Health officials say a slight overall dip in COVID cases on the African continent is welcome, but it doesn’t reflect the reality in many nations that are seeing a surge. New case numbers were down by 1.8 percent during the week ending July 18, according to numbers cited Friday by…
Nigeria has suspended the use of Twitter across the country, just days after a tweet posted by President Muhammadu Buhari was removed for what the social media platform said was a violation of its rules. Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the Nigerian Minister of Information and Culture, announced the decision in a…
Nigeria announced the appointment of a new police chief on Tuesday, following a jailbreak in Imo State that allowed more than 1,000 inmates to escape. Usman Alkali Baba will serve as the Acting Inspector-General of Police, moving from his current position as deputy inspector general. He replaces Mohammed Abubakar Adamu,…
Boarding schools in Nigeria’s Zamfara and Kano states were closed indefinitely on Friday, in order to protect vulnerable sites following the abduction of 317 girls from the Government Girls Secondary School in Jangebe. “As you know, the state government always takes proactive measures on issues related to security,” said the…
With the COVID-19 pandemic has come a global spike in the demand for oxygen, and 25 countries – most of them on the African continent – are reporting a surge in demand they cannot meet. To that end, global health officials announced Thursday the creation of a new COVID-19 Oxygen Emergency…
It’s official: Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria is now the first African and the first woman to serve as head of the World Trade Organization. The anticipated selection of Okonjo-Iweala, a former foreign minister as well as finance minister, was announced Monday by WTO. She will serve as director general…
Angola, Equatorial Guinea and South Sudan are among nations forecast to see 40 percent or more in lost revenues as the world moves away from fossil fuels, according to a report released Thursday by Carbon Tracker. They’re among the most vulnerable of 40 nations studied, with economies that rely on…
A decision by Dutch courts to hold oil giant Royal Dutch Shell responsible for damages in Nigeria was met with disappointment from the company, even as campaigners celebrated a victory in the years-long case over oil spills that affected farmers in villages near its pipelines. “This is a hopeful day…
UNICEF, the United Nations agency for children, warns that some 10.4 million children – all in countries on the African continent with the exception of Yemen – face severe food insecurity and malnutrition in the coming year. The affected nations include Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), northeast Nigeria, the…
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari confirmed late Thursday that students abducted by Boko Haram last week have been released, calling it a huge relief for the country and the international community. The students were taken from the Government Science Secondary School in the northern town of Kankara in Katsina State. Aminu…
The International Criminal Court based in The Hague announced it will move forward to investigate crimes against humanity and war crimes in Nigeria, where Boko Haram’s activities and other attacks have gone on for years. The announcement was made Friday by ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda. “My office has concluded…
Roughly half of the world’s malaria deaths occurred in just six African nations in 2019, while the progress achieved in reducing malaria cases in the last two decades has slowed. That’s according to the annual World Malaria Report released Monday by the World Health Organization. The six nations – Nigeria,…
The World Trade Organization says it is standing by Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the most likely selection for the director general position, but that support comes as the United States seeks to block the accomplished Nigerian from becoming the first African woman to lead the WTO. “The candidate that had…
In Nigeria, the governor of Lagos State appealed for calm Wednesday as protesters defied a curfew and attacked police stations in retaliation for injuries and at least one death that followed violent clashes at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos. Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu confirmed a fatality caused by blunt force…
Humanitarian aid workers in Nigeria say that food prices have soared because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the cost is driving hunger in parts of the country that can ill afford yet another challenge. “Everywhere we work the food prices have gone up, in some places they doubled. It means…