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 our African proverb:
Quote Message: The venom of the viper does nothing to the back of the tortoise." from Sent by Funwi Julius, Bamenda, Cameroon.
The venom of the viper does nothing to the back of the tortoise."
We leave you with a picture from our selection of some of the best photographs from Africa this week. This one is of a crowd at a rally in South Africa to mark the fourth anniversary of the killing of 34 miners by police:
EPACopyright: EPA
Nigerian booksellers decry 'decline in reading culture'
Isa Sanusi
BBC Africa, Abuja
BBCCopyright: BBC
Ayuba Lawan sells a mixture of fiction, history and academic titles at his stall in the northern city of Kano.
But business is very slow, he tells me.
"Days go without selling even one book. Today I sold one book, and I don't have the hope of selling any more. I used the money from the sale of the book to buy lunch."
This huge city is the home of Hausa literature, with many authors here opting to self-publish their works.
Although Kano has a vibrant literary culture, with new romance novels being released every week, book sales are declining, local journalist Aminu Adamu, a literary man, tells me.
Ado Danmalam, another bookseller in the market, has his own theory for the fall in sales:
Quote Message: There is decline in reading culture, which is one of the impacts of economic hardship. Everything is just upside down."
There is decline in reading culture, which is one of the impacts of economic hardship. Everything is just upside down."
BBCCopyright: BBC
Novels, romance, history and classics are all on show at the Kano book stallsImage caption: Novels, romance, history and classics are all on show at the Kano book stalls
Your say: Is it wrong for athletes to switch countries?
Many of you have been getting in touch with your views on the issue of African athletes choosing to represent other countries at the Olympics (see earlier post).
Quote Message: It's not fair play. It's not a true reflection of the host countries' sporting achievement." from Mohammed Tahir, Abuja
It's not fair play. It's not a true reflection of the host countries' sporting achievement."
Quote Message: We have dual citizenship in Kenya so I don't see it as an issue when anyone wants to export their talent and skill abroad. After all we have thousands of Kenyan doctors, teachers, businessmen and soldiers working abroad." from Senior Lord Jumbah, Kenya
We have dual citizenship in Kenya so I don't see it as an issue when anyone wants to export their talent and skill abroad. After all we have thousands of Kenyan doctors, teachers, businessmen and soldiers working abroad."
Quote Message: No. If the parent country does not appreciate and support your efforts you go somewhere else. It's like personal relationships; if your partner doesn't make you happy or doesn't share your ambition you change." from Patrick Serugga, Uganda
No. If the parent country does not appreciate and support your efforts you go somewhere else. It's like personal relationships; if your partner doesn't make you happy or doesn't share your ambition you change."
Quote Message: Looking forward to the day a white European participates for an African country... that will be a first." from Kisakye Shinobo Ellis, Uganda
Looking forward to the day a white European participates for an African country... that will be a first."
Jailed DR Congo activists 'pardoned'
AFPCopyright: AFP
Youth activist Fred Bauma is among those to be freedImage caption: Youth activist Fred Bauma is among those to be freed
The Democratic Republic of Congo's government has announced pardons for 24 people whom the opposition regards as political prisoners, Reuters news agency reports.
The opposition had demanded the release of 26 people as a condition for taking part in talks aimed at resolving differences over presidential elections due in November.
The opposition has accused the government of wanting to delay the poll so that President Joseph Kabila can remain in office, rather than step down as the constitution requires him to do after two elected terms.
Those who have been pardoned include prominent youth activists Fred Bauma and Yves Mawkambula, who were detained in 2015 on charges of plotting against Mr Kabila, Reuters reports.
The two men not pardoned are political party leaders accused of sexual assault and real estate fraud respectively, it adds.
Zambia opposition challenges poll result in court
AFPCopyright: AFP
Mr Hichilema says he was robbed of victoryImage caption: Mr Hichilema says he was robbed of victory
Zambia's main opposition party has launched court action to annul President Edgar Lungu's victory in elections earlier this month.
Its candidate Hakainde Hichelema told BBC Focus in Africa that that the election was stolen from him, and did not reflect the will of the people.
His United Party for National Development (UNDP) had written to the parliamentary speaker asking him to act as president until the outcome of the court case.
Zambia's election commission had declared Mr Lungu the winner by 50.35% to 47.67%, and insisted that the poll was free and fair.
Mr Lungu defeated Mr Hichilema in the previous election, last year, by less than 28,000 votes.
This time, his margin of victory was about 200,000 votes.
Mr Lungu is due to be sworn in next Tuesday
Bahrain gold medallist 'still a Kenyan by blood'
BBCCopyright: BBC
Jebet was greeted by Kenyan supporters on her arrival in EldoretImage caption: Jebet was greeted by Kenyan supporters on her arrival in Eldoret
We've been covering the growing trend of African athletes deciding to represent countries other than their own at the Olympics, often in order to access better training and financial support than they would receive in their home countries.
Kenyan-born Ruth Jebet is the most high-profile example at Rio 2016.
Despite her heritage, she ran for Bahrain in the women's 3,000m steeplechase, winning the Gulf nation its first ever Olympic gold medal.
In the past few hours, Jebet has arrived at Eldoret airport in Kenya. She spoke to the BBC's John Nene, who was there to watch her being welcomed by her family and supporters:
Quote Message: I ran for Bahrain but I'm still a Kenyan by blood. That's why I came here directly from Rio."
I ran for Bahrain but I'm still a Kenyan by blood. That's why I came here directly from Rio."
Her father Joel Murei (pictured below) was there to greet her, with the pair receiving garlands of flowers.
BBCCopyright: BBC
Zimbabwe flower protester 'kicked like a dying horse'
Anti-government marches have increased in Zimbabwe in recent weeks as the economic crisis worsens, and protesters signal their opposition to the central bank's plan to introduce bond notes to deal with a cash shortage.
One of the protesters, Sten Zvorwadza, who is now in hospital after being beaten up by police, told the BBC's Razia Iqbal why he was one of those who took the unusual move of bringing flowers to the protests.
Video content
Video caption: BBC's World Tonight interviews flower protesterBBC's World Tonight interviews flower protester
'No more blue lights' for Zuma
AFPCopyright: AFP
Mr Zuma's offices are in PretoriaImage caption: Mr Zuma's offices are in Pretoria
The new mayor of South Africa's capital, Pretoria, has said there will be "no more blue lights" for President Jacob Zuma when his motorcade travels through the city, alluding to the issue of police escorts for the leader's visits.
Solly Msimanga of the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) made the comment in his inaugural speech as mayor of Tshwane, which includes Pretoria.
Mr Zuma's African National Congress was defeated in local government elections in Tshwane on 3 August.
EPACopyright: EPA
Mr Msimanga's party has ended ANC dominance in South Africa's urban areasImage caption: Mr Msimanga's party has ended ANC dominance in South Africa's urban areas
The 'godfather' of African football
Joao Havelange, the former Fifa president who has died aged 100, was accused of taking millions of dollars in bribes.
But the Brazilian could also be considered the godfather of African football. He realised that African votes would get him into power.
And after the election it was time to give back. He increased funding and brought tournaments to Africa.
Under his presidency, the tournament grew to 32 teams, which gave Africa five guaranteed World Cup places.
And without him and his protege Sepp Blatter, South Africa may never have hosted the World Cup in 2010.
The Brazilian banned South Africa from Fifa in 1976, a ban that lasted until after Nelson Mandela was released from jailImage caption: The Brazilian banned South Africa from Fifa in 1976, a ban that lasted until after Nelson Mandela was released from jail
Rwandan police 'kill terror suspects'
Mary Harper
Africa editor, BBC World Service
Police in Rwanda say they have shot dead what they describe as three "terror suspects" in the south-western town of Bugarama.
They said that before they died the suspects admitted to working with the Somali-based militant Islamist group al-Shabab.
On Thursday, another alleged terror suspect was killed by police in the capital Kigali.
Some opposition supporters say he was shot dead in a secret detention centre used by the Rwandan security services.
The man, from the north of the country, is said to have been missing for more than a year.
South African 'missing mayoral chain was never made'
EPACopyright: EPA
Solly Msimanga is now the mayor of TshwaneImage caption: Solly Msimanga is now the mayor of Tshwane
A South African civil servant has put to bed rumours that the mayoral chain of Tshwane, the metropolitan area which includes the capital, Pretoria, is missing.
“It is not missing. It was never made,” Tshwane City spokesman Blessing Manale told News24.
He explained that Tshwane was created after apartheid, bringing together Pretoria and other towns which had mayoral chains, but the new metropolitan area did not have one.
“The city took a conscious decision not to create a new chain until issues like the coat of arms has been resolved. The city currently sits without a coat of arms,” he said.
Solly Msimanga from the opposition Democratic Alliance has now been sworn in as the new mayor - without a chain.
It is the first time the governing African National Congress (ANC) has lost control of the capital’s municipal council in 22 years.
The BBC’s Milton Nkosi in Johannesburg says the change of guard and mutual suspicion has led to the rumour mill going into overdrive.
Nigeria Olympian 'disappointed and embarrassed' over kit fiasco
Two Nigerian Olympic athletes have told the BBC that they didn't get their Olympic kits until Thursday, three days before the end of the games, by which time they had both finished competing.
It adds to Team Nigeria's Olympic woes, including a dispute over payment for a flight which saw the football team arriving only hours before their first match.
One of the two unnamed athletes said that they were "disappointed and embarrassed" about the issue.
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Athletes, including Triple jumper Olu Olamigoke, competed in Rio (L) in the same kit they wore in the World Athletics Championships (R)Image caption: Athletes, including Triple jumper Olu Olamigoke, competed in Rio (L) in the same kit they wore in the World Athletics Championships (R)
Malian talk show host freed after protests
BBC World Service
BBCCopyright: BBC
The authorities in Mali have released a popular radio talk show host, whose arrest on Monday led to violent protests in which one person was killed.
The presenter, known as Ras Bath, often criticises the government in his broadcasts.
Social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp, have been blocked for the past three days.
The BBC's Alou Diawara in Mali says the protest were linked to growing frustration with the poor state of the economy and continuing insecurity in the north.
AFPCopyright: AFP
Pimp my ride, Kampala style
Photographer Edward Echwalu has been trying to decrypt this personalised numberplate (reading 2 FOOLS) on a car he spotted drawing up to a petrol station in the capital Kampala:
"Depending how you want to interpret this picture, it could be either, 'To Fools' or 'Two Fools.' My gut feeling goes with the former," he writes.
The opposition has nominated Solly Msimanga (C) as the new mayorImage caption: The opposition has nominated Solly Msimanga (C) as the new mayor
Where is Pretoria’s mayoral chain? That's the question on people's lips as South Africa's main opposition party gets ready to take control of the capital for the first time since the advent of democracy in 1994, ending the dominance of the African National Congress (ANC).
The ANC says it has been stolen, while others are wondering whether it is a case of sour grapes following its defeat in the 3 August local government.
The Democratic Alliance's Solly Msimanga is expected to be sworn-in as mayor in a short while, taking over from the ANC's Kgosientso Ramokgopa.
Guinea seahorses discovered in French customs bust
AFPCopyright: AFP
About 2,000 dead seahorses posted from Guinea-Conakry have been seized by customs officers at a post office in a suburb of France's capital Paris, officials say.
The endangered creatures were hidden in airmail packages destined for Vietnam, they added.
Paris customs official Olivier Gourdon said that seahorses were confiscated "pretty often", quoted by AFP news agency.
They were used in traditional medicines and as as aphrodisiacs in Asian states such as Vietnam, China and Hong Kong.
It is unclear how much the seahorses were worth, but 19,000 of them, seized in 2015 en route from Madagascar to Hong Kong, were valued at about $225,000 (£170,000), AFP reports.
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Seahorses are an endangered speciesImage caption: Seahorses are an endangered species
Twenty-five-year old Somali refugee Sadia Mohamed helps women and girls who have experienced domestic or sexual violence and other forms of abuse in the Dadaab, the world's largest refugee camp, in Kenya.
She says they come to the centre where she works for many different reasons.
Quote Message: The camp is not an easy place. There is a lot of domestic violence, early or forced marriages, girls are denied education, and there is sexual assault.
The camp is not an easy place. There is a lot of domestic violence, early or forced marriages, girls are denied education, and there is sexual assault.
Many of the women are traumatised and they need to be handled with sensitivity, says Ms Mohamed who works for the International Rescue Committee.
Quote Message: If she is a survivor of sexual violence, for example, I ask if she is willing then immediately call a doctor. We have a shortage of medical staff so it could be hours until someone arrives. Sometimes I end up staying with a survivor into the evening waiting for a medical exam
If she is a survivor of sexual violence, for example, I ask if she is willing then immediately call a doctor. We have a shortage of medical staff so it could be hours until someone arrives. Sometimes I end up staying with a survivor into the evening waiting for a medical exam
Quote Message: I [then] explain everything that is happening, act as a translator and assist as the doctor performs the exam and gives her any treatment to prevent HIV. If she wants her case to be forwarded to the police, I help gather evidence, such as her clothes, and find her new comfortable clothing.”
I [then] explain everything that is happening, act as a translator and assist as the doctor performs the exam and gives her any treatment to prevent HIV. If she wants her case to be forwarded to the police, I help gather evidence, such as her clothes, and find her new comfortable clothing.”
Afterwards, she counsels the women to reassure them that they are not to blame or alone.
Quote Message: Around 4pm, I start the walk home. To be honest, it is not an easy time of the day – my head is filled with the stories and experiences of the women I have seen and their suffering. It is heavy.
Around 4pm, I start the walk home. To be honest, it is not an easy time of the day – my head is filled with the stories and experiences of the women I have seen and their suffering. It is heavy.
But she says she is proud of her job and that the women she sees leave “knowing they will be ok”.
Martin Jol leaves Egypt's Al Ahly over safety fears
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Dutch coach Martin Jol won the title with Al Ahly in JuneImage caption: Dutch coach Martin Jol won the title with Al Ahly in June
Dutch coach Martin Jol has quit Egypt's Al Ahly after spending just six months at the club over fears for his safety.
The club's fans reacted angrily to their side's failure to reach the semi-finals of the African Champions League.
Jol argued with fans last Friday as his team drew 2-2 with Zambia's Zesco United to end their chances of progressing.
Since then he has also received threats on social media prompting his decision to leave.
Botswana's diamond mines have been enjoying a boom year, after the world's second largest diamond was discovered there, the most prominent in a series of remarkable finds.
The Lesedi la Rona gemstone is the size of a tennis ballImage caption: The Lesedi la Rona gemstone is the size of a tennis ball
Nigeria's navy 'thwarts attack by pirates'
Mary Harper
Africa editor, BBC World Service
The Nigerian navy says it has foiled a pirate attack on a British-flagged cargo ship about 20 nautical miles from the coastal city of Bonny.
A navy spokesman said it deployed a warship which used its superior firepower to fight off the pirates.
Special forces then rescued the ship's crew who had locked themselves into a safe room.
There has been an increase in hijackings and other violent activity in Nigeria's oil-rich Delta region since President Muhammadu Buhari took office last year.
Live Reporting
All times stated are UK
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BBCCopyright: BBC Novels, romance, history and classics are all on show at the Kano book stallsImage caption: Novels, romance, history and classics are all on show at the Kano book stalls View more on twitterView more on twitter 
AFPCopyright: AFP Youth activist Fred Bauma is among those to be freedImage caption: Youth activist Fred Bauma is among those to be freed 
AFPCopyright: AFP Mr Hichilema says he was robbed of victoryImage caption: Mr Hichilema says he was robbed of victory 
BBCCopyright: BBC Jebet was greeted by Kenyan supporters on her arrival in EldoretImage caption: Jebet was greeted by Kenyan supporters on her arrival in Eldoret 
BBCCopyright: BBC Video caption: BBC's World Tonight interviews flower protesterBBC's World Tonight interviews flower protester 
AFPCopyright: AFP Mr Zuma's offices are in PretoriaImage caption: Mr Zuma's offices are in Pretoria 
EPACopyright: EPA Mr Msimanga's party has ended ANC dominance in South Africa's urban areasImage caption: Mr Msimanga's party has ended ANC dominance in South Africa's urban areas 
ReutersCopyright: Reuters The Brazilian banned South Africa from Fifa in 1976, a ban that lasted until after Nelson Mandela was released from jailImage caption: The Brazilian banned South Africa from Fifa in 1976, a ban that lasted until after Nelson Mandela was released from jail 
EPACopyright: EPA Solly Msimanga is now the mayor of TshwaneImage caption: Solly Msimanga is now the mayor of Tshwane 
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images Athletes, including Triple jumper Olu Olamigoke, competed in Rio (L) in the same kit they wore in the World Athletics Championships (R)Image caption: Athletes, including Triple jumper Olu Olamigoke, competed in Rio (L) in the same kit they wore in the World Athletics Championships (R) 
BBCCopyright: BBC 
AFPCopyright: AFP View more on instagramView more on instagram 
EPACopyright: EPA The opposition has nominated Solly Msimanga (C) as the new mayorImage caption: The opposition has nominated Solly Msimanga (C) as the new mayor 
AFPCopyright: AFP 
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images Seahorses are an endangered speciesImage caption: Seahorses are an endangered species 
Meredith Hutchison/IRCCopyright: Meredith Hutchison/IRC 
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images Dutch coach Martin Jol won the title with Al Ahly in JuneImage caption: Dutch coach Martin Jol won the title with Al Ahly in June 
BBCCopyright: BBC View more on twitterView more on twitter 
LUCIAN COMAN/LUCARACopyright: LUCIAN COMAN/LUCARA The Lesedi la Rona gemstone is the size of a tennis ballImage caption: The Lesedi la Rona gemstone is the size of a tennis ball 
Latest PostScroll 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 our African proverb:
Click here and scroll to the bottom to send us your African proverbs
We leave you with a picture from our selection of some of the best photographs from Africa this week. This one is of a crowd at a rally in South Africa to mark the fourth anniversary of the killing of 34 miners by police:
Nigerian booksellers decry 'decline in reading culture'
Isa Sanusi
BBC Africa, Abuja
Ayuba Lawan sells a mixture of fiction, history and academic titles at his stall in the northern city of Kano.
But business is very slow, he tells me.
"Days go without selling even one book. Today I sold one book, and I don't have the hope of selling any more. I used the money from the sale of the book to buy lunch."
This huge city is the home of Hausa literature, with many authors here opting to self-publish their works.
Although Kano has a vibrant literary culture, with new romance novels being released every week, book sales are declining, local journalist Aminu Adamu, a literary man, tells me.
Ado Danmalam, another bookseller in the market, has his own theory for the fall in sales:
Your say: Is it wrong for athletes to switch countries?
Many of you have been getting in touch with your views on the issue of African athletes choosing to represent other countries at the Olympics (see earlier post).
We asked on the BBC Africa Facebook page whether you thought the practice was wrong:
Jailed DR Congo activists 'pardoned'
The Democratic Republic of Congo's government has announced pardons for 24 people whom the opposition regards as political prisoners, Reuters news agency reports.
The opposition had demanded the release of 26 people as a condition for taking part in talks aimed at resolving differences over presidential elections due in November.
The opposition has accused the government of wanting to delay the poll so that President Joseph Kabila can remain in office, rather than step down as the constitution requires him to do after two elected terms.
Those who have been pardoned include prominent youth activists Fred Bauma and Yves Mawkambula, who were detained in 2015 on charges of plotting against Mr Kabila, Reuters reports.
The two men not pardoned are political party leaders accused of sexual assault and real estate fraud respectively, it adds.
Zambia opposition challenges poll result in court
Zambia's main opposition party has launched court action to annul President Edgar Lungu's victory in elections earlier this month.
Its candidate Hakainde Hichelema told BBC Focus in Africa that that the election was stolen from him, and did not reflect the will of the people.
His United Party for National Development (UNDP) had written to the parliamentary speaker asking him to act as president until the outcome of the court case.
Zambia's election commission had declared Mr Lungu the winner by 50.35% to 47.67%, and insisted that the poll was free and fair.
Mr Lungu defeated Mr Hichilema in the previous election, last year, by less than 28,000 votes.
This time, his margin of victory was about 200,000 votes.
Mr Lungu is due to be sworn in next Tuesday
Bahrain gold medallist 'still a Kenyan by blood'
We've been covering the growing trend of African athletes deciding to represent countries other than their own at the Olympics, often in order to access better training and financial support than they would receive in their home countries.
Kenyan-born Ruth Jebet is the most high-profile example at Rio 2016.
Despite her heritage, she ran for Bahrain in the women's 3,000m steeplechase, winning the Gulf nation its first ever Olympic gold medal.
In the past few hours, Jebet has arrived at Eldoret airport in Kenya. She spoke to the BBC's John Nene, who was there to watch her being welcomed by her family and supporters:
Her father Joel Murei (pictured below) was there to greet her, with the pair receiving garlands of flowers.
Zimbabwe flower protester 'kicked like a dying horse'
Anti-government marches have increased in Zimbabwe in recent weeks as the economic crisis worsens, and protesters signal their opposition to the central bank's plan to introduce bond notes to deal with a cash shortage.
One of the protesters, Sten Zvorwadza, who is now in hospital after being beaten up by police, told the BBC's Razia Iqbal why he was one of those who took the unusual move of bringing flowers to the protests.
Video content
'No more blue lights' for Zuma
The new mayor of South Africa's capital, Pretoria, has said there will be "no more blue lights" for President Jacob Zuma when his motorcade travels through the city, alluding to the issue of police escorts for the leader's visits.
Solly Msimanga of the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) made the comment in his inaugural speech as mayor of Tshwane, which includes Pretoria.
Mr Zuma's African National Congress was defeated in local government elections in Tshwane on 3 August.
The 'godfather' of African football
Joao Havelange, the former Fifa president who has died aged 100, was accused of taking millions of dollars in bribes.
But the Brazilian could also be considered the godfather of African football. He realised that African votes would get him into power.
And after the election it was time to give back. He increased funding and brought tournaments to Africa.
Under his presidency, the tournament grew to 32 teams, which gave Africa five guaranteed World Cup places.
And without him and his protege Sepp Blatter, South Africa may never have hosted the World Cup in 2010.
Read the full article by the BBC's Piers Edwards here
Rwandan police 'kill terror suspects'
Mary Harper
Africa editor, BBC World Service
Police in Rwanda say they have shot dead what they describe as three "terror suspects" in the south-western town of Bugarama.
They said that before they died the suspects admitted to working with the Somali-based militant Islamist group al-Shabab.
On Thursday, another alleged terror suspect was killed by police in the capital Kigali.
Some opposition supporters say he was shot dead in a secret detention centre used by the Rwandan security services.
The man, from the north of the country, is said to have been missing for more than a year.
South African 'missing mayoral chain was never made'
A South African civil servant has put to bed rumours that the mayoral chain of Tshwane, the metropolitan area which includes the capital, Pretoria, is missing.
“It is not missing. It was never made,” Tshwane City spokesman Blessing Manale told News24.
He explained that Tshwane was created after apartheid, bringing together Pretoria and other towns which had mayoral chains, but the new metropolitan area did not have one.
“The city took a conscious decision not to create a new chain until issues like the coat of arms has been resolved. The city currently sits without a coat of arms,” he said.
Solly Msimanga from the opposition Democratic Alliance has now been sworn in as the new mayor - without a chain.
It is the first time the governing African National Congress (ANC) has lost control of the capital’s municipal council in 22 years.
The BBC’s Milton Nkosi in Johannesburg says the change of guard and mutual suspicion has led to the rumour mill going into overdrive.
Nigeria Olympian 'disappointed and embarrassed' over kit fiasco
Two Nigerian Olympic athletes have told the BBC that they didn't get their Olympic kits until Thursday, three days before the end of the games, by which time they had both finished competing.
It adds to Team Nigeria's Olympic woes, including a dispute over payment for a flight which saw the football team arriving only hours before their first match.
One of the two unnamed athletes said that they were "disappointed and embarrassed" about the issue.
Malian talk show host freed after protests
BBC World Service
The authorities in Mali have released a popular radio talk show host, whose arrest on Monday led to violent protests in which one person was killed.
The presenter, known as Ras Bath, often criticises the government in his broadcasts.
Social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp, have been blocked for the past three days.
The BBC's Alou Diawara in Mali says the protest were linked to growing frustration with the poor state of the economy and continuing insecurity in the north.
Pimp my ride, Kampala style
Photographer Edward Echwalu has been trying to decrypt this personalised numberplate (reading 2 FOOLS) on a car he spotted drawing up to a petrol station in the capital Kampala:
"Depending how you want to interpret this picture, it could be either, 'To Fools' or 'Two Fools.' My gut feeling goes with the former," he writes.
Pretoria mayoral chain 'missing'
Milton Nkosi
BBC Africa, Johannesburg
Where is Pretoria’s mayoral chain? That's the question on people's lips as South Africa's main opposition party gets ready to take control of the capital for the first time since the advent of democracy in 1994, ending the dominance of the African National Congress (ANC).
The ANC says it has been stolen, while others are wondering whether it is a case of sour grapes following its defeat in the 3 August local government.
The Democratic Alliance's Solly Msimanga is expected to be sworn-in as mayor in a short while, taking over from the ANC's Kgosientso Ramokgopa.
Guinea seahorses discovered in French customs bust
About 2,000 dead seahorses posted from Guinea-Conakry have been seized by customs officers at a post office in a suburb of France's capital Paris, officials say.
The endangered creatures were hidden in airmail packages destined for Vietnam, they added.
Paris customs official Olivier Gourdon said that seahorses were confiscated "pretty often", quoted by AFP news agency.
They were used in traditional medicines and as as aphrodisiacs in Asian states such as Vietnam, China and Hong Kong.
It is unclear how much the seahorses were worth, but 19,000 of them, seized in 2015 en route from Madagascar to Hong Kong, were valued at about $225,000 (£170,000), AFP reports.
Young Somali woman battles Dadaab sexual violence
Twenty-five-year old Somali refugee Sadia Mohamed helps women and girls who have experienced domestic or sexual violence and other forms of abuse in the Dadaab, the world's largest refugee camp, in Kenya.
She says they come to the centre where she works for many different reasons.
Many of the women are traumatised and they need to be handled with sensitivity, says Ms Mohamed who works for the International Rescue Committee.
Afterwards, she counsels the women to reassure them that they are not to blame or alone.
But she says she is proud of her job and that the women she sees leave “knowing they will be ok”.
Martin Jol leaves Egypt's Al Ahly over safety fears
Dutch coach Martin Jol has quit Egypt's Al Ahly after spending just six months at the club over fears for his safety.
The club's fans reacted angrily to their side's failure to reach the semi-finals of the African Champions League.
Jol argued with fans last Friday as his team drew 2-2 with Zambia's Zesco United to end their chances of progressing.
Since then he has also received threats on social media prompting his decision to leave.
Read the full BBC Sport story
Hunting for Botswana diamonds in a massive truck
Africa Business Report presenter Lerato Mbele is in Botswana, filming for the #BBCWorkingLives season:
Botswana's diamond mines have been enjoying a boom year, after the world's second largest diamond was discovered there, the most prominent in a series of remarkable finds.
Read more: Why have so many huge diamonds been found recently?
Nigeria's navy 'thwarts attack by pirates'
Mary Harper
Africa editor, BBC World Service
The Nigerian navy says it has foiled a pirate attack on a British-flagged cargo ship about 20 nautical miles from the coastal city of Bonny.
A navy spokesman said it deployed a warship which used its superior firepower to fight off the pirates.
Special forces then rescued the ship's crew who had locked themselves into a safe room.
There has been an increase in hijackings and other violent activity in Nigeria's oil-rich Delta region since President Muhammadu Buhari took office last year.
Read: Chasing West Africa's pirates