India has formally approved the emergency use of two coronavirus vaccines as it prepares for one of the world’s biggest inoculation drives. The drugs regulatory authority gave the green light to the jabs developed by AstraZeneca with Oxford University and by local firm Bharat Biotech. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called it “a decisive turning…
SOME of South Africa’s most senior medical leaders and academics have called for President Cyril Ramaphosa to fire government officials over delays in procuring Covid-19 vaccines, saying their actions will cause thousands of deaths and untold economic damage. The demand was made in an opinion piece run by News24, the country’s biggest Internet news site,…
TWO men convicted over the assassination of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s President Laurent Kabila 20 years ago have been pardoned. Although Mr Kabila was shot by his bodyguard, two of his senior officials, Col Eddy Kapend and Georges Leta, were implicated in the killing. President Félix Tshisekedi commuted their death sentences last June.The…
SOUTH Africa is considering reinstating a total ban on liquor sales as the number of Covid-19 infections surge over the summer holiday season, a person familiar with the discussions said. Restrictions on alcohol sales have been implemented to various degrees since one of the world’s most stringent lockdowns was imposed in March, in part to…
THE New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) said it will delist three Chinese telecommunications firms based on claimed links with its military. China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom Hong Kong have all been targeted by the Trump administration. Shares in the telecoms giants will be suspended on the NYSE next week while proceedings to delist…
THE prime minister will chair a meeting of the government’s emergency committee later after France closed its border with the UK for 48 hours. The move, announced on Sunday, means no lorries or ferry passengers will be able to sail from the port of Dover. France said the action was necessary because of the prevalence…
WITH Uganda’s elections due in January, there’s plenty of misinformation being shared in a heated campaign which has seen serious violence. President Yoweri Museveni, in power since 1986, is facing a challenge from 11 candidates, amongst them a young musician known as Bobi Wine. Some of the misinformation about the campaign involves fabricated content, and…
SOUTH Africa is experiencing a new variant of the coronavirus that is driving a second wave of infections, the health minister said on Friday. “We have convened this public briefing today to announce that a variant of the SARS-COV-2 Virus – currently termed 501.V2 Variant – has been identified by our genomics scientists here in…
SHARES in London have fallen sharply and the pound has lost ground after several EU countries closed their borders to the UK, which has reported a new variant of coronavirus. In early trading, the FTSE 100 and 250 indexes fell about 1.7%, with the main markets in Germany and France 2% lower. Sterling was…
ZAMBIA must build majority stakes in selected mines to benefit from its mineral wealth beyond taxes, President Edgar Lungu said on Thursday, as he set out an economic recovery plan after the country defaulted on a debt payment last month. Africa’s second-biggest copper producer, Zambia is seeking to increase its control over the mining sector…
