A troubling new United Nations finding has turned attention to a record ransom payment. UN monitors say an estimated $50 million ransom paid to free a hostage kidnapped in Mali in late 2025 has since helped fuel a wider al-Qaeda offensive across West Africa. This story matters for South Africans watching events unfold on the […]
DR Congo Ebola outbreak has killed more than 2,000 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo, making it the fastest-growing Ebola epidemic ever recorded in the country. According to the official figures, there have been 4,381 confirmed cases with 2,011 deaths. The Ebola outbreak is spreading across five provinces in the eastern region of the […]
As a result of the Covid-19 outbreak world over, a number of events falling within the affected dates have perhaps been celebrated differently or slip with the wind as shutdown to tame the spread of the virus continues. For the first time, the historical day that was on the calendar this week, Madaraka Day, was […]
The International Police on Wednesday granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission access to its global intelligence database. With this development, the commission now has direct access to 18 databases through which information about criminal activities across the world can be accessed. The information platform, codenamed IP-24/7, was extended to the EFCC in a brief […]
Zimbabwe has tightened restrictions in a bid to curtail spread of the coronavirus as cases spike. On Tuesday, security forces cleared Harare’s city centre as they turned back commuters and motorists. “They are searching the cars and if you do not have a permit or letter you are not allowed to pass. So it’s now […]
The Nigerian Government has finally lifted the ban on religious gathering across the country. The ban on religious gatherings had lasted for two months, a move taken to check the spread of Coronavirus. However, at the briefing of the presidential task force (PTF) on COVID-19 on Monday, Chairman of the task force, Boss Mustapha, announced […]
Alhaji Ibrahim Dauda, the nephew of President Muhammadu Buhari, is dead. The Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Garba Shehu, who disclosed this in a statement, said Duada died in Daura, Katsina State, following a prolonged illness. According to the statement, the president was totally devastated by the death of his […]
Zimbabwe’s COVID-19 cases continue to rise as 9 returnees from South Africa and Botswana and 2 locals tested positive for the virus on Friday bringing to 160 the total number of confirmed cases. In its daily update for 29 May 2020, the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) revealed that a total of 11 […]
Nigeria has recorded 182 new cases of COVID-19, bringing to 8,915 the total number of confirmed cases in the country. Announcing this Thursday, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said Lagos recorded 111 new cases of the disease, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) 16, Akwa Ibom 10, Oyo eight, Kaduna and Delta six each, Rivers […]
For delivery man Sisay Alebachew, the difference between a good and bad day depends on Ethio Telecom, Ethiopia’s monopoly telecoms provider. When the internet is down or too slow to use, customers struggle to place orders on the website of Deliver Addis, Sisay’s e-commerce employer, meaning he has little to do. Other times, when the […]
South African Airways (SAA) aims to resume domestic flights between Johannesburg and Cape Town from mid-June, the cash-strapped airline said on Tuesday, as coronavirus lockdown restrictions ease. SAA, which is under a form of bankruptcy protection, suspended all commercial passenger flights in late March, when the government imposed one of the strictest lockdowns on the […]
Tanzanian President Magufuli’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic bears many of the hallmarks of his leadership to date—but magnified. As has proved true elsewhere, the crisis has cast the status quo in a new—and sharper—light. The Tanzanian government at first seemed poised for concerted and timely action against the virus spread. As the first cases […]
President Muhammadu Buhari has urged farmers to return to their farms in order to provide food for Nigerians, as there is no money for importation. Buhari, while speaking with State House reporters after Eid prayers on Sunday, also prayed for a favourable raining season. “I hope the raining season would be bountiful so that we […]
Nigeria has recorded 313 new cases of COVID-19, bringing to 7,839 the total number of confirmed cases in the country. Announcing this Sunday, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said Lagos recorded 148 new cases, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) 36, Rivers 27, Edo 19, Kano 13, Ogun 12, Ebonyi 11, Nasarawa and Delta eight […]
A Johannesburg NGO ‘Door of Hope’ is concerned more families will abandon their babies as the economic situation worsens during the coronavirus lockdown. They say Since South Africa shutdown at the end of March they have received seven new babies and are at full capacity. The organisation makes use of what is called a ‘baby […]
Several leaders from the Meru region Friday condemned the decision by the Senate to remove Tharaka-Nithi Senator Kithure Kindiki from the position of deputy Speaker. The MPs from Meru, Embu and Tharaka-Nithi counties accused the Jubilee Party leadership of sidelining the Mt Kenya East region. Mr Josphat Gichunge (Tigania East), John Mutunga (Tigania West), Mugambi […]
A son of President Paul Kagame has been appointed to the board of the Rwanda Development Board, RDB. 30-year-old Ivan Kagame is the eldest son of his parents. The Kagames have four children – three sons and a daughter. The RDB is government machinery tasked with fast tracking the country’s economic development by enabling private […]
The Rivers State Government has alleged that an Abuja group of politicians are plotting to instigate crisis in order to pave way for the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in the oil-rich state. Commissioner for Information and Communications, Paulinus Nsirim, said some indigenes of the state who reside in Abuja were behind […]
Lesotho’s Prime Minister Thomas Thabane officially tendered his resignation on Tuesday, ending a political crisis caused by his involvement in the assassination of his ex-wife in 2017. “I come before you today to announce that the work you have entrusted me with may not be finished but the time has come for me to withdraw […]
South Sudan Vice President Riek Machar tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, his office said. In a statement, the office said Machar’s wife Angelina Tang, who serves as defense minister, also tested positive for the virus. According to the statement, the vice president will self-quarantine for two weeks. Some office workers and bodyguards also tested […]