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At least 30 Nigerian soldiers killed in ambush after mine attack

At least 30 Nigerian soldiers killed in ambush after mine attack

AT least 30 Nigerian soldiers were killed in an ambush after gunmen attacked a mine in the Shiroro area of Niger state earlier this week, three sources said. The troops were among security forces deployed to search for mine workers, including four Chinese nationals, said to have been kidnapped during the attack on Wednesday. Emmanuel Umar, the commissioner for state security in northwestern Niger, initially said an unknown number of people had been killed during the mine attack in Ajata Aboki village. When the security forces responded to the attack, the gunmen ambushed them and opened fire, killing 30 soldiers…
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Tunisian constitution panel head blasts president’s draft

Tunisian constitution panel head blasts president’s draft

THE head of Tunisia's constitution committee blasted a proposed constitution published by President Kais Saied, local media reported, reinforcing opposition fears that Saied was seeking to impose a unilateral charter. Sadok Belaid, a former constitutional law professor was named by Saied to draft a "new constitution for a new republic", said Saied's version was dangerous and did not resemble the first draft proposed by the constitution committee, the Assabeh newspaper said. Belaid said the draft constitution published by the president contains chapters that could pave the way for "a disgraceful dictatorial regime". His proposal would dilute the roles of the…
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Legitimacy crisis for Libya’s political institutions

Legitimacy crisis for Libya’s political institutions

LIBYAN protesters want the political authorities to quit and hold elections after previous transitional periods created institutions that clung on long after their mandates expired. Here are Libya's main political institutions that have so far failed to overcome entrenched differences between rival authorities in the east and west of the country, a divide that emerged after the 2011 toppling of autocrat Muammar Gaddafi. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Libya's House of Representatives was elected in 2014 as the national parliament with a four-year mandate to oversee a transition to a new constitution prepared by another elected body. But the legitimacy of the…
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A polio crusader bikes across Africa. Now he wants to share what he learned

A polio crusader bikes across Africa. Now he wants to share what he learned

IT'S 6 am, the sun is rising and Kunle Adeyanju is getting ready for a big day's travelling on his motorbike, Eagle - after just four hours of sleep. Today's journey is different, though. It's the celebratory leg of an epic 13-country tour and he’s heading to Kwara from Lagos, escorted by a group of fellow bikers, to be celebrated in his hometown for his successful journey. It is barely two weeks since he arrived in Lagos, the final destination of an epic #LondontoLagos trip, and while Adeyanju may have reached his advertised destination, he is continuing on another journey…
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SA company charged for $30-million bitcoin fraud

SA company charged for $30-million bitcoin fraud

THE U.S. commodities regulator announced it had filed civil charges against a South African man and his company for operating a fraudulent commodity pool worth over $1.7 billion in bitcoin. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said the fraud scheme, which saw the firm solicit bitcoin online from thousands of people to purportedly operate a commodity pool, was the largest it had ever pursued involving the cryptocurrency. The CFTC filed charges against Mirror Trading International Proprietary Limited and its CEO, Cornelius Johannes Steynberg. Steynberg had been a fugitive from South African law enforcement but was recently detained in Brazil on…
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Moroccan and Briton appeal death sentences in separatist-controlled east Ukraine

Moroccan and Briton appeal death sentences in separatist-controlled east Ukraine

A Moroccan and a British fighter sentenced to death by a Russian-backed separatist court in east Ukraine for fighting for Ukraine have appealed against their sentences, the Russian state news agency TASS reported. TASS said the Supreme Court of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), a territory recognised only by Russia and Syria, had received appeals from lawyers for Brahim Saadoun and Shaun Pinner. It said another condemned Briton, Aiden Aslin, had not yet submitted an appeal, citing Aslin's lawyer. All three men were sentenced to death last month for "mercenary activities" in fighting for Ukraine against Russia and Russian-backed…
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This Kenyan poet turns personal tragedy into a conversation about toxic masculinity

This Kenyan poet turns personal tragedy into a conversation about toxic masculinity

THROUGHOUT his childhood and adolescence, Onyango Otieno witnessed violence. His father physically and emotionally abused him and his mother as a child. Life at home was unpredictable. Young Oyango did not know when a fight would start, what would happen, or how it would go.  Onyango vividly remembers one day when his father beat him, sprayed him with kerosene, and lit a match. By age 15, he was running away from home, skipping school, shoplifting, and stealing clothes and money. There were long periods without washing. At 20, he was sexually assaulted. As a result of his ordeals, he also…
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Eskom CEO says he briefed South African president on power crisis

Eskom CEO says he briefed South African president on power crisis

THE chief executive of South Africa's state power utility Eskom, Andre de Ruyter, said that he had personally briefed President Cyril Ramaphosa on an ongoing electricity crisis. Eskom has implemented the worst power cuts the country has seen in more than two years this week. It has blamed the outages on striking workers hampering efforts to bring faulty generation units back online. "We fully briefed the president on the situation. ... We discussed a number of potential options," de Ruyter told a news conference, refusing to divulge what was discussed. The meetings with the president included Public Enterprises Minister Pravin…
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Sudan security forces skirmish with demonstrators after protest deaths

Sudan security forces skirmish with demonstrators after protest deaths

SUDANESE security forces fired tear gas at protesters near the presidential palace in Khartoum, a day after nine people were reported killed during the largest anti-military rallies for months. Protest groups demanding a return to democratic rule have said they will organise an open-ended campaign of sit-ins and other peaceful actions in response to the deaths. Medics aligned with the protesters said the nine people were mostly killed by gunfire from security forces in Khartoum and the adjoining cities of Omdurman and Bahri. Sudan's ruling council and government did not immediately respond to requests for comment. "The sit-in can develop…
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Jailed South African paralympic star Pistorius met victim’s father

Jailed South African paralympic star Pistorius met victim’s father

FORMER South Africa paralympic superstar Oscar Pistorius, jailed in 2016 for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, last week met her father, a lawyer for the Steenkamp family said on Friday. The lawyer, Tania Koen, said Pistorius took part in a process known as victim-offender dialogue - an integral part of South Africa's restorative justice programme that brings parties affected by a crime together in a bid to achieve closure. "(I can) confirm Barry Steenkamp and Oscar Pistorius participated in a victim-offender dialogue on 22 June 2022," Koen said in a statement. She said she would make no further comment due…
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