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Rwanda’s Kagame officially celebrates becoming a grandparent

Paul Kagame, Rwandan President, took to Twitter to share news of his first grandchild’s birth. “It’s even more fun the first time! “Tweeted Kagame. Without revealing the newborn’s gender, Kagame announced the baby was born on Sunday 19 July. “We have been really happy and ‘official’ grandparents since yesterday,” referring to himself and his wife, […]

Mandela biggest influence for young Africans, Obama in distant second – survey

Former South African President Nelson Mandela’s fight for freedom and human rights makes him the most influential person among Africa’s youth, according to a survey conducted across the continent. Mandela’s legacy is alive seven years after his death, according to the poll of young people in 14 African countries in which 86% of respondents said […]

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Public transport commuters in South Africa raise safety concerns

Using a public means of transport in South Africa in these times of coronavirus is no easy task. In addition to waiting for a ride, commuters are forced to comply with hygiene measures. These measures are necessary, but do not help operators in the sector or the passengers. “It’s hard, because even when we are […]

Nigeria coronavirus: 31,323 cases; Atiku rejects WAEC cancellation

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, as at end of June 2020 was Africa’s third most impacted country only behind South Africa and Egypt. As Africa’s biggest economy, the federal government has continued to enforce regulations across the board even though most state governments have moved to relax restrictions. The national response is led by the […]

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Domestic flights resume in Nigeria amid strict virus protocols

Nigeria resumed domestic flights on Wednesday, July 8, after a hiatus of three months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Airports in the capital, Abuja, and commercial hub Lagos reopened for operations. A handful of other airports will open on July 11 whiles the rest resume operations on July 15. According to reports, passengers waiting to […]

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Senegal lifts coronavirus restrictions; land, sea borders still closed

Senegal is easing some restrictions that had been imposed to aid curb the spread of the Covid 19 pandemic. In a televised address, president Macky Sall said the country’s state of emergency and curfew which were imposed on March 23 will be lifted as of Tuesday 11pm local time. The president further added that as […]

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South Africa: Covid-19 cases double in KZN schools in a week

The reported number of Covid-19 cases in KwaZulu-Natal schools increased last week to 187, of which 139 are teachers and 37 are pupils. A week earlier, there was a total of 74 cases in KZN schools. KwaZulu-Natal premier Sihle Zikalala said Umgungundlovu district led in terms of the number of infected teachers. Thirty-six teachers tested […]

Lights up’: Somalia’s refurbished national theater reopens in Mogadishu

Somalis can now boast a functional national theater after the facility located in the capital Mogadishu was formally reopened having been closed for refurbishment. According to reports, the refurbishment was funded by some businesses, the chamber of commerce and contributions by civilian workers. The reopening was made to coincide with the 60th independence day celebration […]

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Egypt prioritizes hygiene amid plans to welcome foreign tourists

Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities says that the country is “laying the groundwork for tourists” to find the country in tiptop hygienic state as Egypt gears up to welcome back tourists. Tourists have been kept away by the coronavirus pandemic. The African country has since March halted air traffic and closed archaeological sites, museums […]

Organization of Africa’s oil producing countries relocate headquarters to Congo Brazzaville

The African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO), Tuesday, agreed to relocate the headquarters of the organization from Nigeria to Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. The Council of Ministers approved the recommendation to move the temporary Headquarters of the Organization from Abuja, Nigeria to the permanent Headquarters in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. It also approved the new Host […]

Famine ravages Burkina Faso as farmers call for help

The landlocked West African nation of Burkina Faso has been hard hit by drought and desertification. Just east of capital Ouagadougou, once fertile land is now dry. The area used to support generations of farmers, but families now can only scrape a living. Under a burning sun, Julienne Rouamba works on the land she farmed […]

Egypt encourages families to care for orphaned children

The Egyptian government is encouraging families to take care of abandoned children and raise them as their own, invoking the age-old Muslim doctrine of Kafala. This follows the introduction of a series of legal amendments that have eased many of the restrictions of Kafala. This initiative, entitled “A family for every child”, is aimed at […]

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Works of Congolese, Egyptian directors feature at Cannes 2020

There will be no African film at this year’s Cannes Film Festival according to organizers. In the midst of the fight against the coronavirus, the annual meeting of world cinema will be held virtually. A setback that did not prevent Pierre Lescure, the president of the festival, and Thierry Frémaux, the artistic director, from announcing […]

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Nigeria coronavirus: 12,233 cases; good 100 days since index case – NCDC

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, became the third African country to record over 10,000 cases of COVID-19. The milestone was reached on May 31 when 307 new cases took its tally to 10,162. As Africa’s biggest economy, the federal government has continued to enforce regulations across the board even though most state governments have moved […]

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Outrage over reported death of Cameroonian journalist Wazizi

Journalists in Cameroon have taken to the streets of Buea in the South west region to protest and demand an account of their missing colleague, Samuel Wazizi, after local media reported he had died in military custody. Wazizi, was arrested in August 2019. for alleged involvement in the country’s anglophone crisis. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) […]

Restrictive measures leave Northern Senegalese herders stranded

Herders in Northern Senegal can no longer move their livestock. They are thousands of semi-nomadic Fulani stuck in the Louga region, where they have been since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Restrictions imposed by the government to contain the virus have coincided with the most difficult months of the dry season. “Everything has changed […]

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South Africa burdened by about 100,000 virus testing backlog

Authorities in South Africa have expressed worry over shortages of COVID-19 testing kits and reagents as cases consistently rise in the country and across the continent. Nearly 100,000 people have not taken the coronavirus tests in South Africa reports say. According to the Health Ministry, priority is now given to patients admitted to hospitals and […]

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SADC to help Mozambique fight off insurgents

Mozambique is top priority for Southern African leaders under the auspices of the SADC. In Harare on Wednesday, regional bloc leaders met to discuss the growing Islamist insurgency in northern Mozambique. At the day-long meeting leaders of Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique said they had also discussed the COVID-19 pandemic and the security situation in […]