Chimezie Ucheagbo
BBC What in the World podcast

Image source, AFP

Residents of Sierra Leone have described their frustration at the blackouts which have plagued the country in recent weeks.

The power cuts, which have hit cities including the capital, Freetown, have disrupted hospitals and daily life for many.

Fatmata Gassim, a second-year engineering student in Freetown, told the What in the World podcast: “There are so many things wrong with [Sierra Leone], especially electricity. Like you wake up one morning and poof, there is no [electricity]."

Ms Gassim, 19, is particularly frustrated as she relies completely on internet connectivity to study.

Most of Freetown’s power comes from a Turkish ship floating off the country’s coast. It has massively reduced electricity supply to the city - from 60 megawatts to 6 megawatts - because of unpaid bills.

Karpowership is one of the world's biggest floating power plant operators, with several African states relying on it for electricity.

Ms Gassim said the blackouts were affecting countless aspects of her life.

"How do you iron your clothes, how do you make your food, how do you go to sleep? We pay our electricity bills so I don’t see why we should be forced to live like this,” she said.

Some other Freetown-dwellers told the BBC they were experiencing a power cut which had lasted for five days in a row.

They have had to rely on generators, go to neighbours’ houses for their electricity needs or just sit in the dark.

In other cities, like Bo and Kenema, residents are able to access some power, but still less than normal.

A filmmaker told the podcast he had been forced to use his laptop, with its relatively small screen, to edit his work, rather than use his usual desktop computer. The desktop keeps turning off or using up fuel from his generator.

Businesses like barbers, hotels and restaurants are also relying on generators, which heavily impacts their running costs.

Listen to What in the World - a podcast helping you make sense of what is happening around the globe - here.

The policing minister appeared to ask an audience member if Rwanda and Congo were different countries.

The UN Human Rights Office has said it is "concerned" about authorities in Burkina Faso suspending broadcasts from the BBC and Voice of America.

As we mentioned earlier, the Burkinabè media regulator banned the platforms for a fortnight after they both covered a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report that accused the Burkina Faso army of massacring civilians.

UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Marta Hurtado said in a statement: "Restrictions on media freedom and civic space must stop immediately. Freedom of expression including the right of access to information is crucial in any society, and even more so in the context of the transition in Burkina Faso."

The African Union (AU) has expressed "deep concern" about "escalating tensions between local communities" in a disputed area of northern Ethiopia.

More than 50,000 people have been displaced by this month's clashes in Alamata Town, Raya Alamata, Zata and Ofla - all part of a disputed area claimed by the Tigray region and neighbouring Amhara region.

The district had been under Tigrayan administration until war broke out between the federal government and Tigrayan forces in 2020. The Amhara forces, which fought alongside the federal army during the war, have since seized the areas.

According to a statement , externalpublished on Friday, AU Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat "calls on both sides to urgently halt hostilities and ensure the safety of civilians to end the renewed displacement of the local population."

He also "calls for the commencement of the political dialogue, which is the most viable means to respond to the issues of contested areas".

The escalating violence threatens to disrupt the implementation of the peace agreement signed by the federal government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) in Pretoria, South Africa, in November 2022 that ended the civil war.

South Africa's former president hits out at corruption within the governing party.

Joan Donoghue speaks to BBC Hardtalk about the case brought by South Africa to the ICJ over alleged violations of the Genocide Convention by Israel.

The Democratic Republic of Congo issuing a formal notice to Apple is the country's "first move" in a drive against the "exploitation" of its raw minerals, a lawyer representing DR Congo's government has told the BBC.

French lawyer William Bourdon spoke to the Newsday programme after the Democratic Republic of Congo accused Apple of using "illegally exploited" minerals in its products.

He was among a team of lawyers who on Thursday sent a formal notice to the tech giant on behalf of DR Congo, alleging that the minerals used by Apple come from mines where human rights are violated by rebels.

The notice warned of legal action if the alleged practice continues.

Apple has previously said there is no evidence any of its suppliers financed or benefited armed groups in DR Congo or any neighbouring country.

Mr Bourdon said: "This is the first move, we will continue. This is the first move of a new policy of the DRC. We want to moralise the way that raw materials are exploited in this country."

DR Congo's lawyers accuse Apple of buying minerals smuggled from eastern Congo into neighbouring Rwanda, where they are then laundered and integrated into the global supply chain.

Read more:

• UK minister asks if DR Congo is different nation to Rwanda
• TikTokers quit vaping over DR Congo mining concerns

Earlier, we reported that Kenya Airways had accused a military unit in the Democratic Republic of Congo of unfairly detaining its employees for a week.

A Kenyan official has now spoken on the matter, saying Kenya's mission in DR Congo capital, Kinshasa, was "engaging directly on the matter".

Korir Sing'Oei, Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs, said on social media platform X: "Kenya takes great exception to the arrest and detention of its nationals lawfully carrying out commercial activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo by authorities in DRC."

The Congolese authorities have not yet responded to Kenya's accusations. However, on Friday afternoon Reuters news agency reported that Patrick Muyaya, spokesperson for the DR Congo government, said he would give a response "later".

Soldiers accused residents of aiding Islamist fighters before shooting at them, an investigation shows.

Image source, Getty Images

Severe flooding has displaced hundreds of thousands of people across East Africa - and in Kenya rescue workers and authorities are "bracing" themselves for even more devastation.

"The situation continues to be very worrying. As of last night we were reporting over 60 people died across the country," Senator Edwin Sifuna, who represents the particularly hard-hit Nairobi County, told BBC Newsday.

The flooding has been caused by torrential rains linked to the El Niño weather phenomenon.

"Even just looking outside my window the clouds are already gathering. The weatherman tells us to expect even heavier rains over the next 72 hours," Mr Sifuna said, adding that rescue teams on the ground estimate that roughly 100,000 have been forced to flee their homes

Michael Aiyabei, head of disaster risk management, is also concerned.

"We are bracing for an even harder moment," he said.

At least 155 people in neighbouring Tanzania have died in the floods. In Burundi, nearly 100,000 people have been displaced.

Read more:

• Tanzania floods and landslides kill more than 150
• Four ways climate change affects extreme weather

• Dramatic rescue after bus swept away in Kenyan floods

Andre Rhoden-Paul
BBC News

Two men have been charged with immigration offences after an investigation into the deaths of five migrants, including a child, in the English Channel.

Three men, a woman and a seven-year-old girl died in a crush on board a boat carrying 112 people on Tuesday.

Tajdeen Abdulaziz Juma, from Sudan, and Yien Both, from South Sudan, have both been remanded in custody.

They are due to appear at Folkestone Magistrates' Court later.

The charged men are both aged 22 and accused of attempting to arrive in the UK without valid entry clearance.

Mr Both has also been charged with assisting unlawful immigration.

A third man, 18, from Sudan, was arrested earlier this week and has been bailed pending further inquiries.

The vessel got into trouble early on Tuesday morning after leaving Wimereux in northern France, and police witnessed people entering the water from the overcrowded boat.

It was one of several small boats which left France at about 03:00 local time (01:00GMT).

Some 49 people were rescued but 58 others opted to remain in the boat and continue towards the UK, the coastguard said in a statement.

Nichola Mandil
BBC News, Juba

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has sacked his foreign affairs minister who had been in office for less than a year.

James Pitia Morgan, who was appointed last August, was dismissed in a presidential decree read out on state television on Thursday night.

Before becoming foreign affairs minister, Mr Morgan was South Sudan’s ambassador to Ethiopia.

He has now been replaced by his former deputy, Ramadan Abdallah Goch.

President Kiir appointed Mr Morgan as his envoy for the Great Lakes region.

Mr Kiir also dismissed Mayen Wol Dut, the long-serving undersecretary for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and appointed him as South Sudan’s new ambassador to China.

There were no reasons given for the latest reshuffle.

Observers say it could be a political tactic for Mr Kiir ahead of elections, scheduled for December.

Mr Goch is the first Muslim to head the foreign ministry.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Burkina Faso’s media regulator has suspended broadcasts from BBC Africa and Voice of America (VOA) over their coverage of a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report accusing the Burkinabè army of abuses against civilians.

Access to the websites and digital platforms of the BBC, VOA and Human Rights Watch have also been suspended within Burkina Faso.

HRW published a report, external on Thursday accusing the Burkina Faso military of executing at least 223 civilians on 25 February in the north of the country.

“Accordingly, the BBC and VOA, through their correspondents in Burkina Faso, were instructed by telephone to immediately stop rebroadcasting the offending programme on all their platforms," state-owned news agency Agence d’Information du Burkina (AIB) reported, external on Thursday.

The two outlets will be suspended for two weeks.

The Superior Council for Communication (CSC) further warned all local media outlets against covering the Human Rights Watch report, threatening sanctions against those who do so.

VOA said in an article published on Friday, external that it "stands by its reporting about Burkina Faso and intends to continue to fully and fairly cover activities in the country".

In December 2023, the West African nation suspended French daily Le Monde, accusing it of biased reporting.

It also suspended three other international media outlets at varying times last year, including French-language magazine Jeune Afrique, French TV channel La Chaîne Info (LCI) and French state-owned media organisation France24.

The family of global wrestling star Saraya describe Africa as "the hardest market to crack" after appearing in South Africa.

Kenya Airways (KQ) has accused the Democratic Republic of Congo's military of holding two of its employees since last week, despite a court ruling to release them.

The two were arrested by the DR Congo's military intelligence unit last Friday over alleged missing custom documentation on "valuable" cargo, KQ said in a statement, external.

The airline said its staff were detained despite not having accepted the goods in question.

"The logistic handler was still completing documentation before handing it over to KQ," Allan Kilavuka, the airline's CEO wrote.

"All efforts to explain to the military officers that KQ had not accepted the cargo because of incomplete documentation proved futile."

On Tuesday, Kenyan embassy officials and a team from the airline were allowed to briefly visit the detainees.

KQ said that on Thursday a Congolose military court granted the airline's request to have the employees released as investigations continued.

The employees' phones were seized during the arrest and they have no means of communicating with the outside world, according to KQ.

"Despite the court orders, the military intelligence unit is still holding them incommunicado, yet these are civilians being held in a military intelligence facility," Mr Kilavuka said.

"We are perturbed by this action targeting innocent staff and consider it harassment targeting Kenya Airways' business."

It is unclear what the cargo in question comprised and authorities in DR Congo are yet to comment on the matter.

Image source, WHO Regional Office for Africa/X

Benin, Liberia and Sierra Leone have become the latest African countries to join the world's first routine vaccine programme against malaria.

The three nations will administer the RTS,S vaccine to children aged five months or older in four scheduled doses.

Benin received 215,900 doses of the vaccine, while Liberia received 112,000 and Sierra Leone 550,000.

The World Health Organisation (WHO), Unicef and the global vaccine alliance (Gavi) are coordinating the programme.

They said in a joint statement that the rollout was "a significant step forward for malaria prevention in Africa", which is the continent most impacted by the disease.

In 2022, 94% of all malaria cases and 95% of global malaria deaths happened in Africa, according to WHO.

The vaccine has already been successfully rolled out in Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya and Malawi.

Pilots in three of those countries caused a 13% drop in the deaths of children eligible to receive the jab.

Several more African countries are expected to join the rollout of the RTS,S vaccine in the coming months, amid an anticipated rollout of R21, the second WHO-approved jab.

Image source, Fik Gaza/X

Ugandan dancehall artist Shafic Dangote, known as Fik Gaza, has been released after spending three days in a Saudi Arabia cell.

Gaza was reportedly arrested on Tuesday by Saudi authorities shortly after landing in the Gulf country.

It is unclear why he was arrested but some reports said he was detained over alleged visa irregularities and dress code violations.

Fellow musicians in Uganda condemned the arrest and called for his immediate release.

"Am Free. Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to get me out of jail," Gaza posted on social media platform X, external.

Authorities in both Saudi Arabia and Uganda have not commented on the matter.

Gaza, who started his music career in 2018, gained popularity with hits like Digida, Wanika Ebango and Omwana Oyo.

Image source, Getty Images

The US will temporarily withdraw some of its troops from Chad, days after agreeing to remove all its soldiers from the neighbouring Niger.

US Pentagon Press Secretary Maj Gen Pat Ryder said on Thursday that the US plans to "reposition" some of its military forces from Chad, but did not say how many would be affected or where they would be moved to.

"This is a temporary step as part of a ongoing review of our security cooperation, which will resume after Chad's 6 May presidential election," he said.

The announcement follows Chad's air force chief ordering the US to halt activities at an airbase near the capital, N'Djamena, earlier this month, Reuters news agency reported.

Gen Ryder also said that talks with Niger's ruling military junta, the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP), began on Wednesday and are aimed at ensuring "an orderly and responsible withdrawal of US forces" from the country.

The US has relied on Niger as its primary base for monitoring regional jihadist activity.

But the ruling junta, in power since last July, ended a military agreement that allowed US personnel to be deployed in the country and kicked out French troops.

The moves are the latest in Niger's efforts to cut links with the West.

Image source, EPA

A court in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa has allowed cult leader Paul Mackenzie to meet his wife, Rhodah Mumbua, in prison under strict supervision from the authorities.

Mackenzie pleaded with the court to order the authorities at Shimo La Tewa Prisons to arrange a meeting between him, his wife and their children to discuss family matters.

Mackenzie had also requested to be transferred to a different cell.

But a magistrate summoned the officer in charge of the prison to guide the court on Mackenzie's plea to be relocated to a different cell.

Mackenzie has been charged with murder after more than 400 bodies were found buried in shallow graves in a remote forest in the coastal Kilifi county.

Survivors and victims' families have said Mackenzie urged followers to fast in order to "go see Jesus".

He and 29 others pleaded not guilty and have been behind bars for more than a year.

Mackenzie has already been charged with committing acts of terror, child cruelty and torture, all of which he has denied.

Image source, AFP

Nigeria's state-owned oil company has warned against the panic buying of petrol, saying the prices of fuel are not changing.

On Thursday, long queues returned at petrol stations in the capital, Abuja, and the neighbouring Nasarawa and Niger states over fuel scarcity.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) in a statement said the limited availability of petrol was a result of logistical problems, external.

However, the company said the challenge had been fixed.

It urged Nigerians to avoid panic buying as "there is a sufficiency of [fuel] products in the country”.

Nigeria, Africa's biggest economy and oil producer, had subsidised fuel for decades to keep pump prices affordable.

But President Bola Tinubu removed the subsidies as part of wider reforms to stabilise the economy, pushing prices to triple.