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        <title>Polity.org.za | Covid-19 News</title>
        <description><![CDATA[Latest news coverage on the Covid-19 disease, an infectious disease caused by a new virus]]></description>
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            <title>Looks like South African mining’s going to have great year, says Menar at Mining Indaba</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/looks-like-south-african-minings-going-to-have-great-year-says-menar-at-mining-indaba-2026-02-10</link>
            <description><![CDATA[In general, if you look at the commodities produced in South Africa, we’re doing very well, and it looks like 2026 is going to be a great year. That’s the view of Menar MD Vuslat Bayoglu, who spoke to Mining Weekly at the Investing in African Mining Indaba. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)]]></description>
            <author>Martin Creamer</author>
            <category>DIVERSIFIED MINERS</category>
            <pubDate>Tue, 10 Feb 2026 11:43:00 +0200</pubDate>
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        <image_title>Menar MD Vuslat Bayoglu (right) being interviewed by Mining Weekly's Martin Creamer at Mining Indaba.</image_title>
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        <attachments><attachment><url>https://cisp.cachefly.net/assets/articles/attachments/96139_2026-02-10_menar_1.mp4</url><size>130665835</size><title>Menar MD Vuslat Bayoglu interviewed by Mining Weekly's Martin Creamer. Video: Creamer Media's Shadwyn Dickinson</title></attachment></attachments>
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            <title>Better regulatory, operating mining milieu urgently needed, Indaba hears</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/better-regulatory-operating-mining-milieu-urgently-needed-indaba-hears-2026-02-09</link>
            <description><![CDATA[South Africa’s mining sector is showing the benefits of higher prices for certain commodities and record chrome and manganese exports. However, the Minerals Council South Africa’s Facts and Figures 2025 Pocketbook demonstrates the urgent need for an improved regulatory and operating environment.]]></description>
            <author>Martin Creamer</author>
            <category>MINING INDABA</category>
            <pubDate>Mon, 09 Feb 2026 17:44:00 +0200</pubDate>
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        <image_title>Minerals Council South Africa acting chief economist Bongani Motsa.</image_title>
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            <title>Strong multi-year commodity period on way, Minerals Council president says at Indaba</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/strong-multi-year-commodity-period-on-way-minerals-council-president-says-at-indaba-2026-02-09</link>
            <description><![CDATA[A strong sustained positive commodity cycle is on the way, and South Africa should go all out to take full advantage of it for the benefit of South Africa's people. To make the best of what is seen as a major new opportunity for South Africa, government should ensure a regulatory and operational environment that is enabling.]]></description>
            <author>Martin Creamer</author>
            <category>MINING INDABA</category>
            <pubDate>Mon, 09 Feb 2026 16:05:00 +0200</pubDate>
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        <updated>1770656034</updated>
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        <editor>Creamer Media Reporter  </editor>
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        <image_title>Minerals Council president Paul Dunne, CEO Mzila Mthenjane and acting chief economist Bongani Motsa at Mining Indaba.</image_title>
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            <title>Mpox is not the new Covid, says WHO official</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/mpox-is-not-the-new-covid-says-who-official-2024-08-20</link>
            <description><![CDATA[A World Health Organization official stressed on Tuesday that mpox, regardless of whether it is the new or old strain, is not the new Covid, as authorities know how to control its spread. "We can and must tackle mpox together," said Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, in a UN media briefing. "So will we choose to put the systems in place to control and eliminate mpox globally? Or we will enter another cycle of panic and neglect? How we respond now and in the years to come will prove a critical test for Europe and the world," he added. Mpox, a viral infection that causes pus-filled lesions and flu-like symptoms, is usually mild but can kill. The clade 1b variety has caused global concern because it seems to spread more easily though routine close contact.]]></description>
            <author>  Reuters</author>
            <category>Covid-19</category>
            <pubDate>Tue, 20 Aug 2024 11:32:00 +0200</pubDate>
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        <updated>1724161890</updated>
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        <editor>  Reuters</editor>
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            <title>Moderna puts Kenya plant plans on hold as Covid vaccine demand slumps</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/moderna-puts-kenya-plant-plans-on-hold-as-covid-vaccine-demand-slumps-2024-04-11</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Moderna said on Thursday it had paused its plans to build a vaccine manufacturing facility in Kenya, following a post-pandemic decline in demand for Covid-19 vaccines. The move is in line with Moderna's strategy of resizing its manufacturing network to cut costs, even as it aims to spend around $4.5-billion this year in research and development of several new vaccines, including for cancer and respiratory syncytial virus. Many of the messenger RNA vaccines that Moderna is developing, like for HIV and malaria, are at an early stage. "Given this, and in alignment with our strategic planning, Moderna believes it is prudent to pause its efforts to build an mRNA manufacturing facility in Kenya," the company said. "This approach will allow Moderna to better align its infrastructure investments with the evolving healthcare needs and vaccine demand in Africa."]]></description>
            <author>  Reuters</author>
            <category>Covid-19</category>
            <pubDate>Thu, 11 Apr 2024 15:12:00 +0200</pubDate>
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        <editor>  Reuters</editor>
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            <title>Gates gives $40-million to boost access to mRNA vaccines in Africa</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/gates-gives-40-million-to-boost-access-to-mrna-vaccines-in-africa-2023-10-09</link>
            <description><![CDATA[The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will give $40-million, including to a Belgian biotech company and two leading African vaccine manufacturers, in a bid to boost access to mRNA vaccines for protection against various diseases in Africa. Nivelles-based Quantoom Biosciences will get $20-million to advance work on its mRNA manufacturing platform, while the Institut Pasteur de Dakar in Senegal and Biovac in South Africa will get $5-million each to buy the technology. A further $10-million is available for other vaccine manufacturers who want to use the platform. Vaccines made using mRNA revolutionised the world's response to the Covid-19 pandemic, but access was drastically inequitable. A number of initiatives have since been set up to tackle this and try to use the new technology for existing threats that disproportionately affect lower-income countries, such as malaria and tuberculosis. The World Health Organization launched its mRNA vaccine technology hub in Cape Town in April this year. One member, Afrigen Biologics, has already made Africa’s first-ever mRNA vaccine for Covid-19 in the lab. But mRNA vaccines remain expensive to produce, particularly at the scale needed to test and roll out safe and effective vaccines.]]></description>
            <author>  Reuters</author>
            <category>Covid-19</category>
            <pubDate>Mon, 09 Oct 2023 14:30:00 +0200</pubDate>
        <a_id>658235</a_id>
        <updated>1696859231</updated>
        <published>1696854600</published>
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        <editor>  Reuters</editor>
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            <title>Private sector working with government on multiple work streams to end loadshedding</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/private-sector-working-with-government-on-multiple-work-streams-to-end-loadshedding-2023-06-29</link>
            <description><![CDATA[The private sector is so far working with government on six of the ten energy crisis work streams, for which business raised R100-million to procure skills and expertise for donation on an arm's length basis to the Presidency, within which the National Energy Crisis Committee (Necom) is housed. Business for South Africa (B4SA) chairperson Martin Kingston expressed the view that it is technically possible to put an end to loadshedding by the end of 2024, which is the objective of the joint energy effort. The two other challenges being tackled are transportation and logistics, and crime and corruption.]]></description>
            <author>Martin Creamer</author>
            <category>PUBLIC-PRIVATE COLLABORATION</category>
            <pubDate>Thu, 29 Jun 2023 15:06:00 +0200</pubDate>
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        <editor>Creamer Media Reporter  </editor>
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        <image_title>Business for South Africa chairperson Martin Kingston </image_title>
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        <attachments><attachment><url>https://cisp.cachefly.net/assets/articles/attachments/90985_2023-06-29_kingston_-_3.mp4</url><size>76217518</size><title>Business for South Africa chairperson Martin Kingston interviewed by Martin Creamer. Video: Darlene Creamer.</title></attachment></attachments>
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            <title>Covid-19 set TB fight back 12 years, but SA still on track to meet global targets – Phaahla</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/covid-19-set-tb-fight-back-12-years-but-sa-still-on-track-to-meet-global-targets-phaahla-2023-06-20</link>
            <description><![CDATA[The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has led to significant reversals in the decline of tuberculosis cases, setting South Africa's fight against the disease back an estimated "12 years", Health Minister Joe Phaahla said on Tuesday. Phaahla was speaking at the TB Indaba in Durban. The event is linked to the South African Aids Conference, which starts in Durban this week. Phaahla said while there had been an improvement in TB testing since 2022, when the Covid-19 social restrictions were relaxed, the impact on efforts to fight the bacterial disease had been severe. "The Covid-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns have severely impacted TB services throughout the country. Between 2019 and 2020, the number of TB tests provided in South Africa decreased by 23%, and case notifications decreased by 25%," he said. "There has been some recovery since 2022, but it is estimated that the pandemic has reversed 12 years of global progress against TB."]]></description>
            <author>News24Wire  </author>
            <category>Covid-19</category>
            <pubDate>Tue, 20 Jun 2023 14:48:00 +0200</pubDate>
        <a_id>648925</a_id>
        <updated>1687267703</updated>
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        <editor>News24Wire  </editor>
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        <image_title>Health Minister Joe Phaahla</image_title>
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            <title> Competition watchdog fines Saps supplier R3.5m for 'shocking' sanitiser prices during lockdown </title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/competition-watchdog-fines-saps-supplier-r35m-for-shocking-sanitiser-prices-during-lockdown-2023-04-04</link>
            <description><![CDATA[The Competition Tribunal has found a supplier of hand sanitiser to the South African Police Service guilty of excessive pricing amounting to R9.8-million during the Covid-19 pandemic. BlueCollar Occupational Health, based in Gauteng, supplied the sanitiser in partnership with Atelico Investments, based in KwaZulu-Natal. The Tribunal described BlueCollar's conduct as "shocking" because it exploited the pricing of hand sanitiser, which was seen as crucial for combatting the spread of the Covid-19 virus during the pandemic. Saps desperately needed hand sanitiser for its members, who had to enforce lockdown restrictions. BlueCollar overcharged Saps R9.8-million for the bulk supply of 10 000 25-litre containers of hand sanitiser in 2020. The Tribunal imposed an administrative penalty of R3.55-million on BlueCollar and Atelico "jointly and severally", meaning they bear equal liability. ]]></description>
            <author>News24Wire  </author>
            <category>Covid-19</category>
            <pubDate>Tue, 04 Apr 2023 14:38:00 +0200</pubDate>
        <a_id>642571</a_id>
        <updated>1680616512</updated>
        <published>1680611880</published>
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        <editor>News24Wire  </editor>
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            <title>Loadshedding, Covid-19 led to mixed performances for SA courts, says Zondo </title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/loadshedding-covid-19-led-to-mixed-performances-for-sa-courts-says-zondo-2023-02-24</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Loadshedding, Covid-19 and too few judges had an adverse effect on the courts during the last financial year. Ten of the 13 superior courts' performance targets were met for 2021/22.]]></description>
            <author>News24Wire  </author>
            <category>Covid-19</category>
            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2023 15:40:00 +0200</pubDate>
        <a_id>639306</a_id>
        <updated>1677246169</updated>
        <published>1677246000</published>
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        <editor>News24Wire  </editor>
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        <image_title>Chief Justice Raymond Zondo</image_title>
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            <title>Ramaphosa determined to remove all impediments in way of sustained mining growth</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/ramaphosa-determined-to-remove-all-impediments-in-way-of-sustained-mining-growth-2023-02-07</link>
            <description><![CDATA[The Presidency is determined to remove all impediments in the way of the sustained growth of the South African mining industry, President Cyril Ramaphosa told the Investing in African Mining Indaba on Tuesday, where he drew full auditorium applause. In addition, Minerals Council South Africa welcomed the President’s interventions into removing obstacles curtailing mineral exploration, mining and exports, and emphasised the urgency of key structural reforms in energy and transport logistics to truly unlock mining’s full potential.]]></description>
            <author>Martin Creamer</author>
            <category>MINING INDABA</category>
            <pubDate>Tue, 07 Feb 2023 16:17:00 +0200</pubDate>
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        <editor>Creamer Media Reporter  </editor>
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        <image_title>President Cyril Ramaphosa and DRC president Félix Tshisekedi.</image_title>
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