Naira exchanges at N532 per dollar as demand grows⁣, Service chiefs brief President Buhari and more

Traditionally, growing avocados requires lots of water. But entrepreneurs in Nigeria are attempting to grow them in a new water-saving and sustainable way by using drip irrigation systems and recycling water.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The High Court in South Africa has ruled that the former president be allowed to appeal a decision setting aside medical parole. Last week it was decided he should return to jail.

Press freedom in Africa has suffered in 2021 due to growing authoritarianism and insecurity, especially in East Africa – the region most hostile to journalists on the continent.

Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Thursday.⁣

Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Friday.⁣⁣

The African sides that qualified for the 2022 Amputee Football World Cup are facing challenges. Liberia, Angola, Tanzania and Morocco will play in the tournament in Istanbul in October 2022.

Amid a global pandemic that’s threatening lives and livelihoods, politics instead seem infused with culture clashes and identity wars. Why is so much of the conversation in the run-up to France’s presidential election about outsourced industry and loss of identity? Where’s the left? In uncertain times, when citizens want a state that protects them, many arguments center around which side is more elitist. Are we looking at a breakdown of the social contract?

2021 brought big changes to households and businesses around the world. In the last show of the season, Stephen Carroll and Kate Moody take a look at some of the biggest business and economic stories of the year and how they might evolve in 2022.