Africa

A court in Tunisia has sentenced former Prime Minister Ali Laarayedh to 34 years in prison on a raft of terrorism charges. He is the latest high-profile critic of the president to be jailed as campaigners slam “sham trials” in the country. The 69-year-old is a prominent critic of President …

People in Nigeria may lose access to Facebook and Instagram after parent company Meta said it faced large fines and “unrealistic” regulatory demands from the Nigerian authorities. Last year, three Nigerian oversight agencies imposed fines on the US-based social media giant totalling more than $290m (£218m) for violating various laws …

Catherine Heathwood & Catherine Byaruhanga BBC News Bloomberg Ex-Credit Suisse boss Tidjane Thiam is at the centre of a citizenship row Tidjane Thiam, a former international banker and the leader of Ivory Coast’s main opposition party, has told the BBC that he will not give up his place on the …

Wedaeli Chibelushi BBC News Executive Mayor Andrè Truter/ Facebook Joshlin Smith has not been found more than a year after she went missing The mother of a South African girl, who disappeared aged six more than a year ago, has been convicted of kidnapping and trafficking her daughter. Kelly Smith, …

A selection of the week’s best photos from across the African continent and beyond: ESA ALEXANDER / REUTERS People watch as wildfires rage across parts of Table Mountain National Park in South Africa on Sunday. LUIS TATO / AFP On Friday, four days after Pope Francis’ death, nuns and other …

A prominent Tanzanian Catholic priest and government critic has been violently attacked amid rising political tensions ahead of elections due in October. Fr Charles Kitima, who had attended an all-day religious meeting, was ambushed by two people at night in a canteen restroom near his residence in Dar es Salaam. …

The authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo are seeking to lift former President Joseph Kabila’s immunity from prosecution after accusing him of backing rebels in the east. There was a “substantial body of documents, testimony and material facts” linking Kabila to the M23 armed group, Justice Minister Constant Mutamba …

A Kenyan member of parliament has been shot dead in the streets of the capital Nairobi by gunmen on a motorcycle in a suspected assassination. Police said the attackers had been trailing Charles Ong’ondo Were’s vehicle before one of them got off the motorbike and shot him at close range. …

Njoroge Muigai & Anne Okumu BBC News, Koboko BBC Mustafa Gerima, nicknamed “Mr Shea”, wants Ugandans to understand the value of shea nuts A former biology teacher-turned-environmentalist is on a crusade in Uganda to save the once-flourishing trees from which shea butter is made – the cosmetic known as “women’s …

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced a judicial inquiry into allegations of political interference in the prosecution of apartheid-era crimes. The announcement comes three decades after the end of white-minority rule – and after a group of survivors and victims’ relatives sued Ramaphosa’s government over a perceived lack of …

AFP Gen Assimi Goïta has pivoted Mali towards Russia Mali’s military leader Gen Assimi Goïta has won the backing of key political allies to be declared president for the next five years. The 41-year-old, who has seized power twice, was named transitional president after his last coup in 2021. At …

Wedaeli Chibelushi & Pumza Fihlani BBC News, London & Johannesburg South Africa Police Service Constable Boipelo Senoge was among the three officers whose bodies were found in the river Police in South Africa are searching for answers after the bodies of three police officers – who had been missing for …

The widower of popular Nigerian gospel singer Osinachi Nwachukwu has been sentenced to death by hanging in connection with her death three years ago. The 42-year-old singer was initially said to have died of throat cancer, before her family went public with allegations of domestic violence. They accused her husband, …

Leading human rights organisations have renewed calls for investigations into the killing of protesters by Kenya’s security forces during demonstrations against a rise in taxes last June. It follows a BBC Africa Eye investigation, exposing members of the security forces who shot dead three protesters at Kenya’s parliament, igniting public …

Catherine Heathwood BBC World Service Getty Images Pope Victor I (L), Pope Gelasius I and Pope Militades (R) are all believed to be of North African descent Now predominantly Muslim, North Africa was once a Christian heartland, producing Catholic popes who left their mark on the Church to this day. …

Nigeria is known for international stars such as Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman and, further back, Jay-Jay Okocha and Nwankwo Kanu, who faced heart problems of his own. But some local players – in a sign of the atmosphere enveloping the country’s domestic football – turned down a chance to support …

Namibia’s agriculture minister has been sacked after being accused of raping a 16-year-old girl five years ago. Mac-Albert Hengari was arrested on Saturday after allegedly attempting to bribe the victim, now 21, to withdraw the case against him, local media quote the police as saying. Hengari, who has denied any …

Bertram Hill & Tamasin Ford BBC Africa Eye BBC The members of Kenya’s security forces who shot dead anti-tax protesters at the country’s parliament last June have been identified by the BBC. The BBC’s analysis of more than 5,000 images also shows that those killed there were unarmed and not …

A senior figure from South Africa’s ruling ANC party has defended his country’s sovereignty amid growing tensions with the US over race relations and a new land law. “We are a free country, we’re a sovereign country. We’re not a province of the United States and that sovereignty will be …

Nichola Mandil BBC News, Juba South Sudan Presidency Office/Handout Pope Francis went on a historic visit to South Sudan in 2023 South Sudan’s rival leaders should “honour” Pope Francis’ legacy by ending the country’s conflict, the Vatican’s diplomatic representative to the nation has said. “We must try to make concrete …