— A constitutional court in the Central African Republic on Wednesday began hearings on a petition seeking to disqualify the country’s leader from running in the upcoming December presidential election. The petition filed by the Observatory for Democratic Governance, a civil society group, argued that President Faustin Archange Touadera should be disqualified on the grounds of not meeting the criteria for running for the presidency. Elysée Nguimalé, president of the group, challenged the origin of the president’s name, claiming it suggests his family cannot be traced — a lineage requirement under the country’s constitution. “The name Touadera in his mother tongue means a child...
Mass Arrests Followed Cameroon’s Post-Election Violence In Which 16 People Died, Minister Says
Authorities in Cameroon said 800 people were arrested and 16 killed during clashes with security forces over the election victory of President Paul Biya. It is the government’s first official comment on the death toll since the unrest began. Interior Minister Paul Atanga Nji said security forces killed 13 protesters in the economic hub of Douala, and three others in the North Region during the violence. However, opposition figures estimate the death toll at 55, according to a Human Rights Watch report published Wednesday. “The violent crackdown on protesters and ordinary citizens across Cameroon lays bare a deepening pattern of repression...
Malaysian Rapper Namewee Released On Bail In Probe Into Taiwanese Influencer’s Murder
Popular Chinese Malaysian rapper and filmmaker Wee Meng Chee was released on police bail Thursday after being held for a week to assist in the investigation into the murder of a Taiwanese social media influencer. The 42-year-old rapper, popularly known as Namewee, must report back to police on Nov. 26, said his lawyer Joshua Tay. Police said Wee was the last person seen with Hsieh Yu-hsin, a Taiwanese influencer who was found dead in a hotel bathtub in Kuala Lumpur on Oct. 22. Police last week reclassified her death as murder. Hsieh, 31, had half a million followers on Instagram and also...
Pakistan Says Afghan Nationals Carried Out This Week’s Suicide Attacks In The Capital And Northwest
Pakistan’s interior minister said Thursday that Afghan nationals carried out two fatal suicide attacks this week — one targeting a cadet college near the Afghan border and the other outside a court in the capital, Islamabad. “In both of the suicide bombings, Afghan citizens were involved, and they carried out the attacks,” Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said. There was no immediate comment from Kabul. On Tuesday a suicide bombing outside a district court in Islamabad killed 12 people and wounded 27 others. Separately on Monday, three soldiers were killed when a suicide bomber and four other militants targeted Cadet College Wana...
Thailand Extradites A Suspect In Illegal Gambling Operations To China
Thailand on Wednesday extradited a Chinese man wanted by Beijing on suspicion of running over 200 illegal online gambling operations. A Thai appeals court on Monday approved sending She Zhijiang back to China, more than three years after his arrest in Bangkok on a 2014 warrant from Chinese police. He landed in Nanjing, according to the official Xinhua news agency. “Chinese authorities made a request for the suspect, who’s their top priority, and asked Thailand for cooperation, which we have supported,” said police Lt. Gen. Jirabhop Bhuridej, chief of Thailand’s Central Investigation Bureau. He added that China promised it will...
Women Riding The Streets Of Tehran On Motorbikes Is The Latest Sign Of Iran’s Societal Change
When Merat Behnam first gathered enough courage to ride her yellow scooter through the gridlocked streets of Iran ‘s capital to the coffee shop she runs, traffic wasn’t her main worry. She instead girded herself for disapproving looks, verbal abuse and even being stopped by the police for being a women riding a motorbike in Tehran, something long frowned upon by hard-liners and conservative clerics in Iran. But Behnam, 38, found herself broadly accepted on the road — and part of a wider reconsideration by women about societal expectations in Iran. It’s not all encompassing, particularly as hard-line politicians call for laws on...
Paramilitary Force Pushes East In New Escalation Of Sudan’s War
The paramilitary force battling the army in Sudan’s civil war is shifting its focus eastward after consolidating its grip over Darfur last month, reigniting violence and launching drone attacks across the country’s oil-producing southern areas. Escalating drone strikes and new deployments of troops and weapons by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army suggest both sides are now centring their efforts on Kordofan, a region comprised of three states that serves as a buffer between the RSF’s western Darfur strongholds and the army-held states in the east. The RSF accepted a ceasefire proposal by the United States last week after an international outcry over accounts...
Two New Malaria Treatments Show Promise As Drug Resistance Grows
Researchers on Wednesday reported two promising new approaches to counteract malaria’s growing resistance to medication — one involving a new class of drugs. Switzerland-based Novartis released results of what it called a next-generation treatment. A study of its experimental drug in 12 African countries found it works well against the mosquito-borne parasite that causes malaria and seems to block spread. The drug, called GanLum, is not yet licensed and more than a year away from being available. It’s needed, said Dr. David Sullivan, a malaria expert at Johns Hopkins University. The parasite that causes the disease is developing resistance to...
UK Health Security Agency Reports 2,379 Antibiotic Resistance Deaths In England 2024, Health Experts Warn Against Misuse Or Self Medication
The UK Health Security Agency revealed that antimicrobial resistance contributed to 2,379 deaths in England in 2024, marking a significant rise from prior years and underscoring the escalating global threat where bacteria resist antibiotics, turning routine infections fatal. National surveillance data published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) show that the total number of antibiotic-resistant infections in 2024 equates to an average of nearly 400 newly reported cases per week. Cases of bacteraemia caused by antibiotic-resistance, a life-threatening infection where bacteria circulate in the blood, have increased by 9.3% since 2023, rising from 18,740 cases in 2023 to 20,484 cases in...
Driver Of A 40feet Container Flee Scene After Driving Truck Aground In Lagos State
A 40feet loaded container is reported to have fallen off a truck while descending from Eko bridge inward Ijora crossway. The driver allegedly fled the scene with the truck leaving its fallen container left inside the garage.