SANATU ZAMBANG STUDIOS (Podcast)

The MTV Africa Music Awards 2015 held Saturday night in South Africa as top acts across the continent led by Neyo, D’Banj, Jhene Aiko, PSquare and Anthony Anderson battled for awards. The big winners on the night included Nigerian stars Yemi Alade and Davido, who took home the Best Male and Best Female awards, respectively, while hip hop star Cassper Nyovest nabbed the Best Hip Hop award.  “Koko master”, D’Banj, won the MAMA Evolution award, a new category honouring established artists who have made an indelible mark on African and global music culture, taken African music to new territories around the world, pushed the boundaries of creativity, and shaped the soundscape of contemporary Africa.  Here’s the list of all the winners: Artist of the Decade: P-Square Best Female: Yemi Alade (Nigeria) Best Male: Davido (Nigeria) Best Group: P-Square (Nigeria) Best New Act Transformed by Absolut: Patoranking (Nigeria) Best Hip Hop: Cassper Nyovest (South...

The Chief Imam of Takoradi, Alhaji Mohammed Awal, has warned all Muslims to stay away from homosexuality, describing the practice as “dirty” and “abominable.” He urged Muslims that such “devilish” acts would attract the wrath of Allah.  He gave the advice when Muslim faithful gathered at the Takoradi Jubilee Park for open prayers to mark Eid-uI-Fitr after ending 30 days of fasting. He said Ramadan is the period of fasting and giving of alms to people in the society and therefore urged Muslims to continue showing

   Eid al-Fitr celebrated across Africa Africa has a large Muslim population, who have been gathering to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. Eastleigh, a suburb of Kenya's capital Nairobi, has a large Somali population. Muslims gathered at a local school with women praying separately at the back. A closer look shows the many different colours worn by Eastleigh's women In another part of the same city, Muslims prayed at the Sir Ali Muslim club In Abidjan, Ivory Coast, worshippers filled out the streets In Senegal, as elsewhere, people buy new clothes for Eid, known locally as Korite. As often happens, the country's different Muslim sects are celebrating on different days They prayed in front of the Adjame mosque In Somalia's capital Mogadishu, African Union soldiers were patrolling outside this mosque in case of an attack by al-Shabab, which stepped up attacks during Ramadan Among the continent's leaders photographed praying is...

The 'young lioness of Africa'  Wiyaala Noella  has been billed to perform live at the 'Millionaires Boxing 4 Charity' night which comes off on Saturday, October 24 in Accra. The event, organised by  Millionaires Casino  seeks to solicit funds to support the Autism Awareness Care and Training (AACT) located in Kokomlemle, Accra, the Egyam Children's Orphanage in the Western Region and the St. Augustine's R/C Primary School in Ashaiman through the 'Boxing 4 Charity' Corporate Social Responsibility programme. The event will also see undefeated  Issah Samir  return to the ring for the first time in over two years to face  Philip Kotey  for the Ghana and West Africa Boxing Union (WABU) Middleweight championships headlining the 'Millionaires Boxing 4 Charity' night. Two other bouts,  Prince Octopus Dzanie  versus  Emmanuel 'Akufo Addo' Quartey  for the Ghana and West Africa Bantamweight titles as well as a Welterweight con...

At least nine people have died in explosions at prayers for the Muslim festival of Eid in the Nigerian town of Damaturu, the army says. The two female suicide bombers included a 10-year-old girl, said Nigerian army spokesman Col Sani Usman. There were two blasts at a venue where volunteers were waiting to screen worshippers, he said. No group has said it carried the attack but Boko Haram has recently stepped up its campaign of violence.  They have been forced out of most areas they had seized but have increased their attacks since President Muhammudu Buhari took office in May. Some 300 people have been killed this month. The explosions were at an open-air praying area, known as Eid grounds, which were set aside for Muslims to gather to pray at the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Because of the threat of a Boko Haram attack, worshippers were being searched before they reached the Eid grounds - this is where the explosions happened. Col Usman said four ...

In Northern Ghana women are banished from their communities and some are beaten and killed after being accused of witchcraft. Leo Igwe takes a closer look at the region and phenomenon. Still from "The Witches of Gambaga", by Yaba Badoe, a documentary that chronicles a community of women condemned to live as witches in Northern Ghana In the North of Ghana, among the Dagomba, the name for a witch is  Sonya , and a wizard is  Bukpaha . But in local discourse there is often no reference to  Bukpaha .  Sonya  is commonly used to refer to a person, male or female (though largely female), who engages in malevolent magic. Another Dagomba term for  Sonya  is  Pakurugu , which means an old woman, or as the English speaking Dagomba say, an ‘old lady’. Among the Dagomba, the notion of witchcraft has a female face. Men are more often perceived as ‘doctors’ with the cure for witchcraft. The feminine face of witchcraft is evident in the way the...

Ghana's Christian Council has denounced same-sex marriage, saying it is a mistake for countries to adopted and approve the practice. The Christian umbrella group that unites some 15 churches in the West African nation wants the government to take a definite position on the issue and repel attempts by powerful countries that seek to foist, what they call, "gayism" on Ghana. nations should respect the religious rights and values of nations The council enjoined political leaders not to compromise on the country's cultural values and also urged Ghanaians to resist any temptation from any country or individual that tries to influence legalising same sex in Ghana. Following the US's endorsement of same-sex marriage in June this year, many Ghanaians have expressed resentment at the practice, describing it as un-Biblical, un-Christian and, therefore, un-African. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons in Ghana face legal challenges. Male same-sex ...

15/07/2015 23:30, Report by James Tuck DI MARIA, ROJO AND CHICHARITO TO JOIN TOUR Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has confirmed Angel Di Maria, Marcos Rojo and Javier Hernandez will fly out to join the pre-season tour on 25 July – but expects goalkeeper Victor Valdes to leave the club. Di Maria, Rojo and Hernandez were absent from the squad that travelled to the United States after being given extra time off following their international commitments with Argentina and Mexico respectively, while goalkeeper Valdes was not selected and remained in Manchester. Chicharito spent last season on loan at Real Madrid and, at a press conference in Seattle, van Gaal explained his reasons for that move. "At the time we had to decide which strikers we could have," the boss said. "We had: [Danny] Welbeck, Chicharito, [Robin] van Persie and [James] Wilson. Then I had to make a decision to let Welbeck and Chicharito go. We had also bought Falcao. "So when you p...

  Nominees were just announced this morning from Los Angeles and we've got the full list of hopefuls right here!  Check it out below and be sure to sound off in the comment section with your reactions. We will be providing in-depth coverage and predictions leading up to the ceremony, which celebrates its 67th anniversary on September 20 at 8/7c on FOX.   Outstanding Drama Better Call Saul Downton Abbey Game of Thrones Homeland House of Cards Mad Men Orange Is the New Black Lead Actor, Drama Series Kyle Chandler,  Bloodline Jeff Daniels,  The Newsroom Jon Hamm,  Mad Men Bob Odenkirk,  Better Call Saul Liev Schreiber,  Ray Donovan Kevin Spacey,  House of Cards Lead Actress, Drama Series Claire Danes,  Homeland Viola Davis,  How to Get Away With Murder Taraji P. Henson,  Empire Tatiana Maslany,  Orphan Black Elisabeth Moss,  Mad Men Robin Wright,  ...

Cameroon has joined Chad, Congo-Brazzaville and Gabon in banning the full-face veil Cameroon has banned the wearing of full-face Islamic veil, including the burka, in the Far North region, following two suicide bomb attacks. Two women dressed in the religious garments blew themselves up on Sunday in Fotokol, killing 13 people. The governor of the mainly Muslim region said the measure was to prevent further attacks, Reuters reports. Last month, Chad announced a similar ban after suspected Boko Haram militants attacks in its capital.  Both Cameroon and Chad neighbour Nigeria, where the Boko Haram Islamist group has been based - and both have suffered attacks by the insurgents. In Nigeria, Boko Haram militants have increasingly been using female suicide bombers as they are often able to smuggle bombs into public places without detection. BBC Africa Live: News updates The governor said that Muslims in the north of Cameroon have also been banned from holding large ga...