Cyclone Idai’s death toll has soared above 750 in the three southern African countries hit 10 days ago, as workers restore electricity, water and try to prevent outbreaks of cholera. In Mozambique, the number of dead has risen to 446 while there are 259 dead in Zimbabwe and at least 56 dead in Malawi – […]

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A Kenyan science teacher from a remote village who gave away most of his earnings to the poor and tutored students on the weekends won a $1 million prize on Sunday that honors one exceptional educator from around the world. The teacher, Peter Tabichi, was selected from 10,000 applicants for […]

Cyclone Idai, which struck the coastline of Mozambique on 14 March, has caused devastation and heavy loss of life. The UN says 1.7 million people in Mozambique lived in the path of the cyclone, with a further 920,000 people affected in Malawi and many thousands more in Zimbabwe. So how common is extreme weather in […]

Islamist militant group al-Shabab is battling the UN-backed government in Somalia, and has carried out a string of attacks across the region. The group, which is allied to al-Qaeda, has been pushed out of most of the main towns it once controlled, but it remains a potent threat. Who are al-Shabab? Al-Shabab means The Youth […]

The Zambian authorities have banned an energy drink after a Ugandan man complained it had caused him to have a prolonged erection. Power Natural High Energy Drink SX, which is made in Zambia, is not marketed as a sexual aid. But an investigation by Ugandan health authorities in December found that the beverage contained Sildenafil […]

NAIROBI (AFP) – Three teenage schoolgirls in Burundi have been sent to prison to await trial for scribbling on a picture of President Pierre Nkurunziza in textbooks, activists said Thursday (March 21). The girls, aged 15, 16 and 17, face up to five years in prison for insulting the head of state if found guilty. […]

More than 350 people have been confirmed dead and hundreds more are missing after the cyclone that unleashed devastating floods in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi. Aid workers rushed to rescue victims clinging to trees and crammed on rooftops amid fears that many thousands of people are at risk. In Mozambique, the rapidly rising floodwaters created […]

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Ethiopian Airlines surpassed many carriers by becoming one of the first to install a simulator to teach pilots how to fly the new Boeing 737 Max 8, but the captain of the doomed Flight 302 never trained on the simulator, according to people close to the airline’s operations. The people, who […]

As Mozambique counts the cost of Cyclone Idai, the BBC’s Africa editor Fergal Keane joined a helicopter flight over some of the worst-affected areas. The pilot pointed towards the east across the expanse of brown water. “We are 15 miles from the sea,” he said, “but it feels as if we are right over it.” […]

In our series of letters from African journalists, Zeinab Mohammed Salih explores how women in Sudan are using a Facebook group about love to expose alleged abuse amid anti-government protests. Unprecedented numbers of women are taking to the streets to join daily nationwide protests that erupted in mid-December. Despite a violent crackdown by the security […]