West Africa

Due to increasing coronavirus cases among lawmakers and staff, Ghana’s parliament will suspend sittings for three weeks , Speaker Alban Bagbin announced on Tuesday. The number of MPs who have contracted the virus has risen to 17 while that of staff has gone up to 151. Speaker Bagbin said sittings …

The path has been cleared for Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to become the first woman and the first African to lead the World Trade Organization after South Korea’s candidate pulled out of the race for the job. Ms Okonja-Iweala said there was vital work ahead, and called on everybody to pull …

Fifteen members of Ghanaian parliament and 56 staff members have contracted coronavirus, local media reported. They returned positive tests following a recent round of testing, Speaker Alban Bagbin is quoted as saying in parliament on Thursday. The infected lawmakers and staff have been asked to self-isolate while undergoing treatment, according …

On Thursday, Burkina Faso’s government said that it was open to holding talks with Islamist militants, a position embraced by its neighbours in the Sahel region where terrorist attacks are recurrent. Jihadists activities have grown in the region despite military operations to contain them. France which has more than 5,000 …

Muhammadu Buhari, the Nigerian president has nominated four former military commanders for ambassadorial roles after their resignation last week. The president overhauled the military’s top command amid growing calls for a reshuffle due to insecurity across the country. He accepted the resignation of the chief of defence staff and the …

Hundreds of shops and stalls have been completely burnt in an overnight at a market in the Nigerian capital, Abuja. One person sleeping in the market was burnt to death in the incident at the Tippa Garage Market in the Gwarinpa district. Assorted goods including food, building materials and clothing …

Dozens of Islamist Boko Haram militants have been killed by Nigerian soldiers in a major operation the north-east of the country. Troops stormed the jihadists’ strongholds in Kidari, Argude, Takwala, Chowalta and Galdekore, local media reports. The soldiers are said to have gained access into the notorious Timbuktu Triangle in …

Nine troops were killed in Mali’s troubled central region early Wednesday when their camp came under attack from jihadists, security sources said. Their position at Boni, located between Douentza and Hombori in the Mopti region, was attacked by “heavily armed individuals in armoured vehicles,” one source said, speaking on condition …

According to a government statement, the head of Liberia’s anti-corruption body, Ndubusi Nwabudike, has resigned. There were concerns on how he acquired his citizenship. Mr Nwabudike is in fact of Nigerian origin. Mr Nwabudike insists he is a Liberian and has denied any wrongdoing, but failed last year to prove …

Guinea should investigate how four opposition members died in pre-trial detention, Amnesty International says. They were arrested in connection with protests last year against a referendum on a new constitution that allowed President Alpha Condé to stand again in elections, which he went on to won. Those who died in …