African news : breaking news, features, analysis

Scientists have discovered a large helium gas field in Tanzania. With world supplies running out, the find is a "game-changer", say geologists at Durham and Oxford universities.

South Africa's treasury has recommended President Jacob Zuma pay back $509,000 (£385,000) to the government for upgrades made to his private home.

Kenyan authorities are investigating if pupils who set fire to their school dormitories did so after being told they could not watch a Euro 2016 match on television.

The trouble happened on Saturday night at a school in the west of the country, local media reports.

South African President Jacob Zuma failed in his appeal against a court ruling that corruption charges against him be reinstated, another setback for the leader who has been facing calls for his resignation.

A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the gate of a hotel in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, which was followed by a second explosion with attackers fighting their way inside the building.

A South African court has refused permission for President Jacob Zuma and prosecutors to appeal against its ruling that he should face corruption charges over a 1999 arms deal worth billions of dollars.

There were "no merits" in the argument requesting an appeal, it ruled.

In April, the court said a 2009 decision to drop the 783 charges against Mr Zuma was irrational.

He has always denied taking bribes over the arms deal.

National director of public prosecutions Shaun Abrahams had asked the court for permission to appeal against the earlier ruling, saying prosecutors should be able to exercise discretion over whether an investigation should continue.

Rejecting the request, High Court Judge Aubrey Ledwaba said: "We seriously considered whether the appeal would have reasonable prospects of success and came to the conclusion that there are no merits in the arguments."

The ruling is a blow to Mr Zuma's efforts to avoid standing trial, repo

Men who commit adultery could be sent to jail under a new law being debated by parliament in Cameroon.

Nearly 200 refugees fleeing Boko Haram militants have starved to death over the past month in Bama, Nigeria, the medical charity MSF says.

Vehicles were torched and roads were barricaded with rocks and burning tyres in South Africa's capital Pretoria in violent protests over a disputed mayoral candidate for upcoming municipal elections.

Congolese ex-rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba has been jailed for 18 years following a landmark conviction at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and sexual violence.

Nigeria's currency plummeted Monday, losing more than 40 percent of its value as the government floated the naira for the first time in the history of the oil-producing nation.

As Eze sat in the pews at a church where he goes most mornings to pray, his phone buzzed with a new message. His Icelandic teacher was checking in on him, giving him support.

Algeria has temporarily blocked access to social media across the country in an attempt to fight cheating in secondary school exams.

An official body in South Africa has ruled that university bursaries offered to proven female virgins were unlawful and should be scrapped.

An Egyptian court has handed down its final ruling in the trial of 11 people, including toppled president Mohamed Morsi and Al Jazeera journalists, accused of leaking state secrets to Qatar.

Boko Haram fighters have killed at least 18 people at a funeral in northeast Nigeria, residents and a police official have said.

The attackers shot at mourners and set houses on fire after arriving on motorbikes in the village of Kuda near Madagali town in Adamawa state on Thursday evening, witnesses said.

At least 10 people were injured in the incident, one witness told the Associated Press news agency on condition of anonymity due to security concerns.

Resident Moses Kwagh told the Reuters news agency that people waited until three hours after the attack and then counted 18 women's bodies. Some women were still missing, he said.

"When we said that Boko Haram is still in this place, some people sit in Abuja and claim that there is no more Boko Haram - but see what has happened," Kwagh said.

Othman Abubakar, a police spokesman, said on Friday that the number of dead could rise.

State lawmaker Emmanuel Tsamdu told Reuters: "I have yet t

About 630,000 counterfeit mobile phones have so far been disconnected in Tanzania, the telecom authority says. A government ban on using fake phones came into force at midnight, causing communication difficulties for those who owned them.

An official body in South Africa has ruled that university bursaries offered to proven female virgins were unlawful and should be scrapped.The Uthukela municipality in KwaZulu-Natal province introduced the bursaries to reduce Aids and child pregnancies.