February, 2021 - The African Mirror

Feb

2021

Coronavirus: a single ‘escape mutant’ shouldn’t render a vaccine useless

SEVERAL coronavirus variants have emerged in recent weeks that have got scientists worried. The variants, which were first identified in the UK (B117), South Africa (B1351) and Brazil (P1 and P2), have several mutations in the spike protein – the little projections on the surface of the virus that help it latch onto human cells. This protein is the target for all the COVID vaccines currently being rolled out. So will the vaccines protect us from these new variants? SARAH L CADDY, Clinical Research Fellow in Viral Immunology and Veterinary Surgeon, University of Cambridge Viruses are often not very good…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

Bulk of loans in S.Africa’s COVID crisis scheme to stay untapped, say banks

BUSINESS

A credit scheme central to South Africa's efforts to counter the economic impact of the coronavirus is on course to pay out less than a tenth of the loans it is offering, the country's banking association said yesterday. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the scheme, worth up to 200 billion rand ($13.4 billion) in bank loans partly guaranteed by the government, in April. It aims to encourage banks to lend more, on more favourable terms, to businesses whose operations have been affected by the pandemic, which has hit South Africa far harder than any other African nation. But so far it…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

Libyan liquidity crisis eases after exchange rate shift

BUSINESS

LIBYA’S currency adjustment last month has helped ease a liquidity crisis across the country but the continued scarcity of cash dollars means the black market still thrives. Libya has been split since 2014 between warring western and eastern administrations with rival factions seizing control of key economic institutions. As the eastern banking system was cut off from the Central Bank of Libya (CBL) in Tripoli, different black market exchange rates emerged across front lines, both very different to the official rate, and making dollars unaffordable to most Libyans. As part of an economic track of a U.N.-led peace process that…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

Myanmar police file charges against Aung San Suu Kyi after coup

WORLD

MYANMAR police have filed charges against ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi for illegally importing communications equipment and she will be detained until February 15 for investigations, according to a police document. The move followed a military coup on Monday and the detention of Nobel Peace laureate Suu Kyi and other civilian politicians. The takeover cut short Myanmar's long transition to democracy and drew condemnation from the United States and other Western countries. A police request to a court detailing the accusations against Suu Kyi, 75, said six walkie-talkie radios had been found in a search of her home in…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

Russia accuses West of Navalny hysteria, Kremlin backs tough protest policing

WORLD

RUSSIA has accused the West of descending into hysteria over the jailing of opposition politician Alexei Navalny, and the Kremlin said police had been right to use force to break up protests over his imprisonment. A Moscow court on Tuesday sentenced the prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin to three and a half years for parole violations he said were trumped up to sideline him, ignoring calls from the West and protesters at home to release him. Navalny's supporters tried to gather to show support during the ruling and then took to the streets afterwards to protest it, prompting authorities…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

U.S. Supreme Court scraps arguments in Trump-era immigration and wall cases

WORLD

LAWRENCE HURLEY THE U.S. Supreme Court yesterday cancelled upcoming scheduled arguments in appeals filed by Republican former President Donald Trump's administration defending his funding of the U.S.-Mexico border wall and his so-called "remain in Mexico" asylum policy. Democratic President Joe Biden's administration, which is in the process of changing course on both issues, on Monday had asked the justices to postpone further legal filings in the two cases and to remove them from their oral argument calendar. Biden's administration already has announced plans to discontinue wall construction and suspend the asylum program, potentially making the cases moot. The court was…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

Higher quality seeds can help beat Africa’s ‘hunger pandemic’

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION

VACCINATION efforts across the globe encourage hope of an imminent end to the COVID-19 health crisis. But the food security crisis that the pandemic has deepened cannot be alleviated quickly and will require lasting solutions. CHRIS O. OJIEWO, Theme Leader, Seed Systems, CGIAR System Organization Well-adapted and nutrient-dense crops like millet, sorghum, groundnut, chickpea, pigeonpea, cowpea and common bean, collectively called dryland cereals and legumes, are like a vaccine of sorts for hunger and under-nutrition. This is because, over time, improved varieties of crops will be able to render farming resilient to climate stresses, help improve nutritional outcomes and improve…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

The role of bias in how women are treated during childbirth: a Kenyan case study

HEALTH

GLOBAL maternal mortality is unacceptably high. Around 810 women die every day from preventable causes related to childbirth and childbirth. PATIENCE AFULANI, Assistant Professor, University of California, San Francisco A number of factors drive maternal mortality. In developing countries it is often due to women not having access to basic health-care during pregnancy and when they give birth. Another contributory factor is the way in which women are treated when they seek care. Read more: What drives abuse of women in childbirth? We asked those providing the care Studies in poor countries have highlighted disparities in respectful and responsive care…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigeria must rethink responses to women displaced by Boko Haram

HUMAN RIGHTS

PEOPLE'S experiences of conflict and violence are shaped in part by sex and gender. Women and girls are especially vulnerable to the threat of sexual violence, owing to cultural practices of gender inequality. Gender norms also have an impact on the roles that both sexes play in conflict contexts. TITILOPE F AJAYI, Researcher, University of Ghana In Nigeria, women and girls make up at least 79% of approximately 2.5 million people displaced across the country’s northeast as a result of the 11-year conflict between the armed group Boko Haram and the Nigerian government. This population is dispersed in camps and…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

Hip hop and Pan Africanism: from Blitz the Ambassador to Beyoncé

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

HIP hop is many things. Most recently is has become more of commodity, a commercial venture, but it has always been and remains a global culture that represents local realities. It speaks about where one is from – through rap lyrics, DJing, graffiti or breakdancing – by incorporating local slang, references, neighbourhood tales, sounds and styles. MSIA KIBONA CLARK, Associate professor, Howard University Hip hop emerged in the 1970s in the South Bronx, in New York City in the US, among young, working class African Americans as well as Caribbean and Latino immigrants. Hip hop culture’s connection to African musical…