That's all from the BBC Africa Live team for this week.

Until we're back, there'll be an automated service here, plus you can get the latest news on or website or listen to our podcasts - Africa Daily and Focus on Africa.

Our African proverb of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this shot of an Egyptian diver mid-air - it's one of our favourite photos of the week:

Image source, AFP

Moses Kollie Garzeawu
Journalist, Monrovia

Liberian President Joseph Boakai has tested negative for drugs and illegal substances.

The Liberian leader on Wednesday underwent a drug test which he had promised to do during his address to the legislature on 29 January, just a week after he was sworn in.

Along with Vice-President Jeremiah Kpan Koung and other officials, the president underwent the test overseen by the country’s Ministry of Health.

President Boakai said: "It is fulfilment of my commitment made that we will leave no stone unturned in combating the prevalence of drugs and other substance abuse in Liberia."

During his address to the legislature, President Boakai declared drug abuse a "national health emergency".

"The drugs epidemic, especially the use of kush [a mixture of cannabis, chemicals and medicine], is disturbing. It’s destroying the youth and future generation of our country," he said.

The Liberian leader wants all his officials to take drugs tests.

BBC Focus on Africa

Uganda has told the BBC it is working with the government of Myanmar to free citizens held against their will in rebel-held territory there.

Tens of thousands of people from all over the world are trapped on so-called scam compounds in the south-east Asian nation.

Among them are at least 30 Ugandans - although the opposition says there are many more - as many as 450.

Uganda's Foreign Affairs Minister John Mulimba says his government first learnt of their abduction in December.

They are believed to be part of a larger number of Africans who left home to find jobs in Asian countries like Thailand or Malaysia - only to be diverted and driven to a region in Myanmar where rebel groups run scam factories.

Mr Mulimba told BBC Focus on Africa that Uganda had appealed for help from the UN's International Organization for Migration and "many other rescue teams".

Alfred Lasteck
BBC News

One of East Africa's biggest international music festivals, Sauti za Busara, has kicked off in Zanzibar - with close to 300 acts set to grace the stage in Stone Town.

"This year, our focus is on women and young talents, and we will be showcasing big names like Mádé Kuti and The Movement from Nigeria, top Zimbabwean woman artist Selmor Mtukudzi, Tanzanian star Sholo Mwamba and many others," says Busara promotions director Lorenz Herrman.

A total of 12 African nations will be represented.

The festival, whose name means "sounds of wisdom", will also showcase diverse local genres - from Swahili Taarab, which is the most popular genre in Zanzibar, to hip-hop.

It continues until Sunday.

After promising to not to extend his term of office in 2012 has Senegal's leader Macky Sall gone back on his word?

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

Police in Senegal have fired tear gas to prevent protestors from gathering in the capital, Dakar, to denounce the postponement of the country's elections.

According to Reuters news agency, officers have also lobbed stun grenades at civilians.

On Monday, parliament backed President Macky Sall's decision to delay this month's vote until December.

He cited a dispute over the eligibility of candidates as a reason for the postponement.

Some opposition politicians have called it a constitutional coup and an effort by Mr Sall to cling onto power.

At some schools in Dakar, classes stopped earlier today after teachers walked out in protest at the election delay.

Burkina Faso will not renew the contract of coach Hubert Velud following their last-16 exit from the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

Ian Williams
BBC Sport Africa in Yamoussoukro

Image source, AFP

Patrice Motsepe, president of the Confederation of African Football (Caf), has praised Ivory Coast, describing the Africa Cup of Nations host country as "exceptional".

Speaking at a press conference in Abidjan ahead of Sunday’s final between Ivory Coast and Nigeria, the man in charge of African football said close to two billion people around the world had watched the tournament.

Caf’s head of communications, Lux September, said it was on course to be the "most commercially successful" Nations Cup.

Addressing the on-field protest made by the Democratic Republic of Congo team ahead of their semi-final defeat, Mr Motsepe said "the people of the DRC are deeply in our hearts" and that Caf has "a commitment" to people affected by conflict in the region – a conflict which he acknowledged is also affecting other countries, including Rwanda.

Mr Motsepe has made a vow to visit the region in person.

Nobuhle Simelane
BBC News, Johannesburg

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced yet another grand plan to tackle the country’s rolling blackouts known as load-shedding.

He told South Africans as he delivered the country’s state of the nation address on Thursday evening that "we are confident that the worst is behind us and the end of load-shedding is finally within reach".

But less that an hour after he delivered his speech, the country’s power utility Eskom announced that load-shedding would be ramped up as a result of lost generation capacity.

The president’s statements on the end of load-shedding come exactly a year after he announced the post of an electricity minister to specifically attend to the country’s energy crisis.

Mr Ramaphosa hailed the work of a crisis committee also set up to address the challenges and alluded to additional investment in procuring extra energy-generation capacity including the use of renewables.

“We are going to build more than 14,000km (8,700 miles) of new transmission lines to accommodate renewable energy over the coming years,” Mr Ramaphosa said.

Opposition MPs slammed the president’s speech as a way of placating South Africans ahead of elections due this year.

South Africa experienced over 300 days of load-shedding in 2023.

Mr Ramaphosa also used the occasion to highlight other successes through the narrative of a symbolic child named Tintswalo who was born in 1994 when South Africa entered its democratic era. He illustrated her upbringing with access to government services like water, electricity, education and healthcare.

However, this has received mixed reactions with many South Africans saying that although she had access to these services, she now battles with unemployment and faces everyday challenges such as load-shedding, intermittent water supply and poor healthcare.

Anne Soy
BBC News, Nairobi

Humanitarian agencies have warned that two weeks of fighting in the oil-rich region of Abyei on the border between Sudan and South Sudan have led to widespread displacement and hindered efforts to distribute aid.

Both countries jointly administer Abyei and claim ownership of the region.

The clashes have been linked to conflict between rival factions of the Dinka ethnic group - called the Ngok and the Twic.

Close to 100 people including UN peacekeepers have been killed.

Britain, the US and Norway - known as the Troika - have called on the South Sudanese government to hold accountable those behind the attacks.

Save the Children also says there have been incidents of looting of health and nutrition supplies at one of its health facilities.

The UN says more than 2,200 people, most of them women and children, are sheltering at one of its compounds in Rumajak, about 7km (4 miles) north of Abyei town. The humanitarian body also says it is beefing up land and air patrols to deter further violence.

Image source, Getty Images

Israel has angrily denied claims that it threatened the safety of a South African minister, and in return has accused her of a "blood libel" and "serving as the legal arm" of Hamas.

Relations between the two countries hit a new low last month, when South Africa filed a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza - a charge it has rejected.

Since then, Naledi Pandor said she had spoken to South African Police Minister Bheki Cele about beefing up her security after she received threatening messages.

"The Israeli agents, the intelligence services, [this] is how they behave, and they seek to intimidate you, so we must not be intimidated. There is a cause that is under way,” she was quoted by local media as saying.

Israel's strong rebuke came on Friday, with the ministry of foreign affairs telling the BBC:

Around 1,200 people were killed during the Hamas attacks on southern Israel on 7 October, according to Israeli officials.

More than 27,800 Palestinians have been killed and at least 67,000 injured by the war launched by Israel in response, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Correction 13 February: This post wrongly reported that about 1,300 people had been killed following the 7 October attack by Hamas. This was based on counting those who later died from their injuries in addition to the figure of more than 1,200. The article has been amended to now refer to about 1,200 deaths, a figure which includes those deaths and which Israel says is not final.

BBC Newsday
World Service radio

A former Senegalese prime minister has accused President Macky Sall of "behaving like a 90-year-old African autocrat, which we won't accept".

"Twelve years ago we were together in the street fighting against the third term of President [Abdoulaye] Wade - and so here he is doing exactly the same action that he used to fight against," ex-Prime Minister Aminata Touré told BBC Newsday.

President Macky Sall shocked the country on Saturday when he announced that the presidential election due later this month would be postponed.

On Monday, riot police fired tear gas to break up protestors trying to gather outside Senegal’s National Assembly. Opposition candidates say the change violates the constitution and are enlisting unions, religious leaders and civil society to campaign against the delay.

Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC News, Addis Ababa

Image source, AFP

One in three people in northern Ethiopia are facing extreme hunger, the UK-based charity Oxfam says.

That's a total of almost 10 million people in the regions of Tigray and Amhara.

Conflict and drought have significantly reduced harvest forcing millions to resort to what the charity calls "unimaginable ways" to survive.

A report by a federal government agency said nearly 400 people had already died in the two regions due to starvation.

But this was contradicted by Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who said no deaths had occurred in the country solely because of hunger.

Unless relief efforts are scaled up, Oxfam is warning that northern Ethiopia could see a worsening humanitarian catastrophe.

A gap in funding and ongoing conflicts in Amhara have made humanitarian responses difficult.

When alleged looting of food aid was uncovered by the World Food Programme and USAid last spring, they halted aid to Ethiopia for months on end until resuming at a lower rate in December.

Last year, the UN managed to get only a third of its $4bn (£3.2bn) appeal for Ethiopia.

Officials in Tigray say famine is looming, but the federal government has dismissed the possibility of famine.

• Read more: Children starving but Ethiopia downplays famine fears

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

The South African double Olympic champion, Caster Semenya, has appealed for help funding her legal battle against regulations that require female athletes with high testosterone levels to take medication.

World Athletics - formerly known as the IAAF - barred Semenya from competing in 800m events after she refused to take drugs to reduce her testosterone levels.

She won a long legal battle last year when the European Court of Human Rights ruled that she was the victim of discrimination.

But the Swiss authorities, supported by World Athletics, have appealed and the hearing is due to start in May.

Related stories:

• I'm not ashamed to be different - Semenya
• Who is Caster Semenya and why is her case important?

Image source, Kenya Ports Authority/X

The cruise ship MV World Odyssey, which hosts a sailing university campus, has docked in Mombasa on the Kenyan coast.

The vessel allows undergraduate students, recent university graduates and students taking a gap year to study for one semester at sea - which involves cruising to different countries to learn about their histories and cultures.

"Aboard the ship is 763 passengers, of which 585 are students who will visit institutions of higher learning for educational tours, conduct excursions around the city and visit various wildlife parks during their stay," the KenyaPorts Authority shared on X (formerly Twitter), external.

The university also hosts "lifelong learners" aged 30 or older, as well as faculty and staff.

It is often referred to as the "world's biggest floating campus".

The university, which is operated by the Institute for Shipboard Education, has been visiting Kenya annually since 2022.

Image source, Getty Images

South Africa's Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor has accused Israeli intelligence of trying to intimidate her following the Gaza case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), local media report.

Ms Pandor on Thursday told the Mail & Guardian news website that she was concerned about the safety of her family after having been targeted on social media, external.

The minister said she had spoken to Police Minister Bheki Cele about beefing up her security after she received threatening messages.

"The Israeli agents, the intelligence services, [this] is how they behave, and they seek to intimidate you, so we must not be intimidated. There is a cause that is under way,” she was quoted as saying.

Israel is yet to comment on the minister’s remarks.

Last month, the ICJ directed Israel to take steps to prevent genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and give a report within a month.

South Africa had filed a case against Israel at the court over alleged human right violations by Israel in the conflict.

Ms Pandor said the government was determined to see the ICJ case through.

Her comments come a few days after President Cyril Ramaphosa spoke of a possible fightback campaign against South Africa after the ICJ ruling.

Read more on South African ICJ case:

• What is South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the ICJ?
• ICJ say Israel must prevent genocide in Gaza

Image source, AFP

Kenya's biggest referral hospital, Kenyatta National Hospital, has performed a laparoscopic kidney transplant, becoming the first public facility in the country to conduct the minimally invasive surgical transplant procedure.

The transplant was performed on 36-year-old Dickson Njoroge, who received a kidney from his cousin.

The procedure uses small incisions to extract and transplant the kidney, aided by specialised tools such as computer-guided magnifying cameras.

It is a departure from traditional open-kidney transplants, which require large incisions on kidney recipients and donors.

The hospital says that Kenyans no longer need to travel abroad to undergo the procedure.

Charles Waihenya and Paul Njogu, the lead surgeons, said that the laparoscopic kidney transplant offers multiple benefits, including less pain, less blood loss, faster recovery, lower costs and better aesthetic outcomes.

Laparoscopic kidney transplants are common in many parts of the world but are yet to be widely adopted in African countries due to limitations in health infrastructure and surgical expertise.

Image source, EPA

Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu has ordered citizens to recite the national pledge at all state and public events.

That's to ensure "absolute respect for the national symbols, strengthen allegiance and fidelity to country, and to preserve Nigeria's ethos and defining character," presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale said in a statement on Thursday.

"Everyone of us loves victory. We love to win. When you are positive and you are hopeful, Nigeria is winning," the statement added.

The national pledge, which Mr Tinubu said should be recited after the national anthem, calls on all Nigerians to be faithful and loyal to their country.

The directive comes amid inter-communal clashes between herders and local farming communities in a conflict over resources, plus a breakaway movement in the south-east that seeks to create an independent Biafran state.

More than 40 different nations are now represented at the University of Glasgow's Crichton site.

Image source, Getty Images

US President Joe Biden has tickled Egyptians by mistakenly calling Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi "the president of Mexico".

"As you know, initially the president of Mexico, Sisi, did not want to open up the gate to allow humanitarian material to get in [Gaza]," President Biden said during a press conference on Thursday, while commenting on the ongoing war between Israel and Gaza.

Mexico's president is called Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

The irony is that Egyptians say they have long nicknamed President al-Sisi "El Meksiki", which translates to "The Mexican" to avoid censorship.

"You can't criticise the president freely so Egyptians started calling him 'El Meksiki' ('the Mexican' in Arabic) because it sounds like 'al-Sisi' so they can avoid censorship and criticise him freely," one user explained on X (formerly Twitter).

In the US, the mix-up has sparked concerns about President Biden's health and cognitive abilities, but the leader has defended his mental fitness for office.