We're now closing the BBC Africa Live page for this week. Keep up-to-date with what's happening across the continent by listening to the Africa Today podcast or check the BBC News website.

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We leave you with this image taken from our selection of the best pictures of the week from a church service in the southern Nigerian city of Port Harcourt:

Image source, AFP

BBC World Service

The authorities in Mali say nine of its soldiers were killed when a vehicle triggered a land mine in the Mopti region in the centre of the country.

The military says the troops were part of the G5-Sahel force which is fighting Islamist militants in the region.

The regional force is also made up of soldiers from Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania and Niger but correspondents say it has struggled to get enough funding and has been criticised for a lack of coordination between the member states.

Last year jihadists attacked the force's main base in the Malian town of Sévaré.

Protesters in Algeria have come out in unprecedented numbers in the capital, Algerian journalist Yacine Babouche has told the BBC's Focus on Africa radio programme.

"I have never seen so many people marching in Algiers," he said.

"Every category of the population [are out]: young people, families, women, children."

He estimated that 100,000 people had turned out to protest against President Abdulaziz Bouteflika bid for a fifth term in office.

People have been sharing videos and pictures of the protests on Twitter:

Edward Lowassa, who was a leading opposition candidate in the 2015 presidential election, has returned to the governing party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM).

In a move that surprised many, he defected from CCM earlier in 2015 when the party refused to endorse him as its candidate for the presidency.

Mr Lowassa had earlier served as prime minister from 2005 to 2008.

He had been seen meeting President John Magufuli in state house on several occasions fuelling speculation that he would return to CCM.

There has been a wave of defections by opposition MPs to the governing party, moves that are said to have weakened an already fragile opposition, the BBC's Aboubakar Famau reports from Dar es Salaam.

The president has been accused by rights groups and foreign governments of intimidating opposition parties.

There have also been concerns about the freedom of expression.

This week, diplomats from Western countries criticised a week-long ban on the publication of the daily Citizen newspaper. The ban related to a piece about the devaluation of the Tanzanian shilling against the dollar.

After Uganda's tourism minister suggested showcasing curvy women in order to attract more visitors, our resident presidents take a satirical look at what tourists travelling to Africa really want.

Take a listen:

We've reported that thousands have taken to the streets of the Algerian capital, Algiers, to protest against President Abdulaziz Bouteflika's decision to run for a fifth term of office.

A student, in her early 20s, who wished to remain anonymous, told the BBC why she wanted to protest in Algiers:

The siege that saw Somalia's special forces battling gunmen in a building in the capital, Mogadishu, is over, local reporters are saying.

The battle came a day after a suicide car bomb attack left at least 20 people dead, security sources say.

The attack began late on Thursday by al-Shabab militants in an area lined with hotels, shops and restaurants.

The gunmen then seized a nearby building and were surrounded.

The information minister said the siege had been prolonged because civilians were being used as human shields.

Russell Padmore
Business correspondent, BBC News

The oil and gas giant Royal Dutch Shell faces prosecution in the Netherlands over its activities in Nigeria.

The company has been told that the Dutch Public Prosecutor’s Office is preparing to prosecute the firm for its role in securing the licence to explore an offshore oilfield, OPL 245, which is thought to have reserves worth $500bn (£375bn).

Shell has told shareholders that the Dutch Public Prosecutor’s Office is nearing the conclusion of an investigation and is preparing to prosecute the company for criminal charges "directly or indirectly related to the 2011 settlement of disputes over Oil Prospecting License 245 in Nigeria".

Shell is already facing charges of fraud in a court in Italy, alongside its project partner Eni, in a case that centres around how $1.1bn was paid to secure the drilling rights.

The Italian and Anglo-Dutch energy giants deny any wrongdoing.

Anti-corruption campaigners estimate the alleged fraud cost Nigeria almost $6bn in lost revenues.

Jose Tembe
BBC Africa, Maputo

The Mozambican police in the northern most province of Niassa say a 12-year old girl with albinism has been kidnapped and killed in a farming area by unknown people who are still at large.

According to the police, the criminals - using a toy gun - broke into the house where the girl was sleeping and then abducted her.

The police have found her mutilated body, spokesperson Alves Mate said.

He added:

Milton Nkosi
BBC Africa, Johannesburg

A South African Airways (SAA) pilot has been forced to resign because the airline discovered that he did not have the correct licence while flying passengers for more than 20 years, the Mail&Guardian newspaper reports, external.

The airline said that William Chandler had been flying passenger planes for that time without an airline transport pilot licence (ATPL).

This follows what the airline called a "reportable incident" on an international flight he had flown.

The Mail&Guardian says that the incident happened in November 2018 over Swiss airspace.

As first officer, Mr Chandler had been in charge of the controls on flight SA206 from Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International airport to Frankfurt,Germany.

SAA spokesman Tlali Tlali said that an investigation into the incident revealed that Mr Chandler’s licence was fake.

Phindi Gwebu from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said that they are “greatly, greatly concerned”.

She said that he had a commercial pilot's licence but did not have a licence to allow him to fly passengers.

South Africans have been reacting on Twitter, some have said it was a case of "white male privilege".

While others are left wondering whether Mr Chandler ever flew them:

BBC World Service

Thousands of people have taken to the streets of the Algerian capital, Algiers, to protest against President Abdulaziz Bouteflika's decision to run for a fifth term of office.

Police used tear gas to prevent demonstrators reaching a central square.

The ailing president, who turns 82 on Saturday, is undergoing medical checks in Switzerland.

Protests are also under way elsewhere in the country, including in Oran in the west, Blida, south of the capital, and Setif in the east.

On Thursday Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia warned people not to join protests, saying the bloody Syrian civil war began with demonstrations.

Image source, EPA

The US comedian Kevin Hart has bought his own portrait from Nigerian hyper-realist artist Eli Waduba Yusuf.

Yusuf tweeted out his pencil portrait, tagging Hart in the hope that the actor might see the finished product.

Hart tweeted Yusuf directly to tell him he not only wanted to buy the portrait, but also commission Yusuf to draw portraits of a few of his celebrity friends.

The reaction to Hart's reply had more than 310k likes in the first 24 hours with people tweeting their congratulations to Yusuf and wishing him well.

There is speculation as to who the celebrity friends are that Hart would like Yusuf to draw.

Some thought that it could be ex-wrestler turned actor Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. One Twitter user said, external: "The Rock is about to have a great drawing of himself."

Read more on BBC Trending.

Sixty people in Sudan have been given jail sentences in the new emergency courts which were set up in an effort to stop anti-government protests.

There are reports that arrested protesters were given prison sentences of between six months and five years.

Following months of protests, last week President Omar al-Bashir declared a state of emergency and banned all public demonstrations.

On Thursday, he stepped down as head of the ruling National Congress Party and appointed a close ally as his replacement.

Correspondents say President Bashir appears determined to stay in power and further protests are due to take place shortly.

Image source, Getty Images

A multimedia exhibition is aiming to commemorate colonial soldiers who lost their lives in World War One.

Mimesis: African Soldier by the artist John Akomfrah uses historic films and images to tell the lesser-known stories of the conflict, which is also known as the Great War.

The artist said the role of African soldiers should be more widely taught in British schools.

The exhibition, which is at the Imperial War Museum in London, aims to show how World War One shaped today's society.

Pictures courtesy of Smoking Dogs Films, IWM, from the collection of the Library of Congress and John Akomfrah.

Produced by BBC What's New?

Wanjiku Mungai
BBC Monitoring, Nairobi

The hashtag #MrPresidentTumechoka - meaning "Mr President, we are tired" - has been trending on Twitter in Kenya as people express their frustration at the country’s newest corruption scandal.

As we have reported below, an official report has uncovered that $200m has been spent on the construction of a dam that does not exist.

People want President Uhuru Kenyatta to be tough on those responsible:

Some users have suggested putting up a billboard to display front-page headlines on the corruption uncovered during Mr Kenyatta’s presidency:

And people are questioning whether Mr Kenyatta is committed to the fight against corruption:

The president insists that he is getting tough on those who loot the government's coffers.

Speaking on Thursday, he said he wants the police and courts to detain those accused of graft:

Nigeria’s electoral commission (Inec) has said that its officials were subjected to "threats, harassment, intimidation, assault, abduction and even rape" during last week’s presidential election.

The commission said it “decried the high level of violence in a few places" but did not provide any further details in its statement about the conduct of the polls.

Inec did say things were "generally peaceful", but said it was concerned about the violence which led to some fatalities and in some cases stopped the vote taking place.

It was also critical of the behaviour of some security personnel saying: "The conduct of certain members of the security agencies in some sites is a matter of serious concern to the commission."

Again, the statement did not give any more details.

Catherine Byaruhanga
BBC Africa, Kampala

Uganda has summoned Rwanda’s ambassador in Kampala to explain why there have been disruptions at the main border crossings between the two countries.

Rwandan authorities are said to have blocked most cargo trucks from Uganda and media reports say Rwandans have also been stopped from crossing into Uganda.

The Rwandan government denies this and says only heavy goods vehicles have been blocked at one border post because of construction works.

A build-up of vehicles has been reported at three key border crossings between Uganda and Rwanda.

According to Ugandan officials, most of the vehicle traffic from Uganda has been stopped but people are allowed to enter Rwanda.

Rwanda is Uganda’s fifth biggest export destination. And most imports into the country pass through Uganda.

There have been reports of a strained relationship between the two countries. Last year, a former head of police was arrested over allegations of collusion with Rwanda.

The Rwandan government has protested the mistreatment of its citizens in Uganda, some of whom were arrested over accusations of espionage.

A Ugandan government spokesman has denied that Rwandans are being harassed:

Victor Kenani
BBC Africa, Nairobi

Kenyan newspapers are often awash with reports about public funds being sunk into non-existent projects.

And the latest, in which the country is said to have lost $200m (£150m) set aside for the building of a dam has irked President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The dam, which was supposed to be in Marakwet in the west of the country, has not been built.

It is alleged that government officials received millions of dollars in kickbacks to award tenders in the lucrative dam construction.

Speaking on Thursday, President Kenyatta warned that his government will crack the whip.

This week, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations released a report into how cartels had allegedly transferred more than $40m as kickbacks to offshore accounts.

The DCI has summoned 107 companies in Kenya that were contracted to offer various services in the dam building.

One of them was paid $200,000 to supply towels.

None of the companies named in the report have commented on the allegations.

We've been reporting that the son of Liberia's former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has been detained over the alleged disappearance of over $100m worth of Liberian banknotes.

He has been accused of being involved while deputy governor of the Central Bank.

The BBC's Jonathan Paye Layleh is reporting from the capital, Monrovia, that Mr Sirleaf's former boss and ex-Central Bank head Milton Weeks has also been detained.

Justice Minister Frank Musa Dean told the BBC that he had 48 hours to charge the men.

Those detained have not commented.

In the final episode of BBC What's New's series on growing up mixed race, we head to Dorset in the south of England to meet 10-year-old Elouan, his 12-year-old sister Amandine and their mother Melena.

Amandine and Elouan are half Cameroonian, a quarter Welsh and a quarter French.

They told What's New's Nora Fakim how people see them in the UK and Cameroon.