Somalia’s annual Mogadishu International Book Fair has resumed following the suspension of the event last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Restrictions were applied to the invitation-only event this year in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The sixth edition of the Mogadishu book fair was a big distraction for residents of the capital, Mogadishu, away from the political tension linked to disagreements over the ongoing parliamentary elections in the country.

This year’s book fair was limited to a few people, especially authors, due to the coronavirus pandemic. But according to the founder of the fair, Mohamed Diini, organizers are already working to accommodate more people next year.

“In essence, we really are doing about 10% of what we did and, ultimately, we just wanted to do something, even if it is little so that next year, we can go back to our previous state, Insha Allah,” Diini  said.

Selected students from Mogadishu schools were invited this year to the children’s corner, where they enjoyed reading, storytelling and cultural tales.

Hanan Abdi Tahlil from Mogadishu International School is one of them.

She said she is very happy and excited to take part in the Mogadishu book fair this year, adding that they enjoyed storytelling from Cigaal Shidaad and Wiil Waal fictional tales among others. She also said she was looking forward to attending next year.

Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble, who is busy resolving an electoral-related stalemate, congratulated the organizers of the book fair.

In a tweet, the prime minister stressed the need to encourage the pen and the book to replace arms and tribalism.
…

your ad here

A Sudanese pro-democracy group has condemned comments by the U.N. chief urging citizens to support a deal that reinstated Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, so the country can have “a peaceful transition towards a true democracy.”

The Sudanese Professionals’ Association, which was at the forefront of the uprising against former autocrat Omar al-Bashir, rejected late Friday Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s comments as a “moral and political failure.”

Hamdok was deposed as part of the Oct. 25 coup by military leaders that brought international criticism and disrupted Sudan’s fragile transition to democracy. He was reinstated last month amid international pressure in a deal that calls for an independent technocratic cabinet under military oversight.

The SPA said Guterres’ comments were seen as a “justification for violence” against coup protesters who vowed to continue their street demonstrations against the deal, despite deadly violence by security forces.

The United States, its allies and the United Nations have condemned the use of excessive force against protesters who have since taken to the streets en masse. Dozens of protesters were killed and hundreds of others were wounded since the Oct. 25 coup.

The agreement, signed on Nov. 21, has angered Sudan’s pro-democracy movement, which accuses Hamdok of allowing himself to serve as a fig leaf for continued military rule.

Guterres told a news conference Wednesday that he understands “the indignation” and outrage of Sudanese who have seen the military coup and don’t want any solution involving the military.

“But I would like to appeal for common sense,” he said. “We have a situation which is, yes, not perfect, but which could allow for a transition towards democracy.”

The U.N. chief warned that calling into question the solution that led to Hamdok’s reinstatement “would be very dangerous for Sudan.”

The SPA said it would continue peaceful protests until the establishment of a “full civilian” government to achieve the democratic transition.

Hamdok’s reinstatement is the biggest concession made by the military since the coup but the takeover has left the country’s transition to democracy mired in crisis.

Since his appointment in 2019, Hamdok has been the civilian face of the government and one of the pro-democracy movement’s most respected figures. But Sudan’s key pro-democracy groups and political parties have said the deal that reinstated him falls short of their demands for full civilian rule.

Coup architect Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, head of the ruling Sovereign Council, meanwhile said the deal was “a true start” for the democratic transition. 

He told the Saudi Arabia-owned satellite news network al-Arabian in an interview aired late Fridayn that the military has sought to establish a broader consensus with a “new political charter,” that will be announced soon.

“I am optimistic that most of the political forces will sign the new agreement,” he said. “It will be open to include all political forces that want to complete the democratic transition.”

Burhan has asserted that Hamdok has “full authority” to appoint his technocratic cabinet as stated in the November deal reinstating Hamdok. 

“We just want him to have independent figures that don’t have political affiliations. … Other than that, there are no restrictions on him,” Burhan said.
…

your ad here

Botswana’s reported COVID-19 cases have declined despite the detection of the highly transmissible omicron variant of coronavirus. Botswana was one of the first two countries in the world, along South Africa to report cases of the Omicron variant.

While COVID-19 cases are surging in neighboring South Africa, Botswana has reported a decrease.

Last week, Botswana reported 19 cases of the new omicron variant after it was first detected in four diplomats visiting the southern African country.

But COVID-19 Task Force scientific advisor Mogomotsi Matshaba says the country’s overall figures remain low, with only 27 cases recorded between Monday and Thursday.

“The new number of active cases has decrease to 431, a positive development that we encourage all of you to continue to work together so that it remains low,” Matshaba said. “The whole country remains green in terms of the COVID zones meaning the disease activity is relatively low, but it doesn’t mean there is no disease.”    

Matshaba says the number of those infected with the new omicron variant is at 24, with all displaying mild symptoms and not requiring hospitalization.

He says the low number of cases despite the presence of a highly transmittable variant could be due to various factors.

He says, there could be a number of reasons for this. It could be vaccination or it could be the public education about the pandemic, Matshaba says. But, he warns the situation can change any moment.        

Botswana is one of the few African countries to achieve the World Health Organization vaccination target of inoculating 10 percent of its population by the end of September.

At least 21.6 percent of its more than two million people are fully vaccinated, while nearly one million have received the first dose.

Due to the lower caseload, Botswana has decided against imposing stricter limits, unlike neighboring Zimbabwe.

Botswana’s president, Mokgweetsi Masisi, in an address to the nation, says despite the emergence of omicron, the situation remains stable.

“To date, all our key indicators remain stable,” Masisi said. “This is comforting although it still does not warrant any complacency on our part in terms of behavior and other attitudinal patterns towards this dreadful disease. We are actively monitoring the evolving situation in view of the new variant of concern.”   

Masisi says it is unfortunate the country is paying the price for detecting and reporting the new variant to the world.

“It defeats the spirit of multilateral cooperation in dealing with this global pandemic,” Masisi said. “The decision to ban our citizens from travelling to certain countries was hastily made and is not only unfair but it is also unjustified. The harshness of the decision has the effect of shaking our belief in the sincerity of declared friendship and commitment to equality and economic prosperity for us.”    

The outbreak of the omicron variant has seen most countries place travel bans particularly on southern African countries.  

The variant has since been reported in countries across the globe.
…

your ad here

The Botswana scientist who may well have discovered the omicron variant of the coronavirus says he has been on a “roller coaster of emotions,” with the pride of accomplishment followed by dismay over the travel bans immediately slapped on southern African countries.

“Is that how you reward science? By blacklisting countries?” Dr. Sikhulile Moyo, a virologist at the Botswana Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership, said in an interview Thursday with The Associated Press.

“The virus does not know passports, it does not know borders,” he added. “We should not do geopolitics about the virus. … We should be collaborating and understanding.”

Moyo was doing genomic sequencing of COVID-19 samples at his lab in Botswana two weeks ago and noticed three cases that seemed dramatically different, with an unusual pattern showing multiple mutations. He continued studying the results and by early last week, decided to publicly release the data on the internet.

Soon scientists in South Africa said they had made the same findings. And an identical case in Hong Kong was also identified.

A new coronavirus variant had been discovered, and soon the World Health Organization named it omicron. It has now been identified in 38 countries and counting, including much of Western Europe and the United States. And the U.S. and many other nations have imposed flight restrictions to try to contain the emerging threat.

Speaking from his lab in Gaborone, Botswana’s capital, Moyo bristled at being described as the man who first identified omicron.

“Scientists should work together and the ‘who first did that’ syndrome should go. We should all be able to be proud that we all contributed in one way or the other,” said the 48-year-old scientist.

In fact, he noted that the variant was found to be something entirely new only by comparing it to other viruses online in a public database shared by scientists.

“The only way you can really see that you see something new is when you compare with millions of sequences. That’s why you deposit it online,” he said.

The Zimbabwe-born Moyo — who is also a research associate at Harvard’s school of public health, a married father of three, and a gospel singer — expressed pride in the way he and his international colleagues were transparent about their findings and sounded the alarm to the rest of the world.

“We’re excited that we probably gave a warning signal that may have averted many deaths and many infections,” he said.

 

Omicron startled scientists because it had more than 50 mutations.

“It is a big jump in the evolution of the virus and has many more mutations that we expected,” said Tulio de Oliveira, director of the Center for Epidemic Response and Innovation in South Africa, who taught Moyo when he was earning his Ph.D. in virology from South Africa’s Stellenbosch University.

Little is known about the variant, and the world is watching nervously. It’s not clear if it makes people more seriously ill or can evade the vaccine. But early evidence suggests it might be more contagious and more efficient at re-infecting people who have had a bout with COVID-19.

In the coming weeks, labs around the world will be working to find out what to expect from omicron and just how dangerous it is.

“What is important is collaboration and contribution,” Moyo said. “I think we should value that kind of collaboration because it will generate great science and great contributions. We need each other, and that’s the most important.”

South Africa is seeing a dramatic surge in infections that may be driven by omicron. The country reported more than 16,000 new COVID-19 cases Friday, up from about 200 per day in mid-November.

The number of omicron cases confirmed by genetic sequencing in Botswana has grown to 19, while South Africa has recorded more than 200. So far, most of the cases are in people who did not get vaccinated.

“I have a lot of hope from the data that we see, that those vaccinated should be able to have a lot of protection,” Moyo said. “We should try to encourage as many people to get vaccinated as possible.”

Moyo warned that the world “must go to a mirror and look at themselves” and make sure Africa’s 1.3 billion people are not left behind in the vaccination drive.

He credited earlier research and investment into fighting HIV and AIDS with building Botswana’s capacity for doing genetic sequencing. That made it easier for researchers to switch to working on the coronavirus, he said.

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, Moyo finds some cause for optimism.

“What gives me hope is that the world is now speaking the same language,” said Moyo, explaining that the pandemic has seen a new global commitment to scientific research and surveillance.

He added that the pandemic has also been a wake-up call for Africa.

“I think our policymakers have realized the importance of science, the importance of research,” Moyo said. “I think COVID has magnified, has made us realize that we need to focus on things that are important and invest in our health systems, invest in our primary health care.”

He added: “I think it’s a great lesson for humanity.” 

 
…

your ad here

Worsening security in Burkina Faso is hitting the country’s 1.3 million internally displaced people (IDPs), with many being forced to flee their places of refuge for a second time. One refugee camp was closed after it was visited by Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie. And rights groups say they are investigating reports terrorists infiltrated another camp to commit acts of sexual abuse.

As security in Burkina Faso has deteriorated in recent months, state control outside of major cities has diminished and terrorist attacks by groups linked to Islamic State, al-Qaida and local bandits are going up. Increasingly, people displaced by the conflict are falling victim to terrorists in areas they had once fled to for safety.

In June, Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie visited the Goudoubo refugee camp in Burkina Faso’s war-torn Sahel province to mark World Refugee Day. During her speech at the camp, the special envoy for the U.N.’s refugee agency (UNHCR) said, “This is where the humanity and decency of the world is measured. Where human strength and resilience are most clearly and starkly seen. Not in the world’s gleaming capitals, but in places like this.”

Last month the Goudoubo refugee camp was closed. After incursions by terrorist groups at the camp, security forces were unable to guarantee safety. More than 11,000 refugees living there have since been relocated to the nearby town of Dori.

Aminata, who is one of those refugees and who works with the UNHCR to advocate on behalf of female refugees from Goudoubo, said, “Today, women come by and tell me that all their possessions remain in Goudoubo, because they did not have the strength to carry them. They only grabbed their children’s hands to leave the camp.” She said they have to buy water to survive and there are no places in the schools for their children.

Charles Zoueke, protection officer for the UNHCR in Burkina Faso, said the refugees, now in Dori, don’t have enough resources. “We should help them to be integrated in Dori,” he said. “To do that, it is important for us to arrange for them to access services.”

In an attack last week in Foube, in the country’s center north region, 10 civilians and nine soldiers were killed while IDPs were caught in crossfire and forced to flee to nearby Barsalogho.

Corinne Dufka, the West Africa Director of Human Rights Watch, reported an incident last week of several sexual assaults against female IDPs by terrorists at a site in Dablo, which is close to Barsalogho.

Security forces are believed to have left the site some days before the abuses took place.

In a statement to mark the visit of the U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet to Burkina Faso earlier this week, Human Rights Watch urged the high commissioner to encourage “authorities to reinforce the security presence in areas especially vulnerable to attack by abusive armed Islamists; strengthen early warning networks; reduce the military’s response times to threatened villages.”

The Ministry of Women, National Solidarity and Humanitarian Action did not respond to a request for an interview on recent incidents of IDPs falling victim to terror attacks. 

 

 
…

your ad here

Severe flooding has hit South Sudan’s northern state of Unity, cutting off communities from accessing supplies of food and other vital commodities, a state official said Friday.

More than 700,000 people have been affected by the worst flooding in the country for nearly 60 years, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said in October, blaming climate change.

In Unity, which borders Sudan, the floods have left a trail of food shortages, caused malnutrition in children and increased the spread of diseases such as malaria, said Lam Tungwar Kueigwong, the state’s minister of land, housing and public utilities.

Oil from the fields in the region had contaminated the water, he said, leading to the death of domestic animals.

The suffering caused by the floods, including food shortages and illnesses, is putting pressure on the health facilities, said international charity Médecins Sans Frontières, which operates in the area.

“We are extremely concerned about malnutrition, with severe acute malnutrition levels two times the WHO threshold, and the number of children admitted to our hospital with severe malnutrition doubling since the start of the floods,” MSF said.

For Nyatuak Koang, a mother of three boys and two girls, that concern is all too real for her after the floods forced her to move twice.

“We don’t have anywhere to sleep, we don’t have any mosquito nets and we don’t have material to cover our house,” she said.

Nearly a decade after South Sudan gained independence following a war, it faces the threat of conflict, climate change and COVID-19, the outgoing head of the U.N. mission in the country said in March.

Nearly all the population depends on international food aid, and most basic services such as health and education are provided by the United Nations agencies and aid groups. 
…

your ad here

Zimbabwe’s government, which has confirmed the presence of the omicron variant of COVID-19 in the country, has ruled out easing its new tough restrictions on visitors and returning citizens as it tries to contain the new variant.

The country’s Vice President Constantino Chiwenga – who is also the country’s health minister – said in a message broadcast on national television Thursday night that Zimbabwe had a confirmed case of the omicron variant and was conducting genomic sequencing.

“We have already known that we now have it [the Omicron variant] in this country. Therefore, we must remain vigilant. So we want everyone to be safe. So let’s be vaccinated, let’s follow the protocols. We do not want to put extra measures, but if you follow these measures, I think everyone of us will be safe and together will conquer this invisible enemy,” Chiwenga said.

Earlier this week Zimbabwe announced a nine-hour curfew and compulsory 14-day quarantine for anyone arriving in the country, to prevent the spread of the omicron variant.

Samantha Jogo is one many Zimbabweans who have called for the government to relax the measures. She says that her siblings around the globe who she was expecting this holiday season were now unlikely to come because of the new measures. She wants the government to reconsider before the holiday season starts.

She says that given the number of Zimbabweans in the diaspora, if they were to be quarantined in hotels or other centers, they would be crowded and some would contract COVID-19 there. If someone has a negative COVID-19 test, she says, they should be asked to quarantine at home.

Ndabaningi Mangwana, the permanent secretary for Zimbabwe’s Information Ministry, told a government-controlled television station the new measures would not end quickly.

“What is the purpose of returning for festive seasons? You are returning for Christmas, aren’t you? There is nothing that stops you until this avalanche is gone and come home. We are not forcing people to come home, you are choosing to come home at this critical time,” Mangwana noted.

Zimbabwe became the first country in southern Africa to enact such restrictions since the emergence of the omicron variant, which spreads more easily.

Dr. Cleophas Chimbetete, president of Zimbabwe College of Public Health Physicians, says “the omicron variant has been confirmed in our nation, there is absolutely no need for us to panic. We can overcome COVID-19, we can even overcome the new variant. Please let’s vaccinate those that are still considering vaccination. The advice from Zimbabwe College of Public Health Physicians, the advice from your medical fraternity is vaccines are safe and vaccines save life. Let’s maintain the usual public health measures that we have been speaking and speaking about repeatedly.”

Zimbabwe has fully inoculated just above 2.8 million people since February, when it began its vaccination program, with a target of vaccinating at least 10 million people by the end of the year, a figure which some say might be difficult to reach given the scarcity of resources and short time left.

Thursday, the WHO Africa Regional Office said the detection of the omicron variant is coinciding with a 54% surge in COVID-19 infections in Africa, mainly due to an uptick in southern Africa. 
…

your ad here