Alastair Leithead
BBC Africa correspondent

Image source, Reuters

The talks over a new civilian-led government in Sudan have taken another step forward, despite the shooting of protesters on the streets of Khartoum by soldiers.

The ruling generals and the opposition Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces have now agreed the structure of the new administration, that the transitional period will be three years and the opposition umbrella group will have two-thirds of the seats in a new parliament.

But the make-up of the sovereign council - the top tier of power in the country - has still not been decided.

It’s currently run by the army, but both sides are insisting they should have a majority.

The breakthrough was announced at a joint news conference and the two sides said that a final power-sharing agreement would be reached within 24 hours.

Protesters in Khartoum cautiously welcomed the news but said they would continue their demonstration outside the military headquarters until they were sure real change was coming to Sudan.

The military council said "saboteurs" intent on stopping the agreement were responsible for shooting protesters on Monday night.

It was the first outbreak of violence since former President Omar al-Bashir was ousted last month.

Read: Ramadan keeps Sudan protesters hungry for change

What images come to your mind when you think about vultures? Ugly birds feasting on carcasses in the wild perhaps?

Conservationists, on the other hand, see them differently. They say that a healthy population of vultures can protect the African continent from epidemics. The problem is that many of the species are close to extinction.

BBC Newsday's Karnie Sharp spoke to Nigerian conservationist Muhtari Aminu Kano:

A leading cartoonist in Kenya has poked fun at opposition leader Raila Odinga through an illustration showing him in the back pocket of the governing Jubilee party, following his rapprochement with President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Godfrey Mwampembwa, a Tanzanian political cartoonist who uses the name Gado for his artwork, shows Mr Odinga telling members of the public that what they see "is a creation of the media".

The US embassy in Nigeria has announced that it is no longer accepting visa renewal applications via international courier service DHL.

In a statement posted on Twitter, the embassy said Nigerians seeking to get US non-immigrant visas must apply online, and "will be required to appear in-person at the US Embassy in Abuja or US Consulate General in Lagos to submit their application for review".

The decision had been taken to "to provide more efficient customer service and promote legitimate travel", the statement said.

However, Nigerians who had already given their passports for visa renewal via "Dropbox" to DHL would not be affected, it added.

The Democratic Republic of Congo has been struggling to control an outbreak of Ebola for the past nine months.

The outbreak is the second deadliest in Africa and has killed more than 1,000 people.

Health workers have also been affected - 93 of them have been infected and 34 have died.

Medical personnel usually work with protective clothing and are expected to observe the highest standard of safety when dealing with suspected Ebola patients.

BBC Newsday's Christophe Pons spoke to DR Congo's National Ebola Response Coordinator, Aaron Aruna:

Image source, Getty Images

The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) wants a ban on manufacturing and importing of soaps and skin care products containing hydroquinone, privately owned regional newspaper The East African reports. , external

Hydroquinone is a skin-lightening agent found in creams and lotions, and is used by people to lighten dark patches on their skin.

“The effects of cosmetics containing hydroquinone are visible and widespread throughout the community,” the paper quoted South Sudan lawmaker Gideon Gatpan as saying.

Ugandan lawmaker Susan Nakawuki said some skin care products contain up to 6% of hydroquinone, the weekly paper said.

Kenya and Rwanda have joined the ranks of Ivory Coast, South Africa and Ghana to restrict or prohibit the use of the substance.

Read: On the trail of Uganda's illegal 'beauty-cream' smugglers

BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

Facebook says it will introduce new restrictions on users who post live content that violates its policies on hate speech.

Among the measures proposed in response to the Christchurch mosque shootings, is a one strike rule, which would immediately stop a user's access to Facebook Live for a set period of time.

The move comes ahead of a summit in Paris on Wednesday chaired by France's President Emmanuel Macron and New Zealand's Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, which will call for steps to eliminate violent extremist content online.

Facebook came under criticism in March when graphic footage of the Christchurch attack was widely shared.

Read more here

Image source, Getty Images

Sudan's military leaders have announced an agreement with the opposition alliance for a three-year transition period to a civilian administration.

The Transitional Military Council (TMC) said the alliance would have two-thirds of the seats on a legislative council.

Sudan has been ruled by the military council since last month's toppling of President Omar al-Bashir.

Read the full BBC story here.

Image source, Getty Images

Gunmen have killed four Catholics and burnt a statue of the Virgin Mary in an attack on a religious procession in northern Burkina Faso, church officials have said.

The attack in the town of Ouahigouya occurred on Monday, a day after a Catholic priest and five parishioners were shot dead in Dablo town, also in northern Burkina Faso, the officials added.

Worshippers were moving through Ouahigouya when "a group of terrorists intercepted the procession, killing four worshippers and burning the statue", a spokesman for the Ouagadougou Cathedral was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying.

In an address to bishops in Burkina Faso's capital on Tuesday, Paul Ouedraogo said a priest in neighbouring Niger had also been shot and wounded in an attack on Monday.

"All of this indicates that our West African region is strongly troubled," he said, Reuters news agency reported.

Read: The country where it's too dangerous to go to school

Our African proverb of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

Welcome back to BBC Africa Live for the latest news and trends from across the continent.

BBC Africa Live
Ashley Lime, Rosie Blunt & Natasha Booty

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

A reminder of our wise words of the day:

And we leave you with this picture of a mother laughing as she carries her baby in the green and rural Mulanje, southern Malawi.

Russell Padmore
Business correspondent, BBC News

Tourism companies operating in Tanzania will, as of next month, have to bid for the right to hunt in designated areas through a new online auction system.

The move is aimed at preventing corruption in this lucrative sector of the travel industry.

Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority says 26 hunting blocks will be made, with a maximum of five blocks allowed for any company.

Most of these are in the Unesco-listed Selous Game Reserve, known for its elephants, lions, zebras and giraffes.

Tourism last year contributed $2.4bn (£1.9bn) to the Tanzanian economy, and almost 1.5 million people visited the country, which counts beaches, wildlife safaris and Mount Kilimanjaro among its attractions.

Image source, AFP

Millions of dollars' worth of a protected kind of wood that went missing earlier this year after being confiscated by authorities has now been recovered, a senior Gabonese prosecutor says.

Kevazingo wood is native to Gabon's Congo Basin. The rare tree, which can take 500 years to grow to its full height of 40m (130ft), is highly valued in Asia but is illegal to fell in Gabon.

A total of 353 transport containers of the timber - worth nearly $250m (£193m) - had been stolen in April from an overall quantity of 392 containers. Those 392 containers had been seized by authorities at the port of Owendo a month earlier.

But with 200 containers now recovered, there are still 153 unaccounted for.

The Reuters news agency quotes Gabonese authorities as saying that the shipping containers recovered so far were found on the port premises of Cameroon-registered transport company SOTRASGAB, and on the property of company Owendo Container Terminal (OCT).

Neither company has responded to requests for comment.

Reuters reports that two Chinese nationals are being held in relation to the case. Gabonese authorities are also involved, the news agency quotes Gabon’s prosecutor general Olivier N’zahou as saying.

Image source, AFP

Image source, Oxford Scientific Films

A baby elephant has been saved in Mozambique after it was spotted wandering around the park alone.

When rangers found the three-month-old elephant, it was extremely weak and hungry and they estimated it to have been on its own for about three days.

Joao Almeida, a vet, said it was "touch and go" whether the calf would survive, but the team fed it fluids and specialised milk to help it regain its strength.

As it is rare for elephants to abandon their young, it is likely the calf was sick for some time.

Dooshima Abu
BBC Africa, Abuja

A Christian group has met in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, to mark the 16th birthday of Leah Sharibu, the only schoolgirl still held captive by Boko Haram after last year's mass kidnapping in Dapchi.

Leah was held back for refusing to convert to Islam after the Nigerian government negotiated and paid ransom for the release of the other schoolgirls.

"It’s been more than one year since Leah Sharibu was abducted and the painful thing is that we don't know her whereabouts, despite government’s promises," Gloria Samdi, the president of Leah Foundation told the BBC.

On 19 February last year, militants from the Boko Haram faction loyal to the Islamic State group stormed the Government Girls Science and Technical College and kidnapped 110 schoolgirls.

A month later, after negotiating with the jihadists, the government announced the release of all but one of the kidnapped schoolgirls. Leah was held back and not negotiated for on account of her faith.

She has been held captive by the militants for more than 400 days.

Alou Diawara
BBC Afrique, Bamako

Malian authorities say they are investigating after at least 12 people were killed by armed men who were dressed as traditional Dozo hunters.

The attackers arrived at the village near Niono, in central Mali, on motorbikes and left before security forces were able to get there.

Maliactu website reports that women and children are among the dead. Residents wounded in the attack were taken to a nearby hospital.

Local sources say this is the first time civilians have been targeted by such an attack in this area, but it follows tensions between ethnic groups in other parts of Mali in recent months.

In March, 160 members of the Fulani community were attacked.

The Malian prime minister and government resigned in April as a result of the violence.

Image source, Reuters

Shingai Nyoka
BBC Africa, Harare

Zimbabwe is currently experiencing its worst blackouts since 2016.

On Monday, the state-owned power company, Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC), announced that it would implement rolling blackouts of between five to eight hours. Mines will also be hit by the power cuts.

The authorities blame the blackouts on reduced output at the hydro-electric plant, mainly the result of a drought which has lowered water levels at the dam.

As some neighbourhoods are reporting even longer hours without power, the government has pledged to import more power from neighbouring Mozambique and South Africa.

Before 2016, incessant power cuts had been a top gripe in conversations on social media and at home.

Until now, with only sporadic cuts mainly because of faults, many Zimbabweans had looked in sympathy at their South African neighbours who had been experiencing rolling blackouts.

Image source, Getty Images

Journalists were blocked from taking photos of the mayor of eThekwini after she was granted bail for a series of corruption charges.

Zandile Gumede was granted R50,000 ($3,500; £2,700) bail at Durban Commercial Crimes Court on Tuesday.

She emerged into a chaotic crowd which broke into a commotion as she left the courthouse.

Her supporters covered her with coats and handbags so that she couldn't be photographed.

Mrs Gumede, a senior member of the governing African National Congress (ANC), has been accused of using her position to illegally interfere with a Durban solid waste contract.

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa has pledged to clean out the corruption that has become endemic under the ruling party, which has been in power for the past 25 years.

About 20 students from the US have been robbed at gunpoint while visiting a primary school just outside South Africa's capital, Pretoria.

The students, who were visiting Mamelodi school in Tshwane as part of an outreach programme, were made to lie on the floor while robbers took their bags containing phones, purses and electronic devices.

An employee of the school was hit on the head by a gun and a passerby was shot in the arm by a stray bullet.

A school official told Sowetan Live, external that the armed robbers trailed the visitors' bus before following them into the school.

"It happened so fast, maybe in eight minutes. They had taken everyone's bag and headed for the exit. We started screaming," they said.

The official said the foreign students were "shaken" and "in tears".

The suspects have not yet been found and police are appealing for any information.