Rwanda’s ex-minister jailed for corruption

Ahigh court in Rwanda has sentenced a former youth and culture minister to five years in prison over corruption charges, extending a previous sentence by a year.

The original sentence, which came last year, against Edouard Bamporiki was a rare case of a top official convicted over corruption in the country.

He was suspended from cabinet last May and put under house arrest while being investigated for corruption and misuse of power. He remained under house arrest until this ruling.

Bamporiki confessed to the charges on Twitter and asked President Paul Kagame for forgiveness, but in September a court sentenced him to four years - which he appealed.

On Monday, a high court judge in the capital, Kigali, said “justice needs to be served to set an example”.

The 39-year-old poet and filmmaker was previously a vigorous supporter of President Kagame and the ruling party and rose rapidly through the ranks.

His lawyer, Evode Kayitana, told the BBC that they had not decided on whether to appeal.

Top referee called ‘prostitute’ at Rwandan football

One of the first female referees ever to serve at a men’s World Cup has been insulted and physically threatened during a match in her home country, where some fans called her a “prostitute”.

Salima Mukansanga officiated a 0–0 draw on Saturday between Kiyovu Sport and Gasogi United, but “game reports show that she was insulted”, a Rwanda Football Federation (RFF) spokesman told the BBC

Rwanda’s football body is now investigating harassment and attempted assault by fans in the local male’s league against her, and it says measures will be taken by the disciplinary committee after investigation.

People who attended the game told the BBC that a group of Kiyovu Sport fans repeatedly chanted, calling Ms Mukansanga “a prostitute”. After the game security staff had to intervene to prevent some of them from physically attacking her,” Jules Karangwa of the RFF says.

In an open letter, Kiyovu Sport fans President Hemedi Minani condemned the “harassment and insults” against Mrs Mukansanga and apologised to her.

Last year in Qatar, Ms Mukasanga was part of the first team of three female referees to ever officiate a male’s world cup. Months earlier she had also become the first female to officiate the men’s Africa Cup of Nations.

China optimistic in debt talks - Zambia minister

Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane was among those who met Secretary Janet Yellen

Zambia’s finance minister says China has shown “optimism” in negotiations to ease the country’s debt, a day after US treasury secretary said Beijing was a barrier to ending the crisis.

The country is straining under an immense debt burden and became Africa’s first nation to default on its debts during the pandemic, when it failed to make a payment in 2020.

Talks to try to ease Zambia’s debt have been dragging on - with China being blamed by some.

But Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane, soon after meeting Secretary Janet Yellen in the capital, Lusaka, told the BBC’s Newsday programme that he was encouraged by the last meeting with the creditors:

Quote Message: I don’t want to accuse anyone... but there is an internationally constituted common framework which governs how countries should be able to access debt relief.

I don’t want to accuse anyone... but there is an internationally constituted common framework which governs how countries should be able to access debt relief.

Quote Message: What encourages me is that from the last meeting of the official creditors, there seems to be optimismincluding the Chinese.”

What encourages me is that from the last meeting of the official creditors, there seems to be optimism - including the Chinese.”

He added that talks on restructuring the debt could be completed by the end of March.

The mystery of ‘electricity-producing’ rock

Videos claiming to show rocks producing electricity have been viewed millions of times across and beyond Africa.

One appears to show electric sparks flying between two rocks as they come into contact and has the caption, “Electrically charged stones discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo”.

This video went viral when South African businessman Daniel Marven posted it to his over 800k followers, adding “….now more trouble coming, cry my beloved Africa”.

Another Twitter user commented on Marven’s post with another video of a man apparently illuminating a light bulb by touching wires connected to it to a stone.

Marven also posted a tweet with this video a few hours later, garnering more than 1 million views.

Both videos were picked up and used in a thread by popular Twitter page African Archives. The thread went mega-viral, with one of the videos getting around 35 million views.

But the rocks may not quite be what they seem. A reverse image search reveals that the first video shared by Marven appeared on the Facebook page of the Mohamed First University , in Oujda, Morocco.

The caption read simply “Lithium!!?” without any more context.

BBC has contacted the university but has yet to receive a reply.

But more importantly, is it likely the rocks in the videos could store or produce electricity?

No, says Dr Ikenna Okonkwo, a Geology lecturer at the University of Nigeria.

“The rock looks like zinc or lead ore, and they do not have that kind of property. Perhaps [they could hold] static electricity of the kind that happens to some fabrics, but it won’t keep an LED light bulb powered.”

Dr Okonkwo concluded that the video is “some kind of trick”.

Fighting erupts in eastern DR Congo despite truce

Fresh fighting has erupted in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, despite an agreement between the government and rebel groups to end hostilities.

The fighting between the army and M23 rebels on Tuesday is said to have caused many people to flee their homes, according to local reports.

“There is mass displacement towards the town of Mweso,” a local journalist told the BBC on Tuesday morning.

The military has not commented on the latest fighting, but a spokesman for the rebels accused government forces of attacking their positions as they prepared to further withdraw as outlined in an agreement reached in Angola’s capital, Luanda.

Last week in Davos President Félix Tshisekedi said the rebel group was not