Pentagon finishes review of Austin's failure to tell Biden and other leaders about his cancer
The Pentagon has completed its review of Defense Secretaryโs Lloyd Austinโs failure last month to quickly notify the president and other senior leaders about his hospitalization for complications from prostate cancer surgery and how the notification process can be improved.
About 13 children die each day at a camp in Sudan for displaced people, medical charity MSF says
Thirteen children are dying everyday of severe malnutrition at the Zamzam camp in Sudanโs Northern Darfur as a consequence of the 10 month war in their country, Medical charity Doctors without Borders or MSF said Monday.
Portuguese chief vs. American deputy in race to lead UN migration agency
The 175 member countries of the U.N. migration agency are casting ballots to choose its leader for the next five years โ an unusual contest between its European director-general and his American deputy, who is looking to oust him from the job.
Doctor decries gun violence after school shooting near miss
A pediatric surgeon who left The Covenant School in Nashville moments before a shooter opened fire, killing six people, says she is horrified by the gun violence that has plagued the U.S. Britney Grayson had just finished regaling children about Kenya, where she works as a pediatric surgeon, when she drove out of the parking lot looking for a Starbucks.
UN summit: Don't repeat mistakes on nature, scientists warn
Scientists around the world warned governments who will be gathering in Montreal this week for the United Nations biodiversity summit to not repeat past mistakes and urged officials to โavoid trade-offsโ between people and conservation needs in a report Monday.
With forests abound, Africa looks to grow its carbon market
Locals living in once-heavily forested regions across Africa are starting to find their land in high demand as governments and companies seek to improve their climate credentials through carbon credit schemes, where tree-planting offsets carbon dioxide emissions.
East Africa bloc says 50 million face acute food insecurity
More than 50 million people in the wider East African region are expected to face acute food insecurity this year, a regional bloc said Friday, warning that some 300,000 in Somalia and South Sudan are projected to be under full-blown famine conditions.
Africaโs wildlife parks managers meet to boost conservation
Officials are meeting in Kigali in Rwanda this week as part of the continentโs first-ever Africa Protected Areas Congress in a bid to expand the protection of land and marine wildlife, despite little funding and the low quality of many existing conservation areas in the region.
Tanzania's Masaai demand Indigenous rights in UN framework
Tanzaniaโs Maasai people, resisting government pressure to leave their ancestral homes in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, have presented their demands for Indigenous land rights to negotiators in Nairobi finalizing the proposed U.N. global biodiversity framework.
Growing African mangrove forests aim to combat climate woes
In a bid to protect coastal communities from climate change and encourage investment, African nations are increasingly turning to mangrove restoration projects, with Mozambique becoming the latest addition to the growing list of countries with large scale mangrove initiatives.
UN Security Council mission visits Mali, urges February vote
A U.N. Security Council mission that is visiting Mali this weekend to assess the security situation is urging the countryโs authorities to set elections for February to meet agreements reached with a West African regional bloc after a coup last year.
UN-backed vaccine delivery program warns of supply delays
(AP Photo/Brian Inganga)GENEVA โ The U.N.-backed program to ship COVID-19 vaccines worldwide has announced supply delays involving a key Indian manufacturer, a major setback for the ambitious rollout aimed at helping low- and middle-income countries vaccinate their populations and fight the pandemic. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and its partners said Thursday that the Serum Institute of India, a pivotal vaccine maker behind the COVAX program, will face increasing domestic demands as coronavirus infections surge. โDelays in securing supplies of SII-produced COVID-19 vaccine doses are due to the increased demand for COVID-19 vaccines in India,โ Gavi said. The program had been aiming to deliver some 237 million AstraZeneca vaccines through the end of May. AdThe Serum Institute of India, also known as SII, is the world's largest maker of vaccines.
Liz Mills takes big step for female basketball coaches
Kenya national men's basketball team head coach Liz Mills, center-right, poses with assistant coach Sadat Gaya, center-left, for a photograph with the team at Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi, Kenya Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. (Courtesy of Liz Mills)CAPE TOWN โ Liz Millsโ decision to look more professional when coaching basketball games by wearing high-heeled leather boots instead of sneakers was somehow seen as provocation. She'll make history as the first female head coach at the tournament in August. โIโm the head coach,โ Mills responded. "It's easy, it's coach or coach Liz.
Death of Tanzania's Magufuli draws sorrow but ire from some
A man reads a copy of the Daily Nation morning newspaper reporting the death of neighboring Tanzania's President John Magufuli on a street in Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, March 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Khalil Senosi)NAKURU โ News of the death of Tanzania's President John Magufuli drew mixed reactions; sorrow from many but bitterness from a critic who said he suffered during the president's rule which he said shrank the country's democratic space. As tributes come in from other African heads of state, Tanzania's opposition leader has been outspoken in his criticism of Magufuli. โIt's poetic justice," opposition leader Tundu Lissu said Thursday of Magufuli's death, alleging that he succumbed to COVID-19. Many Tanzanians, however, mourned Magufuli's death and praised his rule.
Politicians ask about health of Tanzania's populist leader
President John Magufuli was last seen in public on Feb. 27 at the swearing-in ceremony of his chief secretary, effectively his chief of staff, following the death of his previous chief secretary. The populist leader announced in June last year that Tanzania had defeated COVID-19 through three days of prayer. Exiled opposition leader Lissu speculated on Twitter that Magufuli had COVID-19 and had been flown to Kenya for treatment. Days later the president's official office, State House, announced the death of John Kijazi, the president's chief secretary. ___This story was corrected to show that Magufuli was last seen at the swearing-in ceremony of his chief secretary, not the secretary of state.
Africa welcomes COVAX doses but warns against โselfishnessโ
โItโs a concern, and everyone is talking about it.โThe East African nation of 45 million people was receiving under 1 million vaccine doses โ 864,000. Itโs the first batch of a total of 18 million COVAX doses for Uganda, but when all will arrive is not known. While the COVAX initiative was created to ensure that low- and middle-income countries receive COVID-19 vaccines, it has faced delays and limited supply. And Nigeria began its vaccination campaign after Africaโs most populous country received almost 4 million doses. AdThe COVAX delays have pushed other African countries to seek more doses elsewhere, including via bilateral deals that can be unfavorable.
Time running out on Somalia's troubled vote as citizens sigh
Two regional states refuse to take part, and time is running out before the Feb. 8 date when mandates expire. Instead, the federal government and states agreed on another โindirect election,โ with senators and members of parliament elected by community leaders โ delegates of powerful clans โ in each member state. Members of parliament and senators then elect Somalia's president. You were given to lead a united people in a peaceful way,โ said one former president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. AdHe also warned that Jubbaland and Puntland could go the way of Somaliland, with Somalia's unity at stake.
Tanzania's leader denies COVID-19, and countrymen push back.
Tanzania's President John Magufuli openly expressed doubt about COVID-19 vaccines and accused people who were vaccinated outside the East African nation of bringing new infections into the country. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga, File)NAIROBI โ Tanzaniaโs president says God has eliminated COVID-19 in his country. But pandemic concerns have returned to the spotlight in Tanzania as the world focuses on the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines. โVaccines are inappropriate.โ He urged the health ministry not to rush into vaccinations without being satisfied about their safety. AdAfrican health officials were already worried about misinformation campaigns around COVID-19 vaccines as the first doses begin arriving on the continent of 1.3 billion people.
Kenya says 1st AstraZeneca vaccine doses to come next month
Pupils Concodia Primary school in Mombasa County, Kenya, Monday, Jan. 4, 2021, as schools re-opened after a nine month break due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kenya has been participating in a small-scale trial of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which requires two doses administered weeks apart. Kenya's news came as South Africa on Thursday announced it will begin receiving 1.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine later this month, the first announced deal for COVID-19 doses in the country with more than 1 million confirmed infections. Kenya has had over 97,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in the country of more tan 50 million people. Doctors across the country held a brief strike last month over inadequate personal protective equipment and insurance.
African continent hits 2 million confirmed coronavirus cases
Africa has surpassed 2 million confirmed coronavirus cases as the continent's top public health official warns that we are inevitably edging toward a second wave of infections. But the price of any COVID-19 vaccine is another factor in their fair distribution, he said. Several African countries have confirmed virus cases in the six figures. โAbsolutely no doubt youโll see COVID spread into more rural areasโ of Kenya and other countries, Nkengasong said, as more people move around. The African continent has conducted 20 million coronavirus tests since the pandemic began, but shortages mean the true number of infections is unknown.
The Latest: Kentucky sees near-record number of new cases
(AP Photo/Michael Probst)FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Kentucky reported a near-record number of new coronavirus cases Friday as the surging outbreak continued sending more people to hospitals, Gov. Total statewide COVID-19 cases surpassed 105,000, and the virus-related death toll reached at least 1,476. The new virus cases brought the number of cases statewide to 13,520, according to the Department of Health. The announcement comes as Kenyaโs government says a second surge in coronavirus cases has begun in East Africaโs economic hub. The Czech Republic has 310,068 total confirmed cases, with 161,050 cases in the last two weeks.