June, 2021 - The African Mirror

Jun

2021

Is it all Greek to you? Variants get new names

EMMA FARGE CORONAVIRUS variants with clunky, alphanumeric names have now been assigned the letters of the Greek Alphabet in a bid to simplify discussion and pronunciation while avoiding stigma. The World Health Organization revealed the new names on Monday amid criticism that those given by scientists such as the so-called South African variant which goes by multiple names including B.1.351, 501Y.V2 and 20H/501Y.V2 were too complicated. As such, the four coronavirus variants considered of concern by the U.N. agency and known generally by the public as the UK, South Africa, Brazil and India variants have now been given the letters…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Burkina Faso receives first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines

COVID-19

BURKINA Faso, one of several countries in Africa that has yet to launch a COVID-19 vaccination campaign, received its first shipment under the global vaccine-sharing scheme COVAX, according to the health ministry. The 115,200 AstraZeneca doses were flown into the airport of the capital Ouagadougou and were welcomed by a local delegation led by health minister Charlemagne Ouedraogo. "In a few weeks other vaccines will probably arrive to supplement what we have," Ouedraogo said. The vaccination campaign, which will first target health workers, aims to eventually inoculate over 15 million of the West African nation's 21.5 million citizens, the ministry…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Opponents resist vaccine patent waiver

COVID-19

EMMA FARGE A deal on an intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines at the World Trade Organization (WTO) was no closer to acceptance yesterday despite Washington's backing, due to expected scepticism about a new draft, sources close to the talks told Reuters. Negotiations reopened at the WTO on Monday, focused on a highly anticipated revised draft submitted by India, South Africa and dozens of other developing countries last week. A surprise U.S. shift earlier this month to support a patent waiver heaped pressure on remaining opponents like the European Union and Switzerland that are home to numerous drugmakers. But Monday's…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

In Memorial Day speech, Biden defends ‘imperfect’ democracy

WORLD

ANDREA SHALAL U.S. President Joe Biden used his Memorial Day speech to defend America's "imperfect" democracy, calling for more work to deliver the promise of what he said remained "the greatest experiment" in world history. In a speech at Arlington National Cemetery touching on voting rights, freedom of speech and efforts to rectify persistent economic and racial disparities, Biden warned that democracy was "in peril" in the United States and around the world in the face of autocratic forces he did not identify. "Democracy is more than a form of government, it's a way of being, a way of seeing…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Three-child policy: China lifts cap on births in major policy shift

WORLD

TONY MUNROE and DAVID STANWAY MARRIED Chinese couples may have up to three children, China has announced, in a major shift from the existing limit of two after recent data showed a dramatic decline in births in the world's most populous country. Beijing scrapped its decades-old one-child policy in 2016, replacing it with a two-child limit to try and stave off risks to its economy from a rapidly ageing population. But that failed to result in a sustained surge in births given the high cost of raising children in Chinese cities, a challenge that persists to this day. The policy…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Israel’s ‘magician’ Netanyahu faces final curtain after record run

WORLD

JEFFREY HELLER LONG the familiar face of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu has held on as prime minister for more than a decade, clinging to power through a criminal indictment and four elections in the past two years alone. Now, the question is whether the 71-year-old Netanyahu, dubbed "the magician" by his admirers, has any cards left up his sleeve. After years in which he exerted near-complete hegemony over Israeli politics, an emerging broad coalition of opponents could be about to unseat him. "Fraud of the century," an indignant Netanyahu declared on Sunday, after fellow right-winger Naftali Bennett turned against him and…