Africa News Feed

Watch Amelie Osborn-Smith describe the moment she was bitten and her relief that she won’t lose her foot.

The father of Sylvester Oromoni, 12, believes he was attacked for refusing to join a “cult group”.

Professor Willem Hanekom says that the Omicron variant “is spreading extraordinarily fast in South Africa”.

Nigeria – which was added to the red list on Monday – describes the restrictions as “selective”.

Pandemic-related disruptions caused tens of thousands more malaria deaths in 2020, the World Health Organization said Monday, but added that urgent action had averted a far worse scenario.

Amelie Osborn-Smith says her brain went into “overdrive” as she fought off the reptile in Zambia.

The shortlist for BBC African Sports Personality of the Year 2021 award is revealed – and you can vote for your favourite.

The electoral commission names Adama Barrow the winner despite his opponents questioning the vote.

The 20-month school closure in Uganda could have a long-term impact on many lives there.

Adama Barrow was on Sunday declared the victor of The Gambia’s presidential election by the electoral commission, winning a second term in office in the tiny West African nation.

Despite engaging better with the African continent recently, the ex-colonial power faces a backlash.

Rape survivor Sgt Catherine Tladi has secured several convictions for rape in South Africa’s courts.

Previous incursions have led to accusations of looting and abuse, so will it be different this time?

At least 23 die as a bus taking a church choir group to a wedding plunges into a flooded river.

More than 30 people have been killed in an attack on a passenger vehicle in central Mali’s volatile Mopti region, the country’s interim government said Saturday.

Counting was underway Saturday after Gambians voted in the first presidential election in the tiny West African nation since former dictator Yahya Jammeh fled into exile.

As variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19 have appeared over the past several months, scientists have sought to understand how they come to be. Some have been looking into the role that individuals with compromised immune systems may play in spurring the mutations of the virus that create new variants.

Has the slow rollout of vaccines in southern Africa allowed coronavirus mutations to develop?

The new variant threatens to overshadow the holiday season as campaigners fight vaccine fears.

At least 26 million people are struggling for food across northern Kenya, Somalia and southern Ethiopia.

A selection of the best photos from the African continent and beyond.

South Africa’s president warns of a “health apartheid”, criticising travel bans once again. This as Omicron becomes the dominant strain of Covid-19 in the country. Meanwhile in Cameroon, we meet  survivors of sexual violence from the Anglophone regions. Rape and abuse are being used as weapons of war in the conflict. Finally, our reporters are in Gambia ahead of Saturday’s presidential poll. We bring you a report on voters waiting to take part in the country’s democratic transition. 

Ahead of Gambia’s December 3 presidential elections, the country’s Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission (TRRC) wrapped up a sweeping three-year public inquiry on Thursday, recommending prosecutions for abuses committed during former President Yahya Jammeh’s 22-year rule. FRANCE 24’s Sarah Sakho and Elimane Ndao report.

Two weeks after deadly attacks in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo launched a joint cross-border operation targeting a militia in eastern Congo linked to the Islamic State (IS) group. But Ugandan troops have made incursions into Congolese territory before – with disastrous consequences. There are fears that history could repeat itself in an unstable, resource-rich border area.

Ugandan troops crossed into the Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday as part of a joint operation against a notorious Islamist militia that both countries accuse of massacring civilians. The two countries announced that the operation began with morning artillery and air strikes against the ADF armed group, which has risen to become the deadliest of many militias plaguing DR Congo’s east. FRANCE 24’s terrorism expert Wassim Nasr tells us more.

The Hoja app was launched by two female entrepreneurs from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In tonight’s edition: Authorities in Nigeria reject the conclusions of an independent report that found that security forces were behind the death of 11 people at an anti-police brutality protest last year. Also, South Africa’s president calls for solidarity between countries in the face of travel bans following the discovery of the Omicron variant. And on World AIDS Day we take you to Kenya, where the prevalence of HIV has fallen drastically in the past two decades, but the fight against new infections remains a daily battle.

Fighting continues in Ethiopia, where rebel groups are advancing on the capital Addis Ababa. While much has been said about the northern front, where the army is at war with the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF), another armed group – allied to Tigrayans – is fighting from the south and west of the country. The Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) now controls a large swathe of territory. Together, the TDF and OLA plan to topple the government and take over the capital. The government accuses these rebel groups of committing crimes against civilians, including several massacres. Our regional correspondent reports.

Every morning in the Rwandan capital Kigali, long queues appear outside milk bars, where people come to socialise and unwind over large pints of ikivuguto, a fermented milk mixed with honey. Milk drinking became engrained in the country’s culture as the result of a government policy initiated after the 1994 genocide to revive the economy and fight malnutrition. In 2006, the government set up the Girinka programme, in a bid to ensure that even the poorest families were able to afford a cow.

On Saturday, Gambians head to the polls to vote for their president. Five years have passed since Adama Burrow, the outgoing leader, ended 22 years of dictatorship by defeating Yahya Jammeh in the polls. The democratic transition has been life-changing for entrepreneurs, and many who had left have now come back to take part in the post-Jammeh development. Sarah Sakho, Elimane Ndao and Emmanuelle Landais report.

Huge progress has been made in treatment, prevention and understanding of HIV – but falsehoods still hurt people living with it.

In tonight’s edition: Thousands take part in massive protests in Sudan’s capital Khartoum. Dozens are arrested as anger mounts against the country’s military. Meanwhile in Ethiopia, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed says his army is making significant gains as he calls on Tigrayan rebels to surrender. Finally, African fashion pays tribute to world-renowned designer Virgil Abloh, who died this weekend aged 41 after a battle with cancer. The son of Ghanaian immigrants was the first Black man to become the lead designer of major French fashion house.

Since France began its military withdrawal from Mali, many misleading social media posts have appeared. Reports claim that Mali is negotiating with the Russian private military company Wagner. One photo on Facebook from November 10 allegedly shows a Wagner military instructor training Malian soldiers. Another photo from November 20 claims to show that Mali received a delivery of military equipment from Russia. We take a closer look in this edition of Truth or Fake.

What does the ‘scramble’, between major powers, for influence in Africa and its resources mean for its people?

A lack of recycling facilities in Africa has spurred one Dutch company to import broken phones.

Ethiopians tell the BBC they are willing to give up their lives to defend their country against rebels.

Millions of dollars of public funds went through bank accounts of ex-President Joseph Kabila’s allies, BBC Africa Eye reveals.

South Africa’s president has condemned travel bans enacted against his country and its neighbours over the new coronavirus variant Omicron.

The three-day event is a celebration of Senegalese culture and features an elaborate parade.