Emmanuel Igunza
BBC Africa, Ethiopia

President Salva Kiir and his bitter rival Riek Machar met face to face for the first time in nearly two years during a dinner hosted by Ethiopia’s new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

Pictures released from the premier's office showed the three leaders locked in a group hug smiling.

But delegates from the two warring sides have told the BBC that a peace deal to end the conflict that erupted in 2013 is still far off.

Regional leaders have proposed another power sharing agreement that will see President Kiir retain his position while Mr Machar would resume his vice presidency duties.

The last deal, signed in August 2015, collapsed less than a year later, with both sides accused of violating the terms of a ceasefire and carrying out human rights abuses like massacres and rapes.

The United Nations, US and the African Union have all threatened punitive measures if the fighting does not stop by the end of this month.

Tens of thousands of people have died and more than four million others displaced since the fighting begun in December 2013 .

Read more about South Sudan's rivals:

• Riek Machar: Warlord turned peacemaker?
• Salva Kiir: President in a cowboy hat

Aboubakar Famau
BBC Africa, Dar es Salaam

Image source, Science Photo Library

More than 300 Tanzanian MPs are taking HIV tests in public today as they try to encourage more people to get tested.

The initiative comes at the start of a six-month campaign dubbed ‘test and treat’ that seeks to put people living with HIV on anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs).

Speaking during the launch of the campaign, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa directed local government leaders to encourage the public to take HIV tests so that those found with the virus can start medication immediately.

Oscar Rwegasira Mukasa, an MP and chairman of the HIV Parliamentary Committee, told the BBC that as much as the testing will be done openly, individual MPs will decide whether to make their results public.

According to statistics by the Tanzania Commission for Aids, Tanzania has an estimated 1.4 million people living with HIV, but only 52% of them are aware of their condition.

The disease has mostly affected the youth aged between 14 and 25, the commission says.

Image source, ETV

Ethiopia's prime minister has thanked Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki for accepting his olive branch, in a specially recorded message.

Abiy Ahmed directly addressed his counterpart in the short film, made while he was visiting communities displaced by ethnic clashes in the south of the country.

It comes after Mr Isaias said he would send a delegation to Ethiopia for talks aimed at ending their 16-year border dispute as both nations "relish peace and harmony".

Mr Abiy even switched to Tigrinya to ensure Mr Isaias can understand him.

“So that he can hear me, I want to say few words in his language,” he said.

“Our brother President Isaias Afewerki, I would like to convey my gratitude for the new view you expressed today.

“We will welcome the delegation you send not as guests but as Ethiopians, and I would like to inform you that I will receive them in my office and speak with them. Peace to the people of Eritrea and peace to the people of Ethiopia.

“I believe that peace is necessary now more than anytime before and I assure you we will work together [to achieve it].

“This is a great news for the Eritrean and Ethiopian people.”

Ethiopia’s ruling EPRDF coalition announced earlier this month that it would fully abide by a 2002 border ruling to cede territory to Eritrea.

Image source, AFP

Three people have reportedly now died in The Gambia after police shot them while they were protesting against pollution.

Bakary Kujabi and Ismaila Bah died on Monday, while Amadou Nyang, 24, died in hospital on Wednesday, a local campaign group told news agency AFP.

They had been taking part in a protest at Faraba Banta, trying to bring attention to the sand mining industry which they say is polluting the rice fields.

The sand is sold to the mining industry.

Another six people and 16 police officers were injured when violence broke out.

One journalist told campaign group Human Rights Watch police reinforcements arrived and started shooting live bullets at protesters who had been blocking mining traffic - without issuing "a warning or alarm".

Protesters threw stones at the police, another witness said.

Sabrina Mahtani, West Africa researcher at Amnesty International, said the killings "conjured up painful memories from Gambia’s recent past".

President Adama Barrow has ordered a "full investigation".

Five police officers were also detained after the violence.

Our proverb of the day:

• Click here to send in your African proverb

Welcome back to BBC Africa Live, where we will bring you the latest news and views from around the continent.

BBC Africa Live
Farouk Chothia

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 in your African proverb

And we leave you with a photo of a disappointed Moroccan fan after Portugal knocked her country out of the World Cup:

Image source, AFP

Abdi Dahir
BBC Monitoring, Nairobi

Image source, AFP

Somaliland has freed a king, Osman Aw Mahmud Burmadow, who was imprisoned in April for attending the inauguration of a monarch in neighbouring Puntland.

Puntland and Somaliland are at loggerheads over disputed territory along their border in the Sool and Sanaag regions.

Somaliland's President Muse Bihi Abdi pardoned the monarch, who was sentenced to five years in prison.

Human rights organisations have condemned the self-declared republic of Somaliland of suppressing free speech and arresting people critical of the administration.

In April, a court sentenced female poet Nacima Qorane to three years in prison on "contempt of state" charges.

She was also freed after receiving a presidential pardon.

Image source, HUMAN RIGHTS CENTRE SOMALILAND

Milton Nkosi
BBC Africa, Johannesburg

Image source, Getty Images

The killing of Sibusiso Radebe, an MP belonging to South Africa's governing African National Congress (ANC), apparently in a botched car hijacking on Tuesday night, illustrates the seriousness of violent crime in the country.

The nation is in shock, with many people asking: If a person of stature can be shot and killed while sitting in a car with a friend, then what about us, ordinary citizens?

Nevertheless, the number of murders have decreased since the end of minority rule 24 years ago, but killings are still unacceptably high.

The annual police report released last October showed that murders had increased - from 18,673 in 2015/16 to 19,016 in 2016/17.

There has also been a spike in political killings, largely as a result of feuds within the ANC, in the coastal province of KwaZulu Natal.

There is no suggestion that Mr Radebe's killing is a political hit, although police say the exact motive is still unclear. They are searching for two suspects.

New police minister Bheki Cele has promised to reduce the crime rate, and everyone is hoping that he will succeed.

See earlier post: ANC mourns

A video of 13-year-old Kenyan schoolgirl Gracious Amani singing This Girl is on Fire by Alicia Keys has become a viral hit on social media.

A BBC Africa One Minute Story, by Anthony Irungu.

BBC Sport

Luis Suarez's goal made the difference at the interval. Will it bring a premature end to the presence of another football great, Mo Salah, at the World Cup?

That depends on whether Saudi Arabia can make a comeback - if they lose Egypt are out of the tournament.

Ex-Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock says: "Saudi Arabia are still in the game, they have not been blown away. They reacted well to going behind."

There are nearly 69 million people displaced worldwide due to conflict, violence and persecution, according to new figures, external from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR).

It has been sharing the findings of its Global Trends Report for 2017 on its Facebook page (see above).

From an African perspective one striking statistic is that Uganda is currently hosting 1.3 million refugees, the third highest number of any country in the world (Turkey and Pakistan being the first and second, external).

BBC Africa has made this graphic to illustrate the refugee situation on the continent:

BBC World Service

Internet access has been cut in Algeria today to try to stop students cheating in their baccalaureate exams.

Access is being restricted for the first hour of the exams each day, then at other hours throughout the day, in a bid to prevent information about the questions being shared on social media.

All internet-connected devices have been banned from exam centres this year, not just for the students, but for school staff as well.

Algeria's baccalaureate was hugely compromised in 2016 by a wide-ranging operation in which questions were leaked both before and during the exams.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has welcomed Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki's "positive response" to his peace and reconciliation overtures, his chief of staff has said.

Ethiopia will show "considerable goodwill" towards the Eritrean delegation that Mr Afewerki plans to send to resolve the territorial dispute between the nations, Fitsum Arega said in a tweet:

Scroll down to read more.

Image source, AFP

Eritrea's President Isaias Afewerki seems to have welcomed the appointment of Abiy Ahmed as Ethiopia's prime minister, saying the country has entered the "era of transformation".

Speaking at a Martyrs' Day rally, external, he said it was "game over" for the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), regarded as the most influential group in Ethiopia's ruling coalition before Mr Abiy's rise to power in March.

Mr Isaias added:

Mr Isaias said he would send a delegation to Ethiopia for talks aimed at ending their border dispute as both nations "relish peace and harmony".

The two countries fought a war between 1998 and 2000 for control of territory. Tens of thousands of people were killed or injured.

The TPLF was accused of refusing to honour a peace deal to cede territory to Eritrea. The TPLF in turn accused Eritrea of starting the war, and says the president is a dictator.

Since he came to power, Ethiopia's Mr Abiy has said that Ethiopia will abide by the peace accord.

See earlier post for more details

It may be tears for Moroccan fans today, but we suspect the Senegalese supporters are still celebrating, if this video is anything to go by.

Fans from Dakar to Moscow could barely contain their excitement after Senegal's victory over Poland on Tuesday.

So what do they think of their chances going forward? Watch the video below to find out...

(Spoiler alert: confidence is high...)

Image source, Reuters

So the Atlas Lions will not be progressing in this year's World Cup, after that loss to Portugal.

They do have one more match before heading home, next Monday against Spain.

To be fair, it seems unlikely that Egypt, who have also lost both matches so far, will be progressing either.

Next up for African football fans are Nigeria, who are facing Iceland (and their legendary chants) on Friday...

BBC Sport

Grindhouse stuff from Portugal. They have not played well today but they are well placed to progress thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo's fourth goal of the World Cup.

Morocco are heading back to north Africa...

The World Health Organization (WHO) says it is cautiously optimistic that the most recent outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo has largely been contained.

It says no new cases have been confirmed since the last death on 9 June.

Image source, AFP

To combat the latest outbreak officials implemented a "ring vaccination" strategy, where all contacts of known patients are vaccinated to try and stop the spread of the disease.

A total of 28 people have died since early April.

The head of the WTO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned against complacency last week.

An Ebola outbreak is normally declared over 52 days after blood samples from the last confirmed case tests negative for the second time.

Read: Why DR Congo is confident it will halt Ebola

Prominent Kenyan DJ Njambi Koikai has suffered for years with endometriosis - and is now receiving treatment at a specialist centre in the US.

Endometriosis is caused by abnormal tissue growth outside the uterus, resulting in painful periods, cramps, backache and bowel movements.

Speaking to BBC Newsday's Alan Kasuja, Koikai said it is "worse than heart disease and it is eating up women".

Listen to the interview here: