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Live Reporting

Hugo Williams and Damian Zane

All times stated are UK

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  1. Scroll down for Friday's stories

    We'll be back on Monday

    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: The death that kills one's contemporary is a proverbial warning." from A Yoruba proverb sent by Enochseun, Ekiti, Nigeria
    A Yoruba proverb sent by Enochseun, Ekiti, Nigeria

    Click here to send us your African proverbs.

    We leave you with this image from our selection of the best pictures of the week.

    It shows blind Ugandan boxer Bashir Ramathan, on the right, sparring with Ali, who puts a blindfold on to make things fair.

    Boxers sparring in Uganda
  2. What's Up Africa takes on tomato-geddon in Nigeria

    This week, satirist Ikenna Azuike has been worried about the tomato shortage in Nigeria, he's also glad Africans are living longer and he sees that things didn't go so well with the president's limo. Here's Africa in 90 seconds.

    View more on twitter
  3. What happened when McCartney met Fela?

    Musician and former Beatle Paul McCartney has been talking to the BBC about the time that Fela Kuti accused him of stealing Africa's music.

    McCartney travelled to Lagos in 1973 to record Band on the Run with his post-Beatles group Wings.

    He told the BBC that when he arrived he learnt of Fela's accusations. So he called him up and invited him to the studio with his large entourage. 

    It ended up with them becoming friends and McCartney visiting Fela's legendary club The Shrine.

    Quote Message: People talk about the black experience... but here we were, the only whites in the middle of Nigeria and I didn't know whether it was safe or not."

    You can hear him talking about his time in Nigeria from 16.40 into this video.

  4. Kenyan policeman 'shoots high school girl while pursuing escaped convict'

    Police in western Kenya have shot and critically wounded a high school student in Kenya while in pursuit of an escaped convict, local media report.

    The secondary school student in Migori town was reportedly shot in the head by the stray bullet while watching a handball match, the Daily Nation reports. 

    The incident sparked protests among local residents, angry at the alleged "trigger-happy" attitude of the local police. 

    A relative told The Star newspaper that the girl was alive and receiving treatment in hospital, contradicting earlier reports that she had died from her injuries.

    The paper quotes Migori police commander David Kirui as saying: 

    Quote Message: “The student might have been hit by a stray bullet as the warders were shooting in the air.”
    View more on twitter
  5. Gardening against slavery at Chelsea Flower Show

    A world-famous flower show is not a place where you would expect to see an anti-slavery stand.

    But Tanzanian-born Juliet Sargeant has done just that, using her exhibition at the Chelsea Flower Show in London to highlight what campaigners call modern-day slavery, including forced labour and prostitution.

    BBC Africa's Dayo Yusuf visited the show to see how Ms Sargeant's garden design expresses her message.

    Video content

    Video caption: Gardening against slavery at Chelsea Flower Show
  6. SA broadcaster's ban on property destruction 'self censorship'

    South Africa's left-wing opposition EFF party has said the national broadcaster's decision not to show the destruction of public property during protests (see earlier post) is about protecting the image of the governing ANC, Eyewitness News reports.

    The EFF said the decision amounted to self-censorship by journalists.

    Eyewitness News adds that the SABC's chief Hlaudi Motsoeneng said the decision is part of “responsible journalism”.

    “When people see cameras, they start burning property,” he said.

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  7. How can Africa solve its water crisis?

    This month, the BBC Africa Debate comes from Lusaka, Zambia.

    It's focusing on the huge problem around clean drinking water on the continent, and the dwindling supply due to factors like drought and lack of investment in infrastructure.

    Eight of the top 10 countries in the world with the highest percentage of people living without access to safe water are in Africa.

    So what are the most innovative ways the continent can tackle these issues that have such an impact on health and livelihoods? 

    Join presenters Rebecca Kesby and Akwasi Sarpong at 19:00 GMT on BBC World Service radio, or listen again here and use the hashtag #BBCAfricaDebate to have your say. 

    View more on twitter
  8. Migrant crisis: Shipwreck survivor thought he would die

    One of the survivors of a Mediterranean migrant capsize caught on film has told the BBC that he thought he was going to die.

    Mohammed Ali, from Sudan, was one of more than 100 people who fell into the sea on 25 May when their over-crowded boat overturned off the Libyan coast.

    James Reynolds spoke to Mohammed in Sicily.

    Video content

    Video caption: Migrant crisis: Shipwreck survivor thought he would die
  9. French navy to help in EgyptAir search

    A French naval ship specialising in underwater searches is on its way to help find the flight recorders of an EgyptAir plane that crashed last week.

    On Thursday, Egypt's chief investigator said the search had narrowed to about 5km (3.1 miles) in the Mediterranean.

    This was based on a signal from the plane's emergency beacon, but officials now say the signal was received on the day of the crash and is not new.

    There were 66 people on board when the Airbus A320 crashed on 19 May.

    Read more from BBC News Online

    Candlelit vigil
    Image caption: Hundreds of people gathered in Cairo for a candlelit vigil for the victims on Thursday
  10. Uganda terror sentencing: Father's reaction

    Ahmed Nyondo is the father of two of the men sentenced today for role in the 2010 bomb attacks in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, in which 74 people were killed.

    One of his son's, Isa Ahmed Luyima, described as the mastermind behind the attacks, was sentenced to life.

    The other, Hassan Huruna Luyima, was sentenced to 50 years in prison.

    Mr Nyondo spoke to BBC Africa's Patience Atuhaire:

    Quote Message: "No one would have wanted this to happen. And no one wishes this on their child. But God wished for it to happen to my family, and so it has.
    Quote Message: But my children are educated... They are well behaved children. They are married and have children, and were settled down. I never thought my son would be going to jail for life."
    Two men in Ugandan court
    Image caption: Isa Ahmed Luyima (left) was described as the mastermind of the attack
  11. South Sudan detainees 'held in containers and denied water'

    The campaign group Amnesty International says dozens of government detainees in South Sudan are being held in metal shipping containers, and some have died.

    The rights group says the containers are poorly ventilated, and the prisoners, who are accused of having links to rebels, are fed only once or twice a week and are given insufficient drinking water.

    It says soldiers also beat the mainly civilian detainees at the site in Gorom, 20km south of the capital, Juba. 

    The South Sudanese army has rejected the report, saying Gorom is not a prison but a military training centre.

    View more on twitter
    South Sudanese form a long queue to be registered as internally displaced persons
    Image caption: More than two million South Sudanese have been displaced by the civil war
  12. Nine-year-old daughter of British-Ethiopian activist 'challenging UK government'

    The nine-year-old daughter of a British-Ethiopian activist who is imprisoned in Ethiopia has started legal proceedings against the UK government about the way it has handled the case, Buzzfeed is reporting.

    Menabe Andargachew is named in the legal papers outlining the case that the government should not rely on due process in Ethiopia for the case to be resolved.

    Her father British citizen Andargachew Tsege was seized in 2014 when changing planes in Yemen and forced to go to Ethiopia.

    He had been sentenced to death in absentia in 2009 for plotting a coup.

    The British government has been in touch with Mr Andargachew but have not asked for his release.

    His partner, Yemserach Hailemariam, told the BBC Africa Live page, that he was seen last week in prison by the British Ambassador to Ethiopia.

    She said he was physically fine, but was not sure about his mental state.

    Andargachew Tsege
    Image caption: Andargachew Tsege was seized in Yemen in 2014
  13. Nigerians' whiteboard verdicts on President Buhari's first year

    Muhammadu Buhari's name is trending on social media in Nigeria, as people give their view on the president's first year in office.

    The BBC's Newsday programme has been asking Nigerians in the capital, Abuja, to explain whether they think their new leader has made a difference - with the aid of a whiteboard.

    Quote Message: We support you Mr President, and we will patiently wait for the good result." from Abdulrahman and Ummkulthum, Abuja
    Abdulrahman and Ummkulthum, Abuja
    "We support you Mr President, and we will patiently wait for the good result"
    Quote Message: I voted for you but you have failed woefully" from Darlington, Abuja:
    Darlington, Abuja:
    Sign reads "I voted for you but you have failed woefully"
    Quote Message: No pain, no gain. I am confident that the president will take us to the promised land" from Franca, Benin City
    Franca, Benin City
    Sign reads "No pain, no gain. I am confident that the president will take us to the promised land."
    Quote Message: We gave you a mandate; speak to us more!" from @AuthorWales, Lagos
    @AuthorWales, Lagos
    Sign reads: "We gave you a mandate; speak to us more!"

    Earlier in Abuja, Newsday's Nkem Ifejika had a Facebook Live discussion with Mannir Dan Ali from the Daily Trust Nigerian Newspaper. You can watch the stream here.

    For more, read the BBC piece Five ways Nigeria has changed in President Buhari's first year.   

  14. Uganda terror sentencing: 'Death penalty would not bring closure'

    We've been reporting on the five life sentences handed down by a Ugandan court to those behind the 2010 Kampala bomb attack in which 74 people were killed.

    The judge has been explaining why he did not give death sentences, which was an option.

    Judge Alfonse Owiny-Dollo is quoted by the AFP news agency as saying:  

    Quote Message: I do not think that the death penalty would assuage the victims and give closure to the indelible pain that society has suffered."
    Judge in court
  15. Kenya 'will not change its mind' over refugee camp closure

    Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta said the country will not go back on its decision to close the Dadaab refugee camp, home to more than 300,000 Somalis.

    A statement from his office says that he told UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson that the decision "is not reversible".

    “The train has already left the station. It’s now up to those who are interested at seeing the success of the journey to come on board,” he added.

    Aid groups and the UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, has expressed concern over the impending closure.

    Mr Kenyatta said the repatriation process would be handled carefully.

    View more on twitter
  16. Uganda bombing mastermind gets life sentence

    Patience Atuhaire

    BBC Africa, Kampala

    The five men sentenced to life for their role in the 2010 Kampala bombings are:

    • Isa Ahmed Luyima - described as the mastermind of the attack
    • Hussein Hassan Agad
    • Idris Magondu
    • Habib Suleiman Njoroge
    • Muhammed Ali Muhamed.

    The two sentenced to 50 years are:

    • Suleiman Hajjir Nyamandondo
    • Hassan Haruna Luyima  
    Men in court
  17. BreakingLife sentences for Kampala World Cup bombers

    Five of the seven men found guilty on terror charges in Uganda have been given life sentences, reports the BBC's Patience Atuhaire from Kampala.

    The other two were given 50-year sentences.

    Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo said he believed the death sentence would not act as a deterrent.

    The seven were involved in planning the 2010 bomb attacks in Kampala in which 74 people were killed.

    They were trained by the Somalia-based Islamist militant group al-Shabab.

    Men in court dock
  18. Where are the five acquitted on Uganda terror charges?

    The whereabouts of the five men acquitted on terror charges in Uganda yesterday are unknown, reports the BBC's Patience Atuhaire.

    During a break in the sentencing of those found guilty, defence lawyer Caleb Alaka told our reporter that they were released from prison on Thursday evening and are now missing.

    Mr Alaka said that they may have been rearrested, but the police have not confirmed this.

    The New Vision newspaper is reporting that they are now in police custody, quoting a state prosecutor.

    Police sources have told our reporter that the five men are being held for their own safety.

    Scene in court on Thursday
    Image caption: Thirteen were on trial for the 2010 bomb attacks in Kampala, and five were acquitted on Thursday
  19. 'Life goes on' in Niger town under security curfew

    Niger's Diffa region is under a state of emergency because of insecurity caused by Boko Haram. But despite the imposition of a dusk to dawn curfew life in Diffa carries on. 

    Newsday's Julian Keane is in Diffa town and has been reporting on what life is like under the threat of the Islamist militant group.

    Video content

    Video caption: A snapshot of life in city Diffa in Niger

    Listen to Julian's audio report here

  20. UK to send Royal Navy warship to Libya

    The UK is set to send a Royal Navy warship to the Mediterranean to help tackle arms smuggling in Libya, Prime Minister David Cameron has announced.

    He told the G7 summit in Japan the UK was ready to take an "active leadership role" in helping Libya deal with people trafficking and the migration crisis.

    The UK already has a survey vessel, HMS Enterprise, operating in the area.

    Officials are to seek UN approval for the new warship to seize boats taking arms to so-called Islamic State.

    Read the full BBC News story 

    War-damaged buildings in the centre of the eastern coastal city of Benghazi (27 February 2016)
    Image caption: Libya has been beset by fighting since 2011

    Why is Libya so lawless?