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  1. Scroll down for Wednesday's stories

    We'll be back tomorrow

    That's all from the BBC Africa Live team for today. There'll be an automated feed until Thursday morning.

    A quick reminder of our African proverb of the day:

    Quote Message: Abundance does not spread. Famine does." from A Zulu proverb sent by Marco in Manchester, UK
    A Zulu proverb sent by Marco in Manchester, UK

    Click here and scroll to the bottom to send in your African proverbs.

    We leave you with these pictures of Tim who died today aged 50. He roamed Kenya's southern Amboseli National Park grazing, bonding with his mates and just living life to the full.

    The Kenya Wildlife Service described him as "unassuming, unpretentious and laid back". #RIPTim.

    Tim
    Tim
    Tim
  2. Drone conference opens in Rwanda

    Hundreds of participants from 44 countries around the world are in Rwanda for a conference that showcases the potential uses for drone technology.

    The three-day event brings together civilian drone operators and policy regulators.

    One of the main attractions is a competition to fly drones over Lake Kivu.

    The organisers - African Drone Forum - have shared the event's promotional video:

    View more on youtube
  3. Militants kill seven people in Mozambique

    Mary Harper

    Africa editor, BBC World Service

    At least seven people are reported to have been killed by suspected Islamists in northern Mozambique.

    Local media reported that all of the dead were farmers, attacked on their way to their fields. All were beheaded.

    Homes in the nearby village of Mahate in Quissanga district were burned down by the attackers.

    There have been several jihadist attacks in northern Mozambique in recent years.

    Last year, the Islamic State group announced its presence in the country.

  4. Coronavirus: Uganda quarantines over 100 people

    Patricia Oyella

    BBC Africa, Uganda

    Uganda’s ministry of health says over one 100 people who arrived at Entebbe International Airport from China have been placed under a 14 day quarantine to prevent the spread of a coronavirus outbreak.

    Minister of Health Dr Jane Aceng told journalists during a media briefing in the capital, Kampala, that 44 of those quarantined are Chinese nationals.

    She also said the ministry was not aware of any Ugandan who is either suspected or confirmed to have coronavirus.

    The country has intensified screening at its major border points and made it mandatory for all travellers from China to provide personal details for follow-up visits by health workers.

    The government says there are hundreds of Ugandan students in China but there are currently no plans to evacuate them.

  5. Okada rider given car after Lagos motorcycle taxi ban

    Nduka Orjinmo

    BBC News, Lagos

    A motorcycle taxi driver in Lagos has been given a free car as the ban on okadas and tricycles in Nigeria's commercial capital continues to stir widespread disaffection.

    Sandra Eghaghara was a driver with ride-hailing service Gokada. He was put out of work when the ban came into effect.

    In an interview at a protest by motorcycle taxi drivers last Friday, she spoke about the difficulty of finding a job in Lagos. The video went viral.

    She was given the car by Kokunfoundation, an NGO which provides food for the needy and the poor.

    In a video posted on the NGO's Instagram page, she profusely thanked a man who handed her the keys to the car.

    View more on instagram

    The state government on Tuesday said the ban on motorbike taxis, known as okadas, and tricycles called kekes, was "irreversible", blaming them for causing "death and disorderliness".

    But the ban has not gone down well with commuters who are finding it increasingly difficult to get to their destinations.

    On Wednesday, protesters calling for a reversal of the ban clashed with police in Iyana Ipaja on the outskirts of the city burning tyres and blocking the highway.

  6. Attacked Malawian woman says country does not protect women

    Insaf Abbas

    BBC OS

    A Malawian woman, captured in a viral video being assaulted by a group of men, has told the BBC's OS programme that it was "disgusting" her country does not protect women.

    Vanessa Chilango, 38, says she was accosted by the men when she went to a market in Blantyre.

    They then tried to strip her because they were apparently offended by how she was dressed.

    “I wasn’t naked. I was dressed up. I was in a miniskirt with a top. I wasn’t showing inner parts of my body," she said.

    Ms Chilango, who has four children, said no one came to help her.

    “Guys started robbing me. They cut my fingers; they beat me all over my body. It was swollen. Nobody was helping me. People surrounding me were only clapping their hands and shouting."

    She added that she was called "a prostitute and a whore".

    Ms Chilango told BBC OS that police had made arrests in connection with the attack.

    "My plan is to make myself become strong because I am a woman with kids. The kids are looking after me. So I’m trying to move forward with my life," she said.

  7. Nigeria's new visa policy to attract foreign talent

    Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has unveiled a new visa policy which he says is intended to attract innovation, specialised skills and knowledge from abroad.

    The president had last November in Egypt, announced the new visa policy which he described as a "strategic decision to bring down barriers that have hindered the free movement of our people within the continent".

    The new policy sees the introduction of visas on arrival for short visits for holders of passports of African Union countries.

    There are 79 new categories which the government say is to ensure that "visas are more efficiently matched to the purpose of travel, thus helping improve the efficiency of processing and response".

    The government also announced a new biometric visa database which is able to conduct checks for those on Interpol watchlists.

    Nigeria's President Buhari
    Image caption: The new visa policy is part of a wider immigration reform programme by Mr Buhari's government
  8. Twitter to start crackdown on doctored content

    Richard Kagoe

    BBC News, Nairobi

    Twitter logo on a smartphone

    Twitter will from next month start labelling manipulated or doctored content so as to check the spread of misinformation.

    The new policy is targeting fake videos created using artificial intelligence to alter an individual’s appearance or speech.

    Doctored photos and audios will also be flagged according to a blog post by Twitter on the new policy.

    "You may not deceptively share synthetic or manipulated media that are likely to cause harm. In addition, we may label Tweets containing synthetic and manipulated media to help people understand their authenticity and to provide context," Twitter wrote.

    The firm says adjustments to the policy were informed by feedback captured in a recent survey involving more than 6,500 respondents.

    The respondents were drawn from civil society groups, academic experts and members of the public.

    The move by Twitter comes barely a month after Facebook announced that it would remove videos modified by artificial intelligence using its staff and independent fact-checkers to determine the authenticity of videos.

  9. Much-loved 50-year-old elephant dies in Kenya

    Tim - a famous and much loved tusker elephant that roamed Kenya's southern Amboseli National Park - has died form natural causes at the age of 50, Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has said.

    He was "unassuming, unpretentious and laid back," KWS Director Paul Udoto said in a statement.

    But Tim did have some scrapes through his long life.

    "Some years back he was struck on the head with a large rock and pierced through the ear with a spear which was embedded in his shoulder," Mr Udoto said.

    The elephant was later treated of his injuries.

    Tim's carcass is on its way to the National Museums of Kenya in the capital, Nairobi, for a taxidermist to prepare it for preservation for education and exhibition purposes, the statement said.

    Conservationist group has been mourning the elephant:

    View more on twitter
    View more on twitter
  10. Lesotho first lady charged with murder

    Pumza Fihlani

    BBC News, Johannesburg

    Prime Minister Thomas Thabane with Maesaiah Thabane
    Image caption: Mr Thabane and his wife Maesaiah Thabane have been questioned by police over the murder

    The wife of the prime minister of Lesotho has been charged with murder and attempted murder.

    First Lady Maesaiah Thabane appeared in court on Wednesday.

    She had handed herself in on Tuesday to be questioned about the killing of the prime minister's previous wife.

    Prime Minister Thomas Thabane has also been questioned about the killing.

    His estranged wife, Lipolelo Thabane, was shot dead outside her home in the capital Maseru two days before his inauguration in 2017.

  11. Sudan leader defends meeting with Netanyahu

    BBC Monitoring

    The world through its media

    Lt Gen Abdul Fattah al-Burhan
    Image caption: Mr Netanyahu described his meeting with Gen Burhan as 'history'

    The head of the military council now running Sudan, Lt Gen Abdul Fattah al-Burhan, has said that the country's position on the Palestinian status remains unchanged.

    In a statement read on the state radio Wednesday morning, Gen Burhan defended his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in Entebbe, Uganda, on 3 February.

    After the meeting, Mr Netanyahu's office said Israel and Sudan would move to normalise relations.

    Gen Burhan said that the meeting was part of his responsibility to preserve Sudan’s security and “supreme interests of the Sudanese people”.

    He said that Sudan’s relationship with Israel was "the responsibility of the relevant institutions", in what seems to be reference to Sudan's civilian cabinet.

    Sudan state-owned media did not report on the meeting between Gen Burhan and Mr Netanyahu. The private media however covered the story.

    Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has welcomed Gen Burhan's statement and said Sudan's foreign affairs must be made by the council of ministers.

    View more on twitter
  12. Buhari says 90% of Boko Haram victims are Muslims

    Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari
    Image caption: Nigeria's president was elected on a promise to defeat the militant group

    Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has told Nigerian media that the vast majority of victims of Islamist group Boko Haram's attacks are Muslims, and that the militants are using religion to divide Nigerians.

    Boko Haram has waged a decade-long campaign of violence in the country.

    The president said in an article on the Christianity Today website that the militants "cannot be allowed to divide good Christians and good Muslims":

    Quote Message: It is the reality that some 90% of all Boko Haram's victims have been Muslims: they include a copycat abduction of over 100 Muslim schoolgirls along with their single Christian classmate, shootings inside mosques, and the murder of two prominent imams."
    Quote Message: The terrorists today attempt to build invisible walls between us. They have failed in their territorial ambitions, so now instead they seek to divide our state of mind, by pulling us from one from another."

    The article was President Buhari's eulogy for Christian leader Rev Lawan Andimi who was abducted and killed by suspected Islamist militants.

  13. Kenya's women are champs - but what is roll ball?

    Video content

    Video caption: Roll ball: Kenya are world champs but what is this sport?

    Kenya’s women won the 2019 Roll Ball World Cup.

    The sport is relatively young, started in 2003 by a teacher in the Indian city of Pune.

    It has since gained popularity around the world, with India dominating the sport internationally.

    But 2019 saw a historic win for Kenya’s women in the World Cup final in the Indian city of Chennai.

    BBC What's New? spoke to assistant captain Winnie Mutembei to find out how they achieved their victory.

    Produced by Christine Njeri and Agnes Penda.

  14. Guinea sets date for controversial referendum

    Guinea's President Alpha Condé
    Image caption: Many fear the vote paves the way for President Alpha Condé to seek a third term

    Guinea's President Alpha Condé has announced that a constitutional referendum that has sparked protests across the country will be held on 1 March.

    The referendum plan had been opposed on grounds that it could pave the way for President Condé to seek a third term in office.

    Several protesters have died in various anti-government demonstrations.

    Guinea's opposition has said it will boycott the March referendum, according to AP news agency.

    “There will be no election or referendum,” said Sidya Touré, leader of the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea party.

    Legislative elections that were scheduled for 16 February have also been postponed to 1 March.

    Presidential adviser Souleymane Keita has told AP that the vote will go ahead regardless of an opposition boycott.

    Protests have been taking place in Guinea since October 2019 over concerns that President Conde, who is 81 years old, plans to reform the constitution to stay in office for a third term.

  15. Kenyan insurance companies blacklist hospital

    Three Kenyan insurance companies have blacklisted a private hospital in the capital, Nairobi following claims it was holding patients longer than necessary to inflate their bills.

    Last week, unverified screengrabs of a WhatsApp conversation were circulating online, purporting to show medics and staff at Nairobi's Women Hospital discussing how discharges were bad for business.

    The hospital has since said in a statement that it was investigating the claims and would announce its findings next month, adding:

    Quote Message: Although we don't believe this is the case, and in fact it is antithetical to our foundational principles, we take these allegations very seriously and are conducting an internal review - as well as cooperating with the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentist Council as they carry out their independent review."

    The three insurance firms in question - AAR, UAP and CIC - notified their customers that they had suspended services at the Nairobi Women's Hospital. They did not detail their reasons, but urged their customers to visit alternative hospitals.

    The Association of Kenya Insurers chief executive Tom Gichuhi had told Business Daily newspaper that a meeting with all insurers had resolved not to honor future bills at the hospital.

    Citizen journalist Owaah tweeted copies of the statements from the hospital and insurance firms:

    View more on twitter