"Iwájú," a 6-episode animated series set in a futuristic Lagos has been released this week.

The men will be executed by a firing squad if their appeal against the sentence fails.

The outage interrupted a debate on the president's State of the Nation speech before a generator kicked in.

The student was in a passing bus when gunmen killed two men in a car in Johannesburg, police say.

The figure, which covers a five-year period, is revealed in a report by the government's spending watchdog.

A selection of the best photos from the African continent and beyond.

That's all for now from the BBC Africa Live team.

You can find the latest updates on the BBC News website, or listen to our Focus on Africa podcast.

A reminder of Thursday's wise words:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

We leave you with a picture of members of Uganda's Soft Ground Wrestling Club showcasing their skills.

Image source, AFP

A woman featured in a BBC video struggling to feed her children is overwhelmed by the help she has received.

Alfred Lasteck
BBC News, Dar es Salaam

Two Tanzanian military armoured vehicles have been hit by shells fired by M23 rebels in the Congolese town of Sake, witnesses have told the BBC.

A Congolese military source and an eye witness said the attack occurred on Thursday, leaving one Tanzanian soldier injured. A civilian has reportedly been injured as well.

However, the Tanzanian army spokesperson told the BBC that they were not aware of the attack.

Tanzania, South Africa and Malawi have sent troops to DR Congo under the banner of the 16-member regional bloc, the Southern African Development Community (Sadc).

Sadc troops and the Congolese army have been battling M23 rebels since early February, particularly around Sake.

Two South African soldiers were killed in an attack earlier this month.

The Sadc mission replaced the East African Community force which Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi ordered to withdraw last year, accusing it of failing to push out the M23 from their positions.

Recently, the Congolese army has been advising residents to evacuate Sake. While some have chosen to stay, the majority have fled to the outskirts or to the main regional city, Goma 25km (15 miles) away.

According to the latest UN estimates, the recent fighting has forced 215,000 people to flee towards Goma, which already hosts approximately half a million refugees.

Richard Hamilton
BBC World Service newsroom

Image source, Getty Images

A study has found that the Sahel region in Africa saw the most terrorism related deaths last year.

In its annual Global Terrorism Index, the Institute for Economics and Peace, external said the region now accounts for almost half of all global terrorism deaths and has experienced a dramatic increase in violence, with the number of deaths increasing thirty times since 2007.

"The epicentre of terrorism has now conclusively shifted out of the Middle East and into the central Sahel region of sub-Saharan Africa," the report stated.

It said Burkina Faso suffered the most, with the number of fatalities rising by nearly 70%.

It added that terrorism had also gotten worse in neighbouring Mali and Niger. All three of these countries are under military rule.

More on this topic:

• Why West Africa's united front is in tatters
• Burkina Faso doctor forced to go to the jihadist front line
• Did coups in Mali and Burkina Faso halt jihadist attacks?

Yaya Dillo was a leading critic of Chad's military ruler, Mahamat Déby, and was also his cousin.

Kyle Zeeman
BBC News, Johannesburg

Image source, Executive Mayor Andrè Truter/ Facebook

A South African town, gripped by the search for a six-year-old girl missing for more than 10 days, has had its plea for assistance answered.

Joshlin Smith disappeared from outside her home in an informal settlement in Saldanha Bay, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province, last Monday.

The case is being closely followed in the county, where it is reported that at least one child goes missing every five hours.

A 100,000 rand ($5,100; £4,100) reward has been offered to anyone with information on the girl's whereabouts, with sewers and pits searched across the area.

Amid reports that police were withdrawing resources in their search for the girl, mayor Andrè Truter sent a plea to the provincial government for assistance.

More investigators, drones, dog units and rescue volunteers were dispatched to the area on Thursday.

The girl was left in the care of her mother’s boyfriend, Jacquin Appollis, who could not account for her whereabouts.

Angry mobs had ransacked homes in the area in search for the child, Mayor Truter said.

Joshlin's mother told local news service EWN that some in the community had accused her and Mr Appollis had a hand in her daughter's disappearance.

The couple have denied any involvement in the disappearance.

"The police had to protect us, and they had nowhere to protect us. So, they put us in the police station - that's the only safe house that they had because the community wanted to hurt me and Boeta (Appollis)," Ms Smith said.

A Preston chocolatier is working with a Nigerian king and queen to support cocoa farmers.

Kennedy Gondwe
BBC News, Lusaka

Image source, AFP

Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema has declared a national disaster to tackle the prolonged drought affecting the country.

Addressing the nation on Thursday afternoon, Mr Hichilema said 84 districts out of a total of 116 were affected.

Zambia has been experiencing poor rain, with fears mounting that the country may experience hunger and struggle to meet its electricity demands as most of its energy is from water sources.

Water levels at Kariba Dam - which Zambia and neighbouring Zimbabwe use for hydroelectricity - had fallen to about 11.5% of usable storage as of last December.

The president said the drought would affect the generation of more than 450 megawatts of power.

He said almost half of the land used for planting crops had been affected by the dry spell.

Mr Hichilema said his government would work to ensure that additional maize and other food was brought into the country to make up the deficit.

He said he would use Zambia's defence forces “in this fight to save our lives and save families and create a longer term solution to drought".

“We will work together to get together farmers to plant more crops. We shall also enhance the social support programmes for the farmers that have been affected by the drought,” he said.

“We call upon all our local and international partners to avail any excess food on hand to provide relief. Some partners have already extended their commitment to offer their support, such as the British, the UN system, the World Bank Group and others."

He called on farmers to use irrigation methods to cope with the dry spell. An estimated one million farmers have been affected by the drought.

Mr Hichilema said his government would work with different stakeholders, opposition politicians and the church to tackle the situation.

Social media has been awash with videos and pictures of fields with dying crops.

Image source, Getty Images

A UK auction house has cancelled the sale of a shield looted from Ethiopia by British soldiers in the 19th Century. The move came after a complaint from the Ethiopian government..

The artefact was taken during the battle of Magdala in 1868 from what was then known as Abyssinia.

The auction at Anderson & Garland had been scheduled to take place on Thursday in the north-east English city of Newcastle.

“After careful consideration, we’ve taken the decision to withdraw this lot from tomorrow’s auction and have referred the matter back to our vendor for their consideration," a spokeswoman for Anderson & Garland told the British newspaper the Voice.

In a statement to the Reuters news agency, the Ethiopian government said the cancellation of the auction was a "wise decision" and hoped this will lead to a "repatriation process".

The auction house has not specified whether this withdrawal is linked to any requests from the Ethiopian government which has asked for stolen artefacts be returned.

Prior to the sale, the Ethiopian authorities called the auction of the shield "inappropriate and immoral”.

Ethiopia has asked Britain to return numerous items taken during the colonial era.

Last year a lock of hair from a young Ethiopian prince, who died 140 years ago, was returned to his home country.

The prince is buried at Windsor Castle near London, but requests for his body to be returned have been turned down.

Read more:

• Ethiopia's Prince Alemayehu: Buckingham Palace rejects calls to return royal's body

Nicolas Négoce
BBC News

Image source, AFP

Rescue workers in northern Senegal are overwhelmed as they try to find survivors and retrieve bodies after a boat carrying migrants sank.

The governor of the coastal city of Saint-Louis estimates that dozens may have died, most thought to be women.

The overloaded vessel left the southern town of Joal two weeks ago with nearly 300 on board, the authorities say.

It is likely the boat was heading to the Canary Islands, a Spanish territory.

This one of the most dangerous routes for migrants as they usually sail in dugout fishing boats that are easily tossed by powerful currents.

Saint-Louis Governor Alioune Badara Samb told local media that firefighters involved in the rescue missions were struggling to cope.

Administrative buildings are being used to house and treat the survivors, many of whom are Guinean and Senegalese nationals.

It is not clear how many people have died as the number of casualties keeps rising. President Macky Sall expressed his condolences on X, external, formerly Twitter.

The number of migrants leaving from Senegal’s shores on wooden boats has surged over the past year despite the dangers and many boat tragedies.

You may be interested in:

• 'My brother died for a dream we all have'

Mansur Abubakar
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

Nigeria’s biggest telecom services provider MTN suffered a major service outage on Wednesday which still persists in some parts of the country.

In a statement, the telecom operator attributed the network challenges to a multiple fibre cuts adding that its engineers are working hard to resolve the problem.

Millions of Nigerians rely on the South African company’s connections to carry out day to day business and personal activities.

Disgruntled customer Wada Ibrahim told the BBC he hasn’t been able to make calls or reach out to loved since early Wednesday.

The company say services are being restored in some places.

At least 24 people seeking to go to Europe have drowned off the coast of northern Senegal when their boat sank, local officials say.

Governor Alioune Badara Samb told AFP news agency their bodies were found on Wednesday.

The boat got caught in the Saint Louis estuary, where the Senegal River meets the Atlantic Ocean, which is known for its strong currents and areas of thick mud.

Witnesses say the ship was carrying more than 300 people.

The governor says it is unclear how many people were on board. Several survivors managed to reach shore.

President Macky Sall expressed "deep sadness" and his condolences for the victims' families on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"The relevant authorities have been mobilised to provide them with support and assistance," he said.

Senegal's coast is a common exit point for migrants fleeing poverty and unemployment.

Image source, Daystar University

The speaker of Kenya's parliament has directed the education ministry to investigate allegations that a university in the country has been forcing Muslim students to attend Christian religious services.

Daystar University, a private Christian institution on the outskirts of the capital, Nairobi, is also accused of withholding grades of students who refuse to attend chapel services.

The university has denied this and said it does not withhold grades of those who do not attend the chapel, according to local media.

The allegations were raised in parliament by Kenyan MP Mohammed Ali, who said the policy violates the constitutional right to religious freedom.

Education Minister Ezekiel Machogu relayed the university's response, saying: "The university argued that all the students are admitted with full knowledge that the university is a Christian institution with its own philosophy, ethos and core values".

"Upon admission, students sign a code of conduct by which they agree to abide by the university's Christian values and commitment to participate in the university's spiritual disciplines," he added, citing the university.

The university also told Mr Machogu that students are required to attend at least 75% of chapel services each semester.

The education ministry will also investigate reports by Mr Ali that the institution promotes LGBTQ practices by incorporating LGBTQ issues in its curriculum.

Image source, Getty Images

Senegal's president has confirmed that he will stand down when his term expires on 2 April.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, President Sall noted that a "national dialogue" had called for the election to be held on 2 June.

This date has not been confirmed.

"My departure is absolutely firm" he said.

It’s unclear who would lead the country after Mr Sall steps down.

The election was due on 25 February but the president tried to delay it until December, so that disputes over the eligibility of other candidates could be resolved.

This led to violent protests across the normally stable West African country.

But the country's top court said the delay was unconstitutional, and called for the election to be held "as soon as possible".

More on Senegal:

• Senegal steps back from the brink - what next?
• 'We feel betrayed by President Macky Sall'

Correction: We have corrected this story because the election date had not yet been confirmed.