In the news

A Namibian doctor has been awarded for offering free online consultation to people during the coronavirus pandemic. Dr Esperance Luvindao won the Commonwealth Points of Light award for offering 44,000 sessions. “I am beyond thrilled and we are honoured to accept the award! Like I always say, we do not …

Tunisian president Kais Saied cemented his grip over the judiciary on Sunday with a decree that lets him dismiss judges or block their promotion, helping consolidate his power after he seized executive authority last summer in a move his foes call a coup, Reuters reports. President Saied outraged his opponents …

Two security forces in Mali have been killed in an attack on their post by suspected Islamist militants, the army said on Sunday. Malian army said terrorists attacked Niafunké post, killing two soldiers. Five of the jihadists were also killed in the attack. “The toll is two dead on the …

Sudanese security forces arrested Mohamed al-Faki Suleiman, a member of the dissolved civil-military government, near his home in the capital Khartoum. This follows the arrest of two other politicians last week. They were part of a task force trying to dismantle the network established by the former president Omar al-Bashir, …

The number of people killed during three bomb blasts in a national park in Benin this week has risen to nine, government has announced. A soldier and five park rangers were killed in an attack by suspected Islamist militants in W National Park in northern Benin, the South African wildlife …

In the same week the European Union (EU) lifted its sanctions on Burundi, the US says it it doing the same, thanks to “significantly decreased violence” and reforms by President Évariste Ndayishimiye. However, Burundian opposition figures say repression and human rights issues have not improved. A statement from the US …

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday his government wants to expand its nascent domestic cannabis industry as it looks to tap global demand and grow local production and exports. Africa’s most industrialized nation plans to streamline the “regulatory processes so that the hemp and cannabis sector can thrive …

Tanzanian MPs say the use of emergency contraceptives, known as P2, is on the rise among to prevent pregnancies among girls and women aged between 14 and 24. A recent report by members of a parliamentary health committee into the rise in HIV infections found that girls and young women …

Thousands of Ghanaians took to the streets of the capital Accra on Thursday to demonstrate against a controversial government-sponsored electronic transaction tax bill. The parliament is yet to pass the bill, which introduces a 1.75% tax on all money transactions above 100 cedis ($15; £11). The majority leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu …

Zimbabwean education ministry said it has suspended staff who did not turn up for the start of the school term on Monday. A large number of government-employed teachers are on strike over poor wages. The absent teachers were suspended without pay with immediate effect for three months while investigations into …