New York, United States | AFP |  Rap chart-topper Drake on Monday earned a record 13 nominations for the American Music Awards, topping the mark set by late king of pop Michael Jackson. The Toronto rapper, whose “Views” has been the top-selling album released this year in the United States, …

Bangui, Central African Republic | AFP | Pope Francis has brought fresh hopes of peace to the war-ravaged Central African Republic, with Christians and Muslims praising his decision to name Bangui’s archbishop a cardinal as a step to ending sectarian violence. Aged only 49, Archbishop Dieudonne Nzapalainga will be the …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | A road ambush blamed on South Sudanese rebels left 21 people dead over the weekend, police said Monday, as the UN warned of a surge of violence in the world’s youngest nation. Police spokesman Dominant Kawcgwok said a group of mostly women and children — …

President Yoweri Museveni has congratulated the people of Sudan upon conclusion of a historic national dialogue that places the country on a new political path. “I came here to salute Bashir and the people of Sudan for after 60 years of trouble, sitting down in a national dialogue and finding …

Stockholm, Sweden | AFP |  Two US-based academics won the Nobel Economics Prize on Monday for groundbreaking research on contract theory that has helped design insurance policies, executive pay and even prison management. Oliver Hart, a British-American economist, and Bengt Holmstrom of Finland “have developed contract theory, a comprehensive framework …

Kigali, Rwanda | AFP |  Rwandan leader Paul Kagame warned Monday of a “showdown” with Paris after French investigators last week said they would reopen a probe into the genocide-triggering assassination of president Juvenal Habyarimana. The shooting down of Habyarimana’s French-crewed plane on April 6, 1994, kickstarted the genocide that …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian judges will hold emergency talks Tuesday following the “deeply regrettable” detention of several judges by secret police in a corruption probe, the country’s chief justice said Monday. At least seven judges were detained by Nigerian security forces over the weekend in connection with allegedly …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP |  Ethiopia said Monday that “foreign enemies” like Egypt were behind an unprecedented wave of protests that has prompted the government to declare a six-month state of emergency. Ethiopia’s government is facing the biggest challenge of its 25 years in power, with anti-government protests spreading, …

Goma, DR Congo | AFP | At least 10 people were killed Sunday night in clashes between the army and suspected Ugandan rebels in east DR Congo, activists said, in an area that has suffered a string of massacres since 2014. “Suspected ADF (Allied Democratic Forces) attacked Beni from the …

VIDEO: Government has intervened to save the 10,000 hectare controversial Zoka forest that is currently being cleared for logging. The recent cabinet meeting resolved that an inquiry be instituted to probe the alleged logging by government officials, and clearance for sugar cane growing. This was revealed by the Second Deputy Premier, …