First-Ever Training in Emergency Medicine Begins in Ghana

In a collaborative effort between the University of Michigan, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, a teaching hospital and other medical groups, Ghana has launched its first-ever training programme in emergency medicine and nursing.

Togolese Candidates Hope for Change in Upcoming Polls

Togolese opposition leaders are issuing calls for change - the mantra of President Barack Obama – as they seek the end of the 50-year dynasty of the Gnassingbe family in Togolese politics.

Sudanese Leader Presumed Winner in Largely Uncontested Poll

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is predicted to roll up an easy victory in national polls this week, adding another five-year term to his already 26 years in office.

College Massacre Throws Up Questions about Kenya’s Security

In a prepared speech after the murder of dozens of Kenyans last year, President Uhuru Kenyatta declared a national war on terror. “This is a war against Kenya and Kenyans,” he said. “It is a war that every one of us must fight.”

Opinion: Where Does Nigeria Go From Here?

After several tension-filled months, a majority of Nigerians swept in an opposition leader and former military man, Muhammadu Buhari, to succeed incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan, whose failure to contain a terrorist wave in the northern states doomed his re-election chances.

Lawyers, Rights Groups Rally Around Author of ‘Blood Diamonds’, Facing Jail

The Southern Africa Litigation Centre, Amnesty International and over a dozen other human rights organisations including the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights have signed an open letter demanding justice for crusading Angolan journalist Rafael Marques de Morais, whose exposés have offended several military officials and other higher-ups.

Former Military Man Declares Victory in Nigerian Polls

Showing a “commendable determination to register their vote and choose their leaders,” Nigerians by the hundreds of thousands lined up at polling stations across the country to select the next president and National Assembly of their country, U.S. and British witnesses to the hotly-contested presidential polls observed.

Smugglers Peddle ‘Conflict Diamonds’ from Central African Republic, Ignoring Ban

Since a coup d’etat and an extremely bloody aftermath, not much has improved in the Central African Republic and that suits the black market diamond merchants just fine.

South Sudan Frees Hundreds of Child Fighters, Including 9-Year Old Girl

South Sudan’s Democratic Army Cobra Faction announced its third release of child soldiers as agreed in a pact with the government signed last May.

Winners Announced for Free Expression Prize

At home she was subjected to death threats for defending women in northeastern Kenya who are vulnerable to rape, female circumcision and murder. This month, Amran Abdundi Amram was cheered as a hero as she collected the 2015 Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Award for Campaigning.

Pro-Democracy Activists at U.S. Event Jailed in DR Congo

Journalists, activists, hip hop artists and a United States diplomat were rounded up by police at a pro-democracy event on Sunday in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, sponsored in part by the U.S. government. Security forces charged them with threatening stability, according to a government spokesperson.

Sparks Fly As Sierra Leone’s VP Is Expelled From Party

An internal war is roiling the administration of President Ernest Bai Koroma with the Vice President, Samuel Sam-Sumana, at dead center. The VP, expelled last week from the ruling All People’s Congress (APC), is said to be forming a rival political movement from his home district in Kono, the country’s raw diamond capital, and an election decider.

Desolate Sierra Leonean Living Rough in UK Spurs Fund Drive

The somber face of a young man from Sierra Leone has become the emblem of Ebola’s living survivors, suffering in silence without families, papers, or homes.

Wife of Former Ivorian President Gets 20 Years for Inciting Election Violence

The wife of former president Laurent Gbagbo of Ivory Coast will serve jail time for inciting election violence in the 2011 post-election crisis.

Debt Balloons Off the Charts in Ghana, Angering Critics

The steady nation of Ghana could be heading for a painful train wreck as government borrowing raises the level of foreign debt to sky-high levels.

Prominent Lawyer Defending the Poor Gunned Down in Mozambique

As billions pour into Mozambique from foreign investors scooping up fields of coal and natural gas, the signs of newfound wealth are impossible to miss.

Burundi-Watchers See Erosion of Human Rights and Civic Freedoms

The bad old days of the 1980s and 1990s when Burundi was widely considered a police state may be making a comeback.

An American Missionary Kidnapped in Nigeria as Neighbouring Countries Seethe

With kidnappings and violent attacks almost a daily occurrence in Nigeria, the disappearance of an American missionary appears to have stirred a new wave of outrage among the international community at the worsening conditions in the West African country, once considered a rising star and the largest economy on the continent.

At the Margins of a Hot War, Somalis Are ‘Hanging on by a Thread’

After twin suicide bombings at a popular Mogadishu hotel last week that killed 25 and wounded 40, news reporters were seen swarming through the city, spotlighting the victims, the assassins, the motives and the official response.

South African Miners In Near Death Fire As Investors Eye Profits

An early morning fire swept through the Kusasalethu gold mine, southwest of Johannesburg, trapping close to 500 workers on a Sunday shift.

Ugandan Peace Activist Tipped For Famed Peace Prize

From a camp for displaced people amidst war, Victor Ochen was never far from the strife that afflicted Uganda over a decade ago. The Lord’s Resistance Army abducted his elder brother and cousin. Their whereabouts are still unknown.