AFRICA

Tunis, Tunisia | AFP |  As the novel coronavirus pandemic wipes out a recovery from jihadist attacks in 2015, Tunisia’s vital tourism sector is trying to find ways to avoid going under. “Normally, the season starts now. But there is nobody,” said Mohammed Saddam, who owns an antiques shop in the …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | With an expert flick of the wrist, South African nurse Bhelekazi Mdlalose collected throat swabs from young men lining up for coronavirus testing at a run-down hostel in downtown Johannesburg. Health workers were sent to the overcrowded block of single-room flats — mainly occupied by men from rural areas …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Inflation in Sudan jumped to 99 percent because of rising food prices, official figures showed Saturday, more than a year after the country was rocked by protests sparked by bread price hikes. The inflation rate in April shot up from 82 percent the previous month due to increased prices of …

Rwandan genocide ‘financier’ arrested in France The Hague, Netherlands | AFP |  A top UN prosecutor said on Saturday that the arrest of a key Rwanda genocide fugitive in France showed that suspects would be brought to justice for crimes in the 1994 bloodshed. “The arrest of Felicien Kabuga today …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Burundi plans to hold a presidential election Wednesday that will turn the page on the tumultuous tenure of Pierre Nkurunziza, in power since 2005. Nkurunziza’s controversial decision to seek a third term in 2015 plunged Burundi into crisis, and the associated unrest killed 1,200 people and saw 400,000 …

Dakar, Senegal | AFP |  Seydou Sall sprays antiseptic on bags of food freshly deposited by an e-commerce firm at his home in an upmarket quarter of Senegal’s capital Dakar. In a pattern repeated across the continent, the researcher has turned to online deliveries to get basics such as sugar, milk …

Bujumbura, Burundi | AFP |  Five years of political crisis have battered Burundi’s economy, and there is little hope of a turnaround ahead of elections next week, as feeble signs of recovery have been dashed by the coronavirus crisis. The country’s last election in 2015, which saw President Pierre Nkurunziza seek …

Cotonou, Benin | AFP |  Benin gears up to hold local elections without key opposition parties Sunday as the authorities push ahead with the vote despite the coronavirus threat and calls for a delay. The West African nation of 11 million on Monday rolled back a raft of restrictions aimed at …

Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Thousands of years ago, a group of people took a walk in what is now Tanzania. The footprints they left behind are now offering insights into ancient human life. The group of more than 400 footprints was made sometime between 5,000 and 19,000 years ago at …

Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | Three months ago, Africa recorded its first case of coronavirus, sparking fears that the world’s poorest and least-equipped continent faced a catastrophe. But so far, the virus has not come anywhere close to wreaking the same damage in Africa as in Europe and the US …