Across the 54 Countries in Africa, these are the 5 top stories you may have missed:
Senegal: Clash kills one, opposition leader arrested
One person has been reported killed in a clash that ensued between Senegalese police with supporters of arrested opposition leader Ousmane Sonko on Thursday, 4th March – Africa News reports
This will be the first death recorded since Sanko was arrested on Wednesday for disturbing public order as protests broke out ahead of his court appearance on a rape charge.
Egypt begins second phase of vaccine roll-out
North African country, Egypt on Thursday, 4th March, expanded its coronavirus vaccination rollout to include the elderly and other people with chronic diseases after weeks of considering medical staff first – Reuters report
According to reports, nearly 153,000 people had earlier applied for vaccinations since Sunday, 28 February, when the North African country created an online registration platform, the cabinet said in a statement.
Zimbabwe now in control of food after two decades
Due to an unusual amount of rainfall, Zimbabwe expects to harvest up to 2.8 million tonnes of maize this year, three times the output from 2020 – News Central Africa reports
Anxious Masuka, The Minister of Lands and Agriculture, presenting the state of preparedness for the 2020/21 harvesting period, told Cabinet Ministers that a bumper harvest was expected following a season of good rains.
“An estimated national production of 2.5 to 2.8 million metric tonnes of maize and 360 000 metric tonnes of traditional grains has been based on the promising bumper harvest in 2021,” the minister said.
Rwanda’s economy now in recession
Rwanda’s economy is now in a recession. Restrictions placed to curb the spread of coronavirus is taking piling pressure on the economy as thousands face unemployment and the risk of more Rwandans falling into poverty – Africa News reports
Analysts are, however, urging the government to take additional steps to increase the growth in this East African nation. According to these analysts, retail trade, leisure, hospitality and conference tourism are key sectors hard hit.
South Africa: Mass Crocodile escape creates panic
An unknown number of young crocodiles are being searched for after they escaped from a breeding farm in South Africa’s Western Cape province – BBC Africa reports
According to reports, 27 of the escaped reptiles have been recaptured but officials have admitted they do not know how many more they need to find.
“Obviously, they are very dangerous. These are wild animals even though they’ve been in captivity,” said Petro van Rhyn, a spokeswoman for the region’s environmental service, CapeNature.
