Author: Chukwuebuka Festus - Page 3

Pro-marijuana Candidate Cleared For Kenyan Poll

3Jun

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Elections, Kenya, News

Pro-marijuana Candidate Cleared For Kenyan Poll

A politician campaigning to legalise marijuana in Kenya has just been cleared to stand as a presidential candidate in August’s election. George Wajackoyah, a lawyer and law professor, has tried for the top job before without making much of an impact. But this time round, his pro-marijuana message has garnered headlines since he made this his platform in February. He has set up a political party called Roots that wants Kenya to decriminalise and farm cannabis to help pay off the country’s bulging debts. Read Also: 2023: Jonathan Fails To Show Up For APC Presidential Primary Screening Earlier this week, his registration to stand as a presidential candidate was turned down by the electoral commission as he did not have enough signatures. On Thursday, he resubmitted his ...

Mali Replace Nigeria At Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022

3Jun

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Mali, News, Nigeria, Sports

Mali Replace Nigeria At Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022

Mali has replaced Nigeria at the 2022 Women's Basketball World Cup set to be played in Australia in September and October. The sport's world governing body, FIBA, announced the move after the Nigerian government's decision in May to withdraw from international basketball for two years. FIBA added it will announce whether there will be any other decisions related to the Nigeria Basketball Federation's participation in other FIBA competitions and any potential disciplinary measures in due course. Those measures look set to involve the men's team and whether they will take part in the ongoing African qualifiers for the 2023 World Cup, which are due to continue in July in Rwanda. "It has become clear that given the circumstances created by the government's decision, ...

2Jun

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Judiciary, News, Tunisia

Tunisia President Sacks 57 Judges

Tunisian President Kais Saied has sacked 57 judges, accusing them of corruption and protecting terrorists. In a television address, he said he had given the judiciary multiple opportunities and warnings to "purify" itself. Among the sackings announced in the government’s official gazette was Youssef Bouzaker, the former head of the Supreme Judicial Council. Read Also: Ronaldinho Visits Tunisia To Promote Tourism President Saied replaced the council earlier this year - part of his efforts to consolidate his position after he seized power last July. He has already dismissed Tunisia’s elected parliament and set aside the constitution. Mr Saied has promised a referendum on a new constitution next month. Opposition parties and the main trade union umbrella are boycotti...

Vietnam Develops ‘World’s First’ African Swine Fever Vaccine For Commercial Use

2Jun

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Africa, African Development, Agriculture, News

Vietnam Develops ‘World’s First’ African Swine Fever Vaccine For Commercial Use

Vietnam said on Wednesday it had successfully developed a vaccine to administer to pigs to fight African swine fever, with the aim of becoming the first country to commercially produce and export it. African swine fever, one of the most devastating livestock diseases, was first detected in Vietnam in February 2019 and forced the country to cull around 20% of its hog herd last year. It originated in Africa before spreading to Europe and Asia and has killed hundreds of millions of pigs globally. African swine fever is harmless to humans. “This is a milestone of the veterinary industry,” deputy agriculture minister Phung Duc Tien said in a statement. “With immunity lasting six months, the vaccine will be a shield for hog-raising industry and pig production globally.” Read ...

African States Report 1,400 Monkeypox Cases – WHO

1Jun

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Congo, Liberia, News, Nigeria, Sierra Leone

African States Report 1,400 Monkeypox Cases – WHO

Seven African countries have cumulatively reported about 1,400 monkeypox cases this year up to mid-May, the World Health Organization (WHO) says. These include 1,392 suspected and 44 confirmed cases. The cases were reported in Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Nigeria, Congo-Brazzaville and Sierra Leone. The number of cases this year is slightly fewer than half of cases reported in last year. The WHO notes that while the virus has not spread to new African countries where it is not common, it has been expanding its geographic reach in recent years. Read Also: Ethiopia’s Dr Tedros Re-elected As WHO Head It cites Nigeria where the virus has spread from the south, where it was mainly reported until 2019, to central, easte...

Teenager With Albinism Killed For Body Parts In Mozambique

1Jun

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Crime, Human Rights, Justice, News

Teenager With Albinism Killed For Body Parts In Mozambique

A teenager with albinism was killed and dismembered in Mogovolas district, in Mozambique's northern Nampula province, for his body parts. Police say they have arrested the main suspect, who they say confessed to the murder. The detained suspect is the victim’s uncle, aged 22, according to the Nampula police spokesperson, Zacarias Nacute. The suspect told the press that he had been promised about 7 million meticais ($110,000; £87,000) for the body parts. Read Also: Catholic Priest, Others Convicted Over Albino Murder In Malawi He, whilst in the company of other unknown people, hacked off the victim's limbs on Friday. The body parts were found hidden in the town of Mputo. Police are looking for the other suspects. In the provinces of Nampula and Niassa, cases of ...

Clashes Between Chad Gold Miners Leave 100 Dead

31May

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Armed Forces, News, Violence

Clashes Between Chad Gold Miners Leave 100 Dead

Fighting between informal gold miners in a remote part of northern Chad has left around 100 people dead and 40 injured, the government says. What began as a "mundane dispute between two individuals... degenerated", Defence Minister Daoud Yaya Brahim told the AFP news agency. The mountainous Kouri Bougoudi district near the Libyan border attracts miners from across Chad and its neighbours. The clashes occurred last week but details are only emerging now. Some groups have put the death toll higher than the authorities, and have blamed the security forces for a number of the deaths. Read Also: Two More Miners Found Dead In Flooded Burkina Faso Mine The government sent a mission to the affected area - about 1,000km (620 miles) north-east of the capital, N'Djamena - wh...

World’s Largest Civilian Hospital Ship “Global Mercy” In Senegal

31May

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

African Development, News, Senegal

World’s Largest Civilian Hospital Ship “Global Mercy” In Senegal

The Global Mercy, the world's largest civilian hospital ship, made its debut in Africa in the port of Dakar where it will stay for four weeks to train health professionals, an AFP journalist noted on Monday. Senegalese President Macky Sall formally welcomed the Global Mercy on Monday morning at a ceremony attended by Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo and Comoros President Azali Assoumani. The giant ship - measuring 174 meters long and 28.6 meters wide and comprising 12 decks - arrived Friday in the port of Dakar and will stay there for four weeks until the end of June, before returning in 2023 to offer surgical care to poor populations. Its arrival coincides with a new tragedy that has shaken the country and highlighted the shortcomings of Senegal's health system. ...

Sudan Lifts State Of Emergency Imposed Since Coup

30May

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

African Development, Armed Forces, News, Security, Sudan

Sudan Lifts State Of Emergency Imposed Since Coup

Sudan's military government has lifted a state of emergency which it imposed after seizing power in a coup six months ago and recommended freedom for people detained under an emergency law. The decision by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, head of Sudan’s ruling sovereign council, came hours after the Security and Defense Council, Sudan’s highest body that decides on security matters suggested. The news came the same day as the U.N. envoy for Sudan regretted the killing of 2 anti-coup protestors in Khartoum Saturday. The two were killed in during protests in Khartoum’s Kalakla neighborhood. One was shot dead by security forces and the other suffocated after inhaling tear gas, according to the Sudan Doctors Committee, which is part of the pro-democracy movement. "Calling...

Egypt Jails Ex-presidential Candidate For 15 Years

30May

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Egypt, Judiciary, News

Egypt Jails Ex-presidential Candidate For 15 Years

An Egyptian court sentenced former presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh and several prominent figures from the banned Muslim Brotherhood to lengthy jail terms on Sunday on accusations including plotting to overthrow the state. Aboul Fotouh, who is in his early 70s and according to his family suffers from several medical conditions, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, subject to appeal, the court ruling said. Rights groups say thousands of politicians, activists and journalists are detained in Egypt after unfair trials or without legal basis. Aboul Fotouh quit the Muslim Brotherhood in 2011 after disagreements over the role of religion in politics and founded the more centrist Strong Egypt party, launching an independent bid for the presidency in 2012. The inte...