For the first time in centuries, a sitting pontiff will preside over his predecessor's funeral. Pope Benedict was the first Roman Catholic pope in 600 years to leave his post before dying.

Artemisinin is the most important component in antimalarial drugs, but an increasing number of parasites in Africa are now resistant to it. If action isn't taken swiftly, the consequences could be disastrous.

This year, the show is taking place in Dakar, Senegal – the first luxury event of its kind to take place in sub-Saharan Africa. Rapper Abd Al Malik, writer Alain Mabanckou, model and producer Caroline de Maigret, actress Lyna Khoudri, musician Nix, director Moly Kane, actress Whitney Peak and musician Pharrell Williams talk us through their impressions of the show.

Globally recognized stars including Senegalese maestro Youssou Ndour, and Nigerian artists P-Square and Tiwa Savage are among those set to perform during the main awards ceremony at the 15,000-seat Dakar stadium.

Eight-year-old Bengal tiger Sheba was euthanized early Wednesday morning - after she escaped an enclosure in a private home in Johannesburg last week. Police spent days tracking her down.

Frustration about a regional taskforce deepens in eastern DR Congo. Protesters who accuse it of having little impact on the M23 militia operating around Goma, are teargassed by police. And we hear from the Principles for Peace Executive Director, Hiba Qasas, as a new international peacemaking covenant hopes to offer tools and know-how for countries trying to find a way out of conflict.

France's former president François Hollande granted an interview to FRANCE 24 and RFI on Wednesday, some 10 years after launching Operation Serval, which ousted armed rebels and Islamist militants from northern Mali. Hollande defended the record of French military operations in the Sahel region and expressed regret at the arrival of mercenaries from the Russian paramilitary Wagner Group.

Many African leaders were quick to congratulate Brazil's President Lula da Silva on his reelection. They are counting on da Silva to improve relations which had greatly suffered under former President Jair Bolsonaro.

The 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is a human rights treaty setting out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children. The nations that ratified it are bound to it by international law. One of them is Mozambique. But in fact, the country has developed into a major hub of child trafficking in southern Africa.

Kidnapping by militants in Western Africa is nothing new. However, security experts say many criminals are now abducting women and children to use them as bargaining chips for political attention and fundraising.

Africa's pre-COVID-19 top five performing economies are projected to grow by more than 5.5% on average in 2023-2024 and to reclaim their position among the world's 10 fastest-growing economies. These countries are Rwanda (7.9%), Côte d'Ivoire (7.1%), Benin (6.4%), Ethiopia (6.0%) and Tanzania (5.6%).

South Africa said on Monday it was "friends" with Russia, as it hosted Russia's top diplomat for a visit that has sparked criticism against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine.