The UN wants to set up an intervention force to fight rebels fuelling conflict in DR Congo, a UN peacekeeping official tells the BBC.

A group of Malian musicians are singing for peace and unity in their country and against the imposition of sharia law

At least 36 people have died and nearly 70,000 have been displaced because of flooding in Mozambique, the United Nations says.

Burkina Faso's 10 men surged to the top of Africa Cup of Nations Group C, with an emphatic 4-0 victory over Ethiopia.

A court in South Africa has temporarily halted the donation of retired helicopters to Zimbabwe's military ahead of elections, a rights group says.

A former defence investigator is found guilty of contempt for interfering with witnesses during the trial of Liberia's Charles Taylor.

As many as 10,000 farmed crocodiles are still on the loose in the Limpopo river between Botswana and South Africa, following the worst floods in more than a decade.

Zambia goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene scores a late penalty to rescue a point for the Africa Cup of Nations champions.

One talking point in the Africa Cup of Nations has been the mascot, a hippopotamus called Takuma. The fans love it. What they might not know is that it was designed by a 13-year-old boy.

Malian and French troops retake the town of Hombori, officials say, as they continue their push northwards towards the Islamist stronghold of Gao.

Serge Akakpo reveals that he nearly quit international football after a gun attack on Togo's team bus in 2010.

The hunt for thousands of crocodiles which escaped from a farm in South Africa on Sunday is continuing, mainly at night, one of the farmers says.

Hats to impress, designer label berets and cycle power

Will Algeria's economy recover from hostage crisis?

Togo coach Didier Six says the "bigger" sides at the Cup of Nations get preferential treatment.

The commander of US forces in Africa admits mistakes were made in training Malian troops now trying to oust Islamists from the north.

Mali coach Patrice Carteron says he cannot understand why Ghana keeper Fatawu Dauda was not sent off in their Africa Cup of Nations match on Thursday.

The Twitter account of Somali militant group al-Shabab is suspended, after it was used to threaten to kill Kenyan hostages.

A plane carrying the bodies of nine Japanese victims of the Algerian hostage crisis, as well as seven survivors, lands in Tokyo.

The origins of HIV can be traced back millions rather than tens of thousands of years, research suggests.