It has become a common occurrence over the years for Muslims in the Middle East who have converted to Christianity to claim to have been compelled to do so after dreaming of a person who they believe is Jesus Christ. Now, one militant belonging to the brutal Islamic State that has massacred Christians has converted to his victims' religion after dreaming of "a man in white" with a startling message, according to one missionary's account.

Hundreds of residents of Western Equatoria held a peaceful demonstration in the state capital Yambio demanding for peace. They marched on the streets urging leaders to end the conflict that is currently ravaging parts of the country.

User Rating: 4 / 5

[LAGOS, Nigeria]- Gabon is the latest country to become a member of the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), after signing the Corporation's Instrument of Accession and Acceptance of membership in Libreville this week. Gabon is the 10th country to join the AFC. Other member states include: Cape Verde; Chad; Ghana; Guinea-Bissau; Guinea; Liberia; Nigeria; Sierra-Leone and The Gambia.

Gabon has an abundance of natural resources, with long-established oil, timber and manganese industries, and one of the world's largest deposits of iron ore. However limited infrastructure has been constraining the country's recent economic development. AFC aims to help address Gabon's most immediate infrastructure needs, in the transportation, natural resources and power sectors, among others, to assist the country in meeting its full growth potential and in diversifying its GDP and sources of income.

As with all other member states, Gabon's membership enables AFC to receive preferred creditor status within the country, the benefits of which would reduce AFC's investment risk, enabling the Corporation to provide more competitive financing solutions.

Overall, the Corporation has invested over US$2.5 billion in projects across 22 African countries and provides funding and project development expertise in a wide range of sectors including power, telecommunications, transport and logistics, natural resources and heavy industries.

Mr. Régis Immongault, Minister of Economy, Republic of Gabon said "I am delighted to be able to formalise Gabon's membership of the Africa Finance Corporation, an organisation that is successfully driving growth and development of infrastructure across the continent. The strong track record of the Corporation demonstrates its ability to work with both governments and private sector institutions to deliver innovative financing solutions for projects spanning a large variety of sectors."

Mr. Andrew Alli, Chief Executive Officer of AFC, welcomed Gabon to the corporation's membership body. "We at AFC are committed to proactively financing and developing infrastructure where it is most needed. We are excited by the government of Gabon's commitment to development and to supporting infrastructure investments as a means of achieving this objective. Gabon's significant natural resources, abundance of land and growing agricultural industry offers huge potential for sustainable growth and diversification, if the adequate supporting infrastructure is in place. We aim to make a significant contribution to this."

"By expanding our footprint and welcoming more countries as members of the corporation, AFC can address more of the continent's pressing infrastructure needs and build the foundations for robust economic development across Africa."

African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of AFC.

The government has announced that the Africa Union Commission of Inquiry will release its report profiling human rights abuses committed during the ongoing conflict in South Sudan next month.

[WASHINGTON - VOA by Ayen Bior] He was once called a Lost Boy but today, his official title is Councilor-Elect.

Chol Majok won the 3rd District Common Council seat in Syracuse, New York, this week, becoming the first former refugee in city history to do so, according to Onondaga County’s Board of Elections.

Majok arrived in Syracuse 18 years ago with other Lost Boys of Sudan -- a group of 20,000 boys who were displaced or orphaned during the second Sudanese civil war in which about 2 million were killed. He was 16 years old and anxious to begin building his life.

He lived in foster homes until he turned 18, and although he was there for just two years, he says the conditions he experienced in the system changed his life. Read more on VOA