Newscast - Africa

The World Health Organization says the tracing of people who came into contact with Ivory Coast's first Ebola case in 25 years has been completed.
The WHO's representative in Ivory Coast Dr Jean-Marie Yameogo says if the contact persons do not show any symptoms they will be vaccinated and if any show signs of the disease then they would proceed to case management at the Ebola treatment centres.
Vaccines were developed and were later used to fight outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Guinea.

Plateau state government has extended a curfew in the state capital Jos and surrounding areas after signs of increasing tension in the city.
It follows the killing of at least 23 Muslim travellers returning from a religious ceremony.
The Plateau state government says the imposition of the curfew was necessary to avoid a further deterioration of the security situation.
The victims were returning to southern Nigeria from the northern city of Bauchi where they had attended a ceremony marking the Islamic New Year.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha has urged striking resident doctors to accept every invitation for negotiation with the Federal Government.
Boss Mustapha called on the medical practitioners to give the ongoing industrial action a rethink.
Mustapha says vaccines have proven to be the game-changer in Nigeria’s response to the virus and vaccines are the only hope out of COVID-19.
He says human resources is a big challenge in Nigeria, noting that the money the doctors are requesting has already been provided and is being processed.

The Federal Government has released a request for qualification for the concession of four international airport terminals and related services.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Aviation, James Odaudu, explained that the release was in compliance with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission and National Policy on Public-Private Partnership.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Hassan Musa, says the four major commercial airports and surrounding communities are intended to develop into efficient, profitable, self-sustaining, commercial hubs that will create more jobs and develop local industries through a Public-Private Partnership arrangement.

The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu says the next step in Nigeria’s COVID-19 response will be dependent on health workers.
Dr Ihekweazu says healthcare workers are the ones who will play the next pertinent role in the nation’s response to the disease.
He says the next step of this will depend on healthcare workers, the distribution; and making the vaccines available to the last mile will depend on an incredible group of Nigerians that have been working hard for the last 18 months to deliver vaccines, test people, do contact tracing and treat individuals”.
He says health officials are working tirelessly to beat the pandemic.
The NCDC boss commended the frontline officials for their efforts and urged them not to rest on their oars.

President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the Petroleum Industry Bill 2021 into law.
A statement signed by presidential spokesperson Femi Adesina says President Buhari signed the bill into law while in quarantine, after his arrival from the United Kingdom.
The statement says the ceremonial part of the new legislation will be done on Wednesday, after the days of mandatory isolation would have been fulfilled.
The Petroleum Industry Act provides a legal, governance, regulatory and fiscal framework for the Nigerian petroleum industry, the development of host communities, and related matters.

Fiji has enforced a no jab, no job coronavirus policy with unvaccinated public servants forced to go on leave.
The government has argued that mandatory vaccinations are necessary to raise immunisation rates and end the outbreak.
Fiji’s public servants who remain unvaccinated by November will be dismissed after a period of forced leave starting Sunday
Employees at private firms could face fines and companies could be forced to stop operations over vaccine refusals.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson office says he will hold further crisis talks on Afghanistan as he recalled parliament from its summer break.
A Downing Street spokesperson says Johnson had called a meeting of the COBR emergencies committee to discuss the situation, which follows the withdrawal of US-led forces, the second such meeting in three days.
Parliament says it had approved Johnson’s request to call back MPs on Wednesday for an urgent debate on what Britain, which lost 457 troops in the two-decade-long war, should do next.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says he had talked to Pakistan counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi, expressing his deep concerns and agreeing it was critical that the international community tell the Taliban that the violence must end and human rights are protected.

President Ashraf Ghani fled Afghanistan effectively ceding power to the Taliban as they reached the capital Kabul to seal a nationwide military victory in just 10 days.
Abdullah Abdullah, who heads the peace process, says the former Afghan President has left the nation, leaving the people in this situation.
He gave no indication where Ghani was going, but leading Afghan media group Tolo news suggested he was heading to Tajikistan.
The insurgents say they want a peaceful transfer within the next few days, two decades after US-led forces toppled it in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The group ordered its fighters earlier Sunday not to enter the capital, saying the remnants of the government’s forces were responsible for security.

The World Health Organization says Ivory Coast's first recorded case of Ebola in more than 25 years is of immense concern.
Ivory Coast’s health ministry says the case was detected in the commercial capital, Abidjan.
The WHO says further investigation is needed to identify the strain and determine if there is a connection between the two outbreaks
The WHO’s regional director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti, says It is of immense concern that this outbreak has been declared in Abidjan, a metropolis of more than four million people.
He added that Ivory Coast was one of six countries the WHO had supported recently to beef up Ebola readiness.