African news : breaking news, features, analysis

South Africa's justice minister has blocked the early release of athlete Oscar Pistorius from prison on Friday.He said the decision by the parole board to free the athlete after serving 10 months of his five-year sentence was premature and without legal basis.It could now take months for the board to review its decision, legal sources told the BBC.
Pistorius was convicted of manslaughter last year after shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Kenyan police have named three men it believes to be the major recruiters of young Kenyans to Islamist terror groups, especially Somalia's al-Shabab.

Rebels have accused South Sudan's government of resuming military attacks, a day after President Salva Kiir failed to sign a peace deal aimed at ending the civil war.

Nigeria is to recruit an extra 10,000 police officers to boost security and help tackle youth employment, President Muhammadu Buhari has announced.More CCTV cameras would also be installed in cities and major towns to curb crime, he added.Inadequate security has been blamed for the authorities' failure to defeat the militant Islamist group Boko Haram.Last week, President Buhari gave his security commanders three months to defeat the insurgents.

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has approved stringent new counter-terrorism laws to fight a growing jihadist insurgency.

An audio message has emerged of Nigerian-based Islamist militant group Boko Haram's leader Abubakar Shekau, in which he denies he has been replaced.In the message, addressed to the leader of the Islamic State militant group to whom Boko Haram has pledged allegiance, Mr Shekau said he was still in command.He had not featured in the group's recent videos, prompting speculation he had been killed or incapacitated.Last week the Chadian president said Mr Shekau had been replaced.

Hon. Patrick Obahiagbon (aka Igodomigodo) is the Chief of Staff to Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State. In this interview, Obahiagbon assesses the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. He also speaks on some issues affecting Edo, asserting that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stands no chance in the guber election scheduled to be held in the state in 2016.

The former head of Burundi's army has been shot dead outside his home in the capital Bujumbura.

A Nigerian court granted a 57-year-old man a divorce after hearing that his wife often brought his meals to him too late in the evening, local media reported on Thursday.

A court in Lagos heard that Olufade Adekoya was at the end of his tether after Olusola, his spouse of 25 years, refused to serve him when he demanded, the Vanguard national daily said.

The Nigerian-based Islamist militant group Boko Haram has a new leader, Chad's President Idriss Deby says.

An explosion at a crowded market in the north-east state of Borno in Nigeria has killed at least 47 people, officials say.

A hospital in Nigeria has live-tweeted an operation to repair a hole in the heart of an eight-year-old girl.

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed a committee to advise him on how best to tackle corruption and reform the legal system.

The Nigerian military has made six arrests after four soldiers and a policeman were killed in an attack by suspected pirates in the oil-rich Niger Delta on Friday.

A Rwandan soldier serving as a peacekeeper in the Central African Republic (CAR) has shot dead four colleagues before killing himself, the Rwandan Defence Ministry has said.

Soldiers in Mali have surrounded a hotel in the central town of Sevare where suspected Islamist militants are holding at least one foreign hostage, a defence spokesman has told the BBC.

Uganda's Supreme Court has ruled that the practice of refunding a bride price on the dissolution of a customary marriage is unconstitutional and should be banned.

Egypt made history on Thursday, August 6, 2015 with the grand opening of its US$8 billion (5 billion pounds) new Suez Canal, which is expected to increase traffic from 50 ships a day to 97.