South Sudan began operating the country’s first oxygen plant Wednesday, ending a crisis over a shortage of medical oxygen as the country battles COVID-19. 

The plant, which was set up at Juba Teaching Hospital with funding from the African Development Fund, was procured as part of measures to support the country’s ongoing COVID-19 response with a grant from the African Development Bank Group’s concessional lending arm. The project was implemented by the World Health Organization (WHO) on behalf of the government.

With a generating capacity of 2,500 liters per day and the ability to refill around 72 D-type oxygen cylinders daily, the plant will be a centralized production and supply hub for remote locations. The equipment includes 240 cylinders and four years of service and accessories.

The $980,000 oxygen plant project’s cost includes the procurement and construction of a facility to house the plant.

South Sudan’s Health Minister Elizabeth Achuei Yol said the installation of the plant was good news to the nation and would bolster the country’s preparedness for oxygen in anticipation of a third wave of COVID-19.

“South Sudan will no longer be importing oxygen from neighboring countries, and this means oxygen will be supplied to facilities on time and more lives will be saved.

“The installment of the oxygen plant is good news to us. It will help the people of South Sudan, and this marks the beginning of the country’s preparedness for oxygen generation to tackle the third wave,” Yol added.

Yol said that although COVID-19 remains a major threat to the country, her ministry is putting measures in place to ensure a timely response to the pandemic.

Dr. Victoria Achut, the undersecretary at the Ministry of Health, said the oxygen plant is a good investment for the country not only for its COVID-19 response, but to support health service delivery.

“Oxygen is not only essential for [fighting] COVID. It goes beyond COVID. It is used for infections such as pneumonia, asthma and also for newborns and in operating theaters,” she said.

A medical doctor who only identified himself as John said the installation of the plant will relieve them of the challenges they face at the hospital.

He said that sometimes one cylinder of oxygen is shared by more than four patients, which is dangerous because the other patients will die if their oxygen supply is removed.

The plant will strengthen the country’s health system and improve emergency preparedness, particularly in terms of the country’s COVID-19 response and for other diseases, including those suffered by children who need oxygen all the time.

Benedict Sorie Kanu, country manager of the African Development Bank, described the plant as a watershed to strengthen the country’s health system to respond to COVID-19 and other diseases.

“The US$980,000 invested in the oxygen generation plant is a watershed in our efforts to strengthen the health system in this country to make sure we are better prepared for COVID and other health emergencies,” Kanu said./agencies

South Africa said late Wednesday that it is not in a position to accommodate Afghan refugees who have fled their country into neighboring Pakistan.  

“The South African government notes the overtures made to the country to consider receiving a number of Afghan refugees who have sought refuge in Pakistan,” the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) said in a statement. 

DIRCO said the country had been requested to accommodate the refugees as they travel en-route to their final destinations.

“The South African government is unfortunately not in a position to accommodate such a request,” it said. 

DIRCO said South Africa is already home to a substantial number of refugees and is occupied with addressing their needs. 

South Africa said most of the refugees it already hosts benefit from its social assistance programs, including free medical health programs offered by the country. 

“In terms of international law, the well-being of the refugees is best served by remaining in the first country of arrival – Pakistan – pending their final destinations,” the statement said. 

Uganda and Colombia are some of the developing countries offering temporary asylum to Afghan refugees awaiting resettlement in the US and other wealthy Western nations.​​​​​​​

Last week, a plane carrying 51 Afghans fleeing violence in their country landed at Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport, where they were given temporary asylum. A number of other Afghan refugees are expected to arrive in Uganda in the coming days./agencies

A massive oil slick from Syria's Mediterranean coast has taken a northward turn, away from the shores of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), a Turkish Cypriot official said on Wednesday.

Referring to the , Tourism and Environment Ministry Undersecretary Serhan Aktunc told the Turkish News Agency that

The larger mass of the fuel oil that has been drifting over the past week between Syria and the island of Cyprus has advanced northwards, with officials deploying barriers to block the flow of smaller patches towards the shores of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

He added that environmental teams from the TRNC are monitoring the southern shores of the Karpas peninsula from the ground, besides satellite monitoring.

"The weather conditions are still on our side," said Aktunc.

With the arrival of waste collection vessels from Turkey, the leakage will be cleaned, yet the process is expected to take a while, he added.

Environmental officials will conduct routine checks for two to three more months once the vessels leave, Aktunc said, adding that authorities would continue to plan for the medium and long term according to reports from seaborne teams and Turkey.

A crisis desk has been set up in the TRNC to monitor the progression of the oil slick, which leaked from a power plant in the city of Baniyas last week, towards Cyprus, according to naval tracking firm Tanker Trackers./agencies

The fate of Malaysia’s new government will be determined by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s leadership in handling the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and economic crisis, according to experts.

Azmi Hassan, a political expert at the University of Technology Malaysia, noted that the next 100 days will be critical for the new government in fighting COVID-19.

During the inauguration of the new Cabinet last week, Ismail urged the ministers to prove their capabilities in 100 days.

"If the situation does not change much within 100 days, criticism towards the new government will be unavoidable,” said Hassan.

Critical days ahead

The failure of former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s administration in controlling the pandemic was because they relied too much on advice from authorities, especially in the health sector, without considering the suffering of the people, according to Hassan.

The new government, however, is different from its predecessor, he said.

“Prime Minister Ismail Sabri prefers to watch the situation closely and directly. He also knows how to express what he wants. That is why he asked each minister to show their best efforts within 100 days,” he added.

The expert is also optimistic that the new Cabinet will handle the crisis better, although most of them are “old faces.”

Last week, Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim criticized the prime minister for retaining ministers from the previous government.

In his speech, Anwar stressed that the country is facing both a health and economic crisis due to the worsening COVID-19 situation.

“The country is facing a dire COVID-19 crisis and the economic problems are putting pressure on the people, especially those in the bottom 40% (lower-income) group. But the step taken was to reshuffle ministers who do not show the ability to deal with these issues effectively,” said Anwar.

Malaysia continues to log a high number of COVID-19 cases as the Delta variant continues to ravage the country.

To date, the country’s total number of infections has exceeded 1.76 million, including nearly 17,000 deaths, while it has administered 34 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines so far, with 46% of the 32 million population fully vaccinated.

Challenges of economic recovery

In his address to the nation in commemorating the 64th anniversary of the country's Independence Day, Sabri highlighted that Malaysia faced many challenges to achieve independence and build itself afterwards.

“The challenge that we are facing today has never been experienced by leaders and previous governments. Now we are faced with several simultaneous challenges, namely disease outbreaks and economic turmoil. But I hope we will not lose hope,” he said Monday night.

He urged Malaysians to get vaccinated immediately to help the country recover from COVID-19 as well as stressing that vaccines have been shown to have a positive impact on combating the pandemic.

“This success will pave the way for economic recovery in this country and allow us to live in the new normal. The economy should be restored, the well-being of the people should be improved, and investor confidence should return,” he added.

Based on the latest data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia DOSM, the country's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 16.1% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2021.

Also, the unemployment rate in Malaysia climbed to 4.8% in June, involving 768,700 people, the DOSM reported. The number rose from 4.5% in May with 728,100 unemployed.

Sudarnoto Abdul Hakim, a political expert from the State Islamic University of Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta, said the economic recovery was a major challenge for the new government under Sabri’s leadership.

Although Malaysia announced an economic stimulus package worth 250 billion ringgit ($60 billion) last year, the crisis has had a ripple effect in the country.

“If the new government fails to handle the COVID-19 crisis, it is possible that they will face the same fate as Muhyiddin Yassin’s government,” Hakim told Anadolu Agency.

In mid-August, the Malaysian ringgit fell to a one-year low, and stocks in Kuala Lumpur slipped as Yassin handed his letter of resignation to the king.

Political union

The return of the United Malays National Organization Party to power is also at stake, the expert said.

The new government should be more inclusive by embracing the opposition and civil society groups amid dire times, added Hakim.

“The initial plan of Prime Minister Ismail Sabri was to involve the opposition in handling the pandemic as well as economic and political turmoil at least until 2023. But the idea was eventually called off,” he said.

In a statement issued Tuesday on the occasion of Malaysia’s 64th National Day celebrations, the King of Malaysia advised people to maintain unity and harmony by putting aside their differences in opinion and political disputes “so that a strong symbiosis can be created among all to pull the country out of the pandemic.”/aa

Niger reported 14 new deaths from cholera from Aug. 26-30 out of more than 2,600 cases since March.

A total of 2,641 cases have been detected “as of August 30, 2021," including 88 deaths for a case-fatality rate of 3%, according to the national directorate of surveillance and response to epidemics, said media reports.

Among the six regions in the country, cases detected include 1,348 female patients with 39 deaths and 1,163 males with 45 deaths, according to the Nigerian Press Agency. The country has eight regions.

The figures mark a clear increase from July 14 to Aug. 29.

A report by the epidemiological surveillance directorate that was viewed by Anadolu Agency indicates that during that time, 2,348 cases were recorded with 75 resulting in deaths.

But "the situation is under control,” Abu Yahaya, the regional director of health, according to media reports last week.

He said prevention, management and awareness measures have been implemented by the local authorities, including providing health tools to populations, awareness on hygiene measures, disinfection of places of isolation and the opening of cholera treatment units.

Minister of Public Health Idi Illiassou Mainassara reassured in a recent interview with the international press, that Niger has experience in managing the disease. The last outbreak was in 2018./agencies

The Turkish president on Wednesday pledged to step up the country’s judicial reform efforts.

"In the new judicial year, we'll accelerate our judicial reform efforts that will relieve both our justiciary organization and our nation," Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a ceremony in the capital Ankara.

The government has "rolled up" its sleeves for a new judicial package, he said at the event marking the opening of a new service building for the Supreme Court and the start of the 2021-2022 judicial year.

"Our friends will bring this new package on the parliament's agenda as soon as possible," the president added.

"Our reform strategy is based on our ideal for a free individual, a strong society, and a more democratic Turkey," he said.

On March 2, Erdogan announced a human rights plan, unveiling 11 principles set to be carried out in the course of two years.

It was designed as a "broad-based" plan to strengthen rights protections, individual freedoms and security, judicial independence, personal privacy, transparency, and property rights, as well as protect vulnerable groups and enhance administrative and social awareness of human rights.

New constitution

On a possible new constitution for Turkey, Erdogan said the country's Justice and Development (AK) Party plans to make public its draft in the first months of the next year.

On similar efforts by opposition parties, he said that negotiating these drafts and forming a common text would be "a big win for Turkey."
Earlier this year, Erdogan had urged all political parties in Turkey to participate in drafting a new constitution.

The Turkish president’s call for a new civilian constitution has been backed by the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), an ally of his Justice and Development (AK) Party under the People's Alliance. Turkey's current Constitution was drafted after a military coup in 1980.

He later attended another opening ceremony for new buildings in the capital, including a training center for intervention in social events, which he said was financed with €1.32 million ($1.56 million) from the EU./agencies