Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC News, Addis Ababa

Image source, Getty Images

The UN's migration agency says that more than four million Ethiopians are now displaced within the country, largely because of conflict or drought.

The National Displacement Report, which covers the period between last November and June 2023, says two-thirds of them were forced from their homes by conflicts.

For the first time since 2021 the report includes the war-hit region of Tigray, which has Ethiopia's biggest population uprooted by war - more than a million people.

The Somali region in eastern Ethiopia hosts the highest number displaced primarily by drought.

Earlier the UN said more than 20 million Ethiopians were in need of food assistance and $4bn (£3.14bn) was required to meet their needs.

Jose Tembe
BBC News, Maputo

Two senior jihadist leaders have been killed in joint operations with regional forces in Mozambique's northern Cabo Delgado province, the army says.

One of them was Abu Kital who "held the position of deputy commander of the operations of the group Ahlu-Sunnah wal Jama`a (ASWJ)", the army statement said.

The other was Ali Mahando, who also held a senior position in the group.

Mozambique's army and allied forces, including Rwandan troops and a military mission from southern Africa's regional bloc Sadc, have been conducting operations in the jihadist-hit province.

Mozambique has been battling an Islamic State group-linked insurgency since October 2017.

More than a million people have been forced to flee their homes with more than 4,000 others killed over the period.

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has tweeted of his delight that his country is one of the six countries invited to join the Brics bloc from January next year.

"A great moment for #Ethiopia, external," he posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"Ethiopia stands ready to cooperate with all for an inclusive and prosperous global order."

A man and a woman have been arrested after a Rwandan runner was found dead in the Kenyan town of Iten, a renowned training centre for athletes.

Iran, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will be joining Brics from 1 January next year, South Africa's president has said.

The debate over expanding the Brics bloc - made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - has topped the agenda at the summit in Johannesburg.

There have been divisions about whether expansion now is the best move.

The group wants to gain more influence in the world.

Six countries - Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - are to be invited to become new members of the Brics bloc.

The announcement comes from South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is hosting the summit of Brics leaders in Johannesburg

Samantha Granville
BBC News, Johannesburg

Image source, AFP

Smiles, hugs, and waves. If there was an unintentional theme to day two of the Brics summit it was friendship. Making new friends, and keeping old ones.

It started off with a red-carpet entrance and a family photo-op for the group leaders before they headed into closed-door meetings for their main topic of discussion: bloc expansion.

While Brics members have all come out in support of growing membership, there are still divisions about how many countries should be allowed to join and how quickly.

Against the backdrop of the Ukraine war, Russian President Vladimir Putin sees Brics membership as a way of showing the West he still has friends.

He did not travel to South Africa because he is wanted under an international arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, but used a video address to attack Western powers.

"I want to note that it was the desire to maintain their hegemony in the world, the desire of some countries to maintain this hegemony that led to the severe crisis in Ukraine," he said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping agrees. He called for the acceleration of the expansion of the Brics group: “We should let more countries join the Brics family and pool wisdom to make global governance more fair and reasonable.”

But the more the merrier is not necessarily a good stance for the other three countries to take.

India is in a territorial dispute with China, so it will not want to admit new members that will consistently side with China. At the same time, it wants to maintain ties with the US and Australia so they need to be careful about who they align with.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wants to be friends with everyone. He thinks Brics should be more economic focused rather than a geopolitical force against the West, and spent his public time speaking about a common currency that could be used by Brics countries when trading.

Then last, but not least is South Africa. The newest country to join the friend group. It does not want to rock the boat too much, and wants to stay in the good books of both Western powers and Russia.

More than 20 countries have formally asked to be admitted to the bloc, but they will have to pass the criteria set out to join this friend group.

Let us see who makes the cut on the final day of the summit.

Shingai Nyoka
BBC News, Harare

Image source, AFP

Voting in Zimbabwe's presidential and parliamentary elections is continuing in some parts of the country, after delays prompted a second day of voting amid complaints of ballot rigging.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa gave notice that polling would be extended in 40 wards, in three of the 10 provinces. It includes parts of the capital, Harare - which is considered an opposition stronghold.

Only a quarter of polling stations there opened on time because of problems with ballot papers. In some areas, ballot papers ran out, forcing voters to wait late into the night.

The elections body blamed last-minute court challenges for the late arrival of council election ballot papers

Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) opposition leader Nelson Chamisa accused the governing Zanu-PF of voter suppression.

Image source, Reuters

Meanwhile the police are reported to have raided the offices of two local independent election monitors - the Zimbabwe Election Support Network and the Election Support Centre - a day after polling.

A rights group, the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, reported that a large number of people were detained and computers seized.

There is no confirmation yet from the police.

The electoral body has five days within which to declare the results of the presidential election.

Our proverb of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

Ecowas chief mediator, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, says Niger is starting to feel the impact of the sanctions imposed by the West African bloc.

The main challenger to President Emmerson Mnangagwa alleges delays amount to "voter suppression".

That's all from the BBC Africa Live team for now. Join us again on Thursday morning.

There will be an automated news feed until then, plus you can get the latest updates on the BBC News website or listen to the Focus on Africa podcast.

A reminder of Thursday's wise words:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

We leave you with this photo of Nigeria's Alaba Akintola running against the USA's Kenneth Bednarek in round one of the 200m at the World Athletics Championships in Hungary.

Image source, Getty Images

Nkechi Ogbonna
BBC News, Lagos

Image source, Getty Images

The trial of Nigeria’s suspended central bank governor, Godwin Emefiele, by a high court over an alleged 6.9bn naira ($9m; £7m) procurement fraud, has again been stalled.

The case was not listed among proceedings at the High Court in Abuja, the country’s capital.

Neither Mr Emefiele’s lawyers nor the prosecutors - the State Security Service (DSS) - were present in court and no reasons were provided for the absence of the case on the court’s case list.

The DSS, Nigeria's secret police, is yet to respond to the BBC’s request for comment.

Last Thursday another attempted arraignment was delayed after a co-defendant, Sa'adatu Yaro, did not appear in court.

Mr Emefiele faces 20 charges brought by the DSS for alleged “procurement fraud, conspiracy and conferring corrupt advantages on his associates”.

More on this story

• How Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) boss ended up in court

Will Leonardo
BBC World Service News

The European Union has launched a new air bridge carrying humanitarian supplies to the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), where millions of people are facing hunger.

The bloc said almost 200 tonnes of food, medicine and other supplies were being flown to the regional capital, Goma.

A similar operation took place earlier this year. Almost six million people have been displaced in the eastern DR Congo, where fighting between government forces and rebel groups has intensified.

Aid workers have warned they're close to being unable to provide humanitarian support because of a lack of funding, accusing wealthy nations of ignoring the crisis.

Shingai Nyoka
BBC News, Harare

Image source, Reuters

Large voter turn out has marked Zimbabwe's general election, and observers say the voting day was largely peaceful.

Long queues formed well before the polling stations opened.

But observers reported widespread delays in the capital, Harare, where some ballot papers did not arrive on time.

The opposition party the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) also reported that some polling stations in the capital were yet to open even as the voting time was drawing to a close.

Some voters waited for more than eight hours for the papers to arrive. Others left out of frustration.

The delays in Harare - which is an opposition stronghold - could further tarnish what is already a controversial election.

The CCC say the pre-election period was marred by intimidation of its supporters, and irregularities around the electoral roll.

The elections are crucial for Zimbabwe’s international relations.

A clean election could inch the country towards being granted concessions over its massive debt arrears - critical to restarting its economy.

President Mnangagwa is seeking a second term in office, his Zanu-PF party has run the country for 43 years. Meanwhile his challenger 45- year-old Nelson Chamisa of the CCC is trying to attract the youth vote.

Results are expected to begin trickling in early on Thursday morning.

Read more about the vote here.

Girmay Gebru
BBC News Tigrinya, Mekelle

A sense of joy and celebration pervades Mekelle, the main city in Ethiopia’s northern region of Tigray, as people mark the Ashenda Festival.

The cultural event was cancelled during the two-year civil war that ended November.

It is a significant festival, held in Tigray and Amhara regions as well as neighbouring Eritrea, to honour the Virgin Mary’s ascension to heaven.

The name Ashenda is derived from the long, thin grass that young women and girls tie around their waist to decorate traditional dresses.

Despite it being the rainy season, girls and young women go out together in groups of six to eight and sing Ashenda songs as they go from house to house, where they are given bread and a local beer called siwa.

After this they go to a nearby field or park, where they relax and sing for those passing by.

Men are encouraged to given them gifts of money in thanks, which are usually donated to the Orthodox Church or other charities after the celebration.

Here are some moments from this year's celebrations:

Chris Ewokor
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, Getty Images

West Africa's chief mediator in the Niger crisis, ex-Nigerian military leader Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar, has told the BBC that military intervention remains the last option to resolve the situation in the country.

He said his delegation from the regional grouping Ecowas has started negotiating with military junta leader Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani and expressed hope for an amicable resolution.

Gen Tchiani announced a three-year transition plan at the weekend, which Ecowas has rejected.

West Africa remains on edge as the junta leader remains defiant despite the threat of military intervention.

While Ecowas insists that all options remain open, the junta’s announcement of a three-year-long return to civilian rule has left regional leaders in a dilemma on how to respond.

But Gen Abubakar told the BBC that his recent mission to Niger has "opened a room for discussion and diplomacy".

Referring to the use of force, he said that "all measures will be put in place to ensure that Niger comes back to constitutional authority... It doesn't necessarily mean going to war however, nobody is planning or hoping to go to war because when you start war, you don't know the outcome."

Gen Abubakar also met the ousted President, Mohamed Bazoum.

The president "made a lot of complaints about the way he has been treated, we have confirmed that they have cut off light (electricity) to him and they are keeping him in custody," Gen Abubakar said.

"He was naturally very bitter about the way he has been treated and he claims he is being kept a prisoner for no reason at all."

The Nigerian former leader also said that Ecowas sanctions were having a serious impact on Niger and were causing great hostility towards the regional bloc.

Image source, Getty Images

The organisers of a controversial public lecture meant to memorialise Ugandan dictator Idi Amin say they plan to go on with the event, according to Uganda’s privately-owned Daily Monitor, external.

Kaps Fungaroo Hassan, the spokesperson of the group, told local media that the lecture is part of an initiative meant to rewrite the narrative about Amin in order to depict his legacy in a way that they view as fair and accurate.

Mr Hassan said that Amin’s legacy has been misrepresented to make him a villain by accusing him of wrongs he did not commit and erasing his contributions to Uganda and Africa from history.

“We are disturbed by the manner Idi Amin is remembered based on negative branding of his personality that’s why we believe his life and work while in office should be re-examined” Mr Hassan previously told local media., external

Mr Hassan said that the group wants Amin to be remembered for aiding the independence movements of southern African countries like South Africa, Namibia and Angola when he chaired the African Union.

Amin is infamously remembered as a brutal dictator, whom the acclaimed 2006 Hollywood film Last King of Scotland is based on.

The lecture will take place on 1 September.

Ibrahim Abdelbaki
BBC Arabic, Sudan Lifeline radio

As we reported earlier, there are heavy clashes around the strategic army base in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

There are still conflicting reports about the detail of what is happening at the Armoured Corps base, but experts hold the view that its potential fall to the RSF could threaten the main headquarters of the army command in the centre of the capital.

Major General Amin Majzoub told the BBC's Sudan Lifeline that the base acts as a security barrier for the south of the city.

"It is considered the southern gate which protects the state from the direction of the south," Maj Gen Majzoub said.

"It also secures the General Command and Khartoum Airport," he added.

"The RSF is now trying to neutralise this corps by excluding it from the battlefield or seizing it to be used in its operations inside Khartoum."

Gloria Aradi
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, Getty Images

A Kenyan court has reversed a decision to cancel the licence of a church run by popular televangelist Pastor Ezekiel Odero.

The New Life Prayer Centre and Church in the coastal town of Kilifi attracts thousands of worshippers.

Justice Jairus Ngaah said it was a temporary reprieve while it looked into whether the authorities had acted legally by suspending its licence in May.

Pastor Odero had continued to preach despite the ruling by the Registrar of Societies.

It had withdrawn the Kilifi-based church’s operating licence amid investigations into the pastor's alleged relationship with controversial cult leader Paul Mackenzie Nthenge.

Pastor Mackenzie has been held by police since April for allegedly telling his followers to starve themselves, leading to the deaths of hundreds of them.

Pastor Odero, who was also arrested in April but was released on bail, has denied any connection to the starvation cult and denounced its teachings.

His lawyers told the court that the New Life Prayer Centre and Churchand its businesses were vital to the economy of Kilifi, employing 8,000 people.