YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) — Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Wednesday proposed an economic zone connecting the Indian Ocean to Africa as the country seeks to play a greater role in the African continent while America’s presence there decreases and China’s influence rapidly grows.

Two prominent journalists in Ethiopia, Abdulsemed Mohammed and Yonas Amare, have been missing for more than a week after being abducted by what reports say, were men wearing masks and military uniforms. There has been no news about their whereabouts but their disappearances have raised concerns about a crackdown on media freedom in the country.

The UN Secretary-General on Wednesday repeated his call for Africa to have a greater say in decisions that affect its future, in remarks to a conference in Japan focused on the continent’s development.

A campaign is underway to replaced the world’s most popular map, which the effort’s supporters say promotes a false view of the continent and its size.

South Africa off-spinner Prenelan Subrayen has been reported for a suspect bowling action during the first ODI against Australia. The ICC announced this on Wednesday.

South Africa is prioritizing a policy-review process that may result in Elon Musk’s SpaceX and other satellite-internet companies being allowed to operate in Africa’s largest economy without ceding ownership,

Tokyo needs to talk to more than just governments.

Naoki Ando, senior vice-president of Japan International Cooperation Agency, the implementing agency of Japan’s aid policy, says that the country will stick by its model of development assistance over aid. Pressures at home would make it hard to directly plug the gaps left by the US and Europe in healthcare and agriculture, he says.

Brash, controversial and unafraid to speak his mind, South Africa's Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie has been swift to call out racism in others but he himself has now been branded a racist - a charge he refutes.

Africa’s second-biggest aluminum smelter may close in March after operator South32 Ltd. is yet to secure a new electricity supply agreement before the current one expires. The company’s shares plunged.

The African Union's recent support for alternatives to the Mercator projection challenges historical cartographic distortions that misrepresent Africa's size.