The UN's human rights agency UNHCR has said it is concerned about the ongoing trial of suspected Boko Haram Islamist militants in Nigeria.

It said that, though it welcomed the prosecution of the suspects, it had serious concerns that they may not get a fair trial.

It added that lack of transparency was worrying, pointing out that independent monitors and the media have not been allowed to attend.

The trials, which are being conducted by four judges, began on Monday at a civilian court set up at a military base and detention centre at Kanji in Niger state, the agency's statement says.

They are the first in a series of trials of more than 6,600 people who are accused of being members of Boko Haram.

Image source, AFP/BOKO HARAM

Milton Nkosi
BBC Africa, Johannesburg

Image source, Reuters

The decision by South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal is a blow to President Jacob Zuma.

If the National Prosecuting Authority reinstates corruption charges, expect more legal battles ahead which could delay any future trial.

This is complicated and even more so given that it relates to an arms deal nearly two decades ago done not long after the end of apartheid.

South Africa first democratically elected government had decided the country’s arsenal was obsolete and procured new fighter jets, patrol boats and other arms.

It is this procurement process that Mr Zuma is accused of receiving kickbacks from.

He denies the charges.

He once told me: “I have no corruption case to answer. I was a provincial minister at the time of the arms deal."

If the trial begins, it is going to be a protracted one.

Image source, Anthony Jean/SOS Méditerranée

A rescue ship has docked in Sicily with 606 migrants picked up in less than two days off the Libyan coast.

They are from about 20 countries in Africa and the Middle East.

Aid group SOS Méditerranée says they include 241 children and 11 pregnant women.

Many of the women from sub-Saharan Africa said they had suffered sexual abuse. Some of the migrants are malnourished, the group reports, external.

The ship is now in Palermo, where the migrants face a long screening process, to determine who among them can legitimately claim asylum.

Read more on the BBC News website.

Image source, Getty Images

Tech giant Google has lifted restrictions on YouTube from showing Swaziland's famous reed dance which features bare-breasted women, South Africa's Mail and Guardian reports. , external

The Mail and Guardian quotes a representative from Google as saying that they decided to remove the restriction on the videos because "it was not its policy to restrict nudity in such instances where it is culturally or traditionally appropriate".

The move was in response to a campaign led by Lazi Dlamini, the head of TV Yabantu, an online video production company which produces content that “protects, preserves and restores African values”.

Its YouTube channel - which launched in 2016 - had been adding 3,000-4,000 new subscribers every month until the platform started to flag its content as inappropriate.

It also put a label on the channel advising advertisers that its content was “not suitable for most advertisers”.

According to Mr Dlamini, he had contacted Google to say that he was simply reflecting the cultural values of his community but the company said that the content violated the platform’s standards.

He then organised a series of protests, working with more than 200 cultural groupings from Swaziland, with the first one taking place on Saturday in Durban.

It included at least a dozen women who posed bare-breasted with placards that read “Google are racist” and “my breasts are not inappropriate”.

Nobukhosi Mtshali who is a student at Wits University and a campaigner for the right to express her Swazi identity says that the restrictions were an attack on her heritage:

Pumza Fihlani
BBC News, Lagos

Over a thousand people have gathered in Lagos, Nigeria, for the 2017 Entrepreneur Forum, hosted by the Tony Elumelu Foundation.

It is being broadcast live on YouTube:

Tony Elumelu, a successful Nigerian entrepreneur has invested $100m (£75m) to help Africa’s business men and women to build their businesses.

The group here have travelled from all over the continent, some from poorly developed countries, and are passionate about changing the face of Africa.

For the next couple of days they will be sharing ideas on investment and building networks, how to build industries, how to use their business to change their communities back home.

This is said to be the largest gathering of pan-African entrepreneurs.

Mr Elumelu has called on entrepreneurs to not only focus on enriching themselves but those around them.

His vision is building an Africa that is self-sustaining and not dependent on aid.

Image source, Reuters

Kenyan police have used tear gas to disperse protesters in three main cities, witnesses have told Reuters.

The protesters are pushing for electoral changes before a fresh election is held.

Yesterday Kenya's government banned demonstrations in the capital Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu.

The High Court in Uganda's capital Kampala has ordered the government to compensate 22 suspects $22,000 (£16,500) each after they were tortured in custody, the privately-owned Daily Monitor reports, external.

The suspects are being tried for the murder of former police spokesperson Andrew Felix Kaweesi, who was shot dead by gunmen outside his house in March.

Justice Margret Oguli said that the prison authorities had violated the suspects' rights by torturing them while in custody.

Image source, AFP

Partial results from Liberia's presidential election show former football star George Weah has taken an early lead.

Figures from the National Elections Commission (NEC) put Mr Weah ahead in 11 out of 15 counties, although most votes have yet to be counted.

His main rival, incumbent Vice-President Joseph Boakai, leads in one county and is second in most others.

A candidate needs more than 50% of the votes for outright victory.

If no-one achieves that, a second round will be held in November.

Read more on the BBC News website.

At least five schoolgirls in Uganda's western town of Ntungamo have been admitted to hospital after a fire in their dormitory last night, privately-owned Daily Monitor reports., external

Pictures of the fire were posted on the school's Facebook page:

The Monitor reports that students say they were protesting against being locked inside their dormitories.

“They said they [students] would rather die instead of being held hostage,” a student is quoted as saying.

A security guard at the school told the paper that they had been instructed to lock the female students inside their dormitory. This was to prevent them from leaving the school at night to go to town or meet boys.

The region's police boss Geofrey Orochi told the Monitor that 32 students have been arrested and that the police will make more arrests.

A South African court has dismissed an appeal by President Jacob Zuma challenging the reinstatement of corruption charges against him, reports local media:

People watching the case are tweeting using the hashtag #SpyTapes because a key part of the case were secretly recorded phone conversations.

Mr Zuma and other government officials have been accused of taking kickbacks from the purchase of fighter jets, patrol boats and other arms.

Charges were first brought against Mr Zuma in 2005 but dropped by prosecutors in 2009.

However, last year the High Court in Pretoria ruled that he should face the accusations.

Mr Zuma went on to lodge a challenge with the Supreme Court of Appeal to these charges being reinstated.

The president has always insisted he is innocent.

Our African proverb of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs

Welcome to BBC Africa Live where we will bring you the latest news from around the continent.