DR CONGO DOCTORS END THREE-WEEK STRIKE

KINSHASA – A doctors’ union in Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday called off a three-week-old strike over pay that had brought hospitals to a near standstill during the country’s third wave of Covid-19. “All doctors are asked to return to work. The strike is suspended across the country following negotiations with the government,” said Mankoy Badjoki, head of the Synamed physicians’ union. The government has promised bonuses ranging from 200, 000 to 640, 000 Congolese francs ($100-$320) as well as promotions for a number of doctors. During the strike, doctors said they would treat only “extremely urgent” cases, in hospitals that were pre-designated on a rotational basis. Covid-19 has infected 50, 529 people in the DRC, with 1, 045 fatalities, according to the latest available figures issued on Monday. Frontline pandemic workers have been promised payment of three months’ salary on the seven months that are owed to them. – AFP. Machar calls those behind attempted ouster ‘peace spoilers’ JUBA – South Sudan’s First Vice-President, Riek Machar, has condemned the group of generals within the military wing of his Sudan People’s Liberation Movement In Opposition (SPLM-IO), who announced his ouster from the party’s leadership. On Tuesday, three generals said they had deposed Machar and replaced him with the former SPLA-IO Chief of General Staff, Simon Gatwech Dual, as an interim leader of the party and commander-in-chief of the forces, a new twist in South Sudan’s politics. Machar had dismissed Gatwech from his position as chief of staff and recommended his appointment as Presidential Advisor for Peace, but Gatwech rejected the appointment. The vice-president said the people behind the attempted ouster “peace spoilers” in a press release. He said the declaration was aimed at derailing the graduation and deployment of the unified forces after the reconstituted parliament was sworn in. Machar reiterated the commitment of his party to the full implementation of the revitalised peace agreement “in letter and spirit”. – BBC.