AFRICA

Dapaong, Togo | AFP |  In a makeshift bunker of sacks of rice beneath a tree, heavily-armed Togolese soldiers keep watch over villagers coming and going on foot or bike across the border with Burkina Faso. Just a dried-out river bed separates the two West African countries. In surrounding fields, peasant …

  Paris, France | AFP |  One of the last fugitives wanted over Rwanda’s 1994 genocide, Felicien Kabuga, appeared before a Paris court Wednesday, insisting he wanted to be tried in France where he was arrested. Kabuga, who gave his age as 87, was apprehended at his home outside Paris …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Three months after Egypt reported its first novel coronavirus case, medical experts warn the strained healthcare system of the Arab world’s most populous nation is nearing a “critical threshold”. Hospitals have been hit by a flight of doctors abroad in recent years while the frontline staff …

Bujumbura, Burundi | AFP | Burundians voted Wednesday in tense elections to replace their long-ruling president, despite a coronavirus outbreak that the East African nation has largely ignored. The election comes after five years of turmoil sparked by President Pierre Nkurunziza’s bid for a third term, which unleashed unrest that left …

Ahunna Eziakonwa is the UN Assistant Secretary- General and Director of the Regional Bureau for Africa of the UNDP. She talks to Kingsley Ighobor on COVID-19 and its impact on African economies. What is the impact of COVID-19 on Africa so far? Well, it has become clear now that COVID-19 …

Libreville, Gabon | AFP |  Landlords evict people from their homes, nurses are abandoned by their husbands and people are spurned just on suspicion of coming into contact with a COVID-19 patient. Across sub-Saharan Africa, the stigma attached to the coronavirus is so strong that some choose not to seek treatment …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Three years after fleeing persecution in Burundi for refuge in Tanzania, Jean Magorwa returned home, lured by assurances of peace and reconciliation. His family have not heard from him since, and are convinced he is dead. Rights groups say Magorwa is a victim of the political …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | African nations grappling to contain coronavirus are scrambling to stop the outbreak worsening the impact of other killer diseases. Across the continent, countries regularly face surges from a raft of diseases that flourish in the humid weather and prey on weak health systems. Malaria strikes down …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Watching from afar as much of the world was brought to its knees by the coronavirus, African scientists, engineers and innovators have turned to homegrown solutions to prepare for the worst case scenario. By the time the virus hit Africa, where cases have risen relatively slowly, …

South Sudan rebel leader-turned-VP tests positive for coronavirus Juba, South Sudan | AFP | South Sudan’s first vice president, the former rebel leader Riek Machar, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, his office said Monday. Machar’s wife, Defence Minister Angelina Teny, and “a number of his office staff and …