AFRICA

South Africa has put its rollout of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine on hold after a study showed “disappointing” results against its new Covid variant. Scientists say the variant accounts for 90% of new Covid cases in South Africa. The trial, involving some 2,000 people, found that the vaccine offered “minimal protection” …

A Sierra Leone, sex workers are often seen as immoral outcasts to be shunned and avoided, even though their profession is legal. BBC Africa Eve investigates an unsolved murder of a sex worker in the country and uncovers a world where women who sell sex are often trafficked, abused, attacked …

A new case of Ebola has been identified near the city of Butembo in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the country’s health ministry has announced. A woman was found with symptoms of the deadly virus in the town of Biena on February 1, who died in hospital in …

Chukwuemeka Obijofa, a 28-year-old man, who claimed to be an ordained evangelist, has explained why he killed his wife and four-year- old son with a shovel in Ofufe Nza village in Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State. Upon being paraded before newsmen on Saturday February 6 at the Police headquarters in Amawbia, …

At least eleven people are dead and 145 missing after a piece of a Himalayan glacier fell into a river and triggered a huge flood in northern India. The floodwaters burst open a dam and a deluge of water poured through a valley in the state of Uttarakhand. Most of …

A spokesperson for the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) announced that Nigeria had lifted its suspension of Emirates flights after the state-owned carrier insisted that passengers from Nigeria needed additional COVID-19 tests. In a telephone call, the NCAA spokesperson said that the suspension “has just been lifted because they have complied with …

The African Union’s 34th heads of state summit kicked off today, Saturday February 6. But due to the coronavirus pandemic, leaders of the 55-member pan-African bloc are meeting virtually. The theme of the two-day summit is “Arts, Culture and Heritage: Levers for Building the Africa We Want.” But one of …

African Union (AU) leaders will hold a two-day summit starting on Saturday as the continent grapples with a wide range of issues, including a rise in coronavirus infections, border disputes and displacement due to fighting. At this year’s virtual summit, Felix Tshisekedi, the president of the Democratic Republic of the …

President Nana Akufo-Addo has been re-elected Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). A statement issued following its extraordinary session held on Wednesday, 3 February 2021, said: “… The Authority calls on His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, …

Nine troops were killed in Mali’s troubled central region early Wednesday when their camp came under attack from jihadists, security sources said. Their position at Boni, located between Douentza and Hombori in the Mopti region, was attacked by “heavily armed individuals in armoured vehicles,” one source said, speaking on condition …