Category: News

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s president met with his Kenyan counterpart Monday in Kinshasa to discuss security in the country and the region, before meeting later this week with the president of Rwanda about rebel activity causing tension between the neighboring nations.

The two leaders, Felix Tshisekedi and Kenyan President William Ruto, met a week after Kenya sent some 900 troops as part of the East African regional force to eastern Congo to quell the violence and disarm the rebels operating in the area.
Ruto reaffirmed his country and the East African Community regional bloc’s commitment to help Congo build a stable nation.
“We are committed under the East African Community to do whatever it takes to support his excellency, the president, to support the government of DRC and the people of DRC so that we can have peace in this country,” Ruto said. “It’s in our interest, collectively and individually, that we have a peaceful region.”
There are peace talks planned in Angola’s capital where President Tshisekedi is expected to meet Rwandan President Paul Kagame after months of tension between the two neighbors over the rebellious activities in eastern Congo.
Kinshasa accuses Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebel group against its forces, a claim denied by Kigali.
Planned talks in Nairobi between the Congolese government and the rebel groups that were scheduled for Monday have been postponed.
Blaise Karege, an independent political and security researcher in eastern Congo, said the success of talks between Kinshasa and Kigali can help ease tensions in the eastern part of the country.
“They should give more attention to the talks in Luanda, and the president should continue to engage the Congolese people inside the country,” Karege said in Swahili. “The president needs to start the peace talks among all the Congolese people and we know what the Congolese want. The Congo’s crisis needs to be solved by the Congolese themselves and their leaders inside the country not outside.”
The resurgence of the rebel group M23 has threatened the peace in eastern Congo and displaced thousands in recent weeks.
There is an ethnic component to the fighting in North Kivu. M23 is made up mainly of Tutsis and has accused the Congo government of failing to protect their families against other rebel groups in the region led by Hutus.
The group has vowed to continue fighting until they are assured of their safety against other rebel groups and the Congolese army.
Joel Baraka is a conflict and resolution researcher at the Pole Institute, a Congolese think tank. He said the president’s policy throughout has been not to engage any talks with rebel groups in the country.
“Many countries would like to see dialogue. They have a lot of interest in Congo, they have companies… and they don’t like to see conflict,” he said in Swahili. “For the president there is an upcoming election, and he wants to keep his promise. He has a lot of fears that if he speaks to the rebels, he can lose credibility among the Congolese people.”
The East Africa regional bloc has agreed to send thousands of troops to help Congo establish and maintain peace.
In recent months there have been planned street demonstrations against the presence of United Nations peacekeeping troops and other forces in Congo for failing to protect civilians.
Last week, former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta visited DR Congo and Rwanda. Kenyatta said Rwanda has assured him that they will use their influence to speak to the M23 rebel group as part of their effort to help with the peace process.

Source: Voice of America

A U.S. Senate committee on Wednesday approved legislation that would significantly enhance U.S. military support for Taiwan, including provisions for billions of dollars in additional security assistance, as China increases military pressure on the democratically governed island.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee backed the Taiwan Policy Act of 2022 by 17-5, despite concerns about the bill in U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration and anger about the measure from Beijing.
The strong bipartisan vote was a clear indication of support from both Republicans and Biden’s fellow Democrats for changes in U.S. policy toward Taiwan, such as treating it as a major non-NATO ally.
Sponsors said the bill would be the most comprehensive restructuring of U.S. policy toward the island since the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 — the bedrock of U.S. engagement with what China views as one of its provinces since Washington opened up relations with Beijing that year.
“We need to be clear-eyed about what we are facing,” said Senator Bob Menendez, the committee’s Democratic chairman, while stressing that the United States does not seek war or heightened tensions with Beijing.
“If we want to ensure Taiwan has a fighting chance, we must act now,” said Senator Jim Risch, the committee’s top Republican, arguing that any change in the status quo for Taiwan would have “disastrous effects” for the U.S. economy and national security.
The bill would allocate $4.5 billion in security assistance for Taiwan over four years and supports its participation in international organizations.
The act also includes extensive language on sanctions toward China in the event of hostilities across the strait separating it from the mainland.
Beijing’s opposition
When the bill was introduced in June, China responded by saying it would be “compelled to take resolute countermeasures” if Washington took actions that harmed China’s interests.
“We haven’t discussed any specifics,” Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to Washington, told reporters at an event at the Capitol when asked if she has had discussions with the White House over specific sanctions.
“We talked about integrated deterrence in a broader sense of the need to explore different tools to ensure that the status quo in the Taiwan Strait can be maintained,” Hsiao said.
She said she had expressed “gratitude” to Congress for the legislation. “Given the complication of different views here in the United States too, we’re hoping that we can reach some consensus on security, which is our top priority,” she said.
The committee’s approval paved the way for a vote in the full Senate, but there has been no word on when that might take place. To become law, it must also pass the House of Representatives and be signed by Biden or win enough support to override a veto.
The White House said Tuesday it was in talks with members of Congress on how to change the act to ensure that it does not change long-standing U.S. policy toward Taiwan that it considers effective.
The Taiwan bill is likely to be folded into a larger piece of legislation expected to pass late this year, such as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), an annual bill setting policy for the Department of Defense.

Source: Voice of America

With monkeypox cases subsiding in Europe and parts of North America, many scientists say now is the time to prioritize stopping the virus in Africa.
In July, the U.N. health agency designated monkeypox as a global emergency and appealed to the world to support African countries so that the catastrophic vaccine inequity that plagued the outbreak of COVID-19 wouldn’t be repeated.
But the global spike of attention has had little impact on the continent. No rich countries have shared vaccines or treatments with Africa, and some experts fear interest may soon evaporate.
“Nothing has changed for us here. The focus is all on monkeypox in the West,” said Placide Mbala, a virologist who directs the global health research department at Congo’s Institute of Biomedical Research.
“The countries in Africa where monkeypox is endemic are still in the same situation we have always been, with weak resources for surveillance, diagnostics and even the care of patients,” he said.
Rich countries hoard vaccine
Monkeypox has sickened people in parts of West and Central Africa since the 1970s, but it wasn’t until the disease triggered unusual outbreaks in Europe and North America that public health officials even thought to use vaccines. As rich countries rushed to buy nearly all the world’s supply of the most advanced shot against monkeypox, the World Health Organization said in June that it would create a vaccine-sharing mechanism to help needy countries get doses.
So far, that hasn’t happened.
“Africa is still not benefiting from either monkeypox vaccines or the antiviral treatments,” said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO’s Africa director, adding that only small amounts have been available for research purposes. Since 2000, Africa has reported about 1,000 to 2,000 suspected monkeypox cases every year. So far this year, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have identified about 3,000 suspected infections, including more than 100 deaths.
In recent weeks, monkeypox cases globally have fallen by more than a quarter, including by 55% in Europe, according to WHO.
Dr. Ifedayo Adetifa, head of the Nigeria Center for Disease Control, said the lack of help for Africa was reminiscent of the inequity seen during COVID-19.
“Everybody looked after their (own) problem and left everybody else,” he said. Adetifa lamented that monkeypox outbreaks in Africa never got the international attention that might have prevented the virus from spreading globally.
Rich countries have stretched their vaccine supplies by using a fifth of the regular dose, but none have expressed interest in helping Africa. WHO’s regional office for the Americas recently announced it had struck a deal to obtain 100,000 monkeypox doses that will start being delivered to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean within weeks. But no similar agreements have been reached for Africa.
“I would very much like to have vaccines to offer to my patients or anything that could just reduce their stay in the hospital,” said Dr. Dimie Ogoina, a professor of medicine at Niger Delta University in Nigeria and a member of WHO’s monkeypox emergency committee.
Since WHO declared monkeypox a global emergency, Nigeria has seen the disease continue to spread, with few significant interventions.
“We still do not have the funds to do all the studies that we need,” Ogoina said.
Research into the animals that carry monkeypox and spread it to humans in Africa is piecemeal and lacks coordination, said Mbala, of Congo’s Institute of Biomedical Research.
Last week, the White House said it was optimistic about a recent drop in monkeypox cases in the U.S., saying authorities had administered more than 460,000 doses of the vaccine made by Bavarian Nordic.
Cases drop in U.S.
The U.S. has about 35% of the world’s more than 56,000 monkeypox cases but nearly 80% of the world’s supply of the vaccine, according to a recent analysis by the advocacy group Public Citizen.
The U.S. hasn’t announced any monkeypox vaccine donations for Africa, but the White House did make a recent request to Congress for $600 million in global aid.
Even if rich countries start sharing monkeypox tools with Africa soon, they shouldn’t be applauded, other experts said.
“It should not be the case that countries only decide to share leftover vaccines when the epidemic is declining in their countries,” said Piero Olliaro, a professor of infectious diseases of poverty at Oxford University. “It is exactly the same scenario as COVID, and it is still completely unethical.”
Olliaro, who recently returned to the U.K. from a trip to Central African Republic to work on monkeypox, said WHO’s emergency declaration appeared to offer “no tangible benefits in Africa.”
In Nigeria’s Lagos state, which includes the country’s largest city and is hard hit by monkeypox, some people are calling for the government to urgently do more.
“You can’t tell me that the situation wouldn’t have improved without a vaccine,” said Temitayo Lawal, 29, an economist.
“If there is no need for vaccines, why are we now seeing the U.S. and all these countries using them?” he asked. “Our government needs to acquire doses as well.”

Source: Voice of America

JOHANNESBURG — A new coronavirus variant has been detected in South Africa that scientists say is a concern because of its high number of mutations and rapid spread among young people in Gauteng, the country’s most populous province, Health Minister Joe Phaahla announced Thursday.
The coronavirus evolves as it spreads, and many new variants, including those with worrying mutations, often just die out. Scientists monitor for possible changes that could make the virus more transmissible or deadly, but sorting out whether new variants will have a public health impact can take time.
South Africa has seen a dramatic rise in new infections, Phaahla said at an online press briefing.
“Over the last four or five days, there has been more of an exponential rise,” he said, adding that the new variant appears to be driving the spike in cases. Scientists in South Africa are working to determine what percentage of the new cases have been caused by the new variant.
Currently identified as B.1.1.529, the new variant has also been found in Botswana and Hong Kong in travelers from South Africa, he said.
The WHO’s technical working group is to meet Friday to assess the new variant and may decide whether to give it a name from the Greek alphabet.
The British government announced that it was banning flights from South Africa and five other southern African countries effective at noon (1200GMT) Friday, and that anyone who had recently arrived from those countries would be asked to take a coronavirus test.
U.K. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said there were concerns the new variant “may be more transmissible” than the dominant delta strain and “the vaccines that we currently have may be less effective” against it.
‘Constellation’ of mutations
The new variant has a “constellation of new mutations,” said Tulio de Oliveira, from the Network for Genomic Surveillance in South Africa, who has tracked the spread of the delta variant in the country.
The “very high number of mutations is a concern for predicted immune evasion and transmissibility,” de Oliveira said.
“This new variant has many, many more mutations,” including more than 30 to the spike protein that affects transmissibility, he said. “We can see that the variant is potentially spreading very fast. We do expect to start seeing pressure in the health care system in the next few days and weeks.”
De Oliveira said a team of scientists from seven South African universities was studying the variant. They have 100 whole genomes of it and expect to have many more in the next few days, he said.
“We are concerned by the jump in evolution in this variant,” he said. One piece of good news is that it can be detected by a PCR test, he said.
After a period of relatively low transmission in which South Africa recorded just more than 200 new confirmed cases per day, in the past week the daily new cases rapidly increased to more than 1,200 on Wednesday. On Thursday, they jumped to 2,465.
The first surge was in Pretoria and the surrounding Tshwane metropolitan area and appeared to be cluster outbreaks from student gatherings at universities in the area, said Phaahla, the health minister. Amid the rise in cases, scientists studied the genomic sequencing and discovered the new variant.
Seriousness required
“This is clearly a variant that we must be very serious about,” said Ravindra Gupta, professor of clinical microbiology at the University of Cambridge. “It has a high number of spike mutations that could affect transmissibility and immune response.”
Gupta said scientists in South Africa needed time to determine if the surge in new cases was attributable to the new variant.
“There is a high probability that this is the case,” he said. “South African scientists have done an incredible job of identifying this quickly and bringing it to the world’s attention.”
South African officials had warned that a new resurgence was expected from mid-December to early January and had hoped to prepare for that by getting many more people vaccinated, Phaahla said.
About 41% of South Africa’s adults have been vaccinated and the number of shots being given per day is relatively low, at fewer than 130,000, significantly below the government’s target of 300,000 per day.
South Africa has about 16.5 million doses of vaccines, by Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, in the country and is expecting delivery of about 2.5 million more in the next week, according to Nicholas Crisp, acting director-general of the national health department.
“We are getting in vaccines faster than we are using them at the moment,” Crisp said. “So for some time now, we have been deferring deliveries, not decreasing orders, but just deferring our deliveries so that we don’t accumulate and stockpile vaccines.”
South Africa, with a population of 60 million, has recorded more than 2.9 million COVID-19 cases including more than 89,000 deaths.
To date, the delta variant remains by far the most infectious and has crowded out other once-worrying variants including alpha, beta and mu. According to sequences submitted by countries worldwide to the world’s biggest public database, more than 99% are delta.

Source: Voice of America