Rex Tillerson, the US Secretary of State, has arrived in Ethiopia as he begins his first official visit to the African continent.

Mr Tillerson, who is also due to visit Djibouti, Kenya, Chad and Nigeria, said counterterrorism, democracy, governance, trade and investment would be top of his agenda during the visit.

However, it is likely he will also have to deal with the alleged comments his boss Donald Trump made about African countries.

• Read BBC Africa editor Fergal Keane's analysis of his pre-trip speech here.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

At least 30 people are reported to have been killed in Nigeria's southeastern Benue State after clashes between nomadic cattle herders and local farmers.

At one home, police found the body of an 11-year-old girl wearing her school uniform.

A mass burial for the victims will be held on Friday.

Desertification and a jihadist insurgency in the north of Nigeria have forced the well-armed cattle herders to move south, where they have clashed with local farmers.

The Benue State government recently imposed a law requiring all livestock to be kept on ranches but it has been ignored with the herdsmen complaining that the government had not fulfilled its promise to allocate land for grazing.

Thousands of women have marched through the streets of Guinea's capital, angered by a violent crackdown on political demonstrations following local elections.

The women wore white, the colour of mourning, and held banners reading "too many deaths - the state is still asleep" and "Alpha rhymes with crime".

The latter is a reference to the country's president, Alpha Conde, who has been in power since 2010.

Here is a picture of some of the women - who marched for about 3km (two miles):

According to news agency AFP, about 12 people have died in political unrest following the long-awaited local elections on 4 February.

Five children were killed in an arson attack days later, while a number of people have allegedly been shot by police.

Image source, AFP

A Vietnamese man has been arrested in Mozambique after four rhino horns were discovered in a suitcase he was trying to check in.

The man, 28, was attempting to board a flight from Mozambique's capital Maputo to South Korea when the discovery was made.

But the man - who says he is a photographer based in Angola - denies he was trying to smuggle the horns to Vietnam, his final destination.

He says the suitcase was delivered to him by a stranger who had contacted him via Facebook.

In return for carrying the suitcase - said to contain clothes and shoes - the man promised him more than $800 (£575).

But Orlando Mudumane, Maputo city command's spokesman, said the Vietnamese national had been charged with a criminal offence.

"He is now under police custody, charged with the trafficking of wildlife resources," he added. "Certainly, he will be held responsible for this criminal act.”

Vietnam is one of the biggest markets for buyers of rhino horn in the world.

Image source, Reuters

Today, Sierra Leoneans have flocked to the polls to choose not only their new president, but new MPs and local councillors.

The BBC's Umaru Fofana is in Freetown, keeping an eye on developments.

“I’m excited, it’s very good to have done my rights as a citizen," one voter tells the BBC.

"We expect good things to happen to this country for a change. We need good education, good health system, clean water, keep the city clean and find jobs for the youth so they have something to do and are responsible citizens of Sierra Leone.”

Her words are echoed by others we speak to: Education and health facilities are top of the list of things people in Freetown want their new leader to sort out.

“Good healthcare, education, social services, electricity, clean water, our priorities," a man says.

"We want the next government to deliver on these promises.”

So far, there have been no reports of any major incidents, and observers say the process is proceeding smoothly.

Former Liberian President Amos Sawyer, who heads the regional ECOWAS Observer Group, said he had reason to be "cautiously optimistic".

"We have about 60 observers around the country, what they are seeing is also encouraging. That’s not to say we’re not expecting a bump or two here and there along the way, but thus far things are encouraging,” he said.

Results will be announced within a week - and if none of the 16 presidential candidates gets 55% of the votes, the top two will go to the polls for a second time in a runoff, which will be held two weeks after final official results are announced.

The Ghanaian singer M.anifest has been visiting the BBC ahead of his two UK shows this weekend.

He's performing in London and Glasgow as part of Malawi's Lake of Stars festival.

In addition to brightening up the BBC Africa Instagram, M.anifest also spoke to BBC Africa radio.

Image source, Reuters

The military's ability to find the kidnapped Dapchi schoolgirls depends on regular people revealing what they know, a Nigerian defence official has told the BBC.

Brigadier General John Agim criticised people's reluctance to come forward with information which would help in the fight against Boko Haram.

Speaking to the BBC's Chris Ewokor, he said:

The schoolgirls disappeared two weeks ago during a raid which is widely believed to have been carried out by Boko Haram militants.

The military has come under fire for not properly protecting the area after soldiers were reportedly withdrawn from checkpoints surrounding the town just days before the attack.

Image source, Getty Images

South Sudan has applied to join the Arab League, the Sudan Tribune has reported, external.

The country's formal application will be presented to the League's foreign ministers in Cairo later today.

If successful, South Sudan will join Algeria, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Mauritania, Somalia, Sudan and Tunisia as the League's ninth African state and 23rd member.

South Sudan has long wanted to join the group, which requires member to use Arabic as an official language.

The South African triathlete whose leg was sawn by robbers was forced to scramble to safety after no one heard his screams, his training partner has revealed.

Sandile Shange told the BBC's Newsday it is believed the three assailants only stopped cutting into Mhlengi Gwala's leg after they hit bone.

"They didn't want the phone, they didn't want the watch, they didn't take the bicycle... they just drag[ged] him on the side of the road," Mr Shange said.

The athlete added: "He was asking them, 'why are you cutting my legs,' then he said the pain he was feeling, he was screaming and crying, but there was no help from no one because it was the early hours of the morning."

Mr Gwala seized the chance to escape after the saw got stuck in his leg, and the assailants began to cut into the second.

He pushed them out the way, and managed to get himself back to the road where a passerby picked him up and took him to hospital in Durban.

Luckily, doctors are confident they will be able to save his leg. However, it will be "a long walk" until he can get on his feet again, Mr Shange said.

The motive for the attack, which is under investigation, is still not clear.

You can hear the full interview for Newsday below, or read our earlier story here.

Ivorian reggae star Alpha Blondy is passionate about reading books on his radio station. He has been doing it for the past three years and he says his listeners love it.

He told Focus on Africa all about the insult which led him to set up the show, and how its so popular taxi drivers and bus drivers will stop their vehicles to focus on it.

Image source, Toni Iwobi

Toni Iwobi, Italy's first black senator, has given an interview to the Italian newspaper Il Giornale, external defending his membership of the right-wing League party, which supports cracking down on immigration.

Himself a Nigerian migrant, Mr Iwobi campaigned under the slogan "Stop the Invasion" - a reference to illegal immigration.

"You can not open the doors to everyone.There are boundaries and boundaries must be respected," Mr Iwobi told the newspaper.

"I come from Nigeria and I know how things are," he added. "Only 10% of those who disembark in Italy [are fleeing] war.The others, all the others, the vast majority, no."

His election has riled some people, who question how an immigrant can stand on such a platform.

Read our post about footballer Mario Balotelli's reaction here.

Image source, Getty Images

Kenyan officials are dealing with an outbreak of flu which has claimed the life of a five-year-old boy, the news website Daily Nation, external has reported..

Officials in western Laikipia County have issued an alert after tests on patients revealed they were suffering from a strain of the H1N1 virus.

Evelyn Obong’o, a clinical officer at Nanyuki Teaching and Referral Hospital, told the Daily Nation that her team is dealing with 60 flu cases, the majority of which are children.

Symptoms include fever, diarrhoea and vomiting.

Cape Town looks set to avoid "Day Zero" - the day the South African city's taps were due to run dry - after the city's residents drastically cut down their water usage.

Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane took to Twitter to announce the victory:

However, it comes with a caveat: Even if the rains fall and everyone keeps to their limits, Day Zero could still happen next year.

Cape Town's dam levels remain worryingly low. The average stands at 23.5% full, but one - Threewaterskloof - is at less than 11%.

Claude Foly
BBC Africa

Image source, EPA

Eight people - including two serving soldiers - have been arrested following two bombings in Burkina Faso that left eight dead and dozens wounded.

Authorities say they have spoken to more than 60 people following the attacks in the capital Ouagadougou on Friday.

However, they were unable to confirm if the al-Qaeda-affiliated JNIM (Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims) was behind the attacks after they claimed responsibility.

They did say, however, that they were looking at the possibility of foreigners being involved in the attacks.

The assailants are reported to have spoken Arabic and Bambara, a language used in both Mali and Burkina Faso.

Maiza Sereme, Burkin Faso's public prosecutor, told reporters:

As well as the eight soldiers killed in the attack, eight attackers were also killed.

The saga of the Gupta family continues to grip South Africans - with the latest twist concerning their citizenship.

It comes down to one question: are the wealthy Indian-born family South African citizens or not?

Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba said on Tuesday that brothers Ajay and Atul - who are alleged to have used their friendship with the former president Jacob Zuma to exact huge levels of political control over South Africa - were categorically not citizens.

He revealed they had their application for citizenship rejected several years ago.

But South African news site TimesLive sifted through thousands of emails, external known as the "Gupta Leaks" to find a copy of what appears to be Atul Gupta’s South African passport, which was issued in 2015.

Only citizens can have passports.

And then there is the fact the brothers are registered to vote at their home in the upmarket suburb of Saxonwold, in Johannesburg.

As Electoral Commission deputy chairperson Terry Tselane pointed out on South Africa's Talk Radio 702, this means they must be citizens.

"No one can be a voter if they are not a citizen," he told the station. "Atul Gupta is on the voter roll and so he must be a citizen."

Needless to say, eyebrows are being raised across the country:

The confusion comes as the brothers' properties in India were raided.

A spokesperson for the Indian Tax Department in New Delhi confirmed to the news agency AFP that raids were carried out at properties in three cities in Uttar Pradesh.

According to an official who wished to remain anonymous, investigators acted after being informed the brothers were allegedly bringing in money to India illegally.

"The raids were carried out today [Tuesday] after we received information that they were violating tax laws and were involved in money laundering," the official said.

The Guptas are currently building a $15 million temple in Uttar Pradesh.

Natasha Booty
BBC News

People on social media have reacted with typical humour and outrage to reports that Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari offered to help Ghana beat corruption:

Image source, Facebook/ Charismatic Paa Willie

Nigerian politican Ben Muray-Bruce even weighed in, suggesting President Buhari was a "laughing stock" and adding that "charity begins at home":

But the rumours aren't quite accurate.

President Buhari's speech at Ghana's independence celebrations yesterday has been widely misrepresented on TV and social media.

He did not offer to help Ghana beat corruption, but in fact said Nigeria would "look forward to any form of collaboration" to tackle it.

Here are his comments on corruption in full:

The Italian footballer Mario Balotelli has taken to social media to share his views on the election of Toni Iwobi, a Nigerian immigrant who has become Italy's first black senator.

But Mr Balotelli, the son of Ghanian immigrants, was not looking to congratulate Mr Iwobi, who is a member of Italy's anti-immigration the League party.

In an Instagram story, Mr Balotelli wrote: "Maybe I'm blind or maybe they have not told him yet that he's black. But shame!!!"

Image source, Mario Balotelli

Read Africa Live's earlier post about Mr Iwobi's election here.

Image source, Getty Images

Trains have begun running between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola after 34 years.

"The first train left [the DR Congo] on Monday hauling 50 containers and arrived at Luau station" in eastern Angola, the Congolese presidency told News24, external.

The railway line between the two countries closed during the Angolan civil war and then fell into disrepair.

It was rebuilt by the China Railway Construction Corporation in 2015, but it is not clear why it took so long for trains to resume operations.

The new line will help the DR Congo export minerals like copper and cobalt to the Angolan port of Lobito.

Before this, minerals were exported by trucks via Zambia.

Chris Ewokor
BBC Africa, Abuja

Authorities in Nigeria have freed a journalist who has been detained for seven days - hours before demonstrators were due to take to the streets to protest his arrest.

Tony Ezimakor, the Abuja bureau chief for The Independent newspaper, had not been seen since he he was invited to meet intelligence security officials a week ago.

He was finally released on Tuesday, ahead of a protest against his detention which was planned by civil societies groups for Wednesday morning.

A picture, reportedly taken after his release, shows a relieved looking Mr Ezimakor:

Mr Ezimakor's arrest was being linked to an article he wrote titled, "Chibok Girls: How Swiss-mediated deal revived Boko Haram".

The report appears to have angered some officials, since it was published just days after the abduction of more school girls in Dapchi, Yobe State.

Mr Ezimakor's detention has unnerved journalists in Nigeria who now feel threatened while doing their jobs.

Nearly 20 journalists have been arrested since 2015 when the government came to power.

Journalists face attacks while carrying out their work, sometimes by security officials and such attacks often go unprosecuted.

• Read yesterday's story here.

Image source, Getty Images

Rwanda has decided not to renew a cooperation agreement with Human Rights Watch, a representative of the country's Ministry of Justice told the news website New Times, external.

Providence Umurungi said the organisation has been violating its agreements with Rwanda, including publishing "reports that tarnish the image of the country".

Under the agreement signed with Human Rights Watch, Rwanda is entitled to know of reports before they are published and offer an explanation.

Ms Umurungi told New Times this oversight wasn't provided.

Ida Sawyer, the Central African Director for Human Rights Watch disputes Ms Umurungi's claims.

“Before publication of reports, Human Rights Watch has always shared our findings with Rwandan government officials and requested meetings to discuss our findings," she said in a statement to the BBC. "Human Rights Watch will continue to seek an open and collaborative engagement with the Rwandan government in order to advance the cause of human rights for all in Rwanda.”

In 2017, the organisation published a report titled “All Thieves Must Be Killed. Extrajudicial Executions in Western Rwanda”, which angered Rwandan officials by alleging that security services had killed 37 minor criminals in 2016 and 2017.

Rwanda's National Commission for Human Rights subsequently declared the report inaccurate, saying seven of the alleged victims were still alive.