QUICK READ

VENEZUELAN Covid-19 patients are paying doctors to come to their homes due to the high cost of private clinics and hospitals overflowing with patients and often lacking oxygen and medicine, doctors interviewed by Reuters said in recent weeks.

Family members tend to chip in or launch crowdfunding campaigns for sick relatives, said Laura Martinez, a 55year-old from Caracas, whose husband and elderly parents were treated at home.

As the Covid-19 new wave gathered steam since March, home care gained popularity thanks to word of mouth and social media. | Reuters

CHAD’S new military council has named Albert Pahimi Padacke, pictured, as prime minister of a transitional government, according to international news broadcaster Al Jazeera.

Opposition politicians slammed the nomination this week, saying the army had no right to install a head of government, AFP news agency reported.

Meanwhile, new junta leader General Mahamat Déby, pledged national dialogue after at least five people died on Tuesday during protests against his generals, who took power after the death of his father and veteran ruler Idriss Déby Itno.

| African News Agency (ANA)

THE carcass of an endangered blue whale, the world’s largest animal, washed up on a Namibian beach this week with lesions suggesting it had collided with a ship, scientists said.

Blue whales have been slowly re-populating southern Africa’s oceans after being almost wiped out by decades of whaling.

Only between 10 000 and 25 000 blue whales live on the planet today, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature.

The species, listed as “endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, is still threatened by habitat loss and pollution. | AFP