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: It is better to get nine now, than perhaps 10 later" from A Swahili proverb sent by Vin in Mwanza, Tanzania
It is better to get nine now, than perhaps 10 later"
And we leave you with this image of a Nigerian woman dressed to impress as she gets ready for a night out in the country's largest city Lagos, where music is inescapable:
ReutersCopyright: Reuters
Eid horsemen parade in Nigeria
Ishaq Khalid
BBC Africa, Bauchi
BBCCopyright: BBC
The second day of Eid al-Fitr has been celebrated in Bauchi in northern Nigeria with traditional horse riders parading through the streets.
Children climbed a statue in the city to catch a glimpse of them:
BBCCopyright: BBC
Some residents told me that they were happier this year because the celebrations are taking place in a peaceful atmosphere, unlike past Eids that were marked with fear, tension and violence.
BBCCopyright: BBC
The Islamist group Boko Haram has targeted Eid events in the past with bomb and gun attacks.
But the residents said that this year the festivities had been dampened by the high cost of living.
The two bodies held a hearing today to discuss the athlete's two-year ban imposed for failing a drugs test in 2014.
Jeptoo, who is appealing for her original ban to be lifted, says she may have been prescribed the drugs at a local hospital after a road accident.
She briefly joined today's hearing by telephone but opted to leave after opening statements as it was reportedly conducted in French which she finds hard to understand.
The CAS panel decided to proceed with the hearing despite her absence.
Athletics Kenya did not participate in the hearing despite previously announcing that they would attend.
Jeptoo, winner of the Boston and Chicago marathons, became Kenya's first high-profile athlete to fail a test.
Emmanuel Chidi, the 36-year-old migrant who was killed in Italy on Tuesday (see earlier post), fled Nigeria with his partner Chinyery, 24, after their families came under attack from Islamist group Boko Haram.
Their families were killed in an attack on a Nigerian church in 2015, Italian media reported.
As the couple made their way across the Mediterranean, their baby died.
They finally arrived in Fermo, on Italy’s west coast, last November and were taken in by a local Christian charity.
They had a wedding ceremony in January, conducted by local priest Father Vinicio Albanesi, which was unofficial because they had lost their documents, Rai TV reported.
What happened on Tuesday evening is unclear.
Police say a row broke out when racist abuse was hurled at Mr Chidi’s partner.
The attacker, who has now been arrested and charged, is believed to have subjected Chinyery to racist chanting and then grabbed her.
At that point the traffic pole was pulled out of the ground as Mr Chidi and his attacker came to blows. He was taken to hospital in a coma but never recovered.
The hashtag #Emmanuel is now trending across Italy.
Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is among many across Italy who have taken to social media to express disgust at the killing:
Visiting the town, Interior Minister Angelino Alfano told reporters, that the seed of racism had to be stopped before it could bear fruit and also announced that Mr Chidi's partner had been granted refugee status.
In the UK five workers have been killed at a recycling site in Birmingham when a retaining wall holding scrap metal collapsed.
The Press Association is reporting the men killed are believed to be Spanish nationals, originally from The Gambia.
They were working next to a "large concrete structure containing metal" when it collapsed, said the fire service.
The BBC's Andrew Dawkins at the scene says dozens of friends and relatives of the victims have been anxiously waiting outside the plant during the recovery operation.
One of them, Lang Dampha, says two of the dead were his lodgers - and that he had known one of them since childhood.
"I feel sad about it. We come from the same town - Noo-Kunda in Gambia," he said.
Another man in the crowd told our reporter that the five men who died were from different families, but all knew each other well through attending mosques in the city.
One of the titles that Ethiopia’s last emperor held was “Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah” – and to this day there are lions that live in the palace grounds in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has tweeted this footage about his introduction to the big cats:
But he wasn't as brave as Ghana's independence leader Kwame Nkrumah, who actually petted Emperor Haile Selassie's pet lion - watch the clip from 1958 below:
Police officers in Ondo State in south-western Nigeria are hunting for the traditional ruler Oba Abiodun Zachaus Oyewumi who it is reported to have been kidnapped, the Vanguard newspaper reports.
Oba Oyewumi was taken from his palace on Monday night by a group of heavily armed men who also stole personal belongings, according to the Sahara Reporters news site.
The police commissioner of information in Ondo told the BBC that they were investigating "a case of abduction" and hoped to rescue the victim unhurt.
Speaking to Nigeria's Nation Online in May, the 90-year-old monarch said he believed that his simple approach to life had greatly helped him handle the affairs of his town.
He said his leadership had been made easy because he enjoyed promoting local interests.
These pictures from an exhibition by photographer George Osodi give a rare glimpse of Nigeria's many regional monarchs, who although they have no constitutional power wield great influence. Some rule over large regions, while others are traditional rulers of a village or town.
African Union 'to leave Somalia by December 2020'
The African Union says it plans to withdraw its 22,000-strong force from Somalia by the end of 2020, the Associated Press news agency reports.
Under its exit strategy, security responsibilities will be transferred to Somalia's military gradually between 2018 and December 2020, an AU Security Council statement is quoted as saying.
The first contingent of AU troops arrived in Somalia in March 2007 - and has since expanded as Somalia's neighbours have tried to help the country battle the Islamist militant group, al-Shabab.
The force, known as Amisom, has suffered some serious attacks this year - and Uganda, the biggest contributor, has already announced it will withdraw its soldiers by December 2017.
Attacks on Amisom troops:
2016
9 June: Al-Shabab said they killed 60 Ethiopian soldiers in Halgan - Ethiopia denied any soldiers were killed
21 April: Six Ethiopian troops killed in blast in Bay Region
22 February: 15 Ethiopian troops dead in clashes in Lower Shabeelle
15 January: Scores of Kenyan troops killed in an attack on base in El Adde
2015
1 September: More than 20 killed in suicide attack on base in Janale, including at least 12 Ugandan troops
26 June: At least 50 Burundian troops killed in attack on base near Mogadishu
2011
20 October: 70 Amisom and Somali troops killed in clashes in Mogadishu.
Free train travel in Nigeria
Isa Sanusi
BBC Africa, Abuja
BBCCopyright: BBC
Free transport and working trains – what more of an Eid gift could Nigerians wish for?
In Abuja today, a free train service began between the capital and Kaduna to the north.
Many people who work in Abuja actually live in Kaduna because of the high cost of housing. Their families stay in Kaduna and they commute home for the weekends.
In recent years, traffic had also made the road from Abuja to Kaduna dangerous, with fatal accidents recorded on an almost daily basis.
So there was great excitement this morning when officials allowed people to use the new Chinese-built railway link that has just been finished. It will be officially opened by President Muhammadu Buhari at the end of the month.
BBCCopyright: BBC
Until then, the Nigerian Railway Corporation says commuters can travel the 186km (115 miles) journey, which takes two hours, for free.
BBCCopyright: BBC
The project is part of a rail infrastructure plan that will connect the southern cities of Lagos, Port Harcourt, Warri with the more northern cities of Abuja, Kaduna, Kano and Bauchi.
BBCCopyright: BBC
Libya denies Gaddafi's son has been freed from jail
Rana Jawad
BBC North Africa correspondent
Officials in western Libya have denied that Saif al-Islam, son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, has been freed.
France 24, quoting his new lawyer, reported yesterday that he had been released from jail in April.
A senior local official in Zintan, where he is being held, told the BBC:
Quote Message: This is a rumour that has been plaguing Zintan for months. This will not be the last time, I do not understand the motive of this lawyer."
This is a rumour that has been plaguing Zintan for months. This will not be the last time, I do not understand the motive of this lawyer."
Last year, a court in the capital, Tripoli, sentenced Saif al-Islam to death over war crimes linked to the 2011 revolution.
But the militia group that captured him, based in Zintan, has refused to hand him over.
In the years before the uprising that killed his father, Saif al-Islam was known for trying to introduce political and economic reforms.
But as people called for the fall of Gaddafi's rule - he stood by him until the end.
Gambia's Modou Barrow signs new Swansea deal
Gambian winger Modou Barrow has signed a new three-year deal with Swansea City, the Premier League club announced on Thursday.
Barrow has also added an additional one-year extension which sees him commit to the club until June 2019.
He made 25 appearances for Swansea in all competitions last season.
The Welsh side, which finished 12th in the league table, will play their 2016-17 league opener against newly promoted Burnley on 13 August.
Ancient ties between Ethiopia and the land of Israel
Damian Zane
BBC News
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Ethiopia and we posted earlier about the historical ties between the two countries - going back to the 1960s.
But the connection, according to the Bible, is much older than that.
Kings Chapter 10 tells the story of how the Queen of Sheba, who according to Ethiopian tradition came from Aksum in the north of the country, visited King Solomon in Jerusalem.
The Ethiopian story, but not the Bible, then goes on to say that she became pregnant by Solomon, travelled back to Aksum and gave birth to a son, Menelik.
Menelik then went on to found the dynasty of Ethiopian emperors who continued until Haile Selassie, who was overthrown in 1974.
It is also believed that Menelik went to Jerusalem and brought back the biblical Ark of the Covenant (containing the 10 Commandments), which is now housed in a building in Aksum.
Nigerian striker Musa in Leicester
Nigerian striker Ahmed Musa is in England ahead of his medical with Leicester City on Friday.
His former club CSKA Moscow and the Foxes have agreed on an undisclosed fee for the Nigerian international thought to be around £16m.
Musa joined CSKA in 2012 and scored 54 goals in 168 games, and has scored 11 times in 58 appearances for Nigeria since making his debut in 2010.
The US Comic book maker Marvel has a new character - a young black girl, who will join the adventures in the latest episode of the series.
Her name is Riri Williams and she's a 15-year-old Chicago-born science genius studying at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Iron Man writer Brian Michael Bendis told Time Magazine that he came up with Williams' character after being struck by the "chaos and violence" of Chicago while working there.
"And this story of this brilliant, young woman whose life was marred by tragedy that could have easily ended her life, just random street violence, and went off to college was very inspiring to me."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently addressing parliament in Addis Ababa.
It seems rain has not affected play on the last leg of his African tour – the umbrellas were out for his inspection of the guard of honour outside the Ethiopian National Palace.
ReutersCopyright: Reuters
He held talks with his Ethiopia counterpart, Hailemariam Dessalegn, with whom he seemed to enjoy a good rapport:
APCopyright: AP
Ethiopia's ties with Israel could go back a very long way. Ethiopia's royal family, overthrown in the 1974, based their right to rule on a dynastic line stretching back to King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba - as Mr Hailemariam appears to be pointing out in these tweeted photos:
For more on the Israeli leader's comments about Ethiopian Jews, see earlier post.
Olympic basketball: Angola, Senegal and Tunisia out
Nick Cavell
BBC Africa Sport
Africa’s hopes of having a second team in the men’s Olympic basketball tournament ended today as Senegal lost 68-62 to Turkey at a qualifying event in the Philippines.
It means they have been knocked out of the tournament after they also lost to Canada yesterday.
Angola and Tunisia also lost both their games at two other qualifying events and so African champions Nigeria will be the only team from continent in Rio in the men’s tournament.
Women’s African champions Senegal are also heading to Brazil for The Games that officially start on 5 August.
Africa-Asia ivory crime networks: Four things we've learnt
The East Asian ivory smuggling networks have expanded across Africa, a new report has found.
Traffic, a wildlife trade investigation agency, says its findings were based on the increasing number of Chinese and Vietnamese nationals arrested during illegal ivory seizures.
"At the present time, Asian criminal networks, often in collaboration with local political and economic elites, completely dominate the supply of raw ivory out of Africa," the report prepared for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) said.
Here are four interesting facts from the report:
1. The Togo connection: Togo in West African has become the latest hub for shipping large consignments of ivory, often trafficked from across the continent. It is then shipped from the port in Lome to Asia where ivory carvings are prized as status symbols.
2. African ivory processing: It’s not just raw ivory that’s being trafficked. Now things like jewellery and chopsticks are being made in countries including Angola, Congo, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa and Zimbabwe – with direct Chinese involvement - and then trafficked.
3. Mozambique magnet: Mozambique is the favourite place for East Asian syndicates trying to smuggle ivory and rhino horns into Asia mainly because ivory traffickers are not normally imprisoned. It is also estimated that poachers have killed nearly half the country's elephants for their ivory in the past five years.
4. Ethiopia favoured air transport hub: Another favourite with smugglers is Ethiopia's Bole International Airport in the capital, Addis Ababa - because of its good links connecting Africa and Asia. In 2014, 87% of the seizures in Ethiopia involved Chinese nationals.
Ethiopian Jews 'to be moved soon'
Emmanuel Igunza
BBC Africa, Addis Ababa
APCopyright: AP
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his government is still committed to reuniting thousands of Ethiopian Jews with their families who are now in Israel.
At least 9,000 Ethiopians who claim Jewish ancestry are waiting to immigrate to Israel, after years of waiting.
Speaking at a joint press briefing with his Ethiopian counterpart, he said the exercise would be conducted soon, though he failed to outline any clear timelines:
Quote Message: On bringing to Israel members of the [Ethiopian Jewish] community that are still here, we are doing so, we have a commitment, we are fulfilling it on a humanitarian level of family reunification, it will not happen in the future it will happen now under the current budget - we are committed to a certain programme and we are advancing it."
On bringing to Israel members of the [Ethiopian Jewish] community that are still here, we are doing so, we have a commitment, we are fulfilling it on a humanitarian level of family reunification, it will not happen in the future it will happen now under the current budget - we are committed to a certain programme and we are advancing it."
At least 130,000 Ethiopian Jews are now living in Israeli since the first airlift begun in 1984.
Israeli government has come under intense criticism for its alleged failure to absorb and fully integrate the Ethiopian Jews into Israeli society.
Over the past months, hundreds of Ethiopian Jews have taken to the streets in Israel part in protests that have turned violent, alleging racism.
During the meeting, Mr Netanyahu also called for closer co-operation between Israel and Africa in tackling terrorism and boosting trade ties.
Two bilateral agreements to improve agriculture and information technology were also signed.
Suspected killer of Nigerian migrant arrested in Italy
James Reynolds
BBC News, Rome
Italian police have arrested a man accused of killing a 36-year-old Nigerian immigrant.
Emmanuel Chidi and his wife had been living in Italy since September 2015, after fleeing conflict in Nigeria.
He was attacked on Tuesday afternoon in the central Italian town of Fermo.
Reports say that a local man racially insulted Mr Chidi's wife - this provoked an argument.
There are conflicting accounts of what happened next. It seems that one of the men picked up a traffic pole and attacked the other.
Mr Chidi died from his injuries a day later. The police have now arrested the suspected attacker - Amadeo Mancini - and charged him with racially motivated manslaughter.
His lawyer said he "did not mean to kill" and that he had punched the Nigerian in self defence.
The killing has drawn widespread attention and condemnation in Italy. Many worry that it is a sign of tensions created by the arrival of so many migrants from Africa.
Zimbabwe shutdown threat: Five demands
Zimbabweans on social media are patting themselves on the back after a successful campaign to "shutdown" the country on Wednesday.
The stay away was organised, mainly through the messaging site WhatsApp, to protest at the lack of jobs and unpaid wages.
It is not clear which group is behind the campaign, but several activists have issued five demands to be met in the next few days otherwise "the citizens will be shutting Zimbabwe down again on Wednesday 13 July and on Thursday 14 July", one tweet said:
Live Reporting
Uwa Nnachi and Lucy Fleming
All times stated are UK
Get involved
ReutersCopyright: Reuters BBCCopyright: BBC BBCCopyright: BBC BBCCopyright: BBC View more on twitterView more on twitter @IsraeliPMCopyright: @IsraeliPM View more on twitterView more on twitter View more on youtubeView more on youtube - 9 June: Al-Shabab said they killed 60 Ethiopian soldiers in Halgan - Ethiopia denied any soldiers were killed
- 21 April: Six Ethiopian troops killed in blast in Bay Region
- 22 February: 15 Ethiopian troops dead in clashes in Lower Shabeelle
- 15 January: Scores of Kenyan troops killed in an attack on base in El Adde
- 1 September: More than 20 killed in suicide attack on base in Janale, including at least 12 Ugandan troops
- 26 June: At least 50 Burundian troops killed in attack on base near Mogadishu
- 20 October: 70 Amisom and Somali troops killed in clashes in Mogadishu.
BBCCopyright: BBC BBCCopyright: BBC BBCCopyright: BBC BBCCopyright: BBC Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images ReutersCopyright: Reuters APCopyright: AP View more on twitterView more on twitter APCopyright: AP View more on twitterView more on twitter View more on twitterView more on twitter - Pay civil servants their outstanding June salaries - and ensure payments will never be late again
- Reduce roadblocks and stop officers harassing people for cash
- President Robert Mugabe should fire and prosecute corrupt officials
- Plans to introduce bond notes to ease a cash shortage should be abandoned
- Remove a recent ban on imported goods, which is a long list from coffee creamers and body cream to beds and fertiliser.
Latest PostScroll 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:
Click here and scroll to the bottom to send us your African proverbs.
And we leave you with this image of a Nigerian woman dressed to impress as she gets ready for a night out in the country's largest city Lagos, where music is inescapable:
Eid horsemen parade in Nigeria
Ishaq Khalid
BBC Africa, Bauchi
The second day of Eid al-Fitr has been celebrated in Bauchi in northern Nigeria with traditional horse riders parading through the streets.
Children climbed a statue in the city to catch a glimpse of them:
Some residents told me that they were happier this year because the celebrations are taking place in a peaceful atmosphere, unlike past Eids that were marked with fear, tension and violence.
The Islamist group Boko Haram has targeted Eid events in the past with bomb and gun attacks.
But the residents said that this year the festivities had been dampened by the high cost of living.
Watch the parade below:
IAAF call for increase in Kenya's Jeptoo ban
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to increase the ban imposed on Kenyan athlete Rita Jeptoo to four years.
The two bodies held a hearing today to discuss the athlete's two-year ban imposed for failing a drugs test in 2014.
Jeptoo, who is appealing for her original ban to be lifted, says she may have been prescribed the drugs at a local hospital after a road accident.
She briefly joined today's hearing by telephone but opted to leave after opening statements as it was reportedly conducted in French which she finds hard to understand.
The CAS panel decided to proceed with the hearing despite her absence.
Athletics Kenya did not participate in the hearing despite previously announcing that they would attend.
Jeptoo, winner of the Boston and Chicago marathons, became Kenya's first high-profile athlete to fail a test.
For more background, read this BBC story
Nigerian killed in racist attack fled Boko Haram
Emmanuel Chidi, the 36-year-old migrant who was killed in Italy on Tuesday (see earlier post), fled Nigeria with his partner Chinyery, 24, after their families came under attack from Islamist group Boko Haram.
Their families were killed in an attack on a Nigerian church in 2015, Italian media reported.
As the couple made their way across the Mediterranean, their baby died.
They finally arrived in Fermo, on Italy’s west coast, last November and were taken in by a local Christian charity.
They had a wedding ceremony in January, conducted by local priest Father Vinicio Albanesi, which was unofficial because they had lost their documents, Rai TV reported.
What happened on Tuesday evening is unclear.
Police say a row broke out when racist abuse was hurled at Mr Chidi’s partner.
The attacker, who has now been arrested and charged, is believed to have subjected Chinyery to racist chanting and then grabbed her.
At that point the traffic pole was pulled out of the ground as Mr Chidi and his attacker came to blows. He was taken to hospital in a coma but never recovered.
The hashtag #Emmanuel is now trending across Italy.
Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is among many across Italy who have taken to social media to express disgust at the killing:
Visiting the town, Interior Minister Angelino Alfano told reporters, that the seed of racism had to be stopped before it could bear fruit and also announced that Mr Chidi's partner had been granted refugee status.
Read the BBC News story for more
Workers of Gambian origin killed in UK collapse
In the UK five workers have been killed at a recycling site in Birmingham when a retaining wall holding scrap metal collapsed.
The Press Association is reporting the men killed are believed to be Spanish nationals, originally from The Gambia.
They were working next to a "large concrete structure containing metal" when it collapsed, said the fire service.
The BBC's Andrew Dawkins at the scene says dozens of friends and relatives of the victims have been anxiously waiting outside the plant during the recovery operation.
One of them, Lang Dampha, says two of the dead were his lodgers - and that he had known one of them since childhood.
"I feel sad about it. We come from the same town - Noo-Kunda in Gambia," he said.
Another man in the crowd told our reporter that the five men who died were from different families, but all knew each other well through attending mosques in the city.
Read the BBC News story for more
Israeli PM meets Ethiopian palace lions
One of the titles that Ethiopia’s last emperor held was “Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah” – and to this day there are lions that live in the palace grounds in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has tweeted this footage about his introduction to the big cats:
But he wasn't as brave as Ghana's independence leader Kwame Nkrumah, who actually petted Emperor Haile Selassie's pet lion - watch the clip from 1958 below:
Nigerian police hunt for missing king
Police officers in Ondo State in south-western Nigeria are hunting for the traditional ruler Oba Abiodun Zachaus Oyewumi who it is reported to have been kidnapped, the Vanguard newspaper reports.
Oba Oyewumi was taken from his palace on Monday night by a group of heavily armed men who also stole personal belongings, according to the Sahara Reporters news site.
The police commissioner of information in Ondo told the BBC that they were investigating "a case of abduction" and hoped to rescue the victim unhurt.
Speaking to Nigeria's Nation Online in May, the 90-year-old monarch said he believed that his simple approach to life had greatly helped him handle the affairs of his town.
He said his leadership had been made easy because he enjoyed promoting local interests.
These pictures from an exhibition by photographer George Osodi give a rare glimpse of Nigeria's many regional monarchs, who although they have no constitutional power wield great influence. Some rule over large regions, while others are traditional rulers of a village or town.
African Union 'to leave Somalia by December 2020'
The African Union says it plans to withdraw its 22,000-strong force from Somalia by the end of 2020, the Associated Press news agency reports.
Under its exit strategy, security responsibilities will be transferred to Somalia's military gradually between 2018 and December 2020, an AU Security Council statement is quoted as saying.
The first contingent of AU troops arrived in Somalia in March 2007 - and has since expanded as Somalia's neighbours have tried to help the country battle the Islamist militant group, al-Shabab.
The force, known as Amisom, has suffered some serious attacks this year - and Uganda, the biggest contributor, has already announced it will withdraw its soldiers by December 2017.
Attacks on Amisom troops:
2016
2015
2011
Free train travel in Nigeria
Isa Sanusi
BBC Africa, Abuja
Free transport and working trains – what more of an Eid gift could Nigerians wish for?
In Abuja today, a free train service began between the capital and Kaduna to the north.
Many people who work in Abuja actually live in Kaduna because of the high cost of housing. Their families stay in Kaduna and they commute home for the weekends.
In recent years, traffic had also made the road from Abuja to Kaduna dangerous, with fatal accidents recorded on an almost daily basis.
So there was great excitement this morning when officials allowed people to use the new Chinese-built railway link that has just been finished. It will be officially opened by President Muhammadu Buhari at the end of the month.
Until then, the Nigerian Railway Corporation says commuters can travel the 186km (115 miles) journey, which takes two hours, for free.
The project is part of a rail infrastructure plan that will connect the southern cities of Lagos, Port Harcourt, Warri with the more northern cities of Abuja, Kaduna, Kano and Bauchi.
Libya denies Gaddafi's son has been freed from jail
Rana Jawad
BBC North Africa correspondent
Officials in western Libya have denied that Saif al-Islam, son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, has been freed.
France 24, quoting his new lawyer, reported yesterday that he had been released from jail in April.
A senior local official in Zintan, where he is being held, told the BBC:
Last year, a court in the capital, Tripoli, sentenced Saif al-Islam to death over war crimes linked to the 2011 revolution.
But the militia group that captured him, based in Zintan, has refused to hand him over.
In the years before the uprising that killed his father, Saif al-Islam was known for trying to introduce political and economic reforms.
But as people called for the fall of Gaddafi's rule - he stood by him until the end.
Gambia's Modou Barrow signs new Swansea deal
Gambian winger Modou Barrow has signed a new three-year deal with Swansea City, the Premier League club announced on Thursday.
Barrow has also added an additional one-year extension which sees him commit to the club until June 2019.
He made 25 appearances for Swansea in all competitions last season.
The Welsh side, which finished 12th in the league table, will play their 2016-17 league opener against newly promoted Burnley on 13 August.
Read the BBC Sport story for more
Ancient ties between Ethiopia and the land of Israel
Damian Zane
BBC News
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Ethiopia and we posted earlier about the historical ties between the two countries - going back to the 1960s.
But the connection, according to the Bible, is much older than that.
Kings Chapter 10 tells the story of how the Queen of Sheba, who according to Ethiopian tradition came from Aksum in the north of the country, visited King Solomon in Jerusalem.
The Ethiopian story, but not the Bible, then goes on to say that she became pregnant by Solomon, travelled back to Aksum and gave birth to a son, Menelik.
Menelik then went on to found the dynasty of Ethiopian emperors who continued until Haile Selassie, who was overthrown in 1974.
It is also believed that Menelik went to Jerusalem and brought back the biblical Ark of the Covenant (containing the 10 Commandments), which is now housed in a building in Aksum.
Nigerian striker Musa in Leicester
Nigerian striker Ahmed Musa is in England ahead of his medical with Leicester City on Friday.
His former club CSKA Moscow and the Foxes have agreed on an undisclosed fee for the Nigerian international thought to be around £16m.
Musa joined CSKA in 2012 and scored 54 goals in 168 games, and has scored 11 times in 58 appearances for Nigeria since making his debut in 2010.
Read more on this story:
Marvel's new Iron Man is a young black girl
The US Comic book maker Marvel has a new character - a young black girl, who will join the adventures in the latest episode of the series.
Her name is Riri Williams and she's a 15-year-old Chicago-born science genius studying at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Iron Man writer Brian Michael Bendis told Time Magazine that he came up with Williams' character after being struck by the "chaos and violence" of Chicago while working there.
"And this story of this brilliant, young woman whose life was marred by tragedy that could have easily ended her life, just random street violence, and went off to college was very inspiring to me."
Read more on this story:
Israeli PM 'gets a history lesson'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently addressing parliament in Addis Ababa.
It seems rain has not affected play on the last leg of his African tour – the umbrellas were out for his inspection of the guard of honour outside the Ethiopian National Palace.
He held talks with his Ethiopia counterpart, Hailemariam Dessalegn, with whom he seemed to enjoy a good rapport:
Ethiopia's ties with Israel could go back a very long way. Ethiopia's royal family, overthrown in the 1974, based their right to rule on a dynastic line stretching back to King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba - as Mr Hailemariam appears to be pointing out in these tweeted photos:
For more on the Israeli leader's comments about Ethiopian Jews, see earlier post.
Olympic basketball: Angola, Senegal and Tunisia out
Nick Cavell
BBC Africa Sport
Africa’s hopes of having a second team in the men’s Olympic basketball tournament ended today as Senegal lost 68-62 to Turkey at a qualifying event in the Philippines.
It means they have been knocked out of the tournament after they also lost to Canada yesterday.
Angola and Tunisia also lost both their games at two other qualifying events and so African champions Nigeria will be the only team from continent in Rio in the men’s tournament.
Women’s African champions Senegal are also heading to Brazil for The Games that officially start on 5 August.
Africa-Asia ivory crime networks: Four things we've learnt
The East Asian ivory smuggling networks have expanded across Africa, a new report has found.
Traffic, a wildlife trade investigation agency, says its findings were based on the increasing number of Chinese and Vietnamese nationals arrested during illegal ivory seizures.
"At the present time, Asian criminal networks, often in collaboration with local political and economic elites, completely dominate the supply of raw ivory out of Africa," the report prepared for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) said.
Here are four interesting facts from the report:
1. The Togo connection: Togo in West African has become the latest hub for shipping large consignments of ivory, often trafficked from across the continent. It is then shipped from the port in Lome to Asia where ivory carvings are prized as status symbols.
2. African ivory processing: It’s not just raw ivory that’s being trafficked. Now things like jewellery and chopsticks are being made in countries including Angola, Congo, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa and Zimbabwe – with direct Chinese involvement - and then trafficked.
3. Mozambique magnet: Mozambique is the favourite place for East Asian syndicates trying to smuggle ivory and rhino horns into Asia mainly because ivory traffickers are not normally imprisoned. It is also estimated that poachers have killed nearly half the country's elephants for their ivory in the past five years.
4. Ethiopia favoured air transport hub: Another favourite with smugglers is Ethiopia's Bole International Airport in the capital, Addis Ababa - because of its good links connecting Africa and Asia. In 2014, 87% of the seizures in Ethiopia involved Chinese nationals.
Ethiopian Jews 'to be moved soon'
Emmanuel Igunza
BBC Africa, Addis Ababa
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his government is still committed to reuniting thousands of Ethiopian Jews with their families who are now in Israel.
At least 9,000 Ethiopians who claim Jewish ancestry are waiting to immigrate to Israel, after years of waiting.
Speaking at a joint press briefing with his Ethiopian counterpart, he said the exercise would be conducted soon, though he failed to outline any clear timelines:
At least 130,000 Ethiopian Jews are now living in Israeli since the first airlift begun in 1984.
Israeli government has come under intense criticism for its alleged failure to absorb and fully integrate the Ethiopian Jews into Israeli society.
Over the past months, hundreds of Ethiopian Jews have taken to the streets in Israel part in protests that have turned violent, alleging racism.
During the meeting, Mr Netanyahu also called for closer co-operation between Israel and Africa in tackling terrorism and boosting trade ties.
Two bilateral agreements to improve agriculture and information technology were also signed.
Read more: Plight of Ethiopian Jews in Israel
Suspected killer of Nigerian migrant arrested in Italy
James Reynolds
BBC News, Rome
Italian police have arrested a man accused of killing a 36-year-old Nigerian immigrant.
Emmanuel Chidi and his wife had been living in Italy since September 2015, after fleeing conflict in Nigeria.
He was attacked on Tuesday afternoon in the central Italian town of Fermo.
Reports say that a local man racially insulted Mr Chidi's wife - this provoked an argument.
There are conflicting accounts of what happened next. It seems that one of the men picked up a traffic pole and attacked the other.
Mr Chidi died from his injuries a day later. The police have now arrested the suspected attacker - Amadeo Mancini - and charged him with racially motivated manslaughter.
His lawyer said he "did not mean to kill" and that he had punched the Nigerian in self defence.
The killing has drawn widespread attention and condemnation in Italy. Many worry that it is a sign of tensions created by the arrival of so many migrants from Africa.
Zimbabwe shutdown threat: Five demands
Zimbabweans on social media are patting themselves on the back after a successful campaign to "shutdown" the country on Wednesday.
The stay away was organised, mainly through the messaging site WhatsApp, to protest at the lack of jobs and unpaid wages.
It is not clear which group is behind the campaign, but several activists have issued five demands to be met in the next few days otherwise "the citizens will be shutting Zimbabwe down again on Wednesday 13 July and on Thursday 14 July", one tweet said:
The demands are: