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Live Reporting

Damian Zane

All times stated are UK

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  1. We'll be back tomorrow

    Scroll down for today's stories

    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 speech without a proverb is like soup without salt." from An Oromo proverb from Ethiopia sent by Asladdin Muktar from Cairo, Egypt
    An Oromo proverb from Ethiopia sent by Asladdin Muktar from Cairo, Egypt

    Click here and scroll to the bottom to send us your African proverbs .

    We leave you with this picture from Upile Chisala's Instagram feed of different cloth she spotted in a market in Blantyre, Malawi.

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  2. Senegal music legends reform with singer's son

    Video content

    Video caption: Senegal veterans Orchestre Baobab reform with singer's son

    Senegal's legendary group Orchestre Baobab has reformed for a new album, with former singer Ndiouga Ndieng, who died last year, replaced by his son, Alpha.

    The new album, which will be released at the end of this month, is a tribute to Ndieng. A world tour follows.

  3. Nigeria imposes new immigration rules

    Chris Ewokor

    BBC Africa, Abuja

    The Nigerian government has unveiled a new immigration policy which it says will help to prevent jihadists entering the country. 

    Minister of Interior Abdulrahman Dambazau said the new approach to immigration would enhance security and make doing business easier. Under the policy, foreign visitors will be fully registered. 

    Herdsmen entering Nigeria from neighbouring countries will also be monitored.  

  4. SA pastor banned from using Doom on congregation

    Milton Nkosi

    BBC Africa, Johannesburg

    A South African judge has issued a banning order to prevent a controversial pastor from using Doom insect repellent for "religious healing".

    Judge George Phatudi of the Limpopo High Court ruled that pastor Lethebo Rabalago must stop spraying Doom on members of his congregation.

    Last November, Mr Rabalago told the BBC that he used the insecticide for "healing" members of his congregation.

    Many South Africans expressed outrage or ridiculed the pastor.

    The pastor's lawyer, Edmond Lubisi, argued in court that no-one in the congregation of Mount Zion had died as a result of the pastor's actions.

    Judge Phatudi reprimanded the pastor, telling him he was neither a scientist nor a chemical expert.

    Pastor spraying something on someone's face
  5. Does Kenya really spend half its tax take on civil servants?

    The BBC's fact checking service, Reality Check , has been looking into a claim by Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta that 50% of the government's tax revenue is paid to just 2% of the population, through wages to civil servants.

    He said that Kenya's 700,000 public servants were paid 627bn Kenyan shillings ($6bn; £4.9bn) in 2015/16, a figure also cited by the Salary and Remuneration Commission, which oversees public sector pay.  

    Kenya's tax revenue for that year was Ksh1.3tn ($12bn, £10bn) according to Kenya's Treasury department which provides Kenyatta with his 50% figure, (although the accurate figure is 48%).  

    Reality Check says the average proportion of tax revenue spent on public sector wages in sub-Saharan Africa was 29% in 2012, according to a World Bank analysis. That is nearly twice that paid by OECD countries where the average is 15%.

    President Kenyatta
  6. Viral footballer denies having girlfriend

    Pumza Fihlani

    BBC News

    A footballer, who has gone viral on social media after thanking his wife and his girlfriend in a recent post-match interview, has denied having a girlfriend. 

    A clip of the interview with Ghanaian Mohammed Anas got a lot of attention at the weekend:

    View more on twitter

    Anas, who plays for South Africa’s Free State Stars, told the BBC that he was in fact referring to his daughter. 

    "My family knows that I call my daughter my girlfriend. That’s what I was talking about. I don’t have a girlfriend," he said.

    Anas says he is not bothered by the publicity the video has generated saying: "I’m famous now, even people around the world know me."

    He added that he has been together with his wife, who is South African, for seven years.

    "I love her so much, she’s given me two beautiful children. She is fine. She knows what kind of man I am so I am not worried."

  7. 'No deaths' following South Sudan crash

    Figures from the South Sudan plane crash are still unclear.

    Earlier, a plane, on its way from the capital, Juba, with at least 40 people on board crashed as it was landing in Wau, in the north-west of the country. 

    Director of Wau airport Stephen Kejo told BBC Africa Live that there were no deaths but seven passengers were taken to hospital, with three in a critical condition.

    There were earlier reports that 25 people were in hospital.

  8. 'Sex enhancement aids' worth $1.6m seized by SA customs

    OR Tambo airport in Johannesburg

    South African customs officers seized 1.8 tonnes of "male sexual enhancement tablets" worth 20.6m rand ($1.6m; £1.3m) at Johannesburg airport yesterday, the South African Revenue Service has said .

    The shipment contained 80,000 tablets and 126,000 oral jellies wrapped in brown sacks. The products had been sent from the Indian city of Mumbai and were destined for Swaziland, Sars said. 

    "These tablets are restricted and controlled substances and must have permits when being imported," the agency said. 

    "The shipment has been handed over to the Medical Council of South Africa for further investigation."

  9. Ghana-born medical student achieves milestone at top US university

    A lot of Ghanaians are sharing on social media the news that Ghana-born medical student Nancy Abu-Bonsrah is to become the first black woman to be trained as a neurosurgeon at the prestigious Johns Hopkins medical school in the US.

    She was awarded the accolade at the end of last week when medical students found out in the matching process where they were going to be sent:

    View more on twitter

    Some have suggested that she is the first black female neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins, but that is slightly jumping the gun.

    The university told BBC Africa Live that she will be a neurosurgical resident adding that "she will not officially be a neurosurgeon until she completes her residency in a few years".     

    Nancy Abu-Bonsrah moved to the US from Ghana with her parents when she was 15.

  10. Senegal 'happy' over Ghana referee ban

    Joseph Lamptey

    Senegal has said it is "happy" about Fifa's decision to hand a life ban to Ghanaian referee Joseph Lamptey for match fixing. See earlier posts .

    The vice-president of Senegal's football federation, Abdoulaye Sow, said: "Today there are many reasons to be happy about this decision - a decision that will be remembered as being significant but will also warn everybody that they are being watched."

    He added that this shows that:

    Quote Message: All cheating and stealing will be punished according to its gravity."
  11. South Sudan plane crash casualty figures unclear

    There are various figures being reported for the number of people injured in the crash of a passenger plane in South Sudan.

    The plane, on its way from the capital, Juba, crashed as it was landing in Wau, in the north-west of the country.

    There were at least 40 people on board.

    AFP news agency quotes a local government minister as saying that 14 people were taken to hospital for treatment and are in a "stable condition".

    A journalist in Wau told the BBC that 25 people had been injured and were in hospital.

    There has been no confirmation of any deaths.

    People are continuing to share pictures of the crash scene on social media:

    View more on twitter
  12. Ghana waterfall accident clear-up operation

    Ghana's fire service workers have been clearing up the site of the freak waterfall accident in which at least 18 people died.

    The victims were playing in the pool at the base of a popular waterfall spot in Kintampo when a tree fell on them.

    The Ghana National Fire Service made this short video showing people cutting up the tree and carrying the logs away.

    Video content

    Video caption: Cleaning up after Ghana waterfall accident
  13. South Africans pay tribute to actor Joe Mafela

    Milton Nkosi

    BBC Africa, Johannesburg

    South Africans have taken to social media to pay tribute to actor Joe Mafela, who died in a car crash at the weekend in Johannesburg. The tag #RipJoemafela has been trending since news of his death broke.

    Mr Mafela was a popular figure on some of the country’s favourite television sitcoms since the 1980s.

    The veteran actor, who starred in the popular TV comedy Sgudi Snaysi ("It's Good, It's Nice") was travelling in a vehicle which collided with a pick-up truck (known colloquially as a bakkie) on Saturday night.

    Police have opened an inquest docket to investigate the cause of death.

    According to Johannesburg police spokesperson Edna Mamonyane, Mr Mafela died at the scene.

    "The Ford Figo that Mr Mafela was driving collided with an Isuzu bakkie and when paramedics arrived on scene, Mr Mafela was then declared [dead]."

    President of the Creative and Cultural Industries Federation of South Africa Tony Kgoroge told the BBC that Mr Mafela had produced "great work after great body of work".

    "We hope that young people can emulate him as they learn his craft and that he will be our ancestor until we meet on the other side," he said.

    A local news organisation tweeted its own tribute this morning.

    View more on twitter
  14. 'New chapter' in Rwanda-Vatican relations

    Rwandan President Paul Kagame has tweeted that his meeting with Pope Francis earlier was a "great moment" and a "new chapter in relations" between his country and the Vatican.

    The pontiff asked for God's forgiveness over the role in the Rwandan genocide of people connected with the Roman Catholic Church.

    See earlier post .

    View more on twitter
    View more on twitter
    View more on twitter
  15. World Bank in $57bn financing deal for Africa

    Matthew Davies

    Editor, BBC Africa Business Report

    The World Bank has announced a three-year financing package for sub-Saharan Africa worth $57bn (£46bn). World Bank President Jim Yong Kim says the financing will help African countries grow, create opportunities and guard against external shocks and crises. 

    The bulk of the money being made available - $45bn worth - will be channelled through the International Development Association, the part of the World Bank that concentrates on the world's least developed countries. 

    The financing will support more than 400 projects already under way in sub-Saharan Africa - ranging from infrastructure development and education to water sanitation and basic health services. The idea is to create the conditions to boost economic growth. 

    The support will come through a combination of financing tools: grants, interest-free loans and low-interest loans. 

    The commodity slump of recent years hit the region's finances hard, but a modest rebound is expected this year. Analysts say this "shot in the arm" from the World Bank could significantly help the sustainability of that recovery.  

    
          A workers opens an irrigation tap at the rice research center in Bouake, center of Ivory Coast.
  16. Causes of South Sudan plane crash unclear

    There are conflicting reports about the causes of the plane crash at Wau airport in the north of South Sudan.

    The South Supreme Airlines was coming into land after flying from the capital, Juba.

    State governor Andrea Mayar Achor told BBC Focus on Africa radio that there were visibility problems.

    But a journalist for Eye Radio said that "the plane was blowing smoke from the tail before it crashed".

    The number of casualties is also not clear. There were at least 40 people on board, but some are said to have survived.

    Eye Radio quotes the Director of Wau Teaching Hospital, Dr Edmond Sebit, as saying that several of the injured have been taken to the hospital.

    South Supreme Airlines are not reporting any deaths at this stage, a local journalist told the BBC.

    People are tweeting pictures from the scene.

    View more on twitter
  17. The penalty that led to the Ghana referee ban

    
          South Africa's Andile Jali (L) passes Senegal's Saliou Ciss (R) during the 2018 World Cup qualifying football match between South Africa and Senegal on November 12, 2016
    Image caption: South Africa beat Senegal 2-1 - a result which included a contentious penalty for South Africa

    Ghanaian referee Joseph Lamptey has been banned for life by football's world governing body, Fifa, after questions were raised about his officiating at a World Cup qualifier between South Africa and Senegal last November.

    The match ended 2-1 to South Africa, but Senegal launched a formal protest to Fifa.

    They said that Lamptey awarded a penalty despite his assistant referee, who the Senegalese said was "better placed", flagging for a corner.

    Many other observers also questioned the penalty at the time, including BBC Sport which reported that South Africa took the lead "after a contentious penalty was awarded for handball".

    The BBC's Piers Edwards tried to get comment from Lamptey.

    View more on twitter
  18. World Bank boss visits Tanzania

    World Bank president Jim Yong Kim is in Tanzania where he has attended a ceremony with President John Magufuli to lay the foundation stone for a road project in the country's main city, Dar es Salaam.

    The World Bank is providing loan finance for the Ubungo interchange project, which is aimed at reducing traffic congestion on key routes in the city.

    View more on twitter
  19. BreakingPassenger plane crashes in South Sudan

    A passenger plane has crashed as it was coming in to land at the airport in Wau, in northern South Sudan, reports say.

    There were at least 30 people on board, according to a local official.

    He told the BBC that the plane was coming from the capital, Juba.

    It is not clear if anyone has died.

    A radio station in Juba is reporting that some people have been pulled out alive.

    View more on twitter
    View more on twitter
  20. Ghanaian football referee banned for life

    Ghanaian referee Joseph Odartei Lamptey has been banned for life by football's world governing body Fifa for "unlawfully influencing" the result of a World Cup qualifier between South Africa and Senegal last November. 

    In a statement, Fifia says it  "follows a zero-tolerance policy on match manipulation and is committed to protecting the integrity of football".

    More details via the link below.

    View more on twitter