South African police have fired stun grenades and water cannon to disperse protesters who marched towards President Jacob Zuma’s offices in the capital, Pretoria, demanding he resign.

Some have tweeted from the scene:

There have also been reports of some looting during one of the marches in the city’s central business district, as this video on Twitter shows:

Abdourahmane Dia
BBC Afrique, Dakar

Image source, AFP

People in Senegal, including the mayors of Dakar, the capital, and Medina, have taken part in a prayer ceremony for Lamine Diack, the former president of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), who is currently under investigation in France for alleged corruption. 

The 83-year-old is not in prison but is not permitted to leave France.

Local papers report that hundreds of people have taken part in the ceremony, with some speakers calling Mr Diack "a hostage of France" and demanding his release. 

Some banners read "Je suis Diack” (I am Diack), “Je suis Senegalais” (I am Senegalese) and “Je suis Africain” (I am African) - all an echo of the "Je Suis Charlie" response on social media to the attack on the offices of the satirist Charlie Hebdo magazine in France last year. 

Several videos like this have been posted:

And the hashtag #JeSuisDiack has been launched on Tweeter and Facebook, but doesn't seem to drawn much attention yet. 

Image source, AFP

The main opposition leader in Ivory Coast has rejected the yes campaign's landslide victory in the referendum on a new constitution, saying the result was "fixed". 

Pascal Affi N'Guessan said Sunday's referendum was marred by low turnout and "corruption and ballot-stuffing". 

Officila results showed that the yes campaign, led by Alassane Ouattara, won the referendum with 93.42% of the votes, and the turnout was 42%.

The main opposition parties called for a boycott of the referendum, and put the turnout at no more than 10%. 

The new constitution scraps the requirement that both parents of presidential candidates must be Ivorian-born. It also removes the age limit of 75 for candidates, fuelling oposition speculation that Mr Ouattara, 74, intends to run for office again.  

The constitution also creates a vice-president's post, a senate and a chamber for traditional leaders. 

Neither Mr N'Guessan nor anyone else in the opposiyion camp says they intend to appeal to the Constitutional Court to annul the result. 

Election observers have so far not raised any objections about the official result.

Read: Will the new constitution bring peace? 

South Africans have taken to Twitter in reaction to news that a report into President Jacob Zuma's alleged improper relationship with businessmen is to be published by 17:00 local time (15:00 GMT) (see earlier post).

The report by former anti-corruption chief Thuli Madonsela was supposed to be published last month, just before she stepped down, but the president attempted to stop its publication through the courts.

People have been using popular memes and gifs to express their eagerness to read Ms's Madonsela findings, which will be published under the title Report on State Capture. 

Here's a selection of them:

This one shows the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, Julius Malema, who has been a critic of President Zuma and among those who challenged the president's attempt to stop the report's publication:

The last phrase reads: "He doesn’t need anything to disturb him come 5pm."

Members of the Shia community in Nigeria have held a protest in the capital, Abuja, against the continued detention of their leader Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky. 

Sheikh Zakzaky and his wife were arrested following clashes between his followers and security forces in December 2015 in which about 350 Shia Muslims were reported to have been killed. 

He is accused of planning to assassinate army chief Gen Tukur Buratai, but has not been charged in court. 

His group, the pro-Iranian Islamic Movement of Nigeria, denies the allegation. 

The BBC's Naziru Mikailu says the protesters handed a petition to officials at the national assembly before dispersing. 

Investigating clashes between Nigeria's Shia and the army

A tweeter shared these pictures of the march with some showing plumes of tear gas allegedly fired by police. 

At least 213 journalists were killed last year, becoming the second deadliest year for journalists in the last decade according to a report , externalby the UN's cultural agency Unesco. 

In Africa, 16 journalists were killed compared to 11 in 2014. 

The report says most journalists were killed in conflict situations  

It includes an interactive infographic, external which details the countries where journalists have been killed and the status of the investigations. 

Unesco released the report on the international day to raise awareness about the dangers journalists faced.

A former BBC journalist, who now heads the union of journalists in Somalia has shared a picture of his colleagues marking the occassion: 

Somalia, which has been wracked by civil conflict for more than two decades, is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist.

At least 53 journalists have killed there between 2006 and 2015 - often in targeted attacks.

Read more: Journalists under threat

Tomi Oladipo
BBC Monitoring's Africa security correspondent

Image source, Combined Maritime Forces

Japan plans to scale down its operations in the Gulf of Aden, off Somalia’s coast, the Japanese news agency Jiji reports.

Piracy off the coast of Somalia and in the western Indian Ocean, usually for ransom, has reduced significantly in recent years, in part because of extensive international military patrols of the most vulnerable areas.

Japan has been part of the Combined Task Force 151, contributing two surveillance aircraft and two navy destroyers. 

The fleet has helped guard commercial ships in the area and conducted surveillance and reconnaissance missions. 

Jiji says that one of the destroyers will now be withdrawn and redeployed closer home to help counter the threat from North Korea.

However, this announcement comes just weeks after a defence ministry spokesman said Tokyo was considering an expansion of its existing military facility in Red Sea nation of Djibouti.

There were suggestions that a larger presence was needed to counter China’s growing influence in the region. 

The airbase, which is Japan's first full-scale overseas facility, currently hosts around 200 personnel. 

Djibouti is also home to US and French military facilities, with a Chinese base under construction.

Read more: Why are there so many military bases in Djibouti

Image source, GALLO IMAGES

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma is accused of allowing members of the Indian-born Gupta family to wield undue influence, with a deputy finance minister saying he was offered the job of finance minister by one of them. 

Both Mr Zuma and the Guptas have denied the allegation. A report that investigated their relationship is to be published this afternoon (see previous post).

So, who are the Guptas?

• Brothers Ajay, Atul and Rajesh moved to South Africa from India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh in Saharanpur in 1993, just as white minority rule was ending
• A family spokesman told the BBC their father believed Africa was about to become the "America of the world" - the world's land of opportunity
• They set up businesses in air travel, mining, energy, technology and media
• Opposition nicknamed them and the president as "Zuptas" because of their close relationship
• Deny influencing ministerial appointments to advance their business interests
• Accused of being involved in "suspicious" transactions worth about $490m (£400m)
• Say they are withdrawing from their South African businesses because of political backlash
• Big banks have refused to do business with them.

What links with the Zumas?

• Bongi Ngema-Zuma, one of the president's wives, used to work for the Gupta-controlled JIC Mining Services as a communications officer
• Duduzane Zuma, a son, was a director of some Gupta-owned companies but stepped down earlier this year following the public pressure
• Duduzile Zuma, his daughter, was a director at Sahara Computers.

Read more

A report into President Jacob Zuma's alleged improper relationship with businessmen is to be published by 17:00 local time (15:00 GMT).

Three judges made the order after the president dropped his bid to have the publication stopped,a legal journalist tweets:

The report by former anti-corruption chief Thuli Madonsela is believed to contain damning allegations against him, reports the BBC's Milton Nkosi from Pretoria.

Ms Madonsela investigated allegations that he let the wealthy Gupta family wield undue influence in his government.

The Guptas were accused of trying to nominate cabinet ministers in exchange for business favours.

Both Mr Zuma and the Gupta family have denied the allegation

The BBC's Milton Nkosi is in South Africa's capital, Pretoria, where several groups, including supporters of the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), are marching against President Jacob Zuma's rule.

Some of the protesters are holding "Zuma must go" posters and chanting "fees must go" in response to unrest at universities around the country where students are demanding free education:

Pumza Fihlani
BBC News, Pretoria

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma's move to drop his court bid to block the release of a report into his allegedly improper relationship with businessmen was unexpected, but it has been welcomed. 

So why the U-turn?

"He's acknowledging that he has no grounds to prevent the release of the Report on State Capture," says constitutional expert Lawson Naidoo.

For many South Africans who have harboured doubts about whether Mr Zuma should stay in power, his close relationship with the wealthy Gupta family is the final straw.

Although all concerned have denied any wrongdoing, many feel Mr Zuma can no longer be trusted to act in the best interests of the country and its hard-fought constitution.

This is why thousands of people from various opposition parties marched through the streets of Pretoria, calling for Mr Zuma to go:

It is not clear what Mr Zuma's next move is, but he is under pressure from all sides, even many in the governing African National Congress (ANC).

As for South Africans, they say the time of sitting idly by is over - they are fighting back.

Read more: The Guptas and their links to Zuma

Clashes between farmers and nomadic cattle herders in Niger have left 18 people dead. 

Officials say the violence broke out near the village of Bangui, on Niger's southern border with Nigeria, when livestock belonging to ethnic Fulani herders damaged crops in a farmer's field.  At least 20 people were hurt. 

"The nomadic herders fought with a farmer, whom they wounded. He was taken to the medical centre and everything started from there," Oumarou Mohamane, Bangui's mayor said, the Reuters news agency reports.

Violence between farmers and nomadic herders is relatively common across West Africa, as they compete for land and other resources. 

Image source, AFP

Read more: Making sense of Fulani-farmer conflict

People in the South African port city of Cape Town have been tweeting photos of a big fire on a ship in the harbour this morning:

South Africa's EyeWitness News says it is a fishing trawler that has 100,000 litres of diesel on board:

A spokesman for the UN chief Ban Ki-moon has told the BBC that more people are likely to be disciplined in the wake of a report that said its mission in South Sudan had failed to protect civilians in July.

The commander of the force - Kenyan Lt Gen Johnson Mogoa Kimani Ondieki – was sacked yesterday.

Mr Dujarric told the BBC's Newsday programme that a lack of co-ordination between Chinese, Ethiopians, Nepalese and Indians was one of the main problems highlighted in the report which also showed that some peacekeepers were risk averse:

A man who showed up dressed only in his underwear caused a stir at Kamuzu International Airport in Malawi's capital, Lilongwe - and on social media. 

Several pictures shared on Twitter show him queuing and being confronted by authorities at the airport. It is not clear when the incident occurred.

People are saying he is South African - probably because his briefs sport the colours of the South African flag. 

Some have been speculating about what was behind his stunt:

One tweeter said it was all in noble cause, saying the man was raising funds by wearing swimming trunks on behalf of a charity called Mad Swimmer, external, which dares "swimmers to take on challenges to raise money for children":

On the charity's website it says: "Facing threats might mean we’re mad but we have to be even madder not to care.”  

Image source, AFP

Electoral officials in Ivory Coast say the "yes" campaign has won Sunday's referendum on a new constitution, with 93.42% of the votes. 

The turnout was 42.42%, which is higher than an earlier 7% estimate by opposition parties that boycotted the polls. 

Backed by President Alassane Ouattara, the new constitution scraps a requirement that both parents of presidential candidates must be native-born Ivorians. 

Opponents accuse Mr Ouattara of using it as a way to hand-pick his successor.

In the lead-up to the referendum, there were street protests by opposition supporters against the constitutional reforms. 

Read more: Will the new constitution bring peace?

Catherine Byaruhanga
BBC Africa, Kampala

There is a heavy security presence at Uganda’s Makerere University main campus in the capital, Kampala, after President Yoweri Museveni ordered its closure.

Police clashed with students on Tuesday during a protest against an ongoing lecturer's strike.  Police were reported to have used teargas and water canon to disperse crowds.  

The students want lecturers, who have been on strike for a week, to return to class. 

The teaching staff say they have not received their allowances for eight months and will continue their strike until they are paid.

Mr Museveni said the university needed to be closed for the safety of "persons and property".  

Students have already started leaving:

There are more than 40,000 students at the university at various campuses.

The main campus, which is the biggest, is the one facing the most disruption.

Image source, AFP

The campaign group Human Rights Watch has called for international pressure to be put on the Gambian President Yahya Jammeh, accusing him of terrorising opponents ahead of an election next month. 

In a new report, the group says two activists have died in custody and dozens of others are in jail, being denied medical and legal help. 

It is calling on The Gambia's neighbours, as well as the European Union and the United States, to intervene. 

Human Rights Watch wants the president and his allies to face travel bans and asset freezes unless the situation improves. 

It says the country should also be suspended from regional bodies. 

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma has abandoned his court bid to block the release of a report by former anti-corruption chief Thuli Madonsela.

She investigated allegations that he let the wealthy Gupta family wield undue influence in his government. 

 Mr Zuma's lawyer informed the High Court in the capital, Pretoria, of the decision, but the reasons are unclear.

Opposition groups are holding rallies in South Africa's major cities to protest against Mr Zuma's rule. 

Thousands of people are in the capital, Pretoria, demanding he resign:

The report is believed to contain damning allegations against Mr Zuma, reports the BBC's Milton Nkosi from Pretoria.

Mr Zuma's bid to block the report's release was challenged by opposition parties, which are now demanding that he pays their legal costs. 

It is still unclear when the report will be made public. Mr Zuma has been dogged by allegations of corruption for more than a decade.

Both Mr Zuma and the Guptas have denied any wrongdoing.

Today's African proverb:

Click here to send your African proverbs.