PRETORIA, May 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — South Africa has marshalled huge resources towards preventing its poor from starving because of COVID-19, but undocumented citizens and stranded migrants face hunger as they slip through the net, aid workers say. Some 11,000 families waited for charity food parcels on Wednesday in a queue…

BUJUMBURA, May 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Voting in Burundi’s presidential election passed calmly on Wednesday despite simmering political violence, the coronavirus pandemic and the opposition accusing the authorities of fraud.In what could be the first competitive presidential election in Burundi since a civil war erupted in 1993, the ruling CNDD-FDD party’s…

JUBA, May 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Vice-President of South Sudan, Riek Machar, who was part of a task force to fight coronavirus, is in self-isolation after testing positive for Covid-19. Machar said as several other members of the task force were infected a new team was taking over their work.…

BAMAKO, May 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Twenty people have been killed and 11 seriously injured after a minibus and a lorry collided in the south of Mali, the country’s transport ministry said on Wednesday. The accident occurred on Tuesday at 8 pm on a major road linking the capital Bamako with…

Miners are among the key workers who have been allowed to carry on PRETORIA, May 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 40,000 people could die with coronavirus in South Africa by the end of the year, scientists have warned. The projections were made by a group of academics and health experts…

A Burkina Faso soldier on patrol OUAGADOUGOU,  May 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Two Burkina Faso soldiers and five civilian defence volunteers were killed during an ambush on a military patrol in the restive north of the country, security sources said. The attack occurred on Monday as soldiers from the military detachment…

GABORONE, May 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Botswana is investigating the mysterious death of 56 elephants in the last two months. Authorities have ruled out poaching, as all carcasses were found intact. The country’s Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism says 12 elephants were found dead last week in villages in…

United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres UNITED NATIONS, May 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — UN Secretary General António Guterres has praised Africa’s “swift” response to the coronavirus pandemic, with reported cases much lower than initially feared. He said in a statement, “Most [African countries] have moved rapidly to deepen regional coordination, deploy health…