YAOUNDE, Cameroon

Over 1.7 million doses of the world’s first malaria vaccine have been administered in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, benefitting more than 650,000 children with additional malaria protection. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement Tuesday that the number of children reached indicates strong community demand for the vaccine.

“Ghana, Kenya and Malawi show that existing childhood vaccination platforms can effectively deliver the malaria vaccine to children, some of whom have not been able to access an insecticide treated bed net or other malaria prevention measures,” said Dr. Katherine O’Brien, WHO Director of the Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals.

“This vaccine may be key to making malaria prevention more equitable and to saving more lives,” O’Brien added.

RTS,S is the first and only vaccine that has been shown to reduce malaria in children, including life-threatening severe malaria, related hospital admissions and the need for blood transfusions, according to the WHO.

“In some ways, malaria is the child health emergency of a lifetime – or many lifetimes – in Africa. We applaud the work of participating countries that has resulted in malaria vaccine pilots with strong vaccination coverage that will add to our understanding of the RTS,S vaccine’s potential to improve child health and strengthen malaria control – and, potentially, reverse trends,” said Dr. Akpaka Kalu, Team Leader for Tropical and Vector-borne Diseases in the WHO African Region.

Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. It is preventable and curable.

It is an acute febrile illness. In a non-immune individual, symptoms usually appear 10–15 days after the infective mosquito bite.

Most malaria cases and deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the WHO./aa

YAOUNDE, Cameroon 

Recent clashes between government forces and rebel groups in northern Central African Republic (CAR) have forced more than 2,000 refugees to cross into Chad in the past week, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said Tuesday. 

The new arrivals from CAR’s Kaga-Bandoro region told the UNHCR in Chad that they fled clashes as well as acts of violence, pillaging or extortion from rebel groups as government forces were closing in on them.

The situation in the landlocked African country worsened after the rejection of former President Francois Bozize’s candidacy for the December 2020 presidential election.

Hostilities between a coalition of non-state armed groups and government forces have continued over the last four months, plunging the country into a new cycle of violence.

Chad currently hosts close to 11,000 of the 117,000 CAR refugees who also fled to neighboring Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Republic of the Congo in the wake of the post-electoral violence, which also displaced 164,000 people inside the country, according to the UNHCR.

"To reach Chad, people had to wade shoulder-deep through the Grande Sido river, with some carrying their few belongings on their heads.

"The refugees are now settled in Gandaza village and the bordering town of Sido, although some are having to resort to crossing back into CAR to find food or salvage what little is left from their properties," the UNHCR said.

CAR is one of the world’s poorest countries and has been facing one of the 10 most under-reported humanitarian crises for five years in a row.

It has been troubled by unrest for years, but since May 2017, fresh and fierce clashes between armed groups have wrought increasing suffering, deaths and the destruction of property.

Violence and insecurity following the December 2020 general election have also forced tens of thousands more to flee, according to the UNHCR./aa

AL-HASAKAH, Syria

Armed clashes erupted late Tuesday in northeastern Syria between forces of the Bashar al-Assad regime and members of the YPG/PKK terror group. 

The clashes broke out in Qamishli district of Al-Hasakah province after Assad regime forces opened fire on members of the terrorist organization, according to local sources.

As the clashes intensified, YPG/PKK terrorists attempted to enter the military zone of the Assad regime in the district center known as Security Square.

Regime forces stationed at Qamishli Airport hit the terror group’s positions in the city with artillery fire.

Casualties from both sides were reported.

The heavy clashes came to end with the mediation of Russia, but the tension between the parties continues in Qamishli district.

The terror group and regime jointly govern Al-Hasakah province.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity, which later developed into bloody clashes and interventions from external forces, including the Lebanese Hezbollah group and Iranian militias.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million others displaced, according to UN figures./aa

WASHINGTON

The conviction of ex-Minneapolis, Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin can be a "giant step forward" in the US' struggle with systemic racism, President Joe Biden said Tuesday. 

Chauvin was convicted by a jury just hours earlier of murder and manslaughter for the May 2020 killing of George Floyd, whose grisly death was captured on a bystander's smartphone camera. The video elicited worldwide outrage and months of protests in the US against police brutality targeting Black Americans and communities of color.

"It was a murder in full light of day, and it ripped the blinders off for the whole world to see the systemic racism the vice president just referred to," Biden said at the White House after Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black woman to hold the office, addressed the nation.

"Systemic racism is a stain on our nation’s soul -- the knee on the neck of justice for Black Americans, the profound fear and trauma, the pain, the exhaustion that Black and brown Americans experience every single day,” added Biden.

Shortly before Biden spoke, Harris said Black men have been treated "throughout the course of our history as less than human."

"Black men are fathers, and brothers, and sons, and uncles, and grandfathers, and friends and neighbors," she said. "Their lives must be valued in our education system, in our health care system, in our housing system, in our nation. Full stop."

Chauvin pinned Floyd to the ground with his knee fixed firmly on his neck for over nine minutes amid pleas from Floyd that he could not breathe, and desperate cries for his mother.

Chauvin now faces the potential of spending decades behind bars ahead of his sentencing in two months.

Biden said his conviction sends an unequivocal message that "no one should be above the law," hailing it as a potential "moment of significant change."

"But it’s not enough. It can’t stop here. In order to deliver real change and reform, we can and we must do more to reduce the likelihood that tragedies like this will ever occur again," the president said./aa

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty Tuesday on all three charges he faced in the 2020 death of George Floyd, which triggered worldwide protests.

It took the jury about 10 hours to reach a verdict, which touched off jubilation outside the courthouse.

The charges include second-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter and third-degree murder.

Ben Crump, the lawyer for Floyd's family, hailed the verdict as a landmark victory.

New York reacts to verdict in Derek Chauvin Trial

"Painfully earned justice has finally arrived for George Floyd’s family. This verdict is a turning point in history and sends a clear message on the need for accountability of law enforcement," Crump tweeted.

Among those celebrating was Autumn Adkins.

"It feels incredible, but it also feels unreal because the last few years have been so disappointing," said Adkins. "We've seen other people go down the same road without no justice. It's exciting, but it's also kind of scary to think something could happen. I don't want to be disappointed!"

New York reacts to verdict in Derek Chauvin Trial

Chauvin killed Floyd, 46, by kneeling on his neck for over nine minutes on May 25. His death on video sparked worldwide protests against police brutality against blacks.

Floyd was being arrested after allegedly attempting to use a counterfeit $20 bill at a store./aa