Gold miners discovered the largest gold deposits in Ghana Your comments on this

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has urged an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza, free passage of humanitarian aid and a fresh international push for a two-state solution. Speaking to the UN General Assembly on Thursday, he called a two-state outcome the only workable route to a fair and lasting peace in the Middle East, while violence, displacement and hardship continue in the occupied Palestinian territories, including Gaza.

African leaders at the UN General Assembly are pressing for Security Council changes that would give African states permanent seats on the body that takes the big decisions, pointing to the right to equal representation.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has demanded an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and said Somalia is using its seat on the UN Security Council to search for peace in the Middle East and Africa.

Kenyan officials have destroyed a huge consignment of methamphetamine valued at about $63 million, almost a year after the drugs were seized in the Indian Ocean off Kenya and six Iranians were detained.

Djibouti, Ethiopia and Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote have started work on a large petroleum infrastructure scheme that will connect landlocked Ethiopia to the Red Sea.

Many delegates left the hall and some jeered when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stepped up to start his speech at the UN General Assembly. The walkout came as Israel faces international criticism over its genocidal war in Gaza, Palestine.

Thousands of South Africans filled a Pretoria stadium on Thursday in a bid to set the world record for the largest cookout. On Heritage Day, also known as Braai Day, about 3,000 people cooked at 500 stations, trying to top Japan’s mark of 2,220 people barbecuing at the same time after missing out last year. The requirement was to grill together for five minutes without leaving their posts. Guinness judge Paulina Sapinska said officials are checking the evidence, with a decision expected on Friday.

South African police are hurrying to trace another woman reported missing in Soshanguve, north of Pretoria, as President Cyril Ramaphosa gets ready to speak to the country after nine women were killed in Ekurhuleni.

Africa CDC says $2.9 billion has been raised for the Ebola response across the continent, as confirmed cases keep climbing in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, is to put up a $660 million oil pipeline between Djibouti and Ethiopia to make fuel easier to move and store. Djibouti’s President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Dangote launched the scheme at Damerjog in Djibouti. The first stage is said to include a 375,000 cubic-metre terminal that can handle five million tonnes a year.

Nigeria has called for at least two permanent African seats on the UN Security Council as pressure for UN reform grows. Vice-President Kashim Shettima, standing in for President Bola Tinubu at the 81st UN General Assembly in New York, said the world should no longer be held “captive” by arrangements superpowers made in the colonial era.

With eight people running to succeed António Guterres, the contest is putting the spotlight on regional rotation, the chance of the first woman Secretary-General, the decisive power of the P5 and what Africa wants.

King Mswati III of Eswatini has pressed for a permanent African place on the UN Security Council and asked the world to do more about continuing wars and conflicts. Speaking in the 81st General Debate of the UN General Assembly, he said Africa’s missing permanent seat still kept the continent from a larger part in decisions on global security.

Burkina Faso says it is starting free public transport and healthcare for relatives of people killed or wounded while defending the country.

Namibia has seen its first outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in its main commercial livestock area in 60 years, the agriculture ministry says, and has banned livestock movements and meat exports across the country.

Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has answered Western countries that condemned the recent criminalisation of same-sex relationships in Senegal, calling for respect for the country’s sovereignty in an interview with France 24 and RFI.

Burkina Faso has introduced free public transport and healthcare as part of help for families of people killed defending the country. Those left disabled by the war, described as war invalids, will get the same free transport and medical care. Young children of the dead and of the disabled will also receive free schooling. The steps were agreed at a cabinet meeting led by President Ibrahim Traoré on Thursday.

African leaders speaking at the UN General Assembly are pressing for a redesigned Security Council, including permanent seats and veto rights for African states. Several heads of state have pointed to Africa’s absence from the permanent membership and said the continent should have a larger say in decisions on world security and international affairs.

Qatar Airways has sent some of its pilots on secondment to Rwanda’s national airline while the Iran war continues. The arrangement gives flying work to pilots who have not worked commercially since the war began.

North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo is becoming a new Ebola flashpoint, making up about a third of newly confirmed cases and deaths as the virus reaches places that are poorly prepared, the World Health Organization says.