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The government in Mali has denied reports that its minister for reconciliation had been kidnapped, according to local media.

Col Ismael Wague was reported to have been kidnapped on the Badiangara axis in the central Mopti region.

A statement from the ministry is quoted as saying the reports were spread by people opposed to the peace process.

Col Wague was last year presented as the spokesman of a group of soldiers who overthrew President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta.

The military junta was dissolved in January 2021 but senior military personnel still hold several key posts in a 25-member transitional government.

The authorities in the central Mozambican province of Zambezia say corn fennel caterpillars have destroyed some 143 hectares of crop.

At least 60 peasant families have complained of damage in the district of Mocuba.

Local official Florentino Cardoso said farmers had been told to spray their farms with insecticides and to use other mechanical means to combat the pests.

The district government is already on the ground to deal with the situation that threatens to jeopardise corn production.

The corn fennel caterpillar is a pest whose main host is the maize crop.

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Kenya will receive its first batch of Covid-19 vaccines next week, the cabinet has said.

Front line health workers, security officers, teachers and vulnerable groups will be vaccinated first.

The government has not detailed which particular vaccine it is acquiring.

The health ministry had early this month said it had sequenced the AstraZeneca vaccine and approved it for use in the country.

Kenya has so far confirmed 105,057 cases of coronavirus, according to data from the health ministry.

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Somali opposition presidential candidates have agreed to postpone anti-government protests that were scheduled for Friday in the capital, Mogadishu.

This follows a meeting with Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble on Thursday where the federal government apologised for last week's crackdown on protesters.

The postponed demonstration will take place within 10 days, according to a statement.

The government guaranteed to uphold the right of citizens to organise and participate in peaceful demonstrations.

The leaders in the meeting also agreed to continue with talks to unlock a stalemate on how to proceed with elections.

Last week, opposition leaders defied a ban on public gatherings to protest against delayed elections.

The first term of President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo ended on 8 February without the election of a successor - throwing the country into a crisis.

The UN mission in Somalia has welcomed Thursday's agreement between the government and the opposition.

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US President Joe Biden has discussed the crisis in Ethiopia's Tigray region with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta in a phone call on Thursday, the White House said.

The two leaders discussed the "deteriorating humanitarian and human rights crises" in Tigray, according to the readout of the call.

They also spoke on the "need to prevent further loss of life and ensure humanitarian access".

Tigray has been hit by conflict since November between Ethiopian-led troops and forces allied with the region's ousted ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).

Thousands of people are reported to have been killed, and about two million have been internally displaced.

The International Committee of the Red Cross this week warned that the need for humanitarian aid was "overwhelming".

The White House said that President Biden emphasised the US’s commitment to working with Kenya to support regional peace and security.

More on the Tigray crisis:

• The Nobel Peace Prize winner who sent his troops to battle
• 'How I survived an 11-hour gun battle'