Africa

Thousands of Ghanaians took to the streets of the capital Accra on Thursday to demonstrate against a controversial government-sponsored electronic transaction tax bill. The parliament is yet to pass the bill, which introduces a 1.75% tax on all money transactions above 100 cedis ($15; £11). The majority leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu …

Zimbabwean education ministry said it has suspended staff who did not turn up for the start of the school term on Monday. A large number of government-employed teachers are on strike over poor wages. The absent teachers were suspended without pay with immediate effect for three months while investigations into …

Nigeria’s parliament has declared ritual killings a national emergency. Minority leader Toby Okechukwu blamed the vice on Nollywood films with storylines that feature juju. “Ritual killing had become a predominant theme in most homemade movies which if not checked, our younger generation may begin to view it as an acceptable …

Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia will start teaching the Swahili language after signing an agreement with a Tanzanian university, state media EBC reports, citing the university’s president. The language studies will be facilitated by the University of Dar es Salaam. The move comes days after the African Union adopted Swahili …

Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoko Embaló says the masterminds of last week’s coup attempt served time in US jails for drug trafficking. The president said a former navy admiral and two of his aides were involved in a well-funded plot to assassinate him, his prime minister and other senior officials. He …

Tanzania has lifted a ban on four newspapers suspended when the late President John Magufuli was in power, the BBC reports. The four – Mwanahalisi, Mawio, Mseto and Tanzania Daima – had their licences suspended for various reasons, including publishing false stories. They were regarded as being critical of Mr …

Dozens of Cameroonian asylum seekers deported from the United States are abused on their return home, an international pressure group says. Some were arrested, tortured and raped, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said. “Their national identity cards were confiscated and their relatives abused,” it said. The US was failing Cameroonians with …

The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo Félix Tshisekedi has appointed a new security adviser following the arrest on Saturday of his former adviser François Beya for his alleged role in a coup plot. The new adviser, Jean-Cluade Bukasa, served as Mr Beya’s deputy. Mr Beya was detained by …

The government in Zimbabwe has warned that six cyclones may hit the country during the current rainy season. July Moyo, the local government minister, said measures had been put in place to warn and protect lives and property. “Lessons had been learnt from previous cyclones that had affected the southern …

A soldier and five park rangers have been killed in an attack by suspected Islamist militants in a national park in northern Benin. At least 10 other people have been injured. The ambush on Tuesday afternoon happened during a routine patrol in the W National Park, which straddles the borders …