Image source, Getty Images

Health authorities in The Gambia have issued a public alert following days of widespread dust in many parts of the country, including the capital Banjul.

In a statement, the health ministry warned that prolonged exposure to dust could lead to chronic breathing and lung problems.

"The finer particles of the airborne dust may penetrate the lower respiratory tract and enter the bloodstream, where they can affect all internal organs and be responsible for cardiovascular disorders such as stroke," the statement added.

The public has been advised to stay indoors as much as possible, while those who would like to go outside their homes were urged to wear masks and glasses.

People have also been asked to drink a lot of water to stay hydrated.

Motorists are warned to be cautious on the road due to limited visibility.

Dust storms are frequent in the country during dry seasons.

Image source, AFP

UN's food agency has temporarily halted food aid in parts of Sudan's central Gezira state, days after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took control of Wad Madani city in the state.

"A place of refuge has now become a battleground in a war that has already taken a horrific toll on civilians," the head of UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Sudan, Eddie Rowe, said in a statement on Wednesday.

"This has forced WFP to put on hold food deliveries in some locations in Gezira state at a time when people need our help the most."

An estimated 300,000 have fled fighting in the state since Friday last week, the agency said.

WFP had been providing food aid to 800,000 people in Gezira and to those displaced by the conflict in Sudan's capital Khartoum.

There are concerns that the spill-over of the fighting into Gezira could escalate Sudan's humanitarian crisis.

The ban comes after a spate of child deaths in other parts of the world were linked to Indian-made cough syrups.

Image source, Getty Images

The Italian government will take in 1,500 refugees and asylum seekers from Libya over the next three years, following an agreement with the UN's refugee agency.

The latest deal is an extension of previous resettlement initiatives, in which Italy evacuated 1,300 refugees and asylum seekers from Libya.

Among those who have already been resettled in the previous programmes include refugees and asylum seekers who had moved to Libya from other African countries.

UNHCR on Wednesday said it welcomed the evacuation deal as it provided "a critical lifeline for refugees and asylum seekers facing heightened protection risks".

The agency added that it would work with partners to select individuals with the "most critical protection needs" for the evacuation.

The agency has urged other countries to emulate Italy "in opening humanitarian corridors, easing pressure on host countries".

Image source, AFP

Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embaló has dismissed Prime Minister Geraldo Martins, just a week after reinstating him to the post.

Mr Martins was first appointed PM in August, but lost the position earlier this month when President Embaló dissolved the government following a foiled coup attempt on 1 December.

The president then reappointed Mr Martins as PM last week.

A presidential decree issued on Wednesday announced that Rui Duarte de Barros, who previously served as the West African nation's transitional prime minister between 2012 to 2014, would replace Mr Martins.

Last month, there were clashes between two army factions in the capital Bissau while President Embaló was away at the UN's COP28 climate conference in Dubai.

Mr Embaló promised "serious consequences" for the perpetrators of the unrest, which he called a foiled coup - the second against his leadership in under two years.

Image source, Getty Images

The Nigerian government has offered free train rides and slashed by 50% public bus fares across the country during the festive season, in a bid to ease the financial strain associated with holiday travels.

The move announced on Wednesday is to allow domestic travellers to visit their loved ones and hometowns "without stress and the extra burden imposed by the high cost of transport around this period," Dele Alake, minister of solid minerals development, said at a press briefing.

According to Mr Alake, who is also head of the inter-ministerial committee on presidential intervention, the discount on inter-state fares and free train rides will take effect from Thursday to 4 January.

The deal, already okayed by President Bola Tinubu,was arrived at in conjunction with companies operating luxury buses across 22 routes nationwide, according to Mr Alake.

He said air transportation was not part of the arrangement because the target of the president “is the masses”.

Transport Minister Sa'idu Alkali said the substantial reduction in bus fares and the free train rides would ensure "every Nigerian can partake in the joy of the season without the burden of exorbitant transportation costs".

Segun Falade, the spokesperson for the National Union of Road Transport Workers, said the bus operators would start effecting the fare subsidy as agreed, local media reported.

December is normally the busiest month for travel in Nigeria, recording the highest number of air, road transport, and railway passengers.

Our African proverb of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

As the last French anti-jihadist forces leave, US troops remain with the military junta's blessing.

In 2014 three journalists were sentenced to seven years in jail in Egypt.

Peter Greste, Mohammed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed became known as the Al Jazeera Three.

The jail terms handed out to them led to an international outcry as protesters called for press freedom.

Peter Greste tells his compelling story to Gill Kearsley.

(Photo: Peter Greste inside the defendants’ cage. Credit: Khaled Desouki/AFP via Getty Images)

DR Congo's 44 million voters have been voting for their next president despite to lengthy delays.

That's all for now from the BBC Africa Live team until Thursday morning, Nairobi time.

In the meantime, you can catch up with stories about the continent on the BBC News website.

You can also listen to our Focus on Africa podcast, which is out every weekday.

A reminder of Wednesday's wise words:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we'll leave you with this picture from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where lengthy delays frustrated voters queueing to elect the nation's next president.

Image source, AFP

Nomsa Maseko
BBC News, Johannesburg

Earlier on the live page, we reported that 2,000 South African miners were underground for a third day amid a sit-in protest.

Hours later, the sit-in has now ended.

The workers had been in the mine since Monday afternoon after dissatisfaction with pension payouts, taxation of bonuses and profit share agreements.

It remains unclear at this stage if wage negotiations with the workers have been successful. The mine's spokesperson Johan Theron said further information will be provided later on Wednesday.

Over the past two months, similar sit-ins have taken place in three separate mines over wage disagreements.

The mining industry employs hundreds of thousands of people in South Africa.

Ian Wafula
Africa security correspondent, BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, Getty Images

Piracy and congestion could cause some African ports to miss out on a potential windfall as commercial ships seek a new route around the continent.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have recently been attacking cargo ships in the Red Sea, vowing they will stop at nothing until Israel stops attacking Gaza.

The stand-off is disrupting one of the world’s busiest and wealthiest waterways.

On average, goods worth $1tn (£790bn) are shipped via the Red Sea and account for 12% of global trade, according to shipping newspaper Lloyds List.

Some of this wealth will now be rerouted southwards, around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.

Along this new journey vessels will need to stop for supplies and refuel - but this will not be easy.

Piracy threats could force some ships to bypass ports in Lagos, Nigeria and Mombasa, Kenya.

On Tuesday, a merchant ship sailing off Somalia was hijacked by unknown raiders, according to Spain's defence ministry. This fuelled fears that pirates were returning to the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea waters.

The Somali government described this as an isolated case, adding that it has been in control of piracy since 2019.

In South Africa, the new diversion around the Cape of Good Hope received a mixed reaction.

Paul Graham, a South African based governance analyst said on X (formerly Twitter) that the new route has the potential to be a huge money-maker for the country but its ports are not up to the job.

At the end of November, ports in the country recorded severe congestion with reports of up to 96 vessels waiting to unload.

Alan Winde, head of South Africa's Western Cape province, issued instructions for the ports to prepare for an influx of ships.

He also encouraged sailors to avoid sitting in the queue at the Suez and instead replenish in Cape Town and enjoy "the world’s most beautiful city".

Only a few of Africa's ports can handle large volumes of cargo and container traffic, according to Marine Insight.

Bushra Mohamed
BBC News

Image source, OPM

The longest-serving woman in Somali politics has died after a brief illness.

Khadijo Mohamed Diriye passed away in Djibouti on Wednesday afternoon. She had been in politics - a male-dominated field - for almost three decades.

At the time of her death, she was serving as the Minister for Women and Human Rights Development.

Deputy Information Minister Abdirahman Yusuf al-Adalah told the BBC that Minister Khadija was admitted to hospital while attending a conference with government officials in nearby Djibouti. She subsequently underwent surgery.

The Somali government says it will issue an official statement but many officials have already posted messages of condolence on their social media platforms.

Information minister Daud Aweis wrote: "I extend my heartfelt condolences to the Somali people and the family of the late Minister of Women and Human Rights, Khadija Mohamed Diriye.

"Her passing in Djibouti is a significant loss. May Allah grant her mercy."

Sami Atabani has countless reasons to be worried about his sister.

She's among thousands who live in Wad Madani, a Sudanese city that in the past week has gone from a safe haven for displaced people to a new frontline in Sudan's civil war.

Mr Atabani, a Sudanese-Canadian man who lives in the United Kingdom, says he has not heard from his sister in over 24 hours - communication has been patchy since the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) advanced on the city.

When he last heard from her, "she was desperate, anxious, worried", Mr Atabani told the BBC's Newsday programme.

He fears for his sister's safety as she is a single mum of seven children, but his "biggest worry" is that "she will be specifically targetted because of her ethnicity".

Mr Atabani says his sister, who is adopted, is "ethnically from the Darfur region".

The Arab-dominated RSF originated in Darfur and has been accused of atrocities against black African groups in the region, like the Massalit.

Newsday also heard on Wednesday from activists and human rights organisations who said the RSF contined to commit acts of sexual violence in Darfur and the capital, Khartoum.

Hala al-Karib, regional director of women’s rights group the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa, said the atrocities being reported - sexual violence and executions - were “extremely scary and worrying”.

“The RSF has taken over the cities… and we are still hearing every hour of new incidences of atrocities. Initially when the RSF are entering the city, they enter with the idea of conquering. Women and girls are looked at as property.

“This is the time when sexual violence occurs inside people’s homes. Women are raped inside their homes. It’s a known tactic that the RSF have been using for a very long time.”

Read more: Hundreds of thousands flee Wad Madani safe-haven - UN

Voting has been extended until Thursday at some polling stations in the Democratic Republic of Congo amid a logistical nightmare.

All polling stations were meant to close at 17:00 local time but because many opened late, the electoral commission has amended the schedule.

Stations have been told to make sure they stay open for 11 hours after voting began. However, some may stay open even longer as the last person in the queue must be allowed to vote, regardless of the time.

• Read more about the disruption here: Voting in DR Congo marred by lengthy delays

A firm once run by Isabel dos Santos is seeking huge damages from the controversial Angolan billionaire.

Dave Houghton resigns as Zimbabwe head coach after failing to reach the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Image source, City of Cape Town/Facebook

Earlier we brought you news of a huge wildfire near a major South African naval base in Simon Town, an area situated just outside Cape Town.

More than 300 firefighters had been battling the blaze throughout the night and into Wednesday morning.

At around 15:40 local time (13:40 GMT), local authorities announced that the "massive vegetation fire" was still "raging".

"Those who were evacuated have started moving back to their homes," the City of Cape Town said in a statement.

"As things stand, more than 200 firefighters are still on the ground in Simon’s Town, along with a fleet of City firefighting equipment including 20 pumps, four water tankers and four skids."

Helicopters are still on the scene, dropping water from above,

No deaths or injuries have been reported.

Image source, AFP

Angolan billionaire Isabel dos Santos has lost a legal battle in London against an application to freeze up to £580m ($735m) of her assets.

Angolan telecoms operator Unitel is suing her over loans made to Dutch company Unitel International Holdings (UIH) in 2012 and 2013, when Dos Santos was a director of Unitel.

The loans were not repaid and around £300m (£240) is outstanding, according to Unitel.

Ms Dos Santos's late father, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, ruled Angola for 38 years until 2017.

Unitel asked London's High Court to grant a worldwide freezing order over her assets last month. Judge Robert Bright granted the order on Wednesday.

Ms Dos Santos has responded to Unitel's allegations by saying she is the victim of a "campaign of oppression" by Angola's government.

She also says Unitel is itself responsible for UIH's inability to repay the loans because of its alleged role in Angola's unlawful seizure of UIH's assets.

• Read more: How Isabel dos Santos, Africa's richest woman, 'ripped off Angola'