Archiv: South Africa


09.02.2021 - 20:53 [ CNN ]

Why bad news for AstraZeneca’s vaccine is a roadblock on the way out of the pandemic

The study from South Africa suggested that two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine provided „substantially reduced“ protection against mild to moderate Covid-19 disease from the new virus variant first identified there, known as B.1.351.

The study has not yet been peer reviewed or published in full, so many unknowns remain. What we do know is that it included a relatively small number of volunteers who were predominantly young and healthy and therefore not likely to suffer from severe Covid-19 disease.

08.02.2021 - 16:34 [ Reuters ]

New COVID-19 variant defeats plasma treatment, may reduce vaccine efficacy

(20.01.2021)

“This lineage exhibits complete escape from three classes of therapeutically relevant monoclonal antibodies,” the team of scientists from three South African universities working with the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) wrote in a paper in bioRxiv, a website that publishes scientific research prior to its being peer-reviewed and submitted to journals.

08.02.2021 - 16:22 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

AstraZeneca is working on Covid vaccine booster ‚that will be ready by autumn‘ to beat South African strain after research showed its current version had ‚minimal‘ effect on stopping it

Professor Gilbert earlier told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that her team currently has ‚a version with the South African spike sequence in the works‘ with hopes it will be ready to administer by the autumn.

‚It’s not quite ready to vaccinate people with yet, but, as all of the developers are using platform technologies, these are ways of making a vaccine that are very quick to adapt,‘ she added.

08.02.2021 - 16:16 [ DailyMaverick.co.za ]

South Africa switches to J&J’s ‘silver bullet’ as AstraZeneca vaccine falters against local variant of coronavirus

“Unfortunately, viruses mutate. Sometimes this is by accident. But often the reason is that the virus wants to become more adept to infect the host.”

This, Madhi explained, was what had happened with the South African variant as well as another variant that was first identified in the United Kingdom.

24.01.2021 - 06:07 [ Livemint.com ]

South Africa authorities approve Serum Institute of India’s COVID-19 vaccine

(23.01.2021)

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize announced on Friday that the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has granted approval to the SII, which is producing the vaccine in collaboration with the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca, to supply the drug to the country.

20.07.2020 - 19:03 [ Tech Central ]

Vodacom to launch Alipay fintech ‘super app’ in South Africa

Ant Financial Services, which was formerly known as Alipay – also the name of its biggest product – is an affiliate of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group. The Vodacom deal is the first time it has licensed the Alipay technology platform to a third party without taking an equity stake in the venture, said Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub.

25.05.2020 - 15:34 [ Malta Today ]

Suspected mercenaries were released from arrest after two days

A group of 20 men evacuated from Benghazi, Libya and suspected of having been contracted to lend support to General Khalifa Haftar’s forces, were held under arrest in Malta for two days before being released without charge. 

Multiple law enforcement sources speaking to this newspaper say the police are still investigating the incident, almost a year on since the arrival of the men on two RHIBs (rigid-hull inflatable boats) at the Valletta seaport in June 2019. 

25.05.2020 - 15:29 [ New York Times ]

By Air and Sea, Mercenaries Landed in Libya. But the Plan Went South.

The abortive mercenary expedition last summer was organized and financed by a network of secretive companies in the United Arab Emirates, according to a confidential report submitted to the United Nations Security Council in February. The companies are controlled or part-owned by Christiaan Durrant, an Australian businessman and former fighter pilot who is a close associate of Erik Prince, America’s most famous mercenary entrepreneur.

25.05.2020 - 15:12 [ Bloomberg ]

Western Team Went to Help Moscow’s Man in Libya, UN Finds

Opus and Lancaster 6 financed and directed an operation to provide Haftar’s forces with helicopters, drones and cyber capabilities through a complex web of shell companies, according to two diplomats who briefed Bloomberg on the contents of the UN Panel of Experts report shared with the Security Council’s sanctions committee in February. The diplomats also shared excerpts of the report with Bloomberg.

18.05.2020 - 20:58 [ Al Jazeera ]

S Africa court issues orders to end police abuse during lockdown

Human rights groups and experts have welcomed a series of orders issued by a South African court that compel authorities to prevent police and army brutality during the enforcement of a lockdown meant to curb the spread of coronavirus.

25.04.2020 - 11:43 [ Ansa.it ]

WHO and UN launch drive to accelerate vaccine development

As the deaths caused by the coronavirus passed 190,000 at the global level and the number of cases crossed the 2.7 million threshold (Johns Hopkins University data updated Friday), a „historic collaboration“ was launched to accelerate the arrival of a vaccine.

25.04.2020 - 10:41 [ UN.org ]

Secretary-General’s remarks at the launch of the Statement of Commitment and Call for Support for the Global Collaboration to Accelerate the Development, Production and Equitable Access to New COVID-19 Tools [as delivered]

This launch brings together world leaders, the private sector, scientific and humanitarian actors and other partners to promote health, keep the world safe and advance the public good.

Human health is the quintessential global public good.

And today, we face a global public enemy like no other.

25.04.2020 - 10:35 [ LA Times ]

$8-billion effort aims to speed development of coronavirus vaccines and treatments

Friday’s launch event was co-hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates.

Leaders from South Africa, Rwanda, Germany, Great Britain, Spain, Italy, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Finland and Costa Rica joined the call to pledge their commitment to work with and support the ACT Accelerator.

Representatives from the United States and China were noticeably absent.

25.04.2020 - 10:21 [ World Health Organization WHO.int ]

Global collaboration to accelerate new COVID-19 health technologies

The launch of the new collaboration is being co-hosted by WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The virtual event will include senior United Nations, government and public health and industry leaders from around the world.

25.04.2020 - 10:15 [ southafrica.watsupafrica.com ]

World leaders call for global collaboration in COVID-19 fight

World leaders have joined the World Health Organisation in calling for global collaboration to accelerate the development and equitable access to new COVID-19 tools, including vaccines.

08.04.2019 - 11:35 [ IOL.co.za ]

Independent Media officially launches its #Elections2019 coverage

Independent Media officially launches its 2019 elections coverage on Monday, exactly one month before South Africa’s most contested election yet.

The Independent Media team will pull out all the stops in providing political content, as-it-happens video footage and fast digital news.

02.03.2019 - 14:08 [ ijust.info ]

South Africa – E-Evidence Training

(1.3.2019) The event was a great example of collaborative working between intergovernmental organisations, 14 Focal Points, representatives from the US and U.K. Central Authorities and Service Providers.

Next we move onto the Caribbean and then Australia!

17.05.2018 - 21:43 [ theGuardian.com ]

Calls for inquiry into Israel’s Gaza killings

We, Israelis who wish our country to be safe and just, are appalled and horrified by the massive killing of unarmed Palestinian demonstrators in Gaza (Reports, 15 May). None of the demonstrators posed any direct danger to the state of Israel or to its citizens. The killing of over 50 demonstrators and the thousands more wounded are reminiscent of the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960 in South Africa. The world acted then. We call upon decent members of the international community to act by demanding that those who commanded such shootings be investigated and tried.

The current leaders of the Israeli government are responsible for the criminal policy of shooting at unarmed demonstrators. The world must intervene to stop the ongoing killing.

15.05.2018 - 03:34 [ Eyewitness News ]

SA withdraws Israel ambassador after Gaza deadly attack

In a statement, the South African government says it condemns in the strongest terms possible the latest act of violent aggression carried out by Israeli armed forces.(…)
It goes on to say: „Given the indiscriminate and gravity of the latest Israeli attack, the South African government has taken a decision to recall Ambassador Sisa Ngombane with immediate effect until further notice.“