Habiba Adamu
BBC Africa, Abuja

Authorities in the northern Nigerian state of Kano have raised the alarm over the high number of rapes against minors.

Police there say that they have recorded more than 100 cases of rape against people under the age of 18 since the beginning of the year.

A case that has received a lot of attention recently is the rape of an eight-month-old baby.

The victim is currently in hospital and a man is in police detention.

The victim's father told the BBC:

There is concern that the number of rapes could be much higher.

Barrister Ibrahim Mukhtar told the BBC that a lot of cases go unreported as people cover up what has happened.

South Sudan's government has clarified that the name of the country's army has not changed from the Sudan People's Liberation Army to the South Sudan Defense Force.

Several local media - and the BBC Africa Live page - reported on Tuesday that the name had changed.

Journalists were quoting presidential spokesperson Ateny Wek, but he has now retracted the statement on the name change, Juba FM station Eye Radio, external is reporting.

He did say, however, that the army has been restructured.

The name of a murdered woman is trending on Twitter in South Africa today, on the day of her memorial.

Karabo Mokoena's burnt body was found in the north-east of Johannesburg last week, reports SABC news, external.

Her murder had a deep impact on many women in the country:

And others are proposing their own type of memorial:

Members of the ANC's women's league also sang their own memorial two days ago:

Poetry plays a central role in Somali culture and in recognition of that the BBC's Somali service is today launching a poetry award for women between the ages of 16 and 35.

The poems must be original works in Somali, but there is no restriction on the level of experience of the poets or where they are currently living.

There is a strong oral tradition in Somali culture as the language was only written down recently and poems were the means that people learnt about their history and traditions, the head of BBC Somali radio Abdullahi Abdi says.

He adds that traditionally women played a key creative role in Somali culture and the competition is aimed at reviving that.

One person who is part of that tradition is British-Somali poet, Warsan Shire. She's received a lot of attention recently as one of her works was included in Beyonce's Lemonade album.

The full rules for entering can be found on the BBC Somali website.

Uganda's state minister for internal affairs has apologised in parliament for the use of torture, the New Vision newspaper, external is reporting.

Kania Obiga was speaking after President Yoweri Museveni condemned the use of torture in a letter to his top security chiefs.

Mr Obiga referred to a number of recent reports suggesting that suspects had been tortured by police.

"We apologise to the country because essentially what we do as police should not be what you are seeing in the media.

"Laws have been broken but it’s not correct to say that we have been doing nothing,” he is quoted by the New Vision as saying.

Image source, WPA Pool

Pumza Fihlani
BBC News

Police in South Africa are investigating a spate of the murders of young women in Johannesburg's Soweto township. 

Gauteng police are investigating after the bodies of four women were discovered at the weekend in and around the area. 

Three bodies have been identified.

Bongeka Phungula and Popi Qwabe went missing on Friday. It has been reported that they had also been raped. 

The body of Lerato Moloi was discovered, in Naledi, a part of Soweto, while a fourth body was found at a dumping site. 

Local radio stations have been inundated with calls on Wednesday from South Africans calling for the government to step in and introduce harsher measures to fight crime and also to do more to make women and children safe.

Image source, KAYFAB_27

There has been a large explosion near the centre of Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, the Reuters news agency is reporting.

It also quotes a witness saying that plumes of smoke can be seen in the city skyline.

Several journalists are tweeting that the explosion was caused by a car bomb, but it is not clear if anyone was hurt.

Kenya's Public Prosecutor has set a date to hear accusations against Olympic officials charged with stealing the team's kit.

It's the latest stage of an investigation ordered by the government into the alleged mismanagement of Olympic funds.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions has tweeted:

Eighty-eight million Kenyan shillings works out as $851,000 and $658,000.

The officials previously denied the charges.

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court, has been invited to a summit in Saudi Arabia that will be attended by US President Donald Trump, reports by the AFP news agency and the New York Times.

AFP is quoting an unnamed Saudi official while the New York Times, external quotes an anonymous Sudanese spokesperson.

Image source, AFP

It is not clear if he will accept the invitation.

Mr Trump is due to arrive in Saudi Arabia on Saturday at the start of his first foreign trip.

The Sudanese president is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes relating to the Darfur conflict. He denied the charges.

The US is not a signatory to the court but has supported its work.

Image source, Ryan Sean Davy

A South African man who tried to climb Everest in Nepal without paying the $11,000 permit fee has been arrested in Kathmandu after walking most of the 154km journey from the mountain's base camp.

A Nepalese friend of Ryan Sean Davy said that the climber was being questioned by tourism officials. 

Friends say Mr Davy has no cash, which is why he mostly travelled on foot. 

Mr Davy, 43, says he climbed alone to a height of 7,300m (24,000ft) before being found hiding in a cave by officials who confiscated his passport because he did not have a permit to climb Everest. 

He has apologised but complained of being treated harshly by officials. 

He is due to appear in court today where he is expected to receive a heavy fine.     

Read more on the BBC News website.

Robert Kiptoo
BBC Africa

Fifty five prisoners are still at large after a mass jail break from a maximum security prison in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The country's justice minister says 100 other prisoners have been re-arrested. Some are believed to have been shot dead in the security operation.

The Bundu dia Kongo group is behind the jail break, the Reuters news agency reports.

Its leader, Ne Muanda Nsemi, was among those freed. 

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Image source, iStock

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