Police officers protest in Pretoria against gender-based violence

The US and UN made renewed appeals to the combatants in Ethiopia to de-escalate and work towards negotiating a truce. This comes as PM Abiy Ahmed goes to the front.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday hosted his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, in the Presidential Villa Abuja.⁣ ⁣The South African President who is accompanied by a delegation of ministers and business leaders is on a state visit expected to reinforce South Africa’s bilateral relations with Nigeria as well as strengthen partnerships directed at African development and cooperation in multilateral forums.⁣

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.

The new variant has come with a spike in cases, but it remains to be seen how much it will affect South African hospitals. New COVID infections have jumped from about 200 a day last month to more than 11,500 on Thursday.

A group with alleged ties to the "Islamic State" has "enslaved and sexually abused" hundreds of women and girls in Mozambique over the past three years, Human Rights Watch said.

The spekboom plant, excellent at sucking CO2 out of the atmosphere, has been badly degraded in South Africa. Now an initiative is using innovative planting methods to bring back the plant and restore soil and biodiversity.

It's a job normally reserved for men, but one group of women in Iraq has taken on the dangerous task of clearing mines in the northern region of Mosul. The area is littered with hidden explosives left behind by the Islamic State group. We take a closer look at these women risking their lives and shattering stereotypes along the way.

A brutal conflict in the West Africa nation of Cameroon has resulted in the rape and sexual assault of hundreds of women and girls. Also why do women bear the responsibility of contraception and why is the medical and scientific community seemingly reluctant to research options for men? Plus the amazing tale of India's Bandit Queen who went on to become a women's rights activist and a politician.

South Africa is grappling with the fourth wave of the coronavirus, driven by the omicron variant. The country is pushing for more vaccinations — and for its own mRNA vaccine.

The former South African president's medical parole was found to be "unlawful". He was instructed to return to jail to serve out the remainder of his sentence.

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.

Overgrazing of grasslands on the lower slopes of the Drakensberg escarpment is degrading the land. Two women run a group that promotes measures to restore the ecosystem, which is key to South Africa's water resources.