Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn in on Friday as Tanzania's first female president after the sudden death of John Magufuli from an illness shrouded in mystery.

As Tanzania's vice president Samia Suluhu Hassan is set to take over as head of state after the sudden death of John Magufuli, here's a rundown of African women presidents.

Tanzania's leadership faced calls for a smooth succession after President John Magufuli, Africa's most vehement coronavirus sceptic, died following an 18-day absence from public life that drew speculation about his health.

The High Court in Malawi has reserved its ruling on a challenge which self-proclaimed prophet Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Mary have lodged against a second warrant of arrest issued against them.

Two leading African airlines have signed onto the Trusted Travel Pass, which verifies Covid-19 test and vaccine certificates prior to departure.

The African Union said on Thursday that it considers that the benefits of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine outweigh the risks and recommended that vaccinations continue across the continent.

There are a vast array of informal institutions in Ghana and South Africa that mitigate against women getting into office, and against them getting there in the first place, writes Diana Højlund Madsen and Amanda Gouws.

When Tanzania's John Magufuli entered the presidency in 2015 he was known for his no-nonsense approach to fighting corruption. But that all changed once he settled into office, writes Aikande Clement Kwayu.

Tanzanian President John Magufuli, who died Wednesday aged 61, came to power in 2015 as a blunt-talking man of the people, attacking corruption as promised, but triggering accusations of a slide into authoritarianism.

Tanzania's President John Magufuli, admired by followers for his hostility to corruption and waste but regarded by foes as an irascible authoritarian intolerant of dissent and sceptical about Covid-19, has died aged 61.

Tanzanian President Magufuli was one of the world's most prominent Covid-deniers. His death was announced on state TV.

Tunisia has repatriated at least 16 women and children accused of links to extremist jihadi fighters imprisoned in war-ravaged neighbouring Libya, rights groups said on Wednesday.

Security forces in the Republic of Congo were casting their ballots on Wednesday ahead of presidential elections in which veteran leader Denis Sassou Nguesso is frontrunner.

Abdenour Ait Said and Mohamed Chabti both helped topple Algeria's veteran president nearly two years ago by taking part in mass street demonstrations against the ruling elite but they no longer agree on the protests.

Egypt is racing to prepare a grandiose new capital city in the desert east of Cairo before the first civil servants move in this summer and ahead of the delayed official opening of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's flagship project.

At least 11 soldiers were killed and 11 more are missing after an attack in northeastern Mali blamed on jihadists, the army said, updating a previous toll.

UN panel of experts says violations of arms embargo are ‘extensive, blatant and with complete disregard for sanctions’.

Children as young as 11 have been targeted by violence and beheaded in northeast Mozambique during an jihadist insurgency in the region, the charity Save the Children says.

Prosecutors in Algeria are seeking an 18-month prison sentence for a journalist on charges including defamation, a penalty Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has slammed as "disproportionate".

Two Malian soldiers have been killed in an attack in a northeastern region where jihadist groups are rampant, the army said.