Summary

  • Zulu king 'praises' former apartheid regime

  • US air strike 'kills' top al-Shabab commander

  • Nigeria leader in free speech pledge amid media bill row

  • Tanzania port chiefs sacked

  • Burkina Faso ex-coup leader charged over Sankara's assassination

  • Mystery of bodies found in Kenya's Somali region

  • Email stories and comments to africalive@bbc.co.uk - Monday 7 December 2015

  1. Scroll down for Monday's storiespublished at 18:00

    We'll be back tomorrow

    That's all from the BBC Africa Live page today. Listen to the Africa Today podcast and keep up-to-date with stories from across the continent on our BBC News website. 

    A reminder of today's wise words: "No matter how sharp your teeth, you can't bite water." Sent by Adamkolo Mohammed Ibrahim, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

    Click here to send us your proverbs. 

     And we leave you with this photo of the new Ooni, or king, of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, after he was crowned at a ceremony in Osun state in south-western Nigeria:

    Ooani of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan OgunwusiImage source, AFP

  2. Nigeria budget increasespublished at 17:54

    A detail of some Nigerian Naira,(NGN) being counted in an exchange office on July 15, 2008 in Lagos, NigeriaImage source, AFP

    Nigeria's cabinet has approved a six trillion naira ($30bn; £20bn) budget for next year, up from 4.5 trillion naira in 2015, the minister of budget and planning has said, Reuters news agency reports. 

    Udoma Udo Udoma said 30% of the money would be allocated for capital expenditure, it reports.

    It is the first budget to be drafted by President Muhammadu Buhari's government since it won elections in March.

    It still needs to be presented to parliament for approval. 

  3. Guinea seizes Chinese boatspublished at 17:50

    Lilliane Nyatcha
    BBC French service, Dakar

    Guinea has impounded three Chinese shrimp boats accused of fishing illegally. 

    A spokesman for Guinea's fisheries ministry said the boats had been bottom trawling in an area where shrimp and fish are mixed, even though they knew the fish quota had already been exhausted. 

    He said the owners' shrimp fishing licences had been suspended and they must each pay nearly $400,000 (£260,000) to release their vessels. 

    In May, the environmental group Greenpeace International accused Chinese companies of systematic overfishing off West Africa. It called bottom trawling one of the most destructive methods of fishing. 

    Some experts say that when shrimp is caught this way, more than 90% of the rest of the catch is discarded.

  4. Financial pledge to tackle Africa's energy crisispublished at 17:45

    African nations have been promised $10bn (£6.5bn) in grants and loans by the G7 group of rich nations and the European Union to finance a plan to dramatically increase renewable power, Reuters news agency reports. 

    "One of Africa's problem is that there is very little available funding for energy," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said at a signing ceremony during the UN climate summit in Paris.

    Vendors sell meat at the Oshodi night market in Lagos, late on June 6, 2015, lighting their stall with a fuel lamp in absence of electricityImage source, AFP
    Image caption,

    Power outages are common across Africa

     African nations led by the continent's development bank last week launched the African Renewable Energy Initiative which could boost electricity output on a continent where two-thirds of people lack access to power.

    It aims to generate 300 gigawatt of electricity from renewable sources by 2030. 

    Mr Fabius did not give details on how and when the funds will be disbursed, but said it will be managed by the African Development Bank and the African Union.

  5. Nigeria's Buhari rejects media billpublished at 17:40

    Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has distanced himself from a controversial media bill which activists say will muzzle free speech. 

    “Free speech is central to democratic societies anywhere in the world... without [it], elected representatives won’t be able to gauge public feelings and moods about governance issues," he said in a statement.

    There has been outrage in Nigeria over the bill - currently being debated by the Senate, the upper chamber - which aims to punish anyone who "propagates false information" on electronic media.

    People have been using #NoToSocialMediaBill to campaign against it.

    Mr Buhari has now called for calm and says he "won’t assent to any legislation that may be inconsistent with the constitution of Nigeria”, his statement added.

    However, the president said he was not opposed to lawful regulations which did not "contravene with the constitution which he swore to uphold”.

    A man using a computerImage source, AFP
    Image caption,

    Nigeria has a vibrant civil society organisations who use social media

    What the bill proposes:

    • Up to seven years in prison or $25,000 (£16,000) fine for "anyone who intentionally propagates false information that could threaten the security of the country or that is capable of inciting the general public against the government through electronic message."

    • Up to years in prison or $10,000 (£6,000) fine or both for anyone disseminating via text message, Twitter, WhatsApp, or any other form of social media an "abusive statement"

    • This also involves messages intending to "set the public against any person and group of persons, an institution of government or such other bodies established by law."

  6. 'Killed' al-Shabab commander namedpublished at 17:26

    Two F-15 aircraft were used in the strikeImage source, AFP
    Image caption,

    The US oftenuses an F-15 aircraft to carry out strikes

    The US Defence Department has named the al-Shabab commander killed in an air strike in Somalia on 2 December as Abdirahman Sandhere, also known as "Ukash", Reuters news agency reports. 

    It also confirmed that the Islamic State (IS) group's senior leader in Libya, Iraqi national, Abu Nabil, had been killed in an air strike on 13 November on a compound in the city of Derna, it reports. 

     He was also known as Wissam Najm Abd Zayd al-Zubayd.

  7. What does being British African mean to you?published at 17:13

    The African population in the UK has doubled in recent years. 

    And according to the 2011 Census, Black Africans now outnumber Black Caribbeans - previously the majority group in Britain's black community.

    But how do second-generation Africans connect with their African ancestry?

    The BBC's Nora Fakim has been speaking to some British Africans who tell her why it's so important to explore their African identity:

    Media caption,

    BBC's Nora Fakim talks identity and expression with second-generation Africans in the UK.

  8. Top Somali militant 'killed'published at 17:02

    A senior leader of Somalia's militant Islamist group al-Shabab was killed in an air strike on 2 December, the US Defence Department says, Reuters news agency reports. 

    The killing was a significant blow to the group, it adds, Reuters reports. 

  9. The story of an extraordinary 17th century African womanpublished at 16:40

    The earliest known book-length biography of an African woman, a 400-year-old text detailing the life of the Ethiopian saint Walatta Petros, has been translated into English for the first time.

    The book is known as The Life and Struggles of Our Mother Walatta Petros, and has been translated by Wendy Laura Belcher, an associate professor at Princeton University, in the United States.

    Ms Belcher told the BBC's Newsday radio programme that Mrs Petros was a wonderful model:

    Media caption,

    Walatta Petros founded her own monastery and 'was subject to no man'

  10. Kenyans mock their presidentpublished at 16:57 GMT 7 December 2015

    Kenyans have been using the #UhuruInKenya hashtag to mock their president on social media because of his "frequent" travel abroad. 

    Uhuru Kenyatta returned last week from a trip abroad that included a summit in South Africa, a climate conference in France and a Commonwealth meeting in Malta. 

    He is due to travel to Rwanda later this week, Reuters news agency reports.

    However, a presidential spokesman says the trips were good value as they bring investment to the East African nation.

    "The cost is really nothing compared to the result," Manoah Esipisu said.

    Opposition spokesman Dennis Onyango said that while Mr Kenyatta had to travel, his delegations included "quite a number of joy riders, people who really don't have a role," Reuters reports.

    Here are some of the tweets:

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  11. US militant 'seized' in Somaliapublished at 16:10

    An American member of Somali Islamist militant group al-Shabab has been arrested in Somalia, an official has told the BBC.

    The man had been stopped while he was trying to escape from al-Shabab after some his friends were killed in an internal rift, Barawe District Commissioner Hussein Barre Mohamed told the BBC Somali service.

    The cause of the dispute is not clear.

    Al-Shabab is part of al-Qaeda but the so-called Islamic State has been trying to persuade the militant group to join it, leading to divisions.

    Read the full BBC story here

    Al-Qaeda linked al-shabab recruits walk down a street on March 5, 2012 in the Deniile district of Somalian capital, Mogadishu, following their graduation.Image source, AFP
    Image caption,

    Al-Shabab pledged loyalty to al-Qaeda in 2012

  12. Kenya and Ethiopia in trade dealpublished at 16:03

     Kenya and Ethiopia have signed a UN-sponsored trade deal aimed at reducing cross-border tensions. 

    The agreement - worth nearly $200m (£133m) over the next five years - seeks to tackle youth unemployment by creating jobs in the energy, mining and livestock industries. 

    Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta and Ethiopia's Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn shook hands on the deal in the border town of Moyale.

     Mr Kenyatta described it as a historic occasion which showed Ethiopia’s commitment to deepening relations between the two nations, Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper reports.

     The Ethiopian leader said the region had been marginalised, and he wanted to "steer it from poverty" towards lasting peace, it reports.

    Tensions between nomadic and settled tribes are sharpened by competition for land and water. Raids around Turbi on the Kenyan side of the border in 2005 and again in 2013 killed at least 160 people and pushed 50,000 from their homes.

  13. Your Instagram photo of the weekpublished at 15:46

    This is our Monday's#regramtheweekend, external pick. 

    @dextdeephotopgraphy, external got the idea a while ago from taking pictures of water drops but had to wait for the right amount of rain and a willing model - all found in Amrahia on the outskirts of Accra, Ghana:

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    Each Monday we look for a picture to regram. To be featured, tag your pictures with #regramtheweekend, external.

  14. Who will be crowned BBC African footballer?published at 15:28 GMT 7 December 2015

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  15. Train services return to Ugandapublished at 15:18

    Catherine Byaruhanga
    BBC Africa, Kampala

    Uganda train service

    A new commuter train service has been launched in Uganda's capital, Kampala - the first since 1998.

    It runs 14km (nine miles) between the town centre and the outskirts of the capital to the east. 

    Not a lot of people knew about the service opening up so there was only a handful of people on board.

    Uganda train passengers

    The line takes you across parts of Kampala you don't often see.

    Through industrial areas, past women making breakfast over charcoal stoves and a beautiful view of the national stadium.

    Uganda national stadium

    The five-coach train is not new and uses an old locomotive. A one-way journey costs about 45 US cents (30 UK pence). 

    Uganda's rail network was built in the early 1900s by the British and not much has improved since then, and after the political turmoil of the 1970s and 80s much of it became dilapidated.

    Uganda train passengers
  16. Have your say on Biafrapublished at 14:43 GMT 7 December 2015

    Thousands of young people have been protesting in the past few weeks in south-eastern Nigeria calling for the creation of the breakaway state of Biafra.

    The issue has become the main talking point in the country in recent days. 

    The BBC World Service's World Have Your Say programme will be discussing the Biafra argument at 1600GMT.

    You can listen to the programme here

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  17. Nigeria may extend Boko Haram deadlinepublished at 14:14

    Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has said the December deadline he gave to the military to defeat militant Islamist group Boko Haram could be extended. 

    "If there are exigencies that require the modification of the time frame, the federal government will not hesitate to do so," Mr Buhari is quoted as saying by Nigeria's Chief of Defence staff.

    In August, Mr Buhari ordered the military to end the insurgency in the north-east of the country by the end of the year.

    Nigerian soldiers man a checkpoint in GwozaImage source, AP

    Although the military has succeeded in taking back most of the territories held by Boko Haram, the militants continue to carry out suicide attacks. 

    About 2,000 people have been killed since Mr Buhari came to office in May. He was elected partly on a promise to end the insurgency.

    The militants are also active in neighboring Cameroon, Niger and Chad.

    Read: Who are Boko Haram?

    Teaching jihadists to love football

  18. Tanzania's blind tailor who made clothes for the presidentpublished at 13:55 GMT 7 December 2015

    Abdallah Nyangalio has had an extraordinary career. 

    Despite being blind, the 56-year-old Tanzanian tailor counts the country's former President Jakaya Kikwete among the customers he has served over the years.

    He's been speaking to BBC Swahili's Sammy Awami.

    Media caption,

    Tanzania's blind tailor who made clothes for the president

  19. Pistorius back in court tomorrowpublished at 13:40

    South Africa's one-time sports hero Oscar Pistorius is due to appear in court tomorrow for a bail hearing following his conviction for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. 

    The Supreme Court of Appeal last week threw out his earlier conviction on the lesser charge of culpable homicide for shooting dead Ms Steenkamp at his home in the capital, Pretoria, in the early hours of Valentine's Day, 2013. 

    Pistorius, 29, is under house arrest at his uncle's upmarket home in the city after serving about a year of his five-year prison sentence for culpable homicide - the equivalent of manslaughter. 

    A picture taken on January 26, 2013 shows Olympian sprinter Oscar Pistorius posing next to his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp at Melrose Arch in JohannesburgImage source, AFP
    Image caption,

    Pistorius says he mistook his girlfriend for an intruder

    "It's a bail application. His [earlier] conviction has been overturned, so his sentence from before has been scrapped," Lusanda Ntuli, a spokeswoman for the justice ministry, told AFP news agency. 

    "The defence and prosecution will present their arguments," she added. 

     The double-amputee athlete who ran in the Olympics and Paralympics faces a minimum 15-year jail sentence for murder, although a court could lower the term.

     No date has yet been announced for his sentencing.

    Read: South Africa's gun obsession

  20. New Ooni of Ife crowned in Nigeriapublished at 13:01

    Umar Shehu Elleman
    BBC Africa, Lagos, Nigeria

    Ooni of ife Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi

    Thousands of people have attended the coronation ceremony of the new Ooni of Ife - a revered monarch in south-west Nigeria.

    Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, 40, was appointed in October to replace Oba Sijuwade, who died in a London clinic in July aged 85.

    Dignitaries, including Nigeria's Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, attended the event in Ife, Osun state.

    The guests were entertained by traditional dancers and there was a heavy security presence. 

    The Ooni of Ife is considered the most influential monarch among Yorubas - Nigeria's second biggest ethnic group - who number about 35 million in West Africa.

    A Nigerian traditional ruler
    Image caption,

    Traditional rulers from other parts of the country attended the event

    Ooni of Ife:

    • The Ooni of Ife's kingdom is in present-day Osun state in south-west Nigeria
    • The monarch should be a direct descendant of Oduduwa, who is a Yoruba god
    • The practice of burying someone alive with a king who dies has long been abolished

    Read: Nigeria's many monarchs