‘We are family’ has been filling dance floors since the 1970s and two of the four Sledge siblings continue to get their fans lost in music, writes Ed Power.

The Rumble in the Jungle has been described as “arguably the greatest sporting event of the 20th century”.

Colin Sheridan on Ireland’s footballing philosophy. The Beautiful Game it ain’t.

Sister Sledge lost one of their members earlier in the year, but the beat goes on for the disco-era heroines who play in Ireland this week, writes Ed Power

Armed men have attacked a prison in the Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern city of Beni.

Ebola was blamed for more than 11,000 deaths in west Africa during 2013-16.

LATEST: One person has been confirmed dead from Ebola in an outbreak in a remote corner of northern Congo as health authorities look into a total of nine suspected cases, including another death, the country's health minister said.

One of the largest yellow fever outbreaks in decades could soon spread globally, aid group Save the Children has warned as the World Health Organisation (WHO) launched one of the largest emergency vaccination campaigns ever attempted in Africa.

The Department of Justice last year paid two airlines over €150,000 to deport Africa-bound failed asylum seekers on four flights out of Dublin.

The World Health Organisation says the spread of a mysterious virus from the Middle East to South Korea doesn’t merit being declared a global emergency despite infecting more than 160 people in the biggest outbreak outside the Arabian peninsula.

Giant robots have taken over Democratic Republic of Congo. Well, the traffic at least.

An armed group has attacked state TV and radio headquarters in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital, a government spokesman said.

MORALITY is the glue which binds society together. Without each individual’s sense of fair play, empathy and abhorrence of unnecessary violence, we could never co-operate. But when and how did these propensities develop?

New collections of poetry from Afric McGlinchey and Paul Casey.

THE FASTEST man in the world will tomorrow romp home to victory.

More than 200 people were killed yesterday when an arms dump exploded in Brazzaville, ripping apart a nearby neighbourhood in the Congo Republic’s capital, medical and local authorities said.

Blasts rocked the capital of the Republic of Congo today after a weapons depot caught fire.

There is a raft of helicopters at the ready to transport EU leaders to their summit today if the road from the airport is blocked due to a general strike by Belgian unions.

Nine failed African asylum seekers who arrived back in Dublin Airport last year after their deportee flight was turned back are evading Irish authorities.

THE Minister for Justice has confirmed that 12 Congolese and eight Nigerians on board a deportation flight costing €337,800 last July remain in Ireland.

Congolese security forces have reportedly killed at least 24 people and detained dozens in attacks to quell dissent over the much-criticised re-election of President Joseph Kabila.

Police in Congo’s capital prowled opposition neighbourhoods, rounding up young men who were seen being dragged out of their homes and shoved into waiting cars, a day after the government announced that the country’s opposition leader had lost the disputed presidential election.

Congo’s President Joseph Kabila has won another term in office with 49% of the 18.14 million votes cast according to provisional results published by Congo’s election commission.

At least 18 people have been killed and 100 seriously injured in election violence in Congo, with most of the deaths caused by troops loyal to President Joseph Kabila, Human Rights Watch said today.

A plane carrying 112 people has crashed while trying to land at Kisangani international airport in Democratic Republic of Congo.

A PLANE carrying UN staff and peacekeepers crashed yesterday on landing at the airport in Congo’s capital, breaking into pieces and killing at least 26 people, aviation officials said.

A plane carrying UN staff and peacekeepers crashed today on landing at the airport in Congo’s capital, breaking into pieces and killing at least 26 people, aviation officials said.

'Benda Bilili' is a remarkable Congo band whose members – a mixture of paraplegics and able-bodied – began making their distinctive and popular music in the mean streets of Kinshasa, when they were homeless and penniless.

Gunmen also armed with machetes have attacked Congo’s presidential residence, and at least nine people were killed during nearly an hour of gunfire, a witness said.

The pope named 24 new cardinals today.

At least 90 people are believed dead after a logging boat sank on a lake in Congo, according to UN radio.

POPE Benedict XVI leaves this week on his first trip to Africa — the fastest-growing region for the Roman Catholic church — saying he wants to bring a message of hope to a continent suffering from poverty, disease and armed conflict.

West Brom have signed defensive midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu on loan from Paris St Germain until the end of the season with a view to a permanent deal.

Rwandan forces, invited by long-time enemy Congo to deploy up to 2,000 troops, were there to observe, not to fight Hutu militias, the government said.

More than 1,500 Rwandan troops crossed into eastern Congo, joining Congolese forces in an effort to oust the Hutu rebels who participated in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide, officials said today.

THE leader of the Congo’s eastern province has denied army forces are using child soldiers, instead claiming rebels are arming youngsters.

THE Congolese army is riddled with corruption, falling apart because of indiscipline with underpaid soldiers looting homes and marauding through villages.

A ceasefire called by Congo rebels appeared to be unravelling today.

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s government today refused rebel leader Laurent Nkunda’s demand for direct talks to solve the crisis in eastern Kivu province, where tens of thousands of desperate refugees were receiving international aid.

The European Union is proposing a UN-organised summit of the nations bordering eastern Congo, and says Rwanda and Congo would attend such a meeting.

International envoys converged on eastern Congo to help end some of the worst violence in years as thousands of anxious, hungry refugees struggled to get home amid a fragile ceasefire.

Aid agencies today warned of a humanitarian catastrophe in the Democratic Republic of Congo after fierce fighting between the government and rebel forces.

UN soldiers are boosting numbers in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as battling armed groups continue fighting on all fronts.