AFRICA

Woman arrested for dumping baby inside pit toilet

The police in Anambra State on Saturday arrested a 30-year-old woman, who allegedly threw her newly born baby inside a pit toilet at Nkpor, Idemili North Local Government Area of the state. The suspect, Franca Udokwu, a native of Obuba Obofia Nkpor community in Idemili North LGA, was said to …

Read More »

Twenty inmates killed after Madagascar prison riot

Twenty prisoners were killed in Madagascar as the authorities attempted to stop a riot in a prison in the south of the island, the justice ministry said. The trouble began at the prison in Farafagana at around 12:00 local time (09:00 GMT) with inmates splitting into two groups and attacking …

Read More »

C/R Tertiary Institutions Undergo Disinfection

Waste management expert, Zoomlion Ghana Limited, has begun the phase two of disinfecting tertiary institutions in the Central Region.   The exercise in the Central Region, which started on Friday, is collaboration between the Ministry of Education (MoE), Ghana Education Service (GES) and Zoomlion.   It followed the President Akufo-Addo’s …

Read More »

Eight die in South Sudan salary cargo plane crash

A cargo plane transporting money for the UN’s World Food Programme has crashed near the South Sudanese capital, Juba, killing eight of the nine people on board, the authorities say. Four of the dead from Saturday morning’s crash were South Sudanese, two were from Tajikistan and the other was from …

Read More »

Dozens rescued from rubber boat drifting in Mediterranean

Ninety-seven people, including 28 unaccompanied minors, have been rescued from an overcrowded rubber boat that was drifting in the Mediterranean 30 miles off the Libyan coast, charity Sea-Watch International says. It is believed that the boat had set off from Libya. Crew on the search and rescue ship Sea-Watch 4 …

Read More »

‘World’s oldest man’ dies aged 116 in South Africa

A South African who was thought to be the oldest man in the world has died at the age of 116. Fredie Blom’s identity documents showed he was born in Eastern Cape province in May 1904, although that was never verified by Guinness World Records. When he was teenager, his …

Read More »

Okada rider, three others die in road crashes

No fewer than four persons died in two separate road crashes in Ogun State on Friday, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has said. In the first accident, an okada rider and his passenger were killed when a bus rammed into them, along Ore-Benin-Ijebu-Ode expressway. The driver of the vehicle …

Read More »

New DR Congo Ebola outbreak reaches 100 cases

The number of Ebola cases in the west of the Democratic Republic of Congo has risen to 100, double the number it was five weeks ago, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The first cases in the current outbreak were recorded in the capital of Equateur Province, Mbandaka. Ebola …

Read More »

Tit-for-tat: Nigeria to reciprocate travel ban by European countries

Nigeria will enforce the principle of reciprocity in granting permission to airlines to resume operations into the country as it opens its airspace, the Federal Government said on Thursday. According to the government, what this means is that only airlines from countries that allow flights from Nigeria will be allowed …

Read More »

Mali finance minister released by military junta

Mali’s Finance Minister Abdoulaye Daffe and another top official have been released by the military junta that ousted President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta. The minister was among those detained after the military coup on Tuesday. Sabane Mahalmoudou, who worked for the president was among those arrested, and has been released alongside …

Read More »

Madagascar president sacks health minister after COVID-19 surge

Madagascar on Thursday said it had fired its health minister as part of a government reshuffle, a move that came a month after he butted heads with the president for seeking outside help for coronavirus. The Indian Ocean island-nation saw COVID-19 cases surge in July despite an official campaign to promote a …

Read More »

School reopening critical – WHO to African Leaders

The World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations children’s agency have urged African governments to promote the safe reopening of schools during the coronavirus pandemic. They say prolonged closure of schools is harmful to students and want governments to invest in sanitation facilities to prevent the spread of coronavirus in …

Read More »

How Magic Mushrooms Can Help Reduce Anxiety And Depression

Magic mushrooms are known as a recreational drug, but emerging studies are changing medical and public perspectives. Promising research shows that magic mushrooms may help treat depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and distress related to terminal illness with long-lasting effects. Psychedelic Canada has been used for thousands of years by indigenous societies …

Read More »

Mali coup leaders order borders to be reopened

The army officers that seized control in Mali have announced that land and air borders will be reopened on Friday. The borders were closed after a coup this week. The coup leaders have also said they are in contact with opposition groups about starting the process of appointing a transitional …

Read More »

Naked man jumps off second floor to evade lover’s husband

A naked Egyptian man reportedly hurled himself out of a second-floor bedroom window to escape his scorned lover’s husband, local media reported. Seemingly faced with limited options, the man took the drastic action of throwing himself out of the window before being helped by onlookers on the ground. According to …

Read More »

WAEC rejects accusations of leaking exams questions

The West African Examination Council (WAEC) says it cannot be blamed for mass leakage of exams questions on social media. Mounting a strong defence the Council touted its strict security protocols before and after the printing of exam questions. This comes after the general public and some stakeholders in the …

Read More »

Mali coup leaders suggest ‘transitional president’

Coup leaders in Mali say a transitional president will be appointed, drawn from either the civilian population or the military. Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta was removed in a coup on Tuesday. West African leaders have called for him to be reinstated and the UN has called for the release of officials. But …

Read More »

Load-shedding to continue on Friday, but reduced to level 1

Eskom said on Thursday night that it was reducing load-shedding to level 1 for Friday, as four its generation units returned and supply constraints ease. Level 1 will be in place from 9am to 10pm on Friday. “Four generators were returned to service at the Duvha, Kriel, Tutuka and Kusile …

Read More »

Madwoman caught with dead body in her bag

A madwoman was, on Tuesday, caught with a dead baby strapped to her back for over a week at Effium in the Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State of Nigeria. The woman, it was gathered, came to the community some months ago from an unknown destination and found an …

Read More »

Kenya journalist freed from detention in Ethiopia

Kenyan journalist Yassin Juma has been released from detention in Ethiopia – about a week after his lawyer said he had contracted coronavirus in prison. He has been moved to a state-run isolation facility for treatment, and will be allowed to travel back to Kenya once he recovers. Mr Juma, …

Read More »

Six bodyguards to South Sudan’s VP shot dead

Six bodyguards of South Sudan’s Vice-President James Wani Igga have been been shot dead and another two wounded after their convoy was ambushed by rebels, his spokesman Kalisto Lado has told the BBC. Mr Wani was not in the convoy when it came under fire at his home village of …

Read More »

Pastors Yet To Open Churches Are Unbelievers – Pastor Chris Oyakhilome

Pastor Chris Oyakhilome of the Christ Embassy Church has described clergymen who have refused to reopen their churches as unbelievers. The religious centers were closed in March as a part of measures to contain the spread of Coronavirus. The Federal and state governments have given religious organizations the go-ahead to reopen for worship. The approval …

Read More »

WASSCE leakage: WAEC boss asked to resign

A lecturer with the Cape Coast University says the head of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) in Ghana must take the ultimate responsibility for the massive leakage of West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) questions by leaving his post. According to Dr. Kenneth Aikins, such an action will …

Read More »

Mali coup: UN joins global condemnation of military takeover

The United Nations has joined global condemnation of the military takeover in Mali, which saw President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta forced to resign. The UN’s Security Council echoed similar calls by regional bodies for the immediate release of all government officials and the restoration of constitutional order. The soldiers said they …

Read More »