Tanzania: Tanzanian President Hussein Ali Mwinyi launched a special police unit to protect tourists visiting the Zanzibar Islands on Friday. The newly-established special police squad, according to Assistant Commissioner of Police Eugene Emmanuel, consists of 150 officers.

President Mwinyi stated following the introduction of the police unit that the new special police unit was created to ensure the safety and security of visitors to the Zanzibar archipelago.

"Police officers assigned to the new unit should work professionally and earn visitors' trust in order to make Zanzibar a peaceful destination," Mwinyi said, emphasising that the government is committed to ensuring that visitors to Zanzibar are safe and serve as goodwill ambassadors for the Islands' tourist attractions.

While noting that some countries have already lost tourists as a result of security concerns, as well as other factors such as political unrest, civil wars, and epidemic outbreaks, Mwinyi urged Zanzibaris to help protect visitors, warning that criminal acts and deteriorating security were among the key factors behind the tourism sector's decline. Tanzania's semi-autonomous archipelago in the Indian Ocean is Zanzibar. Zanzibar's major economic sector is tourism, which is critical for the island's socio-economic stability.

World Food Programme to address S. Sudan's food system problems

US asks China to produce reliable verification of whereabouts of Chinese tennis star

Canada to permit entry of travellers fully inoculated with Sinopharm, Sinovac, Covaxin