The heart of Tarab music can be found on the island of Zanzibar.

Siti Amina and her cousin Rahma Ameir grew up loving the music and wanted to play it. They formed a band alongside their friend Gore Mohammed.

However, their Tarab band takes the tradition and adds a contemporary twist, which has seen them become one of the most in-demand acts on the island, as BBC Newsday's Alan Kasujja found out when he joined them for a jam session.

Teklemariam Bekit
BBC Tigrinya

Eritrean gospel singer, Helen Berhane, who was held in a shipping container for 32 months because of her faith, has met US President Donald Trump at the White House, external.

She was there as part of a group who had survived religious persecution.

Image source, EPA

When she was given the opportunity to talk, she explained the ordeal she went through , externalin Eritrea and highlighted how her church members are still imprisoned.

The majority are in arbitrary detention and none of them has been charged in a court of law.

Ms Berhane was arrested in the capital, Asmara, and spent 32 months in custody. She was released in 2006 after becoming very ill.

Last year, the BBC heard from her:

President Trump also met Nigerian Esther Bitrus, who was kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014:

Image source, Getty Images

According to the transcript on the White House website, this was their exchange:

Ms Bitrus: Thank you, Mr. President —

The president: Thank you very much. Thank you.

Ms Bitrus: — for the opportunity to see you. I am Esther, from Nigeria. I do three years in (inaudible). I escaped from Boko Haram. So thank you for (inaudible).

The president: It’s tough stuff, right?

Ms Bitrus: Yes.

The president: That’s a tough one. Thank you.

Ms Bitrus: Thank you.

Next month's Afro Nation music festival in Portugal will be a chance for diaspora Africans to "celebrate our talent and promote our culture", founder Obi Asika told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.

More than 20,000 people are expected at the four-day festival featuring the biggest names in the Afrobeats music scene such as Wizkid, Femi Kuti, Burna Boy, Teni, and Davido.

"This is what's going to take our culture to the next level," Asika said.

Listen to his interview with our colleague Hannah Ajala:

The album, The Lion King: The Gift, that Beyoncé produced and curated has been released.

The track list features African stars such as Burna Boy, Wizkid and Shatta Wale, as well as songs from Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z, Childish Gambino and Pharrell.

The US musician had earlier called the album a "love letter to Africa" adding that she "wanted to make sure we found the best talent from Africa".

The album, which is being released alongside the Lion King film, also includes Beyoncé's previously released single, Spirit, which opens with Swahili lyrics.

In Ghana, Beyoncé's collaboration, Already, with dancehall star Shatta Wale has already got people talking, and #ShattawaleBeyonceAlready is trending on Twitter there.

Some suggest that Beyoncé is sounding "like a real Ghanaian":

Another fan suggests that Shatta Wale is one of Ghana's God-given gifts:

On Already, Beyoncé sings "King already, already you know it", lyrics no doubt welcomed by Shatta's fans as they call him "the King":

Nigerian musicians feature heavily in the album, including Burna Boy, who performs Ja Ara E on his own

Beyoncé told ABC News , externalthat she wanted the album to be "authentic to what is beautiful about the music in Africa", adding that "each song tells the story of the film".

The musician has faced some criticism in East Africa for not including a Swahili-speaking performer, especially as Lion King, which is released on Friday, has many Swahili references.

A video of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed driving his Eritrean host President Isaias Afwerki has got people from both countries talking on Twitter.

The Ethiopian PM arrived on Thursday for a two-day official visit to discuss issues of bilateral and regional interest.

The visit comes just over a year after his groundbreaking trip to the capital, Asmara, where the leaders of the long-time foes signed a peace deal.

Eritrean State TV showed Mr Abiy and his delegation at one point walking through Asmara, and then Mr Abiy in the driver's seat when the two leaders inspected some projects as part of his trip.

This tweeter, who appears to be Ethiopian, thinks it's all a public relations stunt to project normalcy in Eritrea:

After the initial wave of optimism that followed the peace deal and the reopening of the countries' common border, relations have stagnated.

While people can still fly between the two countries, the border is closed for trade. Also, Ethiopia has not yet given up the disputed border town of Badme, which an international tribunal ruled was in Eritrea.

But Eritrea's information minister has described the peace process as "vibrant":

It was not the first time Mr Abiy has undertaken to chauffeur leaders.

Last year, he opted to drive the Crown Prince, externalof the UAE, Mohamed Bin Zayed, when he visited Ethiopia.

Image source, Reuters

Senegal forward Sadio Mane says he would swap his Champions League winning medal with Liverpool for winning the Africa Cup of Nations on Friday.

Senegal seek to win Afcon for the first time when they face Algeria in the final in Cairo on Friday (19:00 GMT).

Mane helped Liverpool beat Tottenham to win the Champions League final on 1 June, and has three goals in five starts at the Africa Cup of Nations.

"For sure, I would be ready even today [to swap]," Mane told BBC Sport.

• Afcon: 'Fairy-tale' team, cursed jerseys and super fans

The striker, 27, added: "Maybe I don't need to swap when we win it hopefully.

"We know it won't be easy but it's normal, it's part of football. Algeria is a great team and now I'm just looking forward to playing in the final and to win it."

Algeria boss Djamel Belmadi said his side would "fight" to try and win the tournament for a second time.

"To the Algerian people, I want to say: I'm not a politician, not a miracle worker or a wizard," he added.

Read more from BBC Sport.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, TEWAHDO.ORG/SCREENSHOT

Eritrean bishops in the Orthodox church have excommunicated their former patriarch, Abune Antonios.

Antonios, who was the head of the church until 2006, was accused of heresy in a statement signed by six bishops.

He has for a long time been a critic of the government and was deposed and put under house arrest 13 years ago.

But the move to expel him from the church is unprecedented.

Antonios' followers accuse the government of interfering in the affairs of the Church.

Orthodox Christians make up one of the main religious groups within Eritrea.

Vauldi Carelse
BBC Africa, Johannesburg

Image source, AFP

South African soldiers are patrolling the streets of some Cape Town suburbs, which have been plagued by gang violence.

More than 40 people were killed last weekend.

It has taken troops just over a week to deploy to help reinforce police in their fight against a surge in the murder rate.

With armoured vehicles and heavily armed soldiers, the army arrived on Thursday to some fanfare, but also concern from residents.

They’ve been conducting stop and search operations in Manenberg, an area known for gang violence.

Troops will be deployed to 10 troubled suburbs on the Cape Flats.

Mortuary statistics show a sharp increase in the number deaths in the area, with more than 1,000 people killed this year alone.

Last month, six police officers from the anti-gang unit were shot and seriously wounded while on patrol.

This is not the first time the defence force is being deployed. Four years ago, the army accompanied police and other government departments on an anti-crime operation.

But critics say the army may not be the solution to the violence that has plagued the Cape Flats for years.

Friday's African proverb:

Image source, George Wafula/BBC

Welcome to BBC Africa Live where we'll be keeping you up to date with news and developments on the continent.

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 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 this shot by the Ghanaian artist Derrick Ofosu Boateng:

Ritaj and Rital were born in Sudan joined at the head.

They're reunited with the British doctors who saved their lives, by performing multiple complex surgeries eight years ago:

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack in Egypt in an online statement, reports AFP news agency.

Two people were killed in a suicide bomb attack in Egypt's North Sinai on Thursday, against security forces stationed near a car park in the city of Sheikh Zuweid, AFP adds.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

The person in charge of the UN's response to Ebola told the BBC that the risk of the virus spreading is "extremely real if we don’t attack that danger and bring it under control".

United Nations Emergency Ebola Response Coordinator, David Gresley told BBC Focus on Africa radio that he hopes that the recent change in status of the virus will bring in necessary resources.

On Wednesday the World Health Organization declared the Ebola crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo a "public health emergency of international concern".

Mr Gresley said that lack of funds so far meant that they were only able to work in specific areas.

Now he says they need to do broad surveillance. This involves more contact tracing - where health workers identify individuals who have been in contact with people who have contracted the virus.

He adds that work also needs to be done to build trust in communities so that when a virus comes into an area they can close it off immediately.

"If not we will just be chasing this virus for months to come," he said.

Image source, AFP

A Moroccan court has condemned three suspected jihadists to death for the murder of two Scandinavian women beheaded while on a hiking trip in Morocco, reports AFP news agency.

Suspected ringleader Abdessamad Ejjoud and two companions received the maximum penalty over the deaths.

Louisa Vesterager Jespersen and Maren Ueland's bodies were found on 17 December in a tent in an area near Mount Toubkal, Morocco's highest peak.

The women were on a Christmas camping trip and were studying to become tour guides.

Image source, Getty Images

Italian police have arrested 19 suspected members of a Nigerian mob, reports AFP news agency.

The arrests came in a raid across nine cities following a two-year investigation into prostitution rings and the drug trade, AFP adds.

Police are quoted as saying they have destroyed much of the "Maphite" cult - a Nigerian criminal gang whose acronym stands for Maximum Academic Performance Highly Intellectuals Train Executioner.

Maphite developed into an organised crime group in the 1990s, police said.

Paolo Borgna, deputy prosecutor in Turin, said the foreign mafias "are born and develop by giving protection to their countrymen and developing a kind of parallel, ruthless and criminal justice".

"It is a characteristic shared by all mafias: protection is offered, compensation is requested, protection is imposed and, finally, those who do not accept it are punished," he is quoted by AFP as saying.

Sudanese police fired tear gas as hundreds of demonstrators marched in Khartoum, reports AFP news agency.

The march is to pay tribute to protesters killed in the months-long protest movement, as we reported in our previous post.

Image source, AFP

Hundreds of Sudanese demonstrators have marched towards a well-known square in the capital of Khartoum to honour comrades killed in the protest movement, reports AFP news agency.

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

The protesters have been demonstrating since December, first to demand the long-term leader Omar al-Bashir stand down and then, when he was ousted, to demand the military hand over power to civilians.

On Wednesday the protest leaders signed a power-sharing agreement with the military leaders to pave the way for that to happen.

So the aim of this protest is a little different to previous ones.

"The rallies are a tribute to those honourable martyrs of the December revolution," the Sudanese Professionals Association said in a statement.

Image source, AFP

"Civilian rule, Civilian rule," and "Freedom, peace, justice," the crowds chanted as they headed to the square, witnesses said.

On Friday protest leaders and military leaders are due to meet again to negotiate key details of how the transition period will be managed.

If you're confused about what is happening in Sudan, our guide will help you out: Sudan's violent political crisis explained.

Image source, Alvin Zhakata

A Zimbabwean nurse travelled from Cape Town to Cairo by road by hitching lifts or catching buses, enduring visa woes, internet blackouts and revolutionary protests all to reach the African Cup of Nations football tournament.

Alvin "Aluvah" Zhakata had intended to make it to Egypt for the opening match of the Africa Cup of Nations on 21 June, when Zimbabwe's Warriors took on the hosts.

But he missed the match because his epic journey took much longer than expected.

The journey began on 27 May with his friend Botha Msila, a South African football fan.

But the two friends were separated when Msila turned back at the Kenya-Ethiopian border as he could not get a visa.

He walked directly into the path of the protest as he was making his way to the Egyptian Consulate in Khartoum.

His one disappointment has been the performance of the Warriors, who crashed out in the first round - amidst rows over pay.

Read his whole story on the BBC News website.

Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC Amharic, Addis Ababa

The situation in the southern Ethiopian city of Hawassa is now calmer after residents told the BBC that shots had been fired there in the morning.

Security forces are now patrolling the streets, witnesses have told the BBC.

There had been tension over whether some activists were going to declare a new regional state for Sidama people. Sidama is currently incorporated into the multi-ethnic federal state called the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region.

Earlier this week, activists said they would declare the new state on Thursday - a year to the day after the idea of a referendum on the issue was approved by the authorities.

The referendum, which should have been held within 12 months, has been delayed, but the electoral board said it would happen in the next five months.

That appeared to placate most Sidama activists, including political parties backing the referendum.