AFRICA

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria has banned cough syrups containing the painkiller codeine because of concern about misuse and addiction, the government said. Health Minister Isaac Adewole said the ban was introduced because of “the gross abuse codeine usage has been subjected to in the country”. The announcement late …

Benguela, Angola | AFP | Angolan President Joao Lourenco has named diversifying the oil-dependent economy as his top priority after he became the country’s first new leader in 38 years. And one natural and readily available resource that has been identified is fish — but a lack of equipment and …

NAIROBI | Business Wire | The Board of Directors and Management of the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) are pleased to announce the appointment of Njuguna Ndung’u as the next AERC Executive Director effective September 1, 2018. Prof. Njuguna Ndung’u is well known to the AERC network as a trainer and …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor arrived in Kinshasa on Tuesday, the ICC said, following requests to investigate deadly violence in DR Congo. Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda is due to meet with government officials and judicial institutions and hold a press conference on Thursday, the …

Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Gabon’s government resigned on Tuesday, the day after the constitutional court dissolved the national parliament and also called for the country’s leadership to step down over election delays. Prime Minister Emmanuel Issozet Ngondet “submitted the resignation letter of his government following the decision of the constitutional …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Burundi on Tuesday launched the official campaign for a referendum on constitutional change that could enable President Pierre Nkurunziza to stay in power for another 16 years. Twenty-six parties, most of them aligned with the ruling CNDD-FDD party, have been authorised to campaign for the …

Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Dozens of people were killed on Tuesday when two suicide bombers detonated their explosives at a mosque and a market in Mubi, northeast Nigeria, residents said. “We have evacuated dozens of dead and injured people to the hospital and the rescue operation is still ongoing,” …

Kano, Nigeria | AFP | At least 10 gold miners were killed by armed men suspected to belong to a kidnapping and cattle rustling gang in the northern Nigeria state of Kaduna, police said Sunday. The bandits opened fire on a group of gold miners at a small-scale mine in …

Bétaré Oya, Cameroon | AFP | For a time, the land around the village of Longa Mali in eastern Cameroon was one of the most prized in Africa, and powerful machines gnawed greedily into its soil to extract precious gold. Today, abandoned with almost the same speed as it was …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan has to “terminate all business ties” with North Korea before any talks could begin for removing Khartoum from the US “terrorism” blacklist, a top US official said Monday. Washington lifted its decades-old trade embargo imposed on Khartoum in October, but kept Sudan in its …