Africa 54 - June 7, 2021

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: After weeks of speculation on the death of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, the Islamic State West African Province said in an audio recording heard by Reuters media on Sunday that Shekau was dead. Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni on Sunday re-imposed a strict lockdown to curb a surge in COVID-19 cases in the East African country. The new measures took effect Monday morning and include the closure of all educational institutions, suspension of church services, the shutdown of weekly open markets, and some bans on travel. As wealthy countries begin to reopen after securing vaccine supplies early, African nations are still struggling to acquire shots. But that might soon change as the west African country of Senegal begins to produce Covid-19 vaccines next year. . Burkina Faso’s government has declared three days of mourning following an attack that left at least 160 people dead in the northern village of Solhan in Yagha Province. Armed assailants laid siege to the village in the jihadist-plagued northeast, according to a government statement Saturday. About 36 people were killed and 32 wounded in clashes in Sudan's state of South Darfur, according to state news agency SUNA. The violence occurred between members of the Fellata and Taisha groups in the area of Um Dafuq. A resident said the fighting Saturday involved a land dispute. Security has worsened in recent months in Darfur despite a peace deal signed between Sudan's transitional authorities and some rebel groups late last year. Fashion icon Pathe‘O left Burkina Faso his country of birth at an early age for greener pastures in neighboring Ivory Coast with a dream to return home with a transistor radio and a bike. Instead, his dreams surpassed his imagination. One of Africa’s most popular televangelists. Temitope Balogun Joshua. who was known as T.B. Joshua, has died at age 57.The Nigerian-born pastor was founder of the mega church Synagogue Church Of All Nations, which also runs the Emmanuel Television Station in Lagos. Prince Harry and his wife Meghan welcomed the birth of their second child, a girl, on Friday. Lilibet 'Lili' Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, was born at the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in California. The couple's first child, Archie, was born in 2019. The choice of name pays tribute to the queen after a difficult year for the couple, and the wider royal family. Lilibet is a family nickname for the 95-year-old British monarch. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris left for Guatemala and Mexico Sunday in a bid to lower migration from the region. She is expected to focus on bolstering economic development and humanitarian relief and strengthening good governance and civil society. Sunday marked the 77th anniversary of D-Day, when Allied forces stormed the beaches of France’s Normandy region. Historians say the months-long battles that followed liberated Europe from Nazi Germany and gave the Allies the upper hand in World War Two. As New York COVID restrictions ease, Broadway is hoping to draw people back to the theater while the movie industry is expanding its footprint in the Big Apple. U.S. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said the United States negotiating team is "neither optimistic nor pessimistic" that a deal can be struck in the next round of talks in Vienna to revive the Iran nuclear deal. Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020, New York City’s tourism industry has suffered, including its famous open-top sightseeing buses. #Boko Haram #Uganda #COVID_19 #Burkinafaso #Sudan #Darfur #Prince_Harry #Kamala_Harris