Africa

Health authorities in South Africa reported on Thursday a causal link between the death of an individual and Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine, the first time such a direct link has been made in the country, Reuters reported. The person presented with rare neurological disorder Guillain-Barre Syndrome soon after …

Nigeria’s government says it approved the purchase of vehicles worth over 1.4 billion naira ($3m; £2.4m) for its northern neighbour, Niger, to help improve security. It comes as Nigeria continues to struggle with rising insecurity as armed gangs step up attacks on communities and major roads, including kidnapping. Finance Minister …

Kenya’s Education Minister, Prof. George Magoha apologised over the controversial and abrupt decision to close schools early in the country. According to the minister, it was a “necessary pain” to ensure that preparations for next week’s general elections go on unimpeded. Hundreds of primary and secondary schools are normally used …

Seven women were struck dead on Wednesday in a city in the center of the Democratic Republic of Congo where protection against this natural phenomenon is not ensured in the majority of buildings, Anadolu agency reported. The seven victims are vendors in a market in downtown Kananga, capital of Kasai …

Police in Gomoa Nyanyano in the Central Region, Ghana arrested a 37-year-old evangelist for allegedly sodomizing a 15-year-old boy, local media reported. According to a report on Onua FM, the victim has been continually sodomized by the evangelist for about two years. Reports said the suspect sought permission from the …

The Democratic Republic of Congo has called for the spokesman of the UN peacekeeping force in the country to leave as soon as possible. The foreign ministry accused Mathias Gillmann of making “indelicate and inopportune statements”. Last week, the UN force, known as Monusco, became the focus of violent protests …

Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo recalled the harmful effects of the slave trade for the African continent and demanded an apology from Europe for Africans. The tenant of the Jubile House said slavery stifled the economic, cultural and psychological progress of Africa. According to the President, when the British ended slavery, …

Police in the central Nigerian state of Nassarawa announced the arrest of six people on suspicion of operating a fraudulent dating site for same-sex couples, the BBC reported. The suspects, four men and two women are said to have used the site to woo their victims before robbing them. The …

Former deputy leader and spokesman of Al-Shabab Islamist militant group, Mukhtar Robow, has been appointed religious affairs minister in Somalia’s new government. The former militant leader had been under house arrest for four years. He was detained during the previous president’s term for organizing a militia. He was also accused …

Ayman Al-Zawahiri was an Egyptian doctor who was imprisoned in the 1980s for involvement in radical Islam. He left Egypt after his release and eventually settled in Afghanistan where he joined forces with Osama bin Laden. Zawahiri was considered to be the ideological brains of al-Qaeda. He was indicted in …