Leaders at an African Union summit in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa have condemned Israel’s offensive in Gaza and called for its immediate end.

A health official says one person has been killed and at least six injured after a second day of violent unrest in the Indian Ocean island nation of Comoros.

The decision by the Group of 20 of the world’s leading economies to admit the African Union as a permanent member is a powerful acknowledgement of Africa as its more than 50 countries seek a more important role on the global stage.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appealed to a group of African leaders to ask his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to free political prisoners from Crimea and beyond — saying it could be an important part of their trip to Russia on Saturday.

Local media reports say a court in the Indian Ocean island of Comoros sentenced former President Ahmed Abdallah Sambi on Monday to life in prison for illegally selling off Comoros passports.

Tanzania's new President Samia Suluhu Hassan, center, arrives to pay her respects as the body of former president John Magufuli lies in state at Uhuru stadium in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Saturday, March 20, 2021. Ten of thousands of Tanzanians came out to view Magufuli's body at Uhuru Stadium in the country's largest city, Dar es Salaam, over the weekend. Suzan Mtua, 30, died with four school-age children from the same family when there was a stampede of people wanting to view the body Sunday, Heri Mtua, a family spokesman, said. “The children had demanded they also attend the funeral of President Magufuli,” he said. President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who was Magufuli's vice president and succeeded him, was joined by nine African heads of state on Monday for Magufuli's state funeral.