Africa

The United States announced the building of a consulate in the Nigerian megacity Lagos, the country’s commercial capital, as Washington strengthens economic and diplomatic relations with Africa’s most populous country, Reuters agency reports. The consulate will be worth $537 million. The U.S. is among the largest foreign investors and donors …

Five more victims of a boat accident involving women and children fleeing armed gang violence in central Nigeria have been found, the BBC reports. The head of the Niger state emergency agency, Ahmad Ibrahim Inga, told the BBC the bodies of four children and one man were found on Thursday. …

UN investigators have found new evidence of mass graves believed to contain migrant bodies at a smuggling point in northwest Libya. The organisation’s fact-finding mssion said the discovery – in the town of Tarhuna – provided further evidence that human rights violations in Libya are “widespread, systematic or both.” The …

A teenager in northern Mozambique who was presumed dead and whose funeral was held in November has turned up in her home village of Lindi, local media reported. The community is referring to Eurélia Manuel Benjamim as having been resurrected from the dead, but she says she had just gone …

The Ukrainian embassy in Kenya is seeking donations to support the country’s war against Russia and save the lives of the affected people. The embassy said the initiative followed “many requests” it had received from Kenyans keen on donating to the cause. It has opened two fundraising bank accounts and …

Nigeria’s military says it has killed 34 members of a motorbike gang in an air raid in the northern state of Kaduna, the BBC reports. It carried out the operation on Wednesday near Mangoro village, an air force spokesperson said. Armed gangs, locally known as bandits, have stepped up attacks …

Supreme Court in Kenya on Thursday blocked sweeping constitutional changes proposed by President Uhuru Kenyatta, the court said. Through a majority ruling, the court has declared the process unconstitutional. Read also: Kenya: Supreme court to rule on president’s constitutional change Opponents say President Kenyatta’s proposition was an attempt to expand …

Kenya’s top court on Thursday stopped President Uhuru Kenyatta’s divisive bid to make sweeping constitutional changes which opponents say was an attempt to widen the presidency’s powers and has dominated early campaigning for an election in August, Reuters reports. His estranged deputy and presidential candidate William Ruto has charged the …

A boat carrying mostly women and children capsized in north-central Nigeria on Wednesday, leaving at least seven people dead and dozens missing, Reuters agency reports. Two residents in Guni village in Niger state said the passengers on the boat were trying to escape from gunmen who had attacked their village …

Lawmakers in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday voted to dismiss Economy Minister Jean-Marie Kalumba from his post. The minister is blamed for the soaring price of basic goods and mismanagement of the fishing industry, among other issues. Appointed to this post last year by President Félix Tshisekedi, the …