Image source, Getty Images

About 225 people - including children - have died of starvation in Ethiopia’s drought-hit and war-scarred Tigray region since last July, local officials have said.

Almost all the deaths - 209 - have been recorded in the rural area of Edga Arbi, health officials have been quoted by regional TV as saying.

In another area, 16 people, displaced by a brutal two-year civil war which ended in 2022, have lost their lives due to hunger, the officials added.

Tigray officials had previously warned that a famine similar to the one Ethiopia witnessed in the mid-80s, when hundreds thousands of children and adults died, could be on the horizon.

The federal government, however, denies that a famine is imminent, and says it is working to provide aid.

According to the UN, more than 20 million people require food aid in Ethiopia due to conflicts, drought, and flooding.

South Africans are urged to stay vigilant following the detection of two cholera cases in northern Limpopo province.

Both patients are Zimbabwean nationals who had crossed the border back into South Africa recently, the province's health department said.

Both patients - aged 43 and 27 - are currently in isolation in hospital, it added.

“We urge the public to remain calm but vigilant, and to promptly seek medical attention if they or anyone they know experience symptoms consistent with cholera," the department added.

Zimbabwe is currently battling a cholera outbreak, which has so far claimed more than 200 lives.

In Zambia, about 300 people have died of the disease since October.

The bacterial disease is spread by contaminated water or food, and causes severe dehydration from vomiting and diarrhoea. It can kill within hours if left untreated.

Authorities say the storm is now moving away from the island nation, but warn that risks still exist.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, Getty Images

Niger's junta-appointed Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine is in Russia's capital Moscow for talks aimed at deepening economic and military ties between the two countries.

He is accompanied by Defence Minister Salihou Mody as well as Niger's ministers of petroleum and trade.

Paris-based news website Mondafrique reported that Mr Zeine would also visit Turkey, Iran and Serbia.

Niger’s military junta, which is under tough sanctions from its West African neighbours, is seeking to “diversify its partnerships”, Mondafrique reported.

The website said the junta has made clear its intention to free itself of Western influence, beginning with the severing of military ties with France.

Tracy Rabi is a teenage money expert from Tanzania who is on a mission to teach other children about finance and entrepreneurship.

Midfielder Lamine Camara fires home a "simply stunning" goal from outside the area as he helps Senegal to a 3-0 win over The Gambia at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

Watch highlights as Senegal begin their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations campaign with victory over 10-man underdogs The Gambia.

Watch highlights as five-time champions Cameroon come back from a goal down to draw 1-1 against 10-man Guinea in the Africa Cup of Nations.

Watch highlights as Angola rescue a point against Algeria in a thrilling 2023 Africa Cup of Nations match.

Image source, EPA

Residents of a village in Nigeria's north-western state of Katsina are fleeing their homes after armed men stormed a nearby military camp before setting vehicles ablaze and ransacking the area.

More than 100 gunmen attacked the military base, which hosts soldiers, police and other security forces, in the Batsari local government area of Katsina state, on Sunday night.

A military source told Premium Times news website that the attackers burnt down two army vehicles. No soldier was killed, according to the source.

A resident told Reuters news agency that the gunmen, who arrived on motorcycles and a truck, overwhelmed the military forces after a three-hour exchange of gunfire.

After the assault on the military camp, the gunmen moved into Nahuta, where they looted shops and homes, stealing goods and livestock worth millions of naira.

The attack has caused widespread panic among residents, many of whom have fled to nearby villages to seek refuge, reports say.

Armed gangs, known locally as bandits, who kidnap for ransom, have wreaked havoc across Nigeria, killing hundreds despite numerous military operations.

Richard Hamilton
BBC World Service newsroom

The United Nations says it's considering delivering aid to Sudan via a new route from South Sudan, as aid agencies struggle to access much of the country.

Rick Brennan, from the World Health Organisation (WHO), said they were looking at establishing cross-border operations from South Sudan into South and West Kordofan in Sudan.

He said nine months of war had created a humanitarian crisis and a very difficult working environment.

The war, between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has left nearly half of Sudan's population in need of aid.

More than seven million people have fled their homes, making Sudan the biggest displacement crisis in the world.

The court ruled the money was likely stolen by officials in the Nigerian Government in 2014.

Image source, AFP

South African comedian Trevor Noah has won an Emmy award in the outstanding talk series category for his talk show The Daily Show.

With the win, Noah makes history as the first African and first black person to win an Emmy for outstanding talk series since the category's introduction in 2015.

"It's amazing that I get to be a part of this journey. It feels like being part of a winning football team," Noah said after securing the win on Monday night.

The comedian has been nominated for the Emmy category five times before, but his sixth nomination, which he earned in his final season hosting The Daily Show, finally secured him the win.

In September 2022, Noah shocked many of his fans when he announced his exit from The Daily Show, after seven years as host.

The search for his replacement is still ongoing.

Noah has another Emmy award, which he earned in 2017 for an Outstanding Short Form Variety Series.

The Emmy awards are the most prestigious honours in the US television industry.

Image source, EPA

Kenya's Chief Justice Martha Koome says the judiciary has written to President William Ruto seeking to address concerns he raised against some judges.

President Ruto has in recent days mounted a war against the judiciary, accusing some unnamed "corrupt" judges of working with the opposition to block his government's projects.

Addressing a media conference on Monday, Ms Koome said the attacks against the judiciary were setting up the country for chaos and anarchy.

"If this course is allowed to continue unabated, we are on the precipice of a constitutional crisis that can lead to untold civil strife," Ms Koome added.

“So we will be looking out for that dialogue, we have written and I believe that the president is going to give us an appointment.”

Opposition leader Raila Odinga has accused Mr Ruto of trying to intimidate judges while a group of lawyers staged protests last week condemning the president's attacks.

The president, who came to power in September 2022, has come under criticism for introducing new taxes amid rising cost of living.

Two new taxes – the housing levy and the proposed universal health cover deductions – have been challenged in court, and their respective rulings are pending.

Image source, Getty Images

The US navy is continuing its search for two members of an elite force - known as the Seals - after they vanished off Somalia's coast on Thursday night last week.

The navy is using ships and aircraft in the search operation that is under way in the Gulf of Aden.

The two Seals went missing as they attempted to intercept a dhow that was carrying weapons, US defence officials have said.

One of the Seals fell into the rough night-time waters while boarding the dhow, prompting the second Seal to jump in for a rescue attempt.

Neither of them resurfaced.

The Seals were part of a naval unit that has been intercepting weapons and other illegal shipments in the region, unrelated to the ongoing operation to protect vessels in the Red Sea from attacks by Yemen's Houthis rebel group.

Image source, EPA

Liberia's outgoing President George Weah has said he has no plans of seeking re-election in 2029 after his defeat in recent elections.

Mr Weah, a former international footballer, was elected in 2017 but lost a run-off election in November to Joseph Boakai, who is due to be inaugurated on Monday.

Addressing church congregants on Sunday on the outskirts of the capital, Monrovia, Mr Weah said he would be 63 in six years, and would not be willing to be active in politics beyond 65 years.

"I am 57 now and our retirement age is 65 and six years from now I will be 63 and I cannot work for two years," he said.

Mr Weah said he needed "time for myself, children and family”.

“I did not come into politics to hijack power. You are not going to drag me to politics until I reach 90 years," he added.

"I say thank you Liberians that I became president whether it was one time or 50 times, but I can guarantee you that it’s one time."

He did not reveal what he planned to do next but said he would promote peace and prosperity in his country.

In his widely praised concession speech in November, Mr Weah said his Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) party would remain a strong opposition.

Our African proverb of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

Algeria become the latest 2023 Africa Cup of Nations contenders to make a slow start after being held to a draw by Angola.

She and others demand an end to Nigeria's kidnap crisis, after the death of Nabeeha Al-Kadriyar.

Five-time champions Cameroon are held to a draw by 10-man Guinea as the Africa Cup of Nations continues to produce surprise results.