.

“They really under-estimate all Africans. We do not need pressure from anybody to know how to solve problems in our society. They are our problems,” he added.

Mr Museveni however said that the country was continuing discussions with the World Bank "so that they and we avoid this diversion if possible".

President Museveni signed the anti-LGBT law in May, which imposes the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality" and a 20-year jail term for "promoting" homosexuality.

The legislation has been condemned by Ugandan and global human rights groups. The UN, the US and other countries have also condemned the new law.

The World Bank joins the US in imposing sanctions against Uganda over the Anti-Homosexuality law.

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Gen Tchiani has triggered a major crisis by overthrowing the president he was meant to guard.

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

Until then you can find the latest updates at BBCAfrica.com and listen to the Focus on Africa podcast for stories behind the news.

A reminder of our wise words of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

We leave you with this picture of a supporter of Zimbabwe's ruling party Zanu-PF waving a flag during a rally in the capital, Harare, ahead of national elections two weeks away:

Image source, AFP