Zuma takes election battle cry to ANC’s heartlandpublished at 08:47 British Summer Time 19 May
Ex-President Jacob holds a rally in the historic township of Soweto as he returns to the political front line.
Read MoreZuma takes election battle cry to ANC’s heartlandpublished at 08:47 British Summer Time 19 May
Photographer to share secrets behind shots of starspublished at 07:17 British Summer Time 19 May
Danny Clifford has captured some of the world's most famous faces over more than four decades.
Read MoreSinger Libianca on 'horrific threats' over Cameroon warpublished at 02:04 British Summer Time 19 May
The star of viral hit People talks to the BBC about getting death threats for waving a Cameroonian flag.
Read MoreAfrican Champions League final first leg ends goallesspublished at 22:40 British Summer Time 18 May
Esperance and record 11-time winners Al Ahly play out a goalless draw in the first leg of the African Champions League final in Tunisia.
Read MoreTunisia says 23 people missing in Mediterranean seapublished at 22:11 British Summer Time 18 May
The national guard says it has informed the navy and search and rescue operations are under way.
Read MoreThrowing cash in the air - Nigeria's wedding dilemma published at 01:31 British Summer Time 18 May
Spraying money - flinging cash at the happy couple - is a highlight of many ceremonies but is illegal.
Read MoreBBC Africa Live is changingpublished at 18:52 British Summer Time 17 May
Today is the last day of the general, daily BBC Africa Live page.
Instead we will have live pages covering specific stories, when they will benefit from live coverage.
This will enable us to produce more individual news stories, pieces of analysis and features highlighting the full breadth of life across the continent, which you can find at BBCAfrica.com
You can also listen to our podcasts: Africa Daily and Focus on Africa.
A reminder of Friday's wise words:
Quote MessageA powerful friend becomes a powerful enemy."
An Ethiopian proverb, sent by Chatim Daniel in Nasir, South Sudan
We leave you with this picture of a fish on a beach in Somalia's capital Mogadishu. It's one of our favourites this week.
Image source, ReutersJohn Frog: From child soldier to Afrobeats starpublished at 18:37 British Summer Time 17 May
DJ Edu
Presenter of This Is Africa on BBC World Service
Image source, John FrogImage caption, John Frog became a child soldier at the age of eight
John Frog is one of South Sudan’s most successful musicians.
He’s forging an international reputation and has collaborated with artists from other African countries, including Uganda’s Eddie Kenzo, and Bahati from Kenya.
His latest song My Bed features Iyanya from Nigeria.
Frog is his real name. He was called Aguek, which means frog in Dinka, a language native to South Sudan, because he was a breech baby, coming into the world feet-first.
Given that his mother gave birth to him in a remote village with no hospital or doctor in sight, he was lucky to survive, as was his mother.
John Frog was born during the civil war and his parents were soldiers in the SPLA – the Sudan People’s Liberation Army. He himself was a child soldier, joining the army at around eight years old.
“They didn’t give us a gun yet, until I was 14 - that’s when I was given a gun," he tells me.
“Every day, every week, there is a fight, so we have to run in the forest, in the water, so it was quite tough for me.”
He shares that he didn't go to school and picked up English "from the street".
Frog says he always loved music and even in the forest he would listen to traditional music.
It was when he got the opportunity to go to South Sudan's capital, Juba and he met other young Africans that he started making music himself.
“We didn’t have enough producers in Juba. The producers who are here are from Kenya and Uganda, so it was a bit hard to know the kind of genre for South Sudanese music, so I decided to do Afrobeats," he says.
Frog says the musicians who make the most money in South Sudan are the traditional ones.
“They praise people, they praise leaders, praise people who have money, so it’s the quickest way to make money here."
"But my aim is to reach the wider audience. Either this year or next year, I have to be among our brothers who are on top.”
To hear John Frog’s conversation with DJ Edu, listen to This is Africa on BBC World Service radio and partner stations across Africa, and online here: bbcworldservice.com/thisisafrica.
Mass wedding for Nigeria orphans sparks outcrypublished at 17:31 British Summer Time 17 May
Nigeria's women's minister says she has filed a court order to stop the ceremony planned for next week.
Read MoreUN condemns arrest of lawyers and journalists in Tunisiapublished at 17:22 British Summer Time 17 May
Mike Thomson
BBC World Service NewsThe UN has denounced the recent arrests of lawyers and journalists in Tunisia, saying they undermine the rule of law.
It said reported raids on the country’s Bar Association violate the independence of lawyers and constitute forms of intimidation and harassment.
The Tunisian president, Kais Saied, has been accused of mounting a power grab since seizing sweeping powers in 2021
Under a law he ratified two years ago more than 60 lawyers, journalists and opposition figures are reported to have been arrested for spreading what is described as "false news".
Critics say the law is being used to stifle dissent.
Nigeria asks Senegal to mediate with junta-led statespublished at 16:35 British Summer Time 17 May
Chris Ewokor
BBC News, Abuja
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, This was President Faye's first official visit to Nigeria since assuming office last month
Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called on his Senegalese counterpart to reach out to neighbouring countries planning to pull out of the regional bloc and persuade them to return to the fold.
He made the call in Abuja on Thursday while playing host to President Bassirou Diomaye Faye.
President Tinubu was referring to Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, which are all under military rule after recent coups.
Ecowas is struggling to keep its members united after the junta-led countries announced in January that they would be quitting the bloc and went ahead to form the Alliance of Sahelian States.
“As the chairman of Ecowas, I am inviting you to collaborate and meet those other brothers. To persuade them to come back to the fold,” President Tinubu said at the meeting.
The Nigerian president also called for an alignment in West Africa to effectively address the challenges confronting the region, including “terrorism, banditry, human trafficking, and poverty”.
Mr Faye called for the reactivation of the Nigeria-Senegal joint commission to strengthen bilateral relations across the areas of diplomacy, trade, and other spheres.
He said the two countries and their neighbours could work together and “discuss with our brothers and convince them to come back into the fold. To come back and share our common democratic values and what we stand for.”
Read more:
Rolex to leave South Africa after 76-year presencepublished at 14:50 British Summer Time 17 May
Image source, Getty ImagesThe luxury watch brand Rolex will close its official store in South Africa in June after 76 years, the company told local newspaper, News24., external
Rolex said "local markets and conjuncture have changed, and no longer warrant the presence of an official Rolex affiliate".
But added that they would remain "active in the region" through their retail network.
The store has been operating in South Africa since 1948.
This change means that all Rolex retailers in the country will have to deal with the head office in Geneva directly.
SA ends rescue efforts at collapsed George buildingpublished at 13:57 British Summer Time 17 May
Shingai Nyoka
BBC News
Image source, Getty ImagesAuthorities in South Africa have ended rescue efforts at the site of the building collapse in George, with 19 people still unaccounted for.
At least 33 construction workers are confirmed to have died when the five-storey luxury apartment building collapsed on 6 May.
But 29 survivors were pulled from the debris.
The building will now be handed over to investigators to establish the cause of the accident.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, who toured the site on Thursday, pledged compensation for the victims and accountability once the investigation is concluded.
Read more: How I survived under the rubble in George
Bekele & Kipchoge - will Paris 2024 be final showdown?published at 13:17 British Summer Time 17 May
Kenenisa Bekele will face fellow all-time great Eliud Kipchoge at the Olympics, 21 years on from their first meeting in a final.
Read MoreKenya government faces fresh lawsuit over Haiti deploymentpublished at 13:12 British Summer Time 17 May
Ian Wafula and Will Ross
BBC News
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, In October last year, the UN Security Council backed Kenya's offer to lead a multinational security force to Haiti
Opposition politicians in Kenya have once again gone to court to try to block the country's planned deployment of police officers to Haiti.
Last year president William Ruto offered to send 1,000 officers to tackle gang violence in the Caribbean nation.
The deployment has already been delayed due to a legal challenge but there are reports that some officers will be flown to Haiti within the next few days.
Leaders of Thirdway Alliance, a small opposition party, are accusing Mr Ruto's government of contempt of court for disobeying an earlier court order.
They argue that Kenya should prioritise its own security challenges.
Read more:
Rwanda's Kagame submits bid for July electionpublished at 12:24 British Summer Time 17 May
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Rwanda's President Paul Kagame will run in the country's upcoming election
Rwanda's President Paul Kagame has officially submitted his candidacy to the country's poll body for the July presidential elections.
He had already confirmed last September that he would be seeking a fourth term.
He is widely expected to win the poll, which could see him extend his presidency to nearly three decades.
Mr Kagame won the last presidential election in 2017 with nearly 99% of the vote.
Two of his opponents, opposition politicians Bernard Ntaganda and Victoire Ingabire, have recently been barred from vying in the election over previous convictions.
Mr Kagame, 66, has faced criticism from rights groups, which have accused him of cracking down on the opposition.
But the president has maintained that Rwanda respects political freedoms.
Israel accuses South Africa of false claims at ICJpublished at 11:27 British Summer Time 17 May
Israel's lawyers push back against South Africa, which is trying to get its Rafah offensive stopped.
Read MoreGabon denies torturing deposed president's familypublished at 11:26 British Summer Time 17 May
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Ali Bongo, 65, was ousted in a military coup in August last year
Gabon's military-led government has denied allegations by deposed President Ali Bongo's lawyers that his wife Sylvia and eldest son Noureddin were tortured in custody.
Mr Bongo's lawyers had said on Tuesday that the ousted president and his two youngest sons had gone on hunger strike to protest against the alleged torture, which they said included beatings, whippings, strangulation and electrocution with a taser.
They added that they had filed a complaint with the Paris judicial court over the alleged acts.
Speaking in an address on state TV, government spokeswoman Laurence Ndong said the allegations were "slanderous" and "damaging Gabon's image".
"The government wishes to state emphatically that they are not being subjected to any form of torture or mistreatment as stated by their lawyers," she added.
She further denied that the junta authorities were preventing Mr Bongo from leaving Gabon or receiving visitors, including his lawyers and family members, at his home.
Bongo, 65, was ousted in a military coup in August last year, shortly after he won a disputed presidential poll.
He had led the oil-rich country since 2009 when he succeeded his father who had been in power for more than 40 years.
First set of voters head to polls in S Africa electionpublished at 10:27 British Summer Time 17 May
Image source, AFPImage caption, Voting in the country will take place on 29 May
South Africans living abroad will be the first set of voters to cast their ballots on Friday, ahead of the main polls on 29 May.
South African voters living in Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Syria will cast their votes at their respective foreign missions between between 07:00 and 19:00 local time.
South Africans in over 100 other countries will vote on Saturday.
Voting will extend to Sunday for voters in London, where nearly a third of the 76 580 South African voters living abroad are expected to cast their ballots.
Voting will not happen in Israel, Ukraine and Sudan, which are all currently experiencing conflict.
Read more:
Ndou 'shares Mandela's dream' in fight for SA officepublished at 10:17 British Summer Time 17 May
Former boxing world champion Lovemore Ndou compares himself to Nelson Mandela before he runs for election in South Africa.
Read More