Pope Francis drew huge crowds during his three-nation visit to Africa, reflecting the growth of the Roman Catholic Church on the continent. This was his fourth visit to Africa since he became the pontiff in 2013. His predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, visited just twice during his eight-year papacy. The BBC’s Religion Editor Martin Bashir accompanied […]

Friday is a public holiday in Zimbabwe to mark a day of protest against sanctions which the government blames for the country’s economic problems. Southern African countries have joined calls from the Zimbabwe government for the sanctions to be lifted, saying they’re damaging the region’s economy. So why are sanctions in place and what impact […]

Zimbabwe has flown up to 30 young elephants to a different country, believed to be China. The move has been criticised by animal welfare groups, who say that the animals may be traumatised. But Zimbabwe’s National Parks service argues that it needs to earn hard currency to support other wildlife during a devastating drought which […]

Move is latest in a series of concessions from President Paul Biya, who is under pressure over a crackdown on dissent. Maurice Kamto, Cameroon’s main opposition leader, has walked free from prison nine months after his arrest for leading protests against an election result he had denounced as fraudulent.   A military court in the country’s capital, […]

Cameroon has a busy media environment. State-run CRTV operates national TV and radio networks and provincial radio stations. There are dozens of private radio and TV stations and hundreds of press titles. Journalists reporting on sensitive subjects face pressure and the risk of detention or arrest, says US NGO Freedom House. It says the authorities […]

In our series of letters from African journalists, Sierra Leonean-Gambian writer Ade Daramy explains why he gets hot under the collar when seeing Africans doing well in sport. As I watched coverage of the World Athletics Championships in Qatar, like most Africans, it was a case of tutting: “Oh, no, not again…” when someone from […]

Ethiopian Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize winner Abiy Ahmed says “no force can stop Ethiopia” from building a dam on the River Nile despite objections from Egypt. The dam, under construction on the Blue Nile tributary in northern Ethiopia, will create Africa’s largest hydroelectric power station. Some 85% of the Nile emerges from the […]

Zimbabwe’s government has taken the controversial decision to ban local trading in foreign currencies, including the US dollar, with immediate effect. It has also reintroduced the Zimbabwe dollar, which was abandoned because of hyperinflation in 2009 when the country mainly adopted the US dollar and the South African rand. The move has shocked Zimbabweans, who […]

Claim: Life in Zimbabwe is now worse than under former President Robert Mugabe, according to Fadzayi Mahere of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Verdict: It’s true that in recent months, the economic situation has worsened. But there were periods during Mr Mugabe’s long rule when the economic indicators were much worse. The opposition […]

A recent call by a minister in Sudan’s new government for Jewish people to return to the country and reclaim citizenship has shone a light on a small but once thriving community. Oral historian Daisy Abboudi, herself descended from Sudanese Jews, has been talking to members of the community and collecting their photographs. David Gabra […]