AFRICA

Adam Amina, a 33-year-old pregnant mother, lay in one of the labour wards at Tamale’s only referral hospital in northern Ghana. She looked uncomfortable as she waited for her turn to be examined by one of the male midwives.

Visa issuance simplification, reissuance of passports after change of name at missions and harmonisation of airport arrival and departure cards, are among the new administrative steps taken by Africa’s most-populous nation to make things easier for citizens and foreigners travelling to the country, reports Kola Tella from Lagos. The Federal Government of Nigeria has reviewed the visa processes for foreigners …

The two Germans kidnapped by unknown persons in the northern state of Kaduna last week have been released. The two archaeologists, Professor Peter Breunig, and his colleague, Johannes Buringer, were freed on Saturday night, according to Nigeria’s online daily PREMIUM TIMES. “Yes, they were released last night (Saturday) by their kidnappers. No ransom was paid,” a senior police officer was …

More than 20 million people are at risk of dying from starvation within six months in four separate famines, the World Food Programme (WFP) has warned. Conflicts in Yemen, northeastern Nigeria and South Sudan have devastated households and driven up food prices while a drought in Somalia has ruined the agricultural economy, the global organisation said. In Yemen and South …

The gunmen who abducted German archaeologist, Prof. Peter Breunij, and his associate, Johannes Buringer, in Jenjela village in Kagarko Local Government of Kaduna State, have demanded N60m (180,000 euros, official rate) as ransom. The kidnappers, according to a source at Jenjela village, said the abductors called the line of the camp supervisor around 11.00 am and demanded N30m ransom for …

Gambia’s new president, Adama Barrow, unveiled the key programmes of his government at the country’s 52nd independence anniversary celebrations on Saturday. Mr Barrow, 52, who was elected in last December’s election, was also sworn-in as Gambia’s third president at the event, attended by thousands of citizens and graced by foreign guests, including several African heads of states. Below is the …

Thousands of people are expected to witness the official inauguration of Gambia’s new president, Adama Barrow, today in Banjul. The event, to be attended by many African heads of state, also marks the country’s 52nd independence anniversary. Barrow, who was first sworn in on 19 January in the Senegalese capital Dakar, is the third president in the history of independent …

The death of veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi at a critical moment in the DR Congo’s history is an irreparable loss for a country trying to navigate a constitutional crisis without descending into bloodshed. The best way to honour Tshisekedi is to continue the fight for democracy in the country, argues Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja. Etienne Tshisekedi wa Mulumba, the historic leader …

Kwesé TV, Africa’s newest satellite network has launched. The Kwesé Network’s Pay-TV satellite service started broadcasting on 30 January 2017, beaming Kwesé’s full suite of entertainment and sports programming to households in Ghana, Rwanda and Zambia, which make up the first phase of the Kwesé TV rollout across Africa – other countries will be announced in due course. Having already …

One of the commanders of the ECOWAS Military Intervention in the Gambia (ECOMIG) force has revealed the reason why ex-leader Yahya Jammeh finally decided to leave the country after weeks of obstinacy, which allowed the newly-elected president, Adama Barrow, to take office. The commander of the Nigerian Air Force’s contingent deployed in The Gambia to secure the nation’s presidential transition …

Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode on Wednesday (1 February) signed into law the anti-kidnapping bill recently passed by the State House of Assembly, with a pledge to ensure its full implementation to eradicate kidnapping once and for all in the State. The Prohibition of the Act of Kidnapping Law imposes a penalty of life imprisonment on kidnapping for ransom. …

No fewer than 41 Nigerians, which included 33 males and 8 females,  deported from the United Kingdom to Nigeria arrived Lagos today (1 February). The deportees arrived at the cargo terminal of Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja in an unmarked Airbus aircraft which touched ground at exactly 7:40 a.m. According to the correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria …

Efforts by the West African force deployed in The Gambia to secure the nation’s presidential transition have yielded a big success. General Francois Ndiaye, who leads the force of the Economic Community of West African States Military Intervention in Gambia (ECOMIG), said on Monday (30 January) that it had recovered arms and ammunition stored in ex-President Yahya Jammeh’s private residence …

After cutting off the English-speaking regions from the Internet, targeting media outlets and stripping Cameroon’s beauty queen of her crown for speaking her mind, the government has now set its sights on journalists, reports Cristina Krippahl. The Cameroonian government seems especially worried that word gets out into the world about the situation in Anglophone regions. Journalists working for the international …

African Union (AU) leaders, attending the ongoing 28th Summit of the organization in Addis Ababa, have elected Chad’s Foreign Minister Moussa Faki Mahamat as the new chairman of the AU Commission, succeeding South Africa’s Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. The 56-year-old seasoned diplomat beat his Kenyan counterpart, Amina Mohamed, after seven rounds, an indication of how keen the race was. Five candidates vied …

  President Adama Barrow of The Gambia has promised to run a transparent government with zero tolerance for corruption. Addressing his first world press conference on Saturday (28 January) in Banjul, Barrow vowed that he would demand “complete financial transparency” from members of his government. He said his ministers would have to declare their assets before assuming office. The president …

Jubilant Gambians on Thursday, 26 January welcomed home their new president, who was elected almost two months ago but forced to flee to Senegal when his predecessor, Yahya Jammeh, refused to step aside. Dressed in flowing white robes and cap, Adama Barrow stepped off the plane at the Banjul International Airport with heavily-armed troops from Senegal and Nigeria standing by …

Following the revelations of his active role in the repressive regime of ousted president, Yahya Jammeh, former Gambian interior minister, Ousman Sonko, has been arrested by the Swiss authorities. Sonko was arrested yesterday, 26 January in an asylum centre in Berlin following a case of crimes against humanity filed against him by the human rights organisation TRIAL International. The Geneva-based …

Ousman Sonko, a top member of the repressive Gambian regime of ousted president, Yahya Jammeh, has applied for refugee protection in Switzerland, Bern’s police chief confirmed on Wednesday, 25 January. Sonko, a former long-serving interior minister, has been staying in an asylum centre in Bern since November 2016, police chief Hans-Juerg Kaeser said. The ex-minister, who fled Gambia after Jammeh …

There are no facts yet to back the widely circulated claims that Gambia’s ex-ruler Yahya Jammeh looted millions of dollars from the country’s treasury before leaving for exile, a spokesman of President Adama Barrow has revealed. Speaking on BBC Newsday late night programme on Sunday from Banjul, Halifa Sallah, the chief spokesman for Gambia’s new government, said no government institution …