A 21-storey building under construction in Nigeria’s main city, Lagos, has collapsed.
Eyewitnesses told the BBC that several people are believed to be trapped inside the building, including construction workers and contractors.
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency says it has activated its emergency response plan to deal with the situation.
Meanwhile, security agencies are struggling to cordon off the area as crowds gather around the site.
The cause of the collapse of the building is still unclear.
Former US President Donald Trump, who has himself banned by multiple social media companies, has announced that he will launch his own platform called TRUTH Social, with access limited to invited guests.
"I created TRUTH Social ... to stand up to the tyranny of Big Tech. We live in a world where the Taliban has a huge presence on Twitter, yet your favourite American President has been silenced," Trump said in the statement.
"Everyone asks me why doesn't someone stand up to Big Tech? Well, we will be soon!" he added.
Trump said that the company's mission is "to create a rival to the liberal media consortium and fight back against the Big Tech companies of Silicon Valley, which have used their unilateral power to silence opposing voices in America."
According to a press statement issued by Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG), a beta version of Trump's new mouth piece will launch in November, and will have a "nationwide rollout" in the first quarter of 2022.
Trump was shunned by multiple social media platforms over posts they believed incited violence and led directly to the attack on the US Capitol in January, leaving five people dead.
The former US president launched his first communications platform in May. The website, which said it would publish content "straight from the desk" of Trump, was shut down within a month, however.
Newcastle United’s new owners have sacked head coach Steve Bruce.
Bruce was expected to be replaced after the Saudi Arabian-backed consortium, led by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), completed a £305m takeover of Newcastle on October 7.
The 60-year-old remained in charge for the 3-2 defeat to Tottenham – his 1,000th match as a manager – with non-executive chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan and director Amanda Staveley watching on at St James’ Park.
Source: Sky Sports
Cristiano Ronaldo headed the winner nine minutes from time as Manchester United came back from two goals down to record a memorable Champions League triumph against Atalanta at Old Trafford.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side had been booed off at the break, such was the lack of invention they showed in falling behind to goals from Mario Pasalic and Merih Demiral.
But the jeers turned to cheers as United, roared on by an increasingly frenzied crowd, rallied to complete one of their great European victories.
Marcus Rashford reduced the deficit with an excellent finish eight minutes after the restart before skipper Harry Maguire drove home after being left free at the far post to get on the end of Edinson Cavani’s flick.
But, inevitably, it was Ronaldo who won the game, just as he did three weeks previously against Villarreal.
This time it was with one of his trademark headers as he rose to meet Luke Shaw’s cross and find the bottom corner to send United to the top of Group F.
The Covid pandemic will “go on for a year longer than it needs to” because poorer countries are not getting the vaccines they need, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.
Dr Bruce Aylward, senior leader at the WHO, said it meant the Covid crisis could “easily drag on deep into 2022”.
Less than 5% of Africa’s population have been vaccinated, compared to 40% on most other continents.
Dr Aylward appealed to wealthy countries to give up their places in the queue for vaccines in order that pharmaceutical companies can prioritise the lowest-income countries instead.
He said wealthy countries needed to “stocktake” where they were with their donation commitments made at summits such as the G7 meeting in St Ives this summer.
“I can tell you we’re not on track” he said. “We really need to speed it up or you know what? This pandemic is going to go on for a year longer than it needs to.”
The People’s Vaccine – an alliance of charities – has released new figures suggesting just one in seven of the doses promised by pharmaceutical companies and wealthy countries are actually reaching their destinations in poorer countries.
The vast majority of Covid vaccines have been given in high-income or upper middle-income countries. Africa accounts for just 2.6% of doses administered globally.
The group of charities, which includes Oxfam and UNAids, also criticised Canada and the UK for procuring vaccines for their own populations via Covax, the UN-backed global programme to distribute vaccines fairly.
Official figures show that earlier this year the UK received 539,370 Pfizer doses while Canada took just under a million AstraZeneca doses.
The original idea behind Covax was that all countries would be able to acquire vaccines from its pool, including wealthy ones. But most G7 countries decided to hold back once they started making their own one-to-one deals with pharmaceutical companies.
Oxfam’s Global Health Adviser, Rohit Malpani, acknowledged that Canada and the UK were technically entitled to get vaccines via this route having paid into the Covax mechanism, but he said it was still “morally indefensible” given that they had both obtained millions of doses through their own bilateral agreements.
“They should not have been acquiring these doses from Covax,” he said. “It’s nothing better than double-dipping and means that poorer countries which are already at the back of the queue, will end up waiting longer.”
The UK government pointed out it was one of the countries which had “kick-started” Covax last year with a donation of £548m.
The Canadian government was keen to stress that it had now ceased to use Covax vaccines.
The country’s International Development Minister, Karina Gould, said: “As soon as it became clear that the supply we had secured through our bilateral deals would be sufficient for the Canadian population, we pivoted the doses which we had procured from Covax back to Covax, so they could be redistributed to developing countries.”
Covax originally aimed to deliver two billion doses of vaccines by the end of this year, but so far it has shipped 371m doses.
Source: bbc.com
A 55-year-old single mother of nine children has been sentenced to death despite her plea for clemency.
Hairun JalmanI from Malaysia has been convicted of drug possession and distribution charges.
Tawau High Court in Sabah sentenced her to death last week after being caught with 113.9g of meth in 2018.
A video of her crying and begging for forgiveness while being escorted by an officer from the courtroom hit social media and has generated numerous reactions across the globe.
Following the emergence of the emotion-triggering video, Amnesty International Malaysia has condemned how women are treated in the Southeast Asian country.
According to the humanitarian organization, women who are accused of drug-related offences are subjected to violence, abuse and exploitation but in sentencing them, the courts fail to consider the extrajudicial assaults they had already suffered.
It further disclosed that 95% of all women given the death sentence in 2019 were convicted for drug-related offences.
“Hairun’s life chances were stacked against her. She was a single mother in Malaysia’s poorest state trying to support 9 children. Her case is an example of how Malaysia’s death penalty punishes the poor w/ particular discriminations against women,” Amnesty International said.
It went further to entreat the Malaysian government to abolish the death penalty just as about 108 other countries have done.
“Why is the right to life so easily denied by the govt? Who is kept safe when a single mother of nine is sentenced to death and removed from her children? What justice is served when the structural inequalities and oppressions that created the conditions for her charge remain?”
Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Energy signed a public-private partnership (PPP) agreement with Winch Energy to construct 24 mini solar plants that will supply power to over 24000 residents in the country.
The company aims to make these operational by June 2019 and over 6,000 people are set to benefit from the direct connection to the mini-grids in the first phase of the project. Before the signing of the contract for its development in Sierra Leone, Winch Energy had already started installing 12 power plants in small towns and villages.
“We believe that electricity and related services are transforming communities, contributing to the development of local businesses and increasing wealth and prosperity. We are committed to making substantial investments in Sierra Leone and we plan to win more customers and communities in the coming months, with the help of our local team,” said Nicholas Wrigley, Chairman and CEO of Winch Energy.
Mini solar plant project
Mr Nicholas pointed out that electricity to the health centres will be prioritized to ensure they have the services they need to provide adequate health services to the local populations, especially in the event of any future health emergencies.
The Government of Sierra Leone is also combining this initiative with the Rural Renewable Energy Project (RREP), who aims to provide up to 5 MW in rural communities through small grid-connected solar power plants, with PPPs.
RREP is supported by the English government through grants, and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). This project (RREP) is expected to impact a total of 70 communities not yet served by the national power grid.
Upon completion the 24 small power plants will produce a total energy capacity of 1.2 MW. The project will benefit the target communities through additional business services, which will increase income within the locality and offer a better serviced trading centre to the surrounding local population. The project will also encourage productive uses of electricity and larger industrial loads such as milling and welding.
The Government of Liberia has signed an agreement with the Government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to construct two overhead bridges as part of Liberia’s five-year strategic plan, the Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD).
China Foreign Minister, Wang Yi confirmed the reports and said that further strengthen bilateral co-operation with Liberia the two countries signed a US $29.5m deal as the first tranche for the implementation of projects agreed to during the bilateral meeting.
Overhead bridges
This first tranche was transferred into a joint account at China Development Bank to be administered by both governments for the projects implementation. The projects include construction of the two overhead bridges and the SKD Boulevard, respectively; the provision of food aid to be monetized and used for development purposes; among others.
Construction of the two overhead bridges are expected to ease the traffic congestion at the SKD Boulevard and the new ministerial complex in Liberia. Mr. Wang Yi further pledged an amount of US $300,000 “In Kind” – to the country’s Foreign Ministry to enhance its productivity and to build capacity.
Responding, Foreign Minister Findley thanked State Councilor Wang Yi on behalf of President Weah and the Liberian Government for China’s continued support to the country’s development agenda. He re-emphasized Liberia’s adherence to its “One-China” policy, which has deepened the relations between both countries.
Minister Findley emphasized Liberia’s preparedness to work with China in promoting the objectives of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). He expressed thanks to China’s deep interest in building strong ties with Africa, particularly Liberia; noting that in April, both countries concluded a memorandum of understanding at which time Liberia formally joined the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Minister of State Nathaniel McGill signed the MOU on behalf of Government when he attended the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in Beijing.
Liberia has dedicated the newly constructed ministerial complex worth US $53m. Public Minister, Mabutu Nyenpan officially turned over the facility to the president of Liberia, Dr. George Manneh Weah.
Ministerial complex from
Construction of the building was initiated by the former president during her presidency and constructed by Jiangsu Construction Engineering Group. The building sits on an area of 24,000 square meters and features offices, meeting rooms, lecture halls, multi functional conference hall, archive room, administration rooms, and dining hall.
The development also has 255 parking spaces and other auxiliary facilities, which include water pump room (reservoir), substations and distribution room, generator room. Some parts of the building are already well-furnished.
Mr. Mabutu Nyenpan said that the facility will host host six government ministries and agency. The Chinese special envoy handed the symbolic key to president Weah and ex-president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
Largest Chinese government project for Liberia
The five ministries and one agency expected to be in the complex include; Agriculture, Education, Labor, Gender, Commence and Civil Service Agency. These six government entitles have been accommodated in private building for decades. Government spent millions of United States dollars on leasing private buildings for its ministries and agencies.
This is the largest Chinese government project for Liberia. It constructed the largest soccer stadium, Samuel K. Doe Sports complex, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the University of Liberia Fendell campus and the newly dedicated Terminal at the Roberts International Airport. The Terminal was also dedicated on July 25, 2019. TNR
“This building signifies a very special relationship that has existed between the PRC and the people of Liberia for many years,” the Vice President said, thus affirming Liberia’s commitment to upholding the “One China Policy.” said Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
“One-China policy” is a policy saying that there is only one sovereign state under the name China, despite the insistence by other parties that there are two states, the PRC and the Republic of China (ROC), both of whose official names incorporate “China.”
The government, of Liberia has officially dedicated the newly constructed market in the Old Road Joe Bar community to dignify the selling areas of marketers.
The official turning over ceremony was performed by the country’s President George Weah who commended the works done and said that the government will do its best to fix the economy, but called on citizens to maintain the peace, as there cannot be development in the mist of conflict and confusion.
“What was damaged during the 14 years of civil war. This government is focused on rehabilitating Liberians whose lives were damaged as a result of the civil war. I don’t want you to join those who are undermining the country through protests. Join me to rebuild the country,” said His excellency.
New Old Road Joe Bar market
Construction of the market which the president described to be a state of the art, was spearheaded by the Liberia Agency for Community Empowerment (LACE). The project took 31 days to be completed as planned.
The old market, which was constructed several years ago, was in a deplorable state leading to the new development. Facilities at the ‘new’ Old Road Joe Bar Market in District #10, Montserrado County, include 400 tables, 13 shops, six modern latrines, including provisional stores to enable marketers store their goods in a much more secured facility.
Duport Road Community is one of few communities that have already benefited from market buildings, which the President has promised to construct. The 14-Gobachop is another market being built which is is expected to contain distinct compartments for the sale of different food stuffs and other goods as well as car park.
Additionally, as a major aspect of his advancement plans, Weah said the legislature was applying endeavors to change the lives of Liberians by structure solid homes in the spot of the cottages they have been living in over such a significant number of decades. He guaranteed that solid structures for poverty stricken Liberians would be worked over the 15 districts.
The National Housing Authority (NHA) in partnership with AXHIS, a construction company from Burkina-Faso is set to build affordable housing units for communities in Liberia. NHA and AXHIS will construct 50,000 affordable units in phase one of the project.
According to NHA Managing Director Madam Cecelia Cuffy Brown the Government through President George Weah is working towards attracting more investment opportunities in the country. “In that regard, NHA has entered into negotiations with AXHIS and has agreed to work on this project. Modalities are being worked on with the NHA team for the project commencement date,” she said.
Addressing the housing situation in the country
Madam Brown further said that the project is key in addressing the housing situation in the country and further challenged the NHA team to work together with the investment partners to make sure the project is delivered in the shortest time.
Moreover, she reiterated that the development in the housing sector will create job opportunities for the youths and will also support efficient service delivery in the real estate market. “With several offers from international partners and real estate companies coming in, it will not take long before the government realizes it’s affordable housing objective,” she affirmed.
NHA and AXHIS came up with a tripartite agreement with the Liberian Bank for Development and Investment for down payment/cash deposit with the rest expected to be paid through a mortgage in 10 years.
Mr. Traore Moulaye Amadou head of AXHIS Technical team said that his team is ready to work together with NHA and Liberia Government in general as they aim to deliver 50,000 affordable housing units nationwide in line with President Weah’s Pro-poor Agenda.
Mr. Amadou said they are placing more focus on the F3 category of housing units that will be affordable to Liberians. “Houses on F3 category refers to units that have a living room and 2 bedrooms, which could be suitable for Liberian families aiming to afford a home without the expense of constructing one from scratch. More affluent units would be labeled F4 (3 bedrooms) or F5 (4 bedrooms),” he explained.
