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: 

And we leave with this angelic post from Kenyan photographer Louis Nderi Instagram channel:

The leaders of Somalia and Ethiopia have pledged to strengthen ties between their countries following historic talks in Addis Ababa, according to a joint statement.

Somalia's President Mohamed Abdullahi "Farmajo" Mohamed flew to Ethiopia's capital for the first time since he took office in February to meet his Ethiopian counterpart, Hailemariam Desalegn. 

The visit was significant as Mr Mohamed is reputed to be a Somali nationalist who is deeply suspicious of neighbouring Ethiopia.  

The two leaders agreed to establish a "high-level joint cooperation committee" that will focus on issues ranging from tackling militant Islamist group al-Shabab to encouraging the free movement of goods and services between the two countries, the statement said. 

Ethiopia has troops in Somalia to fight al-Shabab, but many Somalis are opposed to their presence. 

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Kenya has charged 62 people, including some candidates, over the chaos that marred party primaries ahead of August's general elections.

The offences included bribing voters, malicious damage to property and inciting violence, according to a statement tweeted by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Devolution of some powers to county level under President Kenyatta's presidency, which has brought access to lucrative budgets and higher salaries, has sparked intense interest in the local contests, Reuters news agency reports.

The extended deadline for political parties to give the names of candidates to the electoral commission is 10 May.

Image source, AFP

Up to one in four young Africans, or about 66 million people, could be enrolled in a form of private education by 2021, the UK's Financial Times newspaper reports (paywall protected), external.

There has been a surge in private education which is being driven by parent's lack of faith in public education on the continent., the paper adds, quoting a new study.

The study was conducted by Caerus Capital, a Washington based consultancy, whose findings are due to be presented at the African World Economic Forum in Durban, South Africa on Thursday

Critics argue that private education can worsen inequality, reduce expertise in the public sector and, in some cases, provide an inferior education.

Following that logic the predicted trend would clash with one of the key targets of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) aimed at "ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education".

 The report concludes that African governments that block the advance of private education on ideological grounds risk losing out on both finance and expertise.

Zimbabwe's former Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku has died aged 70, a state-owned newspaper has tweeted: 

He was appointed chief justice in 2001 and retired on 31 March 2017 after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70.  

 Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari will receive a report on the outcome of the investigation against the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) on Monday, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has said in a statement. 

It comes after anti-corruption officers found more than $43m (£34m) in an upmarket flat in the commercial capital, Lagos last month. 

Mr Buhari, 74, failed to attend today's weekly cabinet meeting, amid mounting concern about his health.

Information Minister Lai Mohammed explained  Mr Buhari's absence to the media:

On 19 April, Mr Buhari suspended NIA boss Ayo Oke, and asked Mr Osinbajo to lead a three-member investigative team into how the agency came into possession of the money. 

He also suspended Mr Oke's close aide, David Babachir Lawal, pending an investigation by Mr Osinbajo's team into contracts awarded to deal with the humanitarian crisis in the north-east, where the government is fighting an insurgency by Boko Haram.

Watch our video on the safe house where the $43m was hidden: 

The Nigerian family of newly crowned world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua is planning a special celebration to mark his epic victory at Wembley at the weekend, local media report. 

His uncle, Adedamola Joshua, who lives in Sagamu in south-western Ogun state, told the local Today news website, external that the boxing superstar's Nigerian family was hugely proud of his achievements. 

He welcomed reports of a government plan to rename a street in Sagamu in honour of his nephew.

Joshua's mother is Nigerian and he spent six months at a boarding school in the West African state when he was 11. His father is reported to be of Nigerian and Irish heritage.

He's spoken proudly in the past about his Nigerian heritage and says that his diet of popular national dishes, including pounded yam, eba and egusi has been part the recipe to his success. 

“My heart is with Nigeria, my heart is with Britain, I’m a Nigerian by blood, yes," he has said.

The government said yesterday that it would invite Joshua to come to Nigeria soon, especially since he had expressed a desire to "give back" to the country. 

You can hear Joshua talk more about his Nigerian heritage in the interview below:

Read more:

• Anthony Joshua: What next for the world heavyweight champion
• Joshua can replicate 'Tiger Woods effect'
• Tyson Fury says yes to all-British heavyweight title fight

BBC Monitoring
News from around the globe

Image source, AFP

Long queues formed at the offices of Kenya's electoral regulator as hundreds of people, including current MPs and governors, flocked to register as candidates for this August's elections ahead of Thursday's deadline.

The huge majority of these aspiring candidates are losers in party primaries who have resigned their memberships en masse to stand as independents, the Kenya Standard newspaper, external reports. Police officers and security guards locked the gates of the Registrar of Political Parties to control numbers, assuring those outside that their cases would be heard.

"It is hectic here. We have close to 4,000 requests and the number keeps increasing," registrar Lucy Ndung'u said as crowds were moved to a nearby car park.

Several MPs are among those registering as independents after losing party backing, The Daily Nation newspaper, external says.  

However, some of those lining up to register as independents suggested that their primary defeats might not have been entirely legitimate. 

• Read the full BBC story 
• What Kenya's chaotic primaries tell us about August election

Image source, EPA

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma says he has no problem with the fact that he was booed at a May Day rally on Monday, as the country is a democracy - not a dictatorship. 

"You will agree in a country of dictators, there will be no protests, no booing," Mr Zuma told journalists, in his first comments over the incident.

"In a country where there is no democracy, there will be an angry president [ordering] the police to arrest these people," Mr Zuma added. 

Workers booed Mr Zuma, and called on him to resign at the rally in Bloemfontein city. 

In his response, Mr Zuma said: "I am very happy that South Africans have matured in democracy and they have a president they can talk to [about] whatever is in their minds. They are not going to be arrested or harassed."  

When asked whether he would step down, Mr Zuma said he would leave office but not now, local media report. 

Mr Zuma has been under pressure from a wide range of groups - including trade unions, big businesses, opposition parties and members of his own party - to resign. 

He has been dogged by corruption allegations throughout his presidency, and caused an uproar by sacking his respected finance minster in March. 

Mr Zuma denies any wrongdoing. 

His term as leader of the governing African National Congress (ANC) will end in December and as South Africa's president in 2019. 

Mr Zuma is the fourth president South Africa has had since the racist system of apartheid ended in 1994.  

See earlier post: Zuma allies to 'boo back' 

Image source, AFP/Egyptian Antiquities Ministry

The remains of a nearly 4,000-year-old model garden have been discovered by archaeologists outside a tomb in the ancient Egyptian capital of Thebes, the antiquities ministry has said. 

The 3m x 2m (10ft x 7ft) garden consists of equally divided square plots each about 30 cm (1ft) across, AFP news agency reports. 

It was discovered in an open courtyard outside a Middle Kingdom (2050 to 1800 BC) tomb.

A senior member of South Africa's governing African National Congress (ANC) and a controversial black rights activist nearly traded blows at a meeting in parliament today, the privately owned IOL news site reports, external.

The drama started when the head of the Black First Land First (BFLF) group, Andile Mngxitama, refused to heed an order from ANC MP Yunus Carrim to leave the meeting for calling fellow MP Joanne Fubbs a "fascist", it adds. 

Mr Carrim - who was chairing the meeting  - then confronted Mr Mngxitama and heated exchanges took place between the two.

An opposition MP has tweeted a photo of the altercation:  

The BFLF was at the meeting to make a presentation calling for the financial sector to be reformed and for "white monopoly capital" to be destroyed.  

The group is allied with President Jacob Zuma, who is under pressure from his ANC rivals and the opposition to resign.

See earlier post for more details  

Jimi Babasola and Peter Adefioye are two of the people in a picture of 14 black male students at Cambridge University that has become a hit on Facebook. 

They, alongside Ore Ogunbiyi who took the photo, told Victoria Derbyshire they wanted to encourage young black people to believe that "Cambridge is within their reach".

The group posed for several images that were shared in a bid to encourage more black students to apply to the university. 

The post on Facebook said: "In 2015, only 15 black, male undergraduates were accepted into Cambridge.

"However, it is important that despite their underrepresentation, we let young black people know that this is something that they can aspire to."

One tweeter has pointed out that more than half of those who posed for the photo have Nigerian names:

Read the full BBC story

Stephanie Hegarty
BBC Africa, Lagos

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari's absence from today's weekly cabinet meeting adds fuel to the raging fire of speculation over his health.

Mr Buhari, 74, has rarely been seen outside of his official residence in the eight weeks since he returned from medical leave in the UK where he was treated for an undisclosed illness. 

But the real controversy began when he stopped attending an important cabinet meeting four weeks ago.

The presidency has said very little about what is wrong with Mr Buhari and, to their credit, not much has been leaked to the press either. 

When Mr Buhari was on medical leave from February to March, he officially handed over power to Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo. 

On his return, he addressed journalists but was vague about his condition. He officially took back the reigns but since then his absence from key meeting and events has raised eyebrows. 

Image source, Nigeria government

Last Friday, he did not show up for Friday Muslim prayers and on Monday, he broke with tradition by failing to make a public address for Worker’s Day.

#WhereisBuhari, external started trending on Twitter and Nobel Prize-winning writer Wole Soyinka, as well as prominent civil society activists, called on the president to release his medical records and to take official medical leave once again.

While Mr Buhari is absent, Mr Osinbajo, who enjoys a relatively positive public image, has been presiding over various meetings.

He was seen to do a good job as acting president while Mr Buhari was in the UK. 

Some even considered him to be more active than the president, nicknamed “Baba Go Slow” by his critics.

This is a crucial year for Nigeria and important decisions need to be made as the country struggles to get out of recession. 

The presidency is keen to assure the public that Mr Buhari is still very much in charge because a power vacuum, whether real or perceived, could be highly damaging for the country.

Ex-Tottenham striker and BBC broadcaster Garth Crooks says "every self-respecting black player" in the Italian league should strike this weekend unless Ghana star Sulley Muntari's one-match suspension is withdrawn.

Pescara midfielder Muntari, 32, was banned after he protested against racist abuse he received from the crowd during Sunday's Serie A match at Cagliari, which earned him a yellow card for dissent before he walked off.

Italy's football chiefs were branded "gutless" by anti-discrimination organisation Kick It Out.

In a statement, external it said:

BBC World Service

There have been calls for a renewed debate on assisted dying in South Africa, after the renowned author, Karel Schoeman, took his own life at the age of 77. 

In a farewell letter, Mr Schoeman said the deterioration of his physical and mental capabilities was becoming clear and he was certain he did not want to get old. 

He said he hoped his death would contribute to a wider discussion about the problems of old age, and help bring about changes to South Africa's laws, which prohibit voluntary euthanasia. 

Mr Schoeman, who wrote mainly in Afrikaans, was one of South Africa's most celebrated literary figures. He was the author of 19 novels and numerous works of non-fiction.

Stephanie Hegarty
BBC Africa, Lagos

Nigeria's Vice President Yemi Osinbajo chaired the cabinet meeting in the capital, Abuja, in the absence of President Muhammadu Buhari. 

The presidency has not issued any information about the state of Mr Buhari's health, except to say he has been "resting". 

Last night, his wife, Aisha Buhari said that her husband’s health was not as bad as people perceived it to be, while one of his aides released a statement saying he met with two ministers yesterday. 

But both claims will not reassure a public that has not seen their president leave his villa in the eight weeks since he returned from medical leave in the UK.    

Image source, AFP

Nigerian President Muhammudu Buhari has missed a weekly cabinet meeting for the third time in a row, the BBC bureau in the capital Abuja reports.

Yesterday, a group of prominent Nigerians called on Mr Buhari to take medical leave amid growing concern about his health.

In March, he returned from seven weeks of medical leave in the UK where he was treated for an undisclosed illness

When he returned home he said he had never been so ill in his life.

As Aisha Buhari, Nigeria's first lady, plays down fears over her husband's health, the BBC's Newsday programme has been asking how Nigerians have been responding given the lack of clear information. 

Local talkshow host Stanley Bentu told the programme: 

Watch the video report below:

Supporters of South Africa's President Jacob Zuma have vowed to "boo back" after the embattled leader was booed off stage by workers demanding his resignation at a May Day rally on Monday, the local Business Day newspaper reports, external.

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa - who is a contender to succeed Mr Zuma - would be targeted as the president had been booed in his name, the newspaper quoted the leader of the governing African National Congress' youth wing, Collen Maine, as saying.

Image source, AFP

According to the newspaper Mr Maine, a key ally of Mr Zuma, said: 

Image source, Reuters

Mr Zuma abandoned the rally after workers chanted "Get out" and sang "Have you heard the good news? Zuma is going".

Last month, the main trade union federation, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), called for his resignation after he sacked widely respected Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, leading to global rating agencies downgrading South Africa to junk status.

Mr Zuma has refused to step down, saying he will continue pursue his policy of "radical economic transformation" to benefit the poor black majority. 

The opposition has repeatedly accused him of being corrupt, and says the reshuffle was aimed at giving him and his allies greater access to government money.

Mr Zuma has been dogged by allegations of corruption for more than a decade.

Last year, a court ruled that he should face corruption charges over a 1999 arms deal.

Mr Zuma is appealing against the ruling.

In a separate case last year, South Africa's highest court ruled that he had breached his oath of office by failing to repay government money used to upgrade his private residence.

Mr Zuma is due to step down as leader of the ANC in December, and as South Africa's president in 2019.

His ex-wife Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Mr Rampahosa are vying to succeed him in both positions.

Read more: Zuma, the survivor

Six journalists marching in support of World Press Freedom Day were arrested this morning in the Ugandan capital Kampala, according to local media.

Local news website ChimpReports, external says that one journalist for Urban TV was beaten and his trousers torn, with officers throwing him to the ground, treading on him and putting him onto a waiting police truck.

It says that the journalists have all now been released without charge.  

Here's a world map showing press freedom across the world from NGO Reporters Without Borders.

Many African countries are shown in black and red, the two lowest colours on the freedom index: