First African-Owned Covid Vaccine ‘Ready In Three Years’

 Africa is set to have its first-ever African-owned COVID-19 vaccine within the next three years, developers announced on Tuesday.

They say the mRNA vaccine will be stored at temperatures used in regular refrigerators, making it easier to store and distribute in rural and remote locations where fewest people are currently vaccinated.

“The Covid-19 vaccine will take up to 36 months because it will have to go through full clinical trials and we will position it as a booster,” said Prof Petro Terblanche of Afrigen – which is collaborating on the vaccine with the Universals Group.

The development and production of this new vaccine will take place in Cape Town, South Africa.

The announcement comes days after the World Trade Organization (WTO) reached a deal to waive a crucial intellectual property agreement, making it easier for developing countries to manufacture and export patented Covid vaccines without consent from the patent holder for five years.

A lack of super-cold chains and the lack of local cost-effective production are still two major challenges affecting the roll-out of coronavirus vaccines.

There also, however, seems to be an issue with demand.

The South African firm Aspen Pharmacare had signed a deal with Johnson & Johnson to produce its vaccine in South Africa. But its plant may have to close as there are not enough orders.

The continental health body – Africa CDC – says that 18% of the population has been fully vaccinated against Covid.

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AU suspends participation in UN-led Sudan talks

 The African Union has suspended its participation in the UN-facilitated talks to end the Sudan political crisis.

Its representative in the talks cited lack of transparency and exclusion of important political actors from the process.

Mohamed Belaish, the AU representative in Khartoum was quoted by the state-run Sudan news agency as saying that “the African Union cannot participate in a process that is not based on transparency, honesty and non-exclusion”.

He said the AU would “not participate in a process that does not respect all the actors and treat them with full respect and on an equal footing”.

The AU and the regional bloc Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) had previously backed the UN-led intra-Sudanese dialogue process, which began on 8 June.

The dialogue was however postponed indefinitely a few days later, after the former ruling Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) coalition refused to join its sessions.

The FFC is demanding the military to leave power and return power to a civilian transitional government.

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Afghan earthquake: At least 280 killed and scores wounded, says state media

 A powerful earthquake has killed at least 280 people and left scores injured in Afghanistan, according to the country’s state news agency.

Pictures show landslides and ruined homes in eastern Paktika province, where rescuers are scrambling to treat the injured.

In remote areas, helicopters have been ferrying victims to hospitals.

The local Bakhtar News Agency said the death toll was likely to rise, adding more than 600 people were injured.

The quake struck about 44km (27 miles) from the south-eastern city of Khost shortly after 01:30 local time (21:00 Tuesday GMT).

“Unfortunately, last night there was a severe earthquake in four districts of Paktika province, which killed and injured hundreds of our countrymen and destroyed dozens of houses,”

“We urge all aid agencies to send teams to the area immediately to prevent further catastrophe.”

Taliban officials have called for aid agencies to rush to the affected areas in the nation’s east.

Image caption,

Pictures from Paktika province show extensive destruction to buildings

Most of the casualties so far were in the Gayan and Barmal districts in Paktika, a local doctor told the BBC. Local media site Etilaat-e Roz reported a whole village in Gayan had been destroyed.

Tremors were felt across more than 500km of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. Witnesses reported feeling the quake in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, as well as Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad.

However, there have been no immediate reports of casualties, and the earthquake caused little damage in Pakistan, according to BBC Urdu.

IMAGE SOURCE,AFGHAN GOVERNMENT NEWS AGENCY

Image caption,

Footage shows people brought onto stretchers

The earthquake – which hit the mountainous country during the early hours as many people slept – was a magnitude 6.1 quake at a depth of some 51km, according to seismologists.

DNT News

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UK to help free activist on hunger strike in Egypt

 The UK foreign secretary has said she is working hard to secure the release of a British-Egyptian activist who is on hunger strike in prison in Egypt.

Liz Truss told MPs she intended to raise Alaa Abdel Fattah’s case when her Egyptian counterpart visited the UK.

His family welcomed the comments but said his hunger strike was in its 81st day and that time was “running out”.

Last month, MPs and peers urged Ms Truss to help Abdel Fattah, who is in jail for allegedly spreading fake news.

A letter sent to the foreign secretary warned that he was being held in “inhumane” conditions as a political prisoner and expressed concern that British diplomats were being denied consular access.

The Egyptian government has previously dismissed accusations over prison conditions and insisted there are no political prisoners in the country.

Alaa Abdel Fattah first rose to prominence during the 2011 uprising that forced long-time President Hosni Mubarak to resign.

Since President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi came to power in 2014, the 40-year-old pro-democracy activist and blogger has spent most of the time in prison or police detention.

He was sentenced to five years in prison last December after being convicted by a state security emergency court of “spreading false news that undermines national security” in a 2019 social media post. Human rights groups had called the charge spurious and the trial a sham.

On Tuesday, a day before a planned protest by Abdel Fattah’s family outside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in London, Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokeswoman Layla Moran asked Ms Truss in the House of Commons: “Will she consider meeting them to discuss how we can ensure his release?”

“I assure the honourable lady that we are working hard to secure Alaa Abdel Fattah’s release,” the foreign secretary replied.

“[Minister for North Africa] Lord Ahmad has met the family and I am seeking a meeting with the Egyptian foreign minister who is due to visit the United Kingdom shortly, where I will raise this case.”

One of Abdel Fattah’s two sisters, Mona Seif, called the pledge “an incredible relief”.

“We’ve always believed that, if the FCDO put its full weight behind Alaa, his nightmare would be over,” she told the PA news agency. “But he is on day 81 of hunger strike now and time is running out. I hope they decide to fully commit before it’s too late.”

Abdel Fattah’s family said he began a hunger strike on 2 April to protest against his unjust imprisonment, cruel detention conditions and denial of consular visits.

Last month, he was transferred to a “rehabilitation centre” at the Wadi al-Natrun prison complex, north of Cairo, from the notorious Tora prison, where his family said he had been deprived of reading materials, exercise, sunlight and bedding for two-and-a-half years.

Sanaa Seif, Abdel Fattah’s other sister, told a news conference last week that he had “switched to what he calls [a] ‘Gandhi-inspired hunger strike'” since the transfer.

He had consumed only water and rehydration salts during the first 55 days, but was now “taking 100 calories a day, basically to gain us more time in the campaign for his release”, she said.

DNT News

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Cape Verde Budgets $85 Million To Cushion Ukraine War Fallout

 Cape Verde will spend around $85 million on emergency subsidies and fiscal measures this year to mitigate the rise in food and fuel prices brought by the war in Ukraine, the Atlantic archipelago’s government said on Monday.

The percentage of Cape Verdeans facing a food crisis currently stands at 9% of the population, up from just 2% in 2020, Prime Minister Jose Ulisses Correia e Silva said at a press briefing.

Many of around 484,000 inhabitants have also been struggling to afford fuel since global prices soared, creating an “inflationary crisis” in the import-dependent country off the tip of West Africa.

The government on Monday adopted a flurry of measures to cushion the blow, including food assistance and subsidies, tax reductions and fuel price caps.

The total cost of implementing these “extraordinary fiscal measures” is 8.9 billion escudos ($84.82 million) by the end of 2022, Correia e Silva said.

Cape Verde’s tourism-driven economy still struggling to recover from the pandemic.

Border closures and travel restrictions pushed budget deficit to 10% of GDP and the public debt ratio to over 155% of GDP, Correia e Silva said.

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First openly gay judge to lead LGBT veterans probe

 Britain’s first openly gay senior judge will lead a review into the impact of a historical ban on LGBT people serving in the armed forces.

Lord Etherton’s inquiry will look at how those affected can be redressed.

Campaigners are hoping for compensation for lost livelihoods and suffering as well as mental health support.

The review will apply to veterans who served between 1967, when homosexual acts began to be decriminalised, and 2000.

Until then it was illegal to be gay in the British military – with more than 5,000 people in the armed forces thought to be affected.

Those who were, or perceived to be, homosexual faced intrusive investigations and were dismissed or otherwise forced to leave the military. Many still have the conviction on their criminal record.

Some veterans say it meant a complete loss of income which still affects them today, due to years of missed pension contributions.

In the review, expected to start in the next few weeks, Lord Etherton will be asked to recommend ways in which the government could “seek to mitigate any impacts, including any financial impact”, the BBC has learned.

 

The independent review was launched as part of the government’s Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan. Lord Etherton was appointed by Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and the prime minister’s chief aide, Steve Barclay.

Lord Etherton said he wants to provide a “safe space” for veterans to share their stories.

“This will allow me to make measured recommendations as to how the government can meet their commitment to ensure that all veterans’ experiences are understood and valued,” he added.

David Bonney served four months in a military prison in Colchester in 1995 after being convicted of “homosexual conduct” while working for the RAF as a medic.

He told the BBC he welcomed the announcement of the chairman, but that he hoped the review would be carried out quickly.

Image caption,

David Bonney was jailed after it was found out he was gay while serving in the RAF

The BBC understands the review could take as long as 12 months.

“There are people with serious issues, cancers and such,” Mr Bonney said.

“It would be nice if they could get everything resolved before they die.”

He added that Lord Etherton would be “more likely to reach the right conclusions” as someone who “knows what it’s like to hide your true self”.

IMAGE SOURCE,DAVID BONNEY

Image caption,

Mr Bonney’s conviction is still on his criminal record despite the law change in 2000

The review comes after years of campaigning by veterans and charities.

The CEOs of charity Fighting with Pride, Caroline Paige and Craig Jones, told the BBC the announcement “brings hope to veterans who served at a time when they were not welcomed in the armed forces as LGBT personnel are today”.

“They have faced immense challenges in their lives in consequence of the ban and today’s announcement brings hope for a better future,” they said in a joint statement.

DNT News.

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Russian Journalist Sells Nobel Prize For £84,500,000 To Give To Ukraine’s Kids

 Dmitry Muratov, an award-winning Russian journalist has raised more than $100 million for Ukrainian children by auctioning off his Nobel Peace Prize.

Muratov who was awarded the gold medal in October 2021, having helped found the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, smashed the record for the highest sum paid for the medal last night in New York City. He raised $103.5 million (£84.5 million), a sum 27 times higher than the old record set eight years ago.

The journalist will be giving the money to Ukrainian child refugees to give them ‘a chance for a future’. Proceeds from the auction will go directly to UNICEF in its efforts to help children displaced by the war.

Ahead of the auction, Mr Muratov said he was particularly concerned about children who have been orphaned because of the conflict in Ukraine. ‘We want to return their future,’ he said.

Previously, the most ever paid for a Nobel Prize medal was in 2014, when James Watson, whose co-discovery of the structure of DNA earned him a Nobel Prize in 1962, sold his medal for $4.76 million (£3.9 million).

Melted down, the 175 grams of 23-karat gold contained in the medal would be worth about $10,000 (£8,156) alone.
Mr Muratov has been highly critical of Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and the war launched in February. It has caused nearly five million Ukrainians to flee their country, creating the largest humanitarian crisis in Europe since World War II. UNICEF estimated back in March that 2 million children had been among those forced to flee.

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