BBC News Africa

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Kenyan MPs have voted to end tax cuts put in place in early April to help citizens to deal with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

President Uhuru Kenyatta announced the relief just weeks after the country recorded its first coronavirus case.

The measures included reduction of income tax, value-added tax and corporate tax by between 2% and 5%.

The steps were meant to cushion Kenyans and businesses from the pandemic which greatly affected the tourism and agriculture sectors which are the backbone of the country’s economy.

But on Tuesday MPs said the measures were not sustainable.

Last week, the finance minister announced that the country had lost nearly $600m (£450m) in revenue since the tax breaks began.

The MPs move has astounded and angered Kenyans who say the pandemic has ravaged the economy with millions of people losing their jobs and thousands of businesses closing down for good.

The country is also facing a growing health challenge as it records an increase in coronavirus cases amid a strike by doctors working in public hospitals.

The doctors have been complaining about poor working conditions and a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE).

Despite insisting it has no money, the government is pushing forward with controversial plans to hold a referendum on changing the constitution that will cost millions of dollars.

It has also been accused of mismanaging donations and aid meant to help the country tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.

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A joint Israeli-US delegation has arrived in Morocco aboard the first direct commercial flight from Israel.

It was made possible by a recent US-brokered agreement to re-establish diplomatic ties.

The visiting delegation will sign a series of travel and other accords that will help cement the warming relationship.

Over the last few months there have been a series of deals in which Arab countries have moved closer to normalising their ties with Israel.

The process has bitterly disappointed the Palestinians.

They wanted any such nomalisation to wait until after their dispute with the Israelis had been resolved.

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The UN says it is increasingly concerned about the plight of civilians in Ethiopia's Tigray region and has once again called on the government to allow full access so that allegations of war crimes can be investigated.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, said two humanitarian assessment missions were able to enter the region on Monday.

But she said due to restrictions it had not yet been possible to investigate allegations of artillery strikes on populated areas, extrajudicial killings and widespread looting.

The UN said it had received consistent reports of artillery strikes last month on homes and a hospital in the town of Humera on the border with Eritrea

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The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia has announced its plan to conduct the postponed national election in late May or early June next year.

Soliana Shimelis, the board's communication adviser, told the BBC that preparations were underway.

Opposition parties have however complained that a government crackdown against its officials had disrupted their plans to prepare for the polls.

The Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) said almost all of its leaders and party officials are under arrest while its offices including the main office in the capital Addis Ababa are either "ransacked, closed or are under state under control."

The government has not responded to these allegations.

Another opposition party Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) has also announced that it was going to be difficult for it to take part in the upcoming election with its leaders and members in jail.

Its prominent member Jawar Mohammed and the party’s deputy chairman Bekele Gerba were arrested in June following protests that broke out after the murder of popular musician Hachalu Hundessa.

They are both facing terror charges among others.

The Ethiopian government accuses them of inciting violence and "trying to alter the constitutional order."

Election officials expect at least 50 million people will vote to elect members of the House of Peoples Representatives, national parliament, and regional state councils.

Since coming to power in 2018 Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has promised to ensure free and fair elections.

Election officials postponed the poll, which had been scheduled to be held this year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Sudan and Ethiopia have begun negotiations to demarcate their border following a clash in a disputed area last week.

Ethiopia's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen is in Khartoum and is meeting Sudan's cabinet minister, Omar Manis.

Ethiopian forces reportedly ambushed Sudanese troops along the border, killing four and wounding more than 20 others.

Sudan has since deployed troops to the Al-Fashaqa region.

In the contested area is some fertile land which Sudan claims but which has long been cultivated by Ethiopian farmers.

The area borders Ethiopia's Tigray region where fighting last month forced more than 50,000 refugees to flee into Sudan.

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An Israeli aircraft is making the first direct commercial flight between Israel and Morocco.

This follows the two countries' recent agreement to upgrade their diplomatic relationship.

The plane is emblazoned with the word "peace" in Arabic, Hebrew and English.

It is carrying a high-level Israeli delegation that will have further talks on the details of diplomatic accord.

The deal was brokered by Washington, and US President Donald Trump's son-in-law and Middle East envoy Jared Kushner is accompanying the Israeli team.

The agreement was part of a series of deals in which Arab countries have moved to normalise their ties with Israel.

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The daughter of the late former Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has been arrested, her mother has told the BBC.

Semahal Meles was arrested in Tigray's regional capital of Mekelle, former first lady Azeb Mesfin said.

The Ethiopian authorities have not commented on the alleged arrest.

Federal troops took over Mekelle at the end of last month after weeks of conflict with fighters loyal to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) - the party that used to control the region.

Ms Semahal had travelled to Mekelle prior to the conflict to do research for a film about her father who was a central figure in the TPLF.

Meles led Ethiopia from the early 1990s until his death in 2012.

Miles Sampa/ FacebookCopyright: Miles Sampa/ Facebook

The mayor of Zambia's capital, Lusaka, will have far fewer guests at his wedding than he had hoped for after the authorities restricted the number of attendees to only 300 to adhere to Covid-19 regulations.

Miles Sampa booked the 10,000 seater Lusaka’s Woodlands stadium for the 26 December event after sending an open invitation to Zambians.

Mr Sampa told the BBC he had no choice but to comply with the ministry of health's Covid-19 guidelines but said the restrictions had put him in a dilemma about who to invite:

“Our line up already has 50 people... when I add artists, security and support staff to the list, we are already towards 200 people. So who to invite and not invite was the headache I was trying to avoid.”

He said he did not want to invite "ordinary Lusaka residents" anymore to avoid accusations of favouritism, but he will award television rights to an unnamed local station.

Local companies and well wishers have been contributing to pay for the event which some have dubbed the "wedding of the year".

But Mr Sampa has said that the money donated will be used to pay for the Woodlands stadium venue.

He also said that donated foodstuffs will be given to Lusaka residents even if it means sending “packed lunch boxes to their homes”.