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Cameroon police arrest ‘suspected homosexuals’ at AIDS centre
Police in Cameroon have arrested nine people on suspicion of homosexuality, most of them at an HIV/AIDS care centre, an LGBT rights lawyer said on Thursday. A police officer in the western town of Bafoussam, where the nine were detained on Tuesday and remained in custody two days later, said “we arrested them to verify whether they were homosexuals”. “By the end of the day, we will see, based on the evidence, whether some may be released and others referred to the prosecutor’s office,” which will decide whether to charge them, told AFP on condition of anonymity. Seven of those arrested were picked up at the headquarters of the Colibri association, whose main mission is the care of people infected with HIV/AIDS, according to lawyer Alice Nkom of the Association for the Defence of Homosexual...
Anambra introduces coronavirus mobile testing
The Commissioner for Health in Anambra State, Vincent Okpala, said on Thursday that the government, through its Ministry of Health, has introduced more aggressive measures, including mobile testing, in order to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the state. Mr Okpala, a medical doctor, told newsmen in Awka that the ministry has introduced a drive-through COVID-19 testing where samples would be collected while the residents go about their normal businesses. The commissioner said a mobile truck with medical officers would drive through the streets to collect samples from the people voluntarily. He appealed to the public to avail themselves of this opportunity and go out for free and voluntary testing. The mobile team would also visit churches in the state to counsel the people on the need to go f...
Hundreds of thousands protest in Myanmar as army faces crippling mass strike
Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets in Myanmar for a ninth day of anti-coup demonstrations on Sunday, as the new army rulers grappled to contain a strike by government workers that could cripple their ability to run the country. People surround a police vehicle as they protest against the military coup, in Yangon, Myanmar February 12, 2021 in this still grab obtained by Reuters from a video on February 13, 2021. Trains in parts of the country stopped running after staff refused to go to work, local media reported, while the military deployed soldiers to power plants only to be confronted by angry crowds. A civil disobedience movement to protest against the Feb. 1 coup that deposed the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi started with doctors. It now affects a swa...
Myanmar police fire rubber bullets, wounding three, as hundreds of thousands protest
Supporters of ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi clashed with police on Friday as hundreds of thousands joined nationwide pro-democracy demonstrations in defiance of the military junta’s call to halt mass gatherings. The United Nations human rights office said more than 350 people, including officials, activists and monks, have been arrested in Myanmar since the Feb. 1 coup, including some who face criminal charges on “dubious grounds”. The U.N. rights investigator for Myanmar told a special session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva that there were “growing reports, photographic evidence” that security forces have used live ammunition against protesters, in violation of international law. Special Rapporteur Thomas Andrews urged the U.N. Security Council to consider imposing sanctio...
Anger over arrests in Myanmar at anti-coup protests
Opponents of Myanmar’s military coup sustained mass protests for an eighth straight day on Saturday as continuing arrests of junta critics added to anger over the detention of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Thousands assembled in the business hub, Yangon, while protesters took to the streets of the capital Naypyitaw, the second city Mandalay and other towns a day after the biggest protests so far in the Southeast Asian country. “Stop kidnapping at night,” was among the signs held up by protesters in Yangon in response to arrest raids in recent days. The United Nations human rights office said on Friday more than 350 people, including officials, activists and monks, have been arrested in Myanmar since the Feb. 1 coup, including some who face criminal charges on “dubious grounds”. Anger in...
AC Milan ready to pay €30 million for Real Madrid’s Brahim Diaz
AC Milan are willing to pay as much as €30 million (£26m/$36m) to land Real Madrid forward Brahim Diaz, with the 21-year-old having made a positive impact during his loan spell with the Serie A side. Goal can reveal that Milan bosses are keen to make the loan move permanent and, although they do not have a purchase option, they are keen to discuss a transfer with Madrid. While Brahim has always wanted to succeed at the Bernabeu, Madrid will now weigh up whether to keep him beyond the end of the 2020-21 campaign or sell for what would be a significant amount amid the coronavirus crisis. Following his loan switch to Milan in September 2020, Brahim immediately took to life in Italy and has become an important member of Stefano Pioli’s first-team squad. He has made 25 appearances in all compet...
Russia invades homes of Jehovah’s Witnesses
Russian police and officers of the Federal Security Service (FSB) today raided the homes of several Jehovah’s Witnesses in Moscow, in an ongoing crackdown. Moscow outlawed the sect in 2017, labelling it “extremist,” following up with the sentencing of apprehended members to lengthy jail terms. The Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, confirmed the detaining of several leaders and members. Prosecutors, the FSB security services and the national guard carried out searches at 16 addresses, the committee said. Investigators said the Jehovah’s Witnesses had established a branch in the capital where “secret meetings” were convened to study “religious literature”. Founded in the United States in the late 1870s by Charles Taze Russell, the religious movement has been repeatedly accu...
Court dismisses case against CBN’s directives on bank charges
The Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta, Ogun State Capital, has dismissed a suit instituted by a legal practitioner, Olumide Babalola, challenging the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) policy on Current Account maintenance Fee contained in the Guide to the Charges by Banks and other financial Institutions of January 2020. Babalola had instituted the action in the name of his law firm, Babalola LP, in which he contended that the policy and guidelines of the CBN violated his fundamental human rights. The CBN, through its Counsel, Adeleke Agbola, of Cheakley Chambers, however challenged the suit on the ground that the plaintiff lacked the legal capacity to institute the suit on a policy that affects the public. In his Notice of Preliminary Objection to the Suit, Agbola had contended that the ...
Somali opposition leaders ‘no longer recognise president’
Jack Hill/Reuters Somalia’s opposition leaders have announced that they no longer recognise President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, after his term expired without a political agreement on a path toward elections to replace him. The Horn of Africa nation was supposed to hold indirect elections before February 8 but the deadline was missed as the central government and federal states failed to break a deadlock over how to proceed with a vote. It now confronts a political crisis alongside a violent Islamist insurgency, a locust invasion and serious food shortages. A coalition of opposition candidates urged the president, better known by his nickname Farmajo, to “respect the constitution” and ensure a peaceful transfer of power in the fragile country. “Starting from 8th February 2021, the council...
NESG: Nigerian economy to beat IMF growth forecast in 2021
The Nigerian Economic Summit Group has predicted a growth rate of 2.9 per cent for the Nigerian economy in 2021, higher than the 1.5 per cent growth rate suggested by the International Monetary Fund. The NESG identified eight key policies and events that will help shape the outlook of Nigerian economy in 2021. This is contained in the group’s 2021 Macroeconomic Outlook Report titled, “Four Priorities for the Nigerian Economy in 2021 and Beyond,” launched virtually on Tuesday. According to the report, for Nigeria’s economy to get back on track, the economy needs a high, robust and sustained economic growth that will deliver a significant reduction in unemployment and poverty. The report said the government’s most important agenda in 2021 must be to address these problems as a foundation for...
Nigeria expects 41 million coronavirus vaccine doses from African Union
Nigeria expects to receive 41 million Covid-19 vaccine doses from the African Union, the head of the country’s primary healthcare agency said on Monday, while the health minister said vaccines from Russia and India were being considered. Authorities in Africa’s most populous country, which has 200 million people, plan to inoculate 40% of the population this year and another 30% in 2022. The African Union initially secured 270 million Covid-19 vaccine doses from manufacturers for member states. Last week it was announced that the bloc would receive another 400 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Faisal Shuaib, who heads the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, said Nigeria’s previous request for 10 million doses through the AU had been increased four-fold. “We have applied...
Nigeria records 1,883 new coronavirus infections
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed 1,883 new cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) infections, bringing the total number of infected people in the country to 130,557. The NCDC disclosed this on its official website late Saturday. Newsmen report that the country has so far tested 1,270,523 people since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 was recorded in Nigeria on Feb. 27, 2020. The health agency also confirmed one coronavirus-related death in the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 1,578 in Nigeria. NCDC noted that the 1,883 new COVID-19 infections occurred in 22 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). It stated that Lagos State registered the highest number with 1,040 infections, taking the total number of infected people in the state to 48,919. The NCDC ...
