AFRICA

Accra, Ghana | AFP | Six miners were killed and two injured when the roof of a tunnel collapsed at a gold mining site operated by US-based Newmont in Ghana’s southern region, the company said Sunday. “I can confirm six fatalities to you. Two others were treated at the clinic …

Aden, Yemen | AFP | A rebel ambush in Yemen killed dozens of Sudanese soldiers belonging to a Saudi-led coalition fighting on the side of the government, military sources and the insurgents said Saturday. The Iran-backed Huthi rebels hit the Sudanese military convoy in the northern province of Hajjah before …

Niamey, Niger | AFP | The leaders of Benin and Niger have given their backing to Chinese involvement in a controversial major rail infrastructure project set to span several countries. “We have taken stock of the railway issue (and) we tried to see which measures could be taken to move …

Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Sierra Leone’s beaten presidential hopeful Samura Kamara, who narrowly lost a run-off vote, congratulated victor Julius Maada Bio Saturday and vowed to throw his party’s support behind a new administration. “I’m here to congratulate our new president with executive members of my party,” Kamara …

Bamako, Mali | AFP | A peacekeeper from Niger was shot dead by militants in northern Mali on Friday, the UN’s mission to the country said, the latest in a spate of deadly attacks on “Blue Helmets” in the conflict-torn country. “Today at 7:00 pm (1900 GMT) two unidentified gunmen opened …

Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Sierra Leone’s new president, Julius Maada Bio, on Friday promised civil servants they need not fear a purge despite a historic shift in the country’s politics. Bio, whose election has ended decade-long rule by the All People’s Congress (APC), praised state workers and “gave them …

N’Djamena, Chad | AFP | Chad’s legislative elections, originally due to take place in 2015, “should take place in November”, President Idriss Deby told opposition parties Friday, state radio reported. Deby, named in a US corruption probe, had already promised earlier that the elections would finally take place this year. The …

Goma, DR Congo | AFP | Kidnappers in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have freed a priest in exchange for a ransom but three other people abducted in the troubled region have been killed, sources said Friday. Father Celestin Ngango was taken away by armed men on Sunday shortly after …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Friday inaugurated a 24-kilometre (15-mile) around the country’s tanzanite mines to prevent smuggling of the precious violet-blue stones, which are unique to the East African country. Magufuli in September ordered the army to build the wall around the mines, located …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwean police investigating an ivory-smuggling racket will soon question former ruler Robert Mugabe’s wife Grace, who is accused of arranging shipments abroad, a government-owned newspaper reported Friday. The Herald newspaper, once the mouthpiece of the Mugabe regime, said police were making progress in their probe into …