Military authorities have dispelled the rumour of mass compulsory retirement of senior military officers, following the appointment of the new Chief of Army Staff, Major General Farouk Yahaya.The Acting Director of Defence Media Operation, Brigadier General Benard Onyeuko, faulted the claim at a press conference on Thursday at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja, the nation’s capital.The military spokesman also highlighted some of the feats recorded by troops in the course of various operations in parts of the country.He says there is no gainsaying that the military and the security agencies are committed to ensuring peace returns to the country.

The World Health Organization approved the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use — the second Chinese jab to receive the WHO’s green light.The UN health agency signed off on the two-dose vaccine, which is already being deployed in several countries around the world.WHO says the move gives countries, funders, procuring agencies and communities assurance that it meets international standards for safety, efficacy and manufacturing”.WHO’s listing paves the way for countries worldwide to quickly approve and import a vaccine for distribution, especially those states without an international-standard regulator of their own.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has vowed to defeat the criminals who shot and wounded a former army commander, killing his daughter and driver.An army spokeswoman described it as an assassination attempt on Gen Katumba Wamala and said security forces were investigating a number of phone calls that may provide leads.The attack on the current government minister of works and transport, who has also headed Uganda's police force, is not the first high-profile shooting.

Mali has been suspended from the African Union following last week's military coup.The AU in a statement called for a return to the civilian government saying it would not hesitate to impose sanctions and other punitive measures unless troops were urgently ordered to return to barracks.Leaders of the West African bloc Ecowas also suspended Mali's membership, calling on the military government to adhere to an 18-month transition period towards presidential elections next February.Colonel Assimi Goita, who led the coup, was appointed transitional president by the country's constitutional court four days ago.

President Muhammadu Buhari suggested his administration has no third term agenda and will do its best to ensure elections hold across the country despite increasing violence.The President made the comment after receiving the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu and other electoral commissioners at the State House in Abuja.INEC chief, Professor Yakubu says INEC facilities across the country have recently come under attack.In the last four weeks, 11 offices of the commission have been either set ablaze or vandalized.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has faulted the 1999 Constitution, calling for an amendment by the National Assembly.Gbajabiamila says the National Assembly could only achieve the task after getting the inputs and support of the citizens.He says the 1999 Constitution is the product of a hurried national compromise that they entered into two decades ago in order to ensure that the military returned to the barracks.Gbajabiamila says though the current exercise is not the first of its kind, it might be the most important one in the nation’s recent history as the decisions to be made would have far-reaching consequences for the future of Nigeria.

Peru has announced a sharp increase in its COVID-19 death toll, giving the South American nation the worst coronavirus-related death rate per capita in the world.The presidential palace in a statement says the country has more than 180,000 people who had died since the start of the pandemic – up from previous data indicating that 69,342 Peruvians had died due to the coronavirus.The new toll includes deaths reported between March 2020 and May 22 of this year.Health Minister Oscar Ugarte says that a significant number of deaths were not classified as caused by COVID-19 adding that the criteria for assigning the novel coronavirus as a cause of death had been changed

The World Health Organization has announced that Coronavirus variants are to be known by letters of the Greek alphabet to avoid misreporting and stigmatising nations where they were first detected.The new system applies to variants of concern – the most troubling of which four are in circulation – and the second-level variants of interest being tracked. The WHO says while they have their advantages, these scientific names can be difficult to say and recall, and are prone to misreporting.It added that people often resort to calling variants by the places where they are detected, which is stigmatising and discriminatory.

Mali’s military rulers are poised to remain firmly in charge of the conflict-hit nation following a feeble response by the West African regional bloc, Ecowas, over its second coup in less than nine months.Ecowas continues to be blindsided by the Sahel nation’s political crisis, underscoring its diminishing political influence in the region.Col Assimi Goita’s ascendancy as Mali’s interim president is the latest demonstration of contempt by the west African nation’s military rulers towards the regional and international community whose influence over the political crisis is quickly waning.The lack of targeted sanctions against Col Goita and Mali’s junta leaders is likely to embolden the military to continue dominating key state institutions in the expected cabinet appointment.

The African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat has appealed to the members of the Pan-African Parliament to "recover their composure after scuffles were reported in Monday's session.He said the violent scenes tarnish the image of this honourable institution.The scuffles were at a session set to elect a new leader for the continental body.Local media in South Africa where the sessions are held reported that blows were exchanged during the scuffles.The Pan-African Parliament, also known as the African Parliament, is the legislative body of the African Union.It has been touted as a political transitory arrangement towards the United States of Africa.