Zimbabwe has confirmed the presence of the Omicron coronavirus in the country. Speaking on state TV, Vice-President and Health Minister Constantino Chiwenga said that it followed genome sequencing but gave no further details. New Covid cases rose sharply this week, with 712 new cases being recorded on Wednesday and 399 on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the…
Presidential candidates in Gambia ended their campaigns on Thursday ahead of Saturday’s elections. From the top of a truck, Gambian President Adama Barrow, who is running for a second term in office, greeted thousands of supporters following him through the streets of the capital of Banjul to McCarthy square where he gave his final speech.…
Cape Town – Organised crime has increased across Africa during the Covid-19 pandemic and shows no signs of slowing, according to the 2021 Organised Crime Index released on November 25. It is one of Africa’s biggest security challenges, with more than two-thirds of Africans living in countries with high criminality, and nearly 80 percent in…
The African Union and United Nations have jointly criticised travel restrictions put on several Southern African countries following the discovery of the Omicron variant of Covid-19. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned that the restrictions could lead to “travel apartheid”, describing them as “deeply unfair, punitive and ineffective” in stopping the spread of the variant.…
South Africa has recorded a sharp increase in coronavirus infections which have doubled across the country since Monday. Health officials say the newly discovered Omicron variant may be fuelling the surge, although it isn’t clear how many of the new cases it accounts for. Some 8,500 Covid infections have been registered in the last 24…
A new study has found that Madagascar’s current food crisis has been caused mainly by factors other than global warming – contradicting a recent UN report which blamed it on climate change. The report – by a group of international scientists, published by World Weather Attribution – blamed poverty and weather conditions that were only…
Ghana announced on Wednesday that its scientists have detected cases of the omicron variant in passengers who arrived in the country ten days ago. Speaking at a launch event for “COVID-19 vaccination month,” Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, the Director-General for Ghana’s Health Service, said the cases had come mainly from Nigeria and South Africa. They were picked…
In our series of letters from African journalists, Sierra Leonean-Gambian writer Ade Daramy says The Gambia has witnessed a remarkable flourishing of democracy over the last five years, but its curious system of electing leaders remains unchanged. Most Gambians I know are quite proud of their unique voting system. When they go to the polls…
A boat carrying more than 50 people has capsized in the northern Nigerian state of Kano. Police say 20 bodies have been recovered and seven people rescued so far following the accident on Tuesday evening. Officials and residents told the BBC that the boat was carrying dozens of people from the village of Badau to…
The High Court in Lesotho has charged former prime minister, Thomas Thabane, for the 2017 murder of his first wife, Lipolelo. According to the charges read on Tuesday, Thabane, 82, is accused of hiring hitmen to kill Lipolelo in June 2017, two days before he took office as head of government. The accused include Thabane’s…