TUNIS, Tunisia (AFP) — At least 6,000 Tunisians rallied on Sunday against a presidential power grab in the only democracy to have emerged from the Arab Spring uprisings a decade ago. Despite checkpoints and security screenings of protesters, it was the biggest rally yet against the actions of President Kais Saied, who on July 25 sacked the prime minister, suspended parliament and granted himself judicial powers, after months of political stalemate. Saied followed up the […]
Africa
Taiwan leader says island will not bow to China
by Sean CHANG Agence France Presse TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Taiwan will not bow to pressure by Beijing and will defend its democratic way of life, President Tsai Ing-wen said Sunday, following a spike in incursions by Chinese warplanes into its air defence zone. Self-governed Taiwan’s 23 million people live under the constant threat of invasion by authoritarian China, which views the island as its territory and has vowed to one day seize it, […]
Medical supply shortages fuel deaths in Tigray: UN
by Robbie COREY-BOULET ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AFP) — Medical supply shortages are having fatal consequences in Ethiopia’s war-hit Tigray region, with patients succumbing to post-partum haemorrhage or dying for lack of dialysis equipment, the UN’s emergency-response agency said on Thursday. The latest situation report from the agency comes one week after Ethiopia expelled seven senior UN officials over accusations of “meddling”, exacerbating concerns about the humanitarian response in a region where hundreds of thousands reportedly […]
US pharmaceutical firm Moderna to build plant in Africa
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — US pharmaceutical giant Moderna announced Thursday it would build a plant in Africa, as pressure mounts on drugmakers to help ramp up Covid-19 vaccine production in areas that have received fewer doses. The biotech firm said it “will build a state-of-the-art mRNA facility in Africa with the goal of producing up to 500 million doses of vaccines each year.” Moderna said earlier this year it would increase global production […]
UN reports ‘unprecedented’ malnutrition in Tigray
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AFP) — The UN warned of “unprecedented” malnutrition among pregnant and lactating women in Ethiopia’s war-hit Tigray region, in a report published hours after the government sparked outrage by expelling senior UN officials. The latest situation report from the UN’s humanitarian coordination office, posted online late Thursday, also described “alarming” malnutrition among children as fears of mass starvation grow nearly 11 months after northern Ethiopia erupted in conflict. “Of the more than […]
2% or fewer have had Covid jabs in many African nations: WHO
BRAZZAVILLE, Congo (AFP) — Just two percent of the population, or fewer, have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus in half of the countries in Africa, the World Heath Organization said on Thursday, Fifteen of the continent’s 54 nations have managed to vaccinate at least 10 percent of their people, thereby achieving the global goal for September 30, set in May by the World Health Assembly, the world’s highest health policy-setting body. “The latest data shows […]
Algeria begins Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine production
CONSTANTINE, Algeria (AFP) — Algeria on Wednesday started producing the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Chinese firm Sinovac, with production expected to be eight million doses a month. Prime Minister Aimene Benabderrahmane, who attended the launch of the production process at a factory in the eastern city of Constantine, called it a “big achievement”. Production could be doubled in the North African nation if needed, officials said. “Algeria… aims to achieve other projects of this kind,” […]
WHO chief apologizes for sex abuse by staff in DR Congo
by Christophe VOGT Agence France Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The head of the World Health Organization apologized Tuesday after independent investigators probing allegations of sexual abuse in the DR Congo by the UN agency’s staff issued a damning indictment citing “clear structural failures” and “individual negligence”. “The first thing I want to say to the victims and survivors… I am sorry,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference. “It is my top priority […]
South Sudanese refugees homeless again after Sudan floods
by Mujahed Sharaf al-Din AL-JABALAIN, Sudan (AFP) — South Sudanese refugee Dawood Kour fled to Sudan to turn the page on a life of displacement, only to be forced onto the streets once more after floodwaters submerged his rickety shelter. Kour crossed the border in November, fleeing years of conflict in his home city of Malakal — itself prone to flooding. South Sudan became the world’s newest independent nation in 2011, seceding from Sudan. But […]
Cholera kills over 2,300 in Nigeria’s worst outbreak in years
by Joel Olatunde AGOI LAGOS, Nigeria (AFP) — Cholera has killed more than 2,300 people and infected thousands more, mostly children, in Nigeria since the start of the year, a senior health official said on Monday, in the nation’s worst outbreak in years. Africa’s most populous nation suffers from a high rate of water-borne diseases as a result of dilapidated infrastructure and under-investment.` “As at September 5, 2021, a total of 69,925 suspected cases, including […]
North Africa virus cases plummeting after summer spike
by AFP bureaus across the Maghreb Weeks after a spike in coronavirus cases overwhelmed intensive care units across North Africa with severe oxygen shortages sparking public anger, case numbers are sharply declining. Here is a look at the situation in the four countries of the Maghreb — Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Libya — based on official figures collected by AFP. – Tunisia – Images of intensive care units overwhelmed with Covid patients in July […]
E.Guinea tightens Covid-19 restrictions as third wave hits
MALABO, Equatorial Guinea (AFP) — Equatorial Guinea on Friday stiffened measures to tackle Covid-19, citing a third wave of the pandemic in the small central African country. President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo reinstated a curfew, tightened travel restrictions and imposed a complete cycle of vaccination on all civil servants. Those previously affected worked only in the health, safety and education fields. Vaccination is now also compulsory for any citizen who undertakes an approach to the […]