Africa (except North Africa)

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya and Uganda were hit by a power blackout on Saturday after what distributor Kenya Power (KPLC.NR) said was a system disturbance in the transmission grid.

The neighbouring countries’ grids are interconnected.

Kenya Power said power went off at 5:49 a.m.(0249 GMT).

“Our engineers are working to identify and address the hitch, towards restoring normal electricity supply,” it said in a statement.

Kenya Power gave no more details on the system disturbance.

ABUJA, May 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The authorities in Nigeria are investigating a reported rise in deaths in the northern state of Jigawa.

The state government has sent a five-person team to report back before the end of the week after residents said there had been an increase in deaths in some communities.

Local reports quoting residents of Hadejia town say about 100 people were reported dead in 10 days.

Doctors in Jigawa initially attributed the deaths to illnesses such as asthma, diabetes and high blood pressure.

NAIROBI, May 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Flooding as a result of recent heavy rains has killed more than 260 people across East Africa.

Kenya has been the hardest hit with the government recording 194 deaths.

In Rwanda, 55 people have died and floods have killed 16 in Somalia. In Uganda high water levels have trapped an estimated 200 patients inside a hospital.

East African countries have also been hit by a locust invasion and Covid-19.

The authorities in Kenya have told people in some of the affected areas to move away from “potential danger”.

KAMPALA, May 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Uganda began to loosen one of Africa’s strictest anti-coronavirus lockdowns after President Yoweri Museveni declared the infection “tamed.”

The country of 42 million reported 97 confirmed cases and no deaths in 45 days of restrictions, and Museveni said it was now better equipped to trace and detect new infections faster.

“We have somehow tamed the virus,” Museveni said in a televised address.

“It is high time we … start slowly and carefully to open up, but without undoing our achievements.”

NIAMEY, May 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The novel coronavirus caused the death of Niger’s minister of employment and labour, Mohamed Ben Omar, public television announced.

The minister’s Social Democratic Party (PSD) reported Ben Omar, 55, had died on Sunday at the main hospital in the capital Niamey but did not list the cause.

“Alas, it is this terrible disease which took the life of minister Mohamed Ben Omar,” public television Tele Sahel reported.

ABIDJAN, May 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Ivory Coast’s (Cote d'Ivoire) Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, who is the governing party’s candidate in October’s presidential election, was evacuated to France for medical checks.

A brief statement from the presidency provided no additional details about Gon Coulibaly’s health status.

Gon Coulibaly, 61, self-isolated in late March because of possible exposure to the coronavirus but did not test positive.

CAPE TOWN, May 3 (NNN-BUANEWS) – South Africa reported 385 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, the highest daily surge, since the country recorded its first case in early Mar.

The newly-added cases brought the total number of infection to 6,336, Health Minister, Zweli Mkhize, said in a statement.

The Western Cape province leads with 2,700 confirmed cases, followed by Gauteng province with 1,598 and KwaZulu-Natal province with 1,051.

NAIROBI, May 1 (NNN-Xinhua) — The World Health Organization (WHO) urged African countries to carry out gradual easing of anti-COVID-19 measures to avert new infections in the continent.

Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, said that lifting of lockdowns and curfews for preventing the spread of the highly contagious viral disease should not be rushed in order to forestall a second wave of infections.

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Visa (V.N) and Safaricom (SCOM.NR) have agreed a deal which will connect the Kenyan telecom operator’s M-Pesa financial services platform with Visa’s global network of merchants and cards.

Under the deal, which requires regulatory approval, announced on Thursday by both companies, M-Pesa’s 24 million users and 173,000 local merchants will be linked to Visa’s 61 million merchants and its more than 3 billion cards.

ABUJA, Apr 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) – A total of 15 hostages held by pirates, in Nigeria’s delta region were rescued by troops, operating in the oil-producing state of Bayelsa, said a military spokesman.

The hostages were held in five speed boats owned by the pirates and were freed by the troops, who were on routine patrol at the Nembe Owelesu area of Bayelsa, Enenche said.

The pirates who abandoned the hostages had fled into the creeks upon sighting the troops, according to the spokesman.