Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC News, Addis Ababa

Image source, AFP

The security forces in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, have seized the managing director of popular weekly magazine Fitih, his colleagues have told the BBC.

Temesgen Dessalegn has been critical of the government and told the BBC last Friday that he might be targeted.

He accused the government of "authoritarianism" and being "hellbent on stifling any media exposing its wrongdoings".

It comes after media rights watchdog the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said that 11 journalists and media workers had been arrested in recent days.

The BBC has unsuccessfully tried to get a response from the police in Addis Ababa about Mr Temesgen's detention.

The federal police and Addis Ababa authorities have told state-run media outlets that more than 340 individuals suspected of terrorism and other crimes have been arrested in the city in the past few weeks.

This follows the announcement that 4,500 people have recently been arrested in the region of Amhara.

The state-affiliated Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said that many of those arrests were carried out without proper court warrants.

Shingai Nyoka
BBC News, Harare

Image source, Getty Images

African ministers attending Zimbabwe’s elephant summit are expected to come up with proposals on how to manage the continent’s elephant population - the largest in the world.

Zimbabwe wants them to back the lifting of the decades-old ban on the ivory trade to deal with growing numbers of the animals.

Trade in ivory was banned in 1989 by the Convention for the International Trade of Endangered Species (Cites) after elephant populations declined as a result of poaching.

The next Cites gathering - usually held every two to three years - will be in Panama in November.

But influential countries such as South Africa are not expected to support Zimbabwe’s proposal.

They believe that there are alternatives to managing elephants without legalising ivory sales, saying that could risk more poaching.

At the summit in the resort town of Hwange, Zimbabwe argued that revenue from the hundreds of millions of dollars worth of ivory stockpiles it holds would help it manage growing numbers of elephants and support communities living around the national parks.

Zimbabwe’s information ministry says that this year alone 60 people have been killed by elephants that strayed from conservation parks in search of food and water.

Image source, af

Kenya's Deputy President William Ruto has asked President Uhuru Kenyatta for forgiveness after the pair fell out following their re-election in 2018.

The differences between President Kenyatta and his deputy have played out openly in public.

The president does not support Mr Ruto's bid for the presidency in August's elections and has instead thrown his weight behind opposition leader Raila Odinga.

Mr Ruto made his comments at an annual prayer breakfast meeting organised by parliament - with Mr Kenyatta in the audience.

The deputy president addressed the gathering, asking Kenyans for forgiveness for any of the government's shortcomings - and then went on to refer to Mr Kenyatta as his "good friend".

"I also know that serving as deputy president I may have fallen short of expectations of my boss, his excellency the president - my good friend, I ask for your forgiveness," he said.

He went on to wish the president a peaceful retirement.

Mr Kenyatta, who is finishing his second and last term this year, did not react to Mr Ruto’s comments.

The president does not have the power to sack his deputy - he can only be removed from office if he is impeached or is incapacitated.

Here is a video of the moment Mr Ruto made the remarks - tweeted by NTV Kenya:

Read more:

• Kenyatta, Ruto and Odinga: The true cost of Kenya's political love triangle
• Kenya's Deputy President Ruto campaigns for 'Hustler Nation'

Image source, Getty Images

Nigeria's police cyber-crime unit has arrested a 37-year-old man alleged to be the head of a transnational cyber-crime syndicate.

The syndicate launched mass phishing campaigns and business email compromise schemes targeting companies and individual victims, according to a statement by Interpol, external.

The Nigerian was arrested at Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos in an operation - codenamed Delilah - that spanned four continents, it said.

“I hope the results of Operation Delilah will stand as a reminder to cyber-criminals across the world that law enforcement will continue to pursue them, and that this arrest will bring comfort to victims of the suspect’s alleged campaigns,” said Nigeria's Assistant Inspector General Garba Baba Umar.

Interpol said there had been an increase in many forms of cyber-crime in recent years.

Read more:

• Why Nigeria's internet scammers are 'role models'
• 'I went to Nigeria to meet the man who scammed me'

South African police say they are on high alert following an incident in which three men accused of being drug dealers were burnt alive inside a house by a mob.

The victims were aged between 22 and 36, the police said., external

Community members followed the three men to their rented house in Ga-Mokgopha Section in North-West province and pelted it with stones, the statement said.

The men allegedly stabbed and injured some of the attackers while attempting to escape, but they were forced back to the house before it was set alight, the police said.

Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Sello Kwena termed the incident “inhumane, totally unacceptable and must be condemned”.

“No human being should be subjected by another to any kind of brutal attack irrespective of the nature of the accusation,” he said.

No-one has been arrested so far over over the matter.

A case of kidnapping, murder and arson is being investigated by the police.

The outcome of the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid could decide this year's Ballon d'Or winner, says Mali's Djimi Traore.

Image source, AFP

Tunisian President Kais Saied has announced that there will be a referendum on a new constitution on 25 July.

According to an official notice, there will be one question: Do you agree with the new constitution?

It said that the polls would open at 06:00 and close at 22:00 local time.

It comes after he named an advisory committee to draft a new constitution for a “new republic” amid opposition’s calls to reverse the move.

The country’s main political parties say they will boycott dialogue on the formation of the new constitution.

Mr Saied has pushed through a series of moves expanding his powers and dismantling elected institutions since last year, when he suspended parliament.

He announced the plan for a “new republic” earlier this month.

Samba Cyuzuzo
BBC Great Lakes

Image source, Getty Images

More than 80,000 people displaced by clashes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are in urgent need of food, the UN says.

Fighting between government soldiers and M23 rebels has intensified in recent weeks in North Kivu province.

The clashes spread south early this week to about 20km (12 miles) from Goma town, the provincial capital.

Those displaced have fled to improvised sites, churches and schools, the UN office for humanitarian affairs, Ocha, says.

Humanitarian agencies fear the worst for the refugees if the hostilities continue.

In a statement on Wednesday, the spokesperson for the province's governor said they were “faced with this very worrying situation”.

"The military governor of North Kivu province calls on the population to remain calm and vigilant and to not cede to panic," Gen Sylvain Ekenge added.

M23 rebels were reported to be in control of positions about 25km from Goma town, although Gen Ekenge said the rebels were being pushed back.

Image source, Getty Images

Eleven newborn babies have been killed in a fire in a hospital in the western Senegalese city of Tivaouane, the country’s president said late on Wednesday.

President Macky Sall said he had “learned with pain and dismay about the deaths of 11 newborn babies in the fire that occurred in the neonatal department of Mame Abdou Aziz Sy Dabakh Hospital in Tivaouane”.

“To their mothers and their families, I express my deepest sympathy,” Mr Sall said on Twitter., external

Tivaouane is around 120km (75 miles) east of the capital, Dakar.

The fire was caused by "a short circuit", local politician Diop Sy was quoted as saying.

The hospital is said to have been newly inaugurated.

Our proverb of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

Businessman Lawal Ado has paid ransoms three times and says there is no other option.

Senegal in West Africa recently introduced much tougher sentences for rape. Until 2019 it was deemed a misdemeanour rather than a serious crime and anyone convicted was often released after a few years, or even a few months. Myriam Francois meets rape survivors and both female and male campaigners to see if the new law is changing the lives of women for the better. Myriam hears how the stigma around rape has in the past prevented many women from coming forward to report sexual violence and how the police are opening new facilities to support women. She visits the country’s first Senegalese run hostel for victims of domestic violence. And she meets the pop star who caused a storm when she revealed her own experience of sexual assault.

Producer Bob Howard

(Image: Woman walking alone in St. Louise, Senegal. Credit: roripalazzo.com/Getty)

Tunisia's 2021 Basketball Africa League runners-up knock out champions Zamalek to meet Petro Atletico in the final.

Nigerians turn out in style for a star-studded concert to celebrate the continent's special day.

That's all from the BBC Africa Live team for today. There will be an automated news feed until we're back on Thursday morning, Nairobi time.

You can also keep up to date on the BBC News website, or by listening to the Africa Today podcast.

A reminder of our wise words of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this picture of a lion near a residential compound in Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park.

Image source, AFP

Image source, Getty Images

Peter Obi is the top Twitter trend in Nigeria after he pulled out of the presidential primaries race, citing what he called "recent developments" within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which made it "impossible to continue participating and making such constructive contributions".

He said he remained committed to helping Nigeria solve its "deep-seated" issues.

Mr Obi previously served as the governor of Anambra state in the south-east of the country between 2008 to 2016.

One of his main campaign promises was to improve Nigeria's economy and to make the country "productive" . He has previously linked criminality in the country to poverty.

Mr Obi is a businessman and joined the PDP in 2017.

He previously ran as the vice-presidential candidate for opposition politician Atiku Abubakar in 2019 elections.

Ghana Health Service (GHS) has refuted claims the country has recorded a first case of monkey pox in its Western Region, following initial reports suggesting it had.

The Director of Public Health at the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Franklin Asiedu Bekoe, told the BBC the circulating reports on social media about a possible outbreak in the country are false.

“We haven’t confirmed any monkey pox in Ghana” Dr Asiedu Bekoe revealed.

According to GHS, one individual reported to a medical facility in the Ahanta West Region with blisters.

Initial assessment of the case however is not suggestive of monkey pox. Health officials in the country say further investigations are underway into the case.

Meanwhile, officials say Ghana has enhanced surveillance activities regarding monkey pox following a recent outbreak of the virus in Europe, Australia and America.

BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

The US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has announced it will sell some of its patented drugs at non-profit prices to the world's poorest countries.

The non-profit price will take into account the cost to manufacture and transport each product to the port of entry.

Launching the initiative at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Pfizer said it would focus on infectious diseases, cancer, inflammation, rare illnesses and women's health.

The company's Covid vaccine and anti-viral treatment are included in the scheme.

Five African countries including Rwanda, Senegal and Uganda will be the first beneficiaries.

Developing countries experience 70% of the world's disease burden but receive only 15% of global health spending.

Ishaq Khalid
BBC News, Abuja

Gunmen have abducted two Catholic priests in the northern Nigerian state of Katsina - a region grappling with a wave of kidnappings for ransom by armed gangs.

A spokesperson for the Catholic Church, Father Chris Omotosho, told the BBC the gunmen broke into the priests’ residence in the village of Gidan Maikambu at around midnight on Tuesday.

They kidnapped the clerics together with two children.

Police say they have deployed officers to try and rescue them.

It is not clear who carried out the abductions, but kidnappings for ransom are common in the mainly Muslim north - with thousands of people seized over the past year.

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah says he will be at Anfield next season "for sure" but does not confirm if he will sign a new deal.