AFRICA

Malawi’s president says poverty is due to misrule

Malawi’s president has said that his country’s poverty is due to the misrule of his predecessors. “The poverty of our people is man-made, which means it can and must be unmade,” Lazarus Chakwera said in his first state of the nation address since being elected in June. He promised to …

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Covid-19: Deaths rise but active cases drop

Ghana’s coronavirus deaths have seen three additional cases recorded. From the latest update released by the Disease Surveillance Department of the Ghana Health Service on Saturday, September 5, the number of deaths has risen from 280 to 283. With 43,693 recovered/discharged patients, the country’s active cases now stand at 801. …

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Ghana embassy in the US to reopen

Ghana’s Embassy in the United States of America (USA) has said in a statement that the embassy will reopen for consular services on Tuesday, September 8, 2020. The statement, however, said all applications and other activities will be done through online platforms to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The …

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Cyril Ramaphosa stands firm on corruption

Amid the bitter political battle for control of the ANC, President Cyril Ramaphosa this weekend said he will present himself before the party’s integrity commission to answer questions relating to the funding of his 2017 campaign to become party president. Ramaphosa made the undertaking on Friday in his opening address …

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Overseas travel might be back ‘sooner than expected’: Tourism minister

Tourism minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane said international tourism might return sooner than expected as she encouraged South Africans to get out and explore their own country. Speaking in Cullinan, Gauteng, on Monday at the official launch of Tourism Month, an annual celebration highlighting the importance of domestic tourism, Kubayi-Ngubane  acknowledged the …

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Nigeria: Four women sell newborn for N1.5m

Four women have been taken into custody for allegedly selling a newborn for N1,500,000. Officials of National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) arrested three of the women near Abuja, while the fourth suspect was apprehended in Owerri, the Imo State capital, where the baby’s teenage mother …

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US asks for ‘humane treatment’ for Hotel Rwanda hero

The US assistant secretary for African affairs, Tibor Nagy, has held talks with Rwandan ambassador to the US over the arrest of Paul Rusesabagina, who was portrayed in a Hollywood film about the Rwandan genocide. Rwandan officials said Mr Rusesabagina, 66, was arrested under an international warrant for leading “terrorist …

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9, 246 Nigerian teachers fail qualification exam

Some 9,246 Nigerian teachers, who sat for the Batch A professional qualifying exam held in July 2020, reportedly failed. The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) said only 75%, a total of 28,094 candidates passed the exam. The council’s registrar, Josiah Olusegun Ajiboye, who disclosed that about 7,023 candidates didn’t write the exam, added …

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Stage 3 load-shedding for Friday

Power utility Eskom will implement stage 3 load-shedding on Friday, as the weather improves and demand decreases. “Due to reduced demand and the much improved weather, Eskom will reduce load-shedding to stage 3 starting at 8am to 10pm,” Eskom said in a statement. The power utility said load-shedding would continue …

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SA no longer among five countries worst hit by Covid-19

South Africa is no longer among the five countries most affected by coronavirus, according to the World Health Organization. Peru now has the fifth highest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases, with 663,437 reported by Wednesday. South Africa, which accounts for half of all the cases confirmed in Africa, has had …

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Nile dam row: US cuts aid to Ethiopia

The US is cutting aid to Ethiopia over a controversial mega dam being built on a tributary of the River Nile. The move was triggered by Ethiopia’s move to start filling the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam before reaching agreement with Egypt and Sudan. Egypt has long been opposed to any …

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Expectant mother allegedly stabs boyfriend to death

The police in Anambra state have arrested a 25-year-old pregnant woman, Oyinye Chime, for allegedly stabbing her boyfriend, Eleyi Azubuike, to death at his home in Ochiagha street in Nkpor, an area in the state on Wednesday, September 2.   The spokesperson of the state police command, Muhammed Haruna, who …

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Kenya freezes assets of al-Shabab ‘financiers’

Kenya has frozen the assets of nine people it accuses of funding Somalia’s militant group al-Shabab. The interior ministry said the move was part of its renewed counter-terrorism efforts aimed at tackling “ domestic terrorists”. In a statement, Internal Security Minister Fred Matiang’i said the freezing of assets of the …

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2.9m pupils in 8,683 public schools benefit from school feeding

The Minister of Gender, Child and Social Protection, Cynthia Mamle Morrison, has disclosed that over 2,980,000 pupils in 8,683 public basic schools are currently benefiting from the Ghana School Feeding Programme, with one hot and nutritious meal for each school-going day. Addressing the media in Accra on Wednesday, 2 September …

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Stage 2 load shedding continues

Due to the continuing severe generation supply constraints as a result of multiple unit breakdowns, Eskom says it will continue to implement stage 2 load shedding from 8am until 10pm today. In a statement, Eskom said 10 generation units at seven power stations have suffered breakdowns in the past two …

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DR Congo militia rape students on eve of exams

Armed militia attacked a school and raped female students on the eve of their examinations in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The men attacked an examination centre housing 35 final year students in Isiro town, the capital of Haut-Uélé province. Local authorities said some female students were raped during the …

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Arrest of ‘Hotel Rwanda’ hero Rusesabagina shrouded in mystery

Rwandan authorities have arrested Paul Rusesabagina, whose heroic actions during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi inspired the Hollywood movie Hotel Rwanda. Mr Rusesabagina has been living in exile and is a leader of an opposition outfit accused of financing terrorism activities in Rwanda. The announcement of his arrest on …

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COVID-19: Noguchi clashes with government over prices of antigen test

Government and officials of the Noguchi Memorial Institute of Medical Research have clashed over the processes and charges for the testing of passengers who will be arriving at the Kotoka International Airport as it reopens today. Antigen tests are immunoassays that detect the presence of a specific viral antigen, which …

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‘Hotel Rwanda’ film hero Paul Rusesabagina arrested

Paul Rusesabagina, who saved hundreds of Rwandans during the genocide by sheltering them in the hotel he managed, and saw his story made into the Hollywood film ‘Hotel Rwanda’, has been arrested on terror related offenses, Rwandan authorities announced. The country’s bureau of Investigation said in a Twitter statement that Rusesabagina was now in …

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Covid-19: Doctors in Nigeria’s capital to begin strike

Resident doctors in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, will begin an “indefinite” strike on Tuesday morning over non-payment of what they term as “Covid-19 hazard and inducement allowance” since April. The Association of Resident Doctors said the authorities had failed to fulfil pledges to pay its members who are working in coronavirus …

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