Ayo Balogun, Lagos Tragedy struck at Ikotun area of Lagos, Nigeria when three Togolese siblings were killed and their father seriously burnt when fire gutted their house. The incident, which occurred on Friday at No. 8, Odofin Close, Ikotun saw the house being razed by fire. It was gathered that the sibling’s father, one Pele […]
At least 27 people died when a boat carrying more than 200 migrants capsized in the Mediterranean, Malta’s prime minister has confirmed. Italian and Maltese ships – backed by helicopters – were scrambled to the scene and are searching in darkness. Maltese PM Joseph Muscat said 203 people had so far been rescued. The boat […]
The OPCW, the body overseeing destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons, has won the Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Committee said it was in honour of the OPCW’s “extensive work to eliminate chemical weapons”. The Hague-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons was established to enforce the 1997 Chemical Weapons convention. It recently sent inspectors […]
Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan has been released hours after being seized by militiamen, the government says. A former rebel group loosely allied to the government, the Revolutionaries Operations Room, had detained Mr Zeidan, saying they were acting on the orders of the prosecutor general. The justice ministry had denied this. The militia was one […]
By Chigozie Chikere, Lagos It was the thriller maestro James Hadley Chase who wrote the novel, A Coffin from Hong Kong, in which Nelson Ryan a private investigator arrives his office to discover a dead Chinese girl, obviously murdered. With this development, Ryan is pitched right into the teeming and sordid nightlife of Hong Kong to […]
By Eric Ojo, Pretoria Section of the Sexual Offences Act that sought to criminalise sexual acts between teenagers in the South African Bill of Rights have been declared unconstitutional and invalid by the Constitutional Court of the country. The court in a unanimous judgement delivered last week by Justice Sisi Khampepe ruled that it is […]
The African Examiner, Economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remains strong with growth forecasted to be 4.9% in 2013. Almost a third of countries in the region are growing at 6% and more, and African countries are now routinely among the fastest-growing countries in the world, according to the World Bank’s new Africa’s Pulse, a […]
Italian divers have recovered dozens more bodies from a boat carrying African migrants that sank on Thursday. Thirty-eight bodies were freed from the hull, which divers had previously been unable to access. The official death toll now stands at 232. Divers “unpacked a wall of people”, a navy officer said, adding that corpses were “so […]
Two weeks ago, some major Ghanaian newspapers and prominent radio stations reported that the First National Bank (FNB) of Nigeria has received final approval from the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to take over the assets of International Commercial Bank (ICB). Curiously, the terse statements did not mention the sale price for the ICB shares that were […]
Fourteen people have been killed in violent clashes between Christians and Muslims in an isolated town in eastern Central African Republic that began last week, police and a senior Catholic official said on Sunday. The mineral-rich but impoverished nation has descended into chaos since northern Seleka rebels seized the capital, Bangui, and ousted President Francois […]
Libya’s prime minister has called on Washington to explain a special forces raid on its territory, one of two by US commandos in Africa on Saturday. Ali Zeidan’s office said he had asked for clarification and stressed Libya was “keen on prosecuting any Libyan citizen inside Libya”. The raid captured al-Qaeda leader, Anas al-Liby, whom […]
Four men believed to have been involved in the deadly shopping centre attack in Nairobi last month have been named. The Kenyan military said Abu Baara al-Sudani, Omar Nabhan, Khattab al-Kene and Umayr – shown in new CCTV footage – were killed during the standoff. Kenya said previously 10-15 militants had been involved, but the […]
At least 130 African migrants have died and many more are missing after a boat carrying them to Europe sank off the southern Italian island of Lampedusa. A total of 103 bodies have been recovered and more have been found inside the wreck, coast guards say. Passengers reportedly threw themselves into the sea when a […]
By Okey Ndibe On the night of Saturday, September 21, 2013, I found myself talking admiringly about Kofi Nyidevu Awoonor, the Ghanaian poet, novelist, literary scholar, diplomat and teacher extraordinaire. The venue was Brooklyn, New York. My wife and I were there because, the next day, I was scheduled to speak at the Brooklyn Book […]
Voters in Cameroon went to the polls on Monday in local and parliamentary elections expected to be dominated by supporters of President Paul Biya, one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders. Biya, 80, has ruled over Central Africa’s largest economy for three decades after coming to power in 1982 following the resignation of his predecessor. His Cameroon […]
By Daniel Danquah Damptey Electricity Company of Ghana has done the unthinkable. In fact, they have done the abominable. It harbours a lot of Boko Harem and Al-Qaeda in its belly. If I had my own way, the entire management staff would be taken to the nearest shooting range and summarily executed. Nobody should doubt my […]
Security forces in Sudan have shot dead at least 50 people in days of protests over fuel subsidy cuts, human rights groups have said. Police fired tear gas to disperse more protesters on Friday, witnesses have told the BBC. Officials say fewer than 29 people have died, and they insist that the subsidy was unaffordable. Protesters […]
A UN-backed special court in The Hague has rejected an appeal against war crimes convictions by lawyers representing former Liberian President Charles Taylor. It ruled that his convictions had been proved beyond doubt. Taylor appeared impassive in court as the judge upheld his convictions and 50-year sentence. He was sentenced in May 2012 for aiding […]
A spokesman for Uganda’s police says officials have bolstered security in all sensitive national installations in the wake of the Nairobi mall attack. Ibin Ssenkunbi says the government has been reassuring the public that it has implemented measures to protect life and property. “We have increased our vigilances and provided security on all vital installations […]
Reuters journalists near the upmarket Westgate complex heard sporadic shots and also heavy bursts of rifle fire and muffled blasts on at least two occasions after daybreak. Kenyan troops moved around outside the building. A Kenyan Red Cross official, Abbas Guled, said there had been clashes inside the building. But there was no indication of […]
