Middle East & Africa

Booms in the night
What to make of a series of odd explosions in Iran

Do they augur a return to the shadow war over its nuclear programme?

For a few dollars more
Zimbabwe’s worst economic crisis in more than a decade

Its rulers blame covid-19. But they are largely at fault

War south of the Sahara
Jihadists in the Sahel threaten west Africa’s coastal states

Thousands of soldiers are struggling to stem the violence

The fragile federation
A musician’s murder sparks mayhem in Ethiopia

The country’s transition to democracy is at risk of being derailed

The fragile federation
A musician’s murder sparks mayhem in Ethiopia

The country’s transition to democracy is at risk of being derailed

With friends like these
Facebook has been bending to the will of Arab despots

Activists are finding it hard to stay on the right side of the company’s rules

Club of cutpurses
Inside the thieves’ guild in Freetown

Beggars have a union in Sierra Leone; so do sex workers

Rap the casbah
As Arab rappers challenge the old ways, despots hit back

Middle Eastern rulers prefer songs without pesky lyrics

Second time lucky
Malawi’s re-run election is a victory for democracy

Brave judges, a feisty press and plucky civil society boost a hopeful trend in Africa

Another sort of plague
Locusts have hit east Africa hard

Farmers, NGOs and investors are all worried. West Africa could be next

Showdown on the Nile
The bitter dispute over Africa’s largest dam

Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan are struggling to share water

Laughing all the way to jail
An aide to Congo’s president gets 20 years for graft

Vital Kamerhe says he was framed