As a result of the hijacking of an eight-ton truck carrying exam papers at the R21 in Gauteng, some students will have to write replacement papers for two subjects.
The delivery was intended for Limpopo technical vocational education and training colleges.
An education official confirmed that engineering question papers were in the vehicle, which was later discovered abandoned in Delmas, Mpumalanga.
The affected subjects are part of engineering studies. Students sitting their N6 are due to write the technical subject “power machine” on Thursday while those doing their N5 will write “strength of materials and structures” on Friday.
The truck had left a depot in Kempton Park and was en route to Limpopo through the R21 when it was hijacked at around 2am on Tuesday. Students across the country would have to write replacement papers for the two subjects as a result of the hijacking.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brig Selvy Mohlala said they were verifying with the courier company the consignment that was being carried in the vehicle.
“I cannot confirm whether the parcels were exam papers. The hijacked truck was recovered with some items and we were told some items were missing. We were told the cargo was destined for Limpopo.”
DA spokesperson for education in Mpumalanga Jane Sithole said after discovering the suspected hijacked truck, police found it contained exam papers.
“The police called DA councillors in the area to request contact numbers for the Mpumalanga education department and their counterparts in Gauteng.”
Sithole said Diana Bath, a councillor in the Victor Khanye local municipality, called the Gauteng education department.
“She found the truck was from Gauteng and was on its way to deliver exam papers in Limpopo. The DA is concerned that in this technological era, exam papers continue to be transported in trucks, exposing them to hijacking.”
A spokesperson from higher education department, Ishmael Mnisi confirmed the incident on Tuesday morning. The truck was “carrying some freight, however not only TVET question papers”.
“The vehicle and some freight was recovered and the matter is with law enforcement agencies.”
Mnisi who confirmed that the exam papers were destined for Limpopo, said the TVET exams would not be affected by the incident “as alternative measures are in place for Thursday and Friday’s exams”. Mnisi did not indicate what the alternative measures are.
In a video statement released two days after her arrest, Farideh Moradkhani, a niece of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called on foreign governments to cut ties with the Iranian regime.
According to a tweet from her brother Mahmoud Moradkhani, Farideh Moradkhani, a well-known rights activist who opposes the Iranian regime, was arrested on Wednesday when she went to the prosecutor’s office to serve a court order.
Farideh Moradkhani, in a video statement shared by her brother two days later, urged people around the world to implore their governments to cut ties with the Iranian regime amid nationwide protests, and to “stop any dealings with this regime.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with a group of students in Tehran, Iran, on November 2. West Asia News Agency/Reuters
“Oh, free people, be with us and tell your governments to stop supporting this murderous and child-killing regime. This regime is not loyal to any of its religious principles and does not know any laws or rules except force and maintaining its power in any possible way,” she said.
“Now in this critical moment in history, all of humanity is observing that Iranian people, with empty hands, with exemplary courage and bravery are fighting with the evil forces,” she said. “At this point in time, the people of Iran are carrying the burden of this heavy responsibility alone by paying with their lives.”
Farideh Moradkhani said Iranians were at war with governments who support the Iranian regime, and called on democratic countriesto recall their representatives from Iran and expel the representatives of Iran from their own countries.
“What is urgently needed is not to support this regime that killed thousands of Iranians in four days in November 2019 while the world was only watching,” she added.
Farideh and Mahmoud Moradkhani are the children of Ali Tehrani, a cleric and longtime opposition figure who was married to the supreme leader’s sister Badri Hosseini Khamenei. Tehrani died last month.
In a statement shared on Thursday, Human Rights Activists news agency (HRANA) confirmed Farideh Moradkhani’s arrest on Wednesday and said she was “imprisoned after an appearance at Evin courthouse to serve her 15-year sentence.”
HRANA had previously reported that she was last arrested by security forces in January this year, and released on bail “until the end of legal proceedings.” Farideh Moradkhani has been detained on previous occasions “due to her civil activities”, according to HRANA.
CNN cannot independently verify when Farideh Moradkhani recorded the video statement shared by her brother on YouTube on Friday, and has reached out to Mahmoud Moradkhani for clarification.
Iran’s ongoing protest movement was initially sparked by the death of 22-year-old woman Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran’s morality police in September.
The unprecedented national uprising has taken hold of more than 150 cities and 140 universities in all 31 provinces of Iran, according to United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Chief Volker Turk.
Iranian demonstrators taking to the streets of the capital Tehran on September 21 during a protest for Mahsa Amini. AFP/Getty Images
More than 14,000 people, including children, have been arrested in connection with the protests, according to Turk. He said that at least 21 of them currently face the death penalty and six have already received death sentences.
The violent response of Iran’s security forces toward protesters has shaken diplomatic ties between Tehran and Western leaders.
Over the weekend, Khamenei praised the country’s Basij paramilitary force for its role in the deadly crackdown on anti-regime protesters.
Meeting with Basij personnel in Tehran on Saturday, Khamenei described the popular protest movement as “rioters” and “thugs” backed by foreign forces and praised “innocent” Basij fighters for protecting the nation.
The Basij is a wing of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and has been deployed to the streets as protests have swelled.
Officials have revealed that an explosion occurred on Wednesday at Ukraine’s embassy in Madrid, injuring one Ukrainian employee who was handling a letter addressed to the country’s ambassador to Spain.
According to Spain’s foreign ministry, the individual was slightly injured and is being treated at a hospital, while police are investigating.
It was later revealed that the envelope was intended for Kyiv’s ambassador to Spain, Serhil Pohoreltsev.
In response, Ukraine has increased security at all of its embassies.
Oleg Nikolenko, a spokesperson for Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, said the life of the injured employee “is not at risk,” and descsribed the staffer’s position as “commandant.”
Police say it is too early to know whether the explosion took place when the embassy worker tried to open an envelope, or simply move it. Nikolenko said no one else had been injured, and that Kuleba “has issued an urgent instruction to step up security at all Ukrainian embassies abroad” following the incident.
“Whoever is behind this explosion they will not succeed in intimidating Ukrainian diplomats or stopping their daily work to strengthen Ukraine and to counter Russian aggression,” Nikolenko quoted Kuleba as saying.
Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister Jose Manuel Albares spoke to Ambassador Pohoreltsev after the incident, Madrid said. The person injured was a Ukrainian worker, according to the statement.
Spain, a NATO country, has sent military equipment to Ukraine to help its armed forces fight Russia’s invasion.
An Algerian court sentenced 49 people to death for lynching an innocent good Samaritan painter.
Djamel Ben Ismail was dragged into the main square of the Algerian village of Larbaa Nath Irathen and attacked by locals who wrongly accused him of starting devastating wildfires – apparently because he was not from the area – but the 38-year-old had actually travelled to the Kabylie region, 200 miles from his home, to help battle the blazes of August 2021, tweeting that he was going to “give a hand to our friends”
His murder shocked the country, particularly after graphic images were shared on social media.
A mammoth high-security trial involved more than 100 suspects, with most found guilty of playing a part in Mr Ben Ismail’s killing.
Those given the death penalty are likely to face life in prison instead because Algeria has had a moratorium on executions for decades.
Some 38 others were sentenced to between two and 12 years in prison, said lawyer Hakim Saheb, from a collective of volunteer defence lawyers at the trial.
After arriving in Larbaa Nath Irathen and being wrongly accused, police said Mr Ben Ismail was dragged out of a police station, where he was being protected, and attacked.
Among those on trial were three women and a man who stabbed his inanimate body before he was burnt.
Police said photographs posted online helped identify the suspects.
Mr Ben Ismail’s family asked why those filming did not save him instead.
The movement’s leader, Ferhat M’henni, based in France, was among them.
Algerian authorities accused MAK of ordering the fires.
Defence lawyers said confessions were coerced under torture and called the trial a political masquerade aimed at stigmatising Kabylie.
At the time of the fires, the region was the last bastion of the “Hirak” pro-democracy protest movement, which helped bring down long-serving president Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
Hundreds of Algerian citizens have been jailed for trying to keep the Hirak movement alive, with marches banned by Algeria’s army-backed government.
Lady Susan Hussey, 83, has “profoundly apologised for the hurt caused” and “stepped down from her honorary role with immediate effect,” according to a spokesperson.
The godmother of Prince William has resigned from her position at Buckingham Palace after making “unacceptable” remarks at a reception hosted by the Queen Consort.
Lady Susan Hussey, 83, resigned after asking Ngozi Fulani, CEO of Sistah Space, where she “really came from” at a palace reception on Tuesday.
A spokesperson for her godson, the Prince of Wales, said the news was “really disappointing.”
“Obviously, I wasn’t there, but racism has no place in our society. The comments were unacceptable, and it is right that the individual has stepped aside with immediate effect,” the Kensington Palace spokesperson said.
Ms Fulani, who is black, works as an advocate for survivors of domestic abuse and described the exchange as a “violation”.
She wrote on Twitter that Lady Hussey, who she refers to as ‘Lady SH’, “approached me, moved my hair to see my name badge” and then insisted on asking her “what part of Africa are you from”.
Despite her saying she is British, the aide said: “I can see I am going to have a challenge getting you to say where you’re from.”
It comes after Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, claimed last year that a member of the royal household raised concerns about what colour skin her son Archie would have before he was born.
The palace responded by saying that “issues raised, particularly that of race” were “concerning” and the matters would be addressed privately.
Buckingham Palace said of Tuesday’s events: “We take this incident extremely seriously and have investigated immediately to establish the full details.
“In this instance, unacceptable and deeply regrettable comments have been made. We have reached out to Ngozi Fulani on this matter, and are inviting her to discuss all elements of her experience in person if she wishes.
“In the meantime, the individual concerned would like to express her profound apologies for the hurt caused and has stepped aside from her honorary role with immediate effect.
“All members of the household are being reminded of the diversity and inclusivity policies which they are required to uphold at all times.”
Image: Ngozi Fulani (centre left) and the Queen consort (centre) at the palace on Tuesday
In an interview with LBC, Ms Fulani said “nobody from the palace has spoken to me”, but she would be “happy to have a conversation to bring about a positive solution”.
Reflecting further, she said: “To be honest I wish that the lady could be spoken to and know the damage she has caused and preferably not be front-facing.
“But for her to resign, that has nothing to do with me. I don’t feel good about that. She’s an elder and in my culture we respect elders.
Lady Hussey was married to Marmaduke Hussey, former chairman of the BBC’s board of governors and was one of the Queen’s closest confidants and ladies in waiting for more than 50 years.
Despite strict COVID restrictions, she accompanied Her Majesty to Prince Philip’s funeral.
Image: The Queen and Lady Hussey in 2011
Image: Lady Hussey (right) attends the Queen’s funeral at Westminster Abbey
Ms Fulani said the incident left her with “mixed feelings” about the event on stopping violence against women and girls, where other guests included Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska and Jordan’s Queen Rania.
Responding to messages of support, she added that being unable to report the issue or tell the Queen Consort about it added to her distress.
“There was nobody to report it to. I couldn’t report it to the Queen Consort, plus it was such a shock to me and the other 2 women, that we were stunned to temporary silence,” she wrote.
“I just stood at the edge of the room, smiled & engaged briefly with who spoke to me until I could leave.”
Mandu Reid, leader of the Women’s Equality Party, who was stood next to Ms Fulani and witnessed the exchange, said she was “stunned”.
She told Sky News: “It was really uncomfortable. If Ngozi was a white woman there is no way that line of questioning would have taken place. It’s not what you expect.”
“We weren’t gate crashers, but we were made to feel almost like trespassers.”
Asked if she was reassured by Lady Hussey stepping down and apologising, she said no – and that the royals need to “step up” and acknowledge that “institutional racism is part of the culture”.
Based in Hackney, east London, Ms Fulani’s organisation Sistah Space is a support organisation for women of African and Caribbean heritage affected by abuse.
It said in a statement: “We at Sistah Space would like to raise awareness about this issue rather than shame anotherindividual.”
Domestic abuse is one of the key causes championed by the Queen Consort since she became part of the Royal Family.
Few things are more iconically French than the humble baguette.
After all, the country is said to produce 16 million people per day.
Nonetheless, the baguette has been on the decline in recent years, as traditional bakeries compete with the rise of large supermarkets and the growing popularity of sourdough.
But now there’s reason to rejoice, as Unesco has added the baguetteto its list of “intangible cultural heritage.”
The body announced it had added “artisanal know-how and culture of baguette bread” to its list of 600 other items, joining things like traditional tea making in China and a Korean mask dance known as “talchum” – both also included for the first time in 2022.
Its inclusion “celebrates the French way of life”, Unesco chief Audrey Asoulay said, adding: “The baguette is a daily ritual, a structuring element of the meal, synonymous with sharing and conviviality.
“It is important that these skills and social habits continue to exist in the future.”
‘Envied around the world’
The exact provenance of the baguette is not known: some suggest the bread was ordered by Napoleon because it would be easier for soldiers to carry, while others suggest it came along later – an easy bread for workers to tear and share without the need of a knife in Paris. Others still credit an Austrian baker in the 1830s for its shape.
However, the baguette as we know it today was only officially named just over 100 years ago, in 1920. It was then that strict rules about what classed as a baguette were put in place – standardised at 80cm (30ins) and 250g (8oz). It even had a fixed price until 1986.
By the middle of the 20th Century, the baguette had won over the country. But since 1970, 400 artisanal bakeries have closed down each year, with the total number across France dropping from 55,000 to 35,000 today, according to news agency AFP.
And yet it remains key to French identity, with President Emmanuel Macron saying the baguette was “envied around the world”. Mr Macron – who has long fought to get the baguette added to the list – noted after the announcement that the baguette was “250 grams of magic and perfection in our daily lives”.
IMAGE SOURCE,UNESCO Image caption, The French delegation celebrated the announcement by waving baguettes in the air
“The baguette is flour, water, salt, yeast – and the know-how of the craftsman,” Dominique Anract, president of the baker’s federation, said in a press release.
Parisian baker Priscilla Hayertz acknowledged to AFP that it was “a basic product” but one “that affects all socio-cultural categories, whether you’re rich, poor… it doesn’t matter, everyone eats baguettes”.
The European Union (EU)has expressed its commitment to expand cooperation with Africa in a range of aspects, including energy, food, and migration.
Following their 11th Commission-to-Commission meeting, co-chaired by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and African Union Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat, the EU and the African Union issued a joint statement, noting that the ongoing conflict in Ukraine had harmed the economies of Europe and Africa. It was noted that current conflicts and tensions have exacerbated global food and energy security.
“Africa and Europe are bound by geography and a common destiny. Through sustainable investments worth at least €150 billion, the Global Gateway Africa-Europe Investment Package is the EU’s positive and substantial offer, which will help strengthen the continent’s resilience,” said von der Leyen.
Talking about the need to expand cooperation between the European Union and Africa, Mahamat, for his part, said: “We value our strategic partnership with the European Union and its active support to Agenda 2063. The destinies of our two continents are interlinked and we want to continue building a partnership of equals for the benefit of sustainable development for all.”
Aminu Adamu, an undergraduate of the Federal University, Dutse, Jigawa State who was detained by security officials over a post on Twitter alleging that the wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, Aisha Buhari, “was feeding fat on poor people’s money,” has been remanded at Suleja Prison in Niger State.
While addressing press men, his lawyer, CK Agu said the student was charged to a court in Abuja.
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari and his wife, Aisha Buhari
“Even in the court session yesterday, we notified the judge about the efforts made to have him released on bail, but we did not receive any reply from the police. We applied to the court to release the student on bail on health grounds and the fact that he will sit for the exam on 5, December. The court has ordered the police to provide the bail application before it for consideration between Tuesday and Wednesday,” Agu was quoted to have said.
Earlier, the Executive Director, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, Emmanuel Onwubiko, said Aminu’s arrest showed the level of rot in Nigeria’s security system.
He said, “It is a very sad development. Whether it was the DSS or police that arrested the guy, it shows that the government has continued to deploy security assets to chase after gossip. They go to websites and social media in search of those gossiping about the President, his wife and his children, to arrest them.”
This week, Dwayne Johnson made an unexpected appearance at a Hawaii 7-Eleven. But he wasn’t there to get a quick drink; he was there to make amends for his childhood sins.
If the Rock casually walking into a 7-Eleven wasn’t strange enough, things got even stranger when the superstar presented hundreds of Snickers bars at the counter.
It turns out that the Rock didn’t buy all that candy because he loves snickers, but instead because he wanted to right his wrongdoings as a teenager when he was a local resident of the Island. The”Black Adam” actor revealed that he used to steal a Snickers bar every day when he was 14 before his gym sessions and use them as pre-workout.
His family was “broke as hell”, hence why he couldn’t muster up enough change buy the sweet treat. “I finally exorcised this damn chocolate demon that’s been gnawing at me for decades”, said a relieved Rock on his Instagram.
I finally exorcised this damn chocolate demon that’s been gnawing at me for decades
Luckily the clerk of the store saw the funny side, despite having to count the huge pile of chocolate bars presented to him by the actor. Johnson also paid for all the food and drinks of those customers that were in the store at the time.
The gesture certainly makes up for the Rock’s bad teenage habits. “We can’t change the past and some of the dumb stuff we may have done, but every once in a while, we can add a little redeeming grace note to that situation – and maybe put a big smile on some stranger’s faces”, he said.
Authorities announced on Tuesday that Janusz Walus, the man responsible for the death of South African anti-apartheid leader Chris Hani over three decades ago, was stabbed in prison and is currently being treated.
This week, the South African Constitutional Court granted parole to Walus, a 69-year-old Polish national who was about to be released. Protests and harsh condemnation of the decision could be heard across the country.
The agency said that another prisoner from the same housing unit was responsible for stabbing him, but it gave no more information about the incident or the person who did it.
In 1993, Walus shot Hani outside the home of the anti-apartheid activist, who was a senior member of the then-ruling African National Congress and the head of the South African Communist Party at the time.
After decades of white minority rule under apartheid, his death sparked widespread unrest that put South Africa’s transition to multiracial democracy in jeopardy.
In 1981, he left the then-communist Poland and settled in South Africa, where he got involved in far-right activities.
Aaron Motsoaledi, the minister of home affairs of South Africa, gave Walus permission to live there on Monday so that he may complete his parole there.
Workers across the ambulance services and some NHS trusts have voted to take industrial action over the government’s 4% pay award, which the GMB has described as another “massive real-terms pay cut”.
More than 10,000 ambulance workers have voted to strike in England and Wales, the GMB union has announced.
It said: “No one in the health service takes strike action lightly – today shows just how desperate they are.”
Paramedics, emergency care assistants, call handlers and other staff are set to walk out in nine trusts:
South West Ambulance Service
South East Coast Ambulance Service
North West Ambulance Service
South Central Ambulance Service
North East Ambulance Service
East Midlands Ambulance Service
West Midlands Ambulance Service
Welsh Ambulance Service
Yorkshire Ambulance Service
The industrial action is set to take place before Christmas, with the union planning to meet reps in the coming days to discuss potential dates.
The GMB said workers across the ambulance services and some NHS trusts have voted to strike over the government’s 4% pay award, which it described as another “massive real-terms pay cut”.
“Ambulance workers – like other NHS workers – are on their knees,” said the union’s national secretary, Rachel Harrison.
“Demoralised and downtrodden, they’ve faced 12 years of Conservative cuts to the service and their pay packets, fought on the front line of a global pandemic and now face the worst cost of living crisis in a generation.”
What other strikes are due to take place?
The strike comes after the UK’s biggest trade union, Unison, announcedthousands of its ambulance workers in England also intend to take industrial action before Christmas.
Up to 100,000 nurses from the Royal College of Nursing are also set to stage a mass walkout in December – one of the busiest months for the NHS.
Thearmy has already been placed on stand by in case it is needed to fill the roles of NHS workers while strikes are taking place.
Several strikes are also taking place across other sectors, with Eurostar security staff announcing earlier on Wednesday that they will be taking part in a walkout next month in a dispute over pay.
The member of royal staff has expressed her “profound apologies for the hurt caused” and has “stepped aside from her honorary role with immediate effect”, a spokesperson said.
A member of the Buckingham Palace household has resigned after “unacceptable” comments were made at a reception held by the Queen Consort.
Ngozi Fulani, chief executive of Sistah Space, said she was asked by the household member where she “really came from” during an event at the palace on Tuesday.
Ms Fulani, who is black, works as an advocate for survivors of domestic abuse and described the exchange as a “violation”.
She wrote on Twitter that the woman “approached me, moved my hair to see my name badge” and then insisted on asking her “what part of Africa are you from”.
Despite her saying she is British, the member of staff said: “I can see I am going to have a challenge getting you to say where you’re from.”
It comes after Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, claimed last year that a member of the royal household raised concerns about what colour skin her son Archie would have before he was born.
The palace responded by saying that “issues raised, particularly that of race” were “concerning” and the matters would be addressed privately.
Buckingham Palace said of Tuesday’s events: “We take this incident extremely seriously and have investigated immediately to establish the full details.
“In this instance, unacceptable and deeply regrettable comments have been made. We have reached out to Ngozi Fulani on this matter, and are inviting her to discuss all elements of her experience in person if she wishes.
“In the meantime, the individual concerned would like to express her profound apologies for the hurt caused and has stepped aside from her honorary role with immediate effect.
“All members of the household are being reminded of the diversity and inclusivity policies which they are required to uphold at all times.”
‘Treated almost like tresspassers’
Ms Fulani said the incident left her with “mixed feelings” about visiting the palace and the experience will “never leave” her.
Responding to messages of support, she added that being unable to report the issue or tell the Queen Consort added to her distress.
“There was nobody to report it to. I could’nt (sic) report it to the Queen Consort, plus it was such a shock to me and the other 2 women, that we were stunned to temporary silence,” she wrote.
“I just stood at the edge of the room, smiled & engaged briefly with who spoke to me until I could leave.”
Mandu Reid, leader of the Women’s Equality Party, who was next to Ms Fulani and witnessed the exchange, claimed they were treated almost like “trespassers”.
She said: “We really felt ‘oh, okay, we’re being treated almost like trespassers in this place’. We’re not being treated as if we belong, we’re not being embraced as if we are British.”
Ms Reid described the exchange as “grim” and like an “interrogation”, adding: “She was really persistent. She didn’t take Ngozi’s answers at face value.”
Based in Hackney, east London, Ms Fulani’s organisation Sistah Space is a support organisation for women of African and Caribbean heritage affected by abuse.
They said in a statement: “We at Sistah Space would like to raise awareness about this issue rather than shame another individual.”
Domestic abuse is one of the key causes championed by the Queen Consort since she entered into the Royal Family.
Iran’s anti-government protesters have been celebrating the national football team’s elimination from the World Cup after their 1-0 loss to the United States.
On Tuesday night, videos showed people dancing in the streets and honking car horns in Tehran and other cities.
Many Iranians refused to cheer on their national football team in Qatar, seeing it as a symbol of the Islamic Republic.
The state-run media blamed hostile forces both inside and outside Iran for putting undue pressure on the players.
In an apparent show of solidarity with the protesters, the players did not sing the national anthem before their first game, a 6-2 defeat by England.
They did, however, sing during the Wales game, which they won 2-0, and during the politically charged match against the United States.
Some protesters saw that as a betrayal of their cause even though there were reports that the team came under intense pressure from Iranian authorities.
The unrest started 10 weeks ago following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman arrested by morality police in Tehran for allegedly violating the strict rules requiring women to cover their hair with a hijab.
Authorities have responded to what they have portrayed as foreign-backed “riots” with a violent crackdown in which human rights activists say at least 450 people have been killed, including 60 children. More than 18,000 others are reported to have been arrested.
A video posted online on Tuesday night appeared to show dozens of people celebrating the Iranian football team’s loss at a square in Mahsa Amini’s home city of Saqqez, in the country’s north-west. They can be heard cheering and waving headscarves before fireworks are set off.
خوشحالی مردم سقز در محله کریمآباد بعد باخت تیم ایران مقابل آمریکا
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on Twitter
BBC Persian also received similar videos from several other cities in the predominantly Kurdish region, where dozens of protesters have reportedly been killed by security forces in recent weeks.
Crowds were filmed dancing to music in Sanandaj, an epicentre of the unrest, while in Kermanshah and Marivan they were heard chanting “Woman, life, freedom” – one of the main slogans of the protests.
In Tehran, students at Imam Sadiq University gathered outside a hall of residence and chanted “Death to the dishonourable” – an adjective protesters have used against security forces and which was shouted by fans inside the stadium during Iran’s match against England.
The opposition activist collective 1500tasvir posted videos that it said showed security forces opening fire at protesters celebrating in the south-western city of Behbahan and beating a woman in Qazvin, near Tehran.
There was also a confrontation between opponents and supporters of the government outside the Al Thumama Stadium in Qatar after Tuesday’s match.
Danish journalist Rasmus Tantholdt filmed several men carrying Iranian flags shoving a man wearing a T-shirt saying “Woman, life, freedom” in English. A woman with him is then heard complaining that she attacked and asking for help to leave the stadium safely.
Another video obtained by BBC Persian showed a male protester being violently arrested by security guards outside the stadium while shouting “Woman, life, freedom”.
State-affiliated media in Iran meanwhile praised the national football team despite their failure to qualify for the World Cup’s knockout stages.
The conservative Farhikhtegan newspaper said “we are proud of Iran”, while the Revolutionary Guards-linked daily Javan said the team had “won the real game: the game of uniting people’s hearts”.
Keyhan, whose editor is appointed by the supreme leader, said the team had gone into the tournament under “the most unfair conditions”, with pressure from “mercenaries at home and abroad”.
Before the match, the hard-line Tasnim news agency rejected a report by CNN, which cited an unnamed security source as saying that the Revolutionary Guards had threatened the families of the Iranian players with “imprisonment and torture” if they did not “behave”.
Afghanistan’s Taliban regime has announced that at least ten people were killed when a bomb exploded near a religious school in northern Afghanistan.
The blast is said to have occurred as people were leaving congregational prayers, and a doctor at the local hospital said most of the victims were students at the school.
“All of them are children and ordinary people,” one doctor was quoted by AFP as saying.
Interior ministry spokesperson Abdul Nafee Takkur said the Taliban’s security forces were investigating the attack, and vowed to “identify the perpetrators and punish them for their actions”.
Afghanistan has been rocked by dozens of blasts since the Taliban seized power last year, mostly claimed by the local offshoot of the Islamic State group.
A well-known Australian crocodile wrangler has been charged in connection with a helicopter crash that killed his friend and reality TV co-star.
Matt Wright, also known as the Outback Wrangler, is accused of perverting the course of justice, destroying and fabricating evidence, interfering with witnesses, and illegal entry.
He is the third person charged in the February crash that killed Chris “Willow” Wilson.
Mr Wright strongly denies any wrongdoing.
Mr Wilson, 34, was suspended from the helicopter in a sling collecting crocodile eggs when the crash occurred in a remote area of the Northern Territory (NT). He was killed, and the pilot was severely injured.
Mr Wright was not on board but was among the first on the scene in Arnhem Land, about 500km (310 miles) east of Darwin.
He is best known globally as the star of National Geographic’s Outback Wrangler and Netflix’s Wild Croc Territory reality shows. The 43-year-old also owns several local tourism businesses and has been a tourism ambassador for Australia.
After a court granted Mr Wright bail on Wednesday, his lawyer read a statement to the media, saying his client maintained his innocence.
“Matt Wright strenuously denies these charges and will be defending them,” he said.
“He is naturally disappointed that the charges have been laid as a result of what was a tragic accident that took the life of Matt’s closest friend Chris Wilson.”
The case will return to court in January.
Netflix is under pressure from Mr Wilson’s widow to cancel Mr Wright’s show, The Australian newspaper has reported, but the company has declined to comment.
A former high-ranking police officer and another helicopter pilot have been charged with similar offences over the crash.
HSBChas announced plans to shut a further 114 UK branches.
The UK-based but mainly Asia-focused bank said the sites affected would be shut from April next year.
The decision, as the wider banking sector has consistently claimed over many years, is the result of the surge in online banking which has led to declining demand for over-the-counter transactions.
The founders of leading Indian news network New Delhi Television (NDTV), Radhika and Prannoy Roy, have resigned as directors of a group promoting their company, bringing a conglomerate led by Gautam Adani, one of the world’s richest men, closer to acquiring the media firm. The BBC investigates what this means for the future of Indian television news.
Radhika Roy once said that the creation of NDTV with her broadcaster husband Prannoy Roy was a “happy accident.”
In November 1988, the Roys launched NDTV with a single show, The World This Week, on the bland state-run Doordarshan with “no grand plan” in mind and “certainly no idea” that it would grow from being a producer of a weekly world news show to India’s first 24/7 news network and independent news broadcaster.
More than three decades later, the couple’s news channel is changing hands. Gautam Adani, the third richest man in the world – behind Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos – is set to buy NDTV in one the world’s most tumultuous media markets.
Mr Adani, a 60-year-old billionaire who runs a port-to-energy conglomerate, is seen by many as someone close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government. Truth to tell, his “relationship with political and social leaders, across all types of party lines, have made him acceptable to every government,” according to RN Bhaskar, author of a recently published biography of the tycoon.
In March, Mr Adani’s new company AMG Media Networks Limited bought a minority stake in Quintillion, a digital business news company. “The Quintillion investment is too meagre to demandMr Adani’s attention. So, does he have bigger plans?” wondered Mr Bhaskar in his book.
IMAGE SOURCE,AFP Image caption, Gautam Adani, the world’s third richest man, bought a small stake in a digital business media company earlier this year
Now we know. With revenues of around $51m and a modest profit of $10m, NDTV may not be a lucrative buy for Mr Adani, whose sprawling group has a market capitalisation of $260bn.
But NDTV is India’s best-known network that pioneered data-driven vote analysis, morning shows, and a host of tech and lifestyle programmes on TV. Today, it has a robust online presence, claiming some 35 million followers across platforms.
NDTV, the Adani group believes, is “the most suitable broadcast and digital platform to deliver on our vision”. Mr Adani has offered some clues about what the vision is. “Why can’t you support one media house to become independent and have a global footprint? India does not have one single [outlet] to compare to Financial Times or Al Jazeera,” he told the Financial Times.
Critics of the sale are more sceptical. Many regard NDTV as one of India’s few independent news networks, which has stayed away from the shouty jingoism of many of its peers. A study by Oxford University and the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism found that 76% of respondents trust information from NDTV.
Mr Adani’s takeover has sparked concerns that this would hurt its editorial integrity. Despite the diversity of media choices, independent journalism in India doesn’t appear to be in fine fettle: the country dropped to 150 of 180 countries ranked in Paris-based Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index this year, its lowest position ever. Mr Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rejects the findings, saying the index adopts a methodology that is both “questionable and non-transparent”.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, Prannoy Roy and his wife Radhika founded NDTV 34 years ago
The diversity of media also masks the concentration of ownership, say experts. Four daily newspapers, for example, share three quarters of the readership in Hindi, according to Reporters Without Borders. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani, who owns a $220bn retail-to-refining conglomerate, also controls Network18, one of India’s largest media companies. Companies owned by Mr Adani and Mr Ambani generate revenues equivalent to 4% of India’s GDP.
The takeover of NDTV is also symbolic of the troubles plaguing the news business in India, says Vanita Kohli-Khandekar, a media specialist. India has more than 400 news channels in a market that is mostly privately owned and in regional languages. News channels mopped up an estimated 8% of the $423m that TV advertising got in 2021.
“News is one of the toughest business to be in, anywhere,” says Ms Kohli-Khandekar. “In India, TV news is one of the most unprofitable, politically perilous and dodgy businesses to be in.” Just “two to three companies” make money from time to time, she adds.
Since people are largely not willing to pay for news, advertising accounts for a bulk of revenues for the channels. Many believe the credibility of networks has waned: many have been accused of fiddling with ratings and what an expert called the “grotesque tabloidization” of news, and partisan coverage.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, NDTV pioneered a lot of TV news programming in India, including election analysis
NDTV’s own financial woes began during an economic downturn more than a decade ago when it had to borrow $44m from a company controlled by Mr Ambani’s Reliance Industries to refinance existing debts. “NDTV has struggled long and hard and it seems to be losing the fight. For the business of journalism it seems like a defeat,” says Ms Kohli-Khandekar.
Time will tell whether the editorial content and tenor of the network will change under the new ownership. At a time when TV news is polarised, NDTV was “more left-of-the centre and did stories critical of the government which most others were not taking up,” says Shailesh Kapoor of Ormax Media, a media consultancy. “Will they now soften their stand and move to a more neutral position because of editorial restrictions?”
Mr Adani believes there’s nothing to fear. “Independence means if government has done something wrong, you say it’s wrong,” he told Financial Times. “But at the same time, you should have courage when the government is doing the right thing. You have to also say that.”
Jiang Zemin, China’s former leader who came to power following the Tiananmen Square protests, died at the age of 96.
On Wednesday, he died shortly after 12:00 p.m. local time (04:00 GMT), according to state media.
Jiang presided over a period when China opened up on a grand scale and experienced rapid growth.
His death comes at a time when China is witnessing some of the most serious protests since Tiananmen Square, with many demonstrating against Covid restrictions.
According to a Chinese Communist Party statement, he died from leukaemia and multiple organ failure.
It added that he was recognised “as an outstanding leader with high prestige” and “a long-tested Communist fighter”.
State media outlets, including the Global Times and the Xinhua news agency, turned their websites black and white in tribute.
Jiang rose to power after the bloody 1989 crackdown on protestors in and around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, which led to China being ostracised internationally.
The event sparked a bitter power struggle at the top of the Communist Party between hard-line reactionaries and reformers.
It led to Jiang, who had originally been seen as a plodding bureaucrat, being elevated to high office. He was chosen as a compromise leader, in the hope he would unify hardliners and more liberal elements.
Under his stewardship, a formidable economy was forged, the Communists tightened their grip on power, and China took its place at the top table of world powers.
He oversaw the peaceful handover of Hong Kong in 1997, and China’s entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001 which intertwined the country with the global economy.
But political reforms were also put to one side and he crushed internal dissent while pursuing a hardline stance on Taiwan. He was criticised for the heavy-handed crackdown on the religious sect Falun Gong in 1999, which was seen as a threat to the Communist Party.
He was also keen to ensure that his position within the Communist Partywas secure, and came up with his own political ideology – the Three Represents theory – in an attempt to modernise the party.
During his time in power, Jiang sought to strengthen ties with the US, visiting the country several times and offering then-president George W Bush co-operation in Washington’s “war on terror” following the 9/11 attacks.
In a country not known for its flamboyant leaders, he was seen as having a more colourful personality than his successors. He memorably crooned Elvis Presley at a global summit, and went for a swim off the Hawaiian coast.
In his later years he withdrew from government and was rarely seen in public. But even as he became less conspicuous, online he became an unlikely subject of viral internet memes.
Many Chinese affectionately caricaturised his signature large spectacles, and likened his appearance to a toad. Young fans called themselves “toad worshippers”.
Jiang’s successors as president, Hu Jintao – who was conspicuously removed from the CCP conference last month – and Xi Jinping, are scheduled to attend his funeral, according to a letter released by the state backed Global Times.
But the letter added that foreign leaders and governments will not be invited to the event. The funeral committee said the decision was in keeping with what it called “China’s practice”.
In a divorce settlement, Kanye West was ordered to pay Kim Kardashian$200,000 (£167,000) per month in child support.
Their four children will be shared between the former rapper and reality TV star.
After eight years with West, who has legally changed his name to Ye, Kardashian filed for divorce in 2021.
It comes after several companies severed ties with Ye due to controversies such as antisemitic remarks.
In March, both parties were declared legally single, with Kardashian also dropping the “West” from her surname.
In court documents filed on Tuesday, issues concerning the division of property and custody of their children were resolved.
The two parties should consult with each other on majordecisions about their children’s welfare, the documents state.
Expenses for the children’s security, school and college will be shared.
In addition, Ye is expected to pay $200,000 a month in child support – which the New York Post reported is because the children will spend the majority of their time with Kardashian.
The couple have four children: North, 9, Saint, 6, Chicago, 4, and Psalm, 3.
In several statements submitted earlier, Kardashian, 42, had said she “very much” wanted the marriage to be ended, adding that this would “help Kanye to accept” that the relationship was over.
Ye, 45, had previously fought against the separation.
He has faced controversy in recent months, and has been dropped by several brands, including Adidas, Gap and Balenciaga.
The rapper provoked widespread criticism earlier this year after attending Paris Fashion Week wearing a t-shirt bearing a “White Lives Matter” slogan – a phrase often used by white supremacists.
He then claimed his critics were being paid by a secret cabal of Jewish people, a common trope of antisemitism.
Earlier this week, Ye announced his intention to run for US president in 2024.
He previously ran in 2020, but gained just 70,000 votes.
The Duchess of Sussexfaced “disgusting and very real” threats while working as a royal, according to the outgoing Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner.
Neil Basu stated that he could understand Meghan feeling “under threat all the time.”
People have been charged in connection with the threats, he told Channel 4 News.
Prince Harry, who will move to California with Meghan in 2020, stated last year that he did not feel safe in the UK.
The couple have often spoken about the abuse they received before they left and how it affected their mental health. As early as 2016, after the couple went public with their relationship, Prince Harry issued a statement attacking social media trolls for targeting Meghan.
Neil Basu – the former head of counter-terrorism policing in England – was speaking to Channel 4 News in his final interview as assistant commissioner.
“If you’d seen the stuff that was written and you were receiving it, the kind of rhetoric that’s online, if you don’t know what I know, you would feel under threat all of the time,” he said.
When asked if there had been genuine threats to Meghan from the far-right, he added: “Absolutely.
“We had teams investigating it. People have been prosecuted for those threats.”
He said he had previously spoken publicly about the threat of “extreme right-wing terrorism”, saying it was the “fastest growing” threat that he dealt with.
“When I started in counter-terrorism in 2015, it was about 6% of our total workload. When I left 15, 16 months ago, it was over 20% of our workload.”
Mr Basu, who is Britain’s most senior officer of colour, was also in charge of royal protection.
He added: “I speak about race because I know something about race because I’m a 54-year-old mixed-race man.”
Mr Basu also criticised the government during his interview, saying he found “some of the commentary coming out of the Home Office inexplicable”.
He had been asked about comments by Home Secretary Suella Braverman saying that it was her “dream” to see asylum seekers removed to Rwanda under the government’s policy.
“It is unbelievable to hear a succession of very powerful politicians who look like this talking in language that my father would have remembered from 1968. It’s horrific.”
In response to his comments, a Home Office spokesman said: “The Home Secretary expects forces to take a zero tolerance approach to racism within their workplace.
“But the Home Secretary is also very clear about the need to manage our borders effectively and have an asylum system that works for those in genuine need, as are the British people.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped down as senior members of the Royal Family in 2020 to carve out their own path in the US.
After leaving the Royal Family, Meghan gave an Oprah interview in which she revealed she felt suicidal while a serving royal.
Former US ambassador to NATO, Robert Hunter, has expressed concern about the amount of military aid being provided to Ukraine by NATO members.
“It’s surprising that the alliance led by the US hasn’t done more so far in terms of anti-drone and anti-missile defences,” Hunter said from Washington DC to Al Jazeera.
Hunter stated that it was clear throughout the autumn that, while the Ukrainians would continue to fight a “valiant fight,” Russia would try to gain an advantage by targeting Ukraine’s sources of power and heat.
In response to Ukraine’s foreign minister’s earlier appeal at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Bucharest, Hunter said, “Faster, faster, faster, has to mean immediately, not something to be talked about and maybe done in a few months.”
The former US envoy said that steps could have been taken to counter the destruction Russia was doing in Ukraine instead of just repairing the damage.
“The US and the NATO, quite frankly, are failing Ukraine.”
People wait in line to collect water, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2022. Residents of Ukraine’s capital clutched empty bottles in search of water and crowded into cafés for power and warmth, switching defiantly into survival mode after new Russian missile strikes a day earlier plunged the city and much of the country into the dark. [Evgeniy Maloletka/AP]
After four months of staying in state housing, the Polish governmentintends to charge Ukrainian refugees for food and housing.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, more than a million Ukrainian refugees sought refuge in Poland, Ukraine’s western neighbour, relying on the generosity of strangers who opened their homes and government aid.
However, resources are running out, and refugees are having a more difficult time finding housing and receiving assistance, as Poland faces a cost-of-living crisis and budget constraints.
“Citizens of Ukraine who stay in Poland in collective accommodation centres will participate in the costs of housing and meals,” the government said in a statement.
Those staying in such accommodation, for example, government-funded hotel rooms or school dormitories, longer than 120 days will have to cover 50 percent of the cost up to 40 zlotys ($8.87) per day, per person.
After 180 days, it would be 75 percent of the cost up to 60 zlotys ($13.27). Those unable to work because of their age or disability would be excluded, as would pregnant women, according to the plan.
The government wants the new rules to apply from March 1, 2023. The bill will go to parliament, where it is expected to pass.
Hong Kong‘s leader requests Beijing’s assistance in his attempt to prevent foreign lawyers from working on national security cases.
After the territory’s top court rejected the government’s attempt to prevent a British barrister from representing jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai, Hong Kong’s leader John Lee has asked Beijing to rule on whether foreign lawyers can work on national security cases.
Lee said at a press conference on Tuesday that he expected China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) to rule on the case “as soon as possible,” but he did not say whether the decision would come before Lai’s trial began on Thursday.
His request for Beijing’s intervention will mark only the sixth instance of China’s top legislative body weighing into legal matters in Hong Kong, a former British colony that, under a “one country, two systems” arrangement, is supposed to have judicial independence from Beijing.
The Court of Final Appeal on Monday dismissed the government’s bid to block British barrister Timothy Owen from the trial and impose a “blanket ban” on foreign lawyers working on national security cases.
But Lee argued that Beijing’s intervention was necessary in part because a foreign lawyer might divulge state secrets or be compromised by a foreign government.
“There is no effective means to ensure that a counsel from overseas will not have a conflict of interest because of his nationality,” Lee told reporters on Monday. “And there is also no means to ensure he has not been coerced, compromised or in any way controlled by foreign governments, associations or persons.”
Beijing imposed the sweeping national security law on Hong Kong in June 2020 after sometimes-violent protests rocked the city for months the year before. The legislation — which punishes acts of secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison — has been widely condemned by Western governments and human rights groups.
National security cases
Lai, one of the most prominent Hong Kong critics of China’s Communist Party leadership, including Xi Jinping, faces two counts of conspiracy to commit collusion with foreign countries, as well as a sedition charge linked to his Apple Daily newspaper that was forced to close in June 2021 after a police raid and a freeze on its assets.
The 74-year-old, who was arrested in December 2020, is already serving a 20-month prison sentence for his role in unauthorised assemblies. He is also expecting a sentencing over his fraud conviction next month.
Owen is a London-based legal veteran who specialises in criminal and human rights law.
Hong Kong uses the same common law jurisdiction as the United Kingdom.
Some legal experts warned the appeal to Beijing would erode public confidence in Hong Kong’s judicial independence.
“What we’ve seen with interpretations is basically, ‘Heads I win, tails you lose,” Alvin Cheung, an assistant law professor at Queen’s University in Canada, told the Reuters news agency.
Cheung was part of a group that drafted a legal analysis in May, signed by Britain’s former Justice Secretary Robert Buckland and retired Australian high court judge Michael Kirby, that identified NPCSC interpretations as one of the main threats to Hong Kong’s rule of law.
“The NPCSC is a political (and undemocratic) body whose proceedings take place behind closed doors, with no participation from the parties at suit. Its decisions are actuated by political considerations rather than legal evaluation and contain little to no reasoning,” the legal opinion read.
Apart from having overseas judges in the city’s courts, lawyers from other common law jurisdictions are allowed to work within Hong Kong’s legal system, especially when their expertise is needed for some cases.
Last month, the lower court granted approval for Owen to represent Lai, saying it was in the public interest to have an eminent overseas specialist involved at the trial. And on Monday, the Court of Final Appeal gave a final ruling on the matter, rejecting the Department of Justice’s application on technical grounds.
The panel of three judges on the top court — Chief Justice Andrew Cheung, Roberto Ribeiro and Joseph Fok — in a written judgement, criticised the Department of Justice for “raising undefined and unsubstantiated issues said to involve national security which were not mentioned or explored in the Courts below”.
But they left open the overarching question of whether barristers from overseas should in principle be excluded from national security cases.
Legal experts and rights groups on Monday expressed concern over Lee’s decision to ask Beijing to intervene.
Lee’s move “is in practice making of a new rule rather than an interpretation of an existing law,” said Professor Johannes Chan Man-mun, the former dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Hong Kong. “There are far-reaching implications in any such interpretation which may severely compromise Hong Kong as an international city,” he told the South China Morning Post.
Reporters Without Borders also criticised Lee’s move, urging Hong Kong’s government toallow Lai a representation of his own choosing.
A New York City man has been arrested for manufacturing and possessing more than a dozen ghost guns after he shared an image of his 7-year-old son wielding two of the firearms, prosecutors say.
Cory Davis, 41, is now facing multiple charges after New York Citypolice officers recovered 14 of the privately assembled weapons in two of his apartments, including “10 semi-automatic pistols and two assault weapon-style pistols,” according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
“The allegations make it evident that by manufacturing these weapons, Davis put not only the public, but a child in serious peril,” District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement. “Using one’s child as a prop to showcase homemade, illegal weapons is inexcusable and extremely dangerous. The proliferation of ghost guns in our city cannot continue.”
Bragg’s office says “an investigation was prompted after Davis sent a photo of his 7-year-old son holding two firearms to family and friends” in a group chat, “which was then provided to law enforcement.
“In addition to the 14 firearms, investigators recovered 400 rounds of ammunition, a high-capacity magazine, and nearly two dozen other magazines, as well as tools and parts for constructing ghost guns,” it added.
Davis has been charged with one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the first degree, 16 counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, three counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, and 14 counts of criminal possession of a firearm.
“Stopping the proliferation of ghost guns is integral to the NYPD’s comprehensive strategy to keep these illegal weapons from harming our communities,” Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said in a statement. “These untraceable weapons shoot real bullets, hurt real New Yorkers, and cause real harm – and our fight against them will continue with vigor.”
The attorney’s office also said Davis, “has been purchasing gun parts and accessories from several different websites since June of 2020.”
“His online purchasing history included training tools, simulators, and concealable holsters,” the office added.
The Nigeria Police Force’s, Enugu Command has arrested Odoh Emmanuel, a 23-year-old native doctorwho allegedly shot and killed one Onunze Benedict while testing a gunshot amulet.
According to a statement issued on Tuesday by the Command’s spokesman, Daniel Ndukwe, the suspect, who is from Umuaram village in Ikem community in the state’s Isi-Uzo Local Government Area, committed the offence on November 16, 2022.
According to the statement, the suspect was apprehended around 11 p.m. on November 16 by Isi-Uzo Police Division personnel.
According to Ndukwe, the suspect confessed to using a locally-made single-barreled gun to shoot and kill the victim in his shrine in Umuaram, while testing the charm meant to protect him from gunshots.
“The gun has been recovered, while further investigation is ongoing at the Homicide Section of the State CID Enugu,” the police spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, Ndukwe in the statement revealed that the command has arrested another 16 suspects for conspiracy, armed robbery, car-jacking, abduction and unlawful possession of firearms.
The statement partly read: “Acting on credible information, Police Operatives serving in 9th Mile Police Division of the Command, on 24/11/2022 at about 3.20pm, arrested six (6) male suspects in a building along Nsukka/Makurdi Highway, 9th Mile in Udi LGA, and recovered in their unlawful possession, one (1) locally-fabricated double-barreled pistol with one (1) live cartridge.
“They include: Anigbo Stephen aged 23, Iyere Promise aged 28, Charles Onoh aged 24, Obinna Joseph aged 19, Charles Obilor aged 25 and Ede Chibuike aged 24.
“Ongoing investigation into the case at the Anti-Robbery Section of the State CID Enugu, has revealed that the sextet, three (3) of whom are linked to a similar case earlier reported, were perfecting plans to commit felonious crimes before they were apprehended.
“In another development, the following male suspects: Everest Ayokalam aged 48, Anayo Akakem aged 33, Iwuanyanwu Kelechi aged 32, Uchenna Iwuoha (a.k.a “Uchewinde”) aged 47 and Gospel Chimankpa Nnorom aged 32, all of Imo State, involved in the case of conspiracy, armed robbery, abduction and attempted murder, have been arraigned in court and remanded accordingly.
“They were arrested at Ikeduru in Imo State on 12/11/2022, through the concerted efforts of Police Operatives serving in Isi-Uzo Police Division of the Command and their counterpart in Imo State Command, after acting on credible information/intelligence.
“The suspects and others at large, armed with machetes and other weapons, had on 09/11/2022 at about 3 am, abducted at Umuhu in Isi-Uzo LGA (a border community between Enugu and Ebonyi States), the driver and conductor of a Sino Truck, said to be loaded with 900 bags of cement and en route to Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.
“They took them to the forest, beat up and tied them to a tree, and thereafter made away with the truck and bags of cement therein. The suspects confessed to the crime, while the truck was recovered alongside 789 bags of the cement from the warehouse of Everest Ayokalam (the receiver of the robbed exhibits).
“Also, on 05/11/2022 at about 4 am, a combined team of Police Operatives drawn from Awkunanaw Police Division, Operation Restore Peace and Safer Highway Patrol, with assistance from Neigbourhood Watch Group, arrested one Kasie Ani (male) aged 25, Tochukwu Igwe (male) aged 25, Felix Maduakonam (male) aged 24, Chidera Okoye (male) aged 21 and Jennifer Nwafor (female) aged 17.
“Their arrest is sequel to the Team’s swift response to a distress call alleging that the suspects blocked the road at the Garriki axis of Enugu/Port-Harcourt Expressway and were robbing travelers. The four (4) male suspects were consequently arrested and the victims rescued, while the female suspect was arrested thereafter, for harbouring one of the male suspects.
“Exhibits recovered from the suspects includes: three (3) mock guns that they used in the criminal operation, twenty-one (21) pieces of wrappers, clothes, phones, ATM cards and other valuables belonging to their victims.
“The arraignment of all the suspects yet-to-be arraigned shall be done once investigations are concluded.”
Also according to the statement, the state police commissioner, Ahmed Ammani, urged the personnel to remain focused on the fight to flush unrepentant criminal elements out of the state, while soliciting the continued support and cooperation of its residents.
NATO foreign ministers met in Bucharest in Romania to work out how to keep millions of Ukrainian civilians safe and warm and sustain Kyiv’s military through winter.
“Russia does not have a veto” on countries joining the security alliance, he said in reference to the recent entry of North Macedonia and Montenegro.
The former Norwegian prime minister said Russian President Vladimir Putinwill also “get Finland and Sweden as NATO members soon”, after they applied for membership in April over concerns Russia might target them next.
“We stand by that, too, on membership for Ukraine,” he added.
It came as NATO foreign ministers met in Bucharest in Romania to pledge to step up support for Ukraine and help repair its energy infrastructure as Russian strikes knock out power supplies and heating for millions.
“Russia’s aggression, including its persistent and unconscionable attacks on Ukrainian civilian and energy infrastructure, is depriving millions of Ukrainians of basic human services,” the foreign ministers said in a statement.
“We will continue and further step up political and practical support to Ukraine as it continues to defend its
sovereignty and territorial integrity… and will maintain our support for as long as necessary,” the statement added.
UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said Russia was targeting energy infrastructure to “freeze” Ukrainians into submission.
“We have seen Vladimir Putin attempting to weaponise energy supplies right from the very start of this conflict,” he said before the meeting.
Image:Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Bucharest
Call for Patriot missiles and power transformers
Ukraine’s foreign minister called for NATO members to supply it with air defence systems and transformers.
“We need air defence, IRIS, Hawks, Patriots, and we need transformers,” Dmytro Kuleba said on the sidelines of the meeting, identifying various Western air defence systems.
“If we have transformers and generators, we can restore our energy needs. If we have air defence systems, we can protect from the next Russian missile strikes. In a nutshell: Patriots and transformers is what Ukraine needs the most.”
Focus on defeating Russia
Ukraine is unlikely to join NATO anytime soon, as Russia has annexed the Crimean Peninsula, and troops and pro-Moscow separatists hold parts of the south and east, meaning it is unclear what the country’s borders would look like.
Many of NATO’s 30 members believe the focus should now be on defeating Russia and Mr Stoltenberg warned any attempt to move ahead on membership could divide them.
“We are in the midst of a war and therefore we should do nothing that can undermine the unity of allies to provide military, humanitarian, financial support to Ukraine, because we must prevent President Putin from winning,” he said.
The two-day meeting in Romania, which shares NATO’s longest land border with Ukraine, will likely see NATO make new pledges of non-lethal support to Ukraine including fuel, generators, medical supplies, winter equipment and drone-jamming devices.
Individual nations are also likely to announce new shipments of military equipment to Ukraine, such as air defence systems and ammunition, but NATO as an organisation will not make such a commitment to avoid being dragged into a wider war with nuclear-armed Russia.
Abwbaker is the first suspect arrested in the United Kingdomafter 31 migrants drowned when their boat deflated and sank just two hours after leaving France.
He is the first suspect to be apprehended in the UK after 31 migrants drowned two hours after leaving France when their boat deflated and sank in darkness.
Due to emergency phone calls, it was unclear whether the lifeboat was in French or British waters.
The next day, 27 bodies were found, two people survived, and four are still missing.
He is the first suspect to be apprehended in the UK after 31 migrants drowned two hours after leaving France when their boat deflated and sank in darkness.
Emergency telephone calls led to confusion about whether the dinghy was in French or British waters.
A total of 27 bodies were recovered the next day, two people survived and four are still missing.
Soon after the tragedy, French authorities arrested five suspects and held fifteen more in June this year.
Abwbaker, whose photo has been blurred by the NCA due to legal concerns, is set to appear at Westminster magistrates on Wednesday morning on a French extradition warrant.
“This is a significant arrest, and comes as part of extensive inquiries into the events leading to these tragic deaths in the Channel,” said the agency’s deputy director Craig Turner.
This is what remained of the boat that capsized in the Channel
“The individual detained today is suspected of having played a key role in the manslaughter of those who died.”
He added: “Working closely with our French partners, we are determined to do all we can to get justice for the families of those whose lives were lost, and disrupt and dismantle the cruel organised criminal networks involved in people smuggling.”
Home Secretary Suella Braverman has said her thoughts are with the “families of those who tragically lost their lives” and thanked investigators for their “tireless work”.
The United Kingdom has summoned the Chinese ambassador in London for a rebuke after the arrest and alleged assault of a BBC journalist covering protests against Beijing’s zero-COVID-19 policy.
Zheng Zeguang was called in to the foreign office on Tuesday after the incident involving Ed Lawrence in Shanghai, which Foreign Secretary James Cleverly called “deeply disturbing”.
“It is incredibly important that we protect media freedom,” Cleverly told reporters at a NATO meeting in Romania, confirming Zheng had been summoned.
“It’s incredibly important that journalists are able to go about their business unmolested and without fear of attack,” the foreign minister said.
Lawrence was hauled away by police on Sunday evening while filming a protest against COVID restrictions, one of many that have rocked China in recent days.
The BBC said he was assaulted by police before being released several hours later.
China hit back against British criticism of the journalist’s treatment and Downing Street’s urging that police show respect towards the COVID protesters.
“The UK side is in no position to pass judgement on China’s COVID policy or other internal affairs,” an embassy spokesperson said before Zheng was summoned, noting Britain’s high pandemic death rate.
The government in London this month also expressed concern over reports that Beijing has been operating undeclared police outposts in foreign countries, including Britain.
A senior Chinese diplomat was summoned to the foreign office last month after his consulate colleagues in Manchester in northwest England were accused of beating up a Hong Kong pro-democracy protester.
The incidents have fuelled political pressure on the new government of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to get tough with China.
But Sunak is treading a fine line between defending freedoms and antagonising the world’s second-biggest economy.
In a speech on Monday, he described the “golden era” of UK-China relations declared by former Prime Minister David Cameron as “over”.
But Sunak also called for “robust pragmatism” in dealing with Britain’s competitors, disappointing critics who want him to go further in confronting Beijing.
Changes on the business front
Separately on Tuesday, the UK removed the Chinese nuclear firm CGN from construction of its new Sizewell C nuclear power station, which will now be built only with French commercial partner EDF.
That decision was taken after UK government departments were ordered last week to stop installing Chinese-made surveillance cameras at “sensitive sites”.
The week before, a Chinese company was ordered to sell most of its majority stake in Britain’s biggest semiconductor maker, Newport Wafer Fab.
A spokesman for Sunak declined to say if national security factors drove the decision on CGN.
But he told reporters: “Certainly we think it’s right that the UK has more energy security, energy independence.”
An iconic Portland, Oregon, ice cream business is threatening to move its headquarters from the city over rampant crime, which store owners say puts their employees at risk.
“If we can’t make it safe, I can’t stay here,” Salt & Straw co-founder Kim Malek said last week, according to Oregon Live. “It’s just not responsible of me to put my team in that position.”
Malek said she wants to work with city and county leaders to address widespread drug use, homeless encampments and violence, but will be forced to leave if the concerns are not addressed.
“It’s really hard for a lot of people right now,” Malek said. “I’m not here to point fingers. I want to be part of the solution.”
Ice cream with spoon at Salt & Straw ice cream shop in San Ramon, California, July 16, 2021. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images / Getty Images)
“Our intention is to work through this,” she added. “I cannot stay here if we don’t.”
Salt & Straw was established in 2011 and was soon ranked as having some of the best ice cream in the U.S. The company has since opened store locations in Los Angeles, Miami and other cities and also ships orders to customers nationwide.
In the latest blow to the business, an RV burst into flames near Salt & Straw’s headquarters last Monday, Oregon Live reported, shutting down power to the ice cream parlor and other nearby businesses.
Interior of Salt & Straw ice cream shop in San Ramon, California, July 16, 2021. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images / Getty Images)
A musician named Thomas Lauderdale sounded the alarm on the fire and other issues plaguing the area in an email to two dozen county and city leaders. He also noted in the email that a Salt & Straw employee recently had a gun pointed at their head, Oregon Live reported.
Counter with trays of artisan ice cream at Salt & Straw ice cream shop in San Ramon, California, July 16, 2021. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images / Getty Images)
“Their lease is up in April, and although it will cost them millions and millions to relocate, they are at a breaking point, and are planning to move out of state,” Lauderdale wrote. “This is less a homeless issue; it is a health and public safety and drug issue. The schizophrenia we’re seeing, the violence, the fires … this is drug fueled, and it needs to be addressed immediately.”
Other businesses have recently closed or packed up locations in Portland due to crime, including clothing shop Rains PDX, which posted a blistering message to its front door about how the city is in “peril.”
“Our city is in peril,” the message reads. “Small businesses (and large) cannot sustain doing business, in our city’s current state. We have no protection, or recourse, against the criminal behavior that goes unpunished. Do not be fooled into thinking that insurance companiescover losses. We have sustained 15 break-ins … we have not received any financial reimbursement since the 3rd.”
Peace talks with rebels in Ethiopia’s restive Oromia region have been ruled out by the Ethiopian government. Federal negotiators sat down and struck a deal with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) to end the two-year-long civil war in the north.
The Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), which is also fighting the federal government, once allied with the TPLF.
However, Hailu Adugna, a spokesman for the Oromia regional government, has since told local media that the government has no plans to meet with a group “that has no chain of command or political agenda.”
An OLA spokesperson has denied the claim and stated that the organisation will continue to fight.
The rebels in Oromia have been accused of being involved in a number of deadly attacks, which it denies.
The authorities say that despite there being no talks they will continue to receive OLA youth who have opted to lay down their arms.
The situation in Oromia, the home region of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, has been overshadowed by the war in Tigray, but attacks by different armed groups have continued unabated.
The authorities have been blamed for not protecting civilians.
The OLA is a splinter group of the Oromo Liberation Front, which is now a legally registered political party. As well as making an alliance with the TPLF, the OLA has also made deals with other rebels in the western part of the country to put pressure on Mr Abiy’s government.
The OLA says it is fighting to secure full autonomy for the Oromo people and has been labelled a terrorist organisation by the government.
The vehicleswere rented by the Secret Service to protect Biden and his family during the Thanksgiving holiday.
President Biden’s rented Secret Service vehicles caught fire in a parking lot one day after he returned from his Nantucket vacation.
Last week, Biden and his family spent Thanksgiving on the posh Massachusetts island of Martha’s Vineyard. According to footage obtained first by the Nantucket Current, the Secret Service rented five vehicles from Hertz to transport the president and his family, and all five of them caught fire in the parking lot.
Firefighters can be seen spraying the smouldering remains of one vehicle’s engine block. A Chevy Suburban, Ford Explorer, Infiniti QX80, Ford Expedition, and a Jeep Gladiator were among the five vehicles.
The vehicles were parked at the Nantucket airport and the blaze reportedly spread to just 40 feet away from the facility’s jet fuel tanks. It is currently unknown what caused the fire. Fox News reached out to the White House for information but they did not immediately respond.
A tow truck pulls away one of the vehicles rented by the Secret Service to protect President Biden in Nantucket.
“At approximately 5:22 am Airport shift staff observed an active fire in the rental car overflow area through the Airport’s Closed Circuit Television System,” the airport said in a statement to the Current. “Staff activated the Alert system and responded to the fire in Airport-3, where they were met by responding units from Nantucket Fire Department and Nantucket Police Department.”
A firefighter sprays down the smoldering remains of an engine block from a vehicle that burst into flames ((Credit: Nantucket Current. MUST tag @ACKCurrent when used online))
“Combined fire resources responded and contained the fire. Several vehicles were damaged. The Airport is currently coordinating with rental car agencies and agency partners to ensure scene safety, There is no longer an active fire at this time: the Airport is open, and aeronautical operations are not affected,” the statement continued.
Biden spent the Nantucket weekend celebrating the holiday with his family, telling reporters that they were not having any discussions about a potential presidential run in 2024.
Several vehicles rented by the Secret Service to protest President Biden in Nantucket burned on Monday. ((Credit: Nantucket Current. MUST tag @ACKCurrent when used online))
The Bidens stayed at a waterfront compound along Nantucket Harbor. The family members on the trip included Ashley and Hunter Biden. The family has a more than 40-year tradition of spending Thanksgiving on the island.
The getaway was the first vacation for the Biden family since they went to another secluded East Coast island in August, when the President, first lady, and Hunter Biden all flew on Air Force One to Kiawah Island in South Carolina.
US President Joe Biden watches a Christmas tree lighting ceremony with (R-L) First Lady Jill Biden, son Hunter Biden, grandson Beau, and daughter-in-law Melissa Cohen in Nantucket, Massachusetts, on November 25, 2022. – The President is spending the Thanksgiving holiday with his family in Nantucket. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Outings around major holidaysand in the late summer are not uncommon for U.S. presidents. Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump all took similar vacations throughout their time in office. Bush would often spend the time at his Texas ranch, while Obama and Trump both preferred golf resorts in New England.
A Colombian judge known for sharing racy photos on her Instagram page has been suspended for three months after appearing on a virtual Zoom meeting while half-naked and smoking a cigarette in bed.
In a 33-second clip circulating on social media, the 34-year-old judge, Vivian Polanía, can be seen lounging in bed, appearing half-awake while taking a drag from a cigarette. At one point in the hearing, a prosecutor tells Polanía that her camera is on, and she immediately turns it off as the hearing continues, local media reported.
En un video que circula por WhatsApp se ve a la jueza Vivian Polanía (trabaja en el Palacio de Justicia de Cúcuta) atendiendo una diligencia judicial en su cama, semidesnuda y fumando. No sé si esto pueda acarrearle alguna sanción, pero al menos el escándalo ya está servido. pic.twitter.com/9rgNx4C6pV
The virtual court hearing centered around debates over whether a man charged in a 2021 car bombing should be granted bail.
One of the solicitors on the call reported Polanía’s alleged impropriety to Colombia’s National Commission of Judicial Ethics.
The commission said in a written ruling that Polanía’s suspension will remain in effect until February 2023, Spanish-language outlet Infobae reported.
“It is a duty of this commission to avoid repeating the judge’s contempt for the investiture of her position and the contempt she showed with her peers in the public prosecutor’s office, the prosecution and the defense,” the commission wrote.
A Colombian judge has faced disciplinary proceedings in the past over her racy Instagram photos. (Instagram/@vivianpolaniaf3)
“We find no justification for the judge to have presented herself in such deplorable conditions when she had the facilities of her own home and all the amenities necessary to prepare for a public hearing appropriately and with the respect such a hearing deserved.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Polanía for comment.
Responding to the incident, Polanía told a local radio station she was laying in bed during the hearing because she was suffering from an anxiety attack, according to the Spanish-language outlet El Pais.
She further alleged that she’d been threatened with disciplinary proceedings in the past because of her online conduct.
“You never know when you’re going to have an anxiety attack. I always wear my gown,” she reportedly said, adding that she “had low blood pressure.”
The Ashanti Regional Director of the National Service Secretariat (NSS), Alex Opoku-Mensah has made an unqualified apology for verbally assaulting a nurse at the Manhyia Hospital.
The Nurse corrected his daughter’s wrongful prescription for a two-year-old convulsion patient.
Mr Opoku-Mensah stated on Facebook that the method he used to deal with the conflict between his daughter, a doctor, and the nurse “has never been my style.”
He attempted to mediate the dispute between the two because he considered the nurse involved to be his daughter as well.
He was therefore remorseful of his behaviour.
“I do apologise for any mishap and assure all, there shall not be a repetition of such,” he promised.
On Monday morning, Mr Opoku Mensah was reported to have barged into the surgical ward of the hospital, where his daughter is currently serving as a house officer, to verbally abuse and threaten the nurse.
According to eyewitnesses, the medical officer prescribed the wrong dosage for a two-year-old convulsion patient.
The nurse upon noticing the medical blunder called on the young doctor to rectify the wrongful medication.
However, sources say the house officer took offence and reported the issue to her father who later visited the health facility to angrily insult the nurse.
“The Public Services Commission and Government for that matter should sack the said Regional Director immediately because he is not fit for the director position he holds in public service.
“He had absolutely no right to enter Manhyia hospital and verbally abuse and threaten the nurse in question who was on duty at the time,” the statement read.
The nurses threatened that they will call upon their members at the facility to boycott their duties if Mr. Opoku-Mensah is not sacked within the next 72 hours.
The boil orderhad been in effect in the nation’s fourth-largest city since Sunday.
On Tuesday, Houston officials lifted an order requiring more than 2 million people in the nation’s fourth-largest city to boil their tap water before drinking or using it.
The boil order had been in effect since Sunday, when pressure dropped due to a power outage at a purification plant.
The order caused businesses and schools to close, including the Houston Independent School District, which cancelled classes on Monday and Tuesday. However, the order was revoked by the city shortly before 7 a.m. Tuesday.
The city said water quality samples sent to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality confirmed the tap water meets regulatory standards and is safe to drink.
People shop for bottled water after a boil water notice was issued for the entire city of Houston on Sunday. VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS
At a news conference Monday, Mayor Sylvester Turnersaid the city issued the notice, which affects all of Houston and some adjacent areas, in an “abundance of caution” after two transformers — a main one and its backup — “uniquely and coincidentally” failed at a water plant. The problem affected the plant’s ability to treat and pump water into the transmission system, resulting in low pressure.
Because the issue was within the plant’s system, backup power generators would not have made a difference, Turner said. Since the transformers were down, they couldn’t transmit power to the plant.
The power system at the water plant undergoes regular maintenance, Turner said, but he did not give a timeline for how often. The mayor said he has ordered a diagnostic review of the system to understand how the problem was possible and how it can be prevented.
Sixteen sensors marked dips under the minimum pressure levels required by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, 14 of them for only 2 minutes and two of them for nearly 30 minutes, Turner said.
Typically, there is enough pressure for water to flow out of leaky pipes. When pressure is lost, however, contamination like bacteria sitting near pipes can be sucked into the system, creating a health risk.
“If someone is not ready, I would absolutely respect that and allow them their space to not be ready,” the actor said in an interview.
Actor Will Smith said he understands why people might not want to see his upcoming movie.
Smith won the Best Actor Oscar earlier this year for his role in “King Richard,” but garnered more attention that night for slapping comedian Chris Rock, who made a joke onstage about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
As a result, he was banned from attending the Oscars for the next decade ― even though it’s possible he could be nominated and even win an award.
“Emancipation,” Smith’s first film since the slap, opens in theaters Dec. 2 before streaming on Apple TV a week later.
The film is loosely based on the life of an enslaved man named Gordon, whose scarred back was photographed in 1863 and was famously used by abolitionists to show the public just how brutal slavery was.
“Emancipation” is getting some Oscar buzz, but Smith said he understands if filmgoers have second thoughts about watching it considering his behavior at the last ceremony.
“I completely understand that if someone is not ready, I would absolutely respect that and allow them their space to not be ready,” Smith told film critic Kevin McCarthy in an interview clip posted on social media.
Smith said that he hopes the reaction to the slap doesn’t affect the film’s chances of success or the award opportunities for the other people who worked on the film.
“My deepest concern is my team — [director Antoine Fuqua] has done what I think is the greatest work of his entire career,” Smith said.
“I’m hoping that the material, the power of the film, the timeliness of the story — I’m hoping that the goodthat can be done — will open people’s hearts at a minimum to see and recognize and support the incredible artists in and around this film,” he said.
You can watch the full clip below.
“I completely understand that if…someone is not ready, I would absolutely respect that and allow them their space to not be ready…My deepest hope is that my actions don’t penalize my team.”
Prosecutors saidfive Connecticut police officers were arrested and charged in connection with the paralysis of a Black man while in their custody.
Richard “Randy” Cox was arrested on June 19 on charges of illegal possession of a handgun and other offences. A handcuffed Cox was being transported to prison in the back of a police van without seatbelts when he was thrown headfirst into the metal partition inside the vehicle as a result of the driver coming to a sudden stop.
When the officers arrived at the detention facility and learned of his injuries, they attempted to move him in a wheelchair before dragging him into the building.
Video of the incident shows the seemingly exasperated officers roughly handle the injured Cox while making remarks that their detainee was being difficult by resisting to move. Near the end of the recording, one of the officers states they saw Cox blow a kiss as he was being dragged by his arms into a cell.
“He is perfectly fine,” the officer is heard saying.
Officers Oscar Diaz, 54; Jocelyn Lavandier, 35; Ronald Pressley, 56; Luis Rivera, 40; and Sgt. Betsy Segui, 40, were arrested Monday by Connecticut State Police on warrants charging them with second-degree reckless endangerment and cruelty to persons violations, New Haven State’s Attorney John Doyle Jr. announced in a statement.
The charges follow an investigation by the State Police Central District Major Crime Unit that was ordered by Doyle on the day of the incident.
“The City of New Haven is committed to accountability for all individuals involved in this tragic incident,” New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said in a statement. “What happened to Randy was unacceptable, and we will work to make sure something like this never happens again.”
Cox filed a $100 million lawsuit against the city and the five police officers in September, which was followed the next month by the charges against him being dropped.
“While today’s news that these officers will face some accountability is an important first step towards justice for Randy, we know there is more work to be done on his behalf,” civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Cox family, said in a statement. “We will continue to fight for him throughout this process, and stand beside him as he navigates the long road toward recovery.”
In response to the incident, the New Haven Police Department adopted new polices and standard operational procedures overseeing the transportation of individuals in police care as well as regarding detention facilityoperations and those who may need medical assistance.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the president’s chief medical adviser, will step down in December, just weeks before his 82nd birthday and after a five-decade career in public service.
Last Tuesday, Fauci gave his final news conference from the White House, in front of reporters and members of the public who had grown to know him while delivering updates during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“What I would like people to remember about what I’ve done is that every day for all of those years, I’ve given it everything that I have and I’ve never left anything on the field,” Fauci said during his last public appearance, as he also urged Americans to get COVID-19 booster shots.
“So, if they want to remember me, whether they judge rightly or wrongly what I’ve done, I gave it all I got for many decades.”
Fauci officially leaves office in December, after a five-decade career in public health, where he served as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He led the agency’s response to AIDS, Ebola, swine flu, Zika and West Nile viruses and anthrax attacks over the years.
Fauci was born Dec. 24, 1940, in Brooklyn, N.Y. The youngest of two siblings, Fauci graduated first in his class from Cornell Medical School in 1966. He then began his career in public service as a physician, joining the National Institutes of Health in 1968.
He has published over 1,100 papers over his career, his first on Celiac Disease came in 1965.
He acted as an adviser to a total of seven presidents, beginning with former President Ronald Reagan.
During the Reagan administration, then Vice President George H. W. Bush publicly called a mostly-unknown Fauci a “hero.”
Former President George W. Bush awarded Fauci the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2008 for his work in fighting AIDS.
In August, President Joe Biden hailed Fauci as a national hero.
“I came to know him as a dedicated public servant, and a steady hand with wisdom and insight,” Biden said.
Just a few months before that, in June, the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., named its science complex after Fauci, an alumnus of its class of 1962.
Before he shot to fame, with his photo and video clips splashed across nightly newscasts, Fauci inspired the main character in author Sally Quinn’s 1991 bestselling romance novel Happy Endings.
“We just sort of immediately got into a very intense conversation, and I just found him riveting, and unbelievably attractive, and charismatic. I thought he was brilliant. I thought he was really sexy.”
But things didn’t always go as smoothly when the public spotlight quickly shifted to Fauci as the COVID-19 pandemic set in across the United States.
As an adviser to former President Donald Trump, Fauci faced great criticism and even threats from Trump and some of his supporters, like former White House adviser Steve Bannon.
The criticism extended beyond the realm of politics. Fauci, his wife of nearly 40 years Christine Grady and their three daughters faced death threats at timesy7h8ujn Grady works as the head of the Department of Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health and met Fauci while the two worked together treating a patient.
Thomas Connally, 56, was handed 37 months in prison after saying in one email that Fauci and his family would be “dragged into the street, beaten to death, and set on fire.”
Fauci, who often clashed with Trump, said last year that it felt “liberating” having Biden in the White House.
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to have led the NIAID…for so many years and through so many scientific and public health challenges,” Fauci said this past August, when he first announced he would step down.
Looking back at his time under Trump, Fauci said he “developed an interesting relationship” with the former president.
“Two guys from New York, different in their opinions and their ideology, but still, two guys who grew up in the same environments of this city. I think that we are related to each other in that regard,” Fauci said in July.
Despite the difficulty, often magnified by the public spotlight and even calls to resign, Fauci persevered.
“It was clear that if we walked away from telling the truth in an environment of untruths, then there would be nobody there telling the truth,” he said earlier this month.
“When you’re dealing with an outbreak involving the country and the world, you generally think of the country as your patient. And when things get tough, you don’t walk away from it.”
It’s the same mentality he had in the 1980s, battling the newly-emerged HIV despite it being ignored politically.
“Indeed, politics did step in the way of science back in the 1980s, but it was a different kind of politics,” Fauci said during a 2020 interview.
Looking back, he said he’s most proud of how health officials were able to respond to COVID-19.
“We made major investments in science for decades prior to COVID, and within 11 months [to] have a vaccine that went through massive clinical trials, that is beyond unprecedented,” he said earlier this month.
“We will never be able to prevent the emergence of a new infection. What you can do isprevent that emergence from becoming a pandemic.”
On Sunday night, a mob stormed a police station in the southern Indian state of Kerala, injuring 36 officers as months of protests against a port project turned violent.
Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd, owned by Asia’s richest man, Gautam Adani, is building the port.
Protesters, primarily local fishermen, claim that the $900 million (£744 million) project is causing coastal erosion and destroying their livelihoods.
The allegations have been denied by the company.
Protests have been ongoing for more than 100 days, but have been mostly peaceful up until now. Many of the protesters claim that coastal erosion has destroyed their homes, forcing them to live in makeshift shelters.
The company, however, has said that the project complies with environmental laws and that sea erosion is occurring due to climate change.
Last week, the Kerala high court had said that the protesters must comply with its earlier order to allow “unhindered ingress and egress” to the project site.
IMAGE SOURCE,REUTERS Image caption, Locals have been protesting for months against the project
But over the weekend, protesters blocked the company’s vehicles from entering the construction site, prompting police to arrest some of them.
On Sunday night, hundreds of protesters stormed the local police station, leading to clashes with the police.
“A mob gathered at the police station in the evening and demanded the release of a few persons who were arrested in another case,” a senior state police official told reporters, adding that they had deployed around 900 police personnel in the area.
Several protesters were also injured, and some police vehicles were damaged. Around 3,000 people have been charged by police in connection with the violence.
But Eugene H Pereira, a vicar general who was one of the convenors of the protest, blamed the police for provoking the protesters who, he said “were ready to leave the area without creating any trouble”.
“The state government is responsible for the violence. They were doing it to prepare the ground for forcible eviction of the protesters,” he alleged.
A state minister denied this, and accused the protesters of stalling the project even after the government had agreed to meet their demands.
“They want the port project – which is in an advanced stage of construction – to be abandoned entirely. But that’s not going to benefit them at all,” he told the BBC.
After the violence, the Adani Group approached the state’s high court, which on Monday asked the government to file a report.
An Adani official told the BBC on condition of anonymity that the company had suffered damages of around 800m rupees ($9.8m; £8.1m) so far due to the blockade, which has gone on for more than 104 days.
IMAGE SOURCE,REUTERS Image caption, Adani Group says the project is in compliance with all laws
Adani Ports, India’s largest port operator, signed the deal in 2015 to build the port at Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala’s capital city.
The company operates nine feeder ports across India and the Vizhinjam port is expected to meet all its transhipment requirements once ready.
It has said that the port, once completed, would be “India’s gateway to international transhipment” due to its proximity to international shipping routes.
The port was initially scheduled to be opened in 2019 but work was delayed after a deadly cyclone hit the state in 2017, and due to a shortage in construction material. It is now set to open in September 2023.
The opposition Congress party, which was in power when the deal was signed, alleged that the current government had “ignored” a rehabilitation package for displaced people which was originally part of the agreement.
Local officials have reported that , a small Buddhist temple in Thailand has been left without any monks after they were all dismissed for failing drug tests.
An official told AFP that four monks, including the abbot, tested positive for methamphetamine in the northern province of Phetchabun.
According to Boonlert Thintapthai, the monks were then sent to a health clinic for drug rehabilitation.
The raid coincides with a national campaign to combat drug trafficking.
The monks were reportedly removed from the temple on Monday after police administered urine tests, which all four men failed. Officials did not specify what drew police attention to the temple.
Mr Thintapthai told AFP that the “temple is now empty of monks and nearby villagers are concerned they cannot do any merit-making”.
Merit-making is an important Buddhist practice where worshippers gain a protective force through good deeds – in this case by giving food to monks.
But Mr Thintapthai said that regional officials had sought the assistance of the local monastic chief, who had promised to assign some new monks to the temple in the Bung Sam Phan district in a bid to address the concerns of worshippers.
In recent years, methamphetamine has become a major issue in Thailand, with seizures of the drug reaching an all time high in 2021, according to the UN’s Office on Drugs and Crime.
The country is a major transit point for methamphetamine. The drugs flood into the country from Myanmar – the world’s biggest producer of methamphetamine – via Laos.
The pills are then sold on the streets with a value of around 50 Baht (£0.47).
Last month, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha ordered a clampdown on drugs after a former police officer who had been dismissed from the force for methamphetamine possession killed 37 people during a shooting at a nursery.
Rishi Sunak has declared that the so-called “golden era” of relations with China is over, vowing to “evolve” the UK’s approach to the country.
Mr Sunak said in his first foreign policy speech that the previous decade’s closer economic ties were “naive.”
The prime minister stated that the UK must replace wishful thinking with “robust pragmatism” in dealing with competitors.
However, he cautioned against “Cold War rhetoric,” adding that China’s global importance could not be overlooked.
Since taking office last month, Mr Sunak has faced pressure from Tory backbenchers to toughen the UK’s stance on China.
His speech, at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet in London, comes after protests in China over the weekend against the country’s strict Covid lockdown laws.
Police have made several arrests, and a BBC journalist was detained while covering a protest in Shanghai on Sunday. He was beaten and kicked by the police during his arrest and held for several hours before being released.
Mr Sunak told the audience of business leaders and foreign policy experts that, in the face of the protests, China had “chosen to crack down further, including by assaulting a BBC journalist”.
“We recognise China poses a systemic challenge to our values and interests, a challenge that grows more acute as it moves towards even greater authoritarianism,” he said.
He added that the “golden era” of UK-China relations was “over”, along with the “naïve idea” that more trade with the West would lead to Chinese political reform.
The phrase “golden era” is associated with closer economic ties under former Prime Minister David Cameron – but relations between London and Beijing have since deteriorated.
However, Mr Sunak stressed that “we cannot simply ignore China’s significance in world affairs – to global economic stability or issues like climate change”.
He added that the UK would work with allies including the US, Canada, Australia,and Japan to “manage this sharpening competition, including with diplomacy and engagement”.
“It means standing up to our competitors, not with grand rhetoric but with robust pragmatism,” he added.
Mr Sunak and Chinese President Xi Jinping were set to meet for the first time at the G20 summit in Indonesia earlier this month, but the encounter was cancelled following a missile blast in Poland.
Mr Sunak’s predecessor Liz Truss was reportedly planning to re-categorise China as a “threat” to the UK as part of a review of its foreign policy.
In his speech, Mr Sunak echoed the phrase used in the review – that China is a “systemic challenge”. He said there would be more details of the review in the new year.
The truth is, right now, we don’t know in practical terms what this new approach will actually amount to.
Mr Sunak is promising more detail in what is known as the Integrated Review – which will set out the UK’s national security and foreign policy – in the new year.
But we know already how China is now described: a “systemic challenge”.
The government hopes that people will understand that international relations, like any human relations, are complex and nuanced; that a binary approach, as they see it, would not be in the UK’s interests.
But for the prime minister’s critics, failing to describe Beijing as a “threat” is a big mistake.
But the “robust pragmatism” line in the speech was criticised by former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith, who is one of a number of backbenchers pushing for a tougher line.
Reacting to a preview of the speech, he wrote in the Daily Express that China had become a “clear and present threat to us and our allies”.
“I wonder if robust pragmatism now sounds more and more like appeasement,” he added.
Labour’s shadow foreign secretary David Lammy called the speech “thin as gruel”, accusing the government of “flip-flopping its rhetoric on China”.
Nigel Inkster, senior China advisor at foreign affairs think tank the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he did not think the China-UK golden age “was ever real and substantial”.
He said: “It attempted to focus on economic relations with China while putting geopolitics to one side, and experience shows you simply can’t do that.
“China in its present form is here to stay for the foreseeable future, and I think the Marxist-Leninist dialogue is only going to increase so we are going to have to learn to get used to this.”
Elsewhere in his speech, Mr Sunak promised to continue support for Ukraine, adding: “We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
He promised to “maintain or increase” British military aid to the country next year, and provide new air support to protect civilians and critical infrastructure.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, China’s President Xi Jinping and former prime minister David Cameron drink a beer together during his state visit to the UK in 2015
Mr Sunak visited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier this month, in his first visit to Kyiv since entering Downing Street.
During the visit, he announced the UK would supply Ukraine with additional anti-aircraft guns and radars, and increase the training offer to Ukraine’s armed forces.
President Zelensky’s wife, Olena Zelenska, made her own visit to Londonon Monday where she spoke about sexual violence allegedly being perpetrated by Russian troops in Ukraine.
Will Smith has said his “bottled” rage led him to slap comedian Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars in March.
The actor has been interviewed for the first time since the incident, which he described as “a horrific night”.
Appearing on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, he said: “I was going through something that night, you know?
“Not that that justifies my behaviour at all.” Smith added that there were “many nuances and complexities to it”, but added: “I just – I lost it.”
Smith stormed the stage at the Hollywood award ceremony after Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife’s shaved head. Jada Pinkett Smith has the hair loss condition alopecia.
‘I understand how shocking that was’
He had previously said his wife did not ask him to confront Rock.
“I guess what I would say is that you just never know what somebody’s going through,” he said, without elaborating on what he was referring to.
The interview on the late-night US TV talk show was the first time Smith had been publicly challenged about the attack.
“I understand how shocking that was for people… I was gone. That was a rage that had been bottled for a really long time,” he told Noah.
“That was a horrific night, as you can imagine.”
In July he posted a video on YouTube, answering questions that appeared to be written by fans about the Academy Awards. Prior to that, he had only issued written statements about the altercation.
He appeared on Monday evening’s episode of The Daily Show to promote his upcoming film Emancipation, to be released next week, making it eligible for next year’s Oscars.
Smith, who received this year’s best actor award after the slap, said the idea that his new the film would be “tainted” during the upcoming awards season by his actions was “killing me dead”.
The 54-year-old has been banned from attending the Oscars for 10 years, and has also resigned from the Academy, which organises the ceremony.
Asked in a separate interview what he would say to critics claiming it was too soon for him to be promoting his work, he replied: “I completely understand that if you know someone is not ready.
“I would absolutely respect that and allow them their space to not be ready.
“My deepest concern is my team. The people on this team have done some of the best work their entire careers, and my deepest hope is that my actions don’t penalise my team.”
The amount is a record highfor EOCO compared to an average of about five million Ghana cedis in previous years
The executive director of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah has said her outfit will step up its effort in recovering monies due the state from next year.
The assurance comes after Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta announced that EOCO retrieved GHC27.55 million from proceeds of crime; monies that would have been lost to the state in 10 months.
The amount is a record high for EOCO compared to an average of about five million Ghana cedis in previous years.
Speaking on the achievement, the EOCO boss said she was grateful to her management team and all officers of EOCO who made this great feat possible.
COP Addo-Danquah said EOCO will also improve on its recoveries, sensitisation programmes on cybercrimes, gaming and its outreach programmes to markets, communitiesand religious institutions in the coming days.
The chiefs and people of the Asante Mampong Traditional Area in the Ashanti Region have decided not to allow any mining activity on their lands.
This is to prevent the destruction of farmlands and water bodies in the area.
It follows the issuance of a license to Eriant Company, an entity that deals in woods and registered in 2019 by the Minerals Commission for prospecting gold in Mampong.
They also gave another company, Active Target Minerals Resource, registered in September 2022, a similar license to do the same prospecting on November 1, 2022.
But speaking on Adom TV’s Badwem morning show on Friday, Member of Parliament for Asante Mampong, Kwaku Ampratwum Sarpong, said, “Daasebre Osei Bonsu has asked me to caution all those who want to come and mine gold in Asante Mampong not to come there because he cannot protect them should anything happen to them.”
That, he said, was because they could not sit and allow their lands, farms, and water bodies to be destroyed, as had happened in many parts of the country.
The MP, who is also the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, therefore, cautioned that “if anyone comes there for mining, I will organise the youth to restrict such people.”
“We don’t need anyone there for mining purposes. If you’re looking for gold, go elsewhere, not Asante Mampong,” he warned.
He stressed his readiness to do whatever it took to protect his people and the lands bequeathed to them by their forefathers.
“I am ready to lead my constituents to use every means possible to prevent and stop any prospecting or mining company that ventures into the Mampong Municipality. Mampong is a no-go area for gold mining,” he stressed.
He indicated that “we are forming a task force in the town so anyone who comes there to do mining would have us to contend with it. Daasebre (Osei Bonsu) has also stated that no mining prospecting would be allowed in Mampong, for he would not allow some people to pollute his lands and water bodies.”
Meanwhile, the youth of the town are said to be gearing up for a massive demonstration through the principal streets of the town next Wednesday to drum home their point.
This is expected to be followed by a press conference to reiterate their resolve not to allow mining activities in the town.
Meanwhile, the Mamponghene, Daasebre Osei Bonsu, and the Member of Parliamenthave cautioned the Minerals Commission to stop issuing licenses to companies to come and do prospecting in the area since they would not allow any mining activities in the area.
Speaking to the media, some concerned youth in Aburi expressed their displeasure that transportation fares from Aburi to any part of the nearby areas are exorbitant in comparison to other places, despite the city’s good roads.
A 23-kilometer road from Aburi to Madina now costs Ghc13.60, while a 26.9-kilometer road from Madina to Dodowa costs Ghc10.
The youth argued that transport fares from Aburi to Madina shot up during the reconstruction of the Tetteh Quarshie to Mamfe road two decades ago due to the diversion of the road through Kitase-Brekuso to Kwabenya.
However, drivers failed to reverse the GHC2 additional increment agreed upon with passengers after the road’s construction, instead unfairly raising the fares.
This, they say, is worsening the plight of the people and also affecting businesses and tourism.
Fred Odei Addo Duodu, Secretary to the youth group demanded immediate reduction in transport fares else the youth will rise.
He further stated that “it is our fervent prayer that our demands today on paper must translate into a renewed action by the transport unions to expose those unscrupulous drivers who charge exorbitantly based on their own discretion, push for bolder policies to flush out drivers who disregard the approved general pricing principle by the transport unions”.
Some opinion leaders in the community said they have made several efforts to petition the Greater Accra Regional GPRTU executives and Akuapem South District Chief Executive, but the GPRTU has failed to act on their grievances.
Residents have given a one-week ultimatum for the fares to be reduced or else they will stage a massive demonstration, and subsequently expulse recalcitrant drivers from plying into Aburi township.
However, some of the drivers told Starr News, they can’t not be blamed because they only implement fares approved by GPRTU.
Three stowaways were discovered on the rudder of a ship after it completed an 11-day voyage from Nigeria, according to Spanish authorities.
The coastguard shared a photo of the men sitting on the rudder at the oil tanker’s helm, their feet less than a metre from the water.
They were taken to a hospital in Gran Canaria, where they were treated for moderate dehydration.
It’s unclear if they sat on the rudder the entire journey.
According to data collected by maritime tracking websites, the Maltese-flagged Althini II arrived in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, after a journey of more than 2,700 nautical miles from Nigeria’s largest city, Lagos.
The men were seen by medics at the dock where they were found, and were taken to hospital soon after, the Spanish news agency EFE said.
This isn’t the first time stowaways have been found on rudders, which are large blade-like fins found under ships and used for steering.
A 14 year-old boy who also travelled from Lagos to Gran Canaria in 2020 told the paper El Pais that he spent the entire 15 day journey on the rudder of a huge fuel tanker. He was hospitalised upon arrival, after surviving on salt water and taking turns sleeping in a hole above the rudder with the other men he was travelling with.
“We were very weak. I never imagined it could be this hard.” he said.
In another incident the same year, four men were found on the rudder of the Norwegian oil tanker, Champion Pula, after it had travelled from Lagos to Las Palmas. Reports at the time said the men hid in a room behind the rudder during its 10 days at sea.
The number of migrants crossing on boats from west Africa to the Spanish-owned Canary Islands has risen significantly in recent years.
A young woman says she’s now facing a dilemma after her much older boyfriend brought up the topic of marriage, casually asking her whether this would be something she’d be open to. According to the 23-year-old woman, she’s been with her ‘wonderful’ 71-year-old boyfriend for two years, and loves and cares for him very much.
At the moment, he’s in relatively good health and lives an active lifestyle. The longevity of his parents, who both lived until their nineties, has further reassured her that would have plenty of time together as a married couple. The potential bride-to-be doesn’t want children and feels as though their marriage could very well work out, however, she does have a few concerns about the caring role she may one day have to take on.
Taking to Reddit, where she goes by the username u/cinnamonpenguinss, the conflicted girlfriend wrote: “His mum does have Alzheimer’s or dementia, and is very frail. This leads me to believe that there will be a point in his life when he will need extra care.
“His dad did not have memory issues but did have a stroke. He doesn’t have any children, so I would be taking care of him as he gets older. What does it look like to care for an aging partner, especially if you have a job/career?
“It’s a little strange planning for an end of a marriage, but I fully believe that a decade or two of happiness with him is better than not. I just want to make sure that I am the right one to take care of him and love him.”
Opinions were mixed as to whether she should go ahead and marry her other half, with some even arguing she’d be ‘wasting the best years’ of her life.
One person urged: “You are signing up to be his nurse, not his wife. Don’t sabotage yourself like this! You deserve better. Don’t waste your young years being a servant. This is a horrible idea.
“This will damage you and set you back for the rest of your life, you must listen to the women who made the same mistake and are regretting it because of how the stress of being a 24/7 nurse and servant made them sick for the rest of their lives, to the point of needing but not affording someone to help them.”
Others however were more encouraging, with one sympathetic person, who sadly lost their much older husband to cancer, commenting: “I adored my husband. If I had the time again knowing I was going to lose him and there was nothing I could do about it. I would still do it all again.
“Even if you were with someone your own age there would still be a likelihood of one of you acting for the other further down the line anyway so take your happiness if you love them then it won’t be a barrier. It certainly wasn’t for me.”
Following a significant increase in diphtheria cases this month, a vaccine programme has been expanded in migrant processing centres. According to the immigration minister, public health is the government’s top priority, and they are going above and beyond to keep cases from spreading.
Fifty recent arrivals in the UK have been diagnosed with diphtheria, according to the immigration minister.
Robert Jenrick told MPs that the number of cases has risen from four on November 1st, when he first provided an update, to 50 on November 25th.
He said the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) found the cases, which were across different asylum accommodations, had developed before the migrants had entered the UK, either in their country of origin or on their journey through Europe.
“It’s important to emphasise that the UKHSA has been clear that the risk to the wider UK population from onward transmission of diphtheria is very low, thanks in no small part to our excellent childhood immunisation programme,” he told the Commons.
He said “public health is paramount” and the government will take all steps necessary to ensure that the public are protected”.
The UKHSA said of the 50 cases, two were severe and required hospital admission and treatment with diphtheria anti-toxin and antibiotics.
Earlier today the Home Office revealed 500 migrants at the Manston processing centre in Kent had been vaccinated against diphtheria before they were moved to further accommodation.
At the beginning of November, the centre was suffering from severe overcrowding, which is when reports of diphtheria cases were first made.
Sky News also revealed today a man who died after staying at Manston had the disease.
Mr Jenrick said initial tests on the man were negative but a subsequent PCR test showed he had diphtheria, however his cause of death is pending as the post-mortem results have not come through yet.
500 migrants vaccinated for diphtheria
The minister said migrants are being tested upon arrival in the UK and those with diphtheria are being isolated in a designated area.
People with symptoms are being tested, and also their close contacts, he said.
Mr Jenrick added that the measures “go beyond the baseline advice of the UKHSA because we want to take precautionary measures”.
All migrants who arrived at Manston this weekend took up the offer of the vaccine, which is voluntary, Mr Jenrick said.
When the government initially started offering the vaccine there was only around a 45% uptake but he said it is now 100%.
Mr Jenrick said the government will be liaising with the French to assess the diphtheria status in the migrant camps in northern France, where most stay before making the dangerous Channel crossing to the UK.
Image:The Manston processing centre in Kent was opened in February this year
Labour’s shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper asked what is happening with the “other several thousand” who have been moved on from Manston over the past month.
She raised concerns not enough has been done to stop diphtheria potentially spreading from those who have not been vaccinated as she said the public health recommendation to screen and vaccinate was made nearly three weeks ago “and that was already late”.
Ms Cooper also called on ministers to make sure all those with symptoms are given “precautionary antibiotics” to fight the disease”.
Mr Jenrick said the Home Office and the UKHSA are going to work with public health directors in areas where migrants are being sent to make they have the guidance to protect people from the disease.
Migrants who have been moved on and have diphtheria will be required to “isolate in their rooms within those hotels or other forms of accommodation”, he added.
They will get their food and laundry brought to their door until they are well again and if further measures are needed they will be implemented, he said.
The former president, who had already been imprisoned for four years before his trial, is a rival to the country’s current leader.
According to regional media reports and the AFP news agency, a court in Comoros sentenced ex-President Ahmed Abdallah Sambi to life in prison for “high treason.”
Tanzania Daily News reports that, Sambi, a political rival of incumbent President Azali Assoumani, was sentenced by the State Security Court, a special judicial body whose rulings cannot be appealed, for selling passports to stateless people living in the Gulf.
“He betrayed the mission entrusted to him by the Comorians,” public prosecutor Ali Mohamed Djounaid accused in the court as he requested for a life sentence.
Sambi, 64, who led the tiny Indian Ocean archipelago nation between 2006 and 2011, enacted a law in 2008 allowing the sale of passports for high fees.
The controversial scheme was aimed to give nationality to the so-called Bidoon – an Arab minority numbering in the tens of thousands who cannot obtain citizenship.
According to Djounaid, the former president embezzled $1.8bn under the fraudulent scheme – more than the gross domestic product of the impoverished nation.
Local media quoted Emmanuel Sossa, a lawyer for civilian plaintiffs, as saying: “They gave thugs the right to sell Comorian nationality as if they were selling peanut.”
Sambi’s lawyer Jean- Gilles Halimi, however, refuted the accusations, saying no evidence had been provided for the missing monies and no bank accounts had been put forward to suggest a crime.
Sambi refused to attend the trial on the grounds that there were no guarantees he would be judged fairly. He briefly appeared once with his defence asking the judge to recuse himself since he had previously sat on the panel that decided to indict him.
The former leader, who was originally charged with corruption, had already spent four years in prisonbefore he faced a trial. He was previously placed under house arrest for allegedly disturbing public order.
Three months later he was put under pre-trial detention for embezzlement, corruption and forgery, in the so-called “economic citizenship” scandal, before being slapped with high treason charges.
“It is clear that Sambi is a hindrance to Azali Assoumani’s political agenda and that he is doing everything to remove it,” Sambi’s daughter Tisslame Sambi had told AFP.
Among the defendants was French-Syrian businessman Bashar Kiwan, who accused the government of seeking to pressure him into testifying against the former president in exchange for a pardon.
The Comoros presidency has formally denied these accusations.
The Comoros islands – Anjouan, Grande Comore and Moheli – have endured years of grinding poverty and political turmoil, including about 20 coups or attempted coups, since independence from France in 1975.
The operator of the electricity grid in the United Kingdom postponed plans to activate emergency measures on Monday after power supplies were deemed adequate.
Earlier on Monday, the National Grid Electricity System Operator announced that it was considering using its Demand Flexibility Service for the first time in order to avoid blackouts the following day.
ESO launched the flexibility program in early November. By design, it’s meant to offer consumers and businesses incentives for cutting back on the amount of electricity they use during certain periods throughout the day.
High prices and concerns over supplies have put much of the region on edge as winter descends on the Northern Hemisphere. Natural gas prices jumped on Monday amid reports of a cold spell for the British isles.
But the grid regulator eventually backed off plans to impose the Demand Flexibility Service in response to industry sources reporting that gas-fired power facilities brought extra capacity online to avoid service disruptions, The Guardian reported.
Data from Gas Infrastructure Europe, meanwhile, show that regional gas supplies — including those in Britain — are at an all-time high for this time of year, suggesting early-year concerns of major supply-side problems won’t materialize.
The sidelining of Russian natural gas as punishment for the February invasion of Ukraine has been more of a concern for members of the European Union, however, as the British economy relies on domestic natural gas and imports from Norway to keep the lights on.
Nevertheless, the Bank of England had pinned much of the blame on Russia, which created heightened volatility in the wholesale energy markets. For natural gas alone, the bank said prices have been changing by more than 15% a day at the most extreme.
Tony Jordan, a senior partner at the consultancy Auxilione, told The Guardian that warnings from the ESO should serve as a reminder of the importance of conserving power, but consumers shouldn’t be overly concerned.
“Spot prices (for natural gas) are rising on the back of the cold weather … but this is how the system works, it will convince people to cut back on their usage and balance out supply and demand,” he said. “There will be some scaremongering but it looks like we should be fine.”
The Met Office, Britain’s weather reporting agency, shows heavy rains and cool weather for London on Monday, with temperatures hovering around 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Cloudy skies with lows in the 40s are expected for the weekend.
