A fire tore through an overcrowded maximum security prison in Cameroon’s port city of Douala on Thursday leading to the hospitalisation of three prisoners with serious burns, a local fire chief said. Firefighters backed up by police were able to contain the blaze and stop it spreading beyond New Bell …

Sex workers living with HIV in Uganda have stopped taking their medication because of a lack of food and income as restrictions have left them with no clients. The government has been giving food aid to some of those who are most affected by the restrictions that have been in …

Two UN peacekeepers in Mali have died from the coronavirus, officials said Friday. Out of the some 100,000 UN troops deployed on about 15 different missions around the world, these two are the first whose deaths were directly linked to the pandemic. “Unfortunately, I also want to say that yesterday …

A voice note that is being shared on WhatsApp claims chewing raw onions can help cure coronavirus. In the 4 minutes, 21 seconds long voice note, a man speaking Hausa- a widely spoken language in Northern Ghana and Zongos across the country is heard assuring listeners and vulnerable COVID-19 victims to try …

A Chief Magistrates’ Court in Kafanchan, Kaduna State has jailed a 35-year-old man, Abdullahi Sani, and his 20-year-old girlfriend, Sarah Paul, for stealing 64 chickens. The police charged Sani and Paul with criminal conspiracy, housebreaking, theft and mischief, contrary to sections 58, 332, 270 and 312 of the Kaduna State …

An Ethiopian soldier shot a man dead in front of several people after his phone rang during a public meeting, Amnesty International says. It is one of many incidents the rights watchdog recorded from a security crackdown in Oromia regional state at the end of 2018 and 2019. This was …

As Turkish drones helped drive eastern Libyan forces back from Tripoli this month, Russia was said to be reinforcing them with warplanes, raising the stakes in a stalemated civil war that has partitioned the country. Recent weeks have marked a turning point in a complex conflict between two uneasy coalitions …

Moussa Faki Mahamat, the chairman of the African Union (AU) Commission, has condemned the killing of a unarmed black man in the US city of Minneapolis, calling it “murder”. George Floyd, 46, died in police custody on Monday. A white police officer was filmed kneeling on his neck, despite him …

Total confirmed Covid-19 cases in Ghana now stand at 7,616 with 2,421 recoveries and 34 deaths. According to the Ghana Health Service, the active cases are 5,161. Regional breakdown: Greater Accra Region – 5,331 Ashanti Region – 1,160 Western Region – 395 Central Region – 376 Eastern Region – 117 Western North Region – 63 Volta Region – 59 Northern Region – 36 …

South Africa’s firebrand opposition politician Julius Malema has urged people not to fall for the “trap” of going to church, saying they will die after contracting coronavirus. Places of worship are set to reopen from 1 June after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced easing of lockdown restrictions to level three – …

Armed men on motorcycles killed 27 civilians in central Mali in three attacks on ethnic Dogon farming villages in less than 24 hours, local officials said on Thursday. Central Mali has been ravaged in recent years by ethnic reprisal killings, as recriminations between herding and farming communities over jihadist violence …

The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) has given the government a five-day-ultimatum to ensure that loans due students are paid before the examination begins. According to them, despite their efforts to engage government on the challenges students are facing, including loans, e-learning amongst others, the government has refused to …

Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina appears to have made a U-turn regarding the much publicised purported coronavirus remedy he said his country had developed. Last month Mr Rajoelina officially launched a local herbal tonic which he said could prevent and cure coronavirus. But this was disputed by the World Health Organization …

A total of 875 people have committed suicide during the lockdown period in Nepal. The country has been under lockdown since March 24. According to the data compiled by the Nepal Police, the suicide cases across the country increased by 16 per cent in the first month of the lockdown. …

Ghana has 186 new COVID-19 cases to put the current confirmed case count to 7,303, the Ghana Health Service has announced. On the official website of Ghana Health Service, 2,412 persons who tested positive for COVID-19earlier have also recovered. This implies that as of the last update, 95 more persons …

The UN says at least 38 people have been killed by an armed group in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. They were killed in a series of attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in the provinces of Ituri and North Kivu. A local monitoring groups says …

Police in Bugiri District has commenced investigations into the motive for the murder of a woman allegedly by her husband, who was later also killed by an angry mob. Mr Patrick Bakaleka, 60, is alleged to have beaten Ms Teddy Nakaweesa, 50, to death on Monday morning before being killed …

New swarms of locusts are increasing the risk of food insecurity for millions of people in East and Central Africa who are already reeling from the impact of Covid-19 and flooding, humanitarian agency Oxfam has said in a new report. Locust invasions in recent months are estimated to have destroyed …

The illicit trade in cigarettes in South Africa is now in full swing after the sale of tobacco was banned at the end of March as part of strict measures imposed to slow the spread of coronavirus, as the BBC’s Pumza Fihlani reports. Whereas once Michelle could go to her …

Four grave diggers have been arrested by policemen in Ondo State after they were found with the heads of five dead people which they exhumed at the cemetery where they are working. The four men identified as Adewale Abiodun, 40; Akinola Sunday, 69; Seun Olomofe, 45; and Oluwadare Idowu 67, …

The outspoken communication team member of the ruling party, NPP, in the central region, Dr Nana Yaw Agyenim-Boateng, is begging the government to consider reopening schools for only final year students in junior,senior high schools and universities. Dr Agyenim-Boateng believes these students should be government’s immediate focus when the ban …

The Gauteng Department of Health on Sunday confirmed that 53 employees at AngloGold Ashanti’s Mponeng mine in the Merafong district have tested positive for COVID-19. According to the latest update on the company’s website, the number of positive cases has now been confirmed as 164, of which the vast majority are …

Teachers in South Africa want the planned reopening of schools on 1 June halted, Independent Online news website reports. Educators Union of SA (Eusa) general secretary Siphiwe Mpungose is quoted as saying that they will file a court application on Monday against the Department of Basic Education (DBE). The DBE …

The Lagos state police command has arrested a young man simply identified as Chima for allegedly setting his pregnant elder sister, Victoria, 20, ablaze at their residence around CAC Bus Stop in Okokomaiko, Ojo, on May 14. According to reports, Chima and Victoria, who was said to be two months …

The president of South Africa has warned that the country’s coronavirus outbreak is going to get much worse, while announcing that lockdown measures are to be eased. Cyril Ramaphosa said a third of the country’s more than 22,000 cases had been recorded in the last week. Despite that, the president …

At least four people have been killed and 15 others were injured in Somalia when an explosion went off during Eid celebrations. Witnesses say a crowd had been dancing and singing in Baidoa city when the blast occurred. It is not yet clear who was behind it. For several years …

A 50-year-old inmate at an East London prison has died of Covid-19 after suffering from respiratory failure, the correctional services department said on Monday. Department spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said the prisoner died on May 20. Nxumalo said 246 officials working for the department of correctional services and 473 inmates have …

The National Council for Parent-Teacher Associations (NCPTAs) has appealed to government to further delay the reopening of schools in the country in the wake of COVID-19. According to the Council, there is no scientific and fact-based basis to believe that coronavirus spread in Ghana is reducing hence the need to …

Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu has been elected to serve on the Executive Board of the World Health Organisation (WHO). He is among the 34-member executive board who will serve a three-year term for the organisation. The Ministry of Health shared the good on its Facebook page. It said the main …

Ethiopia is one of East / Horn of Africa’s least impacted nations as compared to rate of COVID-19 case growth and infection of its neighbours. A state of emergency lasting five-months has been imposed by the Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed led government. All land borders have since been shut as a virus …