African news : breaking news, features, analysis

MPs in Kenya have awarded themselves a $107,000 (£65,000) retirement bonus in one of the last sessions of parliament before a general election in March.

The UN Security Council has called for the "swift deployment" of an international force to Mali.

An Irish mountaineer and charity fundraiser has died while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

Ian McKeever, who was 42 and from Lough Dan in Wicklow, was leading a group of climbers when they were struck by lightning.

Mr McKeever was a leading member of the Kilimanjaro Achievers Team, a group of veteran climbers which led groups to the top of the mountain.

In 2007, the adventurer had scaled Mount Everest.

Four people have been killed when a police station and local government office were destroyed by gunmen in north-eastern Nigeria, police say.

The attacks came in the town of Song, near the border with Cameroon.

A policeman, a soldier, a civilian and his grandchild were killed, the Adamawa state police spokesman told the BBC.

He did not blame any group but militants from the Boko Haram Islamist group have staged frequent attacks in northern Nigeria.

They have often targeted Adamawa state but this is believed to be the first time Song has been attacked.

The M23 rebel group has threatened to pull out of peace talks with the Democratic Republic of Congo government unless President Joseph Kabila signs a ceasefire agreement.

Talks are due to start in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, on Friday.

A Congo government spokesman told the Reuters news agency it rejected a rebel demand he described as "pointless".

A first attempt to negotiate an end to the nine-month rebellion in the east of the country failed last month.

As many as 800,000 pe

Former South African President Nelson Mandela  has recovered from a lung infection and surgery to remove gallstones, the government says.

"President Mandela has made steady progress and... continues to improve," President Jacob Zuma's office said.

Mr Mandela, 94, spent almost three weeks in hospital last month, and has since been receiving treatment at his home in an East Cape province village.

It was his longest stay in hospital since he left prison in 1990.

BBC

The South African government has sought to clarify remarks by President Jacob Zuma that angered dog lovers.

Ten civilians have died after gunmen stormed a pub in central Nigeria's Plateau state and opened fire on customers, authorities say.

South Africa's police are hunting for a gang which stole art worth $2m (£1.25m) from a museum in the capital, Pretoria.

Villagers in northern Kenya fear further violence after at least 31 police officers were killed over the weekend, an elder has told the BBC.

A man in South Africa has been arrested after he was found to be carrying genitals in his wallet - thought to be those of his missing nephew.