The president of the Central African Republic on Thursday asked for help from the international community to stave off advances being made by rebels that threaten his rule.

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who is serving a life sentence in a Cairo prison, is being transferred to a military hospital for medical treatment, state-run TV reported Thursday.

How much can you remember about the year's big stories from Marketplace Africa? Test your knowledge by taking our quiz of 2012.

Her mother was assassinated, her father died in prison after being jailed by the military. Today, Hafsat Abiola is one of the most prominent civil rights activists in Nigeria, fueled by a desire to ensure her parents' deaths were not in vain.