AFRICA

A Nigeria pastor has told the BBC about how he was tortured and flogged for two hours because of Facebook posts in which he criticised a local official for failing in his duty to build roads. Okochi Chukwu Obeni said a local traditional council in the Afikpo North area of …

Families rushed to buy sweets and biscuits in Cairo as they prepared to celebrate the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan under a tightened coronavirus curfew and lockdown. The Eid al-Fitr festivities are usually a time of release when people pack the streets and visit families, cafes and …

A 66-year-old man was sentenced to 15 life terms and an additional 30 years in the Western Cape High Court on Wednesday for rape, abduction and sexual assault, according to the police. Herman Harker, who the police termed a serial rapist, was sentenced for four counts of abduction and sexual assault. …

The cause of death of the baby born prematurely, and said to have died of Covid-19 after a two-day struggle for survival, will be investigated, the Western Cape government said on Thursday. “We are saddened by this tragic loss of such a young life and send our deepest sympathies to …

Voting in Burundi’s presidential election passed calmly on Wednesday despite simmering political violence, the coronavirus pandemic and the opposition accusing the authorities of fraud. In what could be the first competitive presidential election in Burundi since a civil war erupted in 1993, the ruling CNDD-FDD party’s candidate, retired general Evariste …

South Africa has marshalled huge resources towards preventing its poor from starving because of COVID-19, but undocumented citizens and stranded migrants face hunger as they slip through the net, aid workers say. Some 11,000 families waited for charity food parcels on Wednesday in a queue stretching for several kilometres outside …

A Kenyan woman who failed to pay her rent last month has had the front door and part of her home’s roof removed by her landlady, local broadcaster Citizen TV reports. Ruth Shiundu, a widow, said she could not raise 11,000 Kenyan shillings ($102; £84) because her business of selling …

A video making the rounds on the internet shows a Nigerian lady seriously engaging her boyfriend in a fight in Makurdi, Benue state over N300,000. According to reports, the lady lent him N300,000 only for her to find out that he spent the money on other girls. The irate lady …

The police in Ogun state have arrested three friends suspected to be ritualists after a fresh human hand was found in their possession.   A statement released by the spokesperson of the state police command, Abimbola Oyeyemi, states that the three friends, Mathew Idosu, John Feyisetan and Samuel Adegbola, residents of …

Cross River State Governor, Prof Ben Ayade, has ordered that worship centres can resume activities stressing that they must wear face masks and only occupy sitting capacity of such centre. The order was contained in a release on Wednesday, signed by his Special Adviser, Media & Publicity, Mr Christian It’s …