African news : breaking news, features, analysis

After one of the driest rainy seasons on record, South Africa is in the grip of a severe drought.

This has placed a strain on water supplies across the country, affecting 2.7 million households.

The hardest hit are those living in rural areas, where residents have to collect water in buckets once a day.

With the drought persisting, South Africa has now declared five of its nine provinces a drought disaster for agriculture.

Nigeria has sworn in its cabinet, more than six months after its election, with the issue of defeating the Islamic insurgency in the north east of the country among its top priorities.

Boko Haram has killed thousands and more than two million people have fled the fighting.

The BBC's Martin Patience has gained rare access to the city of Maiduguri at the heart of the insurgency.

An Elite South African university is to drop Afrikaans as the language of instruction and teach in English.

The University of Stellenbosch has taken the decision in the wake of a viral video chronicling the challenges and racism faced by black students.

It detailed how some struggled with lessons in Afrikaans, one of the main languages spoken by the white minority.

A student movement that campaigned for change said: "The doors of learning and culture shall be opened to all."

In completing 40 years of independence on November 11 2015, this ephemeris, far from being just another festive date, it is marked by transcendental importance as it represents a number of significant events such as the disruption from colonial rule and the role played by a group of fearless heroes who triumphantly, gave their lives for the cause of the liberation of people, fighting the bondage, the racial segregation, the plundering of resources and any sort of abuse the Angolans were subjected to by the colonial administration. 

With freedom and on the road map to democracy, Angolan people were able to join efforts as one people one nation, regardless of Party affiliation, religious beliefs or ethnic differences, seeking to preserve the peace and develop the country.

Angola efforts are towards the sustainable development projected by the United Nations 2030 agenda.

Eight former South African policemen have been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for the murder of a Mozambican taxi driver.

Mido Macia was killed in 2013 when officers tied him to the back of a police van by his arms before driving off.

He was found in a pool of blood in police custody.

The US government is offering $27m (£18m) in rewards for information on the whereabouts of six leaders of the Somalia-based al-Shabab group.

The highest reward is $6m for the group's leader Abu Ubaidah.

Egypt has freed a prominent investigative journalist whose arrest was condemned by Amnesty International and the United Nations. Hossam Bahgat's release was confirmed by Gasser Abdel-Razek, the director of a rights groups founded by Mr Bahgat.

"He called me and said he's been released from the military intelligence building," Mr Abdel-Razek said. Mr Bahgat, 37, was arrested on Sunday, reportedly accused of publishing false information.

The authorities in South Africa's commercial capital, Johannesburg, have implemented some water restrictions which will compel consumers and businesses to control water usage.

This comes as South Africa is going through its worst drought since 1982. The restrictions include a call for no watering of gardens from 6a.m.-6p.m., no filling of pools and bathtubs and no use of hosepipes to wash cars.

Senegal's President Macky Sall has called for a fight against the "excessive form" of Islam which has led to the growth of jihadi groups.

Muslim clerics need to be trained to promote "tolerant Islam", he added. Mr Sall, a Muslim, also called for greater intelligence-sharing between governments, BBC reports have said.

South Africa's opposition has demanded that the government scrap plans to buy a new jet for President Jacob Zuma that could cost 4bn rand ($280m; £185m).

The defence department has advertised for a plane with a bedroom suite and a conference room.

Egypt has launched its own inquiry into whether a bomb may have been placed on the Russian airliner that crashed in Sinai, killing all 224 people on board.

A senior Egyptian official - who asked not to be named - told the BBC that every lead was now being followed up.

However, Egypt stresses that the official investigation into the crash of the Airbus 321 is not yet finished.

A twin suicide bombing by women attackers in the flashpoint area of Lake Chad on Sunday killed two people and wounded 14 others, a security source in the Chadian capital N’Djamena said.

“The two women suicide bombers and two civilians died in the blast,” the source told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding that “14 others were injured” in the attack blamed on Nigeria’s Boko Haram group on Ngouboua village near the Nigerian border.

The village has suffered repeated attacks by Boko Haram jihadists since they first launched operations in Chad in February.

Nigeria has launched a major crackdown on fake bank-account holders in a bid to reduce fraud in the banking sector.

People were asked to enrol at their local banks to have their fingerprints taken, along with a photograph of their face by the end of Friday.

Nigeria's central bank said non-registered customers would lose electronic access to their accounts.

Huge sums are allegedly stolen from Nigerian banks as a result of forgery and illegal withdrawals.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed two new cases of Ebola in Guinea, ending a two-week spell in which no new infections were reported.

One case was found in the capital Conakry and the other in Forecariah, a town in western Guinea.

The week before last was the first week that the three worst-affected countries - Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia - had seen no new infections.

The virus has killed more than 11,000 people in nearly two years.

A military court in Nigeria has sentenced a general to six months in jail for his involvement in one of the army's worst defeats by Boko Haram.

Gen Enitan Ransome-Kuti was convicted of failing in his duties when Islamist militants attacked the north-eastern town of Baga in January.

Scores of civilians were killed when Boko Haram overran the town and seized large quantities of weapons.

The general's lawyer told the BBC that he will appeal against the decision.

At least 30 people have died after two explosions at a mosque near the north-eastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, an emergency official says.

One suicide bomber detonated an explosive inside the mosque in the suburb of Mulai, a regional controller with the National Emergency Management Agency told BBC Hausa.

A second suicide bomber struck as people tried to escape, he said.

A gun battle between a group of policemen and some armed robbers in the early hours of Tuesday turned deadly as a woman and her 14-month-old baby were hit by the robbers’ stray bullets and died.

Over 20 heavily armed bandits attacked Diamond and Access banks on 4th Avenue in Festac Town, Lagos State, Nigeria in a one-hour operation that has left a tragic trail of blood.

Three Israelis have been killed and more than 20 injured in shooting and stabbing attacks in Jerusalem and central Israel, Israeli police say.

Two were killed when two assailants, who were identified as Palestinian, shot and stabbed passengers on a bus in Jerusalem before being shot by police.

Another Israeli died after being run down and stabbed elsewhere in the city.

Later, a Palestinian was killed in clashes with Israeli forces in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, medics said.