Watch Femi Fani-Kayode’s ugly attack on journalist at press conference

Citizen journalist Zhang Zhan is in a Chinese prison for reporting from Wuhan during the height of the city's coronavirus outbreak in 2020. Her family says she is on hunger strike and could be near death. All calls for her release have gone unheeded.

French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly granted an interview to FRANCE 24 and RFI in Dakar, Senegal. Parly slammed a "disinformation campaign" aimed at creating "anti-French discourse" in Africa's Sahel region, as France reorganises its military presence there. The minister said she did not believe Russian Wagner Group mercenaries were in the Malian capital Bamako, but added that "that does not mean the current Malian authorities are not planning to bring them there". The arrival of Russian mercenaries in Mali would be "simply unacceptable", she said.

After the government froze its assets, Hong Kong's "Apple Daily" was forced to shut down. It was one of the city's few media outlets that dared to criticize Beijing. What happens now? We accompany two former staffers: a reporter and a photographer.

Burkina Faso's Prime Minister Christophe Joseph Marie Dabire has resigned amid an escalating security crisis that led to street protests calling for his ouster. President Roch Marc Christian Kabore accepted Dabire's letter of resignation on Wednesday.

As an investigative journalist in the Philippines, Maria Ressa has seen firsthand the impact of the gradual erosion of journalistic freedoms in her country. Under President Rodrigo Duterte, press freedom rankings have fallen to a record low.

The assault on police officers guarding a polio vaccination team took place a day after the militants had called an end to their truce with the Pakistani government.

The Group of Seven countries have condemned Russia's military buildup near its border with Ukraine and warned that further military aggression against Ukraine would have "massive consequences." G7 foreign ministers also issued a warning to Iran.

Will Jacob Zuma return to prison? South Africa's highest court orders the former president to be re-incarcerated after setting aside an earlier decision to release him on medical parole. Meanwhile, the country records close to 27,000 new Covid-19 cases, an all-time record. Plus, European football clubs say they may not release their African players to take part in the Africa Cup of Nations, amid fears surrounding the tournament's Covid-19 health protocol.

Parents have accused the government of lacking empathy, as they remember one of the worst attacks in Pakistan's history. Imran Khan is negotiating with the TTP — which is responsible for the deaths of 132 children.

On February 19, 2020, a racist terrorist attack destroyed nine young lives. The perpetrator also killed himself and his mother. From the perspective of the relatives one year on, far too little has been done.

Slovakia's former Prime Minister Robert Fico was detained before a protest defying coronavirus restrictions. Fico is a vocal critic of anti-COVID measures in the pandemic-hit country.

Leading Gabon football coach accused of raping young players, president demands probe. A former coach for Gabon's under-17 football team, Patrick Assoumou Eyi, sexually abused young players in his care, according to a report on Thursday in British daily The Guardian.