AU - Africanews

1. Mugabe's son appears in court over Johannesburg shooting

   Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, the youngest son of Zimbabwe's late former president Robert Mugabe, appeared in a South African court on Monday facing attempted murder charges after a gardener was shot at his Johannesburg home last week.

2. Nigeria paid Boko Haram ransom for kidnapped pupils: AFP investigation

   The Nigerian government paid Boko Haram militants a "huge" ransom of millions of dollars to free up to 230 children and staff the jihadists abducted from a Catholic school in November, an AFP investigation revealed Monday.

3. Senegal: Sahad Sarr releases new album

   Senegalese musician Sahad Sarr's sound has been a decade in the making, and he is now showcasing it on his new album African West.

4. Key DRC-Burundi border reopens after two-month closure

   A vital border crossing between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi reopened Monday, more than two months after it was shut during an offensive by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in eastern DRC, sources on both sides confirmed.

5. Visitors take in snowy NYC ahead of traffic closure

   A major blizzard sweeps the US Northeast, closing schools, cancelling flights and shutting nonessential traffic in New York as millions shelter indoors.