Every time someone in Johannesburg drinks a glass of water, there is a 60% chance it comes from neighbouring Lesotho. Now, a newly built bridge will help the tiny mountain kingdom nearly double those exports.

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday held an open-air mass in Equatorial Guinea in front of tens of thousands of followers, wrapping up his first major international tour that began with harsh criticism of his stance on Iran from US President Donald Trump.

A South African court has blocked the repatriation of the remains of former Zambian president Edgar Lungu, halting fresh plans for a state funeral and deepening a dispute that has dragged on for nearly 10 months.

In a working-class neighbourhood of Abidjan, a small group of young volunteers armed with shovels and rakes is scrubbing rubbish-clogged drains. Their message: “Our streets are not rubbish bins.”

The Africa Finance Corporation says this highlights the continent’s vulnerability to global shipping chokepoints.

a recent viral video showing a young woman being hit by a doctor shortly after giving birth in a Kinshasa hospital has shocked the nation.

Violence around Tanzania’s October general election left 518 people dead, a government-appointed commission said Thursday — a figure far below opposition estimates of thousands killed.

Delaying the closure of South Africa’s coal-fired power plants could lead to up to 32,000 preventable deaths between 2026 and 2050, climate rights groups warned on Wednesday.

The United Nations says Libya is at a “critical” crossroads, facing deep political fragmentation, a distorted economy, and delayed elections that threaten the country’s stability.

Caught between imported inflation, dependence on international markets, and structural fragilities, African economies find themselves on the front line of a crisis they did not cause.

An envoy to United States President Donald Trump world football’s governing body FIFA to replace Iran with Italy at the upcoming World Cup, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

Lusaka has been in a months-long dispute with his family over where he should be buried. Lungu died in South Africa last year.

The first batch of deportees arrived in the DRC last Friday under a controversial US migration scheme to pack off undocumented foreign nationals to third countries.

Aid groups warn that the conflict has upended their ability to get food and medicine to millions of people in need around the world.

Pix of the Day, 23 April 2026

Senegal’s former president Macky Sall called for peace and diplomacy on Wednesday as he auditioned to lead the United Nations.

Senegal’s former president Macky Sall called for peace and diplomacy on Wednesday as he auditioned to lead the United Nations.

Pope Leo XIV told inmates at one of Equatorial Guinea’s notorious prisons that they are not alone, as he drew attention Wednesday to prison conditions, human rights abuses and injustices that campaigners have denounced for years.

Sahrawi refugees go about daily life in the Aousserd camp near Tindouf in southern Algeria as residents say decades in exile have not weakened their demand for independence in Western Sahara: “Our demands are simple — independence, and nothing else.”

South Africa’s inflation rate edged slightly higher in March but remains relatively subdued overall.

Sierra Leone is taking a new step toward unlocking its offshore energy potential with a fresh agreement involving oil giant Shell.

The Mohammed VI Tower, now the tallest building in Morocco, is reshaping the skyline of the Rabat-Salé region after its inauguration earlier in April 2026.

Six men pleaded not guilty to treason and terrorism charges over a botched coup plot, Nigeria media reported Wednesday, as the first prosecutions for the alleged 2025 putsch attempt get under way.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met Seychelles President Patrick Herminie at the Kremlin on Wednesday for talks focused on bilateral ties and international issues.

A widening diplomatic rift is emerging in West Africa as Niger and Mali level new accusations against neighbouring states over terrorism in the Sahel.

In South Africa, the state-owned electricity company Eskom announced on Wednesday that it does not expect power outages during the winter months in the Southern Hemisphere, from April to August. This will be the first winter without power cuts since the company has been facing difficulties.

Ismail Omar Guelleh has won a sixth term as President of Djibouti, the country’s constitutional council has confirmed. Guelleh won 97.8 percent of the vote, the council said on Tuesday.

Niger’s military government suspended the activities of 2,900 of the 4,700 registered local and foreign non-governmental organisations and development agencies, the interior minister said.

Three years into the devastating conflict in Sudan, nearly four million displaced people have returned to their places of origin across the country, only to face “another struggle for survival”, the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday.

The Trump administration is considering a controversial new plan, to send more than 1,000 Afghans who supported US forces, not to America, but to central Africa.

Two men held hostage in Mali have been freed after almost two years in captivity, the Russian army said on Tuesday. Russian national Oleg Greta and Ukrainian Yuri Yurov were rescued by a “special operation” carried out by Russia’s Africa Corps  unit,  Moscow said in a statement.

Extreme climate events are increasingly threatening democracy, with at least 94 elections and referendums in 52 countries disrupted by natural hazards over the past two decades, a report published Wednesday said.

Two men held hostage in Mali have been freed after almost two years in captivity, the Russian army said on Tuesday. Russian national Oleg Greta and Ukrainian Yuri Yurov were rescued by a “special operation” carried out by Russia’s Africa Corps  unit,  Moscow said in a statement.

A global shipping route is once again under threat as Iranian forces move against commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has sacked his finance minister Wale Edun as part of a minor cabinet reshuffle. Stepping into the role is former Minister of State for Finance Taiwo Oyedele. He played a central role in the administration’s tax overhaul which took effect at the start of this year.

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has sacked his finance minister Wale Edun as part of a minor cabinet reshuffle. Stepping into the role is former Minister of State for Finance Taiwo Oyedele. He played a central role in the administration’s tax overhaul which took effect at the start of this year.

Nearly 8,000 people died or disappeared on migration routes in 2025, according to the United Nations, a stark reminder that for many, the journey in search of safety or opportunity remains deadly.

Pix of the Day, 22 April 2026

Newly released reports say Colombian mercenaries helped the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces fight the Sudanese army, as the civil war gripping the country is entering its fourth year.

The number of death sentences handed down in the Democratic Republic of Congo has skyrocketed since the government lifted a de facto moratorium on executions in 2024, a campaign group warned Tuesday.