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Ebola cases on the rise for the first time

The number of new weekly Ebola cases rose for first time in 2015 in all three of the hard-hit countries of West Africa, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.
Sierra Leone accounted for 80 of the 124 new cases of the disease confirmed in the week to Feb. 1, it said. Guinea recorded 39 cases while Liberia had just five.
“Weekly case incidence increased in all three countries for the first time this year,” the WHO said in its latest update. Community resistance to aid workers, increasing geographical spread in Guinea and widespread transmission in Sierra Leone remain “significant challenges” to ending the epidemic, it said. 

Reuters

Eighteen killed in Ivory Coast's boat mishap

Eighteen people were killed after an overloaded boat capsized in western Ivory Coast, a local official said on Wednesday. Twenty-five people survived the accident that took place on Monday afternoon on the Sassandra river near the town of Guessabo, Florentine Banto told AFP.
The river is one of the main water routes in the country. The small motorboat, carrying 40 people and several bags of coffee, was "just too full", according to Elvis Achi, the police officer in charge of the area. Ivorian daily Inter reported that the victims were mainly fish sellers from the mountainous region of Guemon.

Guemon, near the border with Liberia, was one of the regions most affected by the post-election violence that rocked the country in 2010-2011 and cost more than 3 000 lives.

- AFP

New African Union Chairman falls down at Harare International Airport

Photo: NewZimbabwe

President Robert Mugabe falls on the red carpet at the airport. 

 

ZANU PF's propaganda machinery was at pains Wednesday to manage President Robert Mugabe's fall at the Harare International Airport with the octogenarian leader's security detail ordering journalists to delete images of the incident. Mugabe, 91 this month, tumbled down a staircase as he walked off a podium after addressing hundreds of supporters.
He had just returned from Ethiopia where he took over the rotating chairmanship of the African Union.

Boko haram attacks kill 70 in Cameroon

Boko Haram militants have reportedly killed at least 70 people in an attack on the Cameroonian town of Fotokol, on the border with Nigeria. The Islamist militants attacked civilians in their homes and in the town's mosque, local officials said, setting many buildings on fire.

 

The attack comes a day after a regional force said it had driven the militants from a Nigerian town near Fotokol. The Boko Haram insurgency has left thousands dead over the last six years. More than a million people have also been displaced by the militants, who now control a large stretch of land in north-eastern Nigeria.

Two Russian pilots go missing in Sudan

The UN sent peacekeepers to Darfur in 2007

Two Russians working for UTair airline have been kidnapped in Sudan's Darfur region, Russian officials say. UTair has a contract to fly aircraft for the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (Unamid) which has been in Darfur since 2007.

It said two of its employees had been taken in the town of Zalingei on 29 January.
Darfur has been the scene of a deadly conflict between the government and three rebel movements since 2003. 

Chad sends troops to Nigeria to help stem Boko haram

The Chadian soldiers had amassed along the border with Cameroon before entering Nigeria

Chadian troops have entered Nigeria to join the battle against militant Islamist group Boko Haram. Armoured vehicles and infantry crossed a bridge from Cameroon following air strikes and mortar attacks on Boko Haram positions, officials say. 

 

Fighting focused on the key north-eastern town of Gamboru, Nigerian security spokesman Mike Omeri said. Chad's deepening involvement shows how the conflict with Boko Haram is taking a regional dimension. Last week, Chadian troops reportedly moved into Malumfatori, a Nigerian town which lies near the borders of Chad and Niger, after a ground and air assault against the militants.

IMF offers Kenya $700m insurance loan

                                                           IMF chief Christine Lagarde was in Kenya last year and met President Uhuru Kenyatta

The International Monetary Fund has agreed to make loans of around $700m (£460m) available to Kenya. The money will be used as an insurance policy to protect against any threats to the country's economy, considered a financial powerhouse in East Africa.

 

The Kenyan government requested the package as a precautionary measure, in case of an emergency such as a natural disaster or militant attack. The funds will be available for the next 12 months. Wildlife, such as this dazzle of zebras, are among Kenya's top tourist attractions The ministry of finance has told the IMF it doesn't intend to use the funds. Instead it will act as security against "economic shocks", the IMF said

Handsome South African TV presenter dies in a car crash

Popular South African TV presenter Simba Mhere (pictured above) died on Saturday January 31st in a deadly car crash in Johannesburg while on his way to the airport. The striking 31 year old presenter of Top Billing (he won the Top Billing Presenter search in 2010), originally from Zimbabwe and moved to Johannesburg when he was a year old, was killed when another car hit his in the early hours of Saturday morning. He was with a friend and his dad in the car. Only his father survived the crashed

Suicide bomber hits presidential rally venue in Northern Nigeria

Officials used containers of water to try and put out the flames

A female suicide bomber has blown up herself in northern Nigeria's Gombe city, minutes after President Goodluck Jonathan left a campaign rally there. At least one person was killed and 18 others were wounded in the blast, police and hospital sources said.

Mr Jonathan is standing for re-election on 14 February against former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari. 

South Sudan's factions set to agree an end to the conflict

President Kiir (left) and Mr Machar signed the deal at talks in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa

South Sudan's President Salva Kiir and rebel commander Riek Machar have signed a deal, committing to end the conflict that has devastated the country. The ceasefire agreement was signed at talks in Ethiopia.

But consultations will continue on the contentious issue of a future government and power-sharing. The conflict - which erupted in December 2013 - has displaced about 1.5 million people and earlier ceasefire deals have not lasted.

Nigerian themed dolls which are set to overtake barbie in the market

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Accoording to dailymail UK a Nigerian man who couldn't find a black doll in the shops as a gift for his niece decided to take matters into his own hands.

In 2007, Taofick Okoya, 43, created his own doll that Nigerian girls could identify with by recreating their skin colour and style - and it is now so successful that it is outselling Barbie. The doll, which is called Queens of Africa, comes with traditional outfits and accessories and costs around £4.50.

Former apatheid hitman on parole

Eugene de Kock was the most notorious assassin of South Africa's apartheid era, commanding a death squad that kidnapped, tortured and killed black activists.

His nickname: Prime Evil.

After apartheid fell, he was put on trial and sentenced in 1996 to two life sentences plus 212 years in prison.

But de Kock showed remorse, meeting with victims' families, some of whom publicly forgave him, and helping the Missing Persons Task Force locate bodies, a fact noted by South African Justice and Correctional Services Minister Michael Masutha.

Controversial former African Bank executive

Controversial former African Bank executive Tami Sokutu, has died at the age of 53 after a short illness.

According to the Sunday Independent, family spokesperson, Saki Macozoma, said Sokutu had not been well for some time and died in his sleep at his house in Mthatha, in the Eastern Cape, on Friday night.
Macozoma said police did not suspect foul play but that a post mortem would be carried out.
The former bank executive landed in hot water last year after allegedly using the “f” word in August against the bank’s clientele – who were largely the poor that had borrowed from the embattled bank.
Sokutu finally apologised in September and reportedly said he was sorry for the hurt caused to all the bank’s stakeholders.
At the time, Fin24 reported that African Bank and its curator Tom Winterboer of PwC distanced themselves from remarks by Sokutu.
"Tami Sokutu resigned and officially left African Bank on February 6 2014. He is no longer an employee of African Bank," Winterboer said in an email to Sapa.
"The views of Mr Sokutu are not the views of African Bank or the curator. We deeply regret the tone in which he engaged with the media."

At the time, Winterboer said he was not in a position to answer further questions because his curatorship was in its early stages. The Sunday Times had earlier quoted Sokutu as saying: "F*** them, f*** them" in relation to people who had obtained loans but could not afford to repay them. These people had been listed as bad credit risks.
Sokutu said he lived lavishly with "no regrets" and that borrowers should not have taken loans if they knew they could not repay them.

Suicide bomber blows up self outside a legislator's home in Northern Nigeria

A suicide bomber blew himself up outside the house of a legislator in the northeast Nigerian town of Potiskum on Sunday, killing 10 people, two security sources told Reuters.
The bomber walked up to the house of Sabo Garbu, a member of the house of representatives in the federal government, before detonating the explosives. 

Reuters
 

Robert Mugabe now Chairman of African Union

New AU chairman Robert Mugabe

African leaders meeting in Addis Ababa have chosen the continent's oldest head of state, Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, as AU chairman for the coming year.

Mr Mugabe, who is 90, drew applause when he denounced colonialism.
He also spoke of the "scourge of terrorism" from Boko Haram and said there needed to be "lasting solutions" to the issue in Nigeria and Cameroon.
Earlier, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned of the dangers of leaders clinging to power.
Mr Mugabe has led his country since independence in 1980.
He is subject to travel bans imposed by the US and the EU because of political violence and intimidation in Zimbabwe.

Boko Haram attack on NIgerian village repelled

The rebels also unsuccessfully tried to capture Mauduguri one week ago

The Nigerian army says it has repelled an assault by Boko Haram Islamist militants on the strategic north-eastern city of Maiduguri.

Defence Ministry spokesman Chris Olukolade is quoted as saying the attack was "contained" and the rebels suffered heavy casualties. The militants attacked in the early hours of Sunday, and gunfire was reported on the streets of the city.
 
Last week's assault by Boko Haram on the city was also stopped by the army.
Boko Haram began guerrilla operations in 2009 to create an Islamic state. It has taken control of many towns and villages in north-eastern Nigeria in the last year.