Frontrunner
Ugandan presidential candidate Bobi Wine says military raided his home
Ugandan opposition presidential candidate Bobi Wine said soldiers raided his home on Tuesday and arrested his security guards, two days before an election. “The army has this morning raided my home, arrested all my security guards and anyone they could see around my premises,” Wine, who is the opposition frontrunner, said on Twitter. “No reason for the arrest was given,” he said. Spokesmen for the military and the police did not respond to phone calls seeking comment. Ugandans vote on Thursday in elections pitting long-time leader Yoweri Museveni against 10 candidates including Wine, a singer-turned-lawmaker whose star power has rattled the ruling party. Wine also said in a separate post on Twitter that soldiers raided the home of one of his aides overnight and took the man to an unknown d...
Ever-present Boko Haram threat casts shadow in Niger
Seven years after the first Boko Haram attacks in southeastern Niger, people in the city of Diffa, dare not even speak the group’s name. Residents live in a state of siege, frightened and struggling with the economic impact of the Islamist threat. For fear of reprisals, people speak of “insecurity”, of the “problems” or the “current situation”. The fear is well-founded, according to one security source who says Boko Haram sympathisers in the city pass on information to the group. Among the poorest countries in the world, Niger, which is holding presidential elections on Sunday, faces jihadist groups from the Sahel in the west and Boko Haram in the east. “I don’t have 1,000 CFA francs (1.5 euros) in my pocket. I have been unemployed for four years,” says Abdou Maman, 46, who has two wives a...
Europe to pay less than US for Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine
The European Union has struck a deal to initially pay less for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate than the United States, an EU official told Reuters News Agency as the bloc announced on Wednesday it had secured an agreement for up to 300 million doses. The experimental drug, developed in conjunction with Germany’s BioNTech, is the frontrunner in a global race to produce a vaccine, with interim data released on Monday showing it was more than 90 percent effective at protecting people from COVID-19 in a large-scale clinical trial. Under the EU deal, 27 European countries could buy 200 million doses, and have an option to buy another 100 million. The bloc will pay less than $19.50 per jab, a senior EU official involved in talks with vaccine makers told Reuters, adding that partly reflected ...
