AFRICA

Kumasi, Ghana | AFP |  India has its Bollywood and Nigeria, Nollywood. Even New Zealand has a Wellywood. In Ghana, films made in Kumasi and the surrounding region go by a similar shorthand — Kumawood. The cultural heart of Ghana is about five hours’ drive from the more cosmopolitan coastal …

Africa’s insurance industry need fewer players to offer better services-Zep Re CEO Hope Murera It is six months since Hope Murera was appointed the chief executive officer of the Nairobi based-Zep Re (PTA Reinsurance Company) that  is charged with the task of promoting trade, development and integration within the  Common Market …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Four people, including three NGO workers, were killed Tuesday when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in eastern Kenya, a local government official said, in the latest such attack in the country. “We have four people dead from the incident that occurred between Dadaab and …

Maputo, Mozambique | AFP |  Police in Mozambique Tuesday warned that bald people could be the targets of ritual attacks, after the brutal killing of two men whose body parts were to be used in witchcraft. The two bald men, one of whom was found with his head cut off …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP |  Democratic Republic of Congo’s former police chief John Numbi, believed by regime critics to be prime suspect in the murder of a key rights activist, has been made a national hero. Numbi, who holds the rank of general, is one of eight senior police …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s economy unexpectedly contracted in the first quarter of this year, pushing the continent’s most advanced economy into its first recession since 2009, according to official statistics released Tuesday. The data, which also showed unemployment hitting a 14-year high, are expected to pile more …

United Nations, United States | AFP |  The United States on Monday urged the United Nations to establish a special investigation into the murder of two UN experts who had been gathering evidence of mass graves in the Democratic Republic of Congo. US Ambassador Nikki Haley, in Geneva for meetings …

EU to give 50 million euros for African force in Sahel Bamako, Mali | AFP |  The EU is giving 50 million euros to set up a joint African military force in the Sahel region to fight jihadists, the bloc’s foreign affairs chief said Monday. The funds will help pay …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP |  A man and a teenager went on trial in a military court in Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday, accused of killing two UN experts in March, their lawyer said. Evariste Ilunga, a 16-year-old student, and Mbayi Kabasele, 30, who sells palm oil, are …

Monrovia, Liberia | AFP |  The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said it has extended the mandate of its military mission in The Gambia. The force, consisting mainly of soldiers from neighbouring Senegal, was first sent to the small country in January to compel longstanding president Yahya Jammeh …