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Live Reporting

Hugo Williams, Farouk Chothia and Uwa Nnachi

All times stated are UK

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  1. Scroll down for Thursday's stories

    We'll be back tomorrow

    That's all from the BBC Africa Live page today. Keep up-to-date with what's happening across the continent by listening to the Africa Today podcast or checking the BBC News website.     

    A reminder of today's wise words:    

    Quote Message: A chicken only pokes what it can swallow." from A Runyankore proverb sent by Sawa Charity, Uganda.
    A Runyankore proverb sent by Sawa Charity, Uganda.

    Click here to send us your African proverbs. 

    And we leave you with this photo of a man carrying recycled plastic bottles in Ghana's capital, Accra:

    A Ghanaian man walks down a street carrying recyclable plastic bottles in Accra, Ghana
  2. Burundi 'suspensions after president's photo defaced'

    Burundi's President Nkurunziza
    Image caption: President Nkurunziza, a former rebel leader, has been in power since 2005

    More than 300 students at a high school in Burundi have been suspended for defacing a photo of President Pierre Nkurunziza, parents and an official have told AFP news agency.

    Other images in around 40 textbooks had also been desecrated, with insults against the president scrawled in others, school officials say.

    One parent who asked to remain anonymous told AFP they had apologised for the graffiti during a meeting with the school, but without success.

    He said the administration told the students, aged between 14 and 16, that they could not come back to school until those responsible were "turned in".  

    School director Yves Marimba told AFP that "a solution has been found" but did not comment on the students' return. 

    The country has been plunged into a deep crisis since President Nkurunziza announced in April 2015 that he would run for a third term, a vote he won in July amid opposition boycotts.

  3. Algeria clinch place at AFCON 2017

    Lille's Yassine Benzia celebrates after his goal
    Image caption: Lille's Yassine Benzia scored his first goal for Algeria since opting to play for the Desert Foxes rather than France

    Africa's top-ranked nation Algeria clinched their place at the 2107 Africa Cup of Nations finals on Thursday with a 2-0 win in Seychelles.

    Yassine Benzia and El Arabi Soudani scored in each half to ensure Algeria will win Group J.

    Cameroon can join then at the finals in Gabon with a a win in Mauritania on Friday.

    Tunisia will lose the chance of winning Group A if Djibouti beat them on Friday and Liberia beat Togo on Sunday.

    The other game on Friday is Libya playing Morocco, who have already qualified for Gabon. 

    Read the full BBC Sport story 

  4. Guinea-Bissau's ousted ministers sleep at offices

    A portrait of José Mario Vaz, presidential candidate of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, is seen during the aspirant's final campaign appearance May 16, 2014 in Bissau
    Image caption: President Jose Mario Vaz sacked his entire cabinet last year

    Sacked government ministers in Guinea-Bissau have been sleeping at their offices for the past seven nights, in an unusual protest against President Jose Mario Vaz's decision to appoint a new prime minister.

    "Yes, yes, it's been a week today,"  sacked Communications Minister Agnelo Regala told the BBC's Liliane Nyatcha, when asked to confirm that they were sleeping at their old ministerial offices. 

    A new prime minister and new cabinet members were sworn in last week, in a move the ousted ministers regard as unlawful. 

    Guinea-Bissau is one of the most unstable countries in Africa, and has had several coups since independence from Portugal in 1974. 

    It has also become a base for Latin American drug cartels and has been dubbed a narco-state. 

    Read: Hooked

  5. Nigerian at the helm of Opec

    The leaders of the Opec cartel of oil producing nations have appointed Nigeria's Mohammed Barkindo as its new secretary general at a meeting in Vienna.

    Mr Barkindo, former head of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp (NNPC), will replace Libyan Abdalla El-Badri, who has held the position since 2007.   

    There was no deal to limit oil production in order to drive up the price. 

    View more on twitter

    Read more: Buhari's battle to clean up Nigeria's oil industry

  6. Kenenisa 'will be back stronger'

    Emmanuel Igunza

    BBC Africa, Addis Ababa

    Kenenisa Bekele at Great Manchester Run

    Is Ethiopian marathon runner Kenenisa Bekele down and out? Not yet, I think. 

    The reaction to his exclusion from the Rio 2016 Olympic Games is testament to that. 

    It came as a surprise even to the legendary Haile Gebrselassie who told the BBC he ought to have been an automatic choice. 

    Yes, the three-time Olympic gold medalist is facing intense competition from upcoming stars from the athletics powerhouse, but the team would definitely be stronger with him on board. 

    He is already a legend in Ethiopia. That alone shows his prowess. 

    He won the Great Manchester Run last month and many Ethiopians wanted him in the Rio team. 

    I suspect he will be back - stronger - with the backing of millions of Ethiopians. 

  7. France hands over first warship to Egypt

    The Gamal Abdel Nasser in Saint Nazaire shipyard on 15 May 2016
    Image caption: The Gamal Abdel Nasser was called the Vladivostok before it changed from Russian to Egyptian hands

    Egypt has received the first of two advanced warships from France in a deal worth $1bn (£692m).

    The ship named after the late president Gamal Abdel Nasser was handed over at a ceremony in western France.

    The second named Anwar Sadat, will arrive in Egypt in September.

    Both Mistral helicopter carriers were originally made for Russia, but the contract was cancelled in 2014 because of the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

    Egyptian Defence Minister Sedki Sobhi, who was attending the ceremony in Saint-Nazaire, welcomed the arrival:

    Quote Message: It increases our combat capabilities and our ability to carry out long-term missions at sea."

    The Mistral can store up to 16 helicopters, has enough space to land six helicopters and is equipped with the latest missile defence and radar navigation systems, according to Egyptian state television.

    Read the full BBC story here

  8. #RespekTheDoek trends in SA row over right to wear headscarves

    Nomsa Maseko

    BBC Africa, Johannesburg

    There's been an outcry on social media in South Africa after a TV journalist working for news channel eNCA alleged that a story was taken off air because she was filmed wearing a headscarf, known as a doek. 

    The channel has not said whether this was the reason the report was pulled, but in a statement it referred to reporter Nontobeko Sibisi wearing a doek "without consulting her managers". 

    Whatever the reason, it has sparked a massive debate about fashion and race here.

    Wearing a headscarf is seen as a sign of respect in many African cultures, but it has also become a fashion statement. 

    Staff from the eNCA channel have tweeted their own photo of them wearing headscarves in solidarity with their colleague:

    View more on twitter

    Many others have also joined in:

    View more on twitter
    View more on twitter

    One user has even used a photo of the late Nelson Mandela wearing the doek to make their case for respecting the headscarf: 

    View more on twitter
  9. UK increases backing for Somalia

    Alastair Leithead

    BBC Africa correspondent

    The UK is stepping up its support for Somalia as the country reaches a pivotal moment, with elections due to be held later this year.

    UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond held talks with both the president and the prime minister during his visit to the capital, Mogadishu. 

    As he arrived, troops were still battling al-Shabab militants who attacked a city centre hotel yesterday with a suicide car bomb and then launched an armed assault. 

    02/06/2016 Reuters A Somali woman walks in front of Hotel Ambassador on Maka Al Mukaram Road in Somalia"s capital Mogadishu, June 2, 2016.

    Dozens of people were injured and at least 15 killed, among them two British Somalis who had returned to Mogadishu and become members of parliament. 

    UK troops, numbering 70, will soon be based at the heavily-fortified airport working alongside the UN and African Union forces and supporting the Somali security services.

    Despite having been driven out of the capital and most urban areas, the militants remain a threat across large parts of the country. 

    There are still question marks over the elections, which are scheduled for August, amid fears that attacks will escalate. 

    Read: Why does al-Shabab target hotels? 

  10. Analysis: Buhari Niger Delta no-show

    Muhammad Kabir Muhammad

    BBC Africa, Abuja

    A man walks near the spilled crude oil on the shores and in the waters of the Niger Delta swamps of Bodo, a village in the famous Nigerian oil-producing Ogoniland, which hosts the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in Nigeria's Rivers State on June 24, 2010

    The people of Ogoniland, and the wider Niger Delta region, believed that the presence of President Muhammadu Buhari in the area today would rekindle hope in the communities that have been ravaged by oil pollution. 

    His absence, therefore, must have been a source of disappointment to many. 

    There is still no official explanation as to why the president decided to pull out of the launch of the country's biggest oil cleanup operation (see earlier entries). 

    That notwithstanding, judging by the reception Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo received, who read a speech written on behalf of the president, they are still hopeful.

    Oil spill in the Niger Delta from the air
    Image caption: Oil spills have caused massive pollution in the Niger Delta

    He read out a speech on behalf of the president. It recalled his promise to the people of Ogoni, made last year on the election campaign trail, that he would implement the findings of the UN Enivronment Programme report on the clean-up of Ogoniland.

    It recommended that $1bn (£700m) would be needed over three decades to help restore the area.

    The president's speech also lamented that the environment had been badly damaged.

    People in the Niger Delta will now expect to see progress after the speeches and launch.

    Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari speaks to the press in Paris on September 16, 2015
    Image caption: Mr Buhari was elected president last year
  11. France calls for EU cooperation with Africa over migrants

    Large dinghy packed with migrants

    The European Union (EU) needs to work more with African countries to tackle the arrival of migrants into Europe, France's prime minister said in an interview with a Greek newspaper on Thursday, Reuters news agency reports.

    The EU, which struck a deal with Turkey to stem the arrival of undocumented migrants and refugees to Greece, has been scrambling for ways to shut down flows on the other major sea route into Europe from Libya as calmer weather begins.

    French PM Manuel Valls was speaking ahead of a two-day visit to Greece:

    Quote Message: We need to cooperate further with African countries of transit or of origin... I am referring in particular to Niger"

    Read more: Migrant crisis enters new phase

  12. New plan to target drug cheats

    Rio logo

    The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is to target Russia, Mexico and Kenya for drug testing ahead of the Rio Olympics.

    The executive board of the IOC backed extra focus on countries whose testing programme is deemed non-compliant by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

    The board said: "We are taking further decisive action to protect the clean athletes at the Olympic Games 2016."

    Read the full BBC story here

  13. BBC Africa Live welcomes Uwa Nnachi

    A big welcome to Uwa Nnachi, who joins us on the BBC Africa Live page for the next few months.

    For those who are avid BBC Africa fans, Uwa will be no stranger to you…. and you may remember her as an aficionado of African fashion. Here she is modelling some clothes last year in Petticoat Lane in London:

    Uwa Nnachi

    Here's a link to her video about London's home of African fashion.

    And you can expect much from her, including her tips this weekend on how to make tomato-less Nigerian stews.

  14. Uber launches in Uganda

    Catherine Byaruhanga

    BBC Africa, Kampala

    motorcycle taxis
    Image caption: Most people use motorbike taxis in Uganda

    Taxi-hailing service Uber has launched in Uganda's capital, Kampala. 

    Ugandans with a good internet connection, and the cash, can now order a taxi on their smartphone. 

    US-headquartered Uber has seen explosive growth in many cities across the world and is now valued at more than $60bn (£42bn).

    But it has provoked controversy and even violent riots in some countries, where traditional taxi drivers feel the service is muscling in unfairly on their business. 

    It now operates in 12 African cities, but Kampala could be a very tough nut to crack. 

    There aren't many people here who can afford private taxi rides, compared with South African or Nigerian cities like Cape Town and Lagos. 

    And even those who can might still prefer motorbike taxis, known as boda bodas, which get you around quickly and cheaply.

    Listen: The Boda Boda boom (BBC World Service documentary)

  15. Senegalese imam's sentence 'too light'

    Senegal's President Macky Sall has said the one year prison sentence given to an imam and school teacher for advocating terrorism is too light. 

    On a visit to France, Mr Sall told Radio France International that the government would appeal against the sentence. 

    Yesterday, the court, sitting in the southern town of Kolda, rejected the prosecution's request to jail Ibrahima Seye, 38, for five years.

    He had preached against "Western and American imperialism" in a sermon in September and during his trial he said: "Between Bin Laden and George Bush, I prefer Bin Laden."

    Mosque in Senegal
    Image caption: Senegal is a majority Muslim country which has not been hit by militant Islamists
  16. Clarkson show to begin in Johannesburg

    James May, Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond
    Image caption: The Grand Tour will launch on Amazon Prime this autumn.

    The new TV series starring Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May will record its first studio segments in South Africa.

    The first episode of The Grand Tour, which is being made by Amazon Prime, will be filmed in Johannesburg in July.

    It will mark the trio's first TV show since they exited Top Gear after Jeremy Clarkson punched a producer.

    May joked on Twitter that the location was "chosen by Richard Hammond, who's run out of biltong".

    Read the full BBC story here

  17. Top UK official visits Somalia

    The UK foreign secretary has made a short visit to Somalia, a day after al-Qaeda-linked militants carried out an assault on a hotel in the capital, Mogadishu, killing 15 people.

    He has tweeted about his trip:

    View more on twitter
  18. 'Washed up bodies' in Libya

    The bodies of at least 25 migrants who drowned trying to cross the Mediterranean have been washed up near Libya's western city of Zuwara, a Red Crescent official has said, Reuters news agency reports. 

    Al-Khamis Al-Bosaifi said aid workers were still recovering the bodies, and it was still unclear how the migrants died. 

  19. Zimbabwe has seized ivory worth '$15m'

    Brian Hungwe

    BBC Africa, Harare

    Zimbabwe wants to sell ivory worth $15m (£10m) to finance its conservation efforts, national parks director Edson Chidziya has told reporters. 

    There was no evidence that burning ivory, something that Kenya does, would stop illegal poaching, he added. 

    Journalists were shown around a national vault in the capital, Harare, today where, Mr Chidziya said, some 93 tonnes of confiscated ivory had stockpiled over the last four decades and the quality of some of it was deteriorating. 

    Ivory in vault

    His comments signalled that Zimbabwe is ratcheting up its argument ahead of a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) conference to be held September in South Africa. 

    Zimbabwe wants the global ban in ivory trade to be lifted, while Kenya holds the opposite view. 

    Read: The war on elephants

  20. Ogoniland: What you need to know about it

    Spilled crude oil floats on the shores of the Niger Delta swamps of Bodo, a village in the famous Nigerian oil-producing Ogoniland, which hosts the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in Nigeria's Rivers State on June 24, 2010.
    Image caption: Spilled crude oil floats on the shores of the swamps of Bodo village

    Here are some key facts on Ogoniland, the area President Muhammadu Buhari was due to visit for the first time since his election last year: 

    • 1958: Oil struck in Ogoniland
    • 1990: Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (Mosop) formed, led by Ken Saro-Wiwa
    • 1993: 300,000 Ogonis protest at neglect by government and Shell
    • 1993: Shell pulls out of Ogoniland after employee is beaten
    • 1994: Four community leaders killed by mob of youths. Mosop leaders, including Ken Saro-Wiwa, arrested
    • 1995: Mr Saro-Wiwa and eight others tried and executed; widespread condemnation of government
    • 2003-2008: International attention switches to armed conflict started by other communities in Niger Delta
    • 2011: Shell accepts liability for two Ogoniland spills
    • 2011: UN report says region may need world's biggest clean-up operation
    • 2015: Shell reaches $84m (£55m) settlement with Bodo fishing community affected by two spills 
    • June 2016: Nigeria's vice-president launches clean-up programme after president pulls out.
    Map