-
Christmas Eve: 41 Killed By Armed Groups in Burkina Faso
The government has announced the gruesome killing of 41 people by armed groups in Burkina Faso’s troubled north. In a statement released late on Saturday, the government said the dead includes members of a government-backed civilian self-defence force known as the Volunteers for the Defence of the Motherland (VDP), set up to support the army.…
-
Over Six People Killed In DR Congo Christmas Day Bombing
At least six people have reportedly died after a suicide bomber detonated a bomb at a restaurant in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s eastern city of Beni. Authorities have accused the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) of Saturday’s attack. The militia is one of the deadliest armed groups in the region and is claimed by…
-
South Africa Offers 2M COVID Jabs To Other African Nations
To boost the vaccination drive in Africa, South Africa says it would donate 2 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to other African countries. The vaccine doses said to be worth approximately $18 million will be produced at the Aspen Pharmacare manufacturing facility in Gqeberha, formerly Port Elizabeth, and be distributed to…
-
Pfizer Confirms Third Vaccine Shots Can Neutralize Omicron Variant
BioNTech and Pfizer (PFE.N) have confirmed that a three-shot course of their COVID-19 vaccine is able to neutralize the new Omicron variant following results from recent laboratory tests. The German and U.S. companies said two doses of their vaccine resulted in significantly lower neutralising antibodies but could still be protective against severe disease. “The first line of…
-
Ghana To Fine Airlines $3,500 For Unvaccinated Passengers
Authorities in Ghana have announced it will fine airlines $3,500 for each passenger who arrives in the capital’s international airport without being fully vaccinated against COVID-19. In the country’s updated Covid-19 prevention measures, airlines would also be penalised the same amount for travellers who did not fill out a health declaration form before boarding their…
-
Mine Deaths In South Africa Rise To 69 In 2021
Death toll in South African mines has risen to 69, up from 48 a year earlier, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy said in a statement Monday. Miners are looking to improve safety practices to address the falls of ground and transport-related accidents that were the leading causes of death in the sector, the…
-
The US Returns Over 900 Stolen Artefacts to Mali
America has returned a collection of 921 stolen artefacts to Mali at a ceremony held in the West African nation’s capital on Tuesday. The 921 looted archaeological and ethnographic objects were illegally trafficked in the U.S. and previously listed as replicas. Mali Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga and U.S. Ambassador Dennis Hankins opened carefully packed…
-
Crude Drops For Six Weeks Straight As Omicron Jolts Market
Oil has dropped for a sixth straight week, marking the longest stretch of weekly declines since 2018, as the omicron variant jolts markets. The spread of the omicron variant has investors concerned about a potential hit to demand as the U.S. reported at least six states with cases while infection rates in South Africa have almost quadrupled…
-
South Africa Faces Covid-19 Fourth Wave Driven By Omicron Variant
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said hospitals are now preparing for more admissions as the country enters a fourth COVID-19 wave driven by the Omicron coronavirus strain. “As the country heads into the fourth wave of COVID-19 infections, we are experiencing a rate of infections that we have not seen since the pandemic started,” Ramaphosa said…
-
Twitter Removes 3,500 State-Sponsored Propaganda Accounts
Twitter has reportedly removed 3,465 accounts used for “state-backed information operations” linked to six countries: China, Mexico, Russia, Tanzania, Uganda and Venezuela. 2,048 of the total accounts deleted were linked to a Chinese Communist Party, reporting the treatment of Uighurs in Xinjiang province, according to a statement published on Thursday. Another 112 removed accounts were…