Africa

Banda, 25, came into the tournament off the back of a stellar 12 months which saw her also named BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year, score the winning goal for club side Orlando Pride in the National Women’s Soccer League Championship final, and become Africa’s all-time leading scorer – male …

Patricia Whitehorne BBC News Sports Illustrated/Getty Images The Wimbledon title was the third of Arthur Ashe’s Grand Slam crowns Fifty years ago Arthur Ashe pulled off an amazing feat, upsetting the odds and becoming the first black man to win the Wimbledon Men’s final when he beat fellow American Jimmy …

The 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations is being held in Morocco from 5-26 July. The tournament was supposed to take place last year but was postponed because of scheduling issues. The hosts, nine-time champions Nigeria, defending champions South Africa and Zambia are the top contenders to lift the new-look …

Kenyan President William Ruto says he is building a church at the presidential residence in Nairobi that he will pay for himself – and says he has nothing to apologise for. “I am not going to ask anyone for an apology for building a church. The devil might be angry …

The Namibian government has announced a temporary ban on state funerals amid criticism over the rising costs of these burials. Only President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has the power to exempt funerals from the moratorium, the government said. Minister of Information and Communication Technology Emma Theofelus made the announcement following a Cabinet …

Natasha Booty & Farouk Chothia BBC News AFP Sudan plunged into a civil war in April 2023 after a vicious struggle for power broke out between its army and a powerful paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). It has led to a famine and claims of a genocide in …

Nicolas Négoce, Natasha Booty & Jonathan Griffin BBC News 10 Design Architecture Some compared the designs to the awe-inspiring fictional city of Wakanda Plans for a futuristic city in Senegal dreamt up by the singer Akon have been scrapped and instead he will work on something more realistic, officials say. …

Peter Rufai has been hailed as a “giant of football” after the former Nigeria goalkeeper died aged 61 on Thursday following a prolonged illness. Affectionately known as Dodo Mayana, he helped the Super Eagles win the Africa Cup of Nations in 1994 and also represented his nation at the Fifa …

Mali’s military leader Gen Assimi Goïta has been granted a five-year presidential term by the transitional parliament, which is renewable without elections. The junta leader, who has seized power twice, had promised the return of democracy last year, but it never materialised. The bill granting his new mandate said the …

A selection of the week’s best photos from across the African continent and beyond: FETHI BELAID / AFP / GETTY IMAGES As Tunisians brace for a heatwave, a group of boys leap into the sea in Tunis on Tuesday. OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT / AFP / GETTY IMAGES Days earlier in …

Ethiopia says it has completed building a mega-dam on the Blue Nile that has long been a source of tension with Egypt and Sudan. Launched in 2011 with a $4bn (£2.9bn) budget, the dam is Africa’s biggest hydro-electric plant, and a major source of pride for Ethiopians. Ethiopia sees the …

Musical icon Angélique Kidjo has become the first black African performer to be selected for a star on the prestigious Hollywood Walk of Fame. Kidjo, who comes from the West African country of Benin and has won five Grammy awards, was among the 35 names announced as part of the …

Tanzania’s Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa has announced that he will not seek re-election in the forthcoming parliamentary elections, effectively preventing him from being re-appointed. Majaliwa had earlier said that he would defend his legislative seat for a fourth time in October before making the surprise announcement on Wednesday. The 64-year-old …

Born in the village of Thamaga, Dithebe would sneak out to play football as a child while her mother, who was concerned about her schooling being affected, was out of the house. The player overcame a difficult spell playing in France, where she suffered from homesickness, before opening Botswana’s Wafcon …

Mansur Abubakar BBC News, Abuja AFP via Getty/Reuters Political heavyweights Peter Obi (left) and Atiku Abubakar (right) have joined forces Nigeria’s two main opposition leaders have joined a new political party to challenge President BolaTinubu and his ruling party in the next election. Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi have chosen …

Khanyisile Ngcobo BBC News, Johannesburg Gallo Images/Getty Images It was all smiles between South African President Ramaphosa and DA leader John Steenhuisen a year ago South Africa’s two biggest political parties are in an unhappy marriage, but neither side wants to file divorce papers as it could damage them and, …

While Nigeria’s players are used to fighting hard on the field, their fiercest battles often come off it. In recent years disputes over unpaid bonuses, poor travel arrangements and a lack of support from the Nigeria Football Federation have disrupted camps, strained relationships and made headlines for all the wrong …

A Ugandan military helicopter with eight people on board has crashed at the main international airport in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, an aviation official has told the BBC. The state-run news agency reported that a fire broke out after the helicopter crashed at the Aden Adde International Airport, but it had …

Jacob Boswall BBC Monitoring Getty Images It has been a good year for gold. A host of turbulent events in the global economy has driven up prices for the glittery commodity to record highs in 2025. In a world of tariffs and international conflict, gold appeals to investors as one …

Jihadist fighters have launched a series of simultaneous attacks on military posts across numerous towns in Mali – the third major assault on the army over the last month. Mali’s army said it repelled Tuesday morning’s attacks, allegedly “neutralising” more than 80 militants, without saying if there were any other …