Bissau, Guinea-Bissau | AFP | Guinea-Bissau’s President Jose Mario Vaz named a new prime minister late Tuesday, appointing Augusto Antonio Artur Da Silva by decree after the previous PM resigned in a bid to end a political crisis. The new prime minister’s first job will be to organise fresh parliamentary …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has joined Arsenal for a record fee for the Gunners, a reported £56 million ($79.2 million, 63.7 million euros), from Bundesliga outfit Borussia Dortmund, both clubs confirmed Wednesday. The 28-year-old Gabon striker, who has scored 141 goals for Dortmund since joining in …

Washington, United States | AFP | Facebook says it is banning all ads related to cryptocurrencies in an effort to fight scams. The social media giant said it is barring ads for “financial products and services that are frequently associated with misleading or deceptive promotional practices, such as binary options, …

Art Safari finally comes to Kampala Kampala, Uganda | DOMINIC MUWANGUZI | The East Africa Art Biennale (EASTAFAB) is finally coming to Kampala. It’s happening in February under the theme, ‘Moving art across borders’. Biennales (Italian for `every other year’), are typically large international art exhibitions held in most cities around …

Hope is not lost from the man whose vision and experience helped rebuild Rwanda from the ashes COMMENT | LADISLAS NGENDAHIMANA | Fifty four years after her creation, the African Union is still struggling for her internal organisation and functioning. And the global Pan-African Movement which envisions driving the dignity and unity …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Rights groups on Wednesday criticised the Kenya government’s move to block live coverage of a mock inauguration by the opposition as a “violation” of the public’s right to information. Three of the country’s main private television channels had their live feeds cut or blocked, while …

Instead of seeking a new, disruptive framework, we should focus on making incremental changes COMMENT | URS ROHNER | Respected economists have long pointed out that gross domestic product is an inadequate measure of economic development and social well-being, and thus should not be policymakers’ sole fixation. Yet we have not gotten …

Marrakesh, Morocco | AFP | IMF chief Christine Lagarde warned Tuesday that “public dissatisfaction is bubbling up” in the Middle East and North Africa, calling for reforms that “respond faster to the expectations and sometimes to the frustration of the people”. Speaking at a conference in Morocco’s Marrakesh, the head of …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian air raids aimed at stopping herdsmen-farmer clashes killed at least 35 people in December, Amnesty International said Tuesday, describing the government’s response as “unlawful”. In a new report, the rights monitor said that on December 4, Nigerian air force planes fired “warning” rockets on villages …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South African anti-apartheid activist Winnie Madikizela-Mandela was discharged from hospital Tuesday after being treated for a kidney ailment, the family of her ex-husband Nelson Mandela said. Madikizela-Mandela, 81, was admitted to a Johannesburg hospital 10 days ago. The struggle veteran, who was persecuted by authorities …