African news : breaking news, features, analysis

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.

Angry staff and suppliers from one of East Africa's leading retailers, Uchumi Supermarkets, have forced the closure of one of its stores in Tanzania.

More than 300 people barricaded the store in Dar es Salaam amid fears they would not get paid.

There have been reports that the chain, which is based in neighbouring Kenya, is closing some of its shops.

Sub-Saharan Africa countries are continuing to grow, albeit at a slower pace, due to a more challenging economic environment, the World Bank has said.

According to new projections of the multilateral lender, growth will slow in 2015 to 3.7 per cent from 4.6 per cent in 2014, reaching the lowest growth rate since 2009.

These latest figures are outlined in the World Bank’s new Africa’s Pulse, the twice-yearly analysis of economic trends and the latest data on the continent. The 2015 forecast remains below the robust 6.5 per cent growth in GDP which the region sustained in 2003-2008, and drags below the 4.5 per cent growth following the global financial crisis in 2009-2014.

A lack of investment will derail efforts to ensure Africa's farmers can feed future generations in the face of climate change, a report has warned.

Food shortages, malnutrition and migration will undo decades of development unless more funding is made available, the authors added and warned that failure to act could jeopardise UN global development goals.

The findings were compiled by the Montpellier Panel, a group of experts from Europe and Africa.

The report - The Farms of Change: African Smallholders Responding to an Uncertain Climate Future - recommended that international donors and governments take action in a range of priority areas, including:

The Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), Enugu State Command, has arrested a young woman, identified as Nkechi Isioko, from Mpu in Aninri Local Government Area of the State for allegedly attempting to sell her baby for N100, 000.

Nkechi was paraded alongside some prostitutes and pipeline vandals. It was gathered that the suspect had collected the sum of N100, 000 from one Mrs. Blessing Egbo before operatives of the NSCDC arrested her and the suspected buyer.

She claimed that Mrs. Egbo initially gave her part payment of N10,000, and later completed the money.