More than 10 newborn babies have died in a hospital fire in the western city of Tivaouane in Senegal.
Ex-Louvre boss charged over Egyptian art trafficking
BBC World Service
Newsroom
The former president of France's famous Louvre museum has been charged with conspiring to hide the origins of antiquities suspected to have been removed from Egypt during the Arab Spring uprisings, according to French media.
Jean-Luc Martinez was charged with complicity in fraud after being taken in for questioning, judicial sources say.
Investigators are looking into whether he deliberately overlooked fake certificates of origin for the acquired pieces.
Opened in 2018, the case relates to five works worth a combined $8.5m (£6.8m).
They include a rare pink granite artefact depicting the Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
Mr Martinez was in charge of the Paris Louvre from 2013 to 2021. According to the Art Newspaper, he has previously denied any wrongdoing in the management of the acquisitions.
Suspected monkeypox probed in Morocco and Sudan
Dorcas Wangira
BBC Africa health correspondent
Morocco
and Sudan are investigating suspected cases of monkeypox, Africa’s health body
says.
This
comes after outbreaks of the virus have recently been found in Europe,
Australia, America and the Middle East.
Monkeypox
is usually associated with travel to central or West Africa, near tropical
forests, but some of the new cases have no travel link.
During his weekly briefing, Dr Ahmed Ogwell, deputy director of the Africa Centres for
Disease Control (CDC), confirmed there was still no direct link.
He said
the continent had so far reported 1,405 cases and 62 monkeypox-related deaths
this year - a case fatality rate of 4.4%
These
have occurred in four countries where the disease is endemic: Cameroon, the
Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria.
Dr
Ogwell said all African countries were advised to scale up surveillance and
testing.
Monkeypox,
a mild viral infection, can be spread when someone is in close contact with an
infected person.
Initial
symptoms include fever, headaches, swellings, back pain, aching muscles - and a
rash can develop once the fever breaks.
It is
thought to be spread by rodents, such as rats, mice and squirrels.
“The
washing of hands is very important as it is a contact-spread disease,” Dr
Ogwell said.
He also
advised people to avoid touching animals that looked sick and those known to be
carriers.
Smallpox
vaccines were being administered in Africa, Dr Ogwell said.
“The
available supplies of smallpox vaccines will be prioritised to health workers
and areas with confirmed cases of the virus,” he said.
Popular Ethiopia magazine boss held amid crackdown
Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC News, Addis Ababa
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.
With Morocco's Noussair Mazraoui joining German champions Bayern Munich after 16 years at Ajax, BBC Sport Africa looks at what the Bundesliga side are getting.
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.
Kenya deputy president asks Kenyatta for forgiveness
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:
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.
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.
Suspected drug dealers burnt alive in South Africa
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.
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.
Tunisia to hold a referendum on a new constitution
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.
Thousands displaced in DR Congo 'urgently need food'
Samba Cyuzuzo
BBC Great Lakes
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.
BBCCopyright: BBC
Eleven newborn babies die in Senegal hospital fire
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.
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.
BBCCopyright: BBC
Wise words for Thursday 26 May 2022
Our proverb of the day:
Quote Message: When the river dries and the crocodile moves into the fish dam seeking water, it won't sit on a throne." from A Chichewa proverb sent by Victora Kampira in Malawi
When the river dries and the crocodile moves into the fish dam seeking water, it won't sit on a throne."
Live Reporting
Emmanuel Onyango, Basillioh Rukanga and Lucy Fleming
All times stated are UK
Get involved
- EXPLAINER: What is monkeypox and how do you catch it?
BBCCopyright: BBC View more on twitterView more on twitter - Kenyatta, Ruto and Odinga: The true cost of Kenya's political love triangle
- Kenya's Deputy President Ruto campaigns for 'Hustler Nation'
- Why Nigeria's internet scammers are 'role models'
- 'I went to Nigeria to meet the man who scammed me'
BBCCopyright: BBC BBCCopyright: BBC BBCCopyright: BBC AFPCopyright: AFP
Latest PostEleven babies die in Senegal maternity ward fire
More than 10 newborn babies have died in a hospital fire in the western city of Tivaouane in Senegal.
Ex-Louvre boss charged over Egyptian art trafficking
BBC World Service
Newsroom
The former president of France's famous Louvre museum has been charged with conspiring to hide the origins of antiquities suspected to have been removed from Egypt during the Arab Spring uprisings, according to French media.
Jean-Luc Martinez was charged with complicity in fraud after being taken in for questioning, judicial sources say.
Investigators are looking into whether he deliberately overlooked fake certificates of origin for the acquired pieces.
Opened in 2018, the case relates to five works worth a combined $8.5m (£6.8m).
They include a rare pink granite artefact depicting the Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
Mr Martinez was in charge of the Paris Louvre from 2013 to 2021. According to the Art Newspaper, he has previously denied any wrongdoing in the management of the acquisitions.
Suspected monkeypox probed in Morocco and Sudan
Dorcas Wangira
BBC Africa health correspondent
Morocco and Sudan are investigating suspected cases of monkeypox, Africa’s health body says.
This comes after outbreaks of the virus have recently been found in Europe, Australia, America and the Middle East.
Monkeypox is usually associated with travel to central or West Africa, near tropical forests, but some of the new cases have no travel link.
During his weekly briefing, Dr Ahmed Ogwell, deputy director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control (CDC), confirmed there was still no direct link.
He said the continent had so far reported 1,405 cases and 62 monkeypox-related deaths this year - a case fatality rate of 4.4%
These have occurred in four countries where the disease is endemic: Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria.
Dr Ogwell said all African countries were advised to scale up surveillance and testing.
Monkeypox, a mild viral infection, can be spread when someone is in close contact with an infected person.
Initial symptoms include fever, headaches, swellings, back pain, aching muscles - and a rash can develop once the fever breaks.
It is thought to be spread by rodents, such as rats, mice and squirrels.
“The washing of hands is very important as it is a contact-spread disease,” Dr Ogwell said.
He also advised people to avoid touching animals that looked sick and those known to be carriers.
Smallpox vaccines were being administered in Africa, Dr Ogwell said.
“The available supplies of smallpox vaccines will be prioritised to health workers and areas with confirmed cases of the virus,” he said.
Ghana could face Nigeria in CHAN qualifiers
The draw for the 2022 African Nations Championship qualifiers throws up a potential clash between Ghana and Nigeria.
Read morePopular Ethiopia magazine boss held amid crackdown
Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC News, Addis Ababa
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.
Morocco's Mazraoui set for new chapter at Bayern
By Matthew Kenyon
BBC Sport Africa, The Netherlands
With Morocco's Noussair Mazraoui joining German champions Bayern Munich after 16 years at Ajax, BBC Sport Africa looks at what the Bundesliga side are getting.
Read moreMinisters grapple with Africa's elephants boom
Shingai Nyoka
BBC News, Harare
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.
Kenya deputy president asks Kenyatta for forgiveness
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:
Nigeria police arrest wanted internet scammer
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.
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:
Suspected drug dealers burnt alive in South Africa
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.
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.
Eleven newborn babies die in Senegal hospital fire
The fire is thought to have been caused by a short circuit at the hospital in Tivaouane, officials say.
Read moreChampions League final 'could decide Ballon d'Or'
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.
Read moreTunisia to hold a referendum on a new constitution
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.
Thousands displaced in DR Congo 'urgently need food'
Samba Cyuzuzo
BBC Great Lakes
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.
Eleven newborn babies die in Senegal hospital fire
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.
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.
Wise words for Thursday 26 May 2022
Our proverb of the day:
Click here to send us your African proverbs.
Why Nigeria wants to jail those who pay ransoms
By Nduka Orjinmo
BBC News, Abuja
Businessman Lawal Ado has paid ransoms three times and says there is no other option.
Read moreMonastir into BAL final after knocking out champions Zamalek
Tunisia's 2021 Basketball Africa League runners-up knock out champions Zamalek to meet Petro Atletico in the final.
Read moreGlammed-up Lagos revellers celebrate Africa Day
By Damilola Oduolowu
BBC News, Lagos
Nigerians turn out in style for a star-studded concert to celebrate the continent's special day.
Read moreScroll down for Wednesday's stories
We'll be back on Thursday morning
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.