Mugabe: SA is failing AU because of whites

Johannesburg - Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe says South Africa is failing to lead the economic development of countries in the African Union (AU) because its economy is in the hands of the white minority, City Press reports.

Speaking at a function attended by African diplomats stationed in Beijing, China, on Monday where Sierra ­Leone ambassador Victor Bockarie Foh and Liberia’s McKinley Thomas heaped praise on him, Mugabe said South Africa was in a compromised situation.

“We would love to see South Africa taking the lead. But the country’s economy is still controlled by the white community, making it difficult [for blacks] to take charge.”

U.S. authorities investigate suspected threat against Obama

U.S. President Barack Obama arrives onboard Air Force One at Westchester County Airport in White Plains, New York August 29, 2014.

Authorities in Connecticut on Friday were investigating a possible threat against President Barack Obama, local media reported.

The U.S. Secret Service, which is responsible for presidential security, issued a statement saying, "Information has been received by law enforcement regarding a potentially suspicious person and vehicle. We are working with our local law enforcement partners to determine the validity of the information provided."

Sierra Leone dismisses health minister over handling of Ebola

Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma dismissed his Health Minister Miatta Kargbo on Friday over her handling of the Ebola epidemic that has killed more than 400 people in the West African country.

A presidency statement said that Kargbo was removed "to create a conducive environment for efficient and effective handling of the Ebola outbreak". She will be replaced by her deputy Dr Abubakarr Fofanah, the statement said.

Ghana to serve as UN base for supplies bound for Ebola countries

The United Nations will use Ghana as a base for supplies bound for countries stricken by an Ebola outbreak that has killed more than 1,550 people in West Africa, the Ghanaian presidency said in a statement on Friday.

More than 3,000 people have been infected since the virus was detected in the remote jungles of southeastern Guinea early this year. It quickly spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, and Senegal reported its first case on Friday.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon had a telephone conversation on Friday evening with Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama, who agreed to let international agencies use Ghana's capital Accra as a base for air lifting supplies and personnel to affected countries, the statement said.

Ebola outbreak reaches Senegal, riots break out in Guinea

The West African state of Senegal became the fifth country to be hit by the world's worst Ebola outbreak on Friday, while riots broke out in neighboring Guinea's remote southeast where infection rates are rising fast.

In the latest sign that the outbreak of the virus, which has already killed at least 1,550 people, is spinning out of control, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that Ebola cases rose last week at the fastest pace since the epidemic began in West Africa in March.

The epidemic has defied efforts by governments to control it, prompting the leading charity fighting the outbreak, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), to call for the U.N. Security Council to take charge of efforts to stop it.