A pod of orcas -- the black and white sea animals also known as killer whales -- has been spotted off the west coast of the Seychelles' remote Alphonse island, a rare and possibly first-ever sighting. Alphonse's divers and resident marine biologists saw the pod last month during a Blue Safari training dive. The group's [...]
The Central Bank of Seychelles (CBS) said Thursday it is ready to intervene to stabilise the island nation's currency after the rupee's 25 percent drop against the dollar the last three weeks. The sharp drop in the value of the rupee, one of the effects of the COVID-caused shut down in tourism, is likely to [...]
The Seychelles Bankers Association is assisting clients facing financial difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic with two types of support. The support includes a moratorium on payments and a private-sector relief scheme, an association official, Bernard Jackson, told a news conference on Thursday. Jackson said a total of 1,145 requests for support have been received by [...]
The experimental coronavirus treatment remdesivir has failed in its first randomized clinical trial, inadvertently released results showed Thursday, dampening expectations for the closely watched drug. A draft summary went online briefly on the website of the World Health Organization (WHO) and was first reported by the Financial Times and Stat, which posted a screenshot. But [...]
The new coronavirus pandemic could severely disrupt access to anti-malaria nets and drugs in sub-Saharan Africa, the World Health Organization said Thursday, warning that malaria deaths risked doubling if efforts are not urgently scaled up. The UN health agency called on countries in sub-Saharan Africa -- where nearly 95 percent of all the world's malaria [...]
So you've tested positive for coronavirus and are desperate for a cure. No problem: just drink your own urine. This quack remedy from Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the myriad therapies being touted today in Africa as poor people hunt for a virus fix. Their desperation is combining with faith in traditional medicine, [...]
The Seychelles Health Authority said on Thursday that it is maintaining the extension of the prohibition of outdoor movement until May 4, four days longer than the April 30 date previously announced. Public Health Commissioner Jude Gedeon said during a weekly press conference that the additional days will ensure more time for active surveillance and [...]
The Seychelles' Fair Trading Commission (FTC) has recommended price controls only as a last resort to combat a rise in prices of some goods during COVID-19, an official said. The chief executive of the Commission, Francis Lebon, told a press conference on Wednesday that despite numerous complaints the "FTC does not have the power to set a [...]
EU leaders are set to haggle on Thursday over a giant package to help their economies recover from the coronavirus pandemic, but bitter divisions mean little progress is expected. The situation facing the EU is dire: more than 110,000 confirmed COVID-19 deaths and an economy set to shrink by 7.1 percent because of the lockdown. [...]
Weekly Friday prayers during the religious period of Ramadan this year are likely to be aired either on radio or television to allow the Muslim community in Seychelles to stay connected while observing restrictions in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The vice-chairman of the National Muslim Council of Seychelles, Ibrahim Afif, told SNA on [...]
