Malaria
It’s impossible for this not to be the top story in today’s newsletter. After years of trials, the World Health Organization has authorized the rollout of the world’s first malaria vaccine, which will be administered to children in sub-Saharan Africa and other regions with high rates of infection. The search for a malaria vaccine has been going on for about 100 years and health experts today rightly called the breakthrough historic. The vaccine was shown to prevent four out of 10 infections and reduce severe cases by 30 percent. Though that might sound low, it is a remarkable achievement given the complexity of the virus. About 94 percent of all cases are in Africa and more than 260,000 children died from malaria across the continent in 2019.
More from BBC here.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia’s state carrier Ethiopian Airlines today denied that it has engaged in gunrunning for the Ethiopian government during the country’s ongoing and brutal civil conflict. The allegations came in a CNN investigation, which was based on “cargo documents and manifests” as well as eyewitness and photographic evidence.
More from Bloomberg here.
UAE
Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ordered the phones of his wife and her lawyers to be hacked with software ordinarily used in national security cases, a UK court has heard. Al Maktoum has been locked in a bitter legal battle with Princess Haya bint Al Hussein since she fled to the UK with their two children saying she feared for her safety after rumors began circulating that she had an affair with a British bodyguard. Al Hussein was reported to have been tipped-off to the hack by Cherie Blair, the wife of former British prime minister Tony Blair.
More from Al Jazeera here.