That's it for the BBC Africa Live page today, you can keep up-to-date with what is happening across the continent by listening to the Africa Today podcast and checking the BBC News website.

A reminder of today's wise words:

And we leave you with photo showing Pope Francis greeting a Congolese group holding up a poster of the late Archbishop of Brazzaville calling for him to be made a saint during the pontiff's audience today in St Peter's square at the Vatican:

Image source, AFP PHOTO / OSSERVATORE ROMANO

Some final scores from today's Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers to bring you before we close the live page. 

Guinea-Bissau 1 - 0 Kenya  

Zambia 1 - 1 Congo-Brazzaville  

Sao Tome and Principe 2 - 1 Libya  

South Sudan 1 - 2 Benin  

Chad 0 - 1 Tanzania  

See how the group tables stand here, external

It seems that the BBC's Ferdinand Omondi in the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa may have a case of sour grapes after the Harambee Stars' shock defeat.

Voice of America is reporting that South Sudan's foreign minister has just been sacked:

Image source, Gallo

The South African police unit that investigates organised crime has launched a probe into President Jacob Zuma’s son Duduzane and the wealthy and controversial Gupta family.

The Hawks say they have launched the probe because of a complaint filed by the main opposition Democratic Alliance party.

Although the Gupta's relationship with Mr Zuma has been a source of controversy for years, it burst into the open last week when senior figures went public to say the family had exerted undue sway, including offering cabinet positions, Reuters news agency reports.

The BBC’s Milton Nkosi in Johannesburg says politically it's not a big deal for President Zuma because in all this drama it looks like the Hawks are on his side.

Read: The Guptas and their links to the Zumas

Uganda's private NBS station is reporting that police are investigating a minister for allegedly assaulting a journalist - and have tweeted a video of the incident:

The reporter, Judith Nalugw, worked for Uganda's state-run Vision group and says, external she suffered bruises to her left hand in the unprovoked attack.

The New Vision reports eyewitnesses saying she was punched as she captured footage at the premises of the Anti-Corruption Court where the minister faces separate charges.

In Sierra Leone, which has been rated as one of the most corrupt countries in the world, even the health sector isn't immune from the cronyism and bribery that is rife in many public institutions.

The country's anti-graft commission has even cited incidents of health workers asking mothers for money for drugs which should be free. 

The BBC's Umaru Fofana has been investigating from the capital, Freetown, where the recent Ebola outbreak further underlined the need for transparency and accountability.

Take a listen to his report:

A Finnish court has acquitted three men and a woman of financing Somalia’s al-Shabab militant group, the AFP news agency reports.

The four defendants, who were of Somali descent, had collected 3,200 euros ($3,575; £2,540) for the al-Shabab group in Somalia between 2008 and 2011.

The Helsinki Court of Appeal says they could not have known for certain the money would be used for committing terror crimes, the agency reports.

The court said it believed their defence that it was sent for charitable causes. 

Image source, AFP

Photos of the Algerian national team's new kit have been released. 

No prizes for guessing who stars in the promotional campaign from kit sponsor Adidas - it is of course, the man of the moment, Riyad Mahrez.

He's inspired Leicester to the top of the English Premier League, and put his team on the bring of one of the greatest sporting upsets of all time. 

Riyad Mahrez: Leicester forward's journey to top of Premier League

Separatist rebels in Angola's oil-rich Cabinda province say they have shot dead about 30 soldiers this month, the AFP agency reports.

Flec, which has been fighting for the exclave’s independence for four decades, said it had staged two deadly attacks in March.

"We are in a state of war and we face a massive military invasion from Angola," the statement sent to AFP said.

Cabinda was formerly a Portuguese protectorate that was incorporated into Angola when the Portuguese withdrew from both territories in 1975. 

It is separated from Angola by a strip of the Democratic Republic of Congo and despite being rich in oil, the region is one of the poorest in the country.

Image source, AFP

Congo-Brazzaville opposition candidate Jean-Marie Mokoko has contested initial results from the country's presidential election showing incumbent leader Denis Sassou Ngueso in the lead, with 67% of the vote, AFP news agency reports.

The initial results cover 72 of 111 voting districts. 

Al Jazeera reporter Haru Mutasa has been tweeting photos and video of a large opposition rally this afternoon in the capital, Brazzaville.

She says the opposition have now gone home and there is a heavy police and military presence out in the capital, as the country awaits the final elections results.

BBC Monitoring

The militant group al-Shabab has ordered traders in the southern Somali region of Lower Shabelle from dealing in goods manufactured in Turkey, the pro-Islamist website Falaar reports.

Residents have been notified that any trader seen dealing in them would be "burnt alive".

Some traders in the region have expressed their concern over the prohibition, saying it will negatively affect their commercial activities.

Al-Shabab accuses Turkey of backing the Somali government, which it is fighting.

The group previously said Turkish imports to Somalia were killing local businesses.

Turkey and Turkish businessmen are making huge investments in Somalia, especially in the capital, Mogadishu.

Read more: Somalia's love affair with Turkey

A South African swimmer who has crossed for the hundredth time between Robben Island and Cape Town has been making the news in today’s papers.

Theodore Yach, 58, completed the 10.4km (6.4-mile) journey for charity on Tuesday in three hours and 10 minutes, South Africa’s Times paper reports, external. 

"About 75% [of the feat] is focusing on the mental aspect. I don't wear a wetsuit. I do this in a Speedo, so beating the cold is critical," the New24 website quoted the swimmer as saying, external.

Image source, AFP

Image source, Getty Images

Benin came away from South Sudan with a 2-1 win on Wednesday as the third round of group qualifiers for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations began.

The victory lifts Benin to the top of Group C above Mail, who play on Friday.

New Fifa president Gianni Infantino was watching from the stands, in South Sudan on one of his first international trips since his election last month. 

Earlier, he met young South Sudanese football players, after inaugurating the country's new FA office. 

Image source, AFP

Read the BBC Africa Sport story for more.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has confirmed 70 charges against Dominic Ongwen, a senior commander of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebel group. 

The charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity include murder, rape, keeping sex slaves and recruiting child soldiers. 

Mr Ongwen will be the first LRA member to face trial at the ICC. 

Nicknamed the "White Ant", he was himself a child soldier before he became one of the LRA's most senior commanders. 

The LRA started out as a Ugandan rebel group, but now mainly operates in neighbouring countries. 

It became notorious for abducting children and cutting off the lips, noses and ears of its victims. 

Read more about Dominic Ongwen

In the aftermath of this month's deadly attack on a popular beach resort in Ivory Coast, many showed their defiance on social media by using the hashtag #MemePasPeur ("not even scared).

Now a group of Ivorian artists has added their voices to that call, recording a music video at Grand Bassam, scene of the attack by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which left 19 people dead.

BBC World Service Africa editor James Copnall has shared a link to the video on his Twitter feed:

Brian Hungwe
BBC Africa, Harare

The Zimbabwean government says that any foreign firm operating in the country that does not sell a majority stake to local companies or individuals by 1 April will have its licence revoked.

Under the legislation, all businesses operating in the country should be 51% owned by indigenous Zimbabweans.

Major multinationals working in Zimbabwe include mining firms, banks and retailers. 

A previous government deadline, two years ago, was largely ignored. 

The International Monetary Fund and others say the indigenisation policy scares away investors, a criticism rejected by the Zimbabwean authorities. 

"Businesses have continued to disregard Zimbabwe's indigenisation laws as if daring our President and his government to do something about their contemptuous behavior," said Youth and Economic Empowerment Minister Patrick Zhuwao.

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Monitoring

Image source, AFP

A Red Cross official has said the Mount Nyiragongo volcano, which is located near the town of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo close to the Rwandan border, has shown "increased signs of imminent eruption" since last month, Rwanda's New Times paper reports, external.

Dr Dyrckx Dushime has also cautioned planes not to fly over the mountain and advised locals to avoid using rain water. 

Image source, AFP

But an official of the Disaster Management Ministry, Frederic Ntawukuriryayo, is quoted as saying: "The information we have so far is that the warning signposts are still in yellow which means that there is no immediate threat and the population can calmly continue to go about their daily activities."

The volcano last erupted in 2002, displacing thousands of residents in Goma - with masses of people fleeing from the lava, crossing the border into Rwanda.

Egypt's President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi reshuffled his government on Wednesday, naming nine new ministers and creating a new portfolio for business but leaving the key ministries of defence, foreign affairs and interior untouched, the Reuters news agency reports.

It says the replacement of the water minister follows the lack of any tangible progress in drawn-out negotiations between Egypt and Ethiopia over Ethiopia's construction of a massive dam.

Ethiopia began diverting the Blue Nile in May 2013, amid works to construct a hydroelectric plant known as the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

The river is a tributary of the Nile, on which Egypt is heavily dependent.

Image source, AFP

Patience Atuhaire
BBC Africa, Kampala

A massive storm on Lake Albert on Monday has badly affected the fishing community living along its shores in western Uganda.

Police in the western district of Bullisa have so far recovered six bodies from the lake and 17 others are still missing.

Most of the dead were fishermen, who had gone out to cast their nets that night.

More than 600 households have been left homeless as the extreme weather led to the destruction of their mostly grass-thatch shelters along the shores.

John Rutagira, the Buliisa district police commander, says that those affected are putting up temporary shelters as they wait for assistance from the disaster management ministry. 

Image source, AFP

Bashir Sa'ad Abdullahi
BBC Africa, Abuja

The Taxi-app firm Uber is really for a niche market in Nigeria, and at the moment is only used by the elite.

It launched in Lagos in 2014 and unlike in other cities around the world, has not caused much controversy.

It is not clear whether its expansion today to Abuja, a much smaller city, will be equally uncontroversial - see earlier post.

It may be that Nigeria has such a big population that there is room for more of such companies without them affecting the existing taxi operators.

Image source, AFP