Africa

Raila Odinga, the Kenyan opposition leader has been placed under quarantine after returning positive tests for coronavirus on Thursday evening. Mr Odinga was admitted to hospital on Tuesday in the capital, Nairobi, after developing fatigue, according to his family. “He’s responding well to the treatment he is receiving… and remains …

US President Joe Biden is “deeply concerned” about the crisis in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, White House press secretary Jen Psaki has said. “The president is deeply concerned and highly engaged on this issue,” Ms Psaki told reporters on Thursday. She said the president also recognised the humanitarian crisis in …

According to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the continent will need a ”continental capacity” to produce covid-19 vaccines. As the continent tries to vaccinate more of its 1.3 billion people, Director of the Africa’s CDC says five African nations appear to have the capacity to produce vaccines. …

Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his wife Jeannette received their doses of the Covid vaccine on Thursday to serve as an example as people remain skeptical about vaccines. Photos of them being vaccinated at Kigali’s King Faisal hospital have been tweeted by the president’s office: As part of the ongoing …

As the Gambia launches nationwide coronavirus vaccinations, President Adama Barrow has taken the lead in being the first to receive his jab. The Gambia, with its population of 2.1 million people, has received 36,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine under the Covax programme. Read also: Covid-19: a second wave and …

A fire at a clothing factory in Egypt has killed at least 20 people. Reports still coming in say that another 20 or so were injured. Twelve fire engines dealt with the blaze, on the eastern outskirts of the capital, Cairo, BBC News reports. Read also: At 90, Warren Buffett …

Tanzania’s justice minister has dismissed concerns about the whereabouts of President John Magufuli, who has not been seen in public for nearly two weeks. Mwigulu Nchemba said Mr Magufuli was not a TV presenter or leader of a jogging club so he didn’t need to post selfies of himself every …

Five people died and 25 others were hospitalized in central Tunisia after consuming non-food alcohol, according to preliminary evidence, regional health authorities said. The director of health for the Kasserine region (in the center-west of the country), Abdelghani Chaabani, told AFP that 30 people living in the same area of …

South Africa’s Police Minister Bheki Cele says there can’t be a “grain of explanation” to defend Wednesday’s killing of a bystander as police dispersed protesting university students. The minister said “someone went crazy” during the protest in Johannesburg leading to the shooting. The victim, identified as Mthokozisi Ntumba, was shot …

The US has designated rebel groups in Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique as foreign terrorist organisations. It said the groups, Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and Al Ansar al-Sunna, locally known as al-Shabaab in Mozambique, were affiliated to the global jihadist group Islamic State (ISIS). Their leaders have been named …