Conflict means millions of people in Gaza and Sudan are severely struggling to access food.

Will Ross & Jose Tembe
BBC News

The Mozambican parliament has ratified an extradition agreement with Rwanda despite concerns it could be used against critics of Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

Mozambican opposition MPs voted against the deal saying it could enable political persecution.

Mozambique's Bar Association expressed the same concern.

The Rwandan authorities have been accused of targeting critics in several countries across Africa, including Mozambique. This is denied by Rwanda.

The two countries have a close relationship, with Rwandan troops deployed in northern Mozambique to help fight Islamist militants.

Several thousand Rwandans who fled the 1994 genocide live in exile in Mozambique.

Tesfalem Araia
BBC Tigrinya

Image source, Eritrea ministry of information

In a rare visit, a Russian navy warship has arrived at Eritrea's main Red Sea port of Massawa, amid tension in the region caused by Iran-backed Houthi militants.

Senior Eritrean military chiefs and officials were there to welcome the ship, the Marshal Shaposhinkov, as it docked on Thursday,

Russia's ambassador to Eritrea was also present.

According to Eritrea’s Minister of Information Yemane Gebre Meskel, the frigate belongs to Russia’s Pacific Fleet.

He said, in a post on X, external, that it was there to mark the "30th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Russia and Eritrea”.

A US naval task force is deployed in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to protect commercial and military ships sailing up and down the vital trade route from Houthi attacks.

Eritrea has always viewed Western military presence in the region with suspicion. The Horn of Africa nation has recently forged closer ties with Moscow.

The Houthis, who control northern Yemen, have been attacking ships passing through the Red Sea in response to the war in Gaza. The militants are part of the "axis of resistance" against Israel.

Despite Houthi claims that they only target ships connected to Israel, they appear to have been attacking other vessels with no links to the country.

In January, US and British warships began striking Houthi targets in retaliation to missile and drone launches by the militants.

Moses Kollie Garzeawu
Journalist, Monrovia

Poverty, early pregnancy and harmful cultural practices are hindering the progress of young women in West Africa, Liberia’s former Vice-President Jewel Howard Taylor has said.

She was speaking at the opening of the West Africa Adolescent Girls Summit in the Liberian capital, Monrovia, which has brought together 200 adolescent girls and boys from across the region, as well as government officials.

Mrs Taylor acknowledged that some gains had been made but said she hoped the young participants would be inspired and help create change in their home communities.

Young people can sometimes be excluded from decision-making processes because they are seen as inexperienced, apathetic, or incapable of contributing meaningfully to discussions, Ame Atsu David, regional co-director for Africa at the Global Fund for Children, told the BBC.

In a video address recorded for the summit, former Nigerian First Lady Aisha Buhari also outlined that there are enormous challenges facing young women and girls due to traditional religious norms.

She told the gathering that “religious misconceptions” had further hindered girls’ access to formal education, relegating them to domestic duties.

Image source, UNHCR Libya/X

Rwanda has received 57 Eritrean and 35 Sudanese asylum seekers, days after 91 other refugees and asylum seekers arrived in the country from Libya.

The 183 refugees and asylum seekers will remain in Rwanda pending the processing of their resettlement applications, the UN's refugee agency said on Wednesday, external.

The arrivals are part of a programme supported by the UN's refugee agency, African Union and European Union.

Since 2019, the programme has sent more than 2,200 refugees and asylum seekers of various nationalities from Libya to Rwanda. Over 1,600 of them have been resettled in the US and across Europe.

The latest arrival of the refugees and asylum seekers in Rwanda comes as the UK attempts to pass new legislation that would allow it to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda.

The UK Supreme Court had earlier quashed the plan, terming it unlawful.

Image source, Getty Images

Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt suffer the highest levels of air pollution in Africa, environmental NGO Greenpeace said in a new report, external.

The high air pollution levels have propelled the three countries to record most of the continent's nearly one million annual air pollution-related deaths, the report added.

"Exposure to air pollution is the second leading risk factor for death in Africa," the report added.

South Africa has especially been singled out as the leading air polluter in Africa and one of the countries with the highest air pollution-linked health risks.

It hosts two of the world’s largest and six of Africa's biggest nitrogen dioxide emission hotspots.

Four of the country's thermal power stations, which are run by state power provider Eskom, are among the world's 10 largest sulphur dioxide emission points.

The report also provides accounts detailing the challenges faced by communities that have been most hit by air pollution on the continent.

"The pollution from coal plants like those operated by Sasol in our region has not only tarnished our health, leading to failed health assessments and chronic diseases... but it has also clouded our future, leaving us jobless as companies opt to hire from outside, citing our unfitness for work, " Fana Sibanyoni, an activist from the coal-rich Mpumalanga province.

The region's multiple coal mines and coal-fired power stations have been linked to extreme air pollution levels.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

The military rulers in Burkina Faso have decided to extend by a year a string of emergency measures aimed at combating jihadist violence.

The original decree stipulated that everyone over the age of 18 who was physically fit could be called up.

It also said people's rights and freedoms could be curbed and it legalised the setting up of local defence groups.

Correspondents say there have been cases where critics of Burkina Faso's military rulers have been abducted and forcefully recruited to help in the fight against the Islamist militants.

Since 2015 more than two million people have been displaced by the jihadist violence.

Read more on this story:

• Burkina Faso outcry over 'conscription used to punish junta critics'

Image source, Eumetstat

A cyclone that hit northern Madagascar on Wednesday has left at least six people dead and forced 2,000 out of their homes.

Local news reports say that “flooding caused significant damage” with roads and bridges affected.

The AFP news agency, citing the disaster management authority (BNGRC), puts the death toll from cyclone Gamane at 11.

It reports that six of the victims drowned, while the others died after being hit by falling trees or collapsing houses.

"It's rare to have a cyclone like this. Its movement is nearly stationary," Gen Elack Andriakaja, BNGRC director-general is quoted by AFP as saying.

"When the system stops in one place, it devastates all the infrastructure. And that has serious consequences for the population. And significant flooding.”

Image source, AFP

The French National Assembly has overwhelmingly approved a resolution condemning the 1961 Paris massacre of Algerians.

Some historians say up to 300 protesters were killed when police broke up a demonstration in support of Algerian independence.

Some were beaten to death, others drowned in the River Seine.

The resolution also calls for an official day of commemoration.

The massacre happened in the context of the Algeria's independence war.

The police prefect in charge, Maurice Papon, was later convicted of crimes against humanity for collaborating with the Nazis.

Read more on this story:

• How a massacre of Algerians in Paris was covered up

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has urged citizens to make themselves available for the country's census in May and to be truthful when asked the census questions.

"When data collectors come to your homes during the census, please... provide them with honest answers to their questions," President Museveni posted on X, external.

"This is in order to enable them [to] process the most accurate information about you, your household, institutions and community," Mr Museveni said, adding that accurate responses will enable the government to accurately plan the delivery of public services.

Uganda is set to hold the census between 10 and 19 May. It is the sixth census in the country's history and the first that will be done digitally.

The exercise was postponed from the initially scheduled date in August last year due to financial challenges, amid international funding cuts linked to Uganda's controversial anti-homosexuality law.

It is budgeted to cost 134bn Ugandan shillings ($34m; £27m).

Uganda's last census in 2014 placed the population at 36 million.

The state statistics agency estimates that the population has grown by more than 30% since then, and now surpasses 45 million.

Image source, EPA

Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu has formed a taskforce to come up with emergency solutions to try and fix the country's ailing economy.

The prices of food and fuel have shot up but many are struggling as their wages are not keeping up with the changes.

The severe economic difficulties have led to widespread hardship and mounted pressure on Mr Tinubu's administration.

Some have pointed to the government's dropping of the fuel subsidy and allowing the currency, the naira, to devalue as being among the causes of the problems. But the authorities have argued that reforming the economy is essential for the future of the country.

The president has directed the team to "submit a comprehensive plan of economic interventions" within two weeks, which will then be implemented over the next six months.

The taskforce is made up of key government officials and industry leaders.

The president also established the Presidential Economic Coordination Council (PECC) - which he will chair - to oversee the economic reforms.

Read more:

• Why Nigeria's economy is in such a mess

Richard Hamilton
BBC World Service newsroom

Image source, AFP

One of the main opposition leaders in the Central African Republic has been given a one-year suspended prison sentence for defamation and contempt of court.

Crepin Mboli Goumba, a lawyer and coordinator for the opposition group BRDC, was arrested earlier this month after accusing magistrates of corruption.

He was ordered to pay a fine of around $130,000 (£105,000). Prosecutors had sought a one-year jail term for him. His lawyers said they would appeal against the sentencing, AFP news agency reported.

Human Rights Watch has accused President Faustin Archange Touadera's regime of repressing civil society, media and opposition parties.

Image source, AFP

Police in Togo have broken up an opposition news conference that was called to address a controversial constitutional reform.

On Monday, the parliament voted for a new constitution which changes the presidential system to a parliamentary one.

But with less than a month before legislative elections, the opposition fears the change will clear the way for the long-serving President, Faure Gnassingbe, to remain in power indefinitely.

Around 30 police officers armed with truncheons broke up the gathering called by opposition parties and civil society groups on Wednesday.

Police said the event in the capital, Lome, was not authorised.

Nathaniel Olympio, the event organiser, termed the new constitution a "coup" that seeks to deprive the Togolese people of the right to choose their president, AFP news agency reported.

"I call on the Togolese people to stand up and stop this disastrous plan," Mr Olympio said.

It is not clear when the changes, proposed by lawmakers mostly from the ruling Union for the Republic (UNIR), will come into force.

Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, speaks to the BBC.

Interim boss Finidi George hopes to get the Nigeria job permanently, but mixed results in friendlies have brought criticism.

Image source, Ugandan presidency/X

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has officially launched the country's first-ever interest-free commercial Islamic bank.

Salaam Bank Limited, a subsidiary of a Djibouti-based bank, is the first institution to offer Islamic financing in the country.

Mr Museveni said the institution had a potential to significantly contribute to the development of the country's financial sector and attract more Muslim investors.

"I encourage you to fight poverty and create wealth,” the president said shortly after launching the bank on Wednesday in the capital, Kampala.

In September last year, the Salaam bank was granted its first Islamic banking license after the Ugandan parliament passed legislation authorising Islamic banking, which Mr Museveni signed into law.

It is not allowed to pay and receive interest in Islamic banking, but rather it is based on profit sharing.

Image source, Getty Images

A businessman who is a member of a powerful South African family has been linked to the murder of popular rapper AKA.

AKA, real name Kiernan Forbes, and his close friend, Tibz Motsoane, were gunned down outside a restaurant in Durban on 10 February last year.

A statement presented to court by the investigating officer said that a company owned by businessman Sydney Mfundo Gcaba allegedly sent over 800,000 rand ($42,000; £33,000) to the bank account of one of the suspects currently on trial over the rapper's killing.

The payment was allegedly made a day after AKA's murder.

The prosecutor, citing phone records, also said that the suspect who received the money, Mziwethemba Harvey Gwabeni, allegedly made a call to Mr Gcaba before the transaction was completed.

Mr Gcaba is yet to comment on the prosecutor's statement.

The prosecutor alleges that the money was then split equally between the seven suspects.

Mr Gwabeni said in an affidavit that he received the funds as payment for consultation services he provided to the company.

But the prosecutor argued that there's no evidence showing that Mr Gwabeni provided any services to the company to warrant the payment.

Mr Gcaba is a member of the powerful Gcaba family, which owns a taxi empire and several other businesses in the coastal KwaZulu-Natal province and across South Africa.

A motive for his alleged involvement in AKA's murder is yet to be established.

Read more:

• AKA: The murdered rapper from South Africa 'destined for greatness'

Thomas Naadi
BBC News, Dakar

Image source, Reuters

Senegal's opposition candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye has won Sunday’s election with 54.28% of the total votes, according to official provisional results released by the electoral commission on Wednesday.

Presidential candidates have until the end of Thursday to file appeals challenging Mr Faye's win, after which the Constitutional Council will confirm him as the president-elect.

Mr Faye's main challenger, former Prime Minister Amadou Ba of the ruling coalition, secured 35.79% of total votes.

The election recorded a voter turnout of 61%.

Mr Ba, along with several of the other 15 presidential contestants, have already conceded and congratulated Mr Faye. It is considered unlikely that they will appeal against the results.

Outgoing President Macky Sall's attempts to delay the polls, initially scheduled for February, sparked violent protests.

Mr Faye has said he will rule Senegal with humility and fight corruption.

He has also promised to put measures in place to address youth unemployment and the high cost of living.

Expectations remain high for Africa's youngest democratically elected president.

Read more:

• Senegal election result: Bassirou Diomaye Faye to become Africa's youngest elected president

The Newsroom
BBC World Service

A French court has confirmed the conviction of Liberian former rebel, Kunti Kamara, for his role during Liberia's civil war three decades ago.

At his first trial in 2022, following his arrest in France, he was found guilty of crimes against humanity and violence against civilians, but appealed against the ruling.

He was accused of failing to prevent soldiers who were under his command from raping two teenage girls in 1994, the AFP news agency reports.

Kamara was a regional commander of a faction of the United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy which fought the National Patriotic Front of former President Charles Taylor.

The conflict between 1989 and 2003 killed more than 250,000 people.

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