AT least 115 fishermen are being treated in Guinea’s capital, Conakry, after returning from sea with painful skin lesions. “It’s not a contagious disease – no way”, says Karamba Kaba, the doctor in charge of Donka Hospital’s burns department, adding: Hospitals are providing free healthcare to anybody coming forward with these burns. Treatment begins with a blood test and samples are being analysed in laboratories in Conakry. Patients’ wounds are also disinfected to allow them to heal. Some people have had the lesions on their face, others on their stomach or genitals, and there are fears that some sufferers are…
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THE Vice-Chancellor, National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Prof. Olufemi Peters, has implored the new students of the institution to strive to elevate Nigeria to its deserved place of greatness in Africa and the world. Peters stated this on Tuesday, April 18, 2023 at the 24th Matriculation Ceremony of the university, which took place virtually across its various study centres nationwide. He said: “I am indeed hopeful that you will, as you pass through our university, acquire the appropriate knowledge and skills, as well as the requisite strength of character and tenacity, to sail through the challenges of today’s modern…
THE International Centre for Islamic Culture and Education (ICICE) has offered free medical treatment to over 700 indigent women, children and the elderly in Karmo, Abuja. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the centre is the custodian of Al-Noor Mosque, Abuja. Addressing newsman during the exercise, Dr Mohammed Ibrahim, Chairman of the Medical Outreach Committee, said most of the beneficiaries have illnesses that are easily treatable, but lack access to healthcare. “We have been doing this free medical outreach regularly until the time when we had the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic and we had to slow down. “During…
CARLO Ancelotti has warned his Real Madrid players that Chelsea will see Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final clash as a chance to salvage some pride from their dismal season. Ancelotti’s side look to protect a 2-0 lead in the quarter-final second leg at Stamford Bridge against a Chelsea side reeling after three successive defeats. Real are bidding to retain the Champions League crown, having knocked out then holders Chelsea in the quarter-finals en route to lifting the trophy last season. Chelsea’s fortunes have changed dramatically in the 12 months since and they sit 11th in the Premier League, with their hopes…
ARGENTINA will host the Under-20 World Cup from May 20 to June 11, FIFA said Monday, after taking the tournament from Indonesia just weeks before kick-off. Having been awarded hosting rights, Argentina will also participate in Indonesia’s place. The team had failed to qualify on merit. “FIFA is delighted to announce that this year’s edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup will take place in Argentina, as the home of the world champions opens its doors to tomorrow’s superstars of world football,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in a statement. FIFA withdrew hosting rights from Indonesia last month after protests…
ITALIAN police find cocaine packages floating in the sea off Sicily Police have found and recovered packages of cocaine worth more than €400m (£353m) floating in the sea off the island of Sicily, Italy. Italian police said it was probably “one of the largest” drug hauls ever made in the country. The drug was found bound into 70 packages, and fitted with a tracking device.
US journalist Evan Gershkovich has appeared in court in Moscow to appeal against his detention. He was arrested in the city of Yekaterinburg while working for the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) newspaper and charged with spying. Mr Gershkovich stood with folded arms in a glass enclosure, wearing a blue checked shirt. He gave a quick smile while pacing around the box, but did not say anything to the reporters present. US ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy was also present in the courtroom.US consular officials were initially denied access to the reporter, but were able to see him on Monday. Ms…
AT least 185 people have been killed and a further 1,800 injured in three days of fighting between rival factions in Sudan, according to the United Nations special representative for Sudan, as the Group of Seven joined calls for an immediate to end to hostilities. “It’s a very fluid situation so it’s very difficult to say where the balance is shifting to,” Volker Perthes said on Monday of the violence between the army and paramilitary forces led by rival generals. The two sides are using tanks, artillery and other heavy weapons in densely populated areas. Fighter jets thundered overhead and…
THE shocking rise of sexual abuse of young girls in northern Uganda was revealed when it was reported that in the wake of the pandemic there was a more than four-fold increase in those aged 10-14 becoming pregnant. BBC Africa Eye has been looking at why perpetrators are getting away with the crime. The heavily pregnant girl – no more than 12 years old – looks down at her hands as the local council chairman asks about her latest visit to the doctor. It is the sort of question a family member should be asking, but this is no normal…
PRESIDENT-ELECT Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has expressed grief over the death of his staunch supporter and leader of market women in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief (Mrs) Toyin Badmus. Mrs Badmus who was the Iyaloya of Abuja and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) served in various roles in the Tinubu/Shettima campaign. She died on Sunday aged 62. In a condolence message released by his office, the President-elect praised the commitment of the late businesswoman to the ideals of progressive politics and development of Nigeria. “I was deeply saddened by the news of the death of Chief…
BARCELONA failed to score for a third consecutive game as they were held to a goalless La Liga draw at Getafe. Raphinha and Alejandro Balde both hit the post in quick succession in the first half and Barca were unable to find a breakthrough. Sunday’s draw follows a stalemate against Girona on Monday, and a 4-0 Copa del Rey loss to Real Madrid. Despite their goalscoring struggles, Barca hold an 11-point lead over Madrid with nine league games remaining. The visitors hit the woodwork twice in a matter of seconds on 25 minutes – Raphinha went through one-on-one straight from…
ITALY striker Ciro Immobile is being treated for back and rib injuries in hospital after his car was involved in an accident with a tram in Rome. Photographs show police at the scene of a collision between a tram and a car. Immobile, 33, scored in Lazio’s 3-0 Serie A win at Spezia on Friday. Lazio said he had a “sprain trauma of the spine” and a “compound fracture” of his right rib but that “conditions are currently good”. A club statement read: “The player remains under observation at the department of emergency medicine directed by Professor Francesco Franceschi of…
OPPOSITION activist Vladimir Kara-Murza has been sentenced to 25 years in jail in Russia for charges linked to his criticism of the war in Ukraine. He was found guilty of treason, spreading “false” information about the Russian army and being affiliated with an “undesirable organisation”. The Russian-British former journalist and politician is the latest of several Putin opponents to have been arrested or forced to flee Russia. He has denied all of the charges. His 25-year sentence was the top number sought by prosecutors and is the longest sentence an opposition figure has received so far. Last week, he said…
AT least 31 people searching for valuable truffles in the Syrian desert have been killed by the Islamic State (IS) group, human rights activists have said. Civilians and military personnel were among the victims of the armed attack. IS militants have repeatedly preyed on those searching for the mushrooms, with more than 150 people killed this year. A kilogram of the fungus can fetch more than the country’s average monthly wage. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which relies on a wide network of sources on the ground in Syria, said “civilians and at least 12 pro-regime fighters”…
EXPLOSIONS rocked the Sudanese capital Khartoum Monday as fighting between the army and paramilitary forces led by rival generals raged for a third day with the death toll surpassing 100. The violence erupted Saturday after weeks of power struggles between the two generals who seized power in a 2021 coup, Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The intense conflict, which has seen air strikes, tanks on the streets, artillery fire and heavy gunfire in crowded neighbourhoods both in Khartoum and other cities across Sudan, has…
KENYA’s first earth observation satellite has been launched into orbit by a SpaceX rocket. Elon Musk’s company confirmed the separation of the Taifa-1 satellite about an hour after take off from California. It was developed by a team of Kenyan researchers with the help of a Bulgarian aerospace company. The aim is to collect data to help predict crop yields in Kenya and improve food security. Kenya’s satellite was one of a number to be launched from the SpaceX Falcon-9 under the firm’s rideshare programme.
KYLIAN Mbappe became Paris St-Germain’s all-time leading goalscorer in Ligue 1 as they beat 10-man Lens to move five points clear at the top of the table. Mbappe, who netted his 139th goal in his 169th league match, surpassed Edinson Cavani’s tally. In a crucial match between the league’s top two, Lens midfielder Salis Abdul Samed was sent off after 19 minutes. Lionel Messi and Vitinha also scored for PSG before Lens’ Przemyslaw Frankowski scored a penalty. Second-placed Lens created numerous chances despite trailing 3-0 at half-time but were unable to add to Frankowski’s spot-kick as PSG edged closer to…
SATURDAY’s comfortable 3-1 victory over Leicester City leaves the defending champions trailing the league leaders by just three points. City now face a pivotal three games which could make or break their season as they aim to complete a Treble of trophies. They travel to Bayern Munich with a healthy 3-0 advantage after the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final, before playing Championship side Sheffield United in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday. Pep Guardiola’s side should progress from both of those ties, but their next league game is a potential title decider against Mikel Arteta’s men, at home…
GUNMEN stormed a water park in central Mexico on Saturday and killed six adults and a child, unleashing panic among those present, local authorities said. Police “arrived at the scene where they found… three dead women, three men and a seven-year-old minor, in addition to one person seriously wounded,” said a statement from City Hall in Cortazar, the municipality where the attack took place. The surrounding state of Guanajuato in central Mexico has seen a surge in drug-related violence in recent years. The gunmen arrived at the La Palma swimming resort at 4:30 pm local time (2230 GMT) “to perpetrate…
THE death toll from a Russian strike on a block of flats in the eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk climbed to 11 on Saturday as Moscow claimed advances near embattled Bakhmut. Sloviansk lies in a part of the eastern Donetsk region that is under Ukrainian control. According to Kyiv, it was on Friday struck by seven missiles which hit five buildings, five homes, a school and an administrative building. “The number of victims of the shelling of Sloviansk has risen to 11 people,” a spokeswoman for the State Emergency Service in the region, Veronika Bakhal, said in televised remarks. A…