A DIPTHERIA outbreak has been declared at South Africa’s Pollsmoor Maximum Security Prison following the death of a 19-year-old inmate. Health Minister Joe Phaahla said the male inmate, who contracted the disease last month, died on Sunday. Eight more inmates, aged 18 to 23, are in isolation after testing positive for the disease. Two staff members who displayed symptoms are awaiting their results, Dr Phaahla added. He said that a vaccination drive in the affected section of the prison is under way. Diphtheria is a vaccine-preventable but highly contagious bacterial disease that affects the nose and throat and also causes…
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GHANA’s cocoa farmers are complaining that they’re broke as the cocoa board – to which they are obliged by law to sell their produce – is unable to pay them. The farmers say that the board – known as Cocobod – has not treated them fairly. Anane Boateng, the president of the Ghana National Cocoa Farmers Association, complained that while his members do all the work and shoulder the costs, Cocobod seem unable to make a profit. There are currently worries that some farmers might be forced to smuggle their remaining beans into neighbouring Ivory Coast in order to sell…
SIR Jim Ratcliffe’s deal to become a minority shareholder in Manchester United is expected to be agreed during this month’s international break, possibly as early as next week. It is expected Ratcliffe’s Ineos Group will pay around £1.25bn to buy 25%. United’s owners the Glazer family announced on 22 November 2022 they were considering selling the club. Ineos and Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani both made offers, tabling bids of around £5bn. However, neither bidder was willing to reach the Glazer family’s valuation, with co-chairs Joel and Avram Glazer both known to be reluctant sellers. Sheikh Jassim…
THE Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip said Friday an Israeli strike on the territory’s largest hospital killed dozens. “Dozens martyrs and dozen more wounded in an Israeli strike on Al-Shifa compound today” in central Gaza City, a government statement said, giving a toll AFP was not immediately able to independently verify. Al-Shifa hospital director Mohammad Abu Salmiya said “Israeli tanks fired on Al-Shifa hospital”, while the Israeli military did not offer an immediate comment. Israel reported heavy fighting on Thursday near the hospital, saying it had killed dozens of militants and destroyed tunnels that are key to Hamas’s capacity…
ISRAEL must stop killing babies and women in Gaza, French President Emmanuel Macron has told the BBC. In an exclusive interview at the Élysée Palace, he said there was “no justification” for the bombing, saying a ceasefire would benefit Israel. While recognising Israel’s right to protect itself, “we do urge them to stop this bombing” in Gaza, he said. But he also stressed that France “clearly condemns” the “terrorist” actions of Hamas. France – like Israel, the US, the UK, and other Western nations – considers Hamas a terrorist organisation. When asked if he wanted other leaders – including in…
TRANSLATORS who work for German peacekeepers in Mali have told the BBC they fear for their lives as the UN mission winds up its mission in the West African country. The 19 interpreters wrote to the German government on 7 August asking for protection as the jihadist groups that operate in northern Mali regard those who work with the UN as traitors. “The terrorists have been openly saying that any person working for international forces is considered an enemy,” a translator for the UN’s German military contingent, whose name has been withheld for safety reasons, told the BBC. A few…
THE Gabonese government says the African Development Bank (AfDB) has lifted financial sanctions imposed on the country following the removal of President Ali Bongo in a coup in August. The economy ministry said the decision was taken at the beginning of the week after “successful negotiations between the new Gabonese authorities and senior AfDB officials”. Separate rounds of talks were held in October in Morocco and the Republic of Congo. The AfDB’s decision to lift the sanctions also followed Gabon’s move to restore confidence by clearing its arrears to the continental financial institution at the end of October, the ministry…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu on Friday assured potential investors that their investments are safe in Nigeria. Speaking at the Saudi-Africa Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, President Tinubu said Nigeria is ready for business while assuring investors of some of the world’s highest returns on investment. “I also wish to assure all potential Saudi investors of the safety of their investments based on the sanctity of the rule of law and good returns on their investments in the largest economy in Africa,” the President was quoted in a statement by his media aide, Ajuri Ngelale. “In this regard, the benefit attached to…
COLOMBIA’s ELN guerrilla group on Thursday freed the father of Liverpool footballer Luis Diaz, 12 days after kidnapping him, according to live TV footage. After being handed over by the rebels to a humanitarian mission, Luis Manuel Diaz arrived by helicopter in the northeastern city of Valledupar, some 90 kilometers (56 miles) from his hometown of Barrancas where he was abducted with his wife on October 28. She was rescued the same day. “Long live Freedom and Peace,” President Gustavo Petro wrote on X, formerly Twitter, after the release. The Bishops Conference of Colombia, involved in negotiating the handover, released…
IRAN on Thursday rejected a G7 statement which called on Tehran to stop supporting Hamas militants and taking actions that “destabilise” the Middle East. Tehran’s comment came a day after foreign ministers from the G7 group of advanced economies, meeting in Tokyo, expressed support for “humanitarian pauses and corridors” in the Israeli-Hamas war. The subsequent Israeli bombing campaign in Gaza has killed more than 10,500 people, two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The G7 also called on Iran to “refrain from providing support for Hamas and taking further actions that destabilise the Middle East,…
A TEAM of surgeons in New York announced Thursday they had performed the world’s first transplant of an entire eye in a procedure widely hailed as a medical breakthrough, although it isn’t yet known whether the recipient will actually regain his sight. The groundbreaking surgery involved removing part of the face and the whole left eye of a donor and grafting them onto a line worker from Arkansas who survived a 7,200-volt electric shock in June 2021, when his face touched a live wire. Aaron James, 46, suffered extensive injuries including the loss of his left eye, his dominant left…
SOUTH African opposition leader Julius Malema has criticised Kenya’s President William Ruto for failing to fulfil the promises he made to Kenyans when he ran for office last year. Speaking on Thursday at the launch of the Pan African Institute in Kenya, Mr Malema accused President Ruto of backtracking on his commitment to lead in getting rid of the US dollar as a means of trade in Africa, highlighting a contradiction between the president’s words and actions. “I don’t know if President William Ruto means it because he said so many things and I cannot locate him these days because…
MALAWI’s currency has lost nearly half its value against the US dollar, sparking concerns from some consumers in the southern African country that basic goods will soar in price. Others have hailed the central bank’s devaluation move as “overdue”. The bank’s 44% decrease was brought in to better reflect the kwacha price in different markets. One thousand seven hundred kwacha will now be needed to buy one US dollar, up from 1,180, its statement said. It is the second time in 18 months that Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world, has significantly decreased the value of the…
THE White House says Israel has agreed to put in place four-hour daily humanitarian ceasefire in its assault on Hamas in northern Gaza starting on Thursday, as the Biden administration said it has secured a second pathway for civilians to flee fighting. President Joe Biden had asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to institute the daily ceasefire during a Monday call. US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that the first humanitarian ceasefire would be announced Thursday and that the Israelis had committed to announcing each four-hour window at least three hours in advance. Israel, he said, also was…
THE Minister of State for Defence, Dr Bello Matawalle, has assured residents and electorate in Imo, Bayelsa and Kogi of their safety and protection during Saturday’s off-season elections. Matawalle gave the assurance on Thursday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Abuja. “Adequate arrangements have been made for security agencies to deal decisively with any noise maker and anyone who wants to foment trouble or crises during the elections. “The military will be available, ’24/7′, for anyone who wants to contact them. “I, particularly, will be in the office within the period of the election so as…
Al ITTIHAD have sacked former Tottenham Hotspur manager Nuno Espirito Santo, the Saudi champions said, following a poor run of results under the Portuguese coach. Nuno was under pressure because of their struggles in the Saudi Pro League, and the club brought down the axe following a 2-0 defeat to Air Force Club of Iraq in the Asian Champions League on Monday. Nuno, who enjoyed a successful spell as Wolverhampton Wanderers boss from 2017-2021, had been in charge of Jeddah-based Al Ittihad since July last year. The former Porto coach took Al Ittihad to the Saudi title last season, but…
ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again rejected the prospect of a ceasefire in Gaza on Wednesday, amid reports of negotiations for a temporary truce with Hamas. A source close to Hamas earlier said talks were underway for the release of a dozen hostages held by the group, including six Americans, in return for a three-day ceasefire in Gaza. “I’d like to put to rest all kinds of false rumours we’re hearing from all kinds of directions, and reiterate one clear thing: there will be no ceasefire without the release of our hostages,” Netanyahu said. The source close to Hamas had…
REPUBLICANS in Congress aggressively ramped up an impeachment inquiry against US President Joe Biden on Wednesday by issuing subpoenas for testimony from his son Hunter and brother James. The attempt to compel the pair to testify came from the Oversight Committee in the House of Representatives, where the Republican majority has spent months trying to prove the president committed wrongdoing — with a view to potential impeachment. The committee has already poured over bank records and interviewed associates of Hunter Biden, the president’s troubled son, alleging a corrupt influence-peddling scheme with his father at the time he was vice president…
FIGHTING has erupted in the historic Ethiopian town of Lalibela, as government forces and local militia have clashed, residents told the BBC. Lalibela is home to 13th Century churches that are registered as Unesco world heritage sites. Fano, a militia in the surrounding Amhara region, has been battling the army since it was ordered to disband. Government spokesperson Legesse Tulu has disputed reports of violence in the city, according to Reuters news agency. But witnesses told the BBC that fighting was intense and a plane due to land at the airport on Wednesday morning failed to do so. The Amhara…
THE Kenya Red Cross has called for “emergency action” amid intensifying rains and floods that have so far killed at least 15 people and displaced more than 85,000 households in the East African state. The World Meteorological Organisation said that El Niño, the phenomenon behind the heavy rains, is likely to persist at least until April 2024. The Kenya Red Cross said that the counties of Garissa, Tana River and Kilifi were at risk of flooding as the heavy rains push water in the Tana River beyond “critical levels”. In the neighbouring Mandera county, the town of Elwak town has…