First time visitor to Africa, Anna Sobotka, writes: “I wasn’t prepared for this country’s natural beauty and dignity.” This is her shot taken in the Chobe National Park of bathing elephants.

It’s thought that more than half of Africa’s GDP comes from the informal sector which accounts for around 80% of the labour force, many of them small traders. So should governments regulate traders? These vendors tell the BBC about their lives: Image copyright Boldwill Hungwe/BBC Image caption Twenty-six-year-old Beauty Nyandoro …

Image copyright Tommy Trenchard The powdery white beaches of Zanzibar’s east coast are best known as a holiday destination. But each day, as the tide begins to ebb and the beachgoers return to their hotels, a small army of men and women armed with sticks and spears wade out across …

After nearly three years of devastating civil conflict, South Sudanese artists have come together to try and get the country thinking and talking about peace, by launching a public art project in the capital Juba. Image copyright Ana Taban Image caption Painted murals have appeared on walls and shipping containers …

This year’s Lagos Photo Festival in Nigeria brings together well-known photographers and their take on identity in Africa: Image copyright Lagos Photo Festival Image caption Keyezua looks at fashion in her home country of Angola with this image, entitled Royal Generation, of a woman wearing fabric woven from raw materials. …

Princess Kasune is one of Zambia’s most outspoken HIV activists and was elected as an opposition MP in August. She tested positive to HIV in 1997 and the next year went public about her status, defying her husband – and traditional taboos – in doing so. “I felt like a …

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Maiduguri has become the centre of aid efforts Kawu Ashe is just one of up to 120,000 people facing starvation in north-eastern Nigeria, which has been ravaged by the Boko Haram Islamist insurgency. Last month, she made the life-and-death decision to flee her village after …

Image copyright Reuters Image caption The palace was burnt down during the clashes A Ugandan king has been charged with murder following violent clashes in which more than 80 people died last week. The BBC’s Patience Atuhaire visited the western town of Kasese and explains how the situation got to …

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The ex-Reading and Nigeria defender denied fraudulent trading charges Former Premier League footballer Sam Sodje has appeared in court alongside three brothers accused of charity fraud. The ex-Reading defender denied fraudulent trading charges relating to the Sodje Sports Foundation – a charity to raise …

Sol Bamba joined Cardiff in October after his contract came to an end at Leeds Cardiff City defender Sol Bamba has received an initial two game ban for his dismissal against Ipswich Town. The Bluebirds are waiting to discover whether the FA will take more action against the Ivory Coast …