Handpicked by his socialist predecessor, Julius K. Nyerere, Mr. Mwinyi was credited with reforms, among them permitting the sale of mobile phones and computers.

Yaya Dillo, who was expected to run in national elections in May, was killed alongside many others in a gun battle in the capital, the national prosecutor said.

The legislation would sentence those who identify as L.G.B.T.Q. to three years in jail and punish those who promote gay issues as well. It would be among the harshest on the African continent.

Terrorism, hunger and devastating floods have roiled the Horn of Africa nation. Now, it faces an even bigger challenge: the prospect of war with a neighbor, Ethiopia.

Rape, killing, torture: A stark report offers new evidence of horrific abuses carried out by Sudan’s military and its enemy, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Twice denied Olympic glory by his nation’s boycotts of the Games, he wrote himself into track history in 1978 by breaking four records in just 81 days.

Matteo Garrone’s Oscar-nominated feature “Io Capitano” dramatizes the harrowing journeys made by thousands of Africans each month looking for a better life in Europe.

Governments are seeking to curb donkey skin exports to China, where demand for traditional medicine and other products is threatening animals that rural households need.

It was the latest outbreak of intertribal unrest at a gold mine in Free State. The situation was under control at midnight, officials said.

As the stench wafted more than a mile inland, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals found a buildup of dung in the animals’ cramped holding pens.

The continent has the highest rate of gender-related killings of women in the world, according to the United Nations. Activists accuse officials of ignoring the issue and blaming the victims.

Even in countries where homophobia is pervasive and same-sex relationships are illegal, authors are pushing boundaries, finding an audience and winning awards.

A student’s vow to overthrow one of Africa’s last ruling monarchs faces a roadblock: his own father, a soldier sworn to protect the throne.

The president of the West African country had postponed a coming election, but the country’s constitutional court said the vote must take place as soon as possible.

The waterborne disease has killed more than 4,000 people in seven countries over the past two years. Experts blame severe storms, a lack of vaccines, and poor water and sewer systems.

This year’s Africa Cup of Nations, like several previous editions, played out in Chinese-built arenas. It will end with familiar questions about their legacy.

The “Aya” series explores the pains and pleasures of everyday life in a working-class neighborhood in West Africa.

A mundane contractual provision met with rampant corruption — revealing a serious vulnerability in one of the backbones of international commerce.

From onsens in Japan to high-altitude pools in Bolivia, the photographer Greta Rybus shares highlights from her search for thermal waters.

Like many Nigerians, the novelist Stephen Buoro has been deeply influenced by the exquisite bedlam of Lagos, a megacity of extremes. Here, he defines the books that make sense of the chaos.