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Cameroon marks Int’l Day of Persons with Disabilities with calls for greater inclusion

By XINHUA Cameroon on Friday joined the country’s disabled community in celebrating the International Day of Persons with Disabilities with calls for greater inclusion of disabled persons in society. There are an estimated 3.5 million disabled people in Cameroon and the government was resolute to ensure their wellbeing in society, the country’s minister of social affairs,…

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South Africa enters 4th COVID-19 wave driven by omicron variant

By CGTN Africa South Africa is being hit by the fourth wave of COVID-19 infections driven by the new omicron variant, health officials said on Friday. Health Minister Joe Phaahla told a news briefing that “It has emerged that hospitalization cases have increased for children under five years in the fourth wave.” According to Phaahla, the…

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Namibia expects economy to grow by 1.5 pct in 2021

By XINHUA Namibia’s central bank expects the economy to grow by 1.5 percent in 2021, a revision from a 1.4-percent forecast in August, the bank said in a statement Friday. “The projected improvements are mainly due to base effects and better growth prospects for the mining industry and most industries in the tertiary sector,” said the…

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India delay South Africa cricket tour over Omicron

By AFP India’s cricket board on Saturday delayed the national side’s South Africa tour over the heavily mutated Omicron strain of Covid-19, it said in a statement. Omicron was first detected by scientists in South Africa and has led to global panic, uncertainty and fresh travel curbs in the last few days, raising questions over the prospects for…

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Zambia reports 1st cases of omicron variant

By CGTN Africa Zambia has detected its first cases of the omicron coronavirus variant, the country’s health minister said on Saturday. The strain was found in three people who tested positive for COVID-19 in the past week – two fully vaccinated people who traveled abroad recently and a third unvaccinated person with no history of foreign…

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South African data suggests Omicron gets around some, not all immunity

By Reuters The Omicron variant appears able to get around some immunity but vaccines should still offer protection against severe disease, according to the latest data from South Africa where it is fast overtaking Delta to become the dominant variant. Omicron, which has raised global fears of a surge in infections, was first detected in southern…

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Thompson-Herah and Warholm named World Athletes of the Year

By Halligan Agade Olympic champions Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica and Karsten Warholm of Norway have been named the World Athletes of the Year at the World Athletics Awards 2021, a ceremony held virtually on Wednesday. Thompson-Herah produced one of the finest sprint seasons in history this year, retaining her Olympic 100m and 200m titles in Tokyo…

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South Africa’s new COVID-19 cases double in 1 day amid Omicron variant

By AP South Africa’s new cases of COVID-19 nearly doubled in a day, authorities reported Wednesday, signaling a dramatic surge in the country where scientists detected the omicron variant last week. New confirmed cases rose to 8,561 Wednesday from 4,373 a day earlier, according to official statistics. Scientists in South Africa said they are bracing for…

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Mohamed Salah, Hakim Ziyech on target as Liverpool, Chelsea win

By David Ochieng Mbewa The latest round of English Premier League matches saw some African players in action and put on an excellent display for their respective clubs. With two more games of the latest round to go, we picked some of the standout performers so far. Egyptian winger Mohamed Salah continued his fine form for…

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Tanzania sees drop in new HIV/AIDS infections, deaths

By XINHUA Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said on Wednesday new HIV/AIDS infections dropped by 38.2 percent from 110,000 in 2010 to 68,000 in 2020. In his address to mark the World AIDS Day in Mbeya region, Majaliwa said HIV/AIDS-related deaths in the east African nation fell by half from 64,000 deaths in 2010 to 32,000…