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 picture of Cameroonian football legend Rigobert Song during his playing days. Song is being treated in hospital in Yaounde,  Cameroon, after a medical incident. 

Image source, Bongarts

Funerals have been held in Ethiopia for some of those who died during a protest at a religious festival, Irecha, on Sunday.

Officials now put the death toll at 55 but opposition groups say it is much higher and blame the security forces for causing a stampede.

The government has blamed "anti-peace forces" for the trouble.

Many people turned out for the funeral of student Tesfaye Tadese in Dankanka village in Oromia, the Reuters news agency reports.

Image source, Reuters

Mourners held his portrait aloft:

Image source, Reuters

His mother spoke to journalists:

Image source, Reuters

His father Tadese Biru also talked to reporters:

Image source, Reuters

Jean de Dieu Mucyo, a Rwandan senator and former justice minister, who became famous for his relentless effort to establish any role France could have played in the genocide in 1994 has died, the Rwandan New Times reports, external. 

According to the online newspaper, Mr Mucyo suffered a fatal fall at work and was later pronounced dead at a local hospital where he was rushed. 

The 55-year-old had once been the chairman of a controversial commission that accused France of playing an active role in preparing and carrying out the genocide which cost the lives of at least 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. 

The work of that commission contributed to the tense relations between Rwanda and France, leading to major crises in 2006 and 2009, with Kigali on both occasions cutting diplomatic ties with Paris.  

Image source, Getty Images

Checkmate Mido is a Kenyan beatboxer who mixes his sound with rap verses and acoustic guitar. 

In his own words he's moved from hip hop, to poetry, to theatre, and now back to music having just released his first solo EP called Box of Beats. 

He said he wants to encourage people to spread love every day.

Maimouna Jallow caught up with him in Nairobi for BBC Focus on Africa, and you can hear the amazing sounds he makes with his mouth:

You can watch him on YouTube:

Moise Katumbi, an opposition leader in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has told the BBC's Focus on Africa TV programme that he will support fellow opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi for the presidency “If the people say he's the better candidate". 

Mr Tshisekedi has run in the last two presidential elections in 2006 and 2011.

He also told the BBC's Sophie Ikenye that he will be returning home. 

Mr Katumbi, a former ally of President Joseph Kabila, is currently living in Belgium.

He left the country earlier this year after accusations of recruiting mercenaries to overthrow the government. 

You can watch the full interview on BBC World News at 17:30 GMT

South Africa's Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan struck an optimistic note with regard to the country's economy at a speech in London, the Reuters news agency reports.

He suggested that the recent economic woes may be over and growth will resume.

"We predict over 1% [growth] next year," Reuters quotes Mr Gordhan as saying.

He told delegates at a Financial Times Africa summit: "We are going through a difficult economic patch at the moment but we may well have bottomed out."   

The economy shrunk by 1.2% in the first quarter of this year, but grew at an annualised rate of 3.3% from April to June.

Reuters adds that Mr Gordhan said that he had the confidence of President Jacob Zuma, this was despite some saying that an investigation into his time at the country's revenue service was politically motivated.

Fana Broadcasting Corporate, external (FBC), an Ethiopian broadcaster close to the government, says that most of the 100 people who were in hospital following Sunday's stampede in Bishoftu have now been discharged.

It adds that 55 people were killed, 10 of whom were women.

The head of the hospital, Desalegn Bayisa, told FBC that about 100 people were brought in with minor, moderate and serious injuries and 96 of them have now left. 

“We didn’t get anyone from the injured or dead bodies who was wounded by gunfire or other weapons. The main causes of the death are stampede and suffocation,” Mr Desalegn is quoted as saying.

Opposition groups put the death toll much higher and say the panic at the religious festival in Bishoftu was caused when security forces fired tear gas.

Some people were chanting anti-government slogans.

Image source, Reuters

News that Cameroon's football legend Rigobert Song has been taken to hospital after what has been called a "cerebral attack" has been met with reactions of sympathy from the world of football. 

Clubs, celebrities, friends and former teammates of the player having been tweeting their best wishes:  

Song is expected to be evacuated to France for further medical treatment.

South African photographer Gideon Mendel has been recording the impact on human beings that flooding has had across the world.

His series Drowning World has just won the Greenpeace Photo award, external, and he has got a cash prize to help him continue his work.

Here are a selection of images that he took in south-east Nigeria in 2012 following flooding there.

And you can see more of Mendel's photos on this 2012 gallery.

Poly Muzalia
BBC Africa, Kinshasa

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, political talks between representatives from the ruling party, PPRD, and delegates from certain factions of the opposition are in deadlock over a proposal to postpone the presidential election to November 2018. 

The two-year delay is being put forward by the electoral commission, but opposition delegates say it is too long. 

The talks are takin gplace in the capital, Kinshasa.

The leading opposition party, Etienne Tshisekedi's UDPF, as well as influential civil society organisations such the National Episcopal Conference are boycotting the talks. 

They say the dialogue is not inclusive enough and fear it is a ploy by President Joseph Kabila to extend his rule beyond December 2016 when his second and last constitutional mandate comes to an end. 

Image source, AFP

African Union Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has sent condolences to Ethiopia following Sunday's stampede that killed 55 people, according to government figures, at a religious festival, Irecha, in the Oromia region.

She said in a statement that she supported efforts to "investigate the cause of the stampede and to bring to justice those responsible, while calling for calm and peace".

The US embassy in Ethiopia also shared a condolence message on its Facebook page:

"We express our deepest condolences to the loved ones of the victims at the Irecha celebration in Bishoftu. We hope that those with injuries will receive the care they need," it said.  

Image source, .Reuters

Matt McGrath
Environment correspondent, BBC News, Paris

Attempts to give the maximum level of international protection to all African elephants have foundered at a key species conference in Johannesburg.

A proposal put forward by Kenya was strongly supported but failed to gain the two-thirds majority required.

The opposition of the EU, which voted as a block, was pivotal in the defeat.

Other proposals that would have opened up new ivory markets were also rejected.

Proponents of the increased protection say it is a missed opportunity to safeguard the future of the species and end the current poaching crisis.

African nations have been split on the best approach to conserve elephant populations that have been reduced by around 30% over the past seven years, mainly due to poaching for ivory.

Read more from BBC News Online.

Image source, Getty

Image source, Facebook

Facebook has announced a "slimmed down" version of its Messenger app for countries where older smartphones and slower net speeds are more common.

The company said Messenger Lite had the "core features" of the full app such as the ability to share text and photos.

The app will compete with Facebook-owned WhatsApp, which the company says is used by more than a billion people.

One analyst said offering a stripped-back service for developing markets would "drive adoption of services".

The Lite app will be released for Android devices in Kenya, Tunisia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Venezuela first.  

Read full story:

Emmanuel Igunza
BBC Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Fresh anti-government demonstrations have erupted in several towns in Ethiopia a day after dozens of people died during a protest in the Oromia region. 

The government has declared three days of mourning following the deaths that occurred during a religious festival in the largest region in the country. 

Image source, Reuters

Towns across the Oromia region have seen protests today with people chanting anti-government slogans. 

Witnesses say police used tear gas to disperse the protesters, who were angry over the way security forces dealt with the crowds attending an annual Oromia festival on Sunday.

The government says the death toll now stands at 55, but opposition activists say the number is much higher. 

The country’s prime minister has vowed to bring to justice those responsible for the deaths.

Rights groups say hundreds of people have died in the country since anti government protests begun last November.

Pumza Fihlani
BBC News, Johannesburg

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma has warned that the ongoing protests in some universities will have a negative effect on high school students hoping to further their studies. 

“We are not just gambling with the future of the current generation of students, we are compromising the future of coming generations, and indeed the country,” Mr Zuma said. 

He was speaking at the first day of a special gathering called to address the issue of fees. 

Universities have suspended their academic programme due to security concerns on various campuses. 

The students want the governing African National Congress to deliver on its long-standing promise of free education. 

Some universities have warned that if the academic programme does not resume this week, next year's intake may be affected because the current group would need to redo an entire year’s work. 

Image source, Reuters

Idris Situma
BBC Swahili, Nairobi

Leaders from the Oromo community living in Kenya have protested at the high bail of $500 (£390) each set by a Kenyan court for the release of a group of Oromos who have been charged with holding an illegal meeting at a park in Nairobi.

They had gathered in the park to celebrate an Oromo cultural festival, Irecha, and were arrested on Sunday for holding an illegal assembly.

Their lawyer Stanley King’ahi refuted the charges and produced receipts that showed his clients had paid the county government for the use of the park.

Their arrest came on the same day that at least 52 Oromos were killed in Ethiopia during a protest at Irecha festivities. 

Democratic Republic of Congo's presidential hopeful Moise Katumbi, who is now in exile, has said he will be returning home.

Mr Katumbi, a former ally of President Joseph Kabila is currently living in Belgium.

He left the country earlier this year after accusations of recruiting mercenaries to overthrow the government. 

And then in June he was convicted of illegally selling a property and sentenced to 36 months in prison.

Speaking to the BBC on a visit to London, Mr Katumbi said: 

Image source, AFP

Read more: Could Katumbi become president?

President Jorge Carlos Fonseca of Cape Verde has been re-elected for a second term. 

According to provisional results, Mr Fonseca polled 73% of the vote, winning a landslide victory in the first round. 

The 66-year-old was up against two independent candidates, Albertino Graça and Joaquim Monteiro. 

Cape Verde is now used to peaceful elections. 

As a testament to that peaceful tradition, former President Pedro Pires was awarded the Mo Ibrahim Prize for good governance after he left office in 2010. 

Image source, AFP

A survey, external published by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, set up by Sudanese-British billionaire Mohammed Ibrahim, says that almost two-thirds of African citizens live in countries in which safety and rule of law deteriorated in the last ten years. 

This is the 10th year that the foundation has published the index.

The report blamed a lack of safety and the absence rule of law. 

Looking at the picture overall, the report says that at least 70% of the continent's population, representing 37 countries, had experienced improvement in governance.   

Some other highlights from the survey:

• A large majority (78%) of African citizens live in a country that has improved in participation and human rights over the past decade.
• Forty percent of Africans live in a country which has registered deterioration in electricity Infrastructure over the decade, with over half of Africa’s economy affected by this issue.
• Niger, Rwanda, Ivory Coast, Togo and Kenya have progressed by more than +10 points in business environment over the decade.

Mr Mohammed said in a speech launching the report that Africa needs peace: 

Legendary Cameroonian footballer Rigobert Song, who was rushed to hospital in the country's capital, Yaounde after suffering a medical emergency, will be flown to France this evening. 

The Director of Yaounde l Central Hospital Louis Joss A Mafock has told the BBC that a plane is expected to arrive from France to take the legendary footballer for further treatment. 

Our reporter at the hospital says that government officials and family members have been seen in the hospital but no one has given an official statement.

Image source, AFP