INSURGENCY
We begin in East Africa where a suicide bomber has killed at least six people, including senior police officers, at a police station in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.
The bomber detonated explosives at Waberi District Police Station killing police commander Major Ahmed Abdullahi Bashane. Another senior police officer, Major Abdibasid Mohamud Agey, who was the former deputy commander of Waliyow Adde Division of the Banadir Regional Police, was also killed in the bombing.
Somali Police Spokesman Major Sadiq Adan Ali Dodishe says those wounded in the attack include senior police officers.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack although al-Qaeda-allied Al-Shabaab militants have in the past carried out suicide bombings in Mogadishu and other parts of central and southern Somalia.
CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
Lawyers representing the alleged financier of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda have requested that charges against him be dropped on the grounds that he is unfit to stand trial due to ill health.
Félicien Kabuga was arrested a year ago in France and is detained in the Hague awaiting trial at a UN-backed court in Tanzania.
Kabuga’s lawyer argues that pursuing the case would constitute a serious breach of his rights.
Once one of Rwanda’s richest men, Kabuga allegedly helped create the Interahamwe Hutu militia and is accused of inciting Hutus to kill the population using the radio station he owned.
TIGRAY CONFLICT
The United Nations says more than 100 former peacekeepers from Ethiopia have sought international protection and have applied for asylum in Sudan.
They had been part of the recently closed UN mission in Darfur.
This comes after other Ethiopian peacekeepers originally from the conflict hit Tigray region – refused to return to Ethiopia out of fear of persecution.
There is increasing concern over allegations of atrocities committed during the six month conflict in Tigray.
The UN says instead of returning home when their mission ended in the Darfur region, around 120 Ethiopian peacekeepers applied for asylum in Sudan.
SOUTH SUDAN
South Sudan President Salva Kiir has dissolved parliament as part of the 2018 revitalized peace agreement.
In a presidential decree broadcast on state television, Kiir dissolved the Transitional National Legislative Assembly and the Council of States, paving way for the reconstitution of both houses.
However, the President did not give the date when the new parliament will begin working.
The formation of a new legislative body was part of an agreement signed in September 2018 between Kiir and then-Vice President Riek Machar.
ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT
Kenyan police authorities are investigating a case of a female police officer’s complaint about mistreatment and sexual harassment, in a viral video.
In the video, the officer is seen asking that she be allowed to resign “peacefully” from the service, saying she had written multiple resignation letters but they are yet to reach the head of the police force, Inspector General Hilary Mutyambai.
The officer based in the coastal city of Mombasa expressed her frustration on injustice and corruption by the police’s Internal Affairs unit .
She said such frustration was the reason police officers were committing suicide or killing others.
The police Inspector General has ordered independent investigations into the matter and a report to be given within seven days.
D.R. CONGO UNREST
Congolese army forces on Sunday killed 10 rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in the troubled east of the country.
The offensive kicked off last Thursday in North Kivu and Ituri provinces, with army and police officers assigned to replace civilian authorities under a 30-day “state of siege”.
Meanwhile, a delegation of Ugandan officers arrived in Beni on Sunday even as the army and government authorities declined to comment on the visit.
Branded a “terrorist” organization affiliated with the Islamic State group by the United States, the ADF has been accused of murdering more than 1,000 civilians since November 2019 in Beni alone.
Mineral-rich North and South-Kivu which lies along the DRC’s eastern borders with Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, descended into violence during the country’s two wars between 1996 and 2003, and has never regained stability.
ALGERIA PROTESTS
Authorities in Algeria have decreed that weekly protests will be barred if they do not have prior approval.
The Friday mass demonstrations began in February 2019 and toppled the long-term President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who was seeking a fifth term in office.
In a statement, the interior minister accused the marchers of causing nuisance to the wider population.
It says organisers must now provide their personal details as well as the march’s itinerary, slogans and timings.
The ministry warns that non-compliance will render the protest illegal.
ELECTRICITY IN NIGERIA
Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council has approved N6.2 billion for execution of various electricity projects across the country.
Minister of Power Saleh Mamman says contracts approved include those for procurement of transformers and vital spare parts for maintenance of power transmission equipment.
Mamman says the materials were for the upgrade of the nation’s transmission system in order to have sufficient power supply to all parts of the country.
NIGERIA INSURGENCY
The Nigeria Army says troops of its 3rd Brigade in the northwestern state of Kano have arrested 13 suspected Boko Haram terrorists at the weekend.
A statement on Sunday says the suspected terrorists were arrested around Filin Lazio in Hotoro area of Kano, following a successful operation.
The army says the ongoing operation is predicated on the need to apprehend criminals who might want to hibernate in any part of the State.
The security outfit urged the public to go about their lawful businesses as security forces are on top of the situation.
NIGERIA CHOLERA OUTBREAK
To health matters now, At least 15 people have been reported dead after an outbreak of cholera in Koya village of Minjibir Local Government Area of Kano State, North-West of Nigeria
Forty others have also been confirmed hospitalised as the result of the outbreak whose cause is yet-to-be ascertained.
The village head of the community, Sulaiman Muhammad, who confirmed the report said most of the victims were women and children.
Reports say the victims experienced diarrhoea and vomiting.
The Executive Secretary, Kano State Primary Healthcare Management Board, Dr Hussaini Tijjani confirmed the outbreak on Sunday to Daily Trust.
He said the state’s Ministry of Health has already sent health personnel to the community to help curtail its further spread.
COVID-19 KENYA
Kenya’s health ministry says it plans to redistribute at least 200,000 doses of unused Covid-19 vaccines.
The country’s Health Minister Mutahi Kagwe says the vaccines would be taken to cities or counties where the uptake is high to prevent wastage.
Kenya expects to record an average vaccine wastage rate of 10% or less.
Wastage may occur when a closed vial cannot be used due to ineffective temperature control, monitoring and stock management during storage and transportation.
An open vial may also be wasted because of unused doses of multi-dose vials.
COVID-19 ANGOLA
Angola has detected 276 new positive cases of Covid-19, two deaths and 15 recoveries in the last 24 hours.
The Health Minister Sílvia Lutucuta remarked that of the above mentioned new cases, 245 have been detected in Luanda.
As to those recovered, seven come from Cuando Cubango, five from Luanda and three from Huambo.
The dead are Angolan nationals from the capital Luanda.
Angola’s current statistics show 28.477 positive cases, 630 deaths, 24.713 recoveries and 3.134 active patients.
COVID-19 TUNISIA
Tunisia has started a week of coronavirus restrictions covering the Eid holiday, as hospitals battle to stay afloat amid Covid-19 increase.
Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi admits Tunisia is going through “the worst health crisis in its history” and health facilities are at risk of collapse.
Until next Sunday, mosques, markets and non-essential shops must close, gatherings and family or cultural celebrations are banned, and people are forbidden from travelling between regions.
An overnight curfew begins at 7:00 pm local time, instead of 10 pm and is in force until 5 am.
Schools have been closed since mid-April.
WORLD WRAP
TRANSITION OF POWERS
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has signed a decree on the transfer of presidential powers to the Security Council in the event of an emergency.
According to the new decree, if the president is assassinated, for instance, the country will be temporarily governed by the Security Council, a body of top-ranking government officials, whose meetings are chaired by the Prime Minister.
A state of emergency will be immediately declared in the country while the decisions of the Security Council are binding and subject to unconditional execution.
The decree is aimed at preserving the independence and sovereignty of the country.
JERUSALEM UNREST
Fresh clashes have broken out between Israeli police and Palestinians at the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, ahead of a planned Jewish nationalist march.
Hundreds of Palestinians and more than 20 Israeli police have been injured in clashes over the past three days.
There are fears of more violence on Monday over the annual Jerusalem Day Flag March.
The event marks Israel’s capture of East Jerusalem – home to the Old City and its holy sites, in 1967, and usually sees young Zionists walk through Muslim areas.
It is regarded by Palestinians as a deliberate provocation.
BUSINESS
CREDIT RATING
The management and board of First Bank of Nigeria or FBN have gotten a clean credit rating at least from Fitch Ratings.
The rating agency has affirmed that the recent First Bank board replacement will not affect the bank’s profitability and asset quality. It currently rates the bank at B- with a negative outlook.
According to the rating firm, the development reflects its view that the impact of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s replacement of FBNH and FBN Ltd boards, the identification of corporate governance failings and the imposition of corrective measures are tolerable at the rating level.
NNPC
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum has hinted at an ongoing feud between the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Nation’s National oil Company, NNPC.
The Minister Timipre Sylva was responding to questions surrounding oil assets owned and operated by the nation from Lawmakers in the House of Representatives Committee on Downstream Petroleum.
He said the NNPC flagrantly disobeyed an instruction from his office, which had been approved by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Other lawmakers expressed disappointment at the conduct of senior officials of the NNPC saying the national oil company has consistently refused to present itself to oversight by Parliament.
SPORTS
MICHAEL JORDAN
A game-worn jersey belonging to Michael Jordan from his second season at the University of North Carolina sold for a record $1.38m (£1m) on Saturday.
It is the only known shirt photo-matched to the basketball legend’s 1982-83 season with the Tar Heels. It sold for more than three times the previous record for a Jordan jersey.
From the University of North Carolina, Jordan was taken as the third pick in the 1984 NBA draft.
A Jordan jersey from his third season with the Bulls in 1986-87 last year sold for $480,000 (£343,000).
Jordan won six NBA championships in the 1990s with the Bulls and established himself as one of the world’s most iconic athletes. Items associated with the basketball Hall of Famer, who now owns the Charlotte Hornets NBA franchise, have fetched huge sums of money.
TOKYO OLYMPICS
Joshua Cheptegei is taking cautious steps as he makes final touches before bidding to become Uganda’s first-ever track long-distance Olympic champion come the Tokyo Games in July.
His management Global Sports Communication (GSC) comprising manager Jurrie van der Velden and coach Addy Ruiter ponder over which races to do over the remaining 70 days.
With the disruptions by the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic playing a crucial factor, GSC agreed that the 10000m world champion will build-up for Tokyo by running the 3000m race at the Golden Spike Meeting in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
With endurance already in the bag, there is a deliberate plan to help Cheptegei polish up on speed, especially with a plot to attempt winning the 10000m and 5000m Olympic double.