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 photo of street performers in Ghana.

Adelaide Arthur
BBC News

After four months with the BBC in London, I'm returning to my home country, Ghana.

I came to London after being awarded the UK government's Chevening, external scholarship to pursue a master's degree in multimedia journalism at the University of Westminster. 

At the end of my studies, I joined the BBC news website on a special work placement.

I met some incredible people here and gained a wealth of experience. 

Now, it's time to rejoin my family at Joy News, external in Accra. I missed them very much and I know they missed me too. 

So look out for me on Joy News television, radio and online - and BBC Africa Live because I intend to keep filing for it. 

Image source, Getty Images

Tunisian security forces say they have dismantled a 13-member "terrorist cell" that was recruiting young people for jihadist groups, AFP news agency reports.

The interior ministry said the suspects, aged between 22 and 43, were arrested yesterday in Hergla, a town north of the coastal resort city of Sousse.

Members of the cell held "secret meetings in a mosque" and admitted to recruiting and sending 12 youths to fight with jihadist groups abroad, a statement from the ministry said. 

Authorities linked the cell to the Okba Ibn Nafaa Battalion, a group connected to al-Qaeda. 

This is the seventh announcement in less than a week of arrests of alleged "terrorists" and more than 70 people have been detained, according to AFP. 

The French prosecutor's office has confirmed to the BBC that no evidence has been found to warrant further investigations against six French peacekeepers accused of sexually assaulting minors in Central African Republic (CAR).

"We are at the point where the investigating judges have completed their investigations, since 20 December. No charge has been issued," said Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre, a spokeswoman at the prosecutor's office in Paris. 

"The prosecutor must now present its final conclusion [on the matter]," she added.

The investigation focused on alleged sexual assaults between December 2013 and June 2014 at a camp for displaced people near the airport in CAR's capital, Bangui. 

See earlier post for more details

Oluwashina Okeleji
BBC Sport

Image source, Epsilon

Ghana international defender Jonathan Mensah has signed for the US' Major League Soccer side Columbus Crew SC.

The 26-year-old, who is in the provisional Black Stars squad for the 2017 African Cup of Nations, joins from Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala.

He has signed a two-year deal as a designated player, so his wages will not be limited by the MLS salary cap.

"We look forward to him making an immediate impact," head coach Gregg Berhalter told the Crew SC website., external

"With Jonathan's vast playing experience and strong character we believe he will fit into our club nicely.

Mensah, who has also played in South Africa, Spain and France, joins his fellow Ghana international team-mate Harrison Afful at the club.

He has 51 caps for Ghana and played at the last two World Cups and past three Africa Cup of Nations.

Two UN peacekeepers from Morocco have been killed died after gunmen attacked their convoy in the Central African Republic's remote south-east, the UN has said, AFP news agency reports. 

The attack took place yesterday about 60km (35 miles) from the town of Obo, as the troops were escorting a convoy of fuel trucks sent from Zemio, the UN mission in CAR added.  

Oluwashina Okeleji
BBC Sport

Image source, EMILE KOUTON

Unattached Emmanuel Adebayor leads the cast in Togo's final 23-man squad for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.

Adebayor, 32, a free agent since his contract expired with Crystal Palace last summer, will be making his fifth appearance at the tournament.

Veteran goalkeeper Kossi Agassa, 38, is another player currently without a club named in the squad for Gabon.

But coach Claude LeRoy has left out Nigeria-based Joseph Douhadji and Victor Nukafu.

Togo reached the quarter-finals for the first time in the 2013 edition in South Africa but failed to qualify for the last tournament in Equatorial Guinea.

The Sparrow Hawks will kick off the tournament against defending champions Ivory Coast on 16 January, before facing Group C rivals Morocco and DR Congo.

The tournament runs from 14 January to 5 February.

Following a number of high-profile cases of UK citizens committing sexual offences against children in Kenya, the UK's National Crime Agency has partnered with Kenyan police to set up the country's first Child Protection Unit.

Video Journalist: Roderick MaCleod

Discussing female menstruation publicly is something of a taboo in Zambia.

This is no doubt why a provision in the country's labour law that allows female workers to take off one day a month is known as Mother's Day, even though it applies to all women, whether or not they have children.

The legal definition is not precise - women can take the day when they want and do not have to provide any medical justification, leading some to question the provision.

"I think it's a good law because women go through a lot when they are on their menses [periods]," says Ndekela Mazimba, who works in public relations.

Read the full story here

BBC World Service

 * An Israeli soldier has been convicted of manslaughter for shooting dead a wounded Palestinian attacker in the West Bank. 

* Turkey has warned the Syrian government and its allies they are violating the ceasefire and could bring about the collapse of the truce. 

* The leader of the far right National Front party in France has called for an end to the single European currency as she lays out her agenda for the presidential election.

Image source, AFP

James Copnall
Africa editor, BBC World Service

 The Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta is meeting health professionals who have been on strike for more than a month. 

The doctors and other health workers say the authorities have not implemented a 2013 agreement in which they were promised a pay rise and better working conditions. 

The strike is mainly affecting public hospitals. 

There have been several stories in the Kenyan press about patients who have died because they were unable to get medical care. 

Image source, AFP

The Gambia's army chief has reaffirmed his loyalty to President Yahya Jammeh, following a threat by regional bloc Ecowas leaders to use military force to oust him if he refuses to step down when his term ends on 19 January. 

In a letter he wrote to the pro-government Daily Observer newspaper, Ousman Badjie said:  

Image source, Daily Observer

Ecowas has said troops in neighbouring Senegal are ready to intervene in The Gambia if Mr Jammeh does not hand power to President-elect Adana Barrow on 19 January. 

Mr Jammeh has warned that their intervention will be an "act of war". 

The Gambian strongman had initially accepted defeat in the 1 December election, but then launched court action to annul the result.

Correspondents say that if the army chief switches loyalty, Mr Jammeh's chances of remaining in office are slim.  

The tiny West African state has not had a smooth transfer of power since independence from Britain in 1965. 

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has been tweeting today about his visit to the western regional town of Isingiro where he said he met a 91-year old friend who "offered me sanctuary" from former dictator Idi Amin in the late 1970s.

He also asked people who have encroached on forest reserves and river banks to move out promising government support to resettle them. 

An irrigation scheme is also expected to help boost crop production in the town, he said. 

Ethiopian Olympic marathon runner Feyisa Lilesa still hopes to compete for his country - despite being exiled since last summer's Games.

Lilesa has been living in the US on a temporary visa after making an anti-government gesture when he finished in second place in Rio.

He believes his life would be in danger if he returned to his homeland.

"I've always wanted to run for my country and for my people," the 26-year-old told BBC Newsday.

"I would like to see myself in a country where the current government is removed and the people get freedom, so I can run for my country - not for a different country," he added. 

You can listen to the interview here: 

About 10,000 prisoners in Ethiopia's Oromia region have been pardoned, the state-linked Fana Broadcasting Corporate reports., external

They had shown good behaviour in prison and were expected to be agents of change and development in their communities, it quotes a regional government statement as saying. 

The report did not say who the prisoners were, but said that among those pardoned were inmates who had served 13 years and more after receiving life imprisonment. 

BBC Ethiopia correspondent Emmanuel Igunza says the 10,000 are unlikely to include people detained under the state of emergency imposed in October folowing a wave of anti-government protests in the Oromia and Amhara regions. 

 Read: What started Ethiopia's protests?

Martin Patience
BBC News, Nigeria correspondent

Image source, AFP

The state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has awarded its crude oil contracts to 39 companies for 2017. 

Almost half of the firms are Nigerian but international winners included China’s Sinopec, British Petroleum (BP) and France's Total. The contracts cover around 1.3 million barrels of oils produced a day. 

By announcing the winners, the state-owned oil company said it was seeking greater transparency when it comes to awarding contracts. 

Previous deals have been shrouded in secrecy leading to accusations of widespread corruption. 

At current oil prices, the contracts for more than half of Nigeria’s oil production are worth more than $70m (£57m) a day. 

Oil sales are crucially important for the government, accounting for around two thirds of its revenue. 

But they also generate American dollars, which are vital to the health of the overall economy suffering from its worst crisis in decades. 

Nigeria’s production normally tops two million barrels of oil a day. But last year, petroleum facilities were hit by a wave of militant attacks in the Niger Delta, slashing production by as much as a third. 

Image source, AP

Ilhan Omar, the first Somali-American lawmaker in the US, has "pledged to be the best she can be" as she serves.  

A video posted online by Star Tribune, external, shows Ms Omar taking her oath of office on the Koran before making a speech at a ceremony in the capital of the US state of Minnesota.

Image source, AFP

Six French soldiers who were accused of sexual assaults against minors in the Central African Republic (CAR) will not face criminal charges, judicial sources have said, AFP news agency reports. 

The soldiers had served in CAR as part of a peace mission despatched to the country after chaos broke out there following a coup in 2013. 

The French judicial sources told AFP the accused were heard by an investigating judge who decided there is no evidence to warrant a prosecution or any further investigation. 

The development means the case could be entirely brought to a close, but parties to the matter have a three-month window to demand fresh investigations before a final decision is delivered by prosectutors. 

The alleged sexual assaults are said to have happened between December 2013 and June 2014 at a camp for displaced people near the airport in Bangui, the capital. 

Read more: France ends Sangaris military operation in CAR

Nigerian troops have been banned from uploading videos or photos of their operations. 

The move comes after video footage emerged last year of soldiers involved in the fight against militant Islamist group Boko Haram complaining about a lack of food and other supplies.

In a speech delivered to soldiers in northern Kaduna state on behalf of army chief Tukur Buratai, Mag-Gen Adeniyi Oyebade said: 

Image source, AFP

Angolan lawyers, challenging the legality of the president's appointment of his daughter as chief executive of the state oil company, have applied for their case to be heard in the Constitution Court, Reuters new agency reports.

The Supreme Court last month rejected an application by 12 human rights lawyers which sought to have Isabel dos Santos removed as head of Sonangol,  which handles the country's vast oil and gas reserves.  

President Jose Eduardo dos Santos in June 2016 appointed his 43-year-old billionaire daughter to the post.   

Lawyers have accused the president of nepotism. 

"We have filed an extraordinary appeal at the Supreme Court, who transit the process to the Constitutional Court," David Mendes, one of the attorneys, told Reuters.

"Nobody should get advantage based on their origin." he added. 

But Isabel dos Santos, who is ranked as Africa's richest woman by Forbes magazine, says she was given the job because of her business acumen.   

The 74-year-old president has been in power since 1979 and has said he will step down in 2018.