Pope Francis began his address to the Ecumenical Delegation from Finland with a reflection on the Magi, the Wise Men of the Gospel who found the Child Jesus and worshipped Him.
“The Magi reached the goal because they sought it,” the Pope said. “Yet they sought it because the Lord, by the sign of the star, had first set out in search of them.” Like the Magi, we too are sought by God, “and our response must surely be like that of the Magi: a journey together.”
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President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to join Dr Patrick Soon-Shiong, founder of the multinational conglomerate NantWorks, LLC, in launching the NantSA vaccine manufacturing campus in Brackenfell, Cape Town, on Wednesday.
The President and Dr Soon-Shiong will also launch the Coalition to Accelerate Africa’s Access to Advanced Healthcare (The AAAH Coalition).
This launch comes after an announcement made by Dr Soon-Shiong in September last year of an ambitious initiative to build capacity for advanced health care in Africa.
NantSA, a division of NantWorks, and The AAAH Coalition aim to accelerate domestic production of pharmaceuticals, biologics and vaccines that will reach patients across the African continent.
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“The fire broke out after a child tried to cook with palm oil,” said Philomene Dounda, the prefect of the Lower Kotto region where the camp is located.
Anita Cadonau, a communications officer with the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told AFP that the blaze happened on Tuesday at a camp in Alindao, 500 Kilometers east of the capital Bangui.,
About 5 000 people are now in urgent need of shelter, household necessities, food and water.
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South Africa recorded 2 597 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, pushing the total number of laboratory-confirmed infections to 3 559 230 since the outbreak.
The majority of new cases today are from Western Cape after 721 people tested positive, followed by 602 in Gauteng, 547 in KwaZulu-Natal, 167 in the Eastern Cape, 129 in the Northern Cape and 122 in Limpopo, while the rest of the provinces logged less than 100 infections.
According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), the latest increase represents a 10.6% positivity rate.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health reported 86 deaths due to the ongoing audit exercise, of which only 25 occurred in the past 24 to 48-hour reporting cycle.
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As South Africa entered the new year, we were confronted by two profound events that reminded us, in different ways, of what brings us together as a people.
On the first day of 2022, the nation gathered in spirit to bid farewell to Archbishop Desmond Tutu at St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town. It was a moment of great sadness as we recalled the life and contribution of a beloved compatriot who was, in many ways, the moral conscience of our nation. At the same time, his funeral was a celebration of the values he stood for. It was a celebration of the great unity and diversity of our people, and a reminder of the sacrifices made by so many to achieve our democracy.
On the second day of 2022, the country watched on in horror as a huge fire engulfed our Parliament, just a hundred metres from where we had gathered the day before to pay our last respects to Archbishop Tutu.
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The National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) has reported at least 5 920 new COVID-19 infections in South Africa over the past 24-hour reporting period; bringing the cumulative number of cases to at least 3 546 808.
This is indicative of a 14.3% positivity rate which is lower than the previous reporting cycle’s 15.5%.
The provincial breakdown shows that the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng continue to report the majority of new cases:
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The number of new COVID-19 cases in Africa is continuing to decline despite the Omicron variant overtaking Delta as the leading variant on the continent.
This is according to World Health Organisation (WHO) Africa Region Emergency Director, Dr Abdou Salam Gueye.
Cumulative COVID-19 cases across the continent have crossed the 10 million mark, with 230 000 people losing their lives due to complications related to the virus.
“Over the past week, cases plateaued as compared to the week before. Infections have also declined in three of Africa’s five sub-regions. Only North and West Africa are currently witnessing an increase in cases.
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According to The Economist, A poll of practising Christians in America in 2020 found that 14% had switched churches, 18% were attending more than one church, 35% were attending only their pre-pandemic church and 32% had stopped going to church altogether.
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A long-awaited law on the personal legal status of Christians in Egypt is expected to be approved soon by the Egyptian Parliament.
According to a member of the parliamentary legislative committee, the draft law should be discussed shortly after Parliament opens its new session on 23 January.
The drafting of the new legislation, which includes provisions on sensitive issues relating to family law, has been a long process that started in 2014 and in which all Egyptian Churches have been involved.
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South Africa has recorded 6 762 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24-hour reporting cycle, bringing the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 3 540 891.
According to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), this increase represents a 15.5% positivity rate.
A further 181 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 92 830 to date.
“The majority of new cases today are from the Western Cape (28%), followed by Gauteng (22%). KwaZulu-Natal accounted for 18%, Eastern Cape accounted for 11%, Limpopo 5%; Free State, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape and the North West each accounted for 4% respectively of today’s new cases,” the NICD said in a statement on Wednesday.
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