South Africa

ADF STAFF Six new studies shows that the COVID-19 omicron variant does not attack the lungs as aggressively as previous strains did. Of six studies reviewed by British newspaper The Guardian, four were published since December 24.…

ADF STAFF The outbreak of COVID-19 has led China to supercharge its nearly 14-year propaganda effort in Africa, increasing pro-China themes in the continent’s media while attempting to deflect blame for the pandemic, researchers have…

ADF STAFF When the omicron variant appeared in researcher Sikhulile Moyo’s Botswana laboratory, it become the latest contribution African scientists have made to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. A study in the British Medical Journal…

ADF STAFF Could a new take-at-home pill nearly put an end to COVID-19 deaths? The final analysis of a clinical study by American pharmaceutical company Pfizer showed that its new antiviral therapeutic drug, Paxlovid, prevented almost…

ADF STAFF When South Africa experienced a COVID-19 outbreak at a hospital in Durban in early 2020, researchers at the nearby KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP) swung into action. Teams there examined…

BY CYRIL ZENDA A ruthless and shadowy insurgent group has taken root in northern Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province. The Islamic State-aligned militants, known as Ansar al-Sunna — “supporters of the tradition” — emerged in October 2017…

ADF STAFF Through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China has placed tens of thousands of workers in Africa to build Chinese-financed BRI infrastructure projects across the continent. Now, in an effort to protect its workers, China…

ADF STAFF By all accounts, Africa’s post-pandemic future looks bright because innovation, enthusiasm and technology will support economic growth in 2022. But there is a dark side to that sunny economic future — cybercrime. The…

ADF STAFF Since South Africa first detected the omicron variant, the eyes of the world have been on the nation to see what the next development may be in the global pandemic. Data coming out of the country is critically important for…

ADF STAFF The omicron variant that struck Africa in December seems to have receded almost as quickly as it appeared in South Africa, but public health leaders warn that other countries may not have the same experience. “This is just…