That's all from BBC Africa Live for now. You can keep up to date with what's happening across the continent by listening to the Africa Today podcast or checking the BBC News website.
A reminder of Friday's wise words:
Quote Message: If you stay away from elders because of bad breath, you will not learn wisdom." from Sent by Ugochukwu Anorue in Lagos, Nigeria and Kuir Lual Bul in Nairobi, Kenya
If you stay away from elders because of bad breath, you will not learn wisdom."
And we leave you with a photo from our weekly gallery of Africa's top shots of members of a brass band in Ethiopia killing time before they played at an inauguration ceremony for a new hospital in the northern city of Bahir Dar.
AFPCopyright: AFP
Resident Presidents mull Cameroon's war over English
BBC Focus on Africa's satirical Presidents - Olushambles and Kibarkingmad' - take a wry look at the political situation in Cameroon, where President Paul Biya recently won another term in office after 37 years in power.
Video content
Video caption: President Paul Biya recently won another term in office after 37 years in power.President Paul Biya recently won another term in office after 37 years in power.
'US gives Chad boats to fight jihadists'
The US has donated military vehicles and boats worth $1.3m (£1m) to
Chad as part of a campaign against Islamist militancy in the country, the AFP
news agency reports.
Chad is one of several West African states battling Boko Haram militants and
other Islamist insurgents around Lake Chad.
According to AFP, Richard K Bell, from the US embassy in Chad, said six boats and six trucks had
been given to the brigade operating in the Lake Chad basin, while 13 Chadian
soldiers were receiving training in the US.
Much of the north-east remains lawless despite a subsequent peace
deal between the government and Tuareg rebels.
Djibrila Samaké, a
teaching union official, told RFI that people in Kidal remained “scared”, and teachers
wanted to be assured of security before returning to the remote desert region.
Sudan runs out of cash causing long queues
Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service
ReutersCopyright: Reuters
People queuing at an ATM in Khartoum, SudanImage caption: People queuing at an ATM in Khartoum, Sudan
An economic crisis is deepening in Sudan with long queues outside banks and ATMs because of an acute shortage of cash.
When money is available people are being allowed to withdraw only small amounts.
Soaring demand for cash has been caused by inflation and a lack of trust in the banking system.
The currency has plummeted in value - there are now 50 Sudanese pounds to $1, compared with just six in January.
Sudanese economist Abda Almahdi in Khartoum told the BBC's Focus on Africa radio programme that people who have been able to withdraw money have been converting it into US dollars or buying real estate and gold.
Earlier this year there were nationwide protests over the rising cost of living.
Sudan has suffered from a lack of foreign currency since losing three-quarters of its oil reserves when the south of the country seceded in 2011.
Cape Town pours alcohol down the drain
While many places stock up on alcohol ahead of the Christmas period, a city council in South Africa is doing the opposite - and pouring away thousands of litres of alcohol.
South African news website News24 posted a video on Thursday of law enforcement officers in Cape Town carrying out their annual task of disposing of thousands of cans and bottles of liquor confiscated over the past 12 months - a total of 16,000 this year.
In addition to having their alcohol seized, people who drink at the city's beaches, swimming pools and other public spaces face fines of 500 rand ($36, £28). They then have three months to pick up their drink from a storage depot, but many do not.
Almost 4,000 bottles were seized on New Year's day alone, according to Cape Town Councillor JP Smith.
He added that while the council would prefer to sell the alcohol and invest the proceeds in the city, a number of obstacles had prevented this so far - including that the city could be accused of "profiteering" from confiscating alcohol, and that the council doesn't have an alcohol licence.
The City of Cape Town has also posted photos on Twitter of the exercise:
Loan withdrawn earlier over pregnant schoolgirl ban
Athuman Mtulya
BBC Africa, Dar es Salaam
Tanzania State HouseCopyright: Tanzania State House
President Magufuli (R) said Hafez Ghanem (L) had assured him the World Bank loan was still availableImage caption: President Magufuli (R) said Hafez Ghanem (L) had assured him the World Bank loan was still available
The World Bank will lend Tanzania a $300m (£243m) educational
loan, Tanzania’s presidency has said, amid a row over pregnant schoolgirls.
The announcement was made after President John Magufuli met Hafez Ghanem, the World Bank’s vice-president for Africa, in Dar es Salaam.
The loan was withdrawn earlier this week over Tanzania's
controversial policy of prohibiting teenage mothers from re-admission to school
after giving birth.
However, a senior World Bank official told BBC Swahili on
Wednesday that the bank would be open to dialogue.
The details of Friday’s meeting have not been made public
but Mr Magufuli insisted the funds had never been withdrawn “as people who
don’t wish us well were saying”.
He also said Mr Ghanem’s visit confirmed that the bank “would
not abandon Tanzania”.
Tanzania is currently facing growing international pressure
over human rights concerns (see earlier post).
The European Union has said its ambassador to Tanzania was
forced to leave earlier this month because of pressure from the authorities for
voicing concern about a planned crackdown on gay people.
The EU’s strongly worded statement came shortly after Denmark
had announced that it was withholding $9.8m in aid after "unacceptable
homophobic comments" from a senior politician and ally of the president.
Kenya remains firm on bank fines
Michael Kaloki
BBC News, Nairobi
Kenya has refused to back down on fines imposed against some of the country's top banks over inadequate anti-fraud mechanisms.
In September, the Central Bank ordered five banks to pay penalties totalling $3.8m (£3m) for failing to report suspicious transactions.
The fines were ordered after almost $100m was stolen from the state National Youth Service agency. Senior government officials have been charged in relation to the theft.
Kenya's Central Bank has reviewed the response from five banks to its investigation
and concluded the submissions by the lenders were not sufficient to reverse the
penalties.
The banks were also accused of approving large transactions without
the proper documents.
Cape Town considers tree cull after drought
Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Cape Town has suffered its worst drought in a centuryImage caption: Cape Town has suffered its worst drought in a century
The South African city of Cape Town is considering a novel approach to save water after its worst drought in a century: cutting down trees.
A global
conservation organisation, The Nature Conservancy, has suggested that the city's water supply could
be significantly boosted if non-native tree species like pine, acacia and
thirsty eucalyptus from Australia were cleared from the land.
It says getting rid of those species would
also be around 10 times cheaper than other proposals to prevent water
shortages, like building desalination plants, recycling waste water or tapping
the groundwater supply.
Just months after severe rationing helped
ensure the taps in Cape Town didn't run dry, the dams supplying water to the
city are now three-quarters full.
But experts warn that more severe
droughts are likely in the years ahead.
Sean Davison came to prominence after helping his mother to die in New ZealandImage caption: Sean Davison came to prominence after helping his mother to die in New Zealand
South Africa’s
leading pro-euthanasia activist Sean Davison is facing a second charge of
murder.
The 57-year-old New
Zealand-born forensic scientist is the founder of right-to-die
organisation DignitySA.
He was arrested
in September this year in connection with the death in 2013 of his friend
Anrich Burger, who had become a quadriplegic after a car accident.
Prosecutor Megan
Blows said in Cape Town’s Magistrate Court on Friday morning: “We are in a
position to add another charge of murder. Needless to say, the charges are
provisional and may change.”
He is accused
of intentionally killing Justin Varian in 2015 by placing a bag over his head
and administering helium.
Mr Varian had been diagnosed with motor neurone disease some years before.
Mr Davison became a campaigner for the
right to assisted dying after he was arrested in New Zealand in 2010 for
helping his 85-year-old mother, who was ill with terminal cancer, to die four
years earlier.
Archbishop
Desmond Tutu gave him a character reference and wrote to the judge calling for leniency.
In the late 1990s, he had helped South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation
Commission, chaired by Archbishop Tutu, to identify the remains of
anti-apartheid activists.
The forensic scientist served five months
of house
arrest in New Zealand after pleading guilty to assisted suicide, before returning
home to his family in South Africa.
During his last
court appearance in September, his lawyer maintained he had not committed any
offence.
He is currently
on bail, and the case has been postponed until 29 January to allow for further
investigations.
Khashoggi, South African arms and the Saudis
Since the murder of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi on 2 October, Saudi Arabia has come under heavy criticism, with calls for trade boycotts of the Gulf kingdom.
The effects of this outrage are rippling all the way to South Africa, whose defence industry could suffer if ties with Riyadh are strained, as the BBC’s Africa Security Correspondent Tomi Oladipo explains:
Video content
Video caption: Khashoggi, South African arms and the Saudis - ExplainedKhashoggi, South African arms and the Saudis - Explained
Video journalist: Mike Onyiego
Writer to meet students over Algeria race row
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Akli Tadjer was due to meet 25 pupils from the schoolImage caption: Akli Tadjer was due to meet 25 pupils from the school
A novelist whose book was rejected by French teenagers because of its Algerian theme is due to visit their school and meet them face to face.
In September, a teacher at the Lycée Pierre Mendès-France in Péronne asked her class to read extracts from Akli Tadjer's novel Le porteur de cartable (The Satchel-Carrier).
It tells the story of the war in Algeria from the perspective of two children, one the son of an independence fighter, the other the son of a French colonist forced to flee Algeria.
Some students, the teacher later told the writer in an email, refused to read the extracts.
The teacher complained about some of her pupils' "racist remarks" and invited the French writer with Algerian roots to the school in the Somme region.
He says he is going so he can "understand how young people can think like that".
Algeria achieved independence from France in 1962 after a bloody war.
Bitterness remains on both sides, with refugees and their descendants having had difficulty returning to Algeria.
Kweku Adoboli with local dishes and a beer at the family homeImage caption: Kweku Adoboli with local dishes and a beer at the family home
Convicted
fraudster Kweku Adoboli has received a warm welcome by relatives after his
arrival in Ghana.
The
38-year-old former UBS trader was deported on Wednesday from the UK, where
he had lived for 26 years, despite a long campaign to keep him in Britain.
He
arrived in Ghana on a Kenyan Airways flight, accompanied by five UK guards, and was
met by members of his extended family at the airport.
Mr
Adoboli served four years of a seven-year sentence for a £1.4bn
($1.8bn) fraud and was released in 2015.
The
UK authorities say foreign nationals sentenced to more than four years in
prison are subject to automatic deportation.
His
supporters had argued that given the amount of time he had spent in the UK, he
should have been entitled to British citizenship.
Magical realism cinema inspired by Africa
Ghanaian-American rapper turned director Blitz Bazawule was in London for the UK premiere of The Burial of Kojo at Film Africa.
The fantastical film is about a girl who must look for her father after he goes missing.
Blitz spoke to BBC What's New? about his love of film-making, filming on the continent and mastering technology.
Video content
Video caption: Ghanaian-American director Blitz Bazawule on new filmGhanaian-American director Blitz Bazawule on new film
Produced by Nora Fakim
DR Congo police kill two students protesters
Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service
Police in the Democratic Republic of
Congo have shot dead two students during protests in the capital,
Kinshasa.
On Monday students at Kinshasa University
held a demonstration calling for classes to resume as lecturers were on strike
over pay.
It turned violent and one student
was shot by the police.
When students learnt on Thursday the
student had died, they started rioting on the campus.
The Congolese police confirmed that
a second student was then shot dead.
A spokesman said 12 police officers
were injured and buildings as well as vehicles were vandalised.
The BBC's Poly Muzalia in Kinshasa sent some photos of the aftermath:
BBC/Poly MuzaliaCopyright: BBC/Poly Muzalia
BBC/Poly MuzaliaCopyright: BBC/Poly Muzalia
BBC/Poly MuzaliaCopyright: BBC/Poly Muzalia
On Friday morning police used tear gas and fired in the air to disperse an angry crowd of students.
Zimbabwe MDC leader calls protesters 'stupid'
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa said protesters had "opened themselves for attacks"Image caption: MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa said protesters had "opened themselves for attacks"
Zimbabwe's opposition leader has apologised after appearing to insult people who protested over allegations of fraud in the election held on 30 July.
Six people were shot dead two days after the poll in clashes with security forces.
The same day, MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa said he had won the popular vote and that "manipulation" would not prevent his victory.
He has refused to accept the final election result, announced on 3 August, in which President Emmerson Mnangagwa narrowly avoided a second-round run-off with 50.7% of the vote.
But on Thursday Mr Chamisa told journalists the demonstrations had been "stupid".
The vote was the first since long-time leader Robert Mugabe was ousted from power last year.
A seven-member independent commission of inquiry has begun hearing testimony to establish who was to blame for the protests and the fatalities.
Mr Chamisa has been called to appear before the commission next week.
Mohamed Boshi remained critical of the government on Facebook after his move to Cairo in 2017Image caption: Mohamed Boshi remained critical of the government on Facebook after his move to Cairo in 2017
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called for Sudan to release a 35-year-old
activist after his secret rendition from Egypt.
Mohamed Boshi, a vocal critic of the government, had sought
asylum in Egypt through the UN refugee agency in 2017, but went missing on 10 October, the US-based rights group said.
HRW's Jehanne Henry said:
Quote Message: Egyptian and Sudanese authorities co-operated in forcibly disappearing and returning an asylum-seeker to Sudan, in clear violation of international norms and the prohibitions on enforced disappearances, persecution, and torture.
Egyptian and Sudanese authorities co-operated in forcibly disappearing and returning an asylum-seeker to Sudan, in clear violation of international norms and the prohibitions on enforced disappearances, persecution, and torture.
Quote Message: Having unlawfully detained him for weeks, Sudan has now charged him with serious crimes that carry the death penalty. They should drop the charges and release him immediately."
Having unlawfully detained him for weeks, Sudan has now charged him with serious crimes that carry the death penalty. They should drop the charges and release him immediately."
Mr Boshi disappeared after five armed men, believed to be Egyptian security agents, searched his apartment in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, witnesses told HRW.
On 8 November, Sudan’s national security agency said he was being charged with espionage and crimes against the state.
According to HRW, relatives and lawyers have not been permitted to visit him.
Boshi, formerly a member of an opposition party, has been detained and beaten twice for his activism in the past, it adds.
Ms Henry said his forced disappearance comes after warming relations between Sudan and Egypt, adding:
Quote Message: “Diplomatic rapprochement should not come at the cost of human rights.
“Diplomatic rapprochement should not come at the cost of human rights.
Quote Message: Silencing critics in this way will not solve Sudan’s problems; Sudan needs to uphold its international obligations and release Boshi immediately.”
Silencing critics in this way will not solve Sudan’s problems; Sudan needs to uphold its international obligations and release Boshi immediately.”
Stuck African migrants rescued from snow
Ten African migrants who became stuck in the snow trying to cross the Alps illegally on foot from Italy into France have been rescued.
The authorities say they've now been taken to a reception centre near the city of Turin.
Overnight they had called an emergency line asking for help.
Four people are still missing, but mountain rescue teams say evidence they found suggests that they may have reached France.
Some migrants take the dangerous Alpine route to avoid French border controls on the coast.
Last week, seven humanitarian activists went on trial in France accused of helping migrants to cross the Alps illegally from Italy.
AFPCopyright: AFP
Migrants often try to cross the Alps by foot to avoid French border controlImage caption: Migrants often try to cross the Alps by foot to avoid French border control
EU diplomat 'forced to leave Tanzania' over gay rights
ReutersCopyright: Reuters
Rights groups have accused Mr Magufuli of intolerance towards opposition politicians, homosexuals and other groupsImage caption: Rights groups have accused Mr Magufuli of intolerance towards opposition politicians, homosexuals and other groups
The European Union has said
its ambassador to Tanzania was forced to leave earlier this month because of
pressure from the authorities for voicing concern about a planned crackdown on gay people in the East
African country, where homosexual acts are illegal.
Quote Message: This unprecedented attitude is not in line with the long-established tradition of bilateral dialogue.
This unprecedented attitude is not in line with the long-established tradition of bilateral dialogue.
Quote Message: The EU calls on Tanzanian authorities to refrain from exerting undue pressure and limitations on diplomatic missions."
The EU calls on Tanzanian authorities to refrain from exerting undue pressure and limitations on diplomatic missions."
In light of this and other recent moves to undermine "human rights and the rule of law", she said that the EU would now conduct a “comprehensive review” of its support to Tanzania.
Quote Message: The European Union and its member states have noticed a shrinking of public space in Tanzania through the tightening of restrictions on the activities of civil society organisations, the media and many political parties.
The European Union and its member states have noticed a shrinking of public space in Tanzania through the tightening of restrictions on the activities of civil society organisations, the media and many political parties.
Quote Message: The EU is deeply concerned about the deteriorating situation for LGBTI persons."
The EU is deeply concerned about the deteriorating situation for LGBTI persons."
The EU’s review may not come as a surprise to President John Magufuli, reports the BBC’s Leonard Mbali from Dar es Salaam.
Earlier in the week, a World Bank official confirmed to BBC Swahili that the bank was withdrawing a scheduled $300m (£243m) educational loan over Tanzania's controversial policy of prohibiting teenage mothers from re-admission to school after giving birth.
Our reporter says Mr Magufuli’s tough anti-corruption stance in 2015, when he took office, earned him international admiration.
But his subsequent intolerance to the opposition and media seems to be eroding donors’ confidence of his leadership.
This is of concern for the economy as foreign aid accounts for almost half of the national budget, our reporter says.
Kenyan Catholic priest killed in South Sudan
A Kenyan Catholic priest has been killed by armed men in South Sudan.
The East African Jesuits said in a Facebook post that 62-year-old Victor-Luke Odhiambo was in the TV room a church residence in Cueibet in Gok State when they attacked in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Live Reporting
Lucy Fleming
All times stated are UK
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We'll be back on Monday
Lucy Fleming
BBC Africa Live
That's all from BBC Africa Live for now. You can keep up to date with what's happening across the continent by listening to the Africa Today podcast or checking the BBC News website.
A reminder of Friday's wise words:
Click here to send us your African proverbs.
And we leave you with a photo from our weekly gallery of Africa's top shots of members of a brass band in Ethiopia killing time before they played at an inauguration ceremony for a new hospital in the northern city of Bahir Dar.
Resident Presidents mull Cameroon's war over English
BBC Focus on Africa's satirical Presidents - Olushambles and Kibarkingmad' - take a wry look at the political situation in Cameroon, where President Paul Biya recently won another term in office after 37 years in power.
Video content
'US gives Chad boats to fight jihadists'
The US has donated military vehicles and boats worth $1.3m (£1m) to Chad as part of a campaign against Islamist militancy in the country, the AFP news agency reports.
Chad is one of several West African states battling Boko Haram militants and other Islamist insurgents around Lake Chad.
According to AFP, Richard K Bell, from the US embassy in Chad, said six boats and six trucks had been given to the brigade operating in the Lake Chad basin, while 13 Chadian soldiers were receiving training in the US.
On Thursday, the US said it was cutting hundreds of troops in Africa to focus on countering threats from Russia and China.
Mali teachers 'refuse to return to Kidal'
More than 400 teachers in Mali are refusing to return to work in Kidal in the insecure north of the country, RFI reports.
The international French broadcaster says they left in 2014, which was the year Tuareg separatists seized the area.
Much of the north-east remains lawless despite a subsequent peace deal between the government and Tuareg rebels.
Djibrila Samaké, a teaching union official, told RFI that people in Kidal remained “scared”, and teachers wanted to be assured of security before returning to the remote desert region.
Sudan runs out of cash causing long queues
Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service
An economic crisis is deepening in Sudan with long queues outside banks and ATMs because of an acute shortage of cash.
When money is available people are being allowed to withdraw only small amounts.
Soaring demand for cash has been caused by inflation and a lack of trust in the banking system.
The currency has plummeted in value - there are now 50 Sudanese pounds to $1, compared with just six in January.
Sudanese economist Abda Almahdi in Khartoum told the BBC's Focus on Africa radio programme that people who have been able to withdraw money have been converting it into US dollars or buying real estate and gold.
Earlier this year there were nationwide protests over the rising cost of living.
Sudan has suffered from a lack of foreign currency since losing three-quarters of its oil reserves when the south of the country seceded in 2011.
Cape Town pours alcohol down the drain
While many places stock up on alcohol ahead of the Christmas period, a city council in South Africa is doing the opposite - and pouring away thousands of litres of alcohol.
South African news website News24 posted a video on Thursday of law enforcement officers in Cape Town carrying out their annual task of disposing of thousands of cans and bottles of liquor confiscated over the past 12 months - a total of 16,000 this year.
In addition to having their alcohol seized, people who drink at the city's beaches, swimming pools and other public spaces face fines of 500 rand ($36, £28). They then have three months to pick up their drink from a storage depot, but many do not.
Almost 4,000 bottles were seized on New Year's day alone, according to Cape Town Councillor JP Smith.
He added that while the council would prefer to sell the alcohol and invest the proceeds in the city, a number of obstacles had prevented this so far - including that the city could be accused of "profiteering" from confiscating alcohol, and that the council doesn't have an alcohol licence.
The City of Cape Town has also posted photos on Twitter of the exercise:
World Bank not abandoning Tanzania - Magufuli
Loan withdrawn earlier over pregnant schoolgirl ban
Athuman Mtulya
BBC Africa, Dar es Salaam
The World Bank will lend Tanzania a $300m (£243m) educational loan, Tanzania’s presidency has said, amid a row over pregnant schoolgirls.
The announcement was made after President John Magufuli met Hafez Ghanem, the World Bank’s vice-president for Africa, in Dar es Salaam.
The loan was withdrawn earlier this week over Tanzania's controversial policy of prohibiting teenage mothers from re-admission to school after giving birth.
However, a senior World Bank official told BBC Swahili on Wednesday that the bank would be open to dialogue.
The details of Friday’s meeting have not been made public but Mr Magufuli insisted the funds had never been withdrawn “as people who don’t wish us well were saying”.
He also said Mr Ghanem’s visit confirmed that the bank “would not abandon Tanzania”.
Tanzania is currently facing growing international pressure over human rights concerns (see earlier post).
The European Union has said its ambassador to Tanzania was forced to leave earlier this month because of pressure from the authorities for voicing concern about a planned crackdown on gay people.
The EU’s strongly worded statement came shortly after Denmark had announced that it was withholding $9.8m in aid after "unacceptable homophobic comments" from a senior politician and ally of the president.
Kenya remains firm on bank fines
Michael Kaloki
BBC News, Nairobi
Kenya has refused to back down on fines imposed against some of the country's top banks over inadequate anti-fraud mechanisms.
In September, the Central Bank ordered five banks to pay penalties totalling $3.8m (£3m) for failing to report suspicious transactions.
The fines were ordered after almost $100m was stolen from the state National Youth Service agency. Senior government officials have been charged in relation to the theft.
Kenya's Central Bank has reviewed the response from five banks to its investigation and concluded the submissions by the lenders were not sufficient to reverse the penalties.
The banks were also accused of approving large transactions without the proper documents.
Cape Town considers tree cull after drought
Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service
The South African city of Cape Town is considering a novel approach to save water after its worst drought in a century: cutting down trees.
A global conservation organisation, The Nature Conservancy, has suggested that the city's water supply could be significantly boosted if non-native tree species like pine, acacia and thirsty eucalyptus from Australia were cleared from the land.
It says getting rid of those species would also be around 10 times cheaper than other proposals to prevent water shortages, like building desalination plants, recycling waste water or tapping the groundwater supply.
Just months after severe rationing helped ensure the taps in Cape Town didn't run dry, the dams supplying water to the city are now three-quarters full.
But experts warn that more severe droughts are likely in the years ahead.
There have been other unusual suggestions to solve the city's water crisis, including the use of icebergs.
Fresh charges for SA pro-euthanasia activist
Milton Nkosi
BBC Africa, Johannesburg
South Africa’s leading pro-euthanasia activist Sean Davison is facing a second charge of murder.
The 57-year-old New Zealand-born forensic scientist is the founder of right-to-die organisation DignitySA.
He was arrested in September this year in connection with the death in 2013 of his friend Anrich Burger, who had become a quadriplegic after a car accident.
Prosecutor Megan Blows said in Cape Town’s Magistrate Court on Friday morning: “We are in a position to add another charge of murder. Needless to say, the charges are provisional and may change.”
He is accused of intentionally killing Justin Varian in 2015 by placing a bag over his head and administering helium.
Mr Varian had been diagnosed with motor neurone disease some years before.
Mr Davison became a campaigner for the right to assisted dying after he was arrested in New Zealand in 2010 for helping his 85-year-old mother, who was ill with terminal cancer, to die four years earlier.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu gave him a character reference and wrote to the judge calling for leniency.
In the late 1990s, he had helped South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, chaired by Archbishop Tutu, to identify the remains of anti-apartheid activists.
The forensic scientist served five months of house arrest in New Zealand after pleading guilty to assisted suicide, before returning home to his family in South Africa.
During his last court appearance in September, his lawyer maintained he had not committed any offence.
He is currently on bail, and the case has been postponed until 29 January to allow for further investigations.
Khashoggi, South African arms and the Saudis
Since the murder of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi on 2 October, Saudi Arabia has come under heavy criticism, with calls for trade boycotts of the Gulf kingdom.
The effects of this outrage are rippling all the way to South Africa, whose defence industry could suffer if ties with Riyadh are strained, as the BBC’s Africa Security Correspondent Tomi Oladipo explains:
Video content
Video journalist: Mike Onyiego
Writer to meet students over Algeria race row
A novelist whose book was rejected by French teenagers because of its Algerian theme is due to visit their school and meet them face to face.
In September, a teacher at the Lycée Pierre Mendès-France in Péronne asked her class to read extracts from Akli Tadjer's novel Le porteur de cartable (The Satchel-Carrier).
It tells the story of the war in Algeria from the perspective of two children, one the son of an independence fighter, the other the son of a French colonist forced to flee Algeria.
Some students, the teacher later told the writer in an email, refused to read the extracts.
The teacher complained about some of her pupils' "racist remarks" and invited the French writer with Algerian roots to the school in the Somme region.
He says he is going so he can "understand how young people can think like that".
Algeria achieved independence from France in 1962 after a bloody war.
Bitterness remains on both sides, with refugees and their descendants having had difficulty returning to Algeria.
Read the BBC News story for more
Warm Ghana welcome for ex-UBS fraudster
Thomas Naadi
BBC Africa, Accra
Convicted fraudster Kweku Adoboli has received a warm welcome by relatives after his arrival in Ghana.
The 38-year-old former UBS trader was deported on Wednesday from the UK, where he had lived for 26 years, despite a long campaign to keep him in Britain.
He arrived in Ghana on a Kenyan Airways flight, accompanied by five UK guards, and was met by members of his extended family at the airport.
Mr Adoboli served four years of a seven-year sentence for a £1.4bn ($1.8bn) fraud and was released in 2015.
Ghana’s Daily Graphic says when he arrived at the family home in Tema, an hour’s drive outside the capital, Accra, he was served with local dishes of “akple” and “fetridetsi” – plus a chilled beer.
The UK authorities say foreign nationals sentenced to more than four years in prison are subject to automatic deportation.
His supporters had argued that given the amount of time he had spent in the UK, he should have been entitled to British citizenship.
Magical realism cinema inspired by Africa
Ghanaian-American rapper turned director Blitz Bazawule was in London for the UK premiere of The Burial of Kojo at Film Africa.
The fantastical film is about a girl who must look for her father after he goes missing.
Blitz spoke to BBC What's New? about his love of film-making, filming on the continent and mastering technology.
Video content
Produced by Nora Fakim
DR Congo police kill two students protesters
Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service
Police in the Democratic Republic of Congo have shot dead two students during protests in the capital, Kinshasa.
On Monday students at Kinshasa University held a demonstration calling for classes to resume as lecturers were on strike over pay.
It turned violent and one student was shot by the police.
When students learnt on Thursday the student had died, they started rioting on the campus.
The Congolese police confirmed that a second student was then shot dead.
A spokesman said 12 police officers were injured and buildings as well as vehicles were vandalised.
The BBC's Poly Muzalia in Kinshasa sent some photos of the aftermath:
On Friday morning police used tear gas and fired in the air to disperse an angry crowd of students.
Zimbabwe MDC leader calls protesters 'stupid'
Zimbabwe's opposition leader has apologised after appearing to insult people who protested over allegations of fraud in the election held on 30 July.
Six people were shot dead two days after the poll in clashes with security forces.
The same day, MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa said he had won the popular vote and that "manipulation" would not prevent his victory.
He has refused to accept the final election result, announced on 3 August, in which President Emmerson Mnangagwa narrowly avoided a second-round run-off with 50.7% of the vote.
But on Thursday Mr Chamisa told journalists the demonstrations had been "stupid".
The vote was the first since long-time leader Robert Mugabe was ousted from power last year.
A seven-member independent commission of inquiry has begun hearing testimony to establish who was to blame for the protests and the fatalities.
Mr Chamisa has been called to appear before the commission next week.
Read the BBC News story for more.
Anger over Sudan activist's 'secret rendition'
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called for Sudan to release a 35-year-old activist after his secret rendition from Egypt.
Mohamed Boshi, a vocal critic of the government, had sought asylum in Egypt through the UN refugee agency in 2017, but went missing on 10 October, the US-based rights group said.
HRW's Jehanne Henry said:
Mr Boshi disappeared after five armed men, believed to be Egyptian security agents, searched his apartment in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, witnesses told HRW.
On 8 November, Sudan’s national security agency said he was being charged with espionage and crimes against the state.
According to HRW, relatives and lawyers have not been permitted to visit him.
Boshi, formerly a member of an opposition party, has been detained and beaten twice for his activism in the past, it adds.
Ms Henry said his forced disappearance comes after warming relations between Sudan and Egypt, adding:
Stuck African migrants rescued from snow
Ten African migrants who became stuck in the snow trying to cross the Alps illegally on foot from Italy into France have been rescued.
The authorities say they've now been taken to a reception centre near the city of Turin.
Overnight they had called an emergency line asking for help.
Four people are still missing, but mountain rescue teams say evidence they found suggests that they may have reached France.
Some migrants take the dangerous Alpine route to avoid French border controls on the coast.
Last week, seven humanitarian activists went on trial in France accused of helping migrants to cross the Alps illegally from Italy.
EU diplomat 'forced to leave Tanzania' over gay rights
The European Union has said its ambassador to Tanzania was forced to leave earlier this month because of pressure from the authorities for voicing concern about a planned crackdown on gay people in the East African country, where homosexual acts are illegal.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement:
In light of this and other recent moves to undermine "human rights and the rule of law", she said that the EU would now conduct a “comprehensive review” of its support to Tanzania.
The EU’s review may not come as a surprise to President John Magufuli, reports the BBC’s Leonard Mbali from Dar es Salaam.
Earlier in the week, a World Bank official confirmed to BBC Swahili that the bank was withdrawing a scheduled $300m (£243m) educational loan over Tanzania's controversial policy of prohibiting teenage mothers from re-admission to school after giving birth.
On Thursday, Denmark announced that is was withholding $9.8m in aid after "unacceptable homophobic comments" from a senior politician and ally of the president.
Our reporter says Mr Magufuli’s tough anti-corruption stance in 2015, when he took office, earned him international admiration.
But his subsequent intolerance to the opposition and media seems to be eroding donors’ confidence of his leadership.
This is of concern for the economy as foreign aid accounts for almost half of the national budget, our reporter says.
Kenyan Catholic priest killed in South Sudan
A Kenyan Catholic priest has been killed by armed men in South Sudan.
The East African Jesuits said in a Facebook post that 62-year-old Victor-Luke Odhiambo was in the TV room a church residence in Cueibet in Gok State when they attacked in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Father Odhiambo was the principle of Mazzolari Teachers College in Cueibet.
The authorities in Gok said on Friday that three people had been arrested in connection with the killing, local Radio Tamazuj news website reports.
The motive behind the killing is still not known.
The East African Jesuits said the cleric had been working in South Sudan for about 10 years.