Africa has the highest rate of people killed by Covid-19 in the world so far, the World Health Organisation warns. The WHO said the case fatality rate remains high due to the many deaths from the previous waves in 2020 and last year when the region had few ICU beds and insufficient oxygen setup. WHO […]

President Muhammadu Buhari has commiserated with the government and people of Oyo State, the Royal Family, the Olubadan-in-council and the people of Ibadan on the passing of Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Saliu Adetunji. In a condolence message released by his spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina, on Sunday in Abuja, the president declared that the late traditional […]

A major fire broke out at South Africa’s seat of parliament in Cape Town early on Sunday, sending a thick column of smoke into the sky and threatening the nearby National Assembly building. The fire is believed to have started in one of the older buildings in the parliament precinct, leading to a security cordon […]

Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was reinstated as Prime Minister on November 17 by the Army leader general Burhan who orchestrated a military coup on October 25. He said in a televised statement on the occasion of Sudan National Day that he has done his level best to weave a national political consensus among the […]

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that despite the myriad of challenges facing the country, his administration will continue to be resolute in its determination to overcome the challenges. President Buhari also said that the issue of security has remained at the front burner of priority areas that his administration has given utmost attention to and […]

The funeral mass for South African anti-apartheid campaigner Archbishop Desmond Tutu is taking place at a cathedral in Cape Town. Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who helped end the racist regime in South Africa, died last Sunday aged 90. His death prompted an outpouring of grief among South Africans. Thousands have paid their respects […]

Country lifts curfew, says infections have passed their peak; ‘The speed with which the Omicron-driven wave rose, peaked and then declined has been staggering,’ official says South Africa, where the Omicron variant was detected in November, said Thursday that the country’s latest coronavirus wave had likely passed its peak without a significant increase in deaths […]

The founder of the Fountain of Life Bible Church, Pastor Taiwo Odukoya, has lost his twin sister, Kehinde Hassan, weeks after losing his wife, Nomthi Rosemary Odukoya to cancer. Recall that the cleric a few weeks ago announced that his wife died after battling with cancer for two years Meanwhile, the cause of the death […]

A South African court blocked Shell from using seismic waves to explore for oil and gas in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday. A court decision handed a landmark victory to environmentalists worried about the impact on whales and other species against oil giant Shell. The High Court in the Eastern Cape town of Makhanda backed […]

Police have announced that churches and other religious organisations’ traditional night vigils and crossover services have been banned. Zimbabwe is under Level Two lockdown and the Government has revised curfew hours, which are now between 9pm and 6am. Some churches have been advertising all-night prayer meetings, cross-over sermons and other activities to usher in 2022. […]

The government is considering a health policy that would make vaccination against COVID-19 mandatory. When this policy becomes operational, people who refuse to take the vaccine cannot access government facilities and higher-order services. The Minister for Health, Kwaku Agyemang Manu, who disclosed this at the Ministry’s press soiree in Accra to mark the end of […]

South Africa is holding a week of events to mark the passing of the anti-apartheid leader Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who died on Sunday aged 90. The plans include two days of lying in state before an official state funeral on 1 January in Cape Town. Tributes have been pouring in from leaders around the world, […]

The wife of the Ooni of Ife, Olori Silekunola Naomi, has reportedly announced her divorce from Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi. In a statement on her Facebook page on Thursday, Olori Naomi said her decision to move on was not based on the decision of the monarch to marry another queen. She wrote: “I bless the Lord […]

Nigeria destroyed over one million expired doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines. The expired doses were destroyed at a landfill in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, a week after the nation said it would no longer accept donated COVID-19 vaccines with short shelf lives. According to the head of the Nigerian National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Faisal […]

A female soldier has been arrested in Nigeria for accepting a marriage proposal while on duty, an army spokesman has said. She had breached the military’s code of conduct by “indulging in romance while in uniform”, he added. A video emerged last week of the soldier accepting a ring from a man kneeling in front […]

The South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has returned to work after spending a week in isolation following a positive Covid test, his office confirmed Monday. Ramaphosa, who is fully vaccinated, felt unwell after leaving a state memorial service for former president FW de Klerk in Cape Town on December 12. Ramaphosa self-isolated in Cape Town […]

Uganda is delivering HIV medicine by drone in an archipelago in Lake Victoria, a pilot programme aiming to improve the transport of medical supplies for the country’s health system, which faces chronic shortages. The trial is funded by pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) and run by the government-run Infectious Diseases Institute. It delivers HIV […]

A court in Paris has found a French-Rwandan man, Claude Muhayimana, guilty of complicity in genocide and crimes against humanity during the massacres of Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994. It sentenced him to 14 years in jail. Claude Muhayimana worked as a driver at a hotel in western Rwanda and was accused of transporting Interahamwe […]

The outspoken Ethiopian historian, storyteller, and political activist Gebrekdan Desta has died at the age of 85. He was affectionately known as Memhir and Aboy – Tigrinya for teacher and father respectively. Gebrekdan was part of the firebrand generation of students who rose against the feudal rule of Emperor Haile Selassie and later the Derg […]

Health Minister Jean-Jacques Mbungani made the declaration after 42 days without any new infections, Six people died out of the 11 people who were infected in this latest outbreak. The World Health Organization’s regional director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, says that targeted vaccination and rapid response have made Ebola control more effective. Only five days […]

Ghana’s land borders will remain closed indefinitely to prevent a potential fourth wave of Covid-19 infections in the country. President Nana Akufo-Addo said in a national address on Wednesday that his government was “monitoring the level of threat of the disease and ongoing vaccinations in neighbouring countries” before it can reopen borders. “We must do […]

Ghana has announced plans to fine airlines $3,500 for each passenger who arrives in the West African country without being fully vaccinated against COVID-19. A joint statement by the Ghana Health Service and Ghana Civil Aviation Authority on Monday stated that the new measure is part of plans to prevent the West African country from […]

Zimbabwe has tightened restrictions in the country for another two weeks amid rising coronavirus cases. Under the new measures, government activities are to be scaled down to 30% except for essential services. Hotels and lodges have been asked to provide room service to prevent guests from congregating in restaurants. Businesses that close down during the […]

The Lagos State government has said all modalities for the commencement of a monthly rent payment scheme will commence soon. The Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Housing, Mrs. Toke Benson-Awoyinka, disclosed this during the discussion on Rental Policies at the just concluded second Lagos Real Estate Market Place. According to the Special Adviser, […]

Ramaphosa, 69, who is fully vaccinated, contracted the contagion on a day the country recorded a new high of 37,875 new infections, dramatically up from the previous day’s 17,154 new cases. Johannesburg: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has tested positive for COVID-19 and is receiving treatment for mild symptoms, according to his office. President Ramaphosa, […]

The Omicron variant has now become dominant in South Africa and is driving the increase in new infections. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases has said more than 70% of all the virus genomes it has sequenced last month had been of the new variant. South Africa recorded just over 8,500 new Covid-19 infections in […]

Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat has said the travel ban on southern African countries due to the COVID-19 Omicron variant is a form of stigmatization against Africa. Mahamat said this while reacting to the travel ban on the Southern Africa countries at a news conference at the UN headquarters in New […]

South Sudan’s government has promised to end child marriage by 2030 in line with the African Union’s campaign to end child marriages in the continent. Paramount chiefs from 10 regional states and the three administrative areas are meeting in the capital, Juba, for the second national conference on ending child marriages. Among the proposals suggested […]

China has promised to help African countries overcome the shock of the Covid 19 pandemic and the effects of global warming while refraining from imposing its will on Africa. Chinese Foreign Affairs minister Wang Yi made this promise during a China-Africa Cooperation forum on Tuesday. “Vaccination is progressing in the world, but Africa suffers from […]

The president of Kenya spoke to Parliament praising the country’s response to the pandemic. In his State of the Nation speech, President Uhuru Kenyatta downplayed the impact of Covid-19 on the economy. “Today I am happy to go on record in this august house as having succeeded in the choices that our administration made. Because […]

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control on Wednesday morning confirmed the first case of the Omicron variant in the country. This was contained in a press release issued by the center and signed by the Director-General, Dr. Ifedayo Adetifa. ForeTVHub News reported that the Omicron variant, a new strain of the coronavirus disease, was reported […]

The three-day triennial Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (Focac) conference has officially opened in Senegal’s capital, Dakar. Delegates from the continent and China are in attendance as well as hundreds of participants. The gathering comes amid biting economic and social challenges on the continent fuelled by the Covid pandemic and climate change. Ministers and representatives of […]

The government in Rwanda has announced new measures that include the suspension of flights to and from southern African countries. All arriving passengers must have a negative test and do a repeat test on arrival and seven days after arriving in the country. A seven-day quarantine has also been reintroduced for travelers coming from countries […]

Chinese lenders, the Export-Import Bank of China, also known as Exim Bank, has taken over the Ugandan Entebbe International Airport and other assets in the country over the failure of the Ugandan government to repay a loan. This came despite reports that President Yoweri Museveni had sent a delegation to Beijing for a renegotiation with […]

The World Health Organization (WHO) is due to hold a special meeting on Friday to consider the significance of a rapidly spreading new coronavirus variant in South Africa. Experts in Geneva will decide whether it should be designated a variant of concern. A senior WHO official said it could take weeks to establish whether the […]

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has been welcomed by President Cyril Ramaphosa to start a two-day state visit to South Africa. Ramaphosa met with Kenyatta at his offices in the Union Buildings Tuesday where the two leaders held a press conference. While in South Africa Kenyatta is to visit the Aspen Pharmacare factory in Gqeberha (formerly […]

The health authorities in Kenya have urged people to use other alternatives as the country is experiencing a shortage of condoms. Restaurants, hospitals, and other public facilities have not had free condoms in their toilets for people to take. A government agency, the National Aids and STIs Control Programme (Nascop) has expressed concern over the […]

The Kenyan government plans to introduce a directive next month to prevent citizens who haven’t been vaccinated against Covid from receiving government services. Health Minister Mutahi Kagwe said unvaccinated people would be banned from public transport, local airlines and train services. Kenyans will also require proof of vaccination in order to visit government institutions for […]

President Muhammadu Buhari has received the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken at the State House in Abuja. Blinken arrived at the presidential complex in a motorcade on Thursday and is expected to have a meeting with Buhari in his office. The Nigerian leader and US top diplomat are also expected to discuss security issues […]

Two explosions hit the center of the Ugandan capital Kampala early on Tuesday, killing at least three people. The two blasts took place in the central business district — one near the Central Police Station and a second near the entrance to Parliament. Reports claim that three attackers on motorbikes blew themselves up near parliament […]

Ann Kananu Mwenda is the new Governor of Nairobi County. Kananu took an oath of office on Tuesday at a ceremony attended by top dignitaries, among them Nairobi Metropolitan Services Director General Mohamed Badi. She was sworn in by Justice Lilian Mutende effectively kicking off her tenure for the next 10 months before the August […]

The US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, is in Kenya for talks later on Wednesday with President Uhuru Kenyatta. The talks involve regional security issues including the conflict in Ethiopia, combating Islamist terrorism in Somalia, and reviving Sudan’s transition to a civilian government. The US sees Kenya as a key partner and important influence in […]

The Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Restitution for Victims of SARS Related Abuses and Other Matters (Lagos End SARS Panel) has reported the Lekki Tollgate shootings of October 20, 2020, as a massacre. The panel indicted soldiers and implicated Nigeria’s security agents in the killing and forced disappearances of harmless and unarmed youths […]

The government has withdrawn its support for the Miss South Africa pageant after it was unable to convince organisers to pull out of the Miss Universe pageant which will be held in Israel in December 2021. Reports claim that the decision came after growing calls for the reigning Miss South Africa, Lalela Mswane, to boycott […]

The son and one-time heir apparent of late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi on Sunday announced his candidacy for the country’s presidential election next month, Libya’s election agency said. The agency said in a statement that Seif al-Islam submitted his candidacy papers in the southern town of Sabah. Gadhafi’s son was captured by fighters late in […]

Internationally acclaimed author Wilbur Smith died at his home in South Africa on Saturday after a decades-long career in writing, his office said. He was 88. With 49 titles under his belt, Smith became a household name, his swashbuckling adventure stories taking readers from tropical islands to the jungles of Africa and even Ancient Egypt […]

The UK government has announced that it has stopped the recruitment of Kenyan health professionals to work in the National Health Service (NHS). This is because Kenya has been added to a UK list of countries where there is a shortage of nurses and other health workers. In July the UK and Kenya announced a […]

FW de Klerk, South Africa’s last white president, has died aged 85, his foundation announced on Thursday. “It is with the deepest sadness that the FW de Klerk Foundation must announce that former President FW de Klerk died peacefully at his home in Fresnaye earlier this morning following his struggle again,” the statement said.