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CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AFP) — A sweeping fire on South Africa’s iconic Table Mountain that choked Cape Town with smoke and destroyed several historic sites including a university library was almost fully contained on Tuesday, officials said. High winds had strengthened the blaze that was first spotted Sunday but calmer weather conditions Tuesday allowed for fire crews to ramp up their aerial attack with five helicopters, said Rey Thakhuli, spokesman for South Africa National […]
KINSHASA, DR Congo (AFP) — The DR Congo on Monday launched a vaccination campaign against Covid-19 in the capital Kinshasa, with top officials and foreign envoys stressing the safety of the AstraZeneca jab. “There are more advantages than disadvantages to getting vaccinated,” Health Minister Eteni Longondo said at a launch ceremony, becoming among the first to receive a shot at Kinshasa University’s medical school. The European Union’s ambassador to the DRC, Jean-Marc Chataigner, and UN […]
by Linda GIVETASH CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AFP) — A blaze advanced along South Africa’s iconic Table Mountain toward central Cape Town on Monday after ravaging university buildings, while firefighters battled strong winds in their efforts to control it and officials evacuated residential areas. The fire broke out Sunday morning in the foothills of the mountain and spread to the University of Cape Town (UCT), destroying buildings and part of a library housing a unique […]
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AFP) — A fire in Cape Town has ravaged part of a university library housing a unique collection of African archives, its director said, as the blaze advanced Monday towards the city centre. The fire, which broke out Sunday in the foothills of the landmark Table Mountain before spreading to the University of Cape Town (UCT), forced hundreds of students to flee on foot. The African studies section of the 1930s […]
LAGOS, Nigeria (AFP) — Twelve people were killed and dozens of houses burnt when a fuel tanker overturned, spilled its contents and caught fire in central Nigeria, the emergency services said Monday. The accident, which occurred on Sunday in the Agatu area of Benue state, is the latest to hit the oil-rich West African nation in recent months. “Twelve bodies were recovered from the scene of the carnage yesterday, while over 50 houses and shops […]
by Farid Farid CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) — A train accident north of Cairo on Sunday left 11 people dead and 98 others injured, Egypt’s health ministry said, in the latest rail calamity to hit the North African country. The ministry, in an updated toll, said that “11 people were killed and 98 others injured in a train accident in Toukh”, a small farming town in the fertile Nile Delta about 40 kilometres (25 miles) outside […]
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AFP) — South Africa on Tuesday suspended the rollout of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine over potential blood clot risks reported by the United States, the health minister said. The announcement delays an already sluggish vaccination campaign in Africa’s worst-hit country, which has so far only administered the US-made jab. “We have determined to voluntarily suspend our rollout until the causal relationship between the development of clots and the Johnson & […]
CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) — Egypt has received over 854,000 coronavirus vaccines through the Covax facility for lower and middle income countries, the World Health Organization said Thursday. The AstraZeneca vaccines, the first to be provided through COVAX to Egypt, were delivered by plane to Cairo late Wednesday, WHO said in a statement. Egypt has registered more than 200,000 cases of coronavirus, including some 12,000 deaths. The health ministry has said frontline health workers, the […]
by Farid Farid with AFP bureaus CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) — The owners of a giant container vessel blocking the Suez Canal said Thursday they faced “extreme difficulty” refloating it, as Egypt temporarily closed one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s advisor on seaports, Mohab Mamish, told AFP late Thursday that “maritime navigation will resume again within 48-72 hours, maximum”. “I have experience with several rescue operations of this kind and […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — Africa experienced a 30-percent rise in infections in its second wave of coronavirus last year but implemented fewer public health measures than in the first, research showed Thursday. Writing in The Lancet medical journal, researchers said a loosening of public health measures such as distancing and intermittent lockdowns probably contributed to higher death tolls during the second wave. The study looked at Covid-19 case, death, recovery and test data carried out […]
NIAMEY, Niger (AFP) — Niger’s health ministry said Sunday that China has sent it 400,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine to help stem the spread of Covid-19 in the African country. A cargo plane carrying the jabs, as well as 300,000 antigen tests, masks and protective equipment arrived at Niamey airport, the ministry said. It would start rolling out its vaccination campaign “from March 27”, the ministry said, adding that the political authorities, healthcare personnel, […]
ALGIERS, Algeria (AFP) — A shallow 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the Algerian coast on Thursday, the US Geological Survey said. The quake hit 20 kilometres north-east of the city of Bejaia at 1:04 am local time (0004 GMT), at a depth of 10 kilometres, according to the US monitoring service. Bejaia, which has a population of roughly 164,000, endured moderate shaking, USGS said. The capital city Algiers also felt some light shaking. In the aftermath […]
