That's all from BBC Africa Live today. Keep up-to-date with what's happening across the continent by listening to the Africa Today podcast or check the BBC News website.

A reminder of today's wise words:

And we leave you with this shot of a traditional military parade in Libya. It's one of our favourite pictures of the week.

Image source, AFP

Image source, Getty Images

The director of the first Kenyan film to debut at Cannes has said she is "incredibly sad" her film cannot legally be seen in Kenya because it has been banned for promoting homosexuality.

Wanuri Kahiu has noted the irony of the ban.

But said she was "disappointed" by the decision, despite it drawing international attention to her film.

Read more on the BBC News website.

Image source, ETV

The Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) and the country's Match Officials and Commissioners Association agreed on Thursday to resume league matches.

However Iyassu Fente, the referee who was assaulted prompting the suspension, is not convinced things will change.

Fente was attacked by players and coaches after awarding a disputed goal during a league game last month.

"The league is to kick off and we are yet to see the culprits being punished," he told BBC Sport.

"The officials' association demanded some measures to be taken and the federation has promised to sort out things - but these are just words.

"I have not seen any measures until now.

"Psychologically I am hurt to the level that could prompt me to quit my job as a referee. I need to contemplate on things before I start handling games."

Read more on the BBC Sport website.

Bara'atu Ibrahim
BBC Newsday

Image source, AFP

Authorities in Nigeria's north-west Kano state have arrested 92 beggars for disobeying a law on street begging in the state.

Most of these beggars are children between the ages of nine and 16, and mostly come from neighbouring states.

The Hisbah - religious leaders who control the of observance of Islamic principles in the state - have said the beggars will be returned to their parents.

Chris Ewokor
BBC Africa, Abuja

At least 20 suspected bandits were killed by Nigerian security forces over the past 24 hours in what the military has described as clearance operations in the troubled Adamawa and Taraba states.

A combined team of the army and police killed 10 suspected bandits in Taraba while the Nigerian army killed another 10 armed suspects in Adamawa, in the north-central region.

Troops recovered motorcycles, ‎guns, rounds of ammunition and ‎one cutlass.

Nigerian police displayed some of the corpses at Jalingo police station.

Recently, nearly 60 villagers were massacred by bandits in the northern part of Kaduna state.

Image source, Getty Images

The US film critics' verdicts are out for the banned Kenyan love story that received a rousing applause at Cannes film festival yesterday.

Kenyan authorities banned the film Rafiki for promoting homosexuality.

And that ban, the critics seem to agree, led to much hype around the film.

But beyond backing the homosexual storyline, the film critics weren't entirely complimentary of the film itself.

Variety's Guy Lodge says the scripting is clunky, the acting is great but the thing that is really noteworthy above anything else is the ban:

Screen Daily's Allan Hunter also mentions, external the hype - which he says "generated a considerable weight of expectations". But he adds he was not disappointed - taking time to applaud the acting:

And it's faint praise from Vanity Fair's Richard Lawson, external:

Banker-turned-shoemaker Fred Deegbe says his custom-made shoe brand, Heel the World, is about more than just selling shoes.

The BBC's Africa Business Report went to Accra, Ghana, to find out more.

A Kenyan satellite has been launched into space for the first time.

The satellite which was developed and assembled by the University of Nairobi with assistance from Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency was launched from the International Space Station.

The nano-satellite which is not much larger than a coffee cup is expected to help with mapping, monitoring of the coastline and the fight against illegal logging in Kenya.

People gathered in an auditorium at the University of Nairobi to watch the launch:

Image source, Getty Images

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said Nigeria is no longer at the "critical phase" in dealing with the Lassa fever outbreak.

The organisation said in a statement that only a handful of cases had been recorded in the past six weeks.

A total of 423 confirmed cases including 106 deaths have been recorded so far this year.

Director of emergencies in Africa, Ibrahima Socé Fall, congratulated Nigeria but added, "we cannot let our foot off the pedal. We must use the lessons learnt to better prepare at risk countries in our region to conduct rapid detection and response.”

Lassa fever is a viral infection, primarily transmitted to humans through contact with food or household items contaminated with rodent urine, faeces, or blood.

Zimbabwe's opposition leader Nelson Chamisa has complained that the country's president has not brought change to the country since taking over from Robert Mugabe's long stay in power.

Nelson Chamisa was speaking to BBC HardTalk when he made the accusation about President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

"He has refused to be the face of the new order. In fact, he has chosen to be the new face of the old order," Mr Chamisa said.

Watch:

The Kenyan government has made an appeal to its citizens to take part in a fundraising campaign to help those left homeless by Wednesday's deadly floods, local media reports.

At least 2,000 people have been left homeless after a dam burst in Solai town, north-west of the capital, Nairobi.

Authorities say at least 45 people were killed and dozens others are missing.

Reports say 70 million litres of water rushed downstream towards the homes below.

Image source, JAMES DAVIES

The International Dylan Thomas Prize has been won by a Zambian-born British poet described as having an "original and distinctive voice".

Kayo Chingonyi, 31, scooped the £30,000 ($40,000) prize from a six-person shortlist.

The Swansea University-backed award is the world's biggest literary prize for writers under 39.

Mr Chingonyi's entry was his poetry collection Kumukanda which explored black masculinity and rites of passage for young black men in Britain.

The prize is on offer for the best literary work published in English, including poetry, novels, short stories and drama.

"I'm staggered," said Mr Chingonyi.

Read the full story on the BBC website

Image source, Morocco 2026

Morocco will complete many of the plans in its 2026 World Cup bid even if it does not host the finals.

The Moroccan bid is up against a joint one from USA, Mexico and Canada.

Hicham el Amrani, Morocco's bid chief, insisted its plans will carry on even if they lose the vote.

"We'll carry on the projects because it is for the good of our country and continent, not only to host the World Cup," he told BBC Sport.

New motorways and new high speed trains are planned.

They also plan to build nine new stadia.

Fifa's members are choosing the 2026 host in a vote on 13 June.

Read more on the BBC Sport website.

The UK Foreign Office is investigating reports that two Britons have been kidnapped in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Local media say a female wildlife ranger - who was with the two Britons - was killed.

The attack happened just north of the city of Goma in the Virunga National Park.

The area is known for its mountain gorillas but there have been many killings and kidnappings in recent years.

Image source, GETTY IMAGES

BBC World Service

The Somali government says it is investigating reports that five civilians were shot dead in a military raid involving American troops.

Elders near the town of Afgoye, close to the capital Mogadishu, said those killed during a military operation on Wednesday night were farmers.

An official from the Lower Shabelle region said the military operation was meant to target al-Shabab militants who had been based at a farm for a long time.

A spokesman for Somalia's security ministry said it was not clear whether US soldiers were involved in the raid.

The seed has been reinvented to make it more resilient.

So-called seed balls are seeds coated in a charcoal shell to stop them being eaten by insects.

They survive in the dry season and when the rain comes, it washes away the charcoal and the seeds can germinate.

The organisation behind the invention, Seedballs, hopes the invention will help combat deforestation in Kenya.

Teddy Kinyanjui, co-founder of Seedballs Kenya, has even persuaded helicopter charter companies to keep bags of seedballs under the seats so passengers throw them down to the ground.

Watch:

Somaliland poet Nacima Qorane, who was released on Monday after a presidential pardon, has posted a selfie on Twitter celebrating her release.

Ms Qorane was a couple of weeks into her three-year jail sentence, for performing a poem calling for re-unification of the self-declared republic of Somaliland and Somalia.

Pressure groups in Somaliland said Ms Qorane's basic human rights had been violated.

Somaliland self-declared independence in 1991, but is not recognised internationally.

The territory is home to about 3.5 million people.

The manager of Patel dam has blamed bad weather and loose boulders for cracking the water reservoir.

The dam burst on Wednesday sending water downstream in Solai town in Kenya, killing at least 41 people. Dozens are still missing.

Vinod Jayakumar told Citizen TV that the dam has been in operation for more than 20 years and others dams in the farm have been operating for much longer.

Mr Jayakumar sent condolences to the family adding that the company has been giving out food and clothes to survivors.

He added that locals should pray, "that there won't be more rain".

Watch his full interview:

Akwasi Sarpong
BBC Africa

Ghana’s Speaker of Parliament Aaron Mike Oquaye says he will resign if lawmakers introduce a bill to legalise homosexuality in Ghana.

“If anybody should bring such a thing to parliament and I have to preside over that I will rather resign than subscribe to this delusion,” Mr Oquaye told Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana current affairs programme on Thursday.

There are currently no plans to introduce such a bill but gay activists having been asking MPs to consider it.

UK's Prime Minister, Theresa May, recently urged Commonwealth nations including Ghana to overhaul “outdated" anti-gay laws and said the UK "deeply regrets" its role in the legacy of violence and discrimination.

Watch Mr Oquaye's full interview:

People have gathered at an auditorium in Kenya's University of Nairobi to watch the live launch of a locally-assembled satellite to space.

The 10cm cube satellite described as a nano-satellite was built by funds from Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency(JAXA).

Japan provided the $1m (£720,000) funding and the platform for construction but it was Kenyan hands that did the building.

The satellite will be used observe farming trends and to monitor the country’s coastline.

It will be deployed from the International Space Station at 11:00 GMT.

The BBC's Ferdinand Omondi has snapped this picture of the gathering at the auditorium.