Mali's military authorities have announced 18 June as the new date for a referendum on a draft constitution.

Security forces will vote a week earlier, government spokesman Col Abdoulaye Maïgasaid said in a decree on state television on Friday.

The junta had set the referendum on constitutional changes for 19 March, before it was postponed.

A new constitution is one of the key steps put in place before the restoration of a civilian government, following the ousting of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in 2020.

Elections are due to be held in February next year.

Mali has been facing a growing security crisis with frequent attacks by jihadist groups.

Patience Atuhaire
BBC News, Kampala

Image source, Isaac Ssemakadde/Twitter

A law that criminalised drugs and narcotics, such as marijuana and khat, has been nullified by Uganda’s constitutional court.

It follows a challenge started six years ago by a group of khat farmers in response to the 2015 law. This has now been repealed in its entirety after the court ruled that it had been passed without the required quorum in parliament.

For any law to be debated and passed in the Ugandan parliament, at least one-third of all members entitled to vote must be present in the house.

Even though the law has been struck down, there is however still a risk of arrest for growing, possession, consumption, or sale of banned or restricted drugs under other Ugandan laws.

In Uganda, security forces often raid and burn down or uproot cannabis and khat farms on private land.

The sale and consumption of the herbs for recreational purposes is also illegal, and the police often arrest people for their possession.

Across Africa, countries have been making moves towards the legalisation of commercial growing and export medical of marijuana.

Thomas Naadi
BBC News, Accra

Ghana’s Ministry of Information has called for an investigation into an attack on a journalist on live radio, while condemning the act and promising swift action by police in future.

Abubakari Sadiq Gariba, a broadcaster at Dagbon FM in the northern city of Tamale, was on air on Wednesday when two men stormed into the studio and seized him by the neck.

They threatened to slap him if he made any comment. The presenter then walked out of the studio with the two attackers.

Gariba has told the BBC he is fine, but a heated argument continued outside the studio. He said one of the men was a regular panellist on his show.

The man, a local politician, was upset about Gariba's perceived criticism of his view on a chieftaincy dispute in the area, according to the presenter.

The Ghana Journalist Association has condemned the attack and made a complaint to the police.

Having scored the goal that clinched Napoli's first title in 33 years, just how much is Serie A's Nigerian top scorer Victor Osimhen worth?

Image source, The Herald Zimbabwe/Twitter

Several heads of African states, mostly from Commonwealth countries, have arrived in London for King Charles's coronation on Saturday.

Among those already in the UK include Rwanda's Paul Kagame, King Mswati III of Eswatini, Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi, Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia, and Liberia's George Weah among others.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa will be the first Zimbabwean leader to visit London in more than two decades after the UK imposed sanctions on the southern African country.

Mr Mnangagwa said he was "excited" to receive an invite to attend the royal event. Some British parliamentarians, however, condemned his invitation citing alleged human rights violations in his country.

It is not yet clear if Kenyan President William Ruto will attend the event, after he last week complained about the mistreatment of African leaders during foreign trips.

He was referring to an incident where African presidents were put in a bus to attend Queen Elizabeth's funeral ceremony in the UK.

From French-speaking countries, Niger President Mohamed Bazoum will be attending the royal event while Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara will be represented by his deputy Tiémoko Meyliet Koné.

Cameroon’s Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute will represent President Paul Biya at the event. The country is a former colony of both the UK and France.

Image source, Eswatini government/Twitter

Image source, State House Kenya/Twitter

Kenyans have been paying their tributes to Mukami Kimathi, the widow of Kenya's Mau Mau freedom struggle icon Dedan Kimathi.

Mrs Kimathi's family told local media that she developed breathing problems on Thursday night and was taken to a hospital in the capital, Nairobi, where she died shortly after.

Her husband, who was the leader of the Mau Mau uprising, was captured, tried and executed by the British colonial government in 1956. He was buried at the Kamiti prison on the outskirts of the city.

On Friday, Kenya’s President William Ruto paid tribute to Mrs Kimathi for having “courageously withstood the brutality of colonial oppression, proudly wore the scars of the battle and bore the terrible losses of war with admirable fortitude”.

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua described her as “the mother of our liberation struggle and a beacon of hope surrounding the freedom fighters and their descendants”.

In her life, she pushed discussions about the welfare of freedom fighters - who did not enjoy the benefits of the sacrifice they made for Kenya's independence.

In January, she was barred from leaving a hospital where she had been admitted after her family was unable to clear the bills - which was seen as an indication of the poverty that freedom fighters had to endure. She was discharged later after the president cleared the $7,300 (£5,800) bill.

She had also been pushing for the exhumation of the remains of her husband from prison to be reburied at his home.

However, the years-long search for the exact spot where he was buried has been futile – despite Mrs Kimathi expressing her wish to be shown the grave before her death.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, AFP

Burkina Faso's interim president, Capt Ibrahim Traore, has said he was satisfied with his country's military ties with Russia, which he described as "a strategic partner".

"I am satisfied with our military co-operation with Russia. Besides, Burkina Faso's cooperation with Russia dates back to a long time, but we are developing it and move it further," he said on Thursday in an interview with state-run channel RTB TV.

He denied that Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group were supporting Burkinabe forces in their fight against Islamist armed groups.

He said the exit of French forces from the country "does not mean that France is no longer an ally because the French embassy is still here".

But he cited "new forms of co-operation" describing Russia as an an example of "a strategic ally". He said Turkiye was a major partner.

He also mentioned North Korea, saying it had supported Burkina Faso in the past with heavy military equipment that was still in use - and would want more supplies from there.

Capt Traore said Burkina Faso has many international partners, but "will only collaborate with those who want to help us, like sell us equipment and support us".

What does King Charles III's coronation mean to Africans? People from four cities on the continent share their views.

Image source, Getty Images

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has arrived in Kenya for an official visit, which will see him hold bilateral talks with President William Ruto and other top government officials.

Reports say Mr Scholz will explore co-operation on renewable energy, among other bilateral ties, during his visit to Kenya.

On Thursday, Mr Scholz met the chairman of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki, in Ethiopia and discussed the Sudan conflict.

Mr Faki said there could be no military solution to the Sudan unrest, while Mr Scholz expressed his country’s support for international efforts to end the fighting, Ethiopian media said.

On Saturday, Mr Scholz is expected to visit Africa’s biggest geothermal plant at Lake Naivasha in the geologically active Great Rift Valley, which is key to Kenya’s plans to produce green hydrogen.

Tom Bayly
BBC News

A prominent Nigerian senator who was found guilty in March of trafficking a man to Britain to harvest one of his kidneys, will be sentenced at London's Old Bailey court later on Friday.

Ike Ekweremadu and his wife Beatrice planned to give the organ to their daughter who has a kidney disease.

The victim - a 21-year old street trader from Lagos - was offered $8,000 (£6,340) and promised a better life in Britain, but only realised what was going on when he met doctors in hospital.

The Ekweremadus, along with a medic who helped them, are the first people convicted of organ trafficking under Britain's modern slavery laws.

The maximum sentence they could face is life imprisonment.

Image source, Getty Images

Sudan's ambassador to Nigeria, Muhammad Yusuf, has pleaded with Nigerians returning from the conflict-hit country to consider returning when things cool off.

Speaking on Thursday after a batch of Nigerians returned from the country, Mr Yusuf urged them to resume their studies and reopen their businesses after the fighting between the army and the paramilitary forces ends.

He asked them to consider Sudan as their second country, expressing optimism that the fighting would be controlled soon.

“I’m very sorry for what is happening there but at the same time I’m very happy to have these evacuees coming from Sudan safe, no life is lost," he was quoted by the Cable newspaper as saying.

Another batch of Nigerians from Sudan is expected to arrive on Friday.

Jose Tembe
BBC News, Maputo

Image source, Mozambican Presidency

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says his country is ready to assist Mozambique in the fight against terrorism.

The Japanese PM is visiting Mozambique as part of his six-day tour that took him to three other African countries - Ghana, Kenya and Egypt.

He said Japan was interested in financing the fight against terrorism in northern Cabo Delgado province, which would allow Japanese companies that are part of the consortiums exploiting natural gas in the Rovuma basin, to operate in a safe environment.

The province in the north has been besieged by a Islamic militant insurgency for years.

Mr Kishida and Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi spoke of a need for Japanese private investment in “structural areas” of the economy, with a view to concrete results in bilateral co-operation.

Mr Nyusi urged the Japanese to explore investment opportunities in transport, agriculture, industry and tourism.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, Getty Images

Protesters on Thursday surrounded the residence of the head of the UN mission in Sudan, Volker Perthes, in the eastern Port Sudan city to demand his expulsion from the Red Sea state, a pro-army TV channel reported.

Mr Perthes and other UN staff moved to Port Sudan from the capital, Khartoum, days after the fighting between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese army erupted on 15 April.

“The masses of the Red Sea state surrounded Volker's residence and demanded his immediate expulsion from the state,” Tayba TV channel reported.

In a series of tweets, external, the TV channel showed images and a video of people carrying placards and waving Sudanese flags.

The tweets received mixed reactions, with some users calling for Mr Perthe's expulsion as others denounced the demonstrations.

Pro-military and Islamist groups have held several protests against Mr Perthes in the past. He also recently received death threats from Sudanese extremists.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres allowed the staff to move to Port Sudan but said that “the UN [was] not leaving".

The Newsroom
BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

A new social media campaign has been launched in Morocco to highlight violations of women's rights.

The campaign, which comes as the country considers judicial reforms, features eight female Moroccan celebrities recounting the experiences of women who have been victims of rape, forced marriages and discrimination over inheritance.

A coalition of feminist groups is due to publish a report next week on what it says are discriminatory laws against women in Morocco.

The justice minister has recently spoken out in favour of greater personal freedoms, saying that legislative reform is being finalised.

Richard Hamilton
BBC World Service Newsroom

Image source, Getty Images

President Joe Biden has issued an executive order authorising sanctions against Sudan, saying the fighting must end.

Mr Biden called the violence a tragedy and a betrayal of the Sudanese people.

He said the violence in Sudan was an "unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States".

Earlier, the director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines, told a US Senate committee that the conflict was likely to be protracted, as both sides believed they could win militarily and had few incentives to negotiate.

The latest ceasefire has failed to hold, with heavy fighting continuing in the capital Khartoum, as well as the adjoining cities of Omdurman and Bahri.

The World Food Programme has estimated that more than $13m (£10.3m) worth of food aid destined for Sudan has been looted since fighting broke out last month.

The WFP said pillaging in the country was rampant.

The UN children's agency, Unicef, warned the situation was teetering toward catastrophe, with youngsters increasingly caught in the crossfire.

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Mohamed Osman has lived in Sudan his whole life, but the conflict has forced him into exile.

That's all from the BBC Africa Live team until Friday morning. There will be an automated news feed until then.

You can also get the latest news from the continent at BBCAfrica.com and the BBC's Africa Today podcast.

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We leave you with a photo of Ghana's King of the Ashanti Kingdom, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, laughing with King Charles III in London on Thursday, ahead of King Charles' coronation on Saturday.

Image source, Getty Images

Catherine Byaruhanga
BBC News, Renk

A BBC team has arrived at a transit centre in Renk in South Sudan, where staff from UN agencies say they lack the required resources to help those fleeing across the border from Sudan.

They told the BBC have had to set up operations almost from scratch, though basic services like water, food and tarpaulin tents are being provided.

Renk is close to the border with Sudan, where more than 4,000 people are living after fleeing the conflict that erupted nearly three weeks ago.

Around 30,000 people in total have come to South Sudan from Sudan in that time - most are South Sudanese, but some are Sudanese and other nationals.

Many are staying with family or local communities, others have made it to the capital, Juba.

Here in Renk groups of families and friends, some with toddlers, are living out in the open in makeshift tents while others are camping out in abandoned buildings at a former university campus.

South Sudan has already been impacted by years of conflict, and its broken economy is struggling to provide support for those coming across the border.

Trade with Sudan has already been cut because of the conflict as government ministers warn of long-term impacts should the fighting continue.

BBC World Service

Two relatives of an Egyptian MP who has declared he will stand in next year's presidential election are reported to have been detained.

An Egyptian activist said two uncles of Ahmed Tantawi were arrested on Tuesday evening and had appeared before prosecutors in the capital, Cairo - although no charges had so far been made public.

Mr Tantawi has said he will return to Egypt this Saturday in order to make good on his pledge to contest the election.

The reported arrests come as the government launches a national dialogue ostensibly meant to include the opposition, which has been rendered largely impotent since President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi took power.