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 to send your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this birdseye view of the Democratic Republic of Congo taken by the BBC's Horaci Garcia:

Image source, _

Gambia's President-elect Adama Barrow has told the BBC he will declare himself president on 18 January regardless of President Yahya Jammeh's rejection of the election result.

Mr Barrow said his team was preparing for the event despite security concerns:

Mr Barrow also insisted that a statement by a member of his team that Mr Jammeh would be prosecuted could have been misquoted and said his government would focus on "truth and reconciliation".

Mr Jammeh challenged the result after the electoral commission revised the vote tally, giving Mr Barrow a smaller margin of victory.

There is speculation that he could have been motivated by calls for his prosecution.

Mr Barrow said he had been surprised at the U-turn - particularly after Mr Jammeh had called him to congratulate him - and rejected suggestions that the election could be run again.

Speaking about the revised election tally he said:

However Mr Jammeh is believed to retain the support of key members of the security forces, apparently including army chief Ousmane Badjie, who arrived at a meeting with West African leaders on Tuesday wearing a badge showing Mr Jammeh.

Rights group Human Rights Watch has urged the army not to launch a crackdown on the opposition and its supporters, saying the military must put human rights above loyalty to Mr Jammeh.

Read more: What next for Jammeh?

Jonathan Paye-Layleh
BBC Africa, Monrovia

A hydropower plant in Liberia has reopened today after being closed in the 1990s.

It was the country's main power source but was attacked and destroyed by Charles Taylor's rebel forces two decades ago.

The capital, Monrovia, has been struggling to keep the lights on ever since.

The Liberian government originally planned for Mount Coffee Hydro Plant to be completed by the end of 2015, though the country's Ebola epidemic stalled progress, reports Hydroworld, external.

A training officer at the plant posted this video of the waters flowing ahead of the opening: 

Prime Ndikumagenge
BBC Africa, Bujumbura

Police in Burundi have been searching residences where Belgian lived amid accusations that Belgian diplomats were plotting against the crisis-ridden country.

A police official said they acted upon information that people of different nationalities were being housed near the Belgian residences ''possibly with a mission to undermine state security''.  

Without giving numbers, the police said the alleged suspects included citizens from Senegal, Guinea, Rwanda as well as Burundian women. 

Diplomatic residences were not included in the search and there were no arrests.

Relations between Brussels and its former colony have worsened since Burundi descended into crisis last year after President Pierre Nkurunziza said he would stand for a third term.

Burundi says Belgium is behind many of the problems and recalled its ambassador to Belgium last week.

Human rights campaigners Amnesty International have blasted reports that the Congolese government have ordered internet service providers to block social media.

Amnesty's Sarah Jackson said "the social media shutdown on the eve of the end of President Kabila’s mandate is a blatant attempt to keep the Congolese people in the dark at a critical time".

A coalition in opposition to Mr Kabila has tweeted what it says is the order the government sent:

Image source, Reuters

We reported earlier that a Bloomberg investigation, external has found the Democratic Republic of Congo's President Joseph Kabila and his family have a vast network of business interests.

This line in the article stood out:

"Another venture even tried to launch a rat into space on a rocket."   

A rocket launch even made TV news, external (in French) back in 2009:

The Wall Street Journal relives, external the rocket launch:

The Ghanaian President John Mahama has shared a letter written by his daughter comforting him for losing the country's election this month:

We particularly like "he has done his best and that is the important thing" as it feels like that is that kind of thing a parent normally says to a child, not the other way round.

Joab Frank Chakhaza
BBC Africa

Malawi parliament has passed a bill which has taken 12 years to get to this point. 

The Access to Information bill has been frustrated by three successive governments, amid heavy criticism from the media and civil society.  

The bill seeks to improve accountability of civil servants and reduce corruption.

The Chairperson of Media Institute of Southern Africa, Thom Khanje, told Malawi's The Daily Times, external he welcomed the news:

But it's not quite law yet - first it has to be approved by President Peter Mutharika.

And he has previously said he would not approve it if certain amendments proposed by the government are rejected.  

Image source, AP

The former South Sudan vice-president Riek Machar, who fled the country in August, has denied reports that he is under effective house arrest in the South African capital Pretoria.

Mr Machar denounced the report as "propaganda".

He said he welcomed national dialogue as a way of achieving peace, but said it must not be led by his bitter rival President Salva Kiir.

Earlier this week Reuters news agency quoted a source as saying Mr Machar was "basically under house arrest" with his movements restricted and his calls monitored and controlled.

"If he wants to go to the toilet, he has to hand over his phone and a guy stands outside the cubicle," the source told Reuters.

South Africa's foreign ministry denied Mr Machar was being held against his will, describing him as a "guest".

Chipiliro Kansilanga
BBC World Service

Nurses in Malawi have been cautioned they could be struck off their professional register if they are found taking pictures of victims.

The nursing professional body is so concerned about nurses taking pictures of victims at the scene of accidents and in hospital that they even took out an advert in national newspapers warning nurses: 

Image source, Daily News

The Nurses and Midwives Council of Malawi (NMCM) said that the trend was immoral and will not go unpunished.

“This is morally, ethically and professionally wrong, besides causing more psychological trauma to the relatives of the concerned victims”.

Image source, Alex Snow / Airteamimages.com

Traces of explosives have been found on victims of the EgyptAir plane crash over the Mediterranean in May, investigators say.

A criminal investigation would now begin into the crash of the Airbus A320, Egypt's civil aviation ministry said in a statement.

Flight MS804 from Paris to Cairo plunged into the sea on 19 May killing all 66 people on board.

The cause of the crash has remained unclear.

An Egyptian affiliate of the Islamic State group said it was behind that attack. However, there was no such claim following the crash in May.

Read more on the BBC News website

Image source, EPA

A bomb has killed at least four soldiers and injured a dozen other people in the Somali capital Mogadishu.

The bomb had been placed under a tree outside a tea shop, Abdifatah Omar Halane, spokesman for Mogadishu municipality told Reuters.

"We heard a huge blast and soon we saw people lying under the tree, some dead, others yelling for help," shopkeeper Nur Abdullahi told Reuters news agency. 

He said two young children were among the injured.

A spokesman for the Islamist militant group al-Shabab said it was behind the attack.

The blast came hours after another bomb - apparently targeting a senior police commander - exploded, killing the bomber but no one else.

The al-Shabab spokesman did not comment on that attack.

Al-Shabab has been trying to disrupt Somalia's ongoing parliamentary elections, due to end on 29 December. 

See earlier posts for more details

A photograph of President Buhar's daughter Zahra and her fiance Ahmed Indimi has been posted by an Abuja-based photographer ahead of their wedding:

Umaru Fofana
BBC Africa, Banjul

Image source, Reuters

The Gambia's President-Elect Adama Barrow has told the BBC that he will declare himself president on 18 January if Yahyah Jammeh does not step down.

President Jammeh wants the election annulled and a new vote run by a "God-fearing" electoral commission.

However the UN has urged him to step down and said he could face sanctions if he clings to power.

Read more: What next for Jammeh?

Image source, Huw Evans Agency

Ivory Coast and Cardiff City defender Sol Bamba has been charged by the Football Association for alleged insulting and/or threatening behaviour in the draw at Ipswich.

The 31-year-old has already received a two-game ban for his red card - and now faces more matches on the sidelines.

Bamba confronted the referee, fourth official and Neil Warnock as he reacted angrily to a Jonathan Douglas tackle.

He has until 18:00 GMT on Friday to respond to the charge.

Read the full story here

Chris Ewokor
BBC Africa, Abuja

Image source, Reuters

Workers of the US oil giant Exxon Mobil have shut down the office in Lagos, Nigeria. 

The angry staff are protesting alleged plans to sack more than 100 Nigerian workers. 

The workers' union - the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria - say they plan to withdraw their services from all operating locations today.

The protest began yesterday but ExxonMobil is yet to make an official statement.

Image source, Getty

A Ugandan king facing terror charges should have a private cook and a small fridge in prison, a court has ordered.

Charles Mumbere, the king of Rwenzururu, is entitled to these privileges because he suffers from hypertension and diabetes, it added.

But prison authorities say an outsider will not be allowed into the prison to prepare his meals.

The king was arrested last month after a security force raid on his palace in western Uganda's Kasese district.

More than 80 people were killed in the clashes.

Read the full story here

Image source, Mark Neville for the IRC

It is three years today since the conflict in South Sudan began.

The UN has this week warned that ethnic cleansing is taking place and there is "the potential for genocide".

The International Rescue Committee estimates that more than 2m people have been forced to flee their homes in that time.

They have been asking what happened next to some of those who fled.

Adut left in 2014:

She now lives in Kakuma refugee camp:

Image source, Getty Images

Internet service providers (ISP) in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been told to block social media from Sunday, reports AFP news agency. 

One ISP representative told AFP anonymously that they received instructions from the government to enforce the ban from 18:00 on Sunday. 

President Joseph Kabila's mandate runs out the next day.

Campaigners have been tweeting using the hashtag #ByeByeKabila, external to put pressure on him to step down on Monday.

Read more: How African governments block social media

Image source, Getty Images

There’s a growing shortage of teachers in Kenyan classrooms, according to research by Twaweza, external. 

It says the teacher-pupil ratio is now at crisis levels. 

And the report says that the teachers who are employed too often fail to turn up for work.

When researchers visited schools, only 12 out 100 teachers were available.

Kenya’s northern region has been badly affected by the situation, with only six teachers for 10 classrooms. 

And the effect is profound. The research found that for every 100 pupils in the final year of primary school, only eight had achieved the reading age expected of a seven-year-old.