UNICEF and partners, Wednesday, launched the U-Report, an innovative SMS-based platform that empowers Nigerians by enabling them to participate and engage in policy-making and governance and access real time information on key social issues. U-Report enables those who voluntarily register , known as U-reporters – to speak-out on what is …
Read More »World’s first malaria vaccine ready for approval
The world’s first malaria vaccine could be approved by international regulators for use in Africa from October after final trial data showed it offered partial protection for up to four years. The vaccine, RTS,S, made by GlaxoSmithKline, is designed for children in Africa and would be the first licensed human …
Read More »One child in five still not vaccinated, says WHO
Nearly 22 million infants missed out in 2013 on the routine vaccine against diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus One-fifth of the world’s children are still not receiving routine life-saving vaccinations and efforts to ensure global immunisation coverage remain “far off track,” the World Health Organization said Wednesday. Nearly 22 …
Read More »Iraqi Forces To Take Tikrit From IS In 1 Week
The head of a Shia militia brigade, fighting alongside government forces, said that IS militants still held about 70% of Tikrit’s town centre. The Shia leader expressed optimism that Tikrit would be “liberated,” even if it required street-to-street fighting. Soldiers and militiamen have reportedly retaken key sites, including a Police …
Read More »Nigeria: Boko Haram bomb factory uncovered in troubled northeast
The factory was tucked inside a fertilizer company in Buni Yadi town in Yobe state, according to officials. Islamist fighters took over the town in August, one of many seized in the troubled northeast. Troops have battled the militants for months to regain control, and said they recaptured it last …
Read More »Foreign media plot to embarrass Nigeria – Minister
The supervising Minister of Information, Edem Duke, has alleged of a plot by a section of the foreign media to put Nigeria in bad light. He stated this on Tuesday in Abuja while inaugurating the newly appointed Director General of Voice of Nigeria, VON, Sampson Worlu. Mr. Duke, who is …
Read More »Nigeria’s President: Boko Haram Trained with Islamic State
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan says fighters from insurgent group Boko Haram have traveled to the Middle East for training with Islamic State militants. Jonathan declined to name the countries where the fighters were allegedly trained. But in an interview with VOA Wednesday, he said he’s long suspected Boko Haram of …
Read More »Islamic State introduces new restrictions to prevent Mosul residents from fleeing city
Freedom from the Islamic State group comes at a steep price, as one newly wedded couple recently discovered. Eager to live a normal life, away from the harsh dominion of the militants’ self-styled caliphate, the young pair is searching for ways to bypass the extremists’ newly-implemented departure taxes and escape …
Read More »Jonathan admits Nigeria lied over Morocco phone row; orders probe
President Goodluck Jonathan admitted Friday that he did not speak on telephone with the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, as claimed last week by Nigeria’s foreign affairs ministry, an apparently false claim that sparked a diplomatic spat between the two countries with Morocco recalling its ambassador. The president ordered a …
Read More »Crack baby myth goes up in smoke
PHILADELPHIA – From the moment she was born, much of the country assumed Jaimee Drakewood was doomed. Her mother had her in the throes of a crack cocaine addiction. She was, as the politicians dubbed it, a crack baby. “I immediately get defensive,” Drakewood, now 25, says about hearing the …
Read More »Healing Cameroonians Chinese style
Yaounde, Cameroon – On the day Hu Guang was supposed to fly back home to China’s Si Cuan Cheng Du province, she checked the weather. The forecast? Heavy snow and frigid temperatures. That’s the day Huang decided to remain in the dependably warm African country of Cameroon, with its mountainous landscapes and sunny …
Read More »Ebola-related deaths pass 10,000 mark
The tally of Ebola-related deaths has passed the grim milestone of 10,000, mostly in West Africa, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said. The UN health agency said on Thursday that Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone alone had reported 10,004 confirmed, probable and suspected deaths from the virus since the beginning of the biggest-ever Ebola outbreak …
Read More »Gaza fishermen: A life under attack
Gaza City – Abu Mohammad el-Hissi spent his whole life working on fishing boats before eventually becoming head of the Gaza-based Palestinian Fishermen’s Society. Due to the eight-year Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza, the 70-year-old Hissi says Palestinian fishermen can no longer make a decent living. “This work isn’t enough to …
Read More »Russia cuts interest rates as rouble crisis eases
Russia’s central bank has cut its key interest rate by one percentage point to 14%, as concerns over inflation recede as Russia’s economy falters. The move, which was widely expected, comes as the rouble stabilises following its radical 46% decline in 2014. That drop prompted the bank to increase rates …
Read More »Islamic State ‘accepts’ Boko Haram’s allegiance pledge
Islamic State (IS) has accepted a pledge of allegiance from Nigeria’s militant group Boko Haram, according to an audio message. In the tape, which has not been verified, an IS spokesman says the aim of establishing a caliphate has now been expanded to West Africa. Last week, Boko Haram posted …
Read More »UK Jewellers Refuse To Sell Watch To Samuel Eto’o
Former Chelsea striker Samuel Eto’o today claimed he was the victim of racism when he went shopping in a west London jewellers. The 34-year-old from Cameroon, who now plays for Italian club Sampdoria, said he was targeted after trying to buy a £10,000 watch. Eto’o — once the world’s highest-paid …
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