Botswana investigates mystery deaths of at least 275 elephants

A court in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has convicted Vital Kamerhe, the President's chief of staff, of embezzlement and corruption.

Tens of thousands protested in Bamako on Friday demanding the Malian president resign or face civil disorder despite political concessions offered in response to mounting frustration over the many crises afflicting the west African nation.

Despite six years of war and hardship in Yemen, Somali refugee Bader Hassan had stuck it out hoping for a better life than in his homeland.

Two initiatives passed by the UN in 2016 changed the landscape for policies towards refugees. These were the Global Compact on Refugees and the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework.

Ethiopian doctors want their government to give special attention to the challenges of women during the COVID-19 pandemic. They say cases of abuse are on the rise in parts of the country.

Nigeria’s central bank has collected 216 billion naira ($598 mln) from banks with excess cash holdings as part of measures to support the naira currency, banking sources said on Friday.

Nigeria’s President has criticised his heads of security for their handling of attacks across the north of the country and said more needs to be done to resolve the problem, the national security adviser said.

It has been confirmed that Zimbabwe's Health Minister, Obadiah Moyo, has been arrested over COVID 19 corruption allegations.

Kenya has delayed talks on a trade deal with the United States until a pan-African trade bloc comes into force, President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Thursday, likely holding up what would be Washington’s first such pact in sub-Saharan Africa.

The United Nations’ refugee agency is marking this year’s World Refugee Day with the message that “every action counts”, as it faces the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic and record numbers of people forced from their homes by war and extreme weather.

Kenya was elected to the UN Security Council on Thursday, defeating Djibouti in a second-round of voting by the 193-member General Assembly after an initial ballot failed to produce a clear winner.

Egypt said it registered 1 218 new cases of the new coronavirus on Thursday, edging the total number of cases up to more than 50 000 a fortnight before it is set to further ease restrictions.

Burundi’s incoming president Evariste Ndayishimiye was sworn in on Thursday after the sudden death of predecessor Pierre Nkurunziza, and he pledged to unite a country that has been cut off by aid donors due to rampant human rights abuses.

Crowds began to gather in the central Burundi province of Gitega on Thursday for the inauguration of Evariste Ndayishimiye as president following the sudden death of his predecessor Pierre Nkurunziza.

Tunisia’s economy could shrink by up to 7% this year because of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the investment minister said on Wednesday.

Egypt's parliament approved amendments on Wednesday which critics say will help supporters of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi extend their dominance over the chamber in elections expected this year.

More than 170 of Guinea-Bissau’s 2,000 health workers have contracted COVID-19, a World Health Organization expert said on Tuesday, warning that hospitals were close to being overwhelmed.

Nigeria’s commercial hub Lagos has suspended plans to reopen places of worship after a review of the new coronavirus outbreak, the state governor said.

The World Bank said on Tuesday it would provide $400 million to support universal health coverage in Egypt as the country struggles with rising numbers of new coronavirus cases.

As the continent celebrated the Day of the African Child on Tuesday, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Southern and Eastern Africa hosted a panel of children discussing the coronavirus and its impact.

Democratic Republic of Congo’s justice ministry said it had launched a murder investigation after an autopsy found the judge overseeing a landmark corruption trial of the president’s chief of staff had died from violent blows to the head.

Dozens of people were missing after a boat sank on Lake Kivu in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, government officials and a civil society leader said on Tuesday.

Botswana's government has lifted the lockdown imposed last week on the Greater Gaborone zone.

A Sudanese war crimes suspect said on Monday that charges mentioned on his arrest warrant are untrue, during an initial appearance at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Sudan’s public prosecutor said Monday a mass grave has been discovered east of the capital Khartoum, allegedly containing students killed in 1998 who tried escaping military service.

Pope Francis has appealed for both sides in the Libyan civil war to seek peace, urging the international community to facilitate talks and protect refugees and migrants he said were victims of cruelty.

Botswana is investigating the mysterious deaths of at least 154 elephants over two months in the northwest of the country, a wildlife official said on Monday, although poaching or poisoning have been ruled out.

Resident doctors in Nigerian public hospitals went on strike on Monday to demand better benefits as they battle the coronavirus pandemic in Africa’s most populous country, the union said.

The Democratic Republic of Congo has recorded up to 17 Ebola cases in a new outbreak of the deadly virus in the western province of Equateur, and 11 of those infected have died, medical authorities said on Monday.

Veteran Congolese politician Pierre Lumbi, once an advisor to former President Joseph Kabila and latterly a leading opposition figure, died on Sunday, friends and allies said, becoming the country’s most high profile victim of the new coronavirus.