AFRICA

Africa is the only continent in the world where deforestation is accelerating, according to key findings of a five-year report released Thursday by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). In South America, where some countries have been blamed for rampant forest exploitation, the rate of forest loss was …

Mercenaries working for the Russian private military contractor Wagner PMC (Private Military Company) are operating in Libya, according to UN diplomats. The Reuters news agency reports that the contractor has clandestinely deployed up to 1,200 people to help Libya’s renegade General Khalifa Haftar. It quotes an experts’ report submitted to …

Ghana is to receive quantities of Madagascar’s highly publicized Covid-19 remedy and preventative herbal mixture, the Ghana Health Service has revealed. According to Director of Public Health at the Ghana Helth Service Dr Badu Sarkodie, Madagascar has made an offer to Ghana concerning the herbal solution but the FDA will …

Floods and landslides in Kenya have killed nearly 200 people since heavy rain began last month across much of the country. Another 100,000 people have been displaced. A statement from the presidency said thousands of hectares of crops had been swept away. The rain is expected to continue for weeks. …

A massive fire broke out at a residential tower in Al Nahda, Sharjah on Tuesday night. According to reports, the fire broke out on the 10th floor of the Abbco Tower at 9.04 pm. Nine people sustained minor injuries and were being treated on-site, Col. Sami Khamis Al Naqbi, Director …

Two inmates have died of Covid-19 in an East London prison, the correctional services department said on Tuesday. Both had “underlying comorbid conditions,” said spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo. A third inmate death – this one at a Western Cape facility – was “under investigation”. There have been an additional six cases …

Kenyan nurses have threatened to strike over a coronavirus risk allowance. Union leaders gave a two-week warning to the government that health workers could take industrial action if their demands for those on the frontline are not met. Some of the issues that union officials want addressed include permanent employment …

Tanzanian president, John Magufuli, has ordered a probe on the country’s coronavirus testing kits after samples taken from a goat and pawpaw tested positive. Speaking at an event in Chato in the northwest of Tanzania on Sunday, the President said that the COVID-19 testing kits, which had been imported from …

With winter fast approaching and confirmed COVID-19 cases now at 7 220, Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, has urged South Africans to continue to stay home to ease the burden on the country’s healthcare system. “Stay home if you do not have to venture out,” said the Minister on Monday. …

Justice and correctional services minister Ronald Lamola on Monday detailed the Covid-19 statistics in the country’s prisons among officials and inmates. Lamola said there could have been a single death of an inmate in the Western Cape, although the department of health was still investigating whether the death could be …