Africa

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has officially launched the country’s first-ever interest-free commercial Islamic bank. Salaam Bank Limited, a subsidiary of a Djibouti-based bank, is the first institution to offer Islamic financing in the country. Mr Museveni said the institution had a potential to significantly contribute to the development of the …

The medical charity, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), has warned about outbreaks of measles in South Sudan and Yemen. It said that there had been seven deaths and more than 450 cases among children under-five since February in South Sudan’s Western Equatoria state. MSF said that its hospital unit in Taiz …

A Chinese national has been sentenced to death after finding him guilty of killing his girlfriend in kano State, Nigeria. “The suspect was accused of stabbing his 22-year-old girlfriend in self-defense at a residence in Kano,” according to reports. The suspect was convicted by a local court in Kano State, …

The price of cocoa hit a new record fuelled by climate change and adverse weather conditions – impacting a market that has already seen high Easter chocolate prices in Europe. In the latest price hike, the cocoa bean traded above $10,000 per tonne on world commodity markets, $2,000 more than …

A man has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for defiling his nine-year-old daughter and only child in Anambra State, Nigeria. The judgment was delivered in a three-count brought against the defendant by the state government following compelling evidence proving him guilty as charged. Th suspect was consequently sentenced to …

The Ugandan government has ordered ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to institute weekly physical exercise sessions for their staff to tame the rising burden of lifestyle diseases, local media reported. The directive was shared in a letter to government agencies from the head of public service, Lucy Nakyobe, who said …

A 40-year-old man lost his life while trying to retrieve a sum of money from an abandoned well in Adugyama, a farming community in the Ashanti region of Ghana. “The teacher drowned immediately he risked his life and entered the deep well,” reports said. “The money belonged to a neighbour …

A South African court has rejected a request by the ruling African National Congress (ANC) to prevent a newly formed party backed by former President Jacob Zuma from contesting May’s general election. The ANC had argued that uMKhonto weSizwe, known as MK, had not met the criteria for official registration. …

Senegal’s ruling coalition has admitted defeat and congratulated opposition candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye on his victory in the presidential election. Provisional results from Sunday’s poll showed Mr Faye had a strong lead over former Prime Minister Amadou Ba. Official results are expected later this week. The vote followed months of …

Gunmen killed 21 people in a random attack on a busy market in Niger State, northwest Nigeria, according to reports. More than a dozen gunmen stormed the Madaka market in Rafi local government area at the height of commercial activities, and opened fire at random, according to Ayuba Katako, head …