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We're closing the BBC Africa Live page for the weekend but we'll be back on Monday to update you on stories from across the continent.
Today's African proverb: "A bird that chooses to perch on a rope should be ready to dance with the rope." Sent by Emmanuel Ukaegbu, Chester, UK.
We leave you with a reminder that you don't need to save tinsel for Christmas from one man in Africa's week in pictures.
AFP
Nigerian Maj Gen Ilyasu Abbah formally took charge of the regional force that's been set up by Nigeria, Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Benin to tackle Boko Haram.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said today that the force will "lead to the speedy defeat and elimination of Boko Haram".
Mr Buhari is due to go to Benin tomorrow to meet President Boni Yayi.
Wildlife cameraman James Suter from South Africa's Black Bean Productions has posted this film on Instagram for World Ranger Day - to celebrate those who protect wildlife.
"And as you can imagine a very important day for me. It's a day to celebrate what these brave men and women do everyday," he says.
As some people around the world continue to express outrage over the killing of Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe, the Game Rangers' Association of Africa remind us of the rangers who have died trying to protect animals:
A BBC reporter who's covering the issue of migrants gathering in the northern French city of Calais has spotted an ironic message one of them has written:
Water scientist Kala Fleming is working on a piece of technology in Kenya which could help people stay in the city and visit their farms at the weekend.
IBM
She works on Tech giant IBM's EZ-Farm project which is trialling a sensor which monitors the amount of water in the soil and infrared cameras which measure rates of photosynthesis.
All this data is streamed wirelessly to farmers' phones so they can stay in the city longer.
In addition to a tweet about the fact that wanting to be the governing party's presidential candidate in the next election was not just his idea, President Museveni has been trumpeting his achievements.
Except in this message he talks about 'minimum economic recovery'. We're not sure what he means:
Uganda's President Museveni said today that he hopes to be the governing NRM party's presidential candidate in the 2016 election.
If successful he'll be running for a fifth term, but in a tweet he says other people were involved in the decision:
The government of Botswana have made clear its position on trophy hunters such as the US dentist who killed Cecil the Lion in neighbouring Zimbabwe.
Ronna Tom
In a press statement, a spokesman said sport hunters were "not welcome in Botswana".
"Safari hunting of threatened species such as lions has the potential to undermine our regional anti-poaching efforts as it encourages illegal trade which in turn promotes poaching," the statement added.
The country banned hunting in 2014.
Here's how Olushambles from our satire Resident Presidents analyses US President Obama's trip to Kenya and Ethiopia earlier this week:
"Obama and East Africa's leaders saw eye-to eye on everything apart from human rights, homosexuality, accountability, third terms of office, that kind of trivia."
BBC
Getty Images
Luol Deng, a basketball star from South Sudan, has said everyone is excited about Saturday's first-ever NBA game in Africa.
A team of NBA stars from Africa are taking on a world team in Johannesburg.
"It's going to be fun," he told the BBC, "I really don't know what to expect.
"The game coming to the continent just brings hope and belief for all these kids who are watching, they can see where we're from and know that the game is really trying to reach them."
BBC
Supporters of Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni have been celebrating his announcement that he wants to be the governing party's candidate in the 2016 presidential election.
If nominated - which looks likely - he will be running for a fifth term.
One supporter told the BBC: "We have our leader, a visionary leader and... he is our sole candidate because we are not confused. We know what we want."
BBC
Former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi, who had said he was going to run against Mr Museveni for the party's nomination, has pulled out of the race.
An American billionaire philanthropist has agreed to match every dollar donated to the conservation unit who were tracking Cecil the Lion until he was killed by a US hunter.
Tom Kaplan has capped the offer at Oxford University's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit at $100,000 (£64,000).
The organisation has already raised £300,000 to continue tracking Cecil's pride, reports the BBC's Tom Turrell.
Tourist Ronna Tom shot this video of Cecil in 2010 which shows his collar that researchers used to track him:
Six out of the 10 top African universities are in South Africa, according to a list by Times Higher Education journal.
Ugandan Ventorino Otto took his masters degree in South Africa and tells us on Facebook the experience was "world's apart" from his own country.
He thinks a secret to South African success is because they get more money from a specific source:
"Just think of how much money SA universities make from govt-sponsored students from all over Africa... and interest earned from delayed payments!"
Getty Images
Randy Joe Sa'ah
BBC News, Yaounde
Cameroonian security officers have detained two suspected Boko Haram members carrying explosives.
Their arrests comes in the wake of tightened security aimed at preventing suicide attacks.
The men - in their early 20s - were picked up as they entered the northern city of Maroua following a top off from an informant.
The arrests come just over a week after two attacks killed more than 30 people in the city.
AFP
A Liberian health worker who survived Ebola has welcomed the news that there could soon be a vaccine against the virus.
Getty Images
Dr Philip Ireland told BBC Focus on Africa radio that "it's the best thing to happen in this region".
The vaccine, which in early tests has proved 100% effective, could be used to protect health workers who are in close proximity to people with Ebola.
Dr Ireland said the vaccine "will instil the kind of confidence we need to treat out patients".
AFP
An Ebola vaccine could be available within months if tests continue to prove that it is effective in preventing infection.
Trials from Guinea show that the vaccine offered protection to everyone who got it.
Prof Peter Smith, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who advised on the study, told BBC Focus on Africa radio that the results were "very promising".
"There is potential for using the vaccine on those who are in close proximity to an Ebola case.... and that may help to bring the current outbreak to an end.
"And if there are further outbreaks of Ebola elsewhere it will be possible to go in very quickly."
Thomas Joyce
Researchers at Oxford University who studied Cecil the lion have received more than £230,000 ($360,000) in donations since the animal was killed by a hunter.
A conservation unit in the Department of Zoology has satellite-tracked the famous lion's movements since 2008.
The project will now study the effect of Cecil's death on the surviving lions in his pride, including his cubs, which the unit's founder Prof David Macdonald said could now be at risk.
Ronna Tom
There are a growing number of players from Africa who are coming into American basketball, says the NBA Africa Vice President Amadou Gallo Fall.
BBC
He told the BBC that 25% of players in the NBA come from outside the US.
But he sees an opportunity for more players from Africa:
"You see 6 ft 10 kids not starting to play basketball until their late teens" he said.
He was speaking on the eve of a game in Johannesburg which sees a team of African NBA stars take on a team from the rest of the world.
There are a few caveats to the news that a new vaccine against the Ebola virus offers 100% protection.
Ben Neuman a lecturer in virology at the University of Reading, UK points out a few of the things we still don't know:
- We don't know how it works with the immune system to stop Ebola
- It wasn't tested on children - or pregnant women, who are a high-risk group
- We don't know how long the effects of the vaccine last.
Getty Images
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