You are watching Africa 54, your daily news and feature magazine-style program, from the Voice of America. Host Esther Githui-Ewart and a team of correspondents zero in on the big stories making news on the continent and around the world with context and analysis.
Top Stories:
The government of Italy takes the drastic step of putting the entire country of 60 million on lockdown. Ordering people nationwide not to move around unless it’s for work and emergencies. Public gatherings have been banned and sporting events are suspended.
In central Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo confirms its first case of COVID-19, according to the health ministry.
A record plunge in global oil prices, combined with the COVID-19 outbreak, has left North Africa and the Middle East more exposed than other regions to fallout from a possible global recession, according to the World Bank. However, economists say a prolonged loss of oil income in the world markets could cause huge damage to the global economy.
The families of passengers and crew aboard Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 mark the first anniversary of the crash Tuesday, only one day after an interim report focused on software installed on the Boeing 737 max airliner.
Human rights groups are urging Zimbabwe’s government to investigate the case of an activist who disappeared five years ago. Itai Dzamara was a fierce critic of the late president Robert Mugabe and his former deputy, now president, Emmerson Mnangagwa. The family says it is still looking for answers.
A54 Health: At least 69 Ugandan students are effectively trapped in Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the corona-virus epidemic. In Uganda, parents of the students are pleading with authorities to bring them home, but Ugandan officials say they have no plans to do so.
#DRC #COVID-19 #Ethiopia #Zimbabwe #Uganda
