Zimbabwe

ZIMBABWEAN authorities toughened coronavirus curbs this week, ordering compulsory vaccinations for civil servants and reducing their numbers reporting for duty to stem a rise in local transmission.

Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa tweeted that only 25% of government workers were required to physically report for duty. Courts will only open for urgent cases. The limited staff numbers exclude health workers and designated critical services.

There has been a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases fuelled mainly by the Delta variant. In the seven days to Tuesday, cases leapt from about 8 000 the previous week to more than 21 000. | AFP

TWO armed men, one who wielded a knife, attacked Mali’s interim president Assimi Goïta during Eid-al-Adha prayers in the Great Mosque in the capital Bamako.

According to a report by AFP, Goïta has been taken to a place of safety.

He was sworn into office last month despite facing a diplomatic backlash over his second power grab in nine months, local media reported.

The political landscape in the country remains volatile after a coup in August.

Mali has been under a transitional government for 18 months. | African News Agency (ANA)

Space

NASA is encouraging the use of commercial companies for space missions after the successful flight of the Blue Origin capsule to the edge of space, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said this week.

Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest person, soared some 107km above the Texas desert aboard his company Blue Origin’s New Shepard launch vehicle on Tuesday and returned safely to Earth, a historic suborbital flight that helps usher in a new era of space tourism.

Psaki also hailed the presence on the flight of 82-year-old Wally Funk Bezos, saying “she’s America’s new sweetheart.” | Reuters