Africa (except North Africa)

ABUJA, April 12 (NNN-AFRICANEWS) — Nigeria will cut its oil production by 1.9 million barrels per day, reducing its daily crude oil production to 1,412 million barrels.

Abuja is hoping for a $15 rebound in the price per barrel in the short term. This rebound that could bring at least 2.8 billion dollars to the country, according to its oil minister.

The decision comes after a historic agreement reached by OPEC members on Thursday.

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — African officials are confronting China publicly and in private over racist mistreatment of Africans in the Chinese city of Guangzhou, and the U.S. says African-Americans have been targeted too.

BENI, Congo (AP) — Congo has been battling an Ebola outbreak that has killed thousands of people for more than 18 months, and now it must also face a new scourge: the coronavirus pandemic.

Ebola has left those living in the country’s east weary and fearful, and, just as they were preparing to declare an end to the outbreak, a new case popped up. Now, they will now have to manage both threats at once.

OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) - Nowadays Rahinatou Diasso scolds her children when they wash with too much water. It has become a precious resource since Burkina Faso’s coronavirus curfew stopped those in poor areas from accessing communal fountains that only flow at night in the dry season.

As a result, families like Diasso’s ration water and jostle in line to fill empty jerry-cans from privately-owned water towers during the day even as the Burkinabe authorities urge them to take extra precautions and avoid crowds to curb the fastest rate of coronavirus infection in West Africa.

10 April 2020; MEMO: On Thursday, the Houthi movement in Yemen accused the Saudi-led Arab coalition of seizing 17 ships carrying food and oil supplies, and blocking its passage into the country.

NAIROBI, April 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A Kenyan court charged a senior regional government official with wilfully spreading the novel coronavirus by going out in public without taking precautions, an accusation he denied.

Kenya, which has 179 confirmed cases and six deaths from the coronavirus, has banned all public gatherings and limited the number of mourners at funerals.

NAIROBI, April 9 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday sounded alarm over the rapid spread of COVID-19 to rural parts of Africa hence threatening to put a strain on an already fragile health care infrastructure.

Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, said the spread of the viral disease from capital cities to rural areas in the continent should be addressed as a matter of urgency to prevent a public health crisis.

CONAKRY, April 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Guinean government has announced incentive packages aimed at making the country’s citizens comfortable as they observe a lockdown following the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country.

President Alpha Conde announced the free supply of water, electricity, transport as well a freeze on the payment of rent until December.

The President has also put on hold, prices placed on pharmaceutical products.

Guinea has recorded 128 COVID-19 positive cases out of which five have recovered with no death.

Johannesburg, Apr 8 (AFP/PTI) South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday placed on special leave a minister seen lunching at a friend's house in violation of the coronavirus lockdown.

Ramaphosa has ordered a three-week national lockdown to try to brake the virus, which has infected 1,749 people, killing 13 of them, according to an official tally.

But a picture posted on Instagram on Sunday showed Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams having lunch with five other people at the home of a former deputy minister earlier that day.

KINSHASA, April 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Democratic Republic of Congo’s justice ministry has freed 1,200 prisoners in new measures to decongest prisons and prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Those released from prisons were minor offenders according to Justice Minister Celestin Tunda.

The Makala Prison in the capital, Kinshasa, is among those decongested with 700 prisoners released from the facility.

More prisoners will be freed and the minister has urged magistrates and judges to only jail those involved in serious crimes like murder and rape.