At least four soldiers died in an ambush in the north of Burkina Faso, according to security sources in the West African country, which has been battling Islamist insurgents.

The son of Chad's slain leader Idriss Deby took over as president and armed forces commander as rebel forces threatened to march on the capital.

A former DR Congo minister has been arrested in neighbouring Republic of Congo at the request of authorities in Kinshasa who have accused him of embezzlement.

After barely a year in office, the Lesotho prime minister's future hung in the balance on Wednesday after an overnight split of his ruling party risked upsetting the parliamentary majority he needs to stay in power.

Rebel forces set their sights on Chad's capital N'Djamena on Wednesday following the battlefield death of President Idriss Deby.

Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi said on Wednesday the government will work to restore peace in the country after a deadly militant attack last month near multi-billion-dollar gas projects backed by global oil companies.

President Cyril Ramaphosa described the death of Chad President Idriss Déby Itno in military violence as "disturbing news", and expressed concern on behalf of the South African government about developments in that country.

Flash floods triggered by torrential rains in Angola have killed at least 14 people and displaced around 8 000 in the capital Luanda, the national news agency reported.

Nigeria police have killed 30 gunmen after criminal gangs raided four villages in the country's north west, which has been hit by a surge in kidnappings and attacks.

Two years into a malaria vaccine pilot scheme, more than 650 000 children have been immunised across Kenya, Ghana and Malawi, the World Health Organisation said.

Chad's longtime ruler President Idriss Deby, a Western ally in the fight against Islamist militants in Africa, was killed on the frontline against rebels in the north.

Zimbabwe's parliament approved legislation removing a clause in the constitution on electing vice presidents.

Algerian security services have arrested eight people linked to the Hirak pro-democracy protest movement over an allegedly foreign-financed criminal association.

Mozambique, Botswana and Namibia have suspended poultry from South Africa.

Idriss Deby Itno, who was on course for a sixth term as Chad's president before he died from injuries sustained in battle, had carved out a reputation as the West's stalwart ally in the Sahel - despite accusations of authoritarianism.

Chad's newly re-elected President Idriss Deby Itno, in power for three decades, died on Tuesday of injuries while fighting rebels in the north of the Sahel country, the army said.

When Kenyan farmer Waki Munyalo's crop of lentils shrank by three quarters last year because of unusually low rainfall, disaster was averted thanks to a simple remedy that was previously unavailable to most African farmers -

Chad's long-ruling President Idriss Deby Itno was re-elected to a sixth term with 79.32 percent of the votes cast in 11 April's election.

At least 14 civilians and one police officer have died in the latest bout of ethnic violence in Ethiopia's Amhara region, officials said, adding to a toll already in the hundreds.

After Insider interviewed Abdullah Abdul-Gawad, whose digger helped free the Ever Given, the Suez Canal Authority said he got his overtime.