Signal sees meteoric rise in daily installs as people look for WhatsApp alternatives
Secure messaging app Signal is gaining millions of new users after rival WhatsApp said it will start sharing users' data with Facebook
Starting shots in poor nations by February hinges on vaccine suppliers - WHO
The COVAX programme has ordered 2 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses for the world's poorest countries, but there are fears that wealthy countries are snapping up scant supplies
Pakistan government announces new instant digital payment system
The new digital payments system aims to boost women's financial inclusion and tackle widespread informal transactions
Pope, in new decree, formally allows more roles for women in Church
Pope Francis has formally allowed women to serve as readers, altar servers and distributors of communion
In Senegal, lack of cold storage limits COVID vaccine options
Senegal could only keep vaccines developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, or by China or Russia in the long term, as they do not require a deep freeze
World Bank to invest $5 bln in 11 African countries
The cash will go to restoring damaged environments and improving livelihoods as countries recover from the COVID-19 pandemic
Africa's leap to clean energy seen needing policy change, investment
Study predicts that fossil fuels will still account for two thirds of the electricity generated on the continent by 2030
As COVID-19 overwhelms South Africa hospital, patients treated in parking lot
Some patients in the capital are being wheeled into a field hospital in a parking lot as authorities struggle to deal with an influx of new COVID-19 cases
Donors pledge $14 bln for 'Green Wall' to hold back Sahara
Trees and grasslands will be planted along a 8,000km strip of land stretching from the Atlantic to the Red Sea
In domestic abuse crackdown, UK law targets 'horrendous' strangling attacks
Law will close a loophole that often lets abusers escape justice for choking attacks, which are often treated as ‘common assault’