Omicron variant set to dominate EU summit

The rapid spread of the Omicron Covid-19 variant across Europe has added a sense of urgency to an EU summit taking place this Thursday, with leaders struggling to present a united approach towards tackling the new strain of the virus.

Projections that the mutated and highly infectious Covid strain could be dominant in the European Union as early as next month have pushed the issue to the top of today’s summit agenda, igniting fears of a health crisis.

The summit will also tackle other big topics pressing hard on EU capitals, in particular the Russian military build-up on Ukraine’s border.

That risk dominated a meeting on Wednesday between EU leaders and their neighbouring eastern European counterparts, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The ongoing confrontation with Belarus over an influx of migrants testing the EU’s borders and spiking energy prices aggravating inflation will also be discussed at the high-level talks.

Today’s summit is the last before France takes over the rotating six-month European Union presidency from Slovenia in the New Year.

Europe is bracing for an Omicron winter, with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen saying on Wednesday: “We’re told that by mid-January, we should expect Omicron to be the new dominant variant in Europe.”

The timing is perilous. Although many EU countries are in the global vanguard in terms of vaccination rates, the roll-out is patchy across the 27-nation bloc.

Nine EU countries have vaccination rates below 60 percent.

Omicron’s apparent ability to mute the effects of existing vaccines has galvanised efforts to get booster shots into arms.

However the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has warned jabs alone now would not be enough, given that Omicron infections double around every two days.

While some hope — based on initial data from South Africa, where Omicron is already dominant — the new strain produces milder symptoms than the Delta variant, mathematical modelling suggested its infectious nature could overwhelm hospitals.

The draft summit conclusions stress that “rolling out vaccinations to all and deploying booster doses are crucial” while also maintaining cross-EU coordination.

The united front, however, is visibly weakening.

Italy, Ireland, Portugal and Greece have all tightened entry restrictions for EU arrivals by requiring PCR tests even of vaccinated travellers.

Their measures appeared to undermine the rules of an EU Covid certificate that since July has ensured easy intra-EU travel without quarantine or tests for the vaccinated.

While EU countries can suspend some of the rules in health emergencies, they need first to notify Brussels 48 hours in advance.

A European Commission spokesman said Italy did not do so.

An EU source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Wednesday: “Italy has a very high vaccination rate. I can understand why member states are taking very strong measures to combat the virus.”

He reckoned that should vaccines be needed specifically to combat Omicron “my guess is they are only available in the second quarter,” between April and June next year.

…………………………………………………………

French President Emmanuel Macron to meet Malian Colonel President of Transition on December 20, 2021

French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to arrive in the Republic of Mali on Monday December 20, 2021 for a programmed meeting with the Colonel President of transition Assimi Goita in the country’s capital city Bamako.

The planned meeting is to discuss and iron out the diplomatic tension between the two countries, after which Emmanuel Macron has also scheduled a Pre-Christmas party with French army personnel based Gao Region.

The diplomatic conflicts between France and Mali started in 2012 after an official request by the then Malian interim government for French military assistance. The operation, themed Operation Serval was a French military operation in Mali aimed at ousting Islamic militants from the north of Mali. The militants had begun a push into the center of Mali. The operation ended on 15 July 2014, and was replaced by Operation Barkhane, launched on 1 August 2014 to fight Islamist fighters in the Sahel. Three of the five Islamic leaders, Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, Abdel Krim and Omar Ould Hamaha were killed, while Mokhtar Belmokhtar fled to Libya and Iyad ag Ghali fled to Algeria.

…………………………………………………………

New York City names first female police chief

New York City’s police force will be led by a woman for the first time in its 176-year history, Mayor-elect Eric Adams announced on Wednesday.

Keechant Sewell, 49, is a 23-year veteran of the Nassau Police Department in nearby Long Island, where she became chief of detectives in September 2020.

For Mr Adams, the move fulfils a campaign pledge to name a female commissioner.

The NYPD is the largest police force in the US.

Speaking to media on Wednesday morning, Mr Adams – a former NYPD captain- said that women often are “sitting on the bench” and “never allowed to get in the game” when it comes to policing.

“That is stopping today,” he said.

Ms Sewell, who is originally from the New York borough of Queens, previously served in New York’s Nassau County narcotics and major case units, and as a hostage negotiator.

When she takes over the department in January, Ms Sewell will also become only the third black commissioner to take helm of the NYPD.

Ms Sewell said she was “mindful of the historic nature of this announcement” and hopes to improve relations between the police and New York City’s residents.

“I bring a different perspective to make sure the department looks like the city it serves, and making the decision, just as Mayor Adams did, to elevate women and people of colour to leadership positions,” she said.

She added that as commissioner she plans to be “laser focused” on violent crimes particularly gun crimes.

Bill de Blasio, the outgoing mayor, often had a difficult relationship with the NYPD. In 2015, for example, officers turned their backs on Mr de Blasio at the funeral of a police officer killed in the line of duty.

The decision to name Ms Sewell as commissioner was praised by Patrick Lynch, the president of the largest police union in the city, the Police Benevolent Association of New York.

“New York City police officers have passed our breaking point. We need to fix that break in order to get our police department and our city back on course,” he said in a statement. “We look forward to working with her to accomplish that goal.”

The NYPD employs nearly 35,000 police officers, of whom approximately 18% are women.

……………………………………………………

Ugandan Millitary and Police reportedly surrounds Bobi Wine’s residence

Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine has hinted security forces have surrounded his residence and put him under house arrest before a planned campaign rally.

In a series of Tweets on Tuesday December 14, 2021, the singer-turned-politician, who has suffered several arrest ever since he declared his ambition, informed police and military officers deployed overnight had banned him from leaving his house in Magere, north of the capital, Kampala.

Robert Kyagulanyi, real name was set to campaign in support of an opposition candidate running in a by-election in the central district of Kayunga, where Museveni is also expected to hold a rally.

see series of tweets by Unganda politician Bobi Wine below;

 

………………………………………………………………

Kenyan Court suspends government Covid19 rules pending hearing

A Kenyan High Court presided over by Judge Antony Mrima on Tuesday December 14, 2021 put up government order which ban all those who have not been full vaccinated against Covid19 from entering public places and accessing services nationwide. The case against the government was filed by a businessman who termed the directive as “tyrannical” and a gross violation of the constitution. Even though the case is pending hearing, Human Rights Watch (HRW), and some other campaigners in the Eastern African country have disapproved the directive, terming it as discriminatory, while urging the government to abandon the plan, which also requires visitors from Europe to provide proof of full vaccination.

A member of HRW on Tuesday said; “While the government has an obligation to protect its people from serious public health threats, the measures must be reasonable and proportional.” The organization added; “Requiring proof of vaccination to access public services may act as a powerful incentive for people to get vaccinated, but the way it is carried out should also account for the numerous reasons that a person may not be able to receive the vaccine in time,” the rights watchdog added, noting that there was not enough stock to vaccinate all adults before the deadline.

“It is now time to shift our focus from survival to co-existing with the disease,” he said at the time.

Reports says Kenya has fully vaccinated some 12 percent of the adult population, representing only 3.2million people, amidst the government’s target of 10 million by the end of 2021 and 27 million people by the end of 2022.

Health Minister Mutahi Kagwe defended the order on Sunday, saying it was the government’s duty to protect the rights of the vaccinated from exposure to infection.

“This is even more critical with the emergence of the Omicron variant. Experts have warned that it is more infectious than previous forms of the virus,” Kagwe observed.

………………………………………………………

South African court orders ex-president back to jail

A South African court has ruled that the country’s former President Jacob Zuma should be returned to prison, saying his medical parole was “unlawful”.

The time he has spent out of prison should not be counted in his 15-month sentence, the Pretoria court ruled.

Zuma was released on 5 September for an undisclosed medical condition.

He had been jailed for failing to attend an inquiry into corruption during his presidency.

The 79-year-old handed himself in to police in July after a public stand-off, but his jailing, unprecedented for an ex-president, sparked violent protests and looting.

More than 300 people, mostly in Zuma’s stronghold of KwaZulu-Natal province, died in the protests.

The former leader had testified only once at the inquiry into what has become known as “state capture” – the allegation that government decisions were being taken on behalf of business interests through a corrupt relationship.

Zuma is also facing a separate corruption and fraud trial related to a 2019 arms deal.

Zuma has repeatedly said he is the victim of a political conspiracy.

Prison authorities say his release on parole was compelled by a medical report, but his ailment has never been disclosed.

He did, however, undergo surgery after he was imprisoned.

The former president’s spokesman said at the time that imprisonment had had “an exponential impact in terms of deteriorating his condition”. His lawyers also argued that their client’s illness had rendered him incapacitated. South Africa’s main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, which was part of the legal challenge against the decision to release Zuma from prison, welcomed Wednesday’s ruling.

“This is a big victory for the rule of the law and the principle of equality before the law,” its leader John Steenhuisen said.The High Court in Pretoria ruled that the decision by the head of the correctional service Arthur Fraser, a known ally of Zuma, to release the former leader on medical parole was “reviewed, declared unlawful, and set aside. Lawyers representing Zuma have appealed against the court order, so there is no immediate prospect of him returning to prison.

The decision to revoke Zuma’s parole has sent shockwaves across the country, with some of his supporters threatening mass protests reminiscent of the violence in July that left hundreds dead and led to costly destruction of businesses.

But other citizens have welcomed the ruling, saying it sends a strong message that all are equal before the law. Many expect the former president to mount another vigorous legal fight against the ruling, he once said that serving a prison sentence – at his age and amid a global pandemic – was akin to a death sentence.

Rhetoric aside, the authorities here are not taking any chances and the BBC understands that law enforcement agencies, who were caught off-guard by the last unrest, are preparing to counter possible violent protests and looting if Zuma is jailed again.

…………………………………………………………