Our proverb of the day:
Quote MessageWhen the face of the drum is exposed you don’t beat the sides for music."
A Twi proverb sent by Philomena Bawa in Accra, Ghana
Thabo Bester's escape and flight from South Africa exposed a stunning level of official incompetence.
Read MoreThousands of civilians have fled the capital Khartoum as foreign nations prepare evacuation missions.
Read MoreWe'll be back on Thursday morning
That's all from the BBC Africa Live team until Thursday morning - there will be an automated news feed here until then.
Check for the latest updates from Sudan on the BBC News website and listen to the Africa Today podcast.
A reminder of Wednesday's wise words:
Quote MessageA wise little bachelor first makes his bed before going out to drink freshly brewed beer"
A Luganda proverb sent by Newton Muwonge in Kampala, Uganda
Click here to send us your African proverbs.
And we leave you with this photo of some women braving the streets of Sudan's capital, Khartoum, to buy essentials:
Image source, EPAGunfire can still be heard in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, putting a 24-ceasefire in doubt.
Mohammed Alamin, a journalist based in Khartoum, told BBC Focus on Africa radio, that many people were fleeing the city on Wednesday - and were terrified of the ongoing fighting between the rival military factions.
Listen to his full interview with BBC Focus on Africa presenter Esau Williams:
A ceasefire agreement in Sudan was supposed to come into force at 1800 local time
Mohamed Osman
BBC Arabic, Khartoum
With water still unavailable for most residents of the Sudanese capital, people in the west of city have been heading to the Nile River to collect water.
It has been incredibly hot today and people, many of whom have been fasting for Ramadan, are desperate to get hold of water to break their fast - and risked going out to find some.
My household has been without water since Saturday when fighting began between the military and paramilitary fighters.
Shops have run out of water to buy, so I went down to the west bank of the Nile in Omdurman to fill up some cartons.
I hired a donkey cart to transport jerry cans of water back to my house - paying double the going rate.
Others who could not afford the prices vendors charge for collecting the water waded into the river themselves to fill containers.
Kenya’s President William Ruto has said he is deeply alarmed by what he called a "misunderstanding" over the timing of the integration of Sudan’s paramilitary force into the main army could have degenerated into such violent conflict.
He is one of three African heads of state meant to be flying to Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, to mediate an end to the fighting.
After five days of bitter battles between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), more than 270 people have been killed.
Mr Ruto urged both sides to immediately ceasefire to allow “unrestricted humanitarian access” and to allow the mediation delegation to land.
"There is real danger that the escalation of hostilities in Sudan could implicate external, regional and international actors and degenerate into a security and humanitarian crisis on a disastrous scale."
Fifteen embassies in Khartoum have called on both sides to protect civilians, diplomats and humanitarian workers.
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Read MoreMohamed Osman
BBC Arabic, Khartoum
The ceasefire in Sudan appears to be in doubt as gunfire can still be heard across the capital, Khartoum.
Smoke can be seen over the area of the army headquarters in the centre of the city, where much of the fighting between rival miltary factions is centred.
The fighting at the moment mostly involves shelling, not heavy air bombardments.
A Sudanese doctor tells the BBC he fears for his life treating patients at a Khartoum hospital.
Read MoreA contingent of around 320 Sudanese troops has been detained in neighbouring Chad.
According to Chad’s defence minister, they fled fighting in Sudan’s western Darfur region, crossing the border on Sunday.
"They arrived in our territory, were disarmed and detained,” the AFP news agency quoted Daoud Yaya Brahim telling a press conference in Chad’s capital, N’Djamena.
They feared being killed by paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters, he said.
According to the Reuters news agency, Chad closed its border with Sudan on Saturday when fighting between the rival factions started.
Darfur, on Chad’s eastern border, is where the RSF originated.
A lawyer files a suit against Netflix, saying its docudrama aims to "distort the Egyptian identity".
Read MoreGunfire could still be heard in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, 15 minutes after a reported ceasefire was due to start, a freelance journalist has told the BBC.
The reporter, who has asked not to be named for security reasons, is based in the south of city, about a 20-minute drive from the army headquarters where much of the fighting has been taking place.
Muslims in Khartoum are currently breaking their Ramadan fast.
Sudan's army has agreed to 24-hour humanitarian truce, Reuters news agency reports.
It is quoting a statement from the military.
The ceasefire is supposed to have come into force in the last few minutes - at 18:00 local time (16:00 GMT). It is yet not clear if fighting has stopped.
A 24-hour humanitarian truce - reportedly agreed by rival forces in Sudan - is supposed to have just come into force.
There is no word yet about whether it is holding - and whether the army agreed to a new ceasefire.
The one supposed to start at this time on Tuesday did not hold.
Kahsay Tewoldebirhan
BBC Tigrinya
Image source, PMPastor Tesfay Siyum spent 10 years in jail
A pastor who died last week in Eritrea cannot be buried because he did not belong to a state-recognised religion, sources close to his family have told the BBC.
The Orthodox, Catholic and Evangelical Lutheran churches, along with Sunni Islam are the only religions officially accepted in the country.
Followers of other religions are subject to arrest, persecution and isolation - and all evangelical churches were banned in May 2002.
Pastor Tesfay Siyum, who died 11 days ago, was one of the founders of the evangelical Meserete Kristos church in Eritrea, a cleric now based in Ethiopia told the BBC.
He had been in jail because of his faith for more than 10 years and was released two months ago before dying at home in the capital, Asmara.
Religious freedom advocacy group Open Doors Canada blamed “bureaucracy” for the problems in getting permission for Pastor Tesfay’s burial.
His family has been denied permission to bury him in a public cemetery in Asmara and at a cemetery in his village of origin.
Relatives - including his wife and daughter - are reportedly in deep distress.
Burials in Eritrea are supposed to take place as soon as possible.
The information minister has not responded to a BBC request for comment.
Hundreds of desperate people are calling a hotline in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, asking for help to be evacuated from the midst of fighting between rival military factions.
“Whoever calls, we tell them the truth: ‘Look right now it’s a challenge to get you out and it’s better and safer to stay where you are,’” Farid Abdulkadir, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Sudan, told the BBC’s Focus on Africa radio programme.
There was hope that news of a ceasefire later on Wednesday would mean they could help some of those trapped, he said.
More good news was that there were reports that water supplies would be restored soon, Mr Abdulkadir added.
Two water plants have reportedly been damaged in the fighting, meaning most residents in the city with a population of 10 million have been without running water for several days.
While communication networks had not been hit, many people’s mobile phones were running out of batteries because of the power outrage, which was a worry, he added.
Aboubakar Famau
BBC News, Dodoma
Image source, EPAMany shops in Khartoum are closed - and some damaged - in the fighting
Tanzania says it is planning to evacuate its citizens from Sudan where rival factions have been battling each other for five days.
About 200 people have died - mainly in crossfire - as the fighting is taking place near residential areas in the capital, Khartoum.
“The government continues to communicate with the Tanzanian embassy in Khartoum in order to know how things are unfolding. We have 210 Tanzanians in Sudan, of whom 171 are students and the rest are officers from the embassy and other citizens. Until now, no Tanzanian has been affected,” Tanzanian Foreign Minister Stergomena Tax told parliament.
The government was co-ordinating with neighbouring countries and bodies such as the African Union and UN, to ensure their safety, she added.
Some students stuck in Sudan have told the BBC that they are worried for their safety - as it is not safe to venture outside.
Another challenge is electricity as without power they lose their connection to the internet - leaving them unable to communicate with people at home.
The paramilitary force battling Sudan’s army has tweeted that it has agreed to a 24-hour ceasefire to start at 18:00 local time (16:00 GMT).
“We confirm our full commitment to a complete ceasefire, and we hope the other party will abide by the ceasefire according to the announced time,” the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said in its tweet in Arabic, external.
It is not clear if the army has agreed to the ceasefire. Both sides had said they would abide by a 24-hour humanitarian truce on Tuesday.
It was also to start at 18:00 local time - just before Muslims break their Ramadan fast - but heavy fighting continued, especially around the army headquarters in the centre of the city.
BBC Newshour
BBC World Service
Image source, EPAOnly five out of 59 hospitals are functioning in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, as fighting between rival military factions rages for a fifth day, a senior doctor has told the BBC.
Dr Ahmed Abbas, a co-ordinator for the Sudan Doctors’ Union, said that the health system in the city - home to about 10 million people -was “beyond collapse”.
The five hospitals that were still open were facing major shortages - running short of oxygen and life-saving drugs, he said. Meanwhile medical staff were tired from “working around the clock”.
“Some of them are extremely exhausted, to the point of collapse because other staff can’t get to the hospitals because the bridges are blocked and the streets are unsafe for transportation,” Dr Abbas told BBC Newshour presenter James Menendez.
This meant that people were dying unnecessarily - sometimes because of a lack of blood or intravenous fluids, he said.
“Some of them are dying because of the long wait to get into the operating rooms or even to the wards.
“Somebody rang me earlier on to say a pregnant woman is in difficult labour, but she cannot get into any hospitals for an emergency Caesarean."
He described how one hospital he has been working at lacked electricity as generators had run out of fuel and the water supply had been cut, adding: "The situation is very bleak, it’s very distressing, it’s very upsetting."
During the fighting that erupted on Saturday, five major hospitals in Khartoum had been “completely destroyed”, he added.
Other hospitals had been taken over by the warring parties - either to use as refuge for their fighters or as bases to launch their military operations, Dr Abbas said.
“Both sides are incriminated in this inhumane behaviour and inhumane war,” he said, appealing for the UN to intervene and organise a ceasefire.