Tag Archives: Africa

The World Health Organization has warned the coronavirus pandemic could overwhelm strained public health systems in Africa. On Wednesday, the continent was approaching a million infections and around 21,000 deaths, according to a Reuters tally. Here are measures some countries are taking to curb the virus. SOUTH AFRICA With more …

It is time to drop the Western exploitative neoliberal model and build a pan-African prosocial collaborative economy. In the wake of George Floyd’s killing by police officers in the United States and the global movement for Black lives, there has been a resounding call to re-examine the relationship between society …

Suspected militants from terrorist group Boko Haram killed at least 13 people and wounded eight others in a grenade attack in northern Cameroon on Sunday, a security source and a local official told Reuters. The unidentified assailants threw a grenade into a group of people inside a camp for displaced …

A wave of violence in Sudan’s Darfur region has forced Save the Children to close facilities providing health services and food for 14,000 children, the charity said Friday. The move came after hundreds of armed men attacked Masteri, a town largely inhabited by farmers from non-Arab minority groups, killing more …

Morocco will stop people entering and leaving some of its biggest cities from midnight to contain a surge in COVID-19 cases, the interior and health Ministries said on Sunday. The cities to be locked down include the economic powerhouse of Casablanca as well as Tangier, Marrakech, Fez, and Meknes. The …

Tunisian President Kais Saied on Saturday designated the interior minister as the new prime minister to succeed Elyes Fakhfakh, who resigned over allegations of a conflict of interest, the presidency said. New premier Hichem Mechichi pledged to respond to the social and economic demands that have spawned constant protests in …

A large manhunt has been launched in South Africa after a group of prisoners escaped as they awaited trial. The inmates made a break from Malmesbury Correctional Centre in the Western Cape on Friday afternoon. Police were deployed to the area to search for them on foot and in vehicles, …

He was the country’s third president after independence from Britain in 1962. Ruling the East African country for two terms from 1995 to 2005, he’ll be remembered for working to end the conflict in the Great Lakes. Former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa has died age 81 at a hospital in …

Five aid workers abducted last month in north-east Nigeria’s Borno State have been killed, reportedly by terrorists. The men were working for Action Against Hunger, the International Rescue Committee, Rich International and the country’s State Emergency Management Agency, Nigeria’s president confirmed. Muhammadu Buhari blamed Boko Haram and vowed to bring …

Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa said on Tuesday that security forces would enforce a dusk to dawn curfew from Wednesday to combat the coronavirus outbreak. But critics and the opposition say authorities want to stop anti-government protests planned for next week by activists who say government corruption has worsened economic hardships.

Sudan’s former President Omar al-Bashir, who was overthrown last year by the military in the face of mass protests against his rule, is set to go on trial over his role in a coup that brought him to power more than 30 years ago. Al-Bashir, 76, is scheduled to appear …

At least four people including a teenager were killed and 10 wounded when police and soldiers opened fire on protesters in northern Sierra Leone, a health official and witnesses said on Sunday. Hundreds gathered on a rainy day in the city of Makeni on Saturday to try to block the …

Ethiopia has dismissed reports that it’s filling a massive reservoir behind a new hydroelectric dam, as the colossal infrastructure project strains ties between three African nations that all rely on the River Nile for water. Egypt has previously threatened to go to war over the dam. Almost 10 years of …

At least 11 demonstrators were killed in the capital last weekend. Protesters have called for mass civil disobedience until President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta steps down. When security forces in Mali shot and killed protesters last weekend, they were met with an unexpected response. Instead of being cowed into submission, the …

A blaze has broken out in one of the World Trade Center’s towers in the capital city of Nigeria, Abuja. Footage from the scene shows a large plume of smoke billowing from the building’s top floors. The fire ignited at the massive tower, which is still under construction, on Monday. …

Confronted by surging hospitalizations due to COVID-19, South Africa is considering a return to tighter restrictions to combat the disease, which officials say may soon overwhelm the country’s health system. President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced he will speak to the nation about the crisis on Sunday evening after top health …

Police in South Africa says five people are dead and more than 40 have been arrested after an early-morning hostage situation at a church near Johannesburg. A statement says police and military who responded to reports of a shooting at the International Pentecostal Holiness Church in Zuurbekom found four people …

Protests in DRC capital Kinshasa turned violent, reportedly leaving at least 3 people dead as demonstrators objected to the planned appointment of a new Electoral Commission chairperson

Amadou Gon Coulibaly, Ivory Coast’s prime minister and its ruling party’s candidate for the October presidential election, has died, President Alassane Ouattara said on Wednesday, adding that the country was mourning. Gon Coulibaly, 61, became unwell during a weekly cabinet meeting and was evacuated to a hospital where he passed …

Africa now has more than a half-million confirmed coronavirus cases, while South Africa’s health minister declared Wednesday that “we have now reached the surge.” The continent-wide total is over 509,000, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, after South Africa recorded another day of more than 10,000 …