Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbe was inaugurated on Sunday at a ceremony that was minimised to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. Some 200 guests – all wearing face masks and practicing social distancing – attended the ceremony. With borders closed, it was only attended by diplomats already in the country. The televised ceremony was shortened to just over 80 minutes, without the usual pomp and ceremony. Gnassingbe, 53, won by a landslide in February,...
The Police in Zimbabwe will arrest anyone leaving their homes without wearing face masks starting from Monday, Deputy Minister of Information, Energy Mutodi, said on Sunday. “With effect from tomorrow, Monday, May 4, the Police will arrest anyone seen without putting on a mask in the CBD, entering shops or any public places,’’ Mutodi announced on twitter. The development follows President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s announcement on Friday that members of the public will be required to...
Export programmes for West African crudes emerged on Friday and showed lower volumes for this month and the next, in line with unprecedented output cuts by producers and a lack of demand. Royal Dutch Shell circulated its export schedule for June loadings of Nigerian Bonny Light and Bonga crude, with the former set to fall sharply in June to 190,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 245,000 planned for May. Loading plans have been disrupted as Nigeria...
A roll call of Nigeria’s musical icons, global cultural ambassadors, and big music artists will not be complete without Chinedu Okoli, professionally called Flavour N’abania. Known for his lively voice, his songs are mostly delivered with a smooth blend of English and Igbo languages. Flavours’ performances are energy filled and typically involve thrilling fans with his signature dance move — twisting his waist. Also called ‘Flavour of Africa’, he describes himself as ‘Africa’s Highlife King’....
It actually started late February in Aba – a major commercial town in the eastern part of Nigeria known for product innovation and creativity. Individual tailors competed on production of unique designer masks and face caps. By the end of March, designer facemask became a trend in major African countries. Currently in this continent, fashion designers are agog with commendably striking styles of masks for use against the coronavirus pandemic. With Love from Algeria Tackling...
With Covid-19 cases on a sharp rise in Tanzania, there is now widespread speculation that three of its lawmakers who died in a space of 11 days might have contracted the virus. It’s a concern which has prompted the country’s leading opposition party Chadema to call for a suspension of parliament. Chadema told its MPs to self-isolate for two weeks and stay away from parliamentary buildings in the capital Dodoma and main commercial City of...
The disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has halted the implementation of the African Free Trade Agreement, forcing officials to postpone it. “It is obviously not possible to commence trade as we had intended on 1 July under the current circumstances,” Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), told Reuters. Although Mene did not say whether there was a new targeted implementation, he was confident the deal would still proceed. “The...
This year’s Intra-African Trade Fair, initially scheduled to take place in Rwanda in September, has been postponed to next year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, organisers said in a statement on Wednesday. The event, co-organized by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the African Union (AU) and the Rwandan government, will be postponed to Sept. 6-12, 2021, in Kigali to ensure the safety of the host country and the participants, said the statement released by...
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control on Tuesday reacted to the reported cheaper testing method in Dakar, Senegal, during the media briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja. The reaction came through the NCDC DG, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu when he said a sample test of COVID-19 cost between $18 and $20. Saying no way that the new testing method will be available at the reported price ($1). In his reaction, he also...
More than 200 Cuban health workers had arrived in South Africa to help in the country’s fight against the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The Office of South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, said on Monday. It said that a total of 217 medics, comprising doctors, scientists and other health experts, were to be dispatched across all provinces of South Africa. The African country hit hardest by the new coronavirus, after Ramaphosa asked his Cuban counterpart Miguel Diaz-Canel...
