Image source, Entebbe Airport

Uganda's government has bought six planes to revive the national carrier following its liquidation in 2001.

Works and Transport minister Monica Azuba-Ntege said on Wednesday that the government has made the initial deposit of around $1.2m (£890,000) for the six passenger planes, Ugandan newspaper the Daily Monitor reports, external.

They are expected to buy four Bombardier CRJ900 passenger jets and two wide-body A330-200 aircraft.

Authorities plan to make money by getting Uganda Airlines to get involved in other sectors, like catering and ground handling.

“The plan is to break even in four to five years,” the minister said.

Uganda Airlines is expected to return to the skies this November.

Image source, Getty Images

Climate change could cause a "catastrophic loss of species" in South Africa's world famous Kruger National Park, according to a new study.

Scientists measured the impacts of extreme floods in 2000 and 2012 on Kruger’s rivers by airborne laser surveys. They found that the rivers needed more than a decade to recover.

"There is a suggestion that the frequency of large flood events is increasing due to climate change‚ and our analysis... shows us that these rivers need time-spans longer than a decade to recover" the study's principal investigator David Milan‚ from the UK's University of Hull‚ said in a statement, external.

Kruger is a dryland area, like nearly 70% of Africa, making it vulnerable to climate change and South Africa is predicted to have more cyclones.

"More frequent floods will continue to strip out sediment and vegetation from the river channel‚ leaving a more barren environment with less habitat value," Milan said.

"Continued progressive loss of habitat diversity will fundamentally‚ and for all intents and purposes irreversibly‚ alter our riverine landscapes and this will be accompanied by a catastrophic loss of species unable to adapt to the new environments."

Image source, Getty images

The director of the first Kenyan film to debut at Cannes, Rafiki, has been going from strength to strength despite the film's ban in Kenya over its portrayal of a lesbian relationship.

It was announced on Wednesday that The Gotham Group had signed Wanuri Kahiu, Deadline reports, external.

The Los Angeles-based management and production company is responsible for a number of films, including the Maze Runner franchise.

"Wanuri Kahiu is a prodigiously talented and brilliant woman," Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, founder of The Gotham Group, said to Deadline.

"As an advocate for Africans, especially young women, Wanuri has established herself as a major cultural force. That she refused to edit Rafiki in any way to avoid the Kenyan ban is a testament to Wanuri’s courage and commitment to her creative vision."

Image source, Reuters

Luis Suarez was among the goalscorers as Barcelona beat South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns 3-1 to win the Mandela Centenary Cup.

Ousmane Dembele and Andre Gomes also scored for the Spanish champions before Sibusiso Vilakazi replied for the hosts at Soccer City, near Johannesburg.

Barca forward Lionel Messi came off the bench to a standing ovation.

The match is part of South Africa's celebrations to mark 100 years since the birth of Nelson Mandela.

Mandela, South Africa's first black president, died in December 2013 at the age of 95.

The Sundowns had to persuade Guinean club Horoya, and the Confederation of African Football, to postpone their Champions League tie by a week in order to play.

Barcelona conclude their domestic campaign against Real Sociedad at the Camp Nou on Sunday.

Image source, AFP

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has spread from the countryside into a city, prompting fears that the disease will be increasingly difficult to control.

Health Minister Oly Ilunga Kalenga confirmed a case in Mbandaka, a city of a million people about 130km (80 miles) from the area where the first cases were confirmed earlier this month.

The city is a major transportation hub with routes to the capital Kinshasa.

Forty-two people have now been infected and 23 people are known to have died.

Ebola is a serious infectious illness that causes internal bleeding and often proves fatal. It can spread rapidly through contact with small amounts of bodily fluid and its early flu-like symptoms are not always obvious.

Three employees of a cement factory owned by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote have been killed by gunmen in Ethiopia's Oromia region.

Indian national Deep Kamara, who managed the plant, died alongside two Ethiopian employees.

They were returning to the capital, Addis Ababa, from the factory, a government statement said.

The motive is unclear.

Mr Dangote is expected in the country today. He will be holding an emergency meeting with the factory's management, Ethiopian daily the Addis Standard reports.

Oromia has been plagued by violence for the past two years over political and economic grievances by Oromo youths - despite being the country's largest group.

The Dangote Cement Factory was commissioned in May 2015 and is the largest such plant in the country.

The authorities were recently forced to cancel the renewal of a licence for a gold mine owned by an Ethiopian-Saudi billionaire following protests by Oromia residents.

The country remains in a state of emergency, which was imposed in February a day after then Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn resigned.

He was replaced by Abiy Ahmed, the first prime minister from the Oromo ethnic group, which is the largest in Ethiopia.

Image source, afp

Long queues have built up outside polling stations in Burundi where a referendum is being held on controversial constitutional changes that could pave the way for President Pierre Nkurunziza to stay in office for two more, seven-year terms.

The campaign has been marred by violence and intimidation. Students were ordered to register to vote and people denied medical services if they did not have voters' cards.

The result of the referendum is almost a foregone conclusion, with most opponents exiled, silenced or killed.

Burundi has been ravaged by political violence since 2015 when Mr Nkurunziza ran for a third term.

Read: First a third term, now seven-year mandates

Our African proverb of the day:

Click here and scroll to the bottom to send us your African proverbs.

Welcome to BBC Africa Live, where we resume our coverage of the latest news and views from around the continent.

That's all from BBC Africa Live until 08:00 GMT. 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:

Click here and scroll to the bottom to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with a rather sad photo of a mourner at the burial of a relative killed in north-western Kenya when a dam burst its walls last week, claiming more than 40 lives:

Image source, Reuters

Kennedy Gondwe
BBC News, Lusaka

Image source, afp

Popular Zambian musician and activist Fumba Chama - whose anti-corruption song Rat in the Pot got him into trouble - has been arrested after he returned from self-imposed exile in South Africa.

His arrest at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport in the capital Lusaka, has been condemned by rights group Amnesty International as a "shocking affront to justice".

“Pilato [as the musician is known to his fans] is not a criminal. He is an activist and artist. He should not spend a single night in jail. He must be released immediately and unconditionally,” it added in a statement.

Chama fled to South Africa in January after receiving death threats over his song, Koswe Mumpoto (Rat in the Pot), which was interpreted as being critical of President Edgar Lungu and his ministers.

The song was a major hit in Zambia when it was released. Chama sang that the ruling elite was behaving like rats that steal food - an allegation which was strongly denied by ruling party supporters.

He was arrested in September 2017 for taking part in a protest against the government’s purchase of 42 fire engines for about $1m (£740,000) each. He fled to South Africa while on bail.

A warrant for his arrest was issued in February after he failed to appear in court on what Amnesty called "trumped up" charges related to the protest.

Mr Lungu took power on a pledge to fight corruption, and denies any wrongdoing.

Chama is a very big name in Zambia, and a controversial social commentator through his music, which is a fusion of rap and hip hop.

Charles Mgbolu
BBC Igbo, Lagos

Scarification, or facial marks, were reserved for the brave among the Igbo of south-eastern Nigeria.

Known as “igbuichi” in Igboland, the scars marked status and nobility – and unlike other groups in Nigeria, was not done to identify ethnicity.

It was usually done to men who wanted to have the prestigious title of “Ozo”, the highest accolade.

The scarification ritual was regarded as a natural sifting process. If you lived to tell the tale, then you were worthy.

According to the Journal of International African Studies, extensive full-face scarring began to fade out in the late 17th century.

It was a terribly painful experience. Many people died or went blind as cuts were made over the eyes and the wounds would bleed profusely.

Men arose in the middle of the night to begin the scarification ritual. It was believed that it was the best time as the body was still half asleep.

They were cut on the face with a long pointed knife; no drugs were given to numb the pain or control the blood flow.

The men were forbidden to cry out in pain. If they did, all their possessions could be seize and they would be disgraced in the eyes of the community.

The marks either symbolised the moon:

Or the sun:

The astral bodies were two deities that were very important to Igbo.

Scarification was not imposed on people, they had to opt to have it done.

However, if your father was an Ozo title holder and you were the first-born son, you might be regarded as a weakling if you didn’t go through the process.

Women could not hold the Ozo title, but could receive less extensive scarring for honour and prestige.

These days facial scarrings are rare as most Igbos are Christian and do not believe in such practices.

Those who are Christian and interested in the Ozo title usually have a small cross cut on their forehead.

Lionel Messi is not in the Barcelona line up that will face Mamelodi Sundowns in the Mandela Centenary Cup at the FNB stadium in South Africa's main city, Johannesburg.

Mary Harper
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Angola's sovereign wealth fund has applied to a British court to order banks to reveal information about accounts held on its behalf.

This is the $5bn (£4.2bn) dollar fund's latest move in a dispute with its former boss, the son of Angola's ex-President Jose Eduardo dos Santos.

Jose Filomeno dos Santos was sacked as head of the fund after Joao Lourenco became president last year, vowing to eradicate nepotism and corruption.

The fund, which was created to safeguard Angola's oil revenues, is also trying to sack its Swiss-based asset manager, accusing it of mismanagement.

Image source, Getty Images

Nigeria levies some of its highest visa fees for American and Saudi Arabian citizens, according to the Abuja-based Daily Trust newspaper, external.

US nationals pay up to $270 (£200) for a single-entry visas while Saudi Arabians are expected to cough-up $441 (£326), according to a data obtained from the Nigerian Immigration Service by newspaper.

Malaysia, which is a popular destination for Nigerian students, is charged one of the lowest fees of approximately $6 (£4).

Here's what a sample of countries are expected to pay, according to Daily Trust:

• Saudi Arabia $441 (£326)
• US $270 (£200)
• Bangladesh $253 (£187)
• India $253 (£187)
• Indonesia $245 (£181)
• Belize $200 (£148)
• Chile $200 (£148)
• Ireland $170 (£126)
• Israel $169 (£125)
• UAE $150 (£111)
• United Kingdom $144 (£107)
• South Africa $58 (£42)
• China $64 (£47)
• Malaysia $6 (£4)

Image source, Reuters

More than 330 people have been pardoned by Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Many of those due to be released are youths who have demonstrated in recent years, Reuters reports.

"We signed off on more than 330 (pardoned), and I ask of the interior minister that these youth spend tonight in their home," Mr Sisi said at a youth conference in Cairo.

The Egyptian ruler issues pardons several times a year, usually on major holidays, often releasing young protesters.

In 2013, the country passed a law requiring permission for any public gathering of more than 10 people. The move effectively ended the mass protests that helped unseat two presidents since 2011.

Mr Sisi led the military's overthrow in 2013 of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi following mass protests against his rule.

Since sweeping into power, Mr Sisi has been accused of leading a crackdown on liberal activists and Islamist opponents.

Kennedy Gondwe
BBC News, Lusaka

Image source, Getty Images

A court in Zambia has sentenced the son of former President Frederick Chiluba to eight months imprisonment with hard labour for stealing a mobile phone.

Frederick Chiluba Jr was convicted of stealing a Samsung S7 edge, valued at $843 (£626), last year.

The court heard that Chiluba Jr stole the device from a woman, Brenda Chisha, on 2 September 2017 and traded it for drugs in a notorious slum in Zambia's capital, Lusaka.

Delivering judgement today, Lusaka magistrate Nthandose Chabala said she handed Chiluba Jr a custodial sentence as a deterrence to him and other would-be offenders.

She said she was satisfied that there was enough evidence connecting him to the theft of the phone, and the prosecution had proved its case beyond all reasonable doubt.

Chiluba Snr ruled Zambia from 1991 to 2001. He was dogged by corruption allegations, leading to his immunity from prosecution being lifted after he left office.

He was prosecuted for alleged embezzlement in 2002 but acquitted after a six-year trial.

In 2007, he was convicted of fraud by a London court and ordered to repay $58m (£36m) in embezzled funds, but the ruling was never enforced in Zambia.

Image source, Getty Images

Oliver Conway
BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

If you have a teenager at home, it may not come as a complete surprise to hear that chimpanzee beds are cleaner than human ones, at least according to a new study.

Scientists from North Carolina State University in the US found that nests built by chimps in Tanzania had fewer bacteria shed from bodies than mattresses in most people's homes.

The reason?

As humans moved indoors many thousands of years ago, we became increasingly separated from the outdoor environment - and all the organisms which live there.

In fact nowadays, more than a third of the bacteria in our beds comes from our own bodies.

To assess the impact of this indoor lifestyle, scientists looked at another mammal which builds structures for sleeping in - the chimpanzee - collecting samples from nests in the Issa Valley in Tanzania.

The researchers found they contained fewer faecal, oral or skin bacteria than beds in most human households - even though chimps go to the toilet over the side of their nests.

Part of the reason is that they move to a new nest every night.

And even though the chimps spend more than half the day in bed, the scientists also found hardly any fleas or lice in their nests - whereas our homes have been found to have hundreds of these parasites, including some specially adapted to living indoors with humans.

Megan Thoemmes, who carried out the research published in the Royal Society Open Science journal, external, says humans living indoors could learn from chimps.

"We definitely need to rethink the way that we design our homes and think about air movement and exposures to the environment," she told the BBC.

Twitter went into meltdown in South Africa on Wednesday when soccer legend Lionel Messi and the rest of the Barcelona squad landed in the country.

The team will be playing against Mamelodi Sundowns in the evening.

South African press, external have been reporting that Sundowns' owner and mining magnate Patrice Motsepe allegedly paid Barcelona 3m euro ($3.5m; £2.6m) to make the trip.

Meanwhile, Messi's arrival turned into a meme factory on Twitter:

Others wondered whether Sundowns had a chance of beating Messi, let alone Barcelona.

There might even be a case of mixed loyalties, one fan mused:

Meghan Markle has said that when she was younger she struggled to know which box to tick when asked for her ethnic group.

Her father encouraged her to create her own box and define her own identity.

BBC reporter Nora Fakim and two friends, who are also of mixed ethnicity, decided to take that advice literally: