On this edition of Africa 54, an armed gang abducts students from an Islamic school in the north-central Nigerian state of Niger on Sunday; ECOWAS suspends Mali's membership in response to last week's coup and said authorities must stick to a timetable for a return to democracy; Saudi Arabia is requiring all pilgrims for the scaled-back, annual Hajj in July to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

A54 Sports: Egypt’s Zamalek is the king of African basketball by winning the inaugural Basketball Africa League trophy in Kigali on Sunday. The Egyptian club beat Tunisia’s U.S. Monastirienne to top a 12-team tournament organized by FIBA,the NBA and broadcast on VOA radio. VOA’s Jackson Mvunganyi has the BAL finals' action.