We reported earlier that a bus had plunged into a river in Kenya's Rift Valley region, killing at least 20 people.

According to Kenya's Star newspaper, 15 people have lost their lives.

It quoted witnesses as saying that the bus rolled before plunging into the river.

It adds that rescue operations are ongoing, as some passengers are trapped in the mangled bus.

Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC Amharic Service, Addis Ababa

Pizza Hut has opened its first restaurant in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia has one of the fastest growing economies on the continent, but it is heavily regulated by the state, with tight controls on foreign investment.

There have been signs of change, though - and analysts say today's opening of the franchise in the capital, Addis Ababa, could be part of a wider trend towards economic liberalisation.

Pizza Hut shared this picture of the opening:

You can read more on BBC Amharic

Mary Harper
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

Sudan President Omar al-Bashir has ordered the immediate release of all political prisoners in the country.

State media said the decision had been made in response to calls by political parties and others involved in an ongoing national dialogue.

It said freeing the prisoners would allow all political groups to take part in discussions about how to solve Sudan's problems.

Many people have been arrested in recent months during protests against the rising cost of living. There are also many other political detainees.

Image source, Getty Images

South Korea's electoral authorities have disowned a company that has been contracted to provide touchscreen voting devices for elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo, news agency AFP says.

The National Election Commission (NEC) said it was offering "no support or guarantee" for the system provided by South Korean company Miru Systems.

It said in a statement that the machines were unsuitable because of DR Congo's "poor electrical infrastructure, road conditions, the high illiteracy rate and a tropical climate which can lead to equipment malfunction."

Under the system, a voter touches a photo of the candidate to cast their ballot and then receives a printout of it. The paper is then put in a ballot box to provide verification by a manual count later.

The NEC said it supported the US' stance that the elections be held using paper ballots.

The South Korean embassy in DR Congo had already dismissed the use of the touchscreen machines, saying that it could give the Congolese government a pretext to delay the elections.

The opposition have called the touchscreens "cheating machines" while the influential Catholic church said the gadgets needed to be certified by independent experts before being used.

DR Congo's Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) has, however, insisted it would be impossible to hold elections in December without electornic machines.

CENI says that the machines will help surmount the logistical and infrastructural challenges in the vast country.

Elections have been delayed twice, allowing President Joseph Kabila to stay in office despite his term ending in 2016.

BBC World Service

Image source, Reuters

Turkish state media say a covert mission in Gabon has seen the capture and repatriation of three Turkish citizens said to be linked to the failed coup in 2016.

Reports say the men were detained with the help of the Gabonese authorities last month and put on a private plane to face questioning in Turkey.

The suspects are accused of belonging to the movement headed by the US-based cleric, Fethullah Gulen, that Ankara blames for orchestrating the attempted coup.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to track down Gulenist suspects wherever they are.

A Kenyan journalist working for privately-owned KTN TV station has tweeted that a road accident along a busy highway in the Rift Valley region has killed at least 20 people.

We will monitor the reports about the accident and update you.

Image source, Reuters

Sierra Leone new president has declared "national cleaning" days as part of a campaign to improve hygiene.

Julius Maada Bio said in a statement that the cleaning day will be held on the first Saturday of each month from 7:00am to 12:00 noon.

The first one will be held on 5 May.

Another decree, aimed at improving productivity, requires civil servants to work between 8.30am and 4.45pm from Monday to Friday.

The president said that he and his deputy will conduct spot-checks to ensure the rules are being obeyed.

Past governments have had monthly clean-up exercises which involve picking rubbish, plating trees and repainting walls.

A trader in the capital, Freetown, told AFP news agency that he supported the clean-up day.

"Our greatest problem as people is laziness and lack of discipline and I hope our new president will enforce the laws for change of attitude," he said.

President Bio took office last weekend after narrowly beating ruling party candidate Samura Kamara in a run-off.

Read: Find out more about Sierra Leone

Image source, PA

South Africa's Caster Semenya has won gold in the women's 1500m at the Commonwealth Games in Australia's Gold Coast.

The 27-year-old powered home in a new Games record of four minutes 0.71 seconds.

Meanwhile, Botswana's Isaac Makwala won gold in the 400m men's race.

His compatriot Baboloki Thebe took silver with Jamaica's Javon Francis coming through for bronze.

Image source, Getty Images

For more on the Commonwealth Games follow the updates on the BBC Sport website.

Alex Duval Smith
BBC Africa, Dakar

Image source, Getty Images

Two senior judges in the Democratic Republic of Congo have resigned from the constitutional court in a move likely to undermine the transparency of elections in December.

Neither have given reasons for quitting.

The two jurists, Banyaku Luape and Jean-Louis Esambo, had a reputation for being independent.

In 2016 they stayed away from a hearing that allowed the electoral commission to delay the poll that year.

With their departure, and after the death last weekend of another judge, Yvon Kalonda, the constitutional court is down from nine to six members.

The DR Congo's government says there will be elections on the 23 December. That's two years after the expiry of President Joseph Kabila's mandate.

A clampdown on dissent, disarray in the opposition and the state of the electoral roll have already raised questions over how fair that poll can be.

The constitutional court is the single body in the DR Congo where candidates can challenge an election.

Its members are chosen by the president, parliament and the council of judges.

A top aide to Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has warned Nigerians living in London to be careful and to show restraint, following killings in the city.

The killing of black people, especially those of Nigerian origin in London, was "worrisome and disturbing”, said Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the senior special assistant to Mr Buhari on foreign affairs and the diaspora.

A total of 50 black people, mainly young, are reported to have been stabbed or gunned down in London since January, her office said in a statement.

This included nine Nigerian youth killed in London and other parts of the UK, the statement added.

Ms Dabiri-Erewa had written a protest letter to the UK High Commissioner in Nigeria, demanding an investigation and justice, the statement said.

Watch: Fact checking murder statistics in London:

A Nigerian human rights lawyer has accused authorities in southern Akwa Ibom state of "shielding" a preacher from taking responsibility for the collapse of a church building, which left 26 people dead in 2016, privately-owned Premium Times reports., external

Inibehe Effiong criticised the state governor Udom Emmanuel for failing to adopt recommendations made by a special commission that found Akan Weeks had "undue interference" in the construction work that led to the building collapsing.

Mr Effiong said governor Udom Emmanuel, who escaped unhurt at the event which was consecrating Mr Weeks as the leader of Reigners Bible Church, was a friend of the preacher.

The state government said the pastor relied on professionals during the construction of the building, and it was their obligation "to execute due care and skill in the discharge of their duties or resign where they are not allowed to do so”.

The state authorities however accepted the commission's recommendation that the city's head of planning should be held responsible.

A local TV station shared this footage of the aftermath of the building's collapse:

Aboubakar Famau
BBC Africa, Dar es Salaam

Image source, AFP

Tanzania's government has launched a vaccination campaign to prevent the spread of cervical cancer.

More than 600,000 girls aged 14 years and below will be vaccinated.

"Cervical cancer is the most common cancer in Tanzania and is the leading cause of cancer-related disease and deaths among women in the country," project manager Daphrosa Lyimo told the BBC.

"Globally, more than 260,000 women die of this cancer, which is preventable and treatable if detected at early stages," he added.

The government hopes that the campaign will reduce health costs. Treating a cervical cancer patient costs about $2,000 (£1,400) while about $15 (£11) will be spent on vaccinating each girl, officials said.

Former amateur boxing world champion and author Aya Cissoko has had to fight sexism in and outside the ring.

The Parisian's autobiography is being taught in French schools and she hopes her story will inspire others.

Watch:

One of Africa's most famous artists, Esther Mahlangu, has received an honorary doctorate from a leading South African university.

Mahlangu, 82, is one of the last custodians of the art of the Ndebele people in South Africa. In her village she is a respected gogo, or grandmother.

University of Johannesburg said it recognised her "legacy as a cultural entrepreneur who has skillfully negotiated local and global worlds and played a major role as an educator".

The university tweeted a picture of her at the event yesterday, in academic regalia and traditional attire:

She is quoted as telling the local Star newspaper that “being recognised at home is such a blessing. It shows that my people still see the great work that I do."

Watch this 2016 BBC report about Mahlangu's work:

Uganda's police force has been hit by at least 3,500 desertions in the last three years, with the counter-terrorism, crime intelligence and aviation units most-affected, the privately-owned Daily Monitor newspaper has reported.

The newspaper quotes a source as saying that the majority of the deserters were frustrated by "insufficient accommodation" and decided to quit.

The police say that another review of police files will be done to identity those who have not reported for duty for 21 days.

Malawi's netball team took a hard-fought 51-50 win over Scotland at the Commonwealth Games.

Scotland's Bethan Goodwin missed a chance to draw her side level after failing to convert the final penalty.

Naturally, the Malawians were celebrating:

Image source, Getty Images

And the mood in the Scottish team?

You can watch the BBC report here

The authorities in South Africa say they are confident of apprehending 16 awaiting trial prisoners who escaped from a facility in the main city, Johannesburg, on Monday, the privately owned Eyewitness News site reports., external

The prisoners, who include murder and rape suspects, broke through iron bars and windows before escaping through the fence of a jail known as Sun City.

Prison department spokesman Singabakho Nxumalo said the inmates were considered dangerous but the department had a good record of re-arresting prisoners on the run.

“The only recent incident was in the Western Cape in Pollsmoor where six inmates escaped but we managed to re-arrest all of them within 48 hours. So, we are also confident that even with these 16 we will find them and get them back to face charges,” he was quoted as saying.

A journalist with public broadcaster SABC has tweeted photos of the suspects, and what they're wanted for:

Image source, AFP

The new president of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio, has set up a cross-party committee to investigate claims of violence between his supporters and those of his defeated rival, Samura Kamara.

The BBC's Umaru Fofana reports that he saw nearly 2,000 supporters of Mr Kamara's All Peoples Congress (APC) party being registered as displaced persons.

He said the majority were women and children who'd fled their homes in Kono in the east after attacks by supporters of Mr Bio's Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP).

One woman told him SLPP supporters had molested her daughter and threatened to burn her house down.

On Sunday, Mr Bio and Mr Kamara and their wives attended church together in the capital, Freetown, in an effort to promote reconciliation.

Court officials in Liberia raided the offices of a newspaper critical of President George Weah's government and arrested all its employees on Monday.

Editors, journalists and even the caretaker at Frontpage Africa were reportedly detained for several hours at the civil court in the capital, Monrovia.

The arresting officers said they were acting in relation to a $1m ( £700,000) civil lawsuit filed against the paper over publishing allegedly misleading material.

Frontpage Africa said the arrest of its staff was an attack on press freedom and part of a government attempt to discredit its investigative journalism.

Mr Weah, a former international football star, was sworn in as president in January, defeating then Vice-President Joseph Boakai with more than 60% of the vote.

Read: Weah: From footballer to Liberia's president

Image source, AFP

Image source, ALHASSAN SILLAH

A court in Guinea has sentenced a traditional healer to five years in prison for conning women into thinking they were pregnant.

The court found N'na Fanta Camara guilty of fraud and impersonating a doctor by giving the women harmful substances and endangering their lives.

Her victims and rights groups said they were disappointed with the sentence and were hoping that she would be jailed for life.

Two other accomplices were convicted of similar charges, and were sentenced to three years and four years in prison.

Camara was arrested in January for giving hundreds of women, who had been unable to conceive, a mixture of leaves, herbs and other medicines that caused them to bloat and look pregnant.

For her services, patients paid $33 (£24) in a country where the average monthly wage is around $48 (£35).

Over 700 women aged 17 to 45 are believed to have been affected by Camara's pregnancy "cure".

Some of the women reported looking pregnant for 12 to 16 months.

A police doctor, who had examined 47 of the affected women, said at the time that they risked long-term complications from the treatment.

Camara had defended herself, saying: "I work very hard to help [the women] realise their dream but the rest is in the hands of God."