NEWS ANALYSIS

Large group gatherings and mobility have been identified as risk factors for increasing the spread of COVID-19 | THE INDEPENDENT | With the end of year approaching and many African families planning get-togethers, the World Health Organization (WHO) is urging countries to be on high alert for a possible surge …

Troubled history provides clues why | FRANCESCA BALDWIN AND HEIKE I SCHMIDT | Ethiopia’s government, under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, is carrying out a military offensive in Tigray, Ethiopia’s most northern state. A six month state of emergency has been declared in the region. Dozens of casualties have been reported …

A key difference is that the Pfizer/BioNTech candidate must be stored at –70°C, whereas Moderna’s can be kept at –20°C Jon Cohen | SCIENCEMAG.ORG |  Now, there are two. Another COVID-19 vaccine using the same previously unproven technology as the vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech – the U.S. and German …

From Early Warning to Early Action; a view from the International Crisis Group Unless urgently halted, the ongoing armed confrontation between Ethiopia’s federal forces and those commanded by the northern Tigray region’s leadership will be devastating not just for the country but for the entire Horn of Africa. In a …

Promising results – here’s what needs to happen next | ANNE MOORE | Preliminary data from the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine trial suggests it provides 90% efficacy at preventing the disease. At the very least, this news will result in a large sigh of relief across the vaccine community. It signifies …

The excitement that greeted the news of a vaccine candidate that may be highly effective against COVID-19 was indeed something to behold. If the final results show anything like the numbers quoted in the press release, then the world can indeed be pleased and the scientists behind the scenes very …

A highly polarised society with an uncertain future | KARUTI KANYINGA | When Tanzanian voters went to the polls on October 28, the incumbent President John Pombe Magufuli and his party Chama Cha Mapinduzi showed all the signs of being confident about victory. This confidence resulted from the way in …

    Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Stephen Galogitho has lived to tell a story of agony and frustration, navigating through a future that was dashed after his dismissal from Makerere University 25 years ago. The journey of his ruined hope started on October 1996. Galogitho was the in …

It points to political class bent on retaining power | DAVID E KIWUWA | Elections are the quintessential arbiter of political contestation within democratic countries. This is a path Tanzania has followed for the past 25 years, since it first held its first multiparty elections in 1995. But elections are …

From Samuel Tilden to Al Gore | ROBERT SPEEL | As states continued to count their ballots in the 2020 election, it seemed possible that Democrats and Republicans would end up in court over whether President Trump won a second term in the White House. President Trump had said he’s …