Africa

Seychelles, the island nation on east coast of Africa, has opened its borders for only vaccinated tourists from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. As per its statement, the visitors must have received both doses of the vaccine and have to produce a COVID-19 vaccination certificate. Besides, a negative RT-PCR test 72 hours before entry is also mandatory. However, there will be no quarantine, minimum stay or restriction on movement on arrival.

In a world’s first inter-continental large carnivore's relocation, India will receive the first batch of cheetah from Africa by 2021 end. Declared extinct in India in 1952, the cheetahs will be relocated to six different locations in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. The relocation plan, germinated in 2009, was granted approval by the Supreme Court in 2020. Reportedly, two teams from Namibia and South Africa will visit India to guide the forest… read-more

In a humanitarian aid, an UK based non-profit organisation Khalsa Aid have initiated a project to dig borewells in drought hit Gambia, West Africa to install fresh water pumps. Reportedly, Gambia's 45.3% of water sources are contaminated as it infested with E.coli and 72% of households are exposed to bacteria in their drinking water. Moreover, the Khalsa Aid has reached out to over thousands of people in the past for help.

Researchers have discovered a new species of chameleon in Africa, touted as the world's smallest reptile. Scientists said the 13.5mm long male chameleon was the smallest male from the 11,500 known non-avian reptiles. Naming the species as 'Brookesia nana', researchers found the female a bit longer. Finding only two such reptiles, the researchers led by Bavarian State Collection of Zoology concluded that the smallest nano-chameleons… read-more

The World Health Organization, in its global malaria report, has warned that death tolls due to malaria will outcount those caused by the coronavirus in the sub-Saharan Africa this year. The WHO's malaria programme director Pedro Alsonso said the death figures could be between 20,000-100,000 with mostly being young children. The report also pointed to the last year's malaria-caused global death toll of 409,000, implying a child death every… read-more