More bomb blasts in northern Nigeria

A car bomb killed at least 10 people at a crowded bus stop in the northeast Nigerian city of Gombe on Friday morning, emergency services said. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blast, but Islamist group Boko Haram has been blamed for a string of bomb attacks in the region this year. People continued to flee on Friday from the northeastern town of Mubi, captured and ransacked by Boko Haram this week.

Witness Godfrey Anebo told Reuters he saw emergency workers pull eight people from the wreckage in Gombe, all of whom appeared to be dead. “I am not sure what the death toll will be at the end but it will shoot up very high because the bus stop was very full of commuters,” Anebo said. An emergency services official at the scene told Reuters at least 10 people had died and several were wounded. The military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The government announced a cease-fire with Boko Haram nearly two weeks ago as part of efforts to negotiate the release of more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by the group in April.

But violence has intensified since, further denting public confidence in the government's efforts to end the conflict. Boko Haram has killed thousands of people and abducted hundreds since launching its uprising in Africa's largest oil producer in 2009.

Reuters

Do African celebrate Halloween? Here are facts you didnt know about today's craze

Halloween is the spookiest night of the year, when spirits wander the earth freely and children wander the neighbourhood seeking candy and causing havoc.

But how much do you really know about Halloween?

MSN Lifestyle rounded up 13 of the best facts about Halloween, from its history to bizarre laws targeting mischief makers. You might be surprised at what you find.

1. There's a $1,000 fine for using or selling Silly String in Hollywood on Halloween.

The prank product has been banned in Hollywood since 2004 after thousands of bored people would buy it on the streets of Hollywood from illegal vendors and "vandalize" the streets. The city ordinance calls for a maximum $US1,000 fine and/or six months in jail for "use, possession, sale or distribution of Silly String in Hollywood from 12:01 AM on October 31 to 12:00 PM on November 1."

2. Dressing up on Halloween comes from the Celts.

Celts believed Samhain was a time when the wall between our world and the paranormal world was porous and spirits could get through. Because of this belief, it was common for the Celts to wear costumes and masks during the festival to ward off or befuddle any evil spirits.

3. The moniker "Halloween" comes from the Catholics.

Hallowmas is a three-day Catholic holiday where saints are honored and people pray for the recently deceased. At the start of the 11th century, it was decreed by the pope that it would last from Oct. 31 (All Hallow's Eve) until Nov. 2, most likely because that was when Samhain was celebrated and the church was trying to convert the pagans.

"All Hallow's Eve" then evolved into "All Hallow's Even," and by the 18th century it was commonly referred to as "Hallowe'en."

4. We should carve turnips, not pumpkins.

The origin of Jack-O-Lanterns comes from a Celtic folk tale of a stingy farmer named Jack who would constantly play tricks on the devil. The devil responded by forcing him to wander purgatory with only a burning lump of coal from hell. Jack took the coal and made a lantern from a turnip, using it to guide his lost soul.

The myth was brought over by Irish families fleeing the potato famine in the 1800s, and since turnips were hard to come by in the US, America's pumpkins were used as a substitute to guide lost souls and keep evil spirits like "Jack of the Lantern" away.

5. Halloween symbols aren't random.

Black cats, spiders, and bats are all Halloween symbols because of their spooky history and ties to Wiccans. All three were thought to be the familiars of witches in the middle ages, and are often associated with bad luck.

Bats are even further connected to Halloween by the ancient Samhain ritual of building a bonfire, which drove away insects and attracted bats.

6. Fears of poisoned Halloween candy are unfounded.

One of parents' biggest fears is that their child's Halloween candy is poisoned or contains razor blades.

In reality, this fear is almost entirely unfounded. There are only two known cases of poisoning, and both involved relatives, according to LiveScience. In 1970, a boy died of a heroin overdose. The investigators found it on his candy, but in a twist they later discovered the boy had accidentally consumed some of his uncle's heroin stash, and the family had sprinkled some on the candy to cover up the incident.

Even more horrifically, in 1974 Timothy O'Bryan died after eating a Pixy Stix his father had laced with cyanide to collect on the insurance money, according to Smithsonian Magazine.

And now, parents in Colorado are worried about their children eating candy infused with marijuana. We'll have to wait to see how widespread this problem turns out to be.

7. Halloween and the candy industry supposedly influenced Daylight Savings Time.

Candy makers supposedly lobbied to extend daylight savings time into the beginning of November to get an extra hour of daylight so children could collect even more candy (thus forcing people to purchase more sweets to meet the demand).

They wanted it so badly that during the 1985 hearings on daylight saving time, they put candy pumpkins on the seat of committee members, according to NPR. (The candy industry disputes this account, according to The New York Times.)

8. Candy Corn was originally known as "chicken feed."

Invented by George Renninger, a candy maker at the Wunderle Candy Company of Philadelphia in the 1880s, Candy Corn was originally called "butter cream candies" and "chicken feed" since back then, corn was commonly used as food for livestock (they even had a rooster on the candy boxes).

It had no association with Halloween or fall, and was sold seasonally from March to November. After World War II, advertisers began marketing it as a special Halloween treat due to its colours and ties to the fall harvest.

9. A full moon on Halloween is extremely rare.

Though a common trope in horror movies and Halloween decorations with witches flying across the full moon, it's actually extremely uncommon for the monthly event to coincide with October 31, or any other date, for that matter.

The next full moon on Halloween won't occur until 2020. The most recent Halloween full moon was back in 2001, and before that it was in 1955.

10. Halloween is still the Wiccan New Year.

Halloween originates from a Celtic tradition called Samhain, a festival that marked the end of the Celtic calendar year in Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. They believed it was a time that spirits or fairies could enter our world, and the Celts would put out treats and food to placate the spirits -- sometimes, a place at the table was even set for the souls of the dead.

Wiccans still celebrate Samhain as a New Year celebration today.

11. Trick-or-treating has been around for a long time.

Versions of trick-or-treating have existed since medieval times. In the past, it was known as "guising" where children and poor adults went around in costumes during Hallowmas begging for food and money in exchange for songs or prayers. It was also called "souling."

12. Trick-or-treating as we know it was re-popularised by cartoons.

Trick-or-treating was brought to America by the Irish and became popular during the early 20th century, but died out during WWII when sugar was rationed. After the rationing ended in 1947, children's magazine "Jack and Jill," radio program "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet," and the "Peanuts" comic strip all helped to re-popularise the tradition of dressing up in costumes and asking for candy from door-to-door.

By 1952, trick-or-treating was hugely popular again.

13. Halloween is the second-most commercial American holiday of the year.

The candy industry in America rakes in an average of $US2 billion annually thanks to Halloween (that's 90 million pounds of chocolate).

Americans spend an estimated $US6 billion on Halloween annually, including candy, costumes, and decorations, according to History.com. (The most commercial holiday in the US is obviously Christmas.)

Culled from MSN Lifestyle

British Ebola aid ship RFA Argus arrives in Sierra Leone

A UK ship has arrived in Sierra Leone to help deal with the deadly Ebola outbreak in the West African country.

Royal Fleet Auxiliary Argus is carrying food, medical equipment and 32 pick-up trucks, to help keep hard-pressed Ebola treatment centres going.
Doctors, nurses and military personnel are also on board. The ship has docked in the capital, Freetown. Ebola has killed nearly 5,000 people and infected more than 10,000 in West Africa since March.
 
RFA Argus set sail from Falmouth in Cornwall on 17 October and is also carrying three Royal Navy Merlin helicopters. The BBC's Africa correspondent Andrew Harding said it would act as an offshore base for the aid effort, and described it as an "important moment".
He said there was now the "beginnings of hope" in Freetown that the giant international aid effort was beginning to get under way.

The Ship brought;

• 100 hospital beds
  
• 3 Merlin helicopters
  
• 350 crew, including:
  
• 83 medics and
  
• 80 Royal Marines
  

At 28,000 tonnes, the ship is one of the Royal Navy's larger support vessels, but despite having its own onboard hospital, it will not be used to directly treat anyone who has come into contact with the virus. 

If any of the crew or the Royal Marines on board become infected they would be kept in isolation, and then taken to one of the clinics on the ground.

A tough week for South African sports with three deaths

South Africans will go to a memorial service at a sports stadium to pay their final respects to three sporting figures who died within three days of each other. As news spread of the death of Olympic silver medalist Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, the country learned of the murder of popular national soccer team captain and goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa and less than a day later the sports ministry announced that professional boxer Phindile Mwelase had died.

The ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that the combined memorial service would be held in Johannesburg at Ellis Park sports stadium, which holds more than 6,000 people, on Thursday. "As a nation we have celebrated the victories of these three national sports athletes together and now we stand together to bid them farewell," said Aleck Skhosana, president of Athletics South Africa.

Meyiwa, who was also the goalkeeper of Orlando Pirates, one of South Africa's most popular club soccer teams, was shot in an apparent robbery on Sunday night and police have released drawings of two men involved in the incident. No arrests have been made yet.

South Africa's national soccer coach Ephraim Mashaba has delayed naming the squad set to play in two qualifying games in the African Cup of Nations. Mashaba, who was due to announce the team on Thursday, said Meyiwa would have been the first name on his list.

Mulaudzi, a former 800-meter world champion who carried South Africa's flag during the opening ceremony of the 2004 Athens Olympics, was killed in a car crash on Friday.

Female welterweight fighter Mwelase died in hospital Saturday after being in a coma for two weeks after she was knocked out during a fight. Her death was announced on Monday.

All three will be buried in their respective hometowns over the weekend

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan seeks re-election

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan seeks re-election. Officially picked up his party's nomination form for 2015 elections yesterday

Mozambique set to issue more oil and gas blocks

Mozambique had last week Thursday opened up 15 new offshore and onshore areas for gas and oil exploration and production in its north, centre and south, a week after national elections which are expected to return the ruling Frelimo party to power.

The blocks on offer in the latest licensing round launched in Maputo and London included three new areas of the northern Rovuma Basin, where U.S. oil major Anadarko Petroleum Corp and Italy's Eni are already developing multi-billion-dollar liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects.


Around 180 trillion cubic feet of gas have been found in the Rovuma Basin, enough to supply Germany, Britain, France and Italy for 18 years. Mozambican officials expect more than $30 billion will be invested initially in the natural gas sector to build capacity to produce 20 million tonnes per year of liquefied natural gas (LNG), with first exports due to start in 2018.


Other areas offered on Thursday in the fifth gas and oil licensing round held by Mozambique included six offshore blocks in the central Zambezi Delta, and two more off Angoche in the northern province of Nampula. Mineral Resources Minister Esperanca Bias led the presentation in London and Jose Branquinho, director of resource evaluation at the National Institute of Petroleum (INP), delivered the one in Maputo.   
The onshore areas on offer were three in the central-south Pande-Temane zone and one at Palmeira in the south.

More protests as Burkina Faso's Parliament building is torched

The protest against Burkina Faso's President Blaise Compaore's desire to continue his clinch to power after 27 years took a new turn as the angry mob set the nation's Parliament on fire. The choice of the Parliament building was said to be because the members of parliament had decided to review the nation's constitution to enable Compaore remain in power

Lagos Fashion Week kicked off yesterday.

Fashion & Design Week 2014.

The event started on Wednesday 29th October and will run till Saturday 1st November 2014.Its promising some of the best in fashion showcasing their stellar collections live on the runway.

See the schedule below

Day 1 – Wednesday 29th October 2014
5PM – Teola 1926 + Otumemine
5:40PM – Pablo Sisiano + Weiz Dhurm Franklyn
6:20PM – April by Kunbi
6:30PM – LFDW X Retail Merchandising + Caven Etomi
7:30PM – Phunk Afrique + Orente Ayaba
8:10PM – Amede + Samson Soboye
8:40PM – LFDW Fashion Focus

Day 2 – Thursday 30th October 2014
5PM – Fayrouz L’Original presents Team Elan
5:40PM – Mi-Le + Dzyn
6:20PM – McMeka + Kenneth Ize
6:30PM – LFDW X Retail + Stranger
7:30PM – Washington Roberts
8PM – Grey
8:30PM – Sunny Rose
9PM – Maki Oh

Day 3 – Friday 31st October 2014
5PM – Ella & Gabby + Kiki Kamanu
5:40PM – ROF (Republic of Foreigner)
6:20PM – Re Bahia + IAmIsigo
6:30PM – LFDW X Retail + L’Espace
7:30PM – Orange Culture
8PM – Maybelline Presents
8:30PM – Iconic Invanity
9PM – Tsemaye Binitie
9:40PM – Lisa Folawiyo

Day 4 – Saturday 1st November 2014
4PM – GTBank Capsule Collection
4:40PM – Ade Bakare
5:20PM – Mai Atafo
5:30PM – LFDW X Retail + Faspa
6:30PM – Wana Sambo + Meena
7:10PM – Bridget Awosika + Ejiro Amos Tafiri
7:40PM – Sophie Zinga
8:20PM – Okunoren Twins
9PM – Lanre Da Silva Ajayi
9:40PM – Tiffany Amber

The GTBank LFDW is set to take place at the Federal Palace Hotel & Casino, Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Lagos.

For more details and ticket information please visit www.lagosfashionanddesignweek.com

Rwanda ranked ahead of Britain on gender equality

  

Rwanda ranks ahead of Britain in a new report on gender equality. The World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report placed three African Nations ahead of Britain. The other two countries are South Africa and Burundi.

While Rwanda made it to the top ten, the other two are still ahead of Britain which came in 26th place.

Secularist Nidaa Tounes party wins Tunisia election

Nidaa Tounes supporters were celebrating even before official results were announced

Tunisia's secularist party Nidaa Tounes has won 85 seats in the country's parliament following Sunday's elections, official results show. The governing Islamist Ennahda party won 69 seats in the 217-seat chamber.   The official results confirm earlier predictions and Ennahda officials have already urges Nidaa Tounes to form an inclusive government.

Tunisia's transition to democratic rule after a 2011 revolt has been hailed as a regional success story. The revolt was the first and least violent of the Arab Spring uprisings against autocratic governments across the region. The parliamentary poll was the second such election since the uprising.
 
Tunisia's secularists and Islamists have managed the transition to democracy with less acrimony and bloodshed than their neighbours, correspondents say. The country nevertheless faces a persistent low-level threat from militants.
 
Around five million Tunisians were registered to cast their ballot.

African Migrants in China's third largest city Guangzhou

African migrants have been arriving in Guangzhou, China's third largest city ever since the Chinese economic boom began in the late 1990s.
Current estimates put their numbers anywhere from 20,000 to 200,000. The latter figure would place their population at almost two percent of Guangzhou's 13 million residents. In any event, Guangzhou's Africans constitute Asia's largest African community. The majority of them reside in a 10 square kilometre area in the central districts of Yuexiu and Baiyun locally known as "Chocolate City".
Many of Guangzhou's Africans are short term residents who arrive by plane on 30-day tourist visas with little more than the clothes on their backs and as much Chinese yuan as they and their families can cobble together. Their plan is to purchase cheap goods to sell back home, which may be anywhere from Lagos, Nigeria, to Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Abubakkar Barrie, 32, an MBA student from Sierra Leone, manages other traders' shipping by selling space in shipping containers. "I came to China because it is the centre of international business," he says.
Although he is excited by the opportunities available in Guangzhou, Barrie admits that there are cultural barriers for Africans in Guangzhou. "Although I work with many Chinese, I have never once been invited to their homes."

Barrie's friend Bah Umaru Alpha, 26, is worried about the Ebola outbreak in his home town of Kerema, but with his own business to run, a wife and a nine-month-old child, returning home is out of the question.

Unlike African migrants who have children with Chinese nationals, African couples in China have no access to state healthcare and education. “As my son gets older, I'm worried about him being allowed to go to school. He was born here, but he doesn't have the same rights as Chinese children,” Alpha said.

/Dave Tacon/Al Jazeera

'Fine', a Nigerian who declined to give his last name and his Chinese girlfriend pose outside the Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral. Some African migrants are able to operate businesses through Chinese partners, although permanent residency is almost impossible to acquire.

/Dave Tacon/Al Jazeera

Two female African worshippers walk by a throng of beggars as they leave the Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral after Sunday service. Guangzhou has the largest African community in Asia and the church's English language Sunday service attracts more than 1,000 African Christians each week.

/Dave Tacon/Al Jazeera

Bah Mohamed Alsrahid, 32, from Kerema, Sierra Leone, travels the subway. Bah, who studies mining engineering at university in Wuhan travelled to  visit some Sierra Leonean friends.

/Dave Tacon/Al Jazeera

Abubakarr Barrie, 32, is an assistant manager of an international freight company, in the Tianxiu Building, that ships goods to West Africa. Barrie is currently completing an MBA at the university in Guangzhou, which has the largest African community in Asia.

/Dave Tacon/Al Jazeera

Mohammed, a Nigerian who declined to give his last name, negotiates the price of underwear with a trader at the wholesale market inside the Tianxiu Building. Mohammed had flown from Lagos to purchase underwear wholesale for sale in Nigeria. 

/Dave Tacon/Al Jazeera

An African family wait at a bus stop in Xiaobei district, which is known for its many wholesale markets. Guangzhou has the largest African community in Asia and an African quarter colloqially know by its residents as 'Chocolate City'.

/Dave Tacon/Al Jazeera

An African woman walks past a store specialising in wigs and hair extensions at a wholesale market inside the Tianxiu Building where many Africans have offices and residential apartments.

/Dave Tacon/Al Jazeera

An African man walks by a store specialising in attire for Muslim women at a wholesale market near Xiaobei metro station. Guangzhou has the largest African community in Asia with a floating population of traders who fly in on 30-day visas.

/Dave Tacon/Al Jazeera

Bah Umaru Alpha, 26, from Kenema, Sierra Leone, and his nine-month-old son Mohammed, at the window of Alpha's apartment in the Tianxiu Building near Xiaobei metro station.

/Dave Tacon/Al Jazeera

Three African women get pedicures at a wholesale market near Xiaobei metro station.

/Dave Tacon/Al Jazeera

African women shop at a wholesale market near Xiaobei metro station. 

/Dave Tacon/Al Jazeera

Bah Abdoulaye, 42, and his Chinese wife and their two daughters at their clothing shop in a wholesale market near Xiaobei metro station. Abdoulaye, who fled civil war in his home in Sierra Leone obtained a refugee visa through the UN.

/Dave Tacon/Al Jazeera

An African woman crosses a road near a wholesale market near Xiaobei metro station while an ethnic Uighur from Xinjiang Province sells kebabs from a grill by the roadside.

/Dave Tacon/Al Jazeera

Bah Umaru Alpha, 26, and his brother, Bah Thiero Ibrahima, 28, from Kerema, Sierra Leone, are on their way to the mosque in a motorcycle rickshaw.

/Dave Tacon/Al Jazeera

The Bah brothers participate in the evening prayer during Ramadan at Huaisheng Mosque - China's oldest mosque which was built 1,300 years ago.

Terror group Boko Haram take over Nigerian Army HQ in Mubi Northern Nigeria

According to a report by Sahara Reporters, suspected members of Boko Haram entered Mubi town in Adamawa state yesterday Oct. 29th and took over the army headquarters of the 234 battalion in the town.

The troops guarding the barracks reportedly initially exchanged fire with the sect men but fled after they realized they were outnumbered by the militants and their heavy firepower.

In a related development, the sect members are reported to have attacked Uba and Hildi towns and other locations in Borno and Adamawa states on the. 29th of Oct. According to residents of the villages, the sect men arrived in the early hours, shooting at them, burning buildings and forcefully took away their food stuff.

Zambia produces Africa's first white President in 20 years

 The Scott's with the Obama's

The death of Zambian President Michael Sata has paved the way for the emergence of Africa's first white President since South African de Klerk left power. The country's current Vice President Guy Scott has been named the interim leader of Africa's second largest copper producing nation.

Born in Zambia to Scottish parents, 70 year old Scott studied Economics in Cambridge and will hold forth till the elections are held in three months time. He isnt eligible to run for the post of President since his parents werent born in Zambia.

Zambian President Sata dies in London

Sata, 77, had been in office since September, 2011 [AP]

Zambian President Michael Sata has died in London, where he had been receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness, three private Zambian media outlets said. The reports on the private Muzi television station, and the Zambia Reports and Zambian Watchdog websites, said the southern African nation's cabinet was about to meet.
An official told Al Jazeera that the death had been announced to the cabinet. 
Reuters news agency also reported that a government source had confirmed the death.
"It is true. We lost the President. The acting president will make a statement soon," the source said. Government officials gave no immediate comment. The reports said Sata had died on Tuesday evening at London's King Edward VII hospital. The hospital declined to comment.
 
Sata, 77, left Zambia for medical treatment on October 19 accompanied by his wife and family members, according to a brief government statement that gave no further details.
There has been no official update on his condition and acting president Edgar Lungu had to lead celebrations last week to mark the landlocked nation's 50th anniversary of independence from Britain.

Concern over Sata's health has been mounting in the country since June, when he disappeared from the public eye without explanation and was then reported to be getting medical treatment in Israel. He missed a scheduled speech at the UN General Assembly in September amid reports that he had fallen ill in his New York hotel. A few days before that, he had attended the opening of parliament in Lusaka, joking: "I am not dead." Sata has not been seen in public since he returned to Zambia from New York in late September.
 
Sata, who once worked as a railway porter in London, had been the country's president since September, 2011 after winning a tight presidential race against the then incumbent, Rupiah Banda.

Egypt set to attract South African tourists in fiscal year 2014/15

The Tourism Development Authority (TDA) plans to attract 100,000 tourists from South Africa during the current fiscal year (FY) 2014/2015, according to an official from the authority. The official, who wished to remain anonymous, stated that the Ministry of Tourism is in communication with EgyptAir to encourage travel from South Africa, while simultaneously providing incentives for foreign tourism companies.

According to the official, average spending by South African tourists reaches approximately $120 per night, making them the highest-spending tourists in Egypt. The official added that the TDA’s plans are part of a strategy to target new tourism markets, besides the traditional European and Arabic Gulf ones, and hopes to take advantage of recent economic upturns in several countries in the last decade which resulted increased income for individuals.
The ministry targets to increase tourism income to $10.5bn for FY 2014/2015. The official stated that the authority is also working to increase tourism from India, China, Brazil, and Argentina.
 
According to the official, most of the tourists from these target countries prefer cultural to historic tourism in Luxor, Aswan, and Cairo, and their average stay ranges between five to seven nights.

On Wizkid's arrest last weekend

Reports from Kenyan Newspaper, Standard Media state that Wizkid was arrested in Nairobi in his Plaza Crown Hotel room on Saturday afternoon. The arrest is said to be in connection with allegations that he was caught smoking illegal substances namely Marijuana.

They reported that Wizkid was caught smoking ‘weed’ inside the hotel in which smoking is prohibited. The hotel’s Front Officer asked him why he was smoking which led to a heated argument attracting security officers who ended up calling the police to arrest him.

Before police officers cuffed him and drove him to Capital Hill police station where he was quizzed, the hotel had already charged him with Sh50, 000 smoking penalty, which he paid through his credit card. Kenya’s Victoria Kimani which the reports referred to as ‘his newly found flame’ supposedly bailed him. Victoria had been with the singer at the hotel the previous day. Wizkid was due to leave for Lagos at around 3pm and was forced to cancel the flight due to the drama.

Nigerian football body given a deadline by FIFA

Nigeria have been given until Friday to overturn a recent court ruling that voided its football elections or Fifa will ban them until May 2015. In a letter sent to the Nigerian Football Federation on Tuesday, Fifa said their directive must be met by midday, 31 October. Fifa wants the reinstatement of the NFF board that was elected on 30 September. If Nigeria fail to comply, they will be expelled from qualification for next year's Africa Cup of Nations.

The Super Eagles are the reigning champions but are now facing the very real prospect of missing the chance to defend their title at the 17 January to 8 February finals.
Already this year, Nigeria have been banned twice for government interference in the NFF and Fifa warned the country in September and again in October that another incident would result in a lengthy ban.

Fifa's action follows last week's ruling by the Jos High Court annulled last month's election of Amaju Pinnick as Nigeria Football Federation president. Justice Ambrose Allagoa ruled that the elective congress of the NFF should not be recognised as the Jos High Court had put in place 11 days earlier an order that the elections could not be held.

This injunction was brought by two members of the previous NFF executive led by Chris Giwa, which was stripped of its authority after elections that took it to power on 26 August were deemed invalid by Fifa. The court order was ignored by the NFF, which went ahead with their congress and the Pinnick-led executive was put in place.
 
Justice Allagoa has ruled, however, that the original injunction remains in place and therefore the 30 September congress should not be recognised. Fifa's letter said: "As stated in our previous letters, Fifa stressed that should the electoral process and the instalment of the newly elected NFF board be affected by any interference, the case would be brought to the attention of the appropriate Fifa bodies for a suspension of the NFF until the next Fifa Congress due to take place on 28 and 29 May 2015. 
 
"We thus hope that by Friday midday, we will receive the requested evidence in order to avoid the adverse consequences of a suspension."

Uprising against President Compaore of Burkina Faso

 

Raised spatulas are a symbol defiance

Tens of thousands of people have protested in Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou, against moves to extend the president's 27-year rule.

Security forces fired tear gas to disperse protesters who hurled stones and burnt tyres, news agencies report.
Schools, universities and shops are shut for the week of planned protests.
It is one of the biggest protests demanding that President Blaise Compaore step down when elections take place next year.
'Get out' On Thursday, Burkina Faso's parliament will consider a constitutional amendment that will allow him to run for another five years.

Protesters compared the president to the deadly virus that has hit other West African states 

 

 

The security forces have played a key role in helping Mr Compoare to stay in power 

 

Mr Compaore took power in a coup in 1987, and has won four elections since then. The opposition has called for a campaign of civil disobedience to force him to quit next year.
Protesters marched through the capital with banners reading "Blaise Get Out!", "Blaise = Ebola" and "We must disinfect ourselves", in reference to the highly contagious virus that has killed thousands of people in other West African states.
Women took part in the demonstration bearing raised wooden spatulas - regarded as a symbol of defiance. Organisers said up to a million people took part in the march, but Reuters news agency reported that they numbered in the tens of thousands. The security forces charged demonstrators after they apparently ventured too close to the parliamentary building, AFP news agency reports.

Australia goes tough on Ebola hit African nations

Australia's Immigration Minister Scott Morrison announced "strong controls" on arrivals from West African countries affected by cases of the deadly disease. Telling Australia's parliament during a question time session Monday that his ministry was currently "not processing any application from these (Ebola) affected countries," he said that the government was also suspending its humanitarian program.

 

He added that holders of permanent Australian visas based in these countries would be subject to a mandatory, three-week quarantine process prior to their departure. Visitors approved to travel to Australia will also face further screening and followup checks upon arrival. The announcement came as a "surprise," the Australian Medical Association (AMA) president Brian Owler told CNN, who said that the chance of the disease entering the country through a migrant from the region was very low. "It's not necessarily a very well-focused decision. The bigger picture needs to be on our preparedness at home but more importantly our involvement in West Africa itself, putting doctors and nurses and other logistical elements in place and trying to combat the crisis there."

 

He added that the government had sought the advice of "very few people," and had excluded the AMA. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said: "I not always agree with the Australian Medical Association, but I take them seriously and I think that the AMA invariably has the national interest at heart."  The announcement that no refugees will be accepted from West Africa must be overturned, the Australian Greens have said.

 

"While the government drags its feet in responding to the Ebola crisis, Scott Morrison has slammed the door on West African refugees," the Greens' immigration spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said. "The immigration minister's crusade against those in need has spread to West Africa and is simply unacceptable. "This miserly, selfish and cruel announcement from the government is not a reflection of our nation's character."

-CNN

Cholera outbreak hits Niger - UN

AFP A man rides his cart towards the main gate of the town of Diffa, where since 2013 about 105 000 people have taken refuge fleeing from the deadly attacks in Nigeria, in 2006. Picture: Pius Utomi Ekpei

Niger has seen more than 1 300 cases of cholera since the beginning of the year, with 51 people dying of the disease, the United Nations said on Monday. In September alone there were 38 reported deaths from cholera, said the UN's Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the capital Niamey on its website. The spike in the number of cholera deaths was due in part because of heavy flooding which has inundated Niger since June. 

Steps are being taken “to contain the illness” and “prevent it from appearing in new places”, said the OCHA, noting that cholera has broken out in four of Niger's eight regions. 

Of special concern is the south-east region of Diffa where since 2013 about 105 000 people have taken refuge fleeing from the deadly attacks in Nigeria by the Islamist group Boko Haram and the crackdown by the Nigerian army. Many refugees have settled on the islands of Lake Chad “where access to drinking water is limited and the conditions of hygiene and sanitation are precarious”, the UN office said. 
 
Cholera is transmitted by ingesting food or drink contaminated with human waste. It causes diarrhoea, dehydration and death if left untreated. 

- Sapa-AFP

DRC under fire for kicking out UN envoy

The United Nations envoy to the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Monday publicly rebuked the Kinshasa government for expelling the top UN human rights official, as the Congolese ambassador accused the official of “offensive behaviour”. Scott Campbell, head of the UN’s Joint Human Rights Office in Congo, was expelled after the release of a UN report that accused the Congolese police of abusing civilians during a crackdown on gangs in the capital, Kinshasa. 

“It is those who commit human rights violations and go unpunished who tarnish the image of the DRC and weaken its security institutions, not those who make them public,” the UN special representative in Congo, Martin Kobler, told the 15-nation Security Council.

Somali leaders at loggerheads

Reuters Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud waves to residents upon arrival at Barawe, south of Mogadishu. Picture: Feisal Omar

Mogadishu - Somalia's president has instructed his cabinet to ignore a cabinet reshuffle by the prime minister, highlighting a possible rift at a time when Somalia is looking to build confidence in its government and reassure donors. Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said in a statement on Saturday that the prime minister, Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed, had not consulted him on the changes and declared them null and void.   “Ministers should stay in their previous offices and the security forces should redouble their work and keep on tightening security,” the statement said. 
 
As part of the reshuffle, Justice Minister Farah Abdiqadir, a close ally of Mohamud, had been re-assigned as minister for livestock.

Somalia is attempting to rebuild itself after two decades of civil war and lawlessness triggered by the overthrow of president Siad Barre in 1991. The fragile government is being backed by international aid aimed at preventing it from becoming a haven for al-Qaeda-style militants in east Africa. Ahmed, who previously worked at the Islamic Development Bank in Saudi Arabia, was named prime minister last December. 

His predecessor was forced out by lawmakers in a vote of no confidence after falling out with Mohamud over the composition of a new cabinet. 

- Reuters  

ADVERTISEMENTHis predecessor was forced out by lawmakers in a vote of no confidence after falling out with Mohamud over the composition of a new cabinet. - Reuters

Niger’s Speaker of Parliament Amadou loses position

AFP Niger's Hama Amadou has lost his position as speaker of parliament, the West African nation's justice minister said. Picture: Issouf Sanogo

   

A leading opposition figure in Niger whose arrest is being sought on suspicion of involvement in a baby-trafficking ring has lost his position as speaker of parliament, the West African nation's justice minister said on Sunday. Hama Amadou, a former political ally who turned against President Mahamadou Issoufou, fled to Burkina Faso then to France in August after parliamentary leaders authorised his arrest. A warrant was issued last month. “Hama Amadou is no longer president of the National Assembly,” Justice Minister Marou Amadou, who is also the government's spokesman, said during an interview on the private Tenere television channel. 

“There is an arrest warrant against him and if he returns he will be sent directly to the civilian prison... So he can not be at the president's podium,” he said.
Neither Hama nor his supporters were immediately available to comment on the minister's remarks. But a lawmaker from Hama's Nigerien Democratic Movement party, speaking to journalists recently, denied he had been removed. “If he has left the country, it's for his security. No one has pushed him out of this post,” Mossi Aboubacar said.
Seventeen people, including the wives of several senior politicians, were arrested in June by police investigating allegations that they acquired new-born babies from “baby factories” in neighbouring Nigeria. Hama's wife was among those initially taken into custody.
Hama has denied accusations he may have been involved in baby-trafficking and says the investigation is politically motivated. 

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Political tensions have risen in Niger since last year when Hama, who had been part of Issoufou's coalition, fell out with the president.
Issoufou's government has accused him and his party of trying to destabilise the uranium-exporting West African nation.

 - Reuters

Donors pledge funds for Horn of Africa

  Reuters United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. File picture: Mike Hutchin

 
Addis Ababa - International donors pledged $8-billion in development aid on Monday for projects across eight countries in the Horn of Africa, United Nations leader Ban Ki-moon announced at the start of a visit to the region. The aid, from organisations including the World Bank, African Development Bank (AfDB), European Union and Islamic Development Bank (IDB), will support efforts to boost economies and stem conflict and hunger across the volatile region. 

Countries targeted are Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda. “The countries of the Horn of Africa are making important yet unheralded progress in economic growth and political stability,” Ban said in a statement. “Now is a crucial moment to support those efforts, end the cycles of conflict and poverty, and move from fragility to sustainability.” Ban, who begins his Horn of Africa trip in Ethiopia on Monday, is due to travel onwards to neighbouring Djibouti and Kenya, leading a delegation from six other international organisations. 

Alongside Ban is World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, and officials from the African Union, EU, the regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) bloc of nations, as well as the AfDB and IDB. Projects include support for oil pipelines and improving transport links, as well as boosting education and internet access. 

Aid will also aim to increase cross-border trade, and boost economic growth in a region struggling with rampant unemployment as well as millions of people forced from their homes by war or hunger. “This new financing represents a major new opportunity for the people of the Horn of Africa to make sure they get access to clean water, nutritious food, health care, education, and jobs,” World Bank chief Kim said. 

“There is greater opportunity now for the Horn of Africa to break free from its cycles of drought, food insecurity, water insecurity, and conflict.”
While in Nairobi, Ban will also launch a global campaign to end female genital mutilation.
This is the third trip that Ban has undertaken with the World Bank and other organisations, following visits to the Sahel and Great Lakes regions last year.

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The visit comes amid efforts to end fighting in South Sudan that has sent nearly half a million refugees fleeing into neighbouring countries.

- Sapa-AFP