To slow down the spread of particularly contagious coronavirus mutations, the federal government has drastically restricted entry from Portugal, Ireland, Great Britain, South Africa and Brazil into Germany beginning from Saturday (30 January). According to the new ordinance passed by the federal cabinet, airlines, rail, bus and shipping companies are in principle no longer allowed to transport passengers from these …
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UN chief publicly receives coronavirus vaccine in New York
The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday in New York, a UN statement said. “I was fortunate and grateful to get the first dose of my COVID-19 vaccine today,” Guterres said after getting his shot. “We must get to work to make sure the vaccine is available to everyone, everywhere. Our world …
Read More »Surgical, FFP2 Masks: What you need to know
At the conference of Germany’s federal and state governments on 19 January, it was decided that it’s compulsory to wear medical or FFP2 masks on public transport (bus, train, tram) and while shopping. Lufthansa has also announced its adoption of the new regulation aboard its flights from 1 February. What are medical and FFP2 masks? Where can I get them? …
Read More »Lufthansa introduces stricter mask requirement from 1 February
German carrier Lufthansa has announced that its onboard mask policy will become stricter from 1 February. The airline will no longer permit what it calls “everyday masks”. “We are adapting the policy to wear face masks while travelling. From 1 February 2021, only the following types of face masks will be permitted on flights to and from Germany: FFP2, KN95 …
Read More »Return all colonial treasures to Africa – group calls on Europe
An international organisation has called on European governments and private collectors to return African artefacts taken from Africa during the colonial period to their rightful owners. “In recent months demands for the repatriation of the remains and the definitive restitution of the treasures have continued, as well as the attempts by some former colonizers to hinder this inevitable step of …
Read More »Forbes releases Africa’s Billionaires 2021 List
The international business magazine Forbes has released its annual list of Africa’s most wealthy individuals. According to the report, the continent has 18 billionaires this year, down from 20 in 2020. Together, they are worth $73.8 billion, slightly more than the $73.4 billion aggregate worth of the 20 billionaires last year. Aliko Dangote of Nigeria is the richest person in …
Read More »Germany: Government announces free FFP2 masks for Hartz IV recipients
Because of the stricter coronavirus containment measures in force requiring medical masks to be worn on public transport and while shopping, the federal government wants to support those in need: Hartz IV recipients are to receive ten free FFP2 masks each Around five million recipients of basic benefits (Hartz IV) are to receive ten FFP2 masks each, Social Minister Hubertus …
Read More »Bill and Melinda Gates release 2021 annual letter
"Until vaccines reach everyone, new clusters of disease will keep popping up. The cycle of inequality will continue"
Read More »Make Africa’s agricultural sector more resilient – German group
“Creating and maintaining secure access to food systems in Africa is crucial for the continent’s economic development,” said Stefan Liebing, Chairman of the Africa Association of German Business at the opening of the 7th German-African Agribusiness Forum (GAAF). The annual event, organised by Afrika-Verein (German-African Business Association) and the German Agribusiness Alliance (GAA) and held in digital form on Tuesday …
Read More »South African president urges rich countries to stop “vaccine nationalism”
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday urged the world’s wealthiest countries to stop “hoarding” vaccines and called for an end to “vaccine nationalism.” In remarks delivered at the World Economic Forum’s virtual Davos Agenda event, Ramaphosa cautioned that some countries had ordered more supplies of vaccines than they needed, and that this was counterproductive to the global recovery effort. …
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