African football's governing body, CAF, has strongly denied that a deal with a media company for broadcast rights to several African football tournaments has broken any laws.
On Wednesday the Egyptian Competition Authority had said it had referred the CAF president Issa Hayatou to prosecutors for investigation. It said he was suspected of not opening up the tender to free and fair competition as required by Egyptian law.
CAF is based in Cairo so the authorities say it must follow their laws.
CAF said the reports were false, adding that in the letter it was sent by the competition authority there was no mention of any prosecution against Mr Hayatou.
The media company, Lagardere, is not the subject of the referral, but says the allegation is wholly unfounded.
DR Congo opposition figure in court over Kabila 'insults'
An opposition lawmaker in the Democratic Republic of Congo has appeared in court for allegedly abusing President Joseph Kabila, the AFP news agency reports.
Antoine-Gabriel Kyungu wa Kumwanza, an ally of opposition leader Moise Katumbi, was interrogated in a court in the southeastern city of Lubumbashi.
He is said to have spoken ill of Mr Kabila in a video recording which was now made public and which Mr Kyungu says does not exist.
Mr Kyungu was questioned for two hours before he was allowed to leave the court.
DR Congo has been facing a political crisis since Mr Kabila decided to run for an unconstitutional third term.
A deal that would see Mr Kabila step down at the end of of the year was brokered by the Catholic Church last week.
Jammeh 'dismisses ambassador to Senegal'
AFPCopyright: AFP
President Jahya Jammeh of The Gambia has recalled his country's ambassador to neighbouring Senegal after he featured among prominent diplomats calling for him to step down and hand over power, the Jeune Afrique newspaper reports.
The embattled outgoing head of state is said to have sent an official note to Momodou Njie in Dakar, Senegal, terminating his office as chief Gambian diplomat there.
The note sent on 27 December puts the embassy's general secretary in charge of the diplomatic mission, according to Jeune Afrique.
Last month, 11 Gambian ambassadors serving in various countries around the world called on Mr Jammeh to hand over power.
The diplomats included Mr Njie as well as the ambassadors to Beijing, London, New York, Moscow and Brussels.
Gambia's newspaper: 'LGBT lobby plotting coup'
An observer and analyst of The Gambia has tweeted a screenshot of an article in the state newspaper blaming gay community activists and an "oil and gas lobby" of planning regime change in the country.
The article also accuses neighbouring Senegal of holding "extreme positions".
Senegal has said its soldiers are on alert if President Yahya Jammeh refuses to step down at the end of his term on 18 January after he lost the presidential election to opposition candidate Adama Barrow.
The Gambian newspaper backed Mr Jammeh's move to dispute the election results in court, saying that it was in the "Supreme Court where all arguments should be made".
"We ask President Jammeh or whoever is President to give full amnesty to all parties so that we can go back to the business of nation building " it concludes.
The Gambia is hurtling towards a crisis following Mr Jammeh's refusal to accept the results of the 1 December election after initially accepting them.
Chad closes border with Libya over 'terrorism threat'
Authorities in Chad say they have closed their country's border with Libya to prevent a "terrorist" infiltration, AFP reports.
In a broadcast on national radio and television, Chadian Prime Minister Albert Pahimi Padacket said:
Quote Message: In the face of perils which are threatening, the integrity of our territory, the government decided to close the border with Libya."
In the face of perils which are threatening, the integrity of our territory, the government decided to close the border with Libya."
Prime Minister Padacket said the border areas have also been declared "military zones".
He says armed groups that have lost ground fighting in Libya might be tempted to fall back into the vast sparsely populated territories, putting safety and security of population at risk.
However AFP suggests the government might be planning to take on a rebel movement called Fax ("Front pour l'alternance et la concorde au Tchad" in French), a splinter group from an earlier and now defunct rebel movement, which announced last April that it has established a stronghold at the border with Libya.
Digital currency to launch in west Africa
Senegal is to begin using a digital currency later this year that, if successful, will be rolled out across much of French-speaking west Africa, Quartz reports.
The new currency - known as the eCFA - is designed to operate alongside the West African Franc (CFA), which is the currency of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), covering Senegal, Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger and Togo.
The eCFA is being developed by the firm eCurrency and the Banque Regional de Marches (BRM). It will be equal in value to the physical money and will be accepted by all existing payment platforms, such as MPesa.
Its backers say the digital currency will help millions of people who do not have access to basic banking services.
The digital currency also uses high security cryptographic protocols to ensure that it cannot be counterfeited or compromised, they said in a statement.
BRM CEO Alioune Camara said:
Quote Message: We are committed to bringing digital financial services and true financial inclusion to West Africa. An eCFA backed by our banking system and the central bank is the safest and most secure way to enable the digital economy. We can now facilitate full interoperability between all e-money payment systems. This is a great leap forward for Africa.”
We are committed to bringing digital financial services and true financial inclusion to West Africa. An eCFA backed by our banking system and the central bank is the safest and most secure way to enable the digital economy. We can now facilitate full interoperability between all e-money payment systems. This is a great leap forward for Africa.”
Headlines from outside Africa
BBC Newsline
Two people have been killed by a car bomb at a Turkish court house; police have shot dead two militants thought to have carried out the attack.
The Iraqi government has launched a new offensive against the Islamic State group in a desert area west of Baghdad.
Top US intelligence officials are testifying to senators about alleged Russian interference in the presidential election.
Police in Austria are hunting for several men in connection with sexual assaults on women during New Year's Eve celebrations in the city of Innsbruck.
Chibok girl 'found during investigation into arrested suspects'
AFPCopyright: AFP
Nigerian troops found one of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls during an investigation into arrested suspected Boko Haram militants, the military said in a statement.
The army said it had identified the girl and her parents in Chibok and said she had been rescued along with her six-month-old baby.
She told the army she had been a secondary school pupil before her abduction along with her classmates on 14 April 2014 by Boko Haram.
Ms Abubakar was undergoing medical examination and would then be handed over to Borno state authorities, the army said.
A total of 276 girls were abducted by Boko Haram. Twenty-one were released in October last year but most are still missing.
The Nigerian army has confirmed that another of the missing Chibok schoolgirls has been found.
The Sahara Reporters news organisation reported earlier that the girl and her baby were rescued by troops near Ajigin in northeastern Nigeria.
See earlier post for more details.
Mahama gives farewell address
Thomas Naadi
BBC Africa, Accra
AFPCopyright: AFP
Ghana’s President John Mahama has delivered his final state of the nation address ahead of the inauguration of the President-elect Nana Akufo-Addo on Saturday.
Mr Mahama outlined his achievements over the past four years in office.
He said his government had made significant improvements in the areas of education, infrastructure, the economy and the power sector, among others.
He said that Ghana's economy is still the second largest in West Africa with a GDP of almost $39bn (£31bn).
"Ghana has moved up 13 places in the ease of doing businesses index and is currently considered number one in the World Bank index for West Africa," he said.
Mr Mahama also said that history would be the judge of how he had served the country.
He added that political differences should not divide the country and urged Ghanaians to support the new president.
Liberians fear return of war
AFPCopyright: AFP
Half of Liberians fear the country could return to its violent past according to a poll, the Reuters news agency reports.
Liberians blame systemic corruption in the public sector, disputes over land ownership and high rates of youth unemployment as the main causes that could lead to war in the western African nation.
The poll was conducted by the Catholic Relief Services (CRS).
"Liberians are telling the world that the causes of the long civil wars are still there and they have genuine fears of their country returning to violence," Jennifer Overton from the organisation said.
The country is still recovering from two brutal civil wars that spanned 14 years before ending in 2003 and an Ebola outbreak which killed some 4,800 people between 2014 and 2016, the report says.
Liberians go to the polls in October to elect a new president to replace Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa's first elected female head of state, in what would be the first democratic transfer of power since the 1970s.
More than 80% of respondents said they felt that victims of wartime violence were not getting justice through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was set up in 2005 to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity, the report added.
The 'statue of shame'
Schools in Tanzania that perform less well than their neighbours are to be given a "statue of shame" to remind them of their poor results. The headteacher will have to put it on their desk.
Those that do well will be awarded a gold cup. But authorities also want to give a reminder to the less well performing schools that they need to work harder. And that comes in the shape of a statue made out of wood.
The Sahara Reporters news organisation is reporting that one of the Chibok girls kidnapped by Boko Haram militants has been rescued by troops.
The girl and her baby were rescued near Ajigin in northeastern Nigeria, Sahara Reporters said quoting a government source.
The 276 girls were abducted in 2014. Twenty-one were freed in October last year but the majority remain in captivity.
GoogleCopyright: Google
'Teenage suicide bombers' shot dead
GoogleCopyright: Google
Three teenage girls suspected of planning a triple suicide bomb attack in a town frequently targeted by Boko Haram have been shot dead, a local government official says.
Civilian vigilantes opened fire on the trio near the town of Madagali when they refused to stop for a security check, the town council's chairman, Yusuf Muhammad, told AFP news agency.
"Explosives strapped to two of the girls exploded from the impact of the shooting, while those on the third girl were defused by soldiers," he added.
Boko Haram Islamists have regularly used young women and girls as young as seven as human bombs. The children are unlikely to have been aware of their actions, experts say.
Last month at least 45 people were killed in twin suicide attacks in Madagali.
Nigeria's military says it has driven Boko Haram out of its last stronghold in the Sambisa forest in northeastern Nigeria.
Uganda’s Revenue body has defended its decision to reward civil servants with over $1.6m (£1.3m) for their work on a court case the Ugandan government won against UK firm Heritage Oil Company.
The Revenue Authority says the civil servants deserved an appreciation for the unprecedented win for the country and said this was "standard international best practice".
The payout, which was code-named “a presidential handshake”, went to 42 officials for their role in a capital gains tax dispute, in which the Ugandan government was awarded a total of $700m.
It was initiated by head of the tax collection body, Doris Akol, in a May 2015 letter to President Museveni.
The tax collection body says that the reward was less than 1% of the money won in the case, and all relevant approvals were sought before payments were made.
The list of civil servants who benefited, published by the independent Daily Monitor newspaper, includes Ms Akol herself, her predecessor Allen Kagina who now runs the National Roads Authority, the former Attorney General, the former Secretary to the Treasury, and the head of Kampala Capital City Authority, Jennifer Musisi, who headed the tax body’s legal department at the time.
In 2010, Heritage Oil sold its interest in Uganda to Tullow Oil at over $1.5bn, and the Ugandan government decided to impose a capital gains tax on the sale. But the oil firms refused to pay and the drawn-out dispute went on to the UK court of arbitration, where it was concluded in 2015.
Local media have reported that the Secretary to the Treasury at the Ministry of Finance had reservations about the payout, but was told it could be post-audited.
The Auditor General told a parliamentary committee that the honorarium would be audited.
Premier League Players going to AFCON 2017
Stanley Kwenda
BBC Africa
Sixteen countries participating in the Africa Cup of Nations submitted their final 23-man squads for the tournament yesterday evening.
Among the squads for the tournament that kicks off on 14 January are 23 English Premier League based players.
Champions Leicester City, Sunderland and Stoke City will be the hardest hit. Three players from each of the clubs are heading to Gabon.
Leicester City will lose Ghana's Daniel Amartey and Algerian pair Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani. The three have been a permanent feature in the Foxes' Premier League and Champions league campaign.
Sunderland, who are in the middle of a relegation fight, will lose midfielders Didier N'Dong of Gabon, Wahbi Khazri of Tunisia and Ivorian defensive rock Lamine Koné.
All three featured in the Black Cats' last win against Watford in December.
For its part, Stoke City will have to endure a month without Senegal's Mame Biram Diouf, Wilfried Bony of Ivory Coast and Egypt's Ramadan Sobhi.
West Ham, Crystal Palace, Watford, Hull City will all lose two players while Bournemouth, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United, Southampton and Arsenal will each lose a single player.
Seven teams - Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester City, Middlesbrough, Swansea City, Burnley and West Bromwich have no players going to the Africa Cup of Nations finals.
Some of these teams have Nigeria to thank. The 2015 AFCON champions failed to qualify this time around, meaning Chelsea won't lose Victor Moses and John Obi Mikel, while Manchester City's campaign will not be affected by the absence of Kelechi Iheanacho.
Watford could still look to Isaac Success and Odion Ighalo's fire power. Sunderland will be thankful to have Victor Anichebe around.
For Leicester City's Ahmed Musa, it's a case of finally having a chance to get more game time in the absence of Mahrez and Slimani who have kept him on the sidelines.
Arsene Wenger's Arsenal will also be happy to keep Nigerian international Alex Iwobi as an option.
Full List of the Premier League players going to AFCON by team and country:
Leicester City
Riyad Mahrez (Algeria)
Islam Slimani (Algeria)
Daniel Amartey (Ghana)
Sunderland
Didier N'Dong (Gabon)
Wahbi Khazri (Tunisia)
Lamine Koné (Ivory Coast)
Stoke City
Mame Biram Diouf (Senegal)
Wilfried Bony (Ivory Coast)
Ramadan Sobhi (Egypt)
West Ham
Cheikhou Kouyaté (Senegal)
André Ayew (Ghana)
Crystal Palace
Bakary Sako (Mali)
Wilfried Zaha (Ivory Coast)
Watford
Adlène Guedioura (Algeria)
Nordin Amrabat (Morocco)
Hull City
Dieumerci Mbokani (DR Congo)
Ahmed El Mohamady (Egypt)
Bournemouth
Max Gradel (Ivory Coast)
Everton
Idrissa Gana Gueye (Senegal)
Liverpool
Sadio Mané (Senegal)
Manchester United
Eric Bailly (Ivory Coast)
Southampton
Sofiane Boufal (Morocco)
Arsenal
Mohamed Elneny (Egypt)
Zimbabwe street food vendors unaware of ban
Street food vendors in Zimbabwe's capital Harare are continuing with their business despite a government order banning them from selling their wares in an effort to rein in a typhoid outbreak (see earlier report).
The BBC's Shingai Nyoka says that most vendors are unaware of the ban.
She snapped these photos of traders on the streets of Harare:
BBCCopyright: BBC
BBCCopyright: BBC
Confusion over Gabon Afcon visas
Some journalists hoping to cover the African Cup of Nations (Afcon) later this month say they are baffled by the process of applying for a visa to host country Gabon:
But British-Nigerian sports journalist Osasu Obayiuwana said the Gabonese authorities had instructed their embassies not to charge journalists for Afcon visas.
He tweeted what appeared to be an official letter from Gabon's foreign ministry to that effect:
Zimbabwe bans street food vendors over typhoid fears
Shingai Nyoka
BBC Africa, Harare
AFPCopyright: AFP
Zimbabwe authorities have banned food vendors in the capital Harare following an outbreak of typhoid fever.
The health minister David Parirenyatwa says two people including a 13-year-old girl died from the disease over the last month. Hundreds more have been infected.
Typhoid bacteria is spread when food or water containing contaminated fecal matter is consumed.
Authorities have set up a treatment camp to deal with the rising cases of the highly contagious typhoid fever in the capital.
Health minister David Parirenyatwa says Harare accounts for three quarters of cases in the country.
A joint ministerial taskforce set up to prevent the spread of the disease has announced a prohibition on cooked and dry food vending.
The ban will affect hundreds of vendors who earn a living selling fruits and vegetables on streets.
I spoke to three vendors about the ban's impact on their businesses:
Quote Message: A ban is bad even though we ackonwledge that the food is causing typhoid. But authorities should provide more hygienic places for us to sell from."
A ban is bad even though we ackonwledge that the food is causing typhoid. But authorities should provide more hygienic places for us to sell from."
Quote Message: There is no other option for us other than selling food. There are too many vendors selling non-food itesm. Money is hard to come by these days and we see selling as the only way to get it."
There is no other option for us other than selling food. There are too many vendors selling non-food itesm. Money is hard to come by these days and we see selling as the only way to get it."
Quote Message: A blanket ban is wrong. They should determine which foods typhoid thive in and ban those."
A blanket ban is wrong. They should determine which foods typhoid thive in and ban those."
The city is also mounting a campaign to get clear rubbish because typhoid is also caused by poor sanitation.
Harare is facing a shortage of piped water, which is forcing some residents to draw water from unsafe sources.
The onset of the rainy season has only worsened the outbreak. The health minister says he fears an outbreak of cholera if measures are taken to stem the outbreak of diarrheal diseases.
In 2009 more than 4,000 people died and 100,000 were infected by a cholera outbreak in the country.
Live Reporting
Tom Spender and Dickens Olewe
All times stated are UK
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- The Iraqi government has launched a new offensive against the Islamic State group in a desert area west of Baghdad.
- Top US intelligence officials are testifying to senators about alleged Russian interference in the presidential election.
- Police in Austria are hunting for several men in connection with sexual assaults on women during New Year's Eve celebrations in the city of Innsbruck.
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That's all from the BBC Africa Live page today. Keep up-to-date with what's happening across the continent by listening to the Africa Today podcast or checking the BBC News website.
A reminder of today's wise words:
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And we leave you with this photo of an alleyway in the streets of Morocco's largest city Casablanca.
CAF denies Hayatou allegations
African football's governing body, CAF, has strongly denied that a deal with a media company for broadcast rights to several African football tournaments has broken any laws.
On Wednesday the Egyptian Competition Authority had said it had referred the CAF president Issa Hayatou to prosecutors for investigation. It said he was suspected of not opening up the tender to free and fair competition as required by Egyptian law.
CAF is based in Cairo so the authorities say it must follow their laws.
CAF said the reports were false, adding that in the letter it was sent by the competition authority there was no mention of any prosecution against Mr Hayatou.
The media company, Lagardere, is not the subject of the referral, but says the allegation is wholly unfounded.
DR Congo opposition figure in court over Kabila 'insults'
An opposition lawmaker in the Democratic Republic of Congo has appeared in court for allegedly abusing President Joseph Kabila, the AFP news agency reports.
Antoine-Gabriel Kyungu wa Kumwanza, an ally of opposition leader Moise Katumbi, was interrogated in a court in the southeastern city of Lubumbashi.
He is said to have spoken ill of Mr Kabila in a video recording which was now made public and which Mr Kyungu says does not exist.
Mr Kyungu was questioned for two hours before he was allowed to leave the court.
DR Congo has been facing a political crisis since Mr Kabila decided to run for an unconstitutional third term.
A deal that would see Mr Kabila step down at the end of of the year was brokered by the Catholic Church last week.
Jammeh 'dismisses ambassador to Senegal'
President Jahya Jammeh of The Gambia has recalled his country's ambassador to neighbouring Senegal after he featured among prominent diplomats calling for him to step down and hand over power, the Jeune Afrique newspaper reports.
The embattled outgoing head of state is said to have sent an official note to Momodou Njie in Dakar, Senegal, terminating his office as chief Gambian diplomat there.
The note sent on 27 December puts the embassy's general secretary in charge of the diplomatic mission, according to Jeune Afrique.
Last month, 11 Gambian ambassadors serving in various countries around the world called on Mr Jammeh to hand over power.
The diplomats included Mr Njie as well as the ambassadors to Beijing, London, New York, Moscow and Brussels.
Gambia's newspaper: 'LGBT lobby plotting coup'
An observer and analyst of The Gambia has tweeted a screenshot of an article in the state newspaper blaming gay community activists and an "oil and gas lobby" of planning regime change in the country.
The article also accuses neighbouring Senegal of holding "extreme positions".
Senegal has said its soldiers are on alert if President Yahya Jammeh refuses to step down at the end of his term on 18 January after he lost the presidential election to opposition candidate Adama Barrow.
The Gambian newspaper backed Mr Jammeh's move to dispute the election results in court, saying that it was in the "Supreme Court where all arguments should be made".
"We ask President Jammeh or whoever is President to give full amnesty to all parties so that we can go back to the business of nation building " it concludes.
The Gambia is hurtling towards a crisis following Mr Jammeh's refusal to accept the results of the 1 December election after initially accepting them.
Chad closes border with Libya over 'terrorism threat'
Authorities in Chad say they have closed their country's border with Libya to prevent a "terrorist" infiltration, AFP reports.
In a broadcast on national radio and television, Chadian Prime Minister Albert Pahimi Padacket said:
Prime Minister Padacket said the border areas have also been declared "military zones".
He says armed groups that have lost ground fighting in Libya might be tempted to fall back into the vast sparsely populated territories, putting safety and security of population at risk.
However AFP suggests the government might be planning to take on a rebel movement called Fax ("Front pour l'alternance et la concorde au Tchad" in French), a splinter group from an earlier and now defunct rebel movement, which announced last April that it has established a stronghold at the border with Libya.
Digital currency to launch in west Africa
Senegal is to begin using a digital currency later this year that, if successful, will be rolled out across much of French-speaking west Africa, Quartz reports.
The new currency - known as the eCFA - is designed to operate alongside the West African Franc (CFA), which is the currency of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), covering Senegal, Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger and Togo.
The eCFA is being developed by the firm eCurrency and the Banque Regional de Marches (BRM). It will be equal in value to the physical money and will be accepted by all existing payment platforms, such as MPesa.
Its backers say the digital currency will help millions of people who do not have access to basic banking services.
The digital currency also uses high security cryptographic protocols to ensure that it cannot be counterfeited or compromised, they said in a statement.
BRM CEO Alioune Camara said:
Headlines from outside Africa
BBC Newsline
Chibok girl 'found during investigation into arrested suspects'
Nigerian troops found one of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls during an investigation into arrested suspected Boko Haram militants, the military said in a statement.
The army said it had identified the girl and her parents in Chibok and said she had been rescued along with her six-month-old baby.
She told the army she had been a secondary school pupil before her abduction along with her classmates on 14 April 2014 by Boko Haram.
Ms Abubakar was undergoing medical examination and would then be handed over to Borno state authorities, the army said.
A total of 276 girls were abducted by Boko Haram. Twenty-one were released in October last year but most are still missing.
Read more: What we know about the missing girls
BreakingNigeria military confirms Chibok girl found
The Nigerian army has confirmed that another of the missing Chibok schoolgirls has been found.
The Sahara Reporters news organisation reported earlier that the girl and her baby were rescued by troops near Ajigin in northeastern Nigeria.
See earlier post for more details.
Mahama gives farewell address
Thomas Naadi
BBC Africa, Accra
Ghana’s President John Mahama has delivered his final state of the nation address ahead of the inauguration of the President-elect Nana Akufo-Addo on Saturday.
Mr Mahama outlined his achievements over the past four years in office.
He said his government had made significant improvements in the areas of education, infrastructure, the economy and the power sector, among others.
He said that Ghana's economy is still the second largest in West Africa with a GDP of almost $39bn (£31bn).
"Ghana has moved up 13 places in the ease of doing businesses index and is currently considered number one in the World Bank index for West Africa," he said.
Mr Mahama also said that history would be the judge of how he had served the country.
He added that political differences should not divide the country and urged Ghanaians to support the new president.
Liberians fear return of war
Half of Liberians fear the country could return to its violent past according to a poll, the Reuters news agency reports.
Liberians blame systemic corruption in the public sector, disputes over land ownership and high rates of youth unemployment as the main causes that could lead to war in the western African nation.
The poll was conducted by the Catholic Relief Services (CRS).
"Liberians are telling the world that the causes of the long civil wars are still there and they have genuine fears of their country returning to violence," Jennifer Overton from the organisation said.
The country is still recovering from two brutal civil wars that spanned 14 years before ending in 2003 and an Ebola outbreak which killed some 4,800 people between 2014 and 2016, the report says.
Liberians go to the polls in October to elect a new president to replace Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa's first elected female head of state, in what would be the first democratic transfer of power since the 1970s.
More than 80% of respondents said they felt that victims of wartime violence were not getting justice through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was set up in 2005 to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity, the report added.
The 'statue of shame'
Schools in Tanzania that perform less well than their neighbours are to be given a "statue of shame" to remind them of their poor results. The headteacher will have to put it on their desk.
Those that do well will be awarded a gold cup. But authorities also want to give a reminder to the less well performing schools that they need to work harder. And that comes in the shape of a statue made out of wood.
The BBC's Aboubakar Famau explains:
Chibok girl 'rescued' - report
The Sahara Reporters news organisation is reporting that one of the Chibok girls kidnapped by Boko Haram militants has been rescued by troops.
The girl and her baby were rescued near Ajigin in northeastern Nigeria, Sahara Reporters said quoting a government source.
The 276 girls were abducted in 2014. Twenty-one were freed in October last year but the majority remain in captivity.
'Teenage suicide bombers' shot dead
Three teenage girls suspected of planning a triple suicide bomb attack in a town frequently targeted by Boko Haram have been shot dead, a local government official says.
Civilian vigilantes opened fire on the trio near the town of Madagali when they refused to stop for a security check, the town council's chairman, Yusuf Muhammad, told AFP news agency.
"Explosives strapped to two of the girls exploded from the impact of the shooting, while those on the third girl were defused by soldiers," he added.
Boko Haram Islamists have regularly used young women and girls as young as seven as human bombs. The children are unlikely to have been aware of their actions, experts say.
Last month at least 45 people were killed in twin suicide attacks in Madagali.
Nigeria's military says it has driven Boko Haram out of its last stronghold in the Sambisa forest in northeastern Nigeria.
Read more: Who are Boko Haram?
Ugandan payout raises eyebrows
Patience Atuhaire
BBC Africa, Kampala
Uganda’s Revenue body has defended its decision to reward civil servants with over $1.6m (£1.3m) for their work on a court case the Ugandan government won against UK firm Heritage Oil Company.
The Revenue Authority says the civil servants deserved an appreciation for the unprecedented win for the country and said this was "standard international best practice".
The payout, which was code-named “a presidential handshake”, went to 42 officials for their role in a capital gains tax dispute, in which the Ugandan government was awarded a total of $700m.
It was initiated by head of the tax collection body, Doris Akol, in a May 2015 letter to President Museveni.
The tax collection body says that the reward was less than 1% of the money won in the case, and all relevant approvals were sought before payments were made.
The list of civil servants who benefited, published by the independent Daily Monitor newspaper, includes Ms Akol herself, her predecessor Allen Kagina who now runs the National Roads Authority, the former Attorney General, the former Secretary to the Treasury, and the head of Kampala Capital City Authority, Jennifer Musisi, who headed the tax body’s legal department at the time.
In 2010, Heritage Oil sold its interest in Uganda to Tullow Oil at over $1.5bn, and the Ugandan government decided to impose a capital gains tax on the sale. But the oil firms refused to pay and the drawn-out dispute went on to the UK court of arbitration, where it was concluded in 2015.
Local media have reported that the Secretary to the Treasury at the Ministry of Finance had reservations about the payout, but was told it could be post-audited.
The Auditor General told a parliamentary committee that the honorarium would be audited.
Premier League Players going to AFCON 2017
Stanley Kwenda
BBC Africa
Sixteen countries participating in the Africa Cup of Nations submitted their final 23-man squads for the tournament yesterday evening.
Among the squads for the tournament that kicks off on 14 January are 23 English Premier League based players.
Champions Leicester City, Sunderland and Stoke City will be the hardest hit. Three players from each of the clubs are heading to Gabon.
Leicester City will lose Ghana's Daniel Amartey and Algerian pair Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani. The three have been a permanent feature in the Foxes' Premier League and Champions league campaign.
Sunderland, who are in the middle of a relegation fight, will lose midfielders Didier N'Dong of Gabon, Wahbi Khazri of Tunisia and Ivorian defensive rock Lamine Koné.
All three featured in the Black Cats' last win against Watford in December.
For its part, Stoke City will have to endure a month without Senegal's Mame Biram Diouf, Wilfried Bony of Ivory Coast and Egypt's Ramadan Sobhi.
West Ham, Crystal Palace, Watford, Hull City will all lose two players while Bournemouth, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United, Southampton and Arsenal will each lose a single player.
Seven teams - Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester City, Middlesbrough, Swansea City, Burnley and West Bromwich have no players going to the Africa Cup of Nations finals.
Some of these teams have Nigeria to thank. The 2015 AFCON champions failed to qualify this time around, meaning Chelsea won't lose Victor Moses and John Obi Mikel, while Manchester City's campaign will not be affected by the absence of Kelechi Iheanacho.
Watford could still look to Isaac Success and Odion Ighalo's fire power. Sunderland will be thankful to have Victor Anichebe around.
For Leicester City's Ahmed Musa, it's a case of finally having a chance to get more game time in the absence of Mahrez and Slimani who have kept him on the sidelines.
Arsene Wenger's Arsenal will also be happy to keep Nigerian international Alex Iwobi as an option.
Full List of the Premier League players going to AFCON by team and country:
Leicester City
Riyad Mahrez (Algeria)
Islam Slimani (Algeria)
Daniel Amartey (Ghana)
Sunderland
Didier N'Dong (Gabon)
Wahbi Khazri (Tunisia)
Lamine Koné (Ivory Coast)
Stoke City
Mame Biram Diouf (Senegal)
Wilfried Bony (Ivory Coast)
Ramadan Sobhi (Egypt)
West Ham
Cheikhou Kouyaté (Senegal)
André Ayew (Ghana)
Crystal Palace
Bakary Sako (Mali)
Wilfried Zaha (Ivory Coast)
Watford
Adlène Guedioura (Algeria)
Nordin Amrabat (Morocco)
Hull City
Dieumerci Mbokani (DR Congo)
Ahmed El Mohamady (Egypt)
Bournemouth
Max Gradel (Ivory Coast)
Everton
Idrissa Gana Gueye (Senegal)
Liverpool
Sadio Mané (Senegal)
Manchester United
Eric Bailly (Ivory Coast)
Southampton
Sofiane Boufal (Morocco)
Arsenal
Mohamed Elneny (Egypt)
Zimbabwe street food vendors unaware of ban
Street food vendors in Zimbabwe's capital Harare are continuing with their business despite a government order banning them from selling their wares in an effort to rein in a typhoid outbreak (see earlier report).
The BBC's Shingai Nyoka says that most vendors are unaware of the ban.
She snapped these photos of traders on the streets of Harare:
Confusion over Gabon Afcon visas
Some journalists hoping to cover the African Cup of Nations (Afcon) later this month say they are baffled by the process of applying for a visa to host country Gabon:
There is also confusion over whether journalists need to pay a fee for the visa.
Kenyan journalist Collins Okinyo said he had paid $200 for the visa, which he and others said was expensive:
But British-Nigerian sports journalist Osasu Obayiuwana said the Gabonese authorities had instructed their embassies not to charge journalists for Afcon visas.
He tweeted what appeared to be an official letter from Gabon's foreign ministry to that effect:
Zimbabwe bans street food vendors over typhoid fears
Shingai Nyoka
BBC Africa, Harare
Zimbabwe authorities have banned food vendors in the capital Harare following an outbreak of typhoid fever.
The health minister David Parirenyatwa says two people including a 13-year-old girl died from the disease over the last month. Hundreds more have been infected.
Typhoid bacteria is spread when food or water containing contaminated fecal matter is consumed.
Authorities have set up a treatment camp to deal with the rising cases of the highly contagious typhoid fever in the capital.
Health minister David Parirenyatwa says Harare accounts for three quarters of cases in the country.
A joint ministerial taskforce set up to prevent the spread of the disease has announced a prohibition on cooked and dry food vending.
The ban will affect hundreds of vendors who earn a living selling fruits and vegetables on streets.
I spoke to three vendors about the ban's impact on their businesses:
The city is also mounting a campaign to get clear rubbish because typhoid is also caused by poor sanitation.
Harare is facing a shortage of piped water, which is forcing some residents to draw water from unsafe sources.
The onset of the rainy season has only worsened the outbreak. The health minister says he fears an outbreak of cholera if measures are taken to stem the outbreak of diarrheal diseases.
In 2009 more than 4,000 people died and 100,000 were infected by a cholera outbreak in the country.