In the news

Egyptian authorities on Monday suspended hot air balloon flights over the pharaonic sites of Luxor, one of the country’s most touristic cities in the south, after an accident which left “only two minor injuries”. “While a group of hot air balloons were in flight, one of them collided with another …

Efforts to meet the one-third quota for female representation in all institutional bodies in Kenya are stalled as female parliamentarians face online abuse. Rights activists are warning that the process of advancing women’s representation in Kenya could slow down as a result of online abuse and harassment faced by women …

South African provincial wildlife authorities in KwaZulu-Natal killed a pride of six lions said to have escaped a game reserve and killed livestock in neighbouring areas, local media reported. It came after residents protested and threatened to hunt and kill them if no action was taken, the BBC reported. They …

The world celebrates this Monday, July 18, Nelson-Mandela International Day (Mandela Day) in tribute to the anti-apartheid hero. The day set in November 2009 thanks to a resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations, recognizes the contribution that the former leader has made to the struggle for democracy …

Nigeria’s north-western Zamfara state government has suspended a Muslim traditional leader (emir) after a suspected kidnapping gang leader was appointed a traditional chief. Adamu Aliero Yankuzo, a wanted suspected gang leader, was appointed and installed as the chief of the Fulani community (Sarkin Fulani) in Yandoton Daji area on Saturday. …

Ghana’s health authorities said nearly 100 people are in isolation following the detection of two cases of Marburg virus. Officials said two patients in southern Ashanti region died in hospital after contracting the highly infectious haemorrhagic fever. Bats are a known source of transmission and officials are warning people to …

A 25-year-old African-American, killed by police in late June after fleeing a traffic violation in a northern US city, was hit by 46 bullets, according to the results of a autopsy published on Friday. His death, and the publication of a video of the police intervention, had provoked several days …

US missionary, Eric Tuininga is sentenced to 10 years after a US court found him guilty of defiling a 14-year-old local girl under his care in Uganda’s eastern district of Mbale, media reported. The missionary, 45, was also ordered to pay $20,000 (£16,000) in restitution to the victim and spend …

One person died in the violent fires that ravaged remote wooded areas of northern Morocco since Wednesday, leading to the evacuation of a thousand families, authorities told AFP on Friday. “The body of a person with multiple burns was found” in one of the fires in the Larache region, according …

The Togolese armed forces on Thursday said they were responsible for a recent explosion that killed seven civilians and injured two others, after mistaking them for jihadists. The explosion occurred in the prefecture of Tône, near the border with Burkina Faso, where a Sahelian jihadist insurgency threatens to spread to …