In Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara has announced he will run for a third term as president. This follows the recent sudden death of his prime minister, who had been due to run as the ruling party's candidate. Also, bail has been denied to Zimbabwean journalist Hopewell Chin'ono, who was arrested at anti-government protests last Friday. Other high-profile protesters have been speaking out against rising authoritarianism in Harare. And we take a look at how those in Kenya's Maasai Mara are struggling to get by without tourists.

The electoral commission of the Ivory Coast Football Federation (FIF) rejected former Chelsea and international striker Didier Drogba's presidency bid on Thursday.

The disability that accompanies him since birth never stopped Ibrahim Traore, a 21-year-old Ivorian legless football player, from playing hard in the field, channelling his idol, football Belgian international Romelu Lukaku. Ibrahim (or simply Lukaku, as his friends and teammates call him) could be seen competing in Bouake, a metropolis that was once the sanctuary of the Ivorian rebellion, on Sunday.

Hiroshi Sasaki announced his resignation after a report came out that he had insulted plus size female comedian Naomi Watanabe. He suggested she could appear at the opening ceremony as a pig.

As Ivorian artist Aristide Kouame combs the beach dragging a trash bag of waterlogged flip-flops, he is aware other beachgoers in the commercial capital Abidjan think he is a desperate trader or a madman.

Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine shipments from South Africa to Europe are halted. The stock will now be distributed on the continent, where it's made. In Ivory Coast, a TV presenter who joked around as he invited a rapist on air to show in detail how he brutalised women has been convicted of condoning rape, given a suspended sentence and fined. And in Tanzania, women in the fishing industry say they are faced with harassment from fishermen demanding sexual favours in exchange for lower prices.

In an exclusive interview with FRANCE 24, former Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo discusses why he set up a new political movement after his old party, the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), "lost its identity". Despite previously saying that he wanted to step back from politics, Gbagbo told FRANCE 24 that he hasn't ruled out running in the country's 2025 presidential elections and is firmly against a proposal that would disqualify presidential candidates who are more than 75 years old.

Award-winning biowaste converters are helping farmers in Ivory Coast turn mountains of agricultural by-products into compost for their fields or gas for their cooking stoves.

Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Tuesday. Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Tuesday.⁣⁣

For a long time, many saw Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a comic actor who stumbled into the presidency. During the confrontation with Russia, however, the 44-year-old has matured into a respected statesman.

From where I stand: The incredible story of Ivorian comedian Clentélex. Clentélex is a 23-year-old man from Ivory Coast who has overcome the odds. He grew up in a poor neighbourhood of Abidjan. Unlike many of his contemporaries who were lured into violence and crime, Clentélex used comedy as his weapon of choice.

Diplomatic tensions between Mali and Ivory Coast deepen after Bamako sets conditions for the return of dozens of Ivorian soldiers arrested two months ago. Also, Ethiopia's New Year celebrations are overshadowed by an economic crisis. And anti-smoking campaigners in Senegal warn against the damage caused to young bodies when they start lighting up.