Africa StreaM

Artificial intelligence is no longer just a Silicon Valley debate: it’s becoming part of Africa’s creative revolution. In Nigeria, filmmakers and digital artists are experimenting with AI tools to create films, archive disappearing oral histories and imagine new African futures. Obinna Okerekeocha, founder of Naija Artificial Intelligence Film Festival, and filmmaker Malik Afegbua, use AI to preserve fading oral traditions by creating digital archives. They spoke to us in Eye on Africa.

France has sent back its ambassador to Algeria in a bid to ease tensions between Paris and its former North African colony. The envoy was recalled more than a year ago after relations between the two countries soured over France’s decision to back Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara.

In the run-up to the Africa Forward summit in Nairobi, Mark Owen is pleased to welcome Éléonore Caroit, France's deputy minister for Francophonie, International Partnerships and French Citizens Abroad. France is seeking to expand and transform its relationship with the entire African continent, Caroit explains. Africa Forward, France's first summit in English-speaking Africa, is reflective of a series of new initiatives that are "not limited to former colonies” but rather "a forward-looking relationship that is based on youth, and based on growth".

More than 30 people were killed in central Mali on Thursday after two attacks blamed on al Qaeda-linked militants, according to local, security and administrative sources. The strikes, claimed by JNIM, come amid renewed violence in the West African nation following recent coordinated assaults on the military junta.

In tonight's programme: DR Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi says he's open to a third term, triggering opposition accusations that he's preparing to bypass constitutional limits and cling to power. Also tensions rise again in Ethiopia's Tigray region as the TPLF reasserts control, defying the federal government. And in Senegal's coastal city of Mbour, children are paying the hidden price of irregular migration. Many have lost parents who disappeared at sea trying to reach Europe.

In tonight's edition: DR Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi says that he would accept a third term "if the people" want it, following a constitutional referendum. Also, a French court orders the resumption of an investigation into accusations that the widow of Rwanda's ex-president Juvenal Habyarimana was involved in the 1994 genocide. Plus new allegations of secret detentions and abuse are emerging from Burkina Faso, where authorities are accused of holding a prominent investigative journalist in a covert facility.

Sierra Leone, Togo, Ghana, Nigeria and several more countries in West Africa are in the midst of an overlooked opioid crisis that's crippling the population and devastating families. The drugs that are fueling this crisis aren't made in makeshift labs, but imported by the millions from India's pharmaceutical industry.

From deliveries of drones and armoured vehicles to training sessions led by Russian Africa Corps instructors, security cooperation between Madagascar and Russia has intensified since the October 2025 coup. Russia’s growing influence is expanding into other sectors as well, raising questions within parts of Malagasy civil society.

Three people infected with hantavirus are being taken off a cruise ship stricken by the deadly disease while the ship was anchored off the coast of Cape Verde, the World Health Organization said Wednesday. Health officials confirmed the presence of the rare Andes strain, the only known form of the virus capable of human-to-human transmission.

In tonight's edition: Nigeria is stepping in to bring its citizens home after fresh anti-immigration protests in South Africa. Also, Sudan is ramping up accusations after a series of drone strikes, including an attack on Khartoum airport: it says the drones came from Ethiopia and were supplied by the UAE. And Paris is once again rolling out the red carpet for African cinema as the NollywoodWeek Film Festival returns to the French capital.

Two rebel groups seized the city of Kidal in Mali on April 26. One of the sites they captured houses a ground control station for drones once operated by the Malian Army.

French journalist Christophe Gleizes has dropped an appeal against his imprisonment in Algeria in the hopes of securing his release through a presidential pardon, his family said on Tuesday. Gleizes was arrested in 2024 at the height of diplomatic tensions between France and Algeria.

In tonight's programme: Mali's junta leader Assimi Goïta appoints himself defence minister after the killing of his predecessor in a wave of attacks. Also, about 150 people are still stranded in isolation on a ship off Cape Verde's coast. Plus with the 2026 Venice Biennale fast approaching, Senegal is turning gold into a powerful artistic statement. We speak to astrophysicist and artist Caroline Gueye.

​The leader of Mali's military government, Assimi Goïta, has taken over as defence minister after the military officer who previously ​filled ‌the role was killed in coordinated attacks ⁠on April 25 by al Qaeda-linked militants and Tuareg separatists, state television reported ‌on Monday.

Two members of the US Armed Forces participating in the African Lion joint military exercises have been reported missing near the city of Tan Tan in southern Morocco, the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said on Sunday. A US defence official said the soldiers went missing while on a hike after the day's exercises had concluded.

As Mali's military struggles to maintain control amid a growing jihadist insurgency, a number of its own soldiers have been arrested, accused of collaborating with al Qaeda-linked militants in coordinating widespread attacks. The Islamist group JNIM, alongside separatist Tuareg rebels, has reportedly seized two northern cities, killed the defence minister and is now attempting to impose a blockade on the capital, Bamako.

Malian authorities say some military officers collaborated with jihadist and separatist fighters who carried out coordinated attacks across the country earlier in the week. A statement from the prosecutor’s office confirmed that the first arrests have been made and that efforts are continuing to track down other suspects involved. Meanwhile, separatist fighters from the Azawad Liberation Front claim they have captured a strategic military camp in the town of Tessalit after the Malian army and its Russian allies withdrew. Consulting fellow of the Africa Programma at Chatham House, Paul Melly, shares further insights.

The latest war in the Middle East is having wide-ranging consequences that extend well beyond the region, including in countries already devastated by their own conflicts. Sudan has been among the hardest hit. Aid organisations report that the Iran conflict has disrupted key shipping routes, severely affecting their ability to deliver food and medicine to millions of people in need around the world. Emily Boyle reports.

In Mali, the country’s army and its Russian mercenary allies lost control of a key northern military stronghold to armed rebels on Friday, marking a significant setback as Tuareg separatists and jihadist groups appear to be operating in a coordinated effort to challenge the ruling junta. Insurgents linked to Al Qaeda have also called on Malians to rise up against the military-led government and support a transition to Sharia law. Journalist Justice Baidoo reports the latest from Dakar, Senegal.