Quote Message: If a snake fails to show its venom, children will use it to tie firewood." from An Igbo proverb sent by Henry Amadiegwu in London, United Kingdom
If a snake fails to show its venom, children will use it to tie firewood."
Djibouti accuses Eritrea of sending troops to border
Djibouti's Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf has accused neighbouring Eritrea of sending troops into a disputed area on the border.
There was no immediate independent confirmation, or response from Eritrea.
The minister said Djibouti wanted a peaceful solution but was prepared for conflict if necessary.
It comes after Qatar withdrew its peacekeepers from the border region, apparently because the two East African countries sided with Saudi Arabia in its dispute with the Qataris.
Djibouti and Eritrea fought on the border in 2008 eventually accepting Qatar's offer of mediation and peacekeepers.
Ancient city shows proof of East African trading with India
We reported earlier that archaeologists have discovered an ancient, forgotten city in eastern Ethiopia thought to date back as far as the 10th Century.
One of those archaeologists, Prof Timothy Insoll, told Focus on Africa that the discovery in Harlaa shows traders were coming from as far afield as India.
Video content
Video caption: Local myths inspired archaeologists to search for 10th Century trading hubLocal myths inspired archaeologists to search for 10th Century trading hub
Central African Republic 'sliding backwards'
Central African Republic is "sliding back into an emergency situation," the MSF aid agency says.
It blames renewed fighting in different parts of the country in several locations across the country, which MSF says led to "massive displacement on a level not seen since 2014".
MSF adds that civilians are being targeted on the basis of their ethnicity or religion.
It describes the situation in the town of Bria where 41,000 out of a total of 47,000 inhabitants have been displaced by the fighting.
It says that 25,000 of them are in a camp designed to accommodate 3,000 people and its ability to care for them is "increasingly under threat".
AFPCopyright: AFP
Thousands of people in Bria are now living in makeshift homesImage caption: Thousands of people in Bria are now living in makeshift homes
Eight Ethiopians still missing after London high rise fire
Eight British nationals of Ethiopian origin are still missing after a huge fire engulfed a west London tower block in the early hours of Wednesday, says the Ethiopian Embassy:
The Ethiopian Ambassador to the UK Hailemichael Aberra Afework said the families were known to the embassy:
Quote Message: I cannot imagine what these families must be going through right now. This has hit home, especially because we know these families. The embassy and the Ethiopian community stands united at this difficult time and is providing ongoing support to them."
I cannot imagine what these families must be going through right now. This has hit home, especially because we know these families. The embassy and the Ethiopian community stands united at this difficult time and is providing ongoing support to them."
Thirty people have died and 12 people remain in critical care. The BBC understands that at present there could be as many as 76 people missing as a result of the blaze.
ReutersCopyright: Reuters
Three victims have been named: Five-year-old Isaac Shawo, artist Khadija Saye and Syrian refugee Mohammed Alhajali.
Tunisia's national railway says that it has opened an investigation after a video emerged online showing a driver apparently stopping a train to buy peaches, reports the AFP news agency.
The short video, which appears to be filmed from inside a train, shows crates of fruit placed at the edge of the railway and a vendor climbing onto the train to give a plastic bag to someone:
"Look, he stops an entire train to pick up peaches," said one passenger, while others stood up to watch the scene.
It is not clear when the incident happened.
Lord's Resistance Army 'steps up Congo attacks'
AFPCopyright: AFP
A US-backed search failed to track down Joseph KonyImage caption: A US-backed search failed to track down Joseph Kony
A UN report says the Lord's Resistance
Army (LRA) has stepped up attacks in the Democratic Republic of
Congo, reports the Reuters news agency.
Forty LRA rebels kidnapped 61 civilians in the Tanganyika mining area on 7 June, Reuters adds.
The report says they were forced to move goods looted by the LRA and then later released.
Earlier this year, the US pulled out their forces who were supporting the search for the LRA's leader Joseph Kony.
The UN Special Representative for Central Africa, Francois Lounceny Fall, told the UN Security Council this week that he was concerned the US leaving would "create a security vacuum".
Poor harvest causes maize shortages
Kenya is grappling with a maize shortage that is making it hard for consumers to find flour in the shops. Government silos are out of stock and maize imports do not match the high demand.
The BBC's Ferdinand Omondi went to the agricultural region of Eldoret in western Kenya to find out what has gone wrong with the country's agricultural planning.
Video content
Video caption: Poor harvest causes maize shortages in KenyaPoor harvest causes maize shortages in Kenya
Sudan rebel leader survives attempt to unseat him
BBC World Service
The leader of the biggest rebel group in Sudan, SPLM-North, insists he is still in control despite attempts to overthrow him from within the movement.
Malik Agar told the BBC that there had been a failed coup attempt against him by his deputy, Abdelaziz al Hilu.
Last month, there were deadly clashes between two different factions in rebel territory.
Supporters of Mr Abdelaziz believe he should be in charge of SPLM-North.
They say they have barred Mr Malik from the biggest area under their control, the Nuba Mountains.
He says he intends to visit the area soon.
A BBC correspondent says the divisions come at a bad time for the rebels, as Western countries are forming closer ties with the Sudanese government.
AFPCopyright: AFP
Malik Agar says he is still in charge of SPLM-NorthImage caption: Malik Agar says he is still in charge of SPLM-North
In Pictures: Lesotho inauguration
Pictures are coming through of the inauguration of Lesotho's new Prime Minister Tom Thabane:
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
AFPCopyright: AFP
Mr Thabane, in the yellow tie, attended the ceremony with one of his wives, Ma Isaiah Ramoholi, in matching yellow.
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
The new prime minister's estranged wife, Lipolelo, was shot dead earlier this week and the police are yet to catch the killer.
The BBC's Ferdinand Omondi has more details on the explosion which killed four people in Mandera, north-east Kenya (see earlier entry):
According
to Mandera County Commissioner Fredrick Shisia, the private vehicle had 24
passengers on board and was travelling to Mandera from the town of Elwak.
Among those killed was a local administrator. The
injured are being treated at the Mandera District Hospital.
Only last month eight security officers were killed in two separate bomb attacks in Mandera.
Debate rages in Ghana over porn on TV
Ghana's broadcasting watchdog is looking into whether some TV channels have breached regulations by showing what has been described as pornographic content.
The films shown by a number of free-to-air channels in Ghana after 9pm have sparked a big debate.
Two radio personalities have lodged a complaint with the National Media Commission saying that after "painstaking monitoring" they concluded that the TV stations broke broadcasting guidelines.
In their letter, published by Joy FM, they quote a section of the guidelines saying that programmes should not offend the "moral dignity... of the audience".
The executive secretary of the regulatory body, George Sarpong, told BBC Focus on Africa that there was "no specific law" banning the broadcasting of pornography.
But he said that the National Media Commission is looking at more than the precise laws but also "what constitutes our collective sense of morality".
iStockCopyright: iStock
Bomb blast 'kills four' in Kenya
Four people have died in the latest bomb attack in north-east Kenya, the Reuters news agency is reporting quoting a senior government official.
It adds that 11 people were also injured when the vehicle they were travelling in set off an explosion.
In May, at least eight police officers died in two similar attacks in north-east Kenya - both claimed by the Somalia-based Islamist militant group al-Shabab.
Troubled waters for Lake Tanganyika
Millions of people rely on Lake Tanganyika for their livelihoods. But the largest lake in Africa is in crisis.
It is suffering from the effects of climate change, over-fishing and deforestation and has been nominated by the Global Nature Fund as the "most threatened lake of the year".
Video caption: Lake Tanganyika hit by climate change and over-fishingLake Tanganyika hit by climate change and over-fishing
Zambia churches demand opposition leader's release from prison
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Zambian churches have urged
the government to release the main opposition leader Hakainde
Hichilema who is being held in prison over treason charges.
They are asking for him to face trial under house arrest instead.
He was arrested in April after the convoy he was travelling in allegedly refused to make way for President Edgar Lungu's motorcade.
Church leaders said in a joint statement that they objected to the prolonged detention of Mr Hichilema, popularly known as HH:
Quote Message: HH is not an ordinary criminal but a political prisoner who should be treated with respect."
HH is not an ordinary criminal but a political prisoner who should be treated with respect."
The statement added that the churches view the imprisonment of Mr Hichilema with "growing amazement and alarm" and that Zambia is "a dictatorship in
which force and violence are used to intimidate the population
and subdue opposition".
Mr Hichilema's case is due to be heard in Zambia's High Court.
Artist of Gambian heritage named as victim of London fire
Photographer Khadija Saye has been named by her friend British MP David Lammy as one of those killed in Wednesday's fire at a tower block in London.
Ms Saye was a photographer of Gambian heritage whose most recent work is on display in the diaspora pavilion at the Venice Biennale.
The official death toll stands at 30 but the BBC understands up to 76 people could be missing.
It is thought that many of those are African or of African heritage.
Siemens: We can power 50% of Africa within five years
CEO of Siemens Joe Kaeser told BBC Africa Business Report that he thinks the company could increase the proportion of people who have access to electricity in Africa to 50% within five years.
It currently stands at 35%.
He told the BBC's Matthew Davies that the company would be able to boost the percentage so quickly because electricity is now decentralised.
In the past, providing electricity meant building a big power station and a large electricity grid.
But now he says solar and wind power can be on smaller grids.
Watch the full interview:
Video content
Video caption: What is Siemens doing to light up Africa?What is Siemens doing to light up Africa?
Pangolin scales worth $1.2m seized in Malaysia
AFPCopyright: AFP
A $1.2m (£940,000) shipment of illegal scales from the critically endangered pangolin have been uncovered in Malaysia, officials have told AFP news agency.
AFP says customs officials at Kuala Lumpur International Airport discovered 16 boxes of the smuggled scales weighing almost 400kg (880 pounds).
The shipment had come in from Ghana on a Turkish Airlines flight, adds AFP.
In China and Vietnam pangolin meat is considered a delicacy, and their scales are deemed to have medicinal properties.
They are often cited as being the most trafficked mammal in the world - this picture was captured in a raid earlier this week in Indonesia:
AFPCopyright: AFP
South Sudan education campaigner receives MBE
British-South Sudanese Akuja de Garang has collected her MBE from Buckingham Palace, which was awarded for her work in education in South Sudan.
Ms de Garang came to the UK as a refugee as a young girl.
But after her own university education she was "determined to contribute to the rebuilding of her country", says Girls' Education South Sudan (Gess), the charity she works for.
Gess says its work aims to encourage South Sudanese girls to get into the classroom and stay there.
Ms de Garang said:
Quote Message: If I can inspire even just one girl to reach for greatness, to never give up, then everything will have been worthwhile.”
If I can inspire even just one girl to reach for greatness, to never give up, then everything will have been worthwhile.”
Nigerian athlete Blessing Okagbare had a hair-raising moment during a track and field meeting in Oslo on Thursday, when her wig fell off as she jumped.
Whether the mishap played its part in her finishing seventh is unclear, but the 28-year-old laughed it off on her Instagram account, saying:
Quote Message: When you talk about something for so long and it eventually happened. 😂😂😂😂😃😂😃 Oh well, it is what it is then... "
When you talk about something for so long and it eventually happened. 😂😂😂😂😃😂😃 Oh well, it is what it is then... "
Live Reporting
Clare Spencer and Damian Zane
All times stated are UK
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AFPCopyright: AFP A US-backed search failed to track down Joseph KonyImage caption: A US-backed search failed to track down Joseph Kony Video caption: Poor harvest causes maize shortages in KenyaPoor harvest causes maize shortages in Kenya 
AFPCopyright: AFP Malik Agar says he is still in charge of SPLM-NorthImage caption: Malik Agar says he is still in charge of SPLM-North 
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iStockCopyright: iStock Video caption: Lake Tanganyika hit by climate change and over-fishingLake Tanganyika hit by climate change and over-fishing 
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Latest PostScroll down for Friday's stories
We'll be back next week
That's all from the BBC Africa Live page this week. Keep up to date with what's happening on 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 picture from a runner get pelted with paint in Kenya's colour run. It's one of our favourite pictures from the week.
Djibouti accuses Eritrea of sending troops to border
Djibouti's Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf has accused neighbouring Eritrea of sending troops into a disputed area on the border.
There was no immediate independent confirmation, or response from Eritrea.
The minister said Djibouti wanted a peaceful solution but was prepared for conflict if necessary.
It comes after Qatar withdrew its peacekeepers from the border region, apparently because the two East African countries sided with Saudi Arabia in its dispute with the Qataris.
Djibouti and Eritrea fought on the border in 2008 eventually accepting Qatar's offer of mediation and peacekeepers.
Ancient city shows proof of East African trading with India
We reported earlier that archaeologists have discovered an ancient, forgotten city in eastern Ethiopia thought to date back as far as the 10th Century.
One of those archaeologists, Prof Timothy Insoll, told Focus on Africa that the discovery in Harlaa shows traders were coming from as far afield as India.
Video content
Central African Republic 'sliding backwards'
Central African Republic is "sliding back into an emergency situation," the MSF aid agency says.
It blames renewed fighting in different parts of the country in several locations across the country, which MSF says led to "massive displacement on a level not seen since 2014".
MSF adds that civilians are being targeted on the basis of their ethnicity or religion.
It describes the situation in the town of Bria where 41,000 out of a total of 47,000 inhabitants have been displaced by the fighting.
It says that 25,000 of them are in a camp designed to accommodate 3,000 people and its ability to care for them is "increasingly under threat".
Eight Ethiopians still missing after London high rise fire
Eight British nationals of Ethiopian origin are still missing after a huge fire engulfed a west London tower block in the early hours of Wednesday, says the Ethiopian Embassy:
The Ethiopian Ambassador to the UK Hailemichael Aberra Afework said the families were known to the embassy:
Thirty people have died and 12 people remain in critical care. The BBC understands that at present there could be as many as 76 people missing as a result of the blaze.
Three victims have been named: Five-year-old Isaac Shawo, artist Khadija Saye and Syrian refugee Mohammed Alhajali.
Read more on the BBC News website.
Train driver 'stops train to buy peaches'
Tunisia's national railway says that it has opened an investigation after a video emerged online showing a driver apparently stopping a train to buy peaches, reports the AFP news agency.
The short video, which appears to be filmed from inside a train, shows crates of fruit placed at the edge of the railway and a vendor climbing onto the train to give a plastic bag to someone:
"Look, he stops an entire train to pick up peaches," said one passenger, while others stood up to watch the scene.
It is not clear when the incident happened.
Lord's Resistance Army 'steps up Congo attacks'
A UN report says the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has stepped up attacks in the Democratic Republic of Congo, reports the Reuters news agency.
Forty LRA rebels kidnapped 61 civilians in the Tanganyika mining area on 7 June, Reuters adds.
The report says they were forced to move goods looted by the LRA and then later released.
Earlier this year, the US pulled out their forces who were supporting the search for the LRA's leader Joseph Kony.
The UN Special Representative for Central Africa, Francois Lounceny Fall, told the UN Security Council this week that he was concerned the US leaving would "create a security vacuum".
Poor harvest causes maize shortages
Kenya is grappling with a maize shortage that is making it hard for consumers to find flour in the shops. Government silos are out of stock and maize imports do not match the high demand.
The BBC's Ferdinand Omondi went to the agricultural region of Eldoret in western Kenya to find out what has gone wrong with the country's agricultural planning.
Video content
Sudan rebel leader survives attempt to unseat him
BBC World Service
The leader of the biggest rebel group in Sudan, SPLM-North, insists he is still in control despite attempts to overthrow him from within the movement.
Malik Agar told the BBC that there had been a failed coup attempt against him by his deputy, Abdelaziz al Hilu.
Last month, there were deadly clashes between two different factions in rebel territory.
Supporters of Mr Abdelaziz believe he should be in charge of SPLM-North.
They say they have barred Mr Malik from the biggest area under their control, the Nuba Mountains.
He says he intends to visit the area soon.
A BBC correspondent says the divisions come at a bad time for the rebels, as Western countries are forming closer ties with the Sudanese government.
In Pictures: Lesotho inauguration
Pictures are coming through of the inauguration of Lesotho's new Prime Minister Tom Thabane:
Mr Thabane, in the yellow tie, attended the ceremony with one of his wives, Ma Isaiah Ramoholi, in matching yellow.
The new prime minister's estranged wife, Lipolelo, was shot dead earlier this week and the police are yet to catch the killer.
Read more: Lesotho Prime Minister Tom Thabane sworn in despite wife's killing
Local administrator among dead in Kenya attack
The BBC's Ferdinand Omondi has more details on the explosion which killed four people in Mandera, north-east Kenya (see earlier entry):
According to Mandera County Commissioner Fredrick Shisia, the private vehicle had 24 passengers on board and was travelling to Mandera from the town of Elwak.
Among those killed was a local administrator. The injured are being treated at the Mandera District Hospital.
Only last month eight security officers were killed in two separate bomb attacks in Mandera.
Debate rages in Ghana over porn on TV
Ghana's broadcasting watchdog is looking into whether some TV channels have breached regulations by showing what has been described as pornographic content.
The films shown by a number of free-to-air channels in Ghana after 9pm have sparked a big debate.
Two radio personalities have lodged a complaint with the National Media Commission saying that after "painstaking monitoring" they concluded that the TV stations broke broadcasting guidelines.
In their letter, published by Joy FM, they quote a section of the guidelines saying that programmes should not offend the "moral dignity... of the audience".
The executive secretary of the regulatory body, George Sarpong, told BBC Focus on Africa that there was "no specific law" banning the broadcasting of pornography.
But he said that the National Media Commission is looking at more than the precise laws but also "what constitutes our collective sense of morality".
Bomb blast 'kills four' in Kenya
Four people have died in the latest bomb attack in north-east Kenya, the Reuters news agency is reporting quoting a senior government official.
It adds that 11 people were also injured when the vehicle they were travelling in set off an explosion.
In May, at least eight police officers died in two similar attacks in north-east Kenya - both claimed by the Somalia-based Islamist militant group al-Shabab.
Troubled waters for Lake Tanganyika
Millions of people rely on Lake Tanganyika for their livelihoods. But the largest lake in Africa is in crisis.
It is suffering from the effects of climate change, over-fishing and deforestation and has been nominated by the Global Nature Fund as the "most threatened lake of the year".
The BBC's Sammy Awami has more for Africa Business Report.
Video content
Zambia churches demand opposition leader's release from prison
Zambian churches have urged the government to release the main opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema who is being held in prison over treason charges.
They are asking for him to face trial under house arrest instead.
He was arrested in April after the convoy he was travelling in allegedly refused to make way for President Edgar Lungu's motorcade.
Church leaders said in a joint statement that they objected to the prolonged detention of Mr Hichilema, popularly known as HH:
The statement added that the churches view the imprisonment of Mr Hichilema with "growing amazement and alarm" and that Zambia is "a dictatorship in which force and violence are used to intimidate the population and subdue opposition".
Mr Hichilema's case is due to be heard in Zambia's High Court.
Artist of Gambian heritage named as victim of London fire
Photographer Khadija Saye has been named by her friend British MP David Lammy as one of those killed in Wednesday's fire at a tower block in London.
Ms Saye was a photographer of Gambian heritage whose most recent work is on display in the diaspora pavilion at the Venice Biennale.
The official death toll stands at 30 but the BBC understands up to 76 people could be missing.
It is thought that many of those are African or of African heritage.
Siemens: We can power 50% of Africa within five years
CEO of Siemens Joe Kaeser told BBC Africa Business Report that he thinks the company could increase the proportion of people who have access to electricity in Africa to 50% within five years.
It currently stands at 35%.
He told the BBC's Matthew Davies that the company would be able to boost the percentage so quickly because electricity is now decentralised.
In the past, providing electricity meant building a big power station and a large electricity grid.
But now he says solar and wind power can be on smaller grids.
Watch the full interview:
Video content
Pangolin scales worth $1.2m seized in Malaysia
A $1.2m (£940,000) shipment of illegal scales from the critically endangered pangolin have been uncovered in Malaysia, officials have told AFP news agency.
AFP says customs officials at Kuala Lumpur International Airport discovered 16 boxes of the smuggled scales weighing almost 400kg (880 pounds).
The shipment had come in from Ghana on a Turkish Airlines flight, adds AFP.
In China and Vietnam pangolin meat is considered a delicacy, and their scales are deemed to have medicinal properties.
They are often cited as being the most trafficked mammal in the world - this picture was captured in a raid earlier this week in Indonesia:
South Sudan education campaigner receives MBE
British-South Sudanese Akuja de Garang has collected her MBE from Buckingham Palace, which was awarded for her work in education in South Sudan.
Ms de Garang came to the UK as a refugee as a young girl.
But after her own university education she was "determined to contribute to the rebuilding of her country", says Girls' Education South Sudan (Gess), the charity she works for.
Gess says its work aims to encourage South Sudanese girls to get into the classroom and stay there.
Ms de Garang said:
Athlete's wig falls off during long jump
Nigerian athlete Blessing Okagbare had a hair-raising moment during a track and field meeting in Oslo on Thursday, when her wig fell off as she jumped.
Whether the mishap played its part in her finishing seventh is unclear, but the 28-year-old laughed it off on her Instagram account, saying: