Uganda 'applies for two million' Covid-19 vaccine doses
BBC Monitoring
The world through its media
Uganda has applied for more than two million doses of Covid-19 vaccines as the number of cases in the East African nation tops 25,000.
"The Ministry has quantified and applied for the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine through the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (Gavi) and the process is at an advanced stage," privately-owned Chimp Reports website quoted the Director General Health Services, Henry Mwebesa, as saying.
"This is a vaccine (AstraZeneca) which government is aware has gone through World Health Organisation clearance and approval... It is important to note that only vaccines approved by the Ministry of Health and WHO can be administered to the population of Uganda," Dr Mwebesa added.
Uganda expects to receive two million free doses from Gavi in early 2021 but is "setting aside a budget to procure more for the entire population".
There has been a rise in the number of daily infections at a time when the country is preparing to hold general elections on 14 January 2021.
Some politicians have been accused of failing to adhere to the set health guidelines during campaigns.
Kenya's Chief Justice retires after historic tenure
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Kenya's Chief Justice David Maraga, who created history by presiding over the annulment of the 2017 presidential election, will officially retire on Friday.
He has been praised for restoring faith in the independence of the judiciary since taking office in October 2016.
Justice Maraga is the country’s 14th Chief Justice, according to local media reports.
A devout Seventh-day Adventist, he reportedly told an interview panel that if appointed Chief Justice, he would never preside over a case on a Saturday, a day of rest and worship for members of the Adventist faith.
Justice Maraga, 69, graduated as a lawyer from the University of Nairobi, before going into private practice.
He was appointed a judge in 2003 and rose to join the Court of Appeal in 2012.
He is married and has three children.
Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu will take over in an acting capacity until the Judicial Service Commission appoints the next Chief Justice.
Ghanians went to the polls on MondayImage caption: Ghanians went to the polls on Monday
Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo has appointed a 15-member transition team as he readies to begin his second term.
The president was re-elected in this month's election whose results have been rejected by his main rival, former President John Mahama.
Ghana's constitution requires the winning presidential candidate to name a transitional team within 24 hours after the electoral commission officially declares results.
The team will be chaired by President Akufo-Addo's chief of staff Akosua Frema Osei-Opare.
The election commission on Wednesday announced President Akufo-Addo winner of the election with 51.59% of the total votes cast, while Mr Mahama secured 47.36%.
In his victory speech the president called for unity and promised to improve living standards.
Jeanine Mabunda was the country's first female speaker of parliamentImage caption: Jeanine Mabunda was the country's first female speaker of parliament
Lawmakers in the Democratic Republic of Congo have voted to remove the parliament's speaker.
The result is a victory for President Félix Tshisekedi, who's been involved in a power struggle with supporters of his predecessor, Joseph Kabila.
Earlier this week police had to intervene to break up fights between rival politicians.
The speaker, Jeanine Mabunda, was an ally of Mr Kabila. She was impeached after being accused of "partisan leadership" by President Tshisekedi's supporters - allegations she denied.
The vote also saw the majority in parliament swing in favour of President Tshisekedi.
He can now put into motion plans that he put forward last Sunday. They include forming a government which he said would allow
him to deliver more to the Congolese people.
The removal of the speaker is a major
blow to former President Kabila, who stepped down last
year after leading the central African country for 18 years.
He had full
control of both national and provincial assemblies.
Friday's wise words
Our African proverb of the day:
Quote Message: A stink bug does not know its own smell." from A Rukwangali proverb sent by Herculano Mwenyo in Rundu, Namibia.
Algeria football star criticised over Israel visit
Ahmed Rouaba
BBC News
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Hichem Boudaoui's fans say he is merely fulfilling his contractual obligationsImage caption: Hichem Boudaoui's fans say he is merely fulfilling his contractual obligations
Algerian football player Hichem Boudaoui has been criticised on
social media for travelling to Israel with his French club Nice to face
Beer-Sheva in the Europa League.
Internet users condemned the 21-year-old midfielder’s
decision to travel to Israel, calling it an act of "treachery".
Algeria has no diplomatic relations with Israel.
The two teams are due to play shortly, but the game is of no importance as both were eliminated in the group stage.
A hashtag reading "Boudaoui does not represent Algeria" has
been widely used by angry fans, with some demanding that he be
axed from the national team.
Some users have however called fans to be less harsh with
the young player who, they say, "has to fulfil the contract he has with
his team".
Algerian teams and athletes generally refuse to face Israeli
counterparts in international competitions as the two countries do not have
diplomatic relationships and in solidarity with Palestinian people under
Israeli occupation.
Former Algeria players Ishak Belfodil and Safir Taider had
played in Israel but they both have dual nationality and used their French
passport to enter Israel.
Boudaoui was born in Algeria and does not have dual
nationality.
Trump: Morocco to normalise relations with Israel
GeCopyright: Ge
King Mohammed VI rules MoroccoImage caption: King Mohammed VI rules Morocco
US President Donald Trump has announced that Morocco has become the latest Arab state to normalise relations with Israel.
The announcement came after Mr Trump signed a proclamation recognising Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.
Morocco has become the fourth country since August to sign a normalisation deal with Israel - in the wake of the UAE, Bahrain and Sudan.
There has been a territorial dispute over Western Sahara for decades pitting Morocco against the Polisario Front.
The African Union recognises Polisario as the territory's government.
Kenya MPs ordered to pay back $10m housing allowance
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Kenyan MPs are often accused of earning too muchImage caption: Kenyan MPs are often accused of earning too much
The High Court in Kenya has ordered the country's 416 lawmakers pay back 1.2bn shillings ($10m; £7.5m) after ruling that the money had been unlawfully given to them as housing allowances, local media report.
The Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) had encroached on the mandate of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) by granting the lawmakers the allowance, it ruled.
Each lawmaker would be required to repay 2.8m shillings to the government within the next year, Kenya's Star newspaper reported.
It is still unclear whether the ruling would be challenged.
Kenyan MPs are among the highest paid in the world, and have often been accused by non-governmental organisations of fleecing taxpayers.
Egypt security blamed for Italian student's murder
Amnesty InternationalCopyright: Amnesty International
Giulio Regeni's body was found dumped in the outskirts of CairoImage caption: Giulio Regeni's body was found dumped in the outskirts of Cairo
Italian prosecutors have formally accused four members of the Egyptian security agency of the kidnap, torture and murder of an Italian doctoral student, Giulio Regeni, near Cairo in 2016.
The four will now have 20 days in which to respond, but any trial against them would likely be conducted in absentia.
Mr Regeni was researching Egypt's trade unions at the time of his disappearance.
His mutilated body was later found in a ditch.
The murder sparked a crisis in relations between Italy and Egypt.
The Egyptian authorities have called the Italian evidence insufficient, and have constantly changed their explanations for the killing.
Sudan cancels 3,500 passports issued to foreigners
BBC World Service
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Omar al- Bashir was deposed in a coup last year following mass protests against his ruleImage caption: Omar al- Bashir was deposed in a coup last year following mass protests against his rule
Sudan's interim government has cancelled more than 3,500 passports issued to foreign residents by the government of ousted President Omar al- Bashir.
The interior ministry in Khartoum said the decision was taken because of negative security reports, or because foreigners had obtained their citizenship improperly.
Sudanese media say most of those affected were from Arab countries, particularly Syria, and had paid officials $10,000 (£7,500) in exchange for citizenship.
The ministry also announced that Syrian nationals will be required in future to obtain Sudanese visas in advance of travel.
One-hundred-and-fifty-thousand Syrians are estimated to have moved to Sudan since the Syrian war began.
Popular Nigeria pastor assaults BBC team
Adoration MinistryCopyright: Adoration Ministry
A popular Catholic priest in Nigeria, Father Ejike Mbaka, and some members of his church, assaulted a BBC team and two others at his complex in Emene town in south-eastern Enugu
State on Wednesday evening.
BBC journalists Chioma
Obianinwa and Nnamdi Agbanelo, as well as their driver, Ndubuisi Nwafor, were accompanied
by another Catholic priest, Father Cajethan Obiekezie and his assistant, Solomon
Orakam, to Father Mbaka’s Adoration Ministry at around 10:00 local time on Wednesday.
Father Obiekezie had facilitated
an interview with Father Mbaka, but it could not be immediately held because he was preaching.
The BBC crew, led by Father Obiekezie, moved to Father Mbaka’s home after the church service to conduct the
interview at around 17:00.
When Father Mbaka got home, the
journalists, who were waiting in the car after Father Obiekezie went to talk to him, were suddenly surrounded by about 20 men.
According to Obianinwa, the men
seized their equipment and threatened to kill them for writing "negative
reports about Mbaka".
“Mbaka asked us
to wait until the end of the programme for the interview. The men outside his
house said BBC Igbo writes negative things about Mbaka and started beating
Nnamdi, Solomon and Ndubuisi. They gave them heavy blows on their heads and all
over their body,” Obianinwa said.
The BBC reporter further said
that Father Mbaka and Father Obiekezie came out of the house when they heard the noise and
that Father Mbaka faced her and started poking his fingers in her face, calling her "satanic".’
“This fired up the men to
continue the attacks as Father Mbaka continued shouting and abusing us. He
asked his men to seize our phones and cameras. They said they would kill us and
nothing would happen. They removed my wig and tried to strangle Nnamdi. Father Obiekezie was telling them to stop but they attacked him too and seized his
phone,” she said.
Obianinwa said the attacks
stopped when she screamed that “the world would know that they were killed in
Mbaka’s house”.
“At this point, Father Mbaka asked
us to leave before his men killed us. He asked them to return our equipment and
they chased us out of the compound. His men trailed us till we left the state
to seek medical assurance and police help,” she said.
When the BBC called the number
on Father Mbaka’s official Facebook page for his reaction, it was switched
off.
Teenage clubbing and parties behind SA Covid surge
Andrew Harding
BBC News, Johannesburg
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize is leading the fight against Covid-19 in South AfricaImage caption: Health Minister Zweli Mkhize is leading the fight against Covid-19 in South Africa
As a second wave of Covid-19 is officially declared to have
hit South Africa, the nation’s teenagers are being blamed for its spread. The
health minister said most of the new surge of infections were affecting those
aged between 15 and 19.
It began in one crowded nightclub in Cape Town. The next
super-spreader event was at a university in Nelson Mandela Bay.
And now comes a series of crowded parties to celebrate the
end of school exams, and the school year.
The result, it’s now clear, is that South Africa’s teenagers
are driving a second wave of infections.
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said 15 to 19 year olds
were the worst hit, and he blamed drunken parties, where people ignored social
distancing rules and the need to wear masks.
The infection rate in some areas is now rising more steeply
than during the country’s first wave, back in July.
Other African nations, including Zimbabwe and Kenya, are
also reporting new surges of infections.
This continent, with its young population, and some tough
lockdown measures, has been spared the worst of the pandemic so far.
But there
are concerns about a second wave, and about whether Africa will be at the back
of the queue for vaccines.
At least 1,000 people were killed in the violenceImage caption: At least 1,000 people were killed in the violence
The
High Court in Kenya has ordered the government to give compensation of about $30,000 each to four people for failing to protect them from sexual and gender-based attacks during the violence that hit the country after the disputed 2007-2008 election.
The ruling is seen as a landmark, with Naitore Nyamu-Mathenge - the head of the Physicians for Human Rights group which supported the court action - saying that justice had finally been served.
However, she urged the government to take steps to prevent such violence in the future.
Justice Weldon Korir ruled that the survivors' right to life and equality had been violated when they were assaulted.
He also said that the state had failed to protect them from torture and inhuman and degrading treatment.
Campaign group Human Rights Watch estimated that at least 1,000 were killed and more than 500,000 people were displaced in the violence.
There were also multiple reports of rape and torture.
The violence broke out after then-President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner of the election. His main rival Raila Odinga said the poll was rigged.
Current President Uhuru Kenyatta - who supported Mr Kibaki - and his deputy William Ruto - who backed Mr Odinga - were charged by the International Criminal Court with crimes against humanity after they were accused of fuelling the violence.
Both denied the charges, which were later dropped.
Ethiopia begins free Covid-19 testing
Ameyu Etana
BBC Afaan Oromo Service
The Ethiopian government has announced free Covid-19 testing in 34 centres in the capital, Addis Ababa.
It is unclear if the service will be extended to areas outside the capital.
Health facilities have been charging 1,250 Ethiopian Birr ($32) for the Covid-19 test. There are places that charged up to 1,500 Ethiopian Birr.
Previously, only those with symptoms and those identified during contact tracing were being tested free of charge.
The
announcement comes amidst increased laxity towards the use of face masks in public areas
According
to Africa CDC, a technical institution of the Africa Union, Ethiopia is among African
countries with high numbers of Covid-19 cases.
The country has so far tested close to 1.7 million people. Some 114,834 people have tested positive and 1,769 succumbed to the virus, according to the ministry of health.
Health Minister Lia Tadesse on Thursday said a senior anaesthetist at the St Phaulos Hospital
in the capital died from the virus.
Tanzanian former MP granted asylum in Canada
AFPCopyright: AFP
Godbless Lema has had run-ins with the policeImage caption: Godbless Lema has had run-ins with the police
A former Tanzanian opposition MP Godbless Lema has been granted asylum in Canada, Kenyan media reports.
He had fled to Kenya through the Lungalunga border and was briefly detained before being allowed into the country.
His Kenyan lawyer George Wajackoyah has been quoted by local media as saying that Mr Lema left the country on Wednesday night.
Mr Lema arrived in Kenya last month accompanied by his wife and three children.
He fled shortly after the Tanzania elections in October in which President John Magufuli was declared the winner. His main challenger Tundu Lissu disputed the result.
Mr Lissu fled to Belgium, saying his life was in danger.
Ethiopia 'frees 1,000 kidnapped soldiers' in Tigray
Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC News, Addis Ababa
Ethiopia has said its federal forces have freed 1,000 soldiers who were "kidnapped" in the northern state of Tigray by fighters linked to the now-overthrown regional administration.
Among those freed was the deputy head of the Northern Command - a military base that was attacked in early November triggering the conflict.
The Tigrayan
People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) - which previously controlled the state - has not responded to the claim.
The federal government had two weeks ago said the
conflict was over, but the UN has warned of an “appalling impact on
civilians".
Nearly 50,000 people who fled the conflict have already
crossed the border to neighbouring Sudan.
The authorities in Addis Ababa reject the possibility of an insurgency in Tigray
whilst admitting to "sporadic" clashes.
Little has been heard from the
TPLF in recent days, but earlier they had vowed to continue fighting as long
federal troops - whom they call invaders- remain in Tigray.
The UN has warned
that the situation in the state may be "spiralling out of control" with
appalling humanitarian consequences.
South Africa officially in a second wave of Covid-19
ReutersCopyright: Reuters
Rules on social distancing and mask-wearing still remain in place.Image caption: Rules on social distancing and mask-wearing still remain in place.
South Africa's health minister has said the country is now experiencing a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
Minister Zweli Mkhize said four provinces - Western Cape, Eastern
Cape, KwaZulu Natal and Gauteng - are the key drivers of the new wave.
The country reported 6,079 new cases on Wednesday.
The minister said there was a spike in infections among those aged between 15 to 19 years "believed to be due to large number of parties
involving young people drinking alcohol with no adherence" to safety measures.
"If this trajectory continues our health care
system will be overwhelmed by the numbers," he warned.
Since the pandemic began, South Africa has had the highest recorded number of total cases in Africa.
It has so far confirmed 828,598 cases and 22,574 deaths. Recoveries stand at 754,658.
PM opposes arming of Mozambicans in terror war
Jose Tembe
BBC News, Maputo
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Hundreds of thousands have been displaced by the insurgencyImage caption: Hundreds of thousands have been displaced by the insurgency
Mozambique's Prime Minister, Carlos Agostinho do Rosario, has opposed calls to arm civilians in the gas-rich northern
province of Cabo Delgado to combat Islamist insurgents in the region.
Residents in the region have always been requesting for guns to help the security forces.
The prime minister opposed the idea during a security meeting in the province's capital, Pemba.
He said the move would be "dangerous and
unsustainable".
He insisted weapons should be in the hands of the "rightful people", namely the defence and security forces and those they trust.
Mr do Rosario said civilians should have a hoe to cultivate the land and a pen to contribute to
the country’s development.
Ivorian opposition leader Bédié calls for dialogue
Ivory Coast's opposition leader and former president, Henri Konan Bédié, has called for inclusive dialogue with the government after a disputed election.
President Alassane Ouattara was re-elected in October for a controversial third term, sparking political violence. He is scheduled to be sworn in later this week.
The opposition leader said the proposed talks must be supervised by "credible international organisations like the UN".
He also called for the release of all people who were arrested in protests held before and after the elections.
Ivorian opposition figures like Pascal Affi N’guessan and Maurice Kacou Guikahue are still in detention.
Mr Bédié urged Ivorians to prepare for demonstrations intended to call for peace in the country. He asked the police
and army to offer security to demonstrators.
Death of 2,000 rare vultures linked to rituals
BBC Monitoring
The world through its media
AFPCopyright: AFP
Guinea-Bissau is home to around 22% of the critically endangered hooded vulturesImage caption: Guinea-Bissau is home to around 22% of the critically endangered hooded vultures
The deaths of more than 2,000 hooded vultures in
Guinea-Bissau this year has been linked to superstitious rituals by a researcher.
Mohammed Henriques told
the French public radio, RFI, that heads, legs and claws of the vultures are
often used in the West African country for superstitious rituals.
He said many of the birds
found dead from February were beheaded.
"The body parts of these
birds are believed to bring good fortune and special powers," RFI quoted Mr Henriques as saying.
Toxicology reports had indicated that the birds had been poisoned
by methiocarb, a pesticide banned in
Europe.
Since the initial death of hundreds of hooded vultures in
February, there have been other reported fatalities of the scavengers
in the Bafata and Gabu regions in eastern Guinea-Bissau and in
the Bissagos archipelago, west of the country.
Guinea-Bissau is home to around 22% of the critically
endangered hooded vultures, according to Birdlife International.