AFRICA

Two pensioners in South Africa died on Monday as they were hoping to collect money from the government in the form of social grants. One reportedly died as they were waiting in a queue in Hammersdale, a suburb of Durban, and the other died in a taxi en route to …

Ugandan authorities have charged a controversial pastor who is accused of telling his congregation that there is no coronavirus in Africa. Prosecutors accuse Augustine Yiga of making the comments to the Revival Christian Church congregation on Friday, in comments carried by local television stations. He denied the charges. “Claiming that …

The former president of the Republic of Congo, Jacques Joaquim Yhombi Opango, has died in Paris from complications related to coronavirus. He was 81 years old. His family said he had been ill before contracting the virus. Mr Yhombi Opango led Congo-Brazzaville from 1977 until he was toppled in 1979 …

Botswana, one of the few democracies to still enforce the death penalty, executed two men convicted of murder on Saturday, March 28. The latest executions bring to four the number of hangings since President Mokgweetsi Masisi was elected last October. 33-year-old Moabi Seabelo Mabiletsa, and his co-accused 39-year-old Matshidiso Tshid …

There have been calls in Egypt for people not to abandon or put down their pets after false rumours that they could carry coronavirus. A group of Egyptian celebrities has put out a video in which they hug their pets and urge people to look after them as normal. The …

Doctors and nurses in Zimbabwe are striking to protest the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) for health workers in the nation’s hospitals, their unions said. Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association spokesman Tapiwa Zvakada said doctors will not resume work until the government provides the proper gear they need for their …

South Africa has considered approaching the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other institutions as a last resort for emergency funding to fight the coronavirus that has brought a national lockdown, the finance minister said on Sunday. “If we approach the IMF or the World Bank or the Development Bank, it …

The government of Sierra Leone has overturned a ban on pregnant girls from attending school. The ministry of education said it was committed to ensuring all children had the right to go to school, regardless of their status. In December, the West African regional bloc’s court ruled that the ban …

A 15-year-old girl, Sekinat Agbelade, was said to have been shot dead by men of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in Agosasa, Ipokia Local area of Ogun States. It was gathered that the Customs officers, on Saturday, while on the chase of some suspected smugglers, fired gunshots, hitting the innocent …

A spate of mysterious second-time infections is calling into question the accuracy of COVID-19 diagnostic tools even as China prepares to lift quarantine measures to allow residents to leave the epicenter of its outbreak next month. It’s also raising concerns of a possible second wave of cases. From March 18-22, …