Africa

The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus, voiced concern on Tuesday that some states are introducing blanket measures aimed at the Omicron coronavirus variant that he said were “not evidence-based or effective on their own”. Dr Tedros said these were penalising southern African countries that reported …

The Ugandan army has launched joint air and artillery strikes against the rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, BBC News reports. Uganda People’s Defence Forces Spokesperson Brigadier General Flavia Byekwaso has confirmed this via her official twitter account. She said that the …

Activists in Sudan have called for more protests across the country on Tuesday to denounce the political deal between PM Abdalla Hamdok and leaders of the military coup. Activists staged the protests despite meeting with the prime minister. “If the creation of fictitious bodies could protect the authority, then [ousted …

Coup leaders in Guinea have said that the deposed president Alpha Condé has been transferred to his wife’s home in the capital Conakry. In a statement broadcast on state television, the National Rally and Development Committee (CNRD) said Mr Condé was now with his wife, Hadja Djene Kaba Condé. The …

Health authorities in Rwanda have announced that the country will begin giving third doses to the elderly and those who have underlying conditions starting on Tuesday. The health ministry says the implementation will be done in phases and will begin in the capital, Kigali. People between 30 and 50 are …

Authorities in Eswatini have launched vaccination campaign to administer third dose of the coronavirus vaccine as the country heightens alert after a new variant was discovered. According to the authorities, those aged 18 and over, who have been fully vaccinated with AstraZeneca, Pfizer or Moderna, within the last six months …

The Chinese president Xi Jinping has pledged that his country will donate one billion additional coronavirus vaccine doses to Africa, BBC News reported. He said 600 million vaccines would be sent directly, while the remainder would be delivered by other means, including through investing in vaccine production sites in Africa. …

Seven people have died and twenty four others are in hospital after eating poisonous turtle meat in Tanzania’s semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar. Turtle meat is a common delicacy among locals living along the coastal areas of the Indian Ocean but this particular one consumed was from a poisonous species, specualtions …

At least 22 people have been killed in an attack in a camp for displaced people in Ituri province in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, local media have reported. The armed group Cooperative for the Development of the Congo (Codeco) are blamed to have opened fire on the camp. Twenty …

The South African president Cyril Ramaphosa has condemned travel bans enacted against his country and its neighbours over the new coronavirus variant Omicron and called for their lifting. The president said he was “deeply disappointed” by the action, which he described as unjustified, and called for the bans to be …