The Ethiopian Ministry of Health on Monday reported 297 new Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases over the past 24 hours, as the total number of confirmed cases hit 125,919 in the country. The ministry said the number of COVID-19-related deaths in the country had reached 1,950 as of Monday evening, including two new virus-related deaths reported within a 24-hour period. The ministry said some 112,610 patients who tested positive for COVID-19 had recovered so far, including 243...
Rebel fighters in the Central African Republic attacked and partially occupied a diamond-mining town on Sunday, four security and humanitarian sources said. The attack occurred a day before authorities are due to declare results of the presidential election. At least five rebels were killed and two army soldiers wounded in the clashes in Bangassou, which lies on the southern border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission, MINUSCA, said in...
South Africa, one of the African countries that have been hard hit by the second wave of the coronavirus, is set to obtain its first vaccine doses next month, the Minister of Health announced on Sunday. In recent weeks, the government of South Africa has come under criticism, particularly from health experts, over the delay of the government in starting a programme of inoculation against COVID-19. At a news conference, the health minister, Dr. Zweli...
African Union (AU) Chairperson Cyril Ramaphosa and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed have congratulated Africans for starting trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Abiy tweeted: “Congratulations to our continent for the beginning of trading under AfCTA. The new frontier for Africa is indeed regional integration, where minds are open to ideas and markets are to trade. Trade defuses the most fraught relations and integrated markets generate prosperity.” South African President Ramaphosa said:...
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement comes into effect on January 1, 2021, but Zambia is one of the 21 countries that have not yet deposited their instruments of ratification. Zambia’s Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Christopher Yaluma, disclosed at a media briefing in Lusaka on Thursday that the official launch of the AfCFTA will take place at a virtue event which will be graced by the African Union (AU) Chairperson, South...
The AU has awarded three outstanding education innovations including a project used during the COVID-19, the 55-member pan-African bloc in a statement said on Wednesday. During the Innovating Education in Africa Pitch Event 2020, the innovations were awarded grants of 60,000, 40,000, and 20,000 dollars according to their ranks, the statement said. The grants would be used to undertake pilot projects in collaboration with AU member states, it said, indicating that one of the innovations...
By John Campbell It was long expected that Africa, with its weak public health infrastructure and the impoverishment of its population, would face particular disaster with the outbreak of COVID-19. It arrived later than in other parts of the world, apparently mostly from Europe. The disease’s earliest, high-profile victims were among those able to travel abroad, and South Africa—the country with probably the most extensive links to the rest of the world—early became the epicenter of the...
Gambian Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad, Dr. Mamadou Tangara, has called on leaders of Mali, Senegal and Mauritania to concertedly find ways to address root causes of migration. He made the statement during a virtual meeting of leaders of The Gambia, Mali, Mauritania and Senegal on Sunday. According to the statement, the meeting was held to map out ways of tackling migration within the four neighbouring countries. Tangara pointed out that...
The Uganda Electoral Commission, on Saturday, said it suspended political campaigns in 11 districts that the Ministry of Health considers COVID-19 hotspots. Paul Bukenya, the Electoral Commission’s spokesperson, said in a tweet that the suspension takes immediate effect in the districts of Mbarara, Luwero, Kasese, Masaka, Wakiso, Kabarole, Jinja, Kalungu, Kazo, Kampala and Tororo. The suspension comes just three weeks before the Jan. 14 presidential and parliamentary elections. The commission has previously urged politicians not...
Voters in the Central African Republic go to the polls on Sunday for presidential and legislative elections being held under violence. This is as the government tries to hold off a rebel advance. Militias hostile to President Faustin-Archange Touadera, who is seeking a second term, have stepped up attacks since the constitutional court rejected several candidacies, including that of former President Francois Bozize, earlier this month. The crisis has left many in the diamond and...
