The Nobel committee says that joint Peace Prize winner Denis Mukwege is a unifying symbol "of the struggle to end sexual violence in war and armed conflicts".

Joint Nobel Peace Prize winner, Denis Mukwege is a gynaecologist who works in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

He and his colleagues have treated thousands of victims of sexual abuse. They were targeted as part of the war in the DR Congo.

In 2013 he told the BBC how his work in that field began:

Read more of his account here.

Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege is one of two winners of the Nobel Peace Prize.

He was awarded it alongside Nadia Murad.

The Nobel committee says she "is one of an estimated 3,000 Yazidi girls and women who were victims of rape and other abuses by the Islamic State army".

The Nobel Prize committee has been tweeting its statement as to why it gave Dr Denis Mukwege the peace prize.

He "has spent large parts of his adult life helping the victims of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"Dr Mukwege and his staff have treated thousands of patients who have fallen victim to such assaults."

Congolese Denis Mukwege has won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on tackling sexual violence in the country.

Image source, EPA

US First Lady Melania Trump has been at an elephant orphanage in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, on the first full day of her visit to the country.

She watched the elephants being fed and also stroked them, and the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage has also given her one of the elephants.

This doesn't mean she'll be able to take it away, but she'll be given regular updates on the elephant's health and entitled to visit it at any time in the future.

Image source, EPA

The first lady was also taken on a tour of the nearby national park:

Image source, Reuters

Kenya is the third stop on Mrs Trump's trip to Africa.

She has already been to Ghana and Malawi and is set to go to Egypt next.

Mohammud Ali Mohamed
BBC Africa, Nairobi

Image source, AFP

A former commander of militant Islamist group al-Shabab, and one of its founders, Mukhtar Robow, has been barred from running for public office in Somalia.

The ministry of interior has said in a statement that he is unable to put his name forward for the presidency of the country's South-West state as he still faces sanctions.

The announcement comes a day after Mr Robow declared his intention to run.

He is the highest ranking al-Shabab militant to defect from the group, despite being one of its founders.

Mr Robow had expressed his willingness, if he won, to forge a strong relationship with the federal government, which has been feuding with some state administrations.

In 2000 he trained with al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.

He left al-Shabab in 2012 because of what he called ideological differences. He then led his own group of militants who often fought against al-Shabab.

In June last year, following reports that Mr Robow was in talks with the Somali government, the US State Department removed him from its terror list and scrapped a $5m (£3.85m) reward for his capture.

BBC World Service

Six soldiers have been killed and several others injured in the east of Burkina Faso when their vehicle drove over an explosive device.

This happened near Gayéri in the east where several jihadist attacks have happened in recent months.

Meanwhile France says it has carried out air strikes in northern Burkina Faso close to the border with Mali after Islamist militants attacked a police unit at a local gold mine.

A jihadist group known as Ansarul Islam is known to operate in the area.

A French military statement says a column of motorcycles was targeted but it was too early to say how many fighters had been killed.

Friday's African proverb:

Image source, Getty Images

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

Welcome to the BBC Africa Live page where we'll be updating you on news and developments on the continent.

BBC Africa Live
Farouk Chothia

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 Thursday's proverb:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with a photo of Malawians welcoming US First Lady Melania Trump in the capital, Lilongwe, earlier on Thursday:

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

US President Donald Trump has tweeted that his wife Melania Trump "is doing really well in Africa".

"The people love her, and she loves them! It is a beautiful thing to see," he tweeted:

Mrs Trump flew into Kenya on Thursday evening, after visits to Malawi and Ghana.

An entire terminal at Kenya's main international airport in Nairobi was closed for her arrival, and the same will happen when she flies out to Egypt, the final stop of her solo African tour, the BBC's Ferdinand Omondi reports from the capital.

While in Kenya she will see some of the country's wildlife, and watch a performance at the National Theatre.

Mrs Trump has also said she is looking forward to meeting her Kenyan counterpart. She has commended Margaret Kenyatta’s "Beyond Zero" campaign, which promotes healthcare for mothers and their babies.

Mrs Trump is promoting her "Be Best" campaign, which seeks to improve the lives of children. But so far she has received a lukewarm reception on the continent, our correspondent says.

See earlier post

Milton Nkosi
BBC Africa, Johannesburg

Image source, AFP

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa has appealed to the nation to adopt a "South Africa first" approach in order to reduce high levels of unemployment.

"If we do not buy food from South African soil, there will be no jobs. Is that what we want? No," Mr Ramaphosa said.

In an attempt to distance himself from US President Donald Trump's "America first" slogan, he said: "This is the time to put South Africa first, in a special way, not in an arrogant way."

Mr Ramaphosa was addressing businessmen and trade unionists at a meeting called to tackle joblessness. South Africa's unemployment rate is standing at more than 27%.

"Unemployment is the greatest challenge facing our country. We just have too many people who are unemployed," Mr Ramaphosa said.

"Unemployment has a devastating effect on families and communities. They almost go around like zombies. That is what unemployment does," he added.

See earlier post: 'Being unemployed is painful'

Abdinasir Ahmed Bashir
BBC Somali, Nairobi

A young Somali man who put up billboards of himself in the capital, Mogadishu, advertising that he is an IT graduate in need of a job has found one.

Abukar Mohamed Ahmed told the BBC he got 20 job offers within 48 hours, after photos of the billboard began circulating on social media.

He could not resist accepting the offer from Astaan Media, a local company that distributes cable services to Mogadishu residents.

"I exhausted all formal avenues of looking for a job, like sending CVs to prospective employers. Then the thought came to my mind that I should put up a billboard in the centre of the city, advertising that I am seeking a job," Mr Abukar said.

Some 11,000 students graduated from universities in Mogadishu last year, with 90% of them jobless according to Abdikadir Mohamed of Iftin foundation, an educational lobby group.

Although there are no statistics available on unemployment levels in Somalia, it is widely accepted that the majority of youth are unemployed. Young people make up more than 70% of the population.

Male staff at a leading battery and renewable energy distributor in Kenya came to work on Thursday dressed up as women:

BBC Sport

Two former Cameroon internationals insist the country can successfully host the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

Lauren and Sebastien Bassong are confident despite concerns over delays in construction work and the security situation in the country.

The pair believe the tournament can be the "best" and will be "safe" too.

Read the full story here

Tomi Oladipo
BBC Africa security correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

A former commander of militant Islamist group al-Shabab has announced that he is running for public office in Somalia.

Mukhtar Robow left the group in 2012, and surrendered to the government in August last year.

He says he will be contesting the presidency of South-West state in next month’s regional elections following requests from people in the area.

Mr Robow has expressed his willingness, if he wins, to forge a strong relationship with the federal government, which has been feuding with some state administrations.

A founder of al-Shabab, he is the highest ranking militant to defect from the group.

In 2000 he trained with al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.

He quit al-Shabab because of what he called ideological differences, and then led his own militant group, which fought against al-Shabab.

In June last year, following reports that Robow was in talks with the Somali government, the US State Department removed him from its terror list and scrapped a £5m (£3.85m) reward for his capture.

Image source, AFP

US First Lady Melania Trump has visited a primary school in Malawi's capital, Lilongwe.

This is her second stop on her four-nation African tour.

Image source, AFP

Ahead of her trip, Mrs Trump said she was looking forward to seeing how the US can continue working together with Malawi to support a USAid programme that is aimed at children's education.

She was accompanied on her visit to the school with Malawi's First Lady Gertrude Mutharika.

She is expected to travel to Kenya later on Thursday evening. This is the first time Mrs Trump is representing her husband's administration on a solo international trip.

Since taking office last year, President Donald Trump has courted controversy by reportedly using a derogatory term to refer to African countries.

A small group of Americans living in Malawi held a protest against her tour, saying they are against her husband’s style of government and plans to cut aid.

Mrs Trump started her African tour in Ghana on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, she visited a former slave fort in the West African state, saying what "what happened so many years ago is really a tragedy".

• Melania Trump: The unusual, traditional First Lady

More than half of young people in South Africa are unemployed.

This week the government is hosting a jobs summit to try and find a solution.

The BBC’s Vumani Mkhize has been to meet one young graduate who has resorted to extreme measures to try and find work.

Jose Tembe
BBC Africa, Maputo

Image source, AFP

Almost 200 people have gone on trial in northern Mozambique accused of belonging to an Islamist militant group which has killed more than 200 people over the last year.

Most of the accused are from Mozambique, but they also include people from Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia and Burundi.

A tent was set up as a makeshift courtroom inside the prison in the Mozambican port town of Pemba.

The 189 suspects, including more than 40 women, are accused of belonging to a jihadist group which started attacking police stations a year ago and since then has killed more than 200 people - most of them in remote villages of Cabo Delgado province.

Further up the east African coast, the militant group, al-Shabab, has been under pressure in Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania.

Some of its fighters have fled south and are reported to have reached out to build relationships with jihadists in the largely Muslim north of Mozambique.