Africa highlights: Guinea bans 'skimpy bikini' pageants, Ethiopia dam 'threatens' Kenyans

BBCCopyright: BBC

A powerful cyclone is set to slam into the southern coast of Mozambique in the early hours of Thursday.

It will be the first cyclone to hit this part of Mozambique for 10 years.

There is a risk of up to 400mm of rain within two days. 

As the area has already received above average rainfall over the last few months this cyclone could lead to some significant flooding.

Find the latest forecast on BBC Weather.

On Valentine's Day, Somalia-born model Iman has tweeted about her late husband, music star David Bowie who died in January 2016 after a long battle with cancer:  

The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has told her Tunisian counterpart, Youssef Chahed, that she wants to speed up the repatriation of failed asylum seekers.

Speaking after talks in Berlin, Mrs Merkel said the current rate of returns wasn't fast enough.

 She warned that if people didn't go back to Tunisia of their own accord, then they'd be forced to go. 

The issue has taken on greater urgency since December's deadly attack on a Christmas market in Berlin by a Tunisian jihadist whose asylum claim had been rejected. 

AFPCopyright: AFP

Guinea's government has temporarily banned beauty pageants after the skimpy outfits in the swimwear section caused outrage, reports BBC Afrique. 

The competitors paraded in front of the Prime Minister Mamady Youla in bikinis on Saturday, attracting severe criticism on social media.

This tweeter said the competition was "a shame" to Guinean culture:

One publication, Flash Guinee, asked in its headline if the prime minister was encouraging prostitution.

The ban is until a new code of ethics has been drawn up, Culture Minister Siaka Barry said.

He said a committee has been set up to come up with that code.

He added that the government has ended its contract with the organisers of the beauty pageant.  

AFPCopyright: AFP

Drought in East Africa has led to a sharp increase in the price of staple foods, raising fears that hunger will worsen, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has said, Reuters news agency reports. 

The cost of staple cereals have doubled in some markets, reaching record and near-record levels in parts of Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania, the FAO added.

In South Sudan, food prices were between two and four times higher than a year ago while in Kenya prices of maize were up by about a third, FAO said. 

In Somalia, maize and sorghum harvests were estimated to be 75% lower than usual and more than half of the country's population, mostly in rural areas, was facing hunger, the UN agency said. 

Somalia's government has reacted angrily to an agreement between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the breakaway republic of Somaliland to station a military base there.

The auditor general in Mogadishu, Nur Farah Jimaale, said his government would submit an official complaint against the UAE for "breaking international laws". 

Under the agreement a military base was to be built at the port in Berbera. 

The UAE already has facilities at the Eritrean port of Assab. 

Somaliland is a self-declared state that is internationally recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia.   

Correction 3 March 2017: This entry has been amended to remove reference to the UAE having a military base in Assab.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

At least 350,000 trees have been illegally felled inside protected areas in Madagascar over the last five years, according to a report by environment organisation Traffic.

The organisation adds that in that period at least 150,000 tonnes of logs illegally were exported, including to China, Malaysia and Mauritius.

The report says one of the reasons the illegal logging is carrying on is because of a failure to impose punitive penalties on well-known traffickers.

Madagascar is home to rosewood and ebony, which are in high demand, particularly in Asia, because of their attractive appearance, the Traffic report says.

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

Doctors at private hospitals in Kenya will begin a 48-hour strike at midnight local time to show solidarity with doctors on strike in the state health sector, the Kenya Medical Association (KMA) has said. 

The decision comes after a court yesterday sentenced of seven union officials to one month in prison for being in contempt of a ruling to end the strike which has badly affected state hospitals.

Doctors plan to protest at courts around the country, and if the seven are not released within 48 hours the KMA will issue further instructions to its members, KMA head Jacqueline Kitulu said. 

The government says patients have died as a result of the strike, which has lasted for around 10 weeks, and has called on doctors to return to work. 

However, the doctors have vowed to continue with the strike until the government implements a deal reached in 2013 to increase basic salaries by 150% to 180%, review working conditions and address under-staffing in state hospitals.

Muhammadu Buhari has not been seen in public recently and the Nigerian rumour mill is in overdrive, as the BBC's Martin Patience explains.  

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

The technology news site Tech Crunch reports a new money transfer company in Nigeria is using chat bots to make payments through Facebook messenger. 

The invention, called Kudi, is still in its early days, with $15,000 (£12,000) worth of transactions having gone through, Tech Crunch reports.     

Pelumi Aboluwarin, co-founder of Kudi, told Tech Crunch that he chose to use Facebook messenger because "consumers are tired of installing and figuring out new apps".

Kudi is part of Facebook's Free Basics which means it doesn’t cost any data to use, Tech Crunch adds.

The massive change in how consumers make payments started in Kenya with Mpesa mobile money about a decade ago. 

The article goes on to say that in Nigeria there are plenty of other companies now trying to make money transfer smoother, including Paga and KongaPay.

Read about more African inventions we're likely to see more of in 2017 on the BBC News website.

 A huge newly-built Ethiopian dam is cutting off the supply of water to Lake Turkana in northern Kenya, threatening the livelihoods of some 500,000 people in both countries, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).

The rights group released these satellite images showing the increase in water near the dam, and the receding coastline of Lake Turkana:

Human Rights WatchCopyright: Human Rights Watch

The Gibe III dam, along with a network of sugar plantations, has caused the depth of Lake Turkana to drop by 1.5m (4.9ft) from its previous levels since the dam's reservoir began filling in 2015, according to the HRW. 

In one part - Ferguson Gulf - the satellite images show the lake has receded by 1.7km (1.06 miles).

Fishermen on the lake told the BBC's Nancy Kacungira last month that they no longer haul in as much as they used to - one told her the decrease was significant:

"I used to go fishing twice a day, now I go once a day." he said.  

The dam is expected to double the electricity output of Ethiopia, AFP adds.  

Built at a cost of $1.6bn (£1.28bn), Gibe III is is expected to double the electricity output of Ethiopia.

HRW said the government's move to "develop its resources should not endanger the survival of indigenous people living downstream". 

"The predicted drop in the lake levels will seriously affect food supplies in [Ethiopia's] Omo Valley and Lake Turkana, which provide the livelihoods for half a million people in both Kenya and Ethiopia," it added.  

We reported earlier that a Kenyan couple who spent just $1 (£0.80) on their wedding, have now got married in a lavish ceremony funded by well-wishers at a cost of $35,000. 

We now have some pictures of the second ceremony with the full white wedding dress:

Aaltonen JumbaCopyright: Aaltonen Jumba

In January Wilson and Ann Mutura opted to have a low-key wedding ceremony in Nairobi without cakes, flowers or decorations and were widely praised for their frugal wedding.

But the new photos show that this time they have had all the trimmings, including a wedding car:

Aaltonen JumbaCopyright: Aaltonen Jumba

Read more about the original $1 wedding. 

AFPCopyright: AFP

On the fourth anniversary of Reeva Steenkamp being shot dead by her boyfriend Oscar Pistorius, her cousin has talked to News 24 news site. 

“It has been four years, but it feels like yesterday for [her parents] June and Barry. You never get over something like this,” her cousin Kim Martin told News 24. 

The South African site adds that the murdered model's friends and family are commemorating her death in a private ceremony in the coastal town Port Elizabeth where they are believed to be scattering rose petals on the beach where her ashes were sprinkled.

Read more: Reeva Steenkamp, my friend, shot by Oscar Pistorius

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

The conversation between US President Donald Trump and his Nigerian counterpart Muhammadu Buhari on Monday included the resolve to work out a new weapons deal to help Nigeria in fighting terror.

With the new US administration the Nigerian government has a chance to push its counter-terrorism agenda afresh. 

Its military campaign against Boko Haram Islamist militants has been gravely affected by US restrictions.

The US has sent military advisers and other support, but under the Leahy Law it has not been able to sell arms because of alleged human rights violations carried out by Nigerian troops, although it was not a blanket ban on all equipment sales. 

This law also prohibited other countries to sell weapon to Nigeria because of their existing agreements with the US.

Often nations did not know the ban was in place and arranged deals with Nigeria before being thwarted at the last minute. 

In one case, the US blocked Israel from selling retired American-made attack helicopters to Nigeria. 

Nigeria, in turn, blamed the US for some of its failures in fighting Boko Haram and was forced to look elsewhere, including Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, for support in providing training and some equipment.

To strike a new deal with Nigeria, Washington now has the choice of looking for a way to circumvent the Leahy Law or reassessing the Nigerian military’s human rights record to allow for the resumption of weapons sales. 

Malawi's The Times newspaper is reporting that a fire has raged through the offices of the Minister of Agriculture, George Chaponda, in the capital, Lilongwe. 

It has published a photo of the fire on its website:  

Malawi TimesCopyright: Malawi Times

Workers fled the building while firemen arrived to extinguish the blaze, the newspaper reports. 

The cause of the fire is still unclear. 

The Gambia's government has written to UN chief Antonio Guterres, notifying him that it has rescinded the decision of the former regime to withdraw from the International Criminal Court. 

In a statement, it said: 

Quote Message: As a new government that has committed itself to the promotion of human rights, democracy, good governance and respect for the rule of law, we reaffirm The Gambia’s commitment to the principles enshrined in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

As a new government that has committed itself to the promotion of human rights, democracy, good governance and respect for the rule of law, we reaffirm The Gambia’s commitment to the principles enshrined in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Quote Message: This action is in line with our vision of a new democratic Gambia."

This action is in line with our vision of a new democratic Gambia."

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

The government's decision is not surprising as President Adama Barrow had expressed support for the ICC during campaigning ahead of his election on 1 December. 

However, it is a blow to the anti-ICC lobby - which includes South Africa, Namibia and Burundi - within the African Union.

At the annual AU summit of African leaders held about two weeks ago, they pushed for a mass walk-out from the ICC, but faced opposition from other countries, including Nigeria, Senegal and The Gambia. 

Former Gambian ruler Yahya Jammeh's regime was a fierce critic of the ICC describing it "the International Caucasian Court", in what was seen as a a political dig at its chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, a Gambian lawyer and former justice minister.

Read earlier post: UK foreign secretary visits The Gambia 

Read: What South Africa leaving the ICC would mean

Seidu Mohammed and Razak Iyal crossed the Canada-US border illegally after being denied refugee status in the US.

But the two Ghanaians, who walked miles across snow-covered fields in frigid temperatures, lost fingers and parts of their ears to frostbite during the journey.

They told the BBC their story:

Video by Dan Lytwyn.

AFPCopyright: AFP

Tunisia's Prime Minister Youssef Chahed has dismissed German claims that his country has been slow to take back failed asylum seekers from Europe. 

German chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to press him on the matter during talks today in Berlin. 

The issue has taken on greater urgency since December's deadly attack on a Christmas market in Berlin by a Tunisian jihadist, Anis Amri. 

He had been denied asylum in Germany six months before killing 12 people in the attack. 

Mr Chahed told a German newspaper that Tunisia had made no mistakes. 

The United Nations says government soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo are thought to have killed at least 100 people in clashes with a local militia group in the last few days. 

The fighting occurred in the central province of Kasai. 

The UN said the troops fired indiscriminately with machine guns at members of the Kamwina Nsapu group, who are loyal to a local chief who was killed by soldiers in August. 

A UN spokeswoman, Liz Throssell, said they were deeply concerned by the high number of deaths and disproportionate use of force.