Over the course of its two-day summit in Abuja, the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, discussed the region’s many crises, as well as its successes. On Friday, the confederation also elected Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara as its new chairman

Nigeria’s new police chief has said that members of the force routinely commit extra-judicial killings, jail innocent people, and demand bribes. During a speech Monday in Abuja, the acting inspector general of police, Mohammed Abubakar, said the police force had “fallen to its lowest level.”

Schoolgirl Nomasonto Masango giggles as she lists the things she and her friends want boyfriends to buy them. “If you have an older boyfriend, he can buy you things and it is nice to show your friends that you have things,” says Nomasonto. The most prized items are cell phones, jewelry and fashionable clothes

In 2003 the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the continental development plan, initiated the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). Since then 30 countries have joined the voluntary arrangement. How well has this process been working, and what lies ahead? A member of the APRM’s Panel of Eminent Persons, Amos Sawyer — who was Liberia’s interim president in 1990–94 and currently chairs that country’s Governance Commission — spoke with

A disciplinary committee of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress has upheld the suspension of Julius Malema, the firebrand leader of the organization’s youth wing. The 30-year-old Malema has been leading a campaign to nationalize the country’s mines and forcibly turn white-own land over to blacks

The secretary-general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon. has told African leaders it is time for them to respect gay rights

Mr Jia Qinglin, Chairman of the Chinese People’s Consultative Council, on behalf of President Hu Jintao, on Saturday afternoon inaugurated a new African Union Conference and Office Complex building in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Pakistani Senate Monday passed a resolution, demanding high treason trial of former President Pervez Musharraf, which carries death penalty in Pakistani laws

Police in Nigeria’s second largest city, Kano, are keeping a low profile after Islamic militants struck their offices and killed many of their colleagues in a series of daring bomb attacks. The official death toll from Friday’s attacks stands at 185, but news agencies suggest it could be much higher

Dozens of supporters of former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo were attacked and injured during a rally Sunday in Abidjan, after opponents began throwing stones

More people in Africa’s poorest countries have mobile phones than have bank accounts. That reality is spurring mobile service companies to explore how they can capture a share of the potential banking market by enabling migrants from these countries to transfer funds back home to their families