Day: February 9, 2023

BAMAKO, Two Malian police officers and a gendarme were killed in an attack on a checkpoint in western Mali, a country facing militant violence, sources said.

The attack was carried out at a checkpoint in the western town of Nara, near the border with Mauritania, a local official said.

The attackers were “suspected terrorists” who were repelled by security services, a police source said, adding that about 15 assailants had been “neutralised” during the attack.

The Malian army also said in a statement that it had carried out a “special operation” Monday night against an “armed terrorist group” in the Korientze area of the central Mopti region.

A further “30 terrorists” had been “neutralised” in that operation, which also led to the recovery of equipment including AK-47 assault rifles, anti-tank rocket launchers and walkie-talkies, the army said.

Mali has been plagued over the past decade by the spread of jihadism and mounting security, political and humanitarian crises.

Violence has been concentrated in the centre and east of the country but has spread to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

DODOMA (Tanzania), At least 12 people died and several others injured after a bus collided with a lorry at Silwa Pandambili village along the Dodoma-Morogoro highway.

According to sources, the deadly crash occurred at around 12 midnight Thursday.

The bus owned by Frester Bus Company was travelling from Bukoba to Dar es Salaam.

Eye witnesses around the area said the bus driver was trying to overtake another bus recklessly and caused the accident.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

Minister Creecy to host stakeholder feedback session on United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity COP15, Montreal

Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Ms Barbara Creecy, will host a virtual stakeholder feedback session on Friday, 10 February 2023, on the outcomes from the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD) COP15, which took place from 5-20 December 2022, in Montreal, Canada.

UNCBD COP15 adopted the Kunming-Montreal Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework which is a landmark agreement for nature consisting of four overarching global goals and 23 targets that aim to address halting biodiversity loss through the sustainable use and management of ecosystem services, preventing the extinction of species, and protecting the rights of local and indigenous communities through fair access and benefit-sharing of genetic resources.

Minister Creecy will highlight the key issues from Montreal that are of strategic importance for South Africa.

Source: Government of South Africa

President Cyril Ramaphosa has undertaken a number of consultations with stakeholders in government and civil society as part of his preparation of the 2023 State of the Nation Address.

The President will address a Joint Sitting of Parliament in the City Hall, Cape Town, at 19h00 today, Thursday, 9 February.

The State of the Nation Address is an occasion in which the three arms of the state – the Judiciary, the National Legislature and the Executive – participate as a demonstration of the country’s constitutional dispensation and culture, and to ensure that all three arms are focused on national priorities.

The Address follows the recent, first Cabinet Lekgotla of 2023 which allowed the National Executive to review the performance of government against targets and objectives set in 2022.

The Lekgotla also enabled the national leadership to agree on key actions that are needed this year to advance the country’s economic recovery and long-term development, with resolution of the electricity crisis as the top priority.

In addition, the President has reached out to different stakeholder constituencies to take on board challenges and proposed solutions.

The President has also noted the many appeals and proposals emerging from citizens and as reflected in public media including social platforms.

Political parties will debate the President’s Address in the National Assembly on Tuesday and Wednesday 14 and 15 February, with the President replying to this debate on the afternoon of Thursday, 16 February.

This evening’s proceedings will be broadcast, streamed and posted on a range of channels or platforms operated by government as well as national and international media organisations, including radio streaming apps.

This will enable audiences to follow proceedings on traditional radio and TV and their online iterations, including on handheld devices.

Source: The Presidency Republic of South Africa

Malawi is experiencing the deadliest cholera outbreak in its history, say World Health Organization officials, who note that the disease has left more than 1,200 people dead and nearly 37,000 others infected since March of last year.

The U.N. released a statement Thursday as an update on the situation.

Cholera is an “acute enteric infection caused by ingesting the bacteria ‘Vibrio cholerae’ present in contaminated water or food,” according to WHO. The agency says Malawi’s government declared the outbreak as a public health emergency in December.

Most people infected with cholera do not experience symptoms, and if they do, the symptoms are mild. However, more severe cases can become fatal within hours if untreated as the infected develop “acute watery diarrhea and vomiting leading to severe dehydration.”

Cholera is easily treatable through “prompt administration of oral rehydration solution (ORS) and successful rehydration therapy,” according to WHO.

The WHO has taken measures to address the outbreak, such as drafting a national cholera outbreak response plan, deploying national rapid response teams in the affected areas, and collecting data.

The United Nations administered two large vaccination campaigns, but due to limited supplies, they only offered one of the usual two doses. The second batch sent in November contained 3 million vaccines and all were used. Malawi is a nation of nearly 20 million people.

Twenty-three countries are currently experiencing outbreaks, according to WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Twenty more countries that share borders with the affected nations are also at risk. “In total, more than one billion people around the world are directly at risk of cholera,” the French news agency quoted him as saying.

WHO “assesses the risk of this outbreak to be very high at national and regional level,” according to an agency statement. “There is an urgent need to improve access to safe water sanitation and hygiene.”

Source: Voice of America