News24 SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi has tested positive for Covid-19. He told eNCA during an interview on Thursday that he had no idea how he was exposed to the novel coronavirus. Vavi said he was tested for the virus on Wednesday after catching what felt like the flu on
AFP Despite loud appeals for caution, Africans are rushing to embrace chloroquine, the venerable anti-malaria drug touted as a possible treatment for coronavirus. From hospitals in Senegal to pharmaceutical companies in South Africa and street sellers in Cameroon, chloroquine has fired hopes of a medicinal fix against a virus that is set to scythe through
AFP MORE than 60 suspected undocumented migrants from Ethiopia were found dead on Tuesday in a cargo container in Mozambique’s northwest Tete province, a hospital official said. “A truck transporting illegal immigrants from Malawi, suspected to be Ethiopians, was stopped at the Mussacana weight bridge in Tete, and 64 people were found dead. Only 14
BBC Religious leaders in Kenya have suspended worship in some churches and mosques after the country confirmed seven coronavirus cases. The Presbyterian Church of East Africa, All Saints’ Cathedral of Anglican Church, Christ is the Answer Ministries, Kenya Assemblies of God and the Nairobi Chapel have suspended congregational worship. All the five churches said they
BBC Facebook has said it is running a fact-checking pilot in Nigeria to help stop the spread of fake news about coronavirus. The social media giant says it will use its messaging app WhatsApp to help researchers gather misinformation and respond with accurate information. It will also provide banner adverts to the World Health Organization
BBC South Africa has recorded 23 new cases of coronavirus in one day, the highest increase of any 24-hour period since the country confirmed its first case. Of the new cases, four are children aged under five years. South Africa now has 85 confirmed cases of COVID-19. This means there has been an increase of
AFP The Sahel state of Burkina Faso on Wednesday announced its first death from coronavirus, which is also the first known fatality in sub-Saharan Africa. “We recorded the death overnight of a female patient aged 62, who suffered from diabetes and was in intensive care,” Burkina’s national coordinator for responding to the virus, Professor Martial
Times Live A 15-year-old boy was arrested in Zambia for allegedly defaming President Edgar Lungu in Facebook posts, police said Wednesday as critics accuse the regime of turning increasingly authoritarian. The unnamed teenager based in the central small town of Kapiri Mposhi was arrested on Monday and charged with three counts of libel. He will
BBC African Airlines have lost $400m (£312m) since the outbreak of the coronavirus in China in February, according to the global airline industry body. The epidemic is not as widespread in Africa as in other continents, but it has led airlines like South African Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Air Tanzania, Air Mauritius, EgyptAir, RwandAir and
BBC The Algerian health minister has confirmed the country’s first case of the coronavirus in an announcement on state-owned ENTV on Tuesday evening. The minister Abdel Rahman Ben Bouzid said the patient is an Italian man who arrived in the country on 17 February, Reuters news agency reports. The patient has been placed in isolation.
BBC The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has donated $10m (£7.7m) to help fight locusts in the East African region. The contribution will be given to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) that appealed for funds to fight the locust invasion that is threatening food security. FAO Director-General QU Dongyu has thanked the foundation
BBC Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbé has won re-election, according to preliminary results from the electoral commission. However, opposition leader Agbéyomé Kodjo has accused the authorities of widespread fraud. The president’s office is quoted by AFP news agency as denying the accusation. The electoral commission said that Mr Gnassingbé had received 72% of the vote, compared
BBC At least 22 people have been killed in an attack on a village in north-west Cameroon, the UN says. Over half those killed in Ntumbo were children, and local media report that several victims were burned alive. No-one has claimed responsibility for Friday’s incident, but an opposition party blamed the army. Cameroon’s government, which
AFP Egypt’s population has reached 100 million, its statistics agency said on Tuesday, highlighting the threat of overpopulation in a poverty-stricken country where many live in crowded megacities. The North African country retains its position as the most populous Arab nation and Africa’s third most populous country behind Nigeria and Ethiopia. A counter installed atop
BBC Efforts are being made in Zimbabwe to bring trapped illegal miners to the surface, after a shaft collapsed at a gold mine killing at least two other miners. The BBC’s Shingai Nyoka reports that the national disaster management agency has rescued two miners from the site in the town of Kwekwe who are now
BBC The Pietermaritzburg High Court has issued a warrant of arrest for South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma after be missed a scheduled court appearance. Zuma, who has been charged with a string of crimes including corruption, racketeering and money-laundering was expected at the pre-trial hearing on Tuesday but was not present due to bad-health,
AFP Suspected jihadists have killed 18 civilians in an attack in northern Burkina Faso, the governor of the Sahel region said. “The defence and security forces brought back the body of the nurse to give it to her family in Yalgo and secure the area to allow the burial of other victims,” Colonel Salfo Kabore
BBC About 1.4 million children could die from pneumonia over the next decade in Nigeria, according to the UN. The UN’s children agency Unicef has in its latest forecast said Nigeria could have the world’s highest amount of deaths caused by pneumonia. Overall, Unicef said its forecast estimates 6.3 million children could die worldwide from
BBC A number of boarding schools in Malawi have closed and sent their pupils home ahead of a court ruling next week about the country’s disputed election. Opposition parties are challenging the re-election of President Peter Mutharika in May last year – and the judiciary has announced that its decision will be announced next Monday.
BBC The authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have started distributing a new oral drug to fight against sleeping sickness. The disease, caused by a parasite that attacks the nervous system, is fatal if it is not treated. It affects at least 8 million people in about 30 different African countries. Health officials in
