AFRICA

US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo on Wednesday criticised South Africa and Qatar for accepting doctors from Cuba to battle the coronavirus, accusing the communist island of profiting from the pandemic. Cuba’s globe-trotting doctors have long been a source of diplomatic soft power and pride for Havana, but the US …

Two guards and five inmates of a prison in Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown were killed on Wednesday in a riot described by authorities as an attempted escape, according to a new report released by police. The cause of the mutiny by the inmates of Pademba Road Prison, who set fire …

Domestic and sexual violence experts in Nigeria say they have seen an increase in the number of people asking them for help. It comes as the United Nations warns of a shadow pandemic with rising reports of physical and verbal abuse in homes around the world because of coronavirus lockdowns. …

The Enugu State Police Command has commenced investigation into the death of five members of a family in the outskirts of Enugu metropolis in Enugu State. The sixth member of the family, a boy, was however found in coma and had been rushed to a hospital The command’s Public Relations …

The Department of Basic Education has clarified that only senior officials in the education sector will return to work on 4 May to prepare for the eventual reopening of schools. There had been uproar and anxiety among parents after the department’s presentation to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Basic Education, where …

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed a dead man into office, naming the late Tobias Chukwuemeka Okwuru as a board member for a government agency, two months after he died. Mr. Buhari sent a letter to the country’s senate on Tuesday to confirm the list of 37 appointees but was …

Kenyans online are outraged after the ministry of health spent huge sums on tea, snacks and mobile phone airtime for its staff in the battle against coronavirus pandemic. Some 4m Kenyan shillings ($37,000; £30,000) has been spent on tea and snacks, while 2m Kenyan shillings has been used on airtime for …

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Africa is 5 350, with 103 deaths reported. This is an increase of 354 from Tuesday. “This is the highest number of cases in a 24 hour cycle recorded to date and represents a 73% increase relative to the day before,” …

Popular televangelist, Temitope Balogun Joshua, commonly referred to as T. B. Joshua, leader of The Synagogue Church of All Nations, has once again visited the prayer mountain to commune with the Almighty God for answers to the dreaded Covid-19. Photos of the prophet are all over social media where he …

Mozambique’s security forces have killed nearly 130 Islamist militants in the past three weeks, the government says. Interior Minister Amad Miquidade said the gas-rich northern province of Cabo Delgado was now under government control. He said the military would carry out further operations to make sure all jihadist bases were …