AFRICA

Banjul, Gambia | AFP | The Gambia has banned music, dancing and drumming during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, on pain of being arrested — and people are complying, police said Monday. Ordinary citizens in the small west African country — whose president declared it an Islamic state in …

Bamako, Mali | AFP | As the United Nations looks to extend its most deadly active mission for peacekeepers for another year, those working closely with its venture in Mali say poor local collaboration and funding gaps are costing lives. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has asked the Security Council to …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Benin made the most of their FIFA world ban being lifted to beat Equatorial Guinea 2-1 on Sunday and retain hopes of reaching the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations. A Khaled Adenon goal put the Beninese Squirrels ahead, Ben Essono equalised and David Djigla …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South African telecoms giant MTN said Friday it would pay a $1.7 billion fine to the Nigerian government in a “full and final settlement” over its failure to disconnect unregistered mobile phone users. The Johannesburg-based company said in a statement that “MTN Nigeria has …

Former Uganda Vice President Dr Speciosa Wandira Kazibwe has been endorsed by the Eastern African region as their candidate for the post of Chairperson of the African Union (AU). Uganda’s Foreign Affairs Ministry confirmed the development in a statement. “Dr Wandira has been endorsed by the Cabinet of Ministers of …

Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | Liberia said Thursday it was free of Ebola, meaning there are now no known cases in west Africa of the tropical virus that has left more than 11,300 people dead in the region since late 2013. Liberia was the country worst hit with more than …

Niamey, Niger | AFP | The first of an expected 2,000 troops from regional military powerhouse Chad began arriving in neighbouring Niger Wednesday, where Boko Haram insurgents inflicted heavy losses in the town of Bosso last week, a local security source said. Chad is a leading member of a multi-national …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Nearly 100 people have been kidnapped in northeast DR Congo during an attack blamed on Uganda’s rebel Lord’s Resistance Army, the United Nations said Wednesday. Lieutenant-Colonel Martin Amouzou Codjo, spokesman for the UN’s MONUSCO peace mission in DR Congo, said the suspected LRA members …

The newly-reconciled leaders of South Sudan have called for a South Africa-style truth commission to heal the scars of a gruesome war in the world’s youngest nation. President Salva Kiir and the newly-appointed vice president, Riek Machar, a former foe, said in a joint piece in The New York Times …

More than 10,000 people have died crossing the Mediterranean to Europe since 2014, the UN said Tuesday, as the EU unveiled fresh plans to stem the migrant flow from Africa. Following a rash of deadly shipwrecks that have claimed hundreds of lives, the UN refugee agency said the number of …