Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan has announced an immediate drop in the cost of fuel, following a week of strikes after prices doubled.

Mr Jonathan said the price would fall by around 30% in recognition of the "hardships being suffered" by people.

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is set to be sworn in Monday for her second term in office, after handily winning re-election in a November vote.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton traveled to the capital, Monrovia, for the inauguration ceremony, which is also expected to be attended by 30 heads of state.

Nigeria's trade unions say they are suspending protests for two days to allow more talks with the government.

The announcement comes on the fifth day of a general strike over the removal of a fuel subsidy, which has caused fuel prices and transport fares to double.

Some 57 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in a revenge attack in South Sudan, officials say.

Information Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin said members of the Murle community had attacked their Lou Nuer rivals in Jonglei state.

A trade union for workers in Nigeria's oil and gas industry has said it will shut down all production from Sunday if the government fails to reverse a decision to end fuel subsidies.

Strikes over the move, which has doubled petrol prices, began on Monday.

Gunmen have killed at least three Kenyan police officers in the latest attack in the north-eastern border region with Somalia, police say.

No-one has claimed responsibility for the attack in Wajir district, 100km (60 miles) from the border.

The leader of Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamist militants has defended recent attacks on Christians, saying they are revenge for killings of Muslims.

In his first video message, posted on YouTube, Abubakar Shekau referred to attacks on Muslims in recent years in several parts of northern Nigeria.

Gunmen in Nigeria have opened fire in a bar in the north of the country, killing eight people including several police officers.

The attack in Yobe state is the latest in a series that officials blame on the Islamist militant group, Boko Haram.

Tuesday's incident occurred as students queued for last-minute places at the university, registrar Marie Muller told eNews channel.

Applicants waited through the night and the stampede apparently happened just after the main gate was opened at

Guinea-Bissau's President Malam Bacai Sanha has died in hospital in Paris, according to a statement from his office read over national radio.

The 64-year-old, who became president in 2009, had travelled to France for medical treatment in late November after being taken seriously ill.

Nigerian unions have launched a nationwide strike over the elimination of a government fuel subsidy.

Correspondents say the strike is likely to bring parts of the country, Africa's largest oil exporter, to a standstill.

Hundreds of Nigerians are marching in the commercial capital, Lagos, to protest at the removal of a fuel subsidy which has led petrol prices to double.

They left from the headquarters of main trade unions, which are to meet on Wednesday to decide on strike plans.

A blast has rocked an area near a mosque in the restive north-eastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, with witnesses reporting four deaths.

In a BBC interview, Nigerian army spokesman Brig Gen Isa blamed the Islamist group Boko Haram.

"Excessive" fees for using a debit or credit card to buy items such as travel or cinema tickets will be banned by the end of 2012, under government plans.

The move comes amid complaints that airlines, booking agencies and even councils were imposing excessive charges for using a card.

Troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo are blocking entry to a stadium where the main opposition leader plans to inaugurate himself as president.

Etienne Tshisekedi has rejected the official victory of incumbent President Joseph Kabila in November's elections.

At least 24 people have been killed by police in the Democratic Republic of Congo since last month's disputed elections, a US rights group has said.

President Joseph Kabila was sworn in for a second term this week, but his rival, Etienne Tshisekedi says he won.

Young South Sudanese men living in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, are being forcibly conscripted by militia groups, numerous sources have told the BBC.

It is alleged they are forced to fight for rebels in South Sudan, which split from the north in July.

At least 12 people, including five Senegalese soldiers, have been killed after suspected rebels attacked an army base in the southern Casamance region.

Five suspected rebels and two civilians died in the clashes, the army says.

An Ethiopian court has convicted two Swedish journalists of supporting terrorism.

Ethiopian troops captured Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye six months ago during a clash with rebels in the East African state's Somali region.

Tanks have been deployed in Kinshasa in case of opposition protests as Joseph Kabila is sworn in for a second term as Democratic Republic of Congo's president.

The Supreme Court has confirmed that Mr Kabila, 40, gained the most votes in the November election.