At least nine killed as ‘Vampire’ mania spreads in Malawi

In Malawi, opposition parties the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and the United Transformation Movement (UTM) are joining forces to challenge the results of the May 21 presidential election, alleging electoral fraud. President Peter Mutharika, leader of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), held onto power in the election, narrowly defeating Lazarus Chakwera of the MCP.

Tens of thousands of Malawians took part in protests on Thursday at alleged attempts to bribe judges overseeing a legal challenge to the re-election of President Peter Mutharika last year.

Malawi's main opposition party members took to the streets to celebrate on Tuesday (February 4) following the country's Constitutional Court ruling to annul the May 2019 presidential vote.

A Malawian entrepreneur is harnessing the power of human urine as an organic fertilizer. His initiative has helped transform the lives of local farmers and is paving the way for more environmentally friendly agriculture.

In Malawi, nurses stage a walkout in hospitals across the country over working conditions amid fears they won't be able to handle a spike in coronavirus cases. The strike comes amid divisions in the country over whether or not to implement a lockdown. Meanwhile in Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari has lashed out at bandits, who he says are taking advantage of the lockdown. Gunmen are responsible for at least 47 deaths in the north-eastern state of Katsina in recent days.

Supporters of Malawi's opposition took to the streets of Blantyre on Wednesay as their presidential candidate presented nomination papers for the July re-run of last years election. The outcome initially returned President Peter Mutharika to office but the result was historically overturned in a landmark ruling in February. In Burkina Faso a young man has created a digital school so that students can keep taking classes on their smartphones during the lockdown. And finally South Africa turns to virtual tourism as national parks stream their safaris online.

We look at the upcoming presidential election in Malawi. The re-run will take place on June 23 after the results of the previous election were cancelled. We speak to the president of the opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP), Lazarus Chakwera. Also, South African restaurants prepare to re-open after a strict lockdown. We show you how the celebrated Wolfgat restaurant has been impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. And Moroccan authorities say 2020 could be the worst year for the economy in the last two decades. That's due to the Covid-19 pandemic and ongoing drought.

Malawian voters have defied the coronavirus pandemic to return to the polls for the second time in just over a year after President Peter Mutharika's re-election was annulled by the Constitutional Court. Also, prosecutors at the ICC are appealing against the decision to acquit former Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo of crimes against humanity. Victims of the 2010-2011 post-electoral crisis fear no one will be held responsible for their pain. And finally, private constructions have sprung up along Senegal's coastline and many locals are growing increasingly frustrated.

Tensions mount ahead of Thursday's vote in Uganda. Security is beefed up in the capital after a violent campaign. France condemns the killing of over half a dozen people in a village in Cameroon. The army has denied accusations from some locals who say that soldiers were responsible for the massacre. And a fall off in global demand for the beans has led to a pile up in Ivory Coast's ports. It's the world's top producer but around 100,000 tonnes of unsold stock have stacked up

Some 17,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine destined for the arms of Malawians have instead ended up in the incinerator, after low uptake meant they went unused and eventually expired. But Malawi's health minister Khumbize Chiponda says the government is still committed to reaching its inoculation targets.

There is a housing crisis taking place across many parts of Africa. A joint venture involving CDC Group – the UK government’s development finance institution – and the European building materials multinational LafargeHolcim, is 3D-printing houses and schools in a fraction of the time it would normally take.

Lazarus Chakwera, the president of Malawi, who is also currently chair of the Southern African Development Community, gave an interview to FRANCE 24 from Dubai. He hailed Malawi and Zambia as "examples of what democracy is about". Chakwera insisted that overall, "democracy is getting consolidated" on the continent, in spite of "erratic events", referring to the recent coups in Mali, Guinea and now Sudan. He described such coups as being "not the African way".