Image copyright Imran Qureshi Image caption The cyclone brought heavy rain and winds of up to 140km/h At least seven people have been killed and thousands evacuated from coastal areas in two southern Indian states, as Cyclone Vardah lashed Chennai (Madras). Schools and businesses were shut and airport services suspended, …

Media captionDonald Trump says he “doesn’t want China dictating to me” China says it is “seriously concerned” after US President-elect Donald Trump expressed doubts about continuing to abide by the “One China” policy. Under the policy, the US has formal ties with China rather than the island of Taiwan, which …

A selection of the best photos from across Africa this week: Image copyright AFP Image caption Model Winfrida Metili shows off a colourful hair extension at the Swahili Fashion week in Tanzania’s main city Dar es Salaam on Friday… Image copyright AFP Image caption While this model waits her turn …

Image copyright Jose Cendon One woman isn’t letting drought, mass emigration and political upheaval stand in the way of her dreams of building a fashion empire, says Colin Freeman. If all it took were motivation, Tida Jallow’s name might be up there with Mary Quant’s or Coco Chanel’s. Her fashion …

Image copyright Reuters In our series of letters from African journalists, novelist and writer Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani looks at what lies ahead for some of the girls who have been released by Boko Haram militants in Nigeria. To enable the 21 recently freed Chibok girls to avoid the stigma usually …

Image copyright AFP In our series of letters from African journalists, Sola Odunfa looks at why it is a good idea for Nigeria to reintroduce history as a school subject – a move recently backed by the country’s senate. When I was growing up, one of the subjects I learnt …

Image copyright AFP Image caption Supporters for both Ghana’s main parties love dressing up for rallies In our series of letters from African journalists, Ghanaian writer Elizabeth Ohene, a member of the main opposition NPP, explains the hidden meanings of election parables. We are in the midst of an election …

Image copyright Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani Image caption Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani’s father wanted his children to master English In our series of letters from African journalists, Nigerian novelist and writer Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani recalls how she was banned from speaking her mother tongue. My parents forbade my local language, Igbo, from …

Image copyright (c) Mahesh Shantaram Image caption Hamza and Shukura from Nigeria, living in Jaipur, India In January, a Tanzanian student was assaulted and partially stripped by a mob in the southern Indian city of Bangalore after a Sudanese student’s car ran over and killed a local woman. Shocked by …

How do you protect millions of people from a deadly disease in the space of a few weeks? That has been the challenge after a yellow fever outbreak has killed more than 400 people in Angola and neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. Photographer Tommy Trenchard has been following the 10-day …