A ferry overloaded with people returning home for Christmas capsized on the Busira River in northeastern Congo, leaving 38 people confirmed dead and over 100 others missing, officials and eyewitnesses said Saturday. Twenty people have been rescued so far. The sinking of the ferry late Friday came
Suspected jihadists killed more than 20 people in a string of attacks on villages in central Mali's insurgency-hit Mopti region on Friday, two local sources said. The unidentified assailants struck during the day and into the evening, ransacking and burning six villages in the Bandiagara area, the
An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5 jolted South Africa at 2:51 am (00:51 GMT) on Sunday, the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences said. The epicenter, with a depth of 10.0 km, was initially determined to be at 30.39 degrees south latitude and 19.45 degrees east longitude, reports Xinhua.
The United Nations Security Council voted to extend the mandate for a long-running UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo for another year on Friday, further delaying an agreed withdrawal from conflict-torn eastern provinces. The Congolese government has previously pushed for
Under a scorching sun in Democratic Republic of Congo, many of the farmers tending to their fields in the troubled eastern region are guarded by United Nations peacekeepers. The UNmission has fallen under increasing scrutiny over the years as the eastern conflict between rebel groups, self defence
Ghana's President-elect John Dramani Mahama has named an anti-corruption team to gather information on suspected graft, his transition team said in a statement on Wednesday. Mahama, the main opposition candidate in a Dec 7 presidential election he won with around 56% of the vote, has promised to r
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has inaugurated a 500-million-US dollars solar plant in the southern city of Aswan as part of Egypt's efforts to boost renewable energy production. "It is a pivotal step in promoting renewable energy, and is a testament to our deep commitment to a future vi
At least 42 civilians were killed in a landmine explosion in Sinnar State of central Sudan, on Friday and two attacks by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Gezira State over the past two days, local volunteer groups reported Friday. The Al-Suki Emergency Room, a volunteer group in Al-S
Scattered along the banks of the Ituri River, buildings cram together, cranes transport dirt and debris scatters the soil. The patches of trees are a scant reminder that a forest once grew there. Nestled in eastern Congo's Ituri province, the Chinese-run gold mine is rapidly encroaching on an area
Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah of Namibia's ruling SWAPO party has been elected president and will be the country's first female leader, results released by the country's electoral commission showed on Tuesday. Nandi-Ndaitwah, 72, is the current vice president. Her victory will extend SWAPO's 34 years in
The bodies of two three-year-old boys were among those pulled from mud in eastern Uganda, swelling to 28 the death toll from a landslide last week that buried several villages, police said, with dozens still unaccounted for. More than 100 people had been feared missing, with 17 dead after Wednesda
Dozens of people have died in a crush following clashes at a football match in Guinea's second-largest city, N'zérékoré, local media report. Prime Minister Mamadou Oury Bah said a stampede at the event led to a number of victims on Sunday and called for calm, reports BSS. One
Mauritius Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam said on Friday he has asked for an independent review of a confidential draft agreement with Britain over the future of the Chagos Islands. The British government said on Thursday it was confident that the deal to secure the future of a US-British military
