AFRICA

Accra, Ghana | AFP |  Ghana’s outgoing president John Mahama urged his compatriots to get behind his successor, Nana Akufo-Addo, during his last state of the nation address on Thursday. Mahama told parliament in the capital, Accra, that he was happy to step down and let his long-time rival take …

Banjul, Gambia | AFP | The Gambia’s army chief on Wednesday reaffirmed his loyalty to President Yahya Jammeh, despite the threat of a regional military intervention if the strongman refuses to step down. Lieutenant General Ousman Badjie used a New Year message published in the pro-government Daily Observer newspaper to …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP |  DR Congo President Joseph Kabila gave the green light Wednesday for the Catholic Church to pursue mediation to end the crisis sparked by his refusal to step down, sources said. The country’s influential bishops brokered a New Year’s Eve deal to sketch a timetable …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Algeria forward Riyad Mahrez is favourite to be crowned African Footballer of the Year for 2016 on the back of his contribution to Leicester City’s shock English Premier League title win. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) title would make it a hat-trick of wins …

Banjul, Gambia | AFP | The head of Gambia’s electoral commission has fled to neighbouring Senegal fearing a plot against him, a month after declaring President Yahya Jammeh lost elections following 22 years in power, one of his relatives said. Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) chairman Alieu Momar Njie “fled to …

Banjul, Gambia | AFP |  Two more private Gambian radio stations have been ordered off air for unspecified reasons, staff said Monday, after a first station was shut down at the weekend amid a political standoff in the west African nation. On Sunday popular station Teranga FM, whose manager had …

Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP |  Twin suicide car bombs claimed by the Al-Qaeda aligned Shabaab insurgent group wounded nine people Monday at the entrance to Mogadishu’s fortified airport and a nearby hotel, officials said. The first blast occurred at the Medina Gate entrance to Mogadishu airport, home to the UN, …

Optimism in DR Congo as deal reached to end political crisis Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The new year in one of Africa’s most troubled countries began in a burst of optimism Sunday after rival groups agreed a deal for hauling DR Congo out of a perilous political crisis. …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | When Rose Kariuki first felt a lump on her left breast, the spectre of cancer — a disease she had only heard of on television — was the last thing on her mind. “To me, cancer was nowhere near us. It was shocking, I feared …

  Banjul, Gambia | AFP |  Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has accused the West African regional bloc ECOWAS of declaring war after demanding that he stand down following his defeat at the ballot box. Regional leaders warned last month that the 15-member ECOWAS would “take all necessary action to enforce …