Africa Lead Story

West Condemns ‘Deployment’ Of Russian Mercenaries In Mali

  • December 24, 2021

More than a dozen Western powers on Thursday expressed anger that Russian mercenaries working for the controversial Wagner Group have started to deploy in Mali, accusing Moscow of providing material backing for the fighters. The powers involved in the fight against an insurgency in Mali, including Canada, Germany, France and the United Kingdom, said they […]

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WHO Chief Warns COVID Booster Programs May Prolong Pandemic

  • December 23, 2021

The World Health Organization’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned on Wednesday that blanket COVID-19 vaccine booster programs will not bring a definite end to the global pandemic, but prolong it, as poorer countries struggle to vaccinate their populations because of unequal access to immunizations. While U.S. health officials urge citizens over the age of 16 […]

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Developers Of Major COVID-19 Vaccine Working On Omicron-Specific Version

  • December 22, 2021

British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca and Oxford University say they are developing a new version of its two-dose COVID-19 vaccine that will provide protection specifically against the new omicron variant of the coronavirus. The vaccine is an adenovirus-based vaccine which, according to the Mayo Clinic, has been altered so it cannot integrate into a person’s DNA and […]

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Record High COVID-19 Infection Rate Hits Kenya

  • December 21, 2021

Kenya has reached an all-time high COVID-19 infection rate, with positive results in nearly a third of tests. Scientists believe the surge is fueled by the highly transmissible omicron variant of the coronavirus. But Kenya is also seeing a low rate of hospitalizations and deaths. Kenya is battling a wave of COVID-19 infections greater than […]

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Omicron Now Dominant Variant in United States

  • December 21, 2021

A man in the southwestern U.S. state of Texas may be the first in the nation to die of the new omicron variant of the coronavirus, which is now the dominant variant in the United States. Health officials in Harris County say the man in his 50s was unvaccinated and suffered from underlying health conditions that left […]