Traditional Senegalese wrestling combines mystical ritual practice with immense physical strength. The belief is that both are equally important in ensuring victory in the ring. But what do these rituals involve, and why are they so important?

Series created and produced by Daisy Walsh, directed and shot by Tom Martienssen, and edited by Luke André Jackson of Dustoff Films.

Image source, Getty Images

Rockets have struck a luxury hotel in Libya's capital, Tripoli, Reuters news agency reports.

The agency says Libya's internationally-backed government believes that renegade general Khalifa Haftar's forces, were responsible for the assault.

Pictures showing a room destroyed at the Rixos hotel, where legislators opposed to the general were meeting, were published by the interior ministry, says Reuters.

Haftar's troops have been attempting to seize Tripoli since early April, causing a massive humanitarian crisis.

Image source, EPA

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman has held talks with the deputy head of Sudan's transitional military council, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, in Jeddah, the state-owned Saudi Press Agency reports.

The talks focused on "bilateral cooperation between the two sisterly countries", the agency reports.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have promised $3bn (£2.4bn) in aid to Sudan, throwing a lifeline to the junta which overthrew President Omar al-Bashir on 11 April.

Mass protests against the escalating cost of living triggered Mr Bashir's fall.

Read: The art fuelling Sudan's revolution

Larry Madowo
BBC Africa business editor

Image source, Getty Images

Facebook is under fire in Africa for undermining democracy, with critics saying the social media giant has allowed its platform to be weaponised for co-ordinated misinformation campaigns.

The role of false news has taken centre stage in every single one of the continent's eight national polls this year - and last week Facebook said an Israel political consultancy was behind much of it.

It banned Archimedes Group, external, which it said was responsible for a network of those masquerading as African nationals, and removed 265 Facebook and Instagram pages and groups involved in "co-ordinated inauthentic behaviour" mainly targeting Nigeria, Senegal, Togo, Angola, Niger and Tunisia.

Nanjira Sambuli, from the World Wide Web Foundation, says it has taken Facebook too long to pay attention to this problem in developing countries.

"Democracies are at risk on this continent, and unfortunately, social media platforms are fast becoming the sites of aggravation," she told the BBC.

Read more here

Image source, Getty Images

A powerful governor in Kenya has been freed on $5,000 (£4,000) bail, following his arrest on Thursday by anti-corruption officers.

Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu was arrested after detectives raided his homes in the capital, Nairobi, and searched it for documents.

Mr Waititu has been at the centre of a political storm in recent weeks, following allegations of irregular spending - including the theft of public money - in his administration. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Image source, AFP

Malawi's scandal-hit President Peter Mutharika is leading his rivals after the counting of 75% of votes in Tuesday's fiercely contested election, partial results released by the electoral commission show.

The 78-year-old Mr Mutharika has so far obtained 40% of votes cast compared with the 35% of main opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera, and the 18% of Vice President Saulos Chilima, according to the partial results.

"It feels excellent. The results are within our predictions but certainly we are not naive enough to celebrate before the final whistle is blown," Ben Phiri, the campaign manager of Mr Mutharika's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), told AFP news agency.

Mr Chakwera warned on Wednesday of attempts to rig the poll, saying counting by his Malawi Congress Party (MCP) puts him in the lead.

Malawi has a winner-takes-all system, with no run-off election.

Image source, AFP

Corruption was a major issue during the campaign, with the opposition arguing that it had worsened since Mr Mutharika became president five years ago.

Mr Mutharika himself got sucked into an alleged bribery scandal but he was cleared by the country's anti-corruption watchdog.

Nearly $4m (£3.1m) from a businessman embroiled in a contract controversy with the Malawi police found its way into a DPP bank account to which the president is the sole signatory.

Mr Mutharika always denied any wrongdoing and returned the money.

Read: The election which saw the president's fake death

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 around the continent.

BBC Africa Live
Naima Mohamud, Clare Spencer & Ashley Lime

That's all from BBC Africa Live until Friday morning. Keep up-to-date with what's happening across the continent by listening to the Africa Today podcast and check BBCAfrica.com for the latest on the Malawi election results.

A reminder of Thursday's wise words:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this photo of a man from the Senufo community in Ivory Coast, taken by Eric Laffourgue:

Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC Amharic, Addis Ababa

Outside Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, lies a vast rehabilitation centre the size of 80 football fields, for survivors of obstetric fistula.

Obstetric fistula is a hole in the bladder and/or bowel caused during obstructed labour.

Women with fistula constantly leak urine and/or faeces - and women with it can become isolated.

Fatuma Oumer told me that after she got it she said she couldn't socialise anymore:

It happened after complications while she gave birth - to a stillborn. She was 15 and had been married for three years.

Fistula is preventable and is virtually unheard of in Europe and the US because of improved obstetric care.

But instead, Fatuma stayed in bed for eight years.

It is treatable too. But surgery isn't the only thing that is needed. And this mega-rehabilitation centre, known as the Village of Joy is helping women adjust.

Beletishachew Tadesse, who runs the centre, told me that women have become so traumatised and isolated that, after surgery, what they need is a lot of counselling.

This has appeared to help Fatuma, who is now thinking about the future. She told me she is filled with hope.

Image source, Getty Images

The US aviation regulator has indicated that the Boeing 737 Max might return to service later than airlines had hoped.

US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) acting director general Dan Elwell said if it took a year for the grounding order to be lifted "so be it".

International aviation regulators are meeting on Thursday to discuss the 737 Max's return to service.

The plane was grounded in March after two crashes in five months in which 346 people died.

Read more here.

Chimpanzees in Gabon have been filmed eating tortoises:

It is believed to be the first time the act has been caught on camera.

The footage shows a group of the apes bashing open the reptiles' shells, then taking the meat into the trees, where it is shared around or stored.

In a paper published on Thursday by the journal Scientific Reports, researchers from Germany said a distinct smashing technique was used, providing further support for chimpanzees' large and flexible cognitive tool kits.

The study was carried out over two years in Loango National Park.

Tortoises are widespread in Africa but chimps in other groups do not appear to eat them.

Catherine Byaruhanga
BBC Africa, Kampala

Ugandan police have arrested a 25-year-old British man and two Ugandans for allegedly taking part in a miracle cure scam.

Sam Little, Samuel Albert and Samula Tadeop were arrested early on Thursday morning in the town of Fort Portal in western Uganda.

They are accused of giving Ugandans a chemical made from Chlorine Dioxide (an industrial bleach) calling it Mineral Miracle Solution and saying it cures diseases like cancer and malaria.

Mr Little has in the past said he is helping Ugandans by offering a cheap cure but there has not been any official comments from the men yet.

The solution has been banned in several countries and is said to cause nausea, vomiting and dangerously low blood pressure.

Police say the three men are suspected of giving the so-called "miracle cure" to people in parts of western Uganda. They are calling for victims to come forward.

Image source, Getty Images

The chief attorney of the western Mozambican province of Tete has spoken out about the intimidation the province's prosecutors face in their fight against illegal logging.

Speaking at a seminar organised by the National Forest Forum (FNF), Arsenia Matusse said that some prosecutors have been transferred out of the province and others are at risk of their lives because of their efforts to protect the province's forests.

She denounced the "political interference" that prosecutors face whenever they try to take action against illegal Chinese loggers in the province.

The number of cases brought against illegal loggers has declined - last year only five cases were brought and only two of those came to trial. Nobody was convicted.

One of the trees that cannot legally be logged is a hardwood with the scientific name pterocarpus tinctorius - known locally as “Nkula”.

Yet, the species is being logged and exported by Chinese individuals who enjoy the protection of the Provincial Directorate of Land, Environment and Rural Development, according to Ms Matusse. The directorate has issued authorisations which Ms. Matusse dismissed as “illegal”.

She questioned what the authorisations are based on and added that the Chinese operators are bribing local people to help them to fell trees by offering them food, fuel and even vehicles so that they can help cut down Nkula trees.

Shingai Nyoka
BBC Africa, Harare

Image source, AFP

Dumiso Dabengwa, a Zimbabwean politician and a former spy chief for freedom fighters in the war against white-minority rule, has died aged 79.

Nicknamed the “Black Russian” - as he had trained in the then-Soviet Union, Dabengwa died in Kenya on his return from India where he had gone for medical treatment, according to the New Zimbabwe news site.

He was a member of the Zapu, one of the two groups that fought for independence. Robert Mugabe’s Zanu went on to win Zimbabwe’s first election in 1980 - and not long afterwards his government charged Dabengwa with treason after the discovery of an arms cache. Mr Mugabe, then prime minster, accused Zapu leaders of planning a revolt.

At the same time, Mr Mugabe deployed a brigade of North Korean-trained troops to the southern Matabeleland province, in an operation nicknamed Gukurahundi in which thousands of civilians were killed - the darkest chapter of Zimbabwe’s post-independence history.

Dabengwa was acquitted of treason but was imprisoned for years after that without trial. He was later appointed home affairs minister by Mr Mugabe after a peace and unity pact saw Zanu and Zapu merge into Zanu-PF.

Dabengwa left Zanu-PF to revive and lead Zapu in 2008, supporting key opposition leaders in successive elections.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was Mr Mugabe’s spymaster during the time of Gukurahundi, has tweeted that Dabengwa made a huge contribution to Zimbabwe as a liberation fighter and minister.

As one of the last surviving nationalist leaders, his death is a remainder of the passing of an era and of the generation that fought to liberate Zimbabwe.

Read: The bones that haunt a country

Mary Harper
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

The authorities in the Central African Republic have issued a warning to a militia suspected of killing at least 34 villagers earlier this week.

The 3R group, which represents the Fulani people, has been given 72 hours to give up those suspected of carrying out the attack, which is said to have been in retaliation for the killing of a person from the Fulani community.

The United Nations is sending patrols to secure the area.

The 3R militia is one of the 14 groups which signed a peace deal earlier this year, which now appears to be unravelling.

Jean Claude Mwambutsa
BBC Great Lakes, Kigali

Image source, Getty Images

Callixte Nsabimana "Sankara" - the captured spokesperson for the rebel group the National Liberation Front (FLN) - has admitted terrorism charges before a court in the country's capital, Kigali, on Thursday.

Mr Nsabimana was arrested last month in Comoros and was secretly handed to Rwandan authorities.

He was charged with multiple criminal counts relating to terrorism - including starting an illegal militia and co-operating with foreign states in an attempt to topple the Rwandan government.

Mr Nsabimana had previously declared war on the Rwandan government and admitted FLN responsibility for last year's deadly attacks in south-western Rwanda.

Teklemariam Bekit
BBC Tigrinya

Image source, Semhar

Two popular singers in Eritrea have been forced to apologise for a song which portrayed migrants as unpatriotic after an angry backlash from fans.

The apology came about two years after Danait and Semhar - who are sisters and the daughters of music legend Yonhannes Estifinos - released Be Watchful.

Fans accused them of failing to grasp the difficult conditions in Eritrea, including military conscription for young people, and of being insensitive by showing in their music video a clip of people drowning in the Mediterranean - the route used by Eritreans and other African migrants to reach Europe.

The singers initially rode the storm, but public anger has resurfaced following the release of Semhar's latest song, which is about love.

Although it has nothing to do with politics or migration, it has rekindled memories of Be Watchful among fans.

More than 5,000 people complained about the 2017 song in comments on the recent release on YouTube - though others rallied behind the sisters.

When contacted by BBC Tigrinya, both singers said they apologised to their fans who had been hurt by the Be Watchful video.

The singers said they had never intended to insult fellow Eritreans.

"We want people to like our work, not to hate our effort," Semhar said, with Danait agreeing with her.

Dear Jeanne
BBC News, Kampala

Image source, Getty Images

City councillors in Uganda's capital Kampala have made it a criminal offence to give money or food to street children. Violators of this new law could face up to six months in jail or a fine of $11 (£8.20).

The aim of the law is to curb the commercial and sexual exploitation of children.

Kampala’s mayor, Erias Lukwago, says the ban will also penalise traffickers, agents and parents of the children found begging or selling items on the street.

It is not uncommon to see children as young as seven navigate through the traffic selling items or begging.

The government estimates there are as many as 15,000 children between the ages of seven and 17 on the city’s streets, and the number continues to climb.

Some of the children are trafficked from villages and given small rooms in slums by their handlers.

The law also makes it illegal to lease or rent a house to a child for immoral activities or for a child to engage in petty trade.

Image source, Getty Images

Officers from Kenya's anti-corruption agency have arrested the governor of central Kiambu county, Ferdinand Waititu, local media reports say.

The arrest comes hours after an early morning raid on the governor's properties in the capital, Nairobi.

Local newspaper Daily Nation, external says Mr Waititu was questioned for more than six hours and his home in Nairobi's upmarket Runda was searched for crucial documents.

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission is investigating Mr Waititu for alleged corruption in his administration. He denies any wrongdoing.