Nigerian workers walk off the job again to protest rising costs after removal of gas subsidies
Some employees in government offices in Nigeria walked off their jobs in protest of the growing cost of living due to the removal of gas subsidies, threatening to โshut downโ Africaโs largest economy if their demands for improved welfare are not met.
Russia targets Ukraine's port of Odesa and calls it payback for a strike on a key bridge to Crimea
Ukraine said its forces shot down Russian drones and cruise missiles targeting the Black Sea port of Odesa in what Moscow called โretributionโ for an attack that damaged a crucial bridge to the Crimean Peninsula.
Death toll climbs as Cyclone Freddy slams Malawi, Mozambique
An unrelenting Cyclone Freddy that is currently battering southern Africa has killed at least 56 people in Malawi and Mozambique since it struck the continent for a second time on Saturday night, authorities in both countries have confirmed.
With war nearby, US shows support for Poland on army holiday
Polish officials are marking their nationโs Armed Forces Day holiday alongside the U.S. army commander in Europe and regular American troops, a symbolic underlining of NATO support for members on the eastern front as Russia wages war nearby in Ukraine.
EU regulator considers clearing smallpox shot for monkeypox
The European Medicines Agency says it will begin reviewing data to decide if a smallpox vaccine made by the pharmaceutical company Bavarian Nordic might also be authorized for monkeypox, amid a growing outbreak of the disease across the continent.
WHO: Nearly 200 cases of monkeypox in more than 20 countries
The World Health Organization says nearly 200 cases of monkeypox have been reported in more than 20 countries not usually known to have outbreaks of the unusual disease, but described the epidemic as โcontainableโ and proposed creating a stockpile to equitably share the limited vaccines and drugs available worldwide.
Spanish LGBTQ groups wary of monkeypox stigma as Pride nears
With one of Europeโs largest gay pride celebrations right around the corner, Spain's LGBTQ community is worried that outbreaks of monkeypox on the continent could lead to an increase of homophobic sentiment based on misunderstandings of the disease.
Security concerns, lack of support stall Africa's Green Wall
A series of complex challenges, including a lack of funding and political will as well as rising insecurity linked to extremist groups al-Qaida and the Islamic State in Burkina Faso, are obstructing progress on Africaโs Great Green Wall, according to experts involved in the initiative.
Omicron brings COVID-19 vaccine inequity 'home to roost'
The emergence of the new omicron variant and the worldโs desperate and likely futile attempts to keep it at bay are reminders of what scientists have warned for months: The coronavirus will thrive as long as vast parts of the world lack vaccines.
UN peacekeepers face greater threats from complex conflicts
The more than 87,000 personnel in U.N. peacekeeping missions are confronting greater threats today because conflicts have become more complex and are driven by an increasing number of factors ranging from ethnic tensions and the impact of organized crime to illegal exploitation of resources and terrorism.
Republic of Congo candidate hospitalized with COVID-19
FILE - In this Friday March 19, 2021 file photo, supporters of opposition presidential candidate Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas cheer during their party's last rally of the presidential campaign in Brazzaville, Congo. Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas, the leading opposition presidential candidate in Republic of Congo, was receiving oxygen at a private hospital after being diagnosed with COVID-19, a family member said. The announcement late Saturday March 20, 2021 comes on the eve of the presidential election. (AP Photo/Christ Kimvidi, File)BRAZZAVILLE โ The leading opposition presidential candidate in Republic of Congo was receiving oxygen at a private hospital after being diagnosed with COVID-19, a family member said, casting Sunday's election into doubt on the eve of the vote. Republic of Congo has had fewer than 10,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began, with 134 confirmed deaths.
Vaccine roll-out gaps a core concern for G-20 countries
Indian villagers carry their belongings on their heads and walk towards their village on the outskirts of Hyderabad, India, Friday, Feb. 19, 2021. Daniele Franco told a virtual news conference after the meeting of finance ministers and central bank chiefs of the G-20 economies that a core priority for the group is โto grant equitable accessโ to safe vaccines. โWe will not get back to our normal lives until the virus is eradicated in all countries,โ Franco said. Economy and finance ministers will check in on progress on issues in July in Venice, and a global summit is planned for October. Climate change and tax policy are on the agenda for July.
Biden's pick for UN post calls China 'a strategic adversary'
United States Ambassador to the United Nations nominee Linda Thomas-Greenfield testifies during for her confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021, in Washington. Johnson asked her why she had said the United States is not in a new Cold War with China. โThis speech is cheerleading for the Chinese Communist Partyโ and makes no mention of Chinaโs human rights violations, he said. Johnson asked her what the stronger language and tougher tactics would be toward China. โAnd yet, I had an extraordinary 35-year career, that culminated as the assistant secretary of state of African affairs,โ Thomas-Greenfield said.
50 countries vow to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030
(Joe Giddens/PA via AP)PARIS โ At least 50 countries committed to protecting 30% of the planet, including land and sea, over the next decade to halt species extinction and address climate change issues, during a global summit Monday aimed at protecting the world's biodiversity. About 30 leaders, government officials and heads of international organizations participated in the One Planet Summit, which was being held by videoconference because of the coronavirus pandemic. During his campaign, Biden pledged to better protect biodiversity by preserving 30% of American lands and waters by 2030. Another initiative involves a new coalition of Mediterranean countries working to better protect the sea from pollution and overfishing. ___Follow all AP coverage of climate change issues at https://apnews.com/hub/Climate.
UN chief warns `vaccine nationalism' is moving at full speed
Volunteers wait to be checked at a vaccine trial facility set at Soweto's Chris Sani Baragwanath Hospital outside Johannesburg, South Africa, Monday Nov. 30, 2020. Over 2000 South African volunteers are on AstraZeneca's experimental coronavirus vaccine trial. The U.N. chief reiterated his call for vaccines to be treated as โa global public good,โ available to everyone, everywhere on the planet, especially in Africa. In the United States, the Pfizer vaccine could get a green light for emergency use in the coming days and the Moderna vaccine in the coming weeks. โThere are several vaccines in the pipeline for COVAX, and it is perfectly possible to deliver if the financing is guaranteed.โ
Africa CDC sees COVID-19 vaccinations in 2nd quarter of 2021
The director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, John Nkengasong, told reporters that โI have seen how Africa is neglected when drugs are availableโ in the past. And he warned that โitโs clear the second wave (of infections) is here on the continentโ of 1.3 billion people. He cited such logistics in his prediction for when vaccinations in Africa will begin. "The worst thing we want for the continent is for COVID to become an endemic diseaseโ in Africa, he said. It could take more than $5 billion to roll out a COVID-19 vaccine in Africa to priority populations alone, the WHO says โ and that doesn't include the costs for delivering the vaccines.
Diplomats: Rockets fired at Eritrea amid Ethiopian conflict
NAIROBI โ Rockets were fired at Eritrea's capital on Saturday, diplomats said, as the deadly fighting in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region appeared to spill across an international border and bring some of observers' worst fears to life. At least three rockets appeared to be aimed at the airport in Eritrea's capital, Asmara, hours after the Tigray regional government warned it might attack. It has accused Eritrea of attacking it at the invitation of Ethiopia's federal government since the conflict in northern Ethiopia erupted on Nov. 4. Eritrea is one of the world's most reclusive countries, and no one on the ground, including the information ministry, could immediately be reached. Tigray regional officials did not respond to requests for comment.
Timeline: Ethiopia's Nobel Peace Prize to brink of civil war
KAMPALA โ Ethiopia's federal troops for almost a week have been battling troops loyal to the Tigray regional government, raising fears of civil war in Africa's second most populous country. Just a year ago, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for his dramatic political reforms. Abiy also shocked the region by making peace with neighboring Eritrea after a border war, and promoting similar efforts in the wider Horn of Africa. OCTOBER 2019: A NOBEL PEACE PRIZEThe following year, Abiy was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his sweeping reforms. The Tigray region defied the federal government by holding a local election, leading to the current situation where each government now regards the other as illegal.
AP Explains: Why Ethiopia is suddenly on brink of civil war
(AP Photo/Mulugeta Ayene)NAIROBI โ Suddenly Ethiopia appears on the brink of civil war, threatening the stability of one of the worldโs most strategic regions, the Horn of Africa, and the fracturing of one of Africaโs most powerful and populous countries. But the crisis in Ethiopia, a key U.S. security ally, has been building for months. Ethiopia is one of Africaโs most well-armed nations, and the Tigray Peopleโs Liberation Front dominated Ethiopiaโs military and government before Abiy took office in 2018. In September, the Tigray region voted in a local election that Ethiopiaโs federal government called illegal. Ethiopia already was drawing concern over a dispute with Egypt over a huge dam Ethiopia is completing on the Blue Nile.
Ethiopia near civil war as PM sends army into defiant region
FILE - In this Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020, file photo, Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, center, arrives for the opening session of the 33rd African Union (AU) Summit at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. โWe have to guard against โjust another tribal African war,โโ former U.S. diplomat Payton Knopf told The Associated Press. The prime minister announced โseveral martyrsโ in the overnight attack in Mekele, the northern Tigray regionโs capital, and Dansha town. The region is Ethiopiaโs most sensitive, neighboring Eritrea, which fought a long border war before the two countries made peace in 2018. The TPLF dominated Ethiopiaโs military and governing coalition before Abiy took office in 2018 and announced sweeping political reforms that won him the Nobel last year.
Marines remove general investigated over alleged racial slur
WASHINGTON โ The Marine Corps has removed a two-star general from command of Marine forces in Europe and Africa based on an investigation into allegations that he used a racial slur during a training event, officials said Tuesday. The decision to relieve Maj. Gen. Stephen Neary of command of Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa, headquartered in Germany, was made by the commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. David Berger. โNeary was relieved due to a loss of trust and confidence in his ability to serve in command,โ the Marines said in a brief written statement. A Marine spokesman, Maj. Eric Flanagan, said separately that Berger acted on the basis of what had been determined in an official investigation of the allegation that Neary had used a racial slur. The Stars and Strips newspaper reported earlier this month that the Marines had confirmed they were investigating an allegation that Neary had used a derogatory term for Black people in the presence of other Marines.
Tanzania asks for aircraft to battle fire on Mt. Kilimanjaro
In this image made from video, fires burn on Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania on Monday, Oct. 12, 2020. Tanzanian authorities say 500 volunteers have been trying to put out a fire on Africa's tallest peak, Mt. Kilimanjaro. (AP Photo)NAIROBI โ Tanzania's government is hoping helicopters and planes will help put out a fire raging on Mt. The fire started on Sunday afternoon in the Whona area, a tourist stopover for those climbing Mt.
Southern Africa's hunger upsurge blamed on climate, COVID-19
JOHANNESBURG An estimated 45 million people in southern Africa are food insecure, with the number of people without access to adequate affordable and nutritious food up 10% from last year, the World Food Program said Monday. Zimbabwe is the worst affected country, with its number of food insecure people expected to reach 8.6 million by the end of this year, World Food Program director in southern Africa, Lola Castro, said. We are going to see levels of food insecurity that we have never seen for many years," in 13 of the region's 16 countries, Castro said. Lockdowns have made large numbers of people unemployed, increasing food insecurity, she said. Southern Africa has faced impacts of climate change for the past four years nonstop.
In ruling, judge throws lifeline to diversity visa lottery
To be clear, there is no statutory requirement that every available diversity visa be issued each year, Mehta wrote in an 85-page ruling Friday in Washington. Diversity visa lottery winners are people who have come to this nation, like millions before, to seek a better life for themselves and their families, and to pursue the American Dream, he wrote. The judge told the administration to undertake good-faith efforts ... to expeditiously process and adjudicate" diversity visas for 2020 but stopped short of extending the Sept. 30 deadline. Attorneys for visa applicants welcomed the order but expressed disappointment that other visa categories were denied. Diversity visa applicants can finally exhale today, said Karen Tumlin, director of Justice Action Center "The diversity visa lottery has allowed for substantial diversification of legal immigration, especially from Africa, and were thankful the court is protecting that."
Damage from whopper hurricanes rising for many reasons
The Atlantic is increasingly spawning more major hurricanes, according to an Associated Press analysis of NOAA hurricane data since 1950. The Atlantic now averages three major hurricanes a year, based on a 30-year running average. A study by Kossin found that, once a storm formed, the chances of its attaining major storm status globally increased by 8% a decade since 1979. Such a busy period started in 1995 and might end soon as northern Atlantic waters shift to a cooler regime, he said. In addition, he said: Climate change will be a bigger driver of losses in the future.___Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter at www.twitter.com/borenbears.
Watching THREE Tropical Systems Now
Houston, TX As they say: And then there were three! This morning showed up with yet another system moving off Africa that the National Hurricane Center flagged for possible tropical development over the next five days. Upper level winds have not been particularly favorable either, but the real struggle is the dry air in front of these systems. Below that is depicted in blue and I drew blue circles ahead of the disturbances:Dry Air Ahead of each systemSo Whats Going to Happen? For now, just keep watching!
Africa passes 1M confirmed virus cases; true number far more
JOHANNESBURG Africas confirmed coronavirus cases have surpassed 1 million, but global health experts tell The Associated Press the true toll is likely several times higher. That reflects the gaping lack of testing for the continents 1.3 billion people. Large numbers of undetected cases are a danger for Africa with many of the worlds weakest health systems. The virus has spread from cities into distant hinterlands, where few to no health resources exist. Experts predict a slow burn of the pandemic on the continent.
No. 9 and another new tropical system
While PTC Nine is producing the distraction, this non-identified disturbance looks very much like a tropical storm. Scatterometers and stormsScatterometer satellites send out microwave radiation that measures just how ocean waves are reflecting and scattering those microwaves. Wind is what is making higher waves out there and if higher waves are measured, then by calculation there are higher winds. Thus, a somewhat strong, circulating LOW can be detected amid those bunch of clouds and an upgrade to an area of interest of even a tropical depression or storm can be determined. It's easy to see large gaps of data on this exampleI suspect we will catch this new one soon enough.