Africa

A Nigerian atheist and outspoken critic of religion was sentenced to 24 years in jail on Tuesday after pleading guilty to blasphemy charges in the largely Muslim northern state of Kano, Reuters reported. Charges against Mubarak Bala are linked to comments he posted on Facebook in April 2020 that were …

At least six people have been burnt to death in an explosion at a petrol station in the northern Nigerian state of Jigawa, local media reported. Reports say some of the victims were sleeping in a small mosque within the gas station in the town of Marke when the fire …

The al-Qaeda-allied al-Shabab militant group has dismissed reports that it was planning an attack against the Somali president and prime minister. Pro-al-Shabab Somali Memo website quoted an unnamed senior al-Shabab commander who termed the claim by the Somali National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) “laughable”. The Shabab commander said Nisa …

Unidentified gunmen abducted an American nun in northern Burkina Faso on Monday, the bishop of the local diocese of Kaya said on Tuesday. The West African country faced a spiral of violence since 2015, attributed to jihadist movements affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group. More than 2,000 people …

Nigeria has repeated its demand for telecom companies to bar calls from unregistered phone lines, part of the government’s policy to boost security amid an Islamist insurgency and a spate of kidnappings. The country’s telecoms regulator had in December 2020 ordered mobile phone providers to add identification numbers (NINs) – …

A junior tennis player has been filmed slapping his opponent across the face after losing their match in Ghana’s capital, Accra. France’s Michael Kouamé, 15, struck Ghana’s Raphael Nii Ankrah, 16, when the pair shook hands at the net, to the shock of onlookers: Number 1 seeded player Michael Kouame …

Long queues have been witnessed at petrol station in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, as the city struggles with fuel shortages, the BBC reports. Fuel prices have not changed, but only limited amounts are being sold per day. The shortage started to bite on Monday although the authorities …

In an interview with the BBC, Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo justified the e-levy bill passed by parliament by saying it was aimed at taxing the industry and not the poor. Parliament in Ghana on March 29, 2022, approved the e-levy bill, after the minority staged a walkout. President Akufo-Addo said …

The al Shabaab group linked to al Qaeda plans to target Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed and Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble, the country’s intelligence agency warned on Tuesday. Violence by the group, which aims to topple the central government and impose its own severe version of Islamic law, has …

Police in South Africa’s capital, Pretoria, are looking for a shopping trolley rider filmed holding on to a fuel tanker that was speeding on a major highway, local media reported. The incident happened on Sunday following heavy rains, the man was seen smiling and waving at other motorists, local media …