Timothy Omotoso had denied the 32 charges in a trial that was broadcast live and gained huge interest across the country.

In 2018, one witness told the court she had been raped by the pastor, who ran a church in the city of Port Elizabeth, when she was 14 years old.

When delivering the verdict on Wednesday, the judge presiding over the trial said that Mr. Omotoso had been found not guilty because prosecutors had mishandled the case.

South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) shared a similar assessment, saying that “former prosecutors in the case acted improperly and the accused were not sufficiently cross-examined by the state.”

The NPA said it would now “consider its legal options” and that the drawn-out nature of the trial was partly down to Mr. Omotoso filing numerous legal challenges.

For his part, Mr. Omotoso told the media he thanked God for the verdict.

His co-accused, Lusanda Sulani and Zikiswa Sitho, were also found not guilty.

Mr. Omotoso was dramatically arrested at an airport in 2017 as he sought to leave the country.

His trial was the first prominent rape case to be broadcast live in a country where sexual violence is rampant.

The hearings attracted huge interest and raised difficult questions about victims’ rights, impartiality, and whether justice is best served by having television cameras in courtrooms.

Following Wednesday’s verdict, Mr. Omotoso will be deported to Nigeria, South African media outlet News24 reported.

ALSO READ:

• Scores of children raped by armed men in eastern DRC, UNICEF says

• Fisherman jailed 40 years for robbery and rape

US Senator Cory Booker has broken the record for the longest speech ever delivered in the Senate.

The New Jersey Democrat’s marathon address, a symbolic protest against President Donald Trump, in which he warned of a “grave and urgent” moment in American history, ended after for 25 hours and four minutes.

Although it was not a filibuster – a speech designed to obstruct passage of a bill – it held up legislative business in the Republican-controlled Senate. The rules for such speeches require a speaker to remain standing and forgo bathroom breaks.

The previous record was held by Republican Senator Strom Thurmond who, when still a Democrat in 1957, spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes against the Civil Rights Act.

Outrage has spread in Somalia after an eight-year-old girl, who had been missing for six months, was found living with a man who said he was her husband.

The girl was reported missing by her family in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland last September.

Months later, it emerged the girl’s father had consented for her to be married to an adult named Sheikh Mahmoud.

Security forces surrounded the man’s house last week and forced they way in after he locked himself in a room with the girl.

The incident has sparked anger on social media and public protests in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu.

It has also prompted fresh debates about child protection laws, as currently there is no minimum legal age for marriage.

“What’s more shocking than the tragedy itself are the allegations of abduction and the fact that her family had no knowledge of her whereabouts for months,” Fadumo Ahmed, chairperson of leading rights group the Somali Women Vision Organisation, told the BBC.

“We trust the responsible institutions to take the right and necessary legal action.”

According to the eight-year-old’s uncle, she was taken from her home in the city of Bosaso last September by a female relative. This relative said she was escorting the child on a trip to see another a uncle.

But months later, a video surfaced online, showing the girl reciting the Quran.

Her family subsequently launched a search for the child – it is unclear why they did not do this sooner.

They discovered she was in the Carmo area, living with Sheikh Mahmoud.

Sheikh Mahmoud initially said he was solely teaching the girl the Quran. But after legal complaints were filed, he changed his statement, saying he had married the girl with her father’s consent.

When asked by the BBC how he justified marrying an eight-year-old, Sheikh Mahmoud said that the traditions of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, along with that of the Shafi’i school of thought, allowed child marriage.

After the BBC questioned his reasoning – citing opposition from numerous Somali Islamic scholars  – Sheikh Mahmoud maintained that he would not abandon the marriage.

Puntland’s police and human rights authorities intervened on 25 March, removing the girl from the man’s home after her family filed a complaint.

The girl is now back with her family, Puntland’s police force told the BBC.

Additionally, an investigation into the case has been launched, government officials have said.

Child marriage remains prevalent in Somalia.

According to a report published in 2020 by the United Nations Population Fund and the Somali government, 35% of women aged between 20 and 24 in the country were married before the age of 18. In 2017 this figure stood at 45%.

The rate of child marriage is driven by various factors, including poverty, insecurity and traditional customs that often disregard a girl’s age in wedding arrangements.

In an attempt to tackle this issue, Somalia’s ministry of women and human rights submitted a draft child rights bill to parliament in 2023.

However, the proposal was sent back after MPs objected to certain provisions. The bill is expected to be reintroduced, but there is no clear timeline for this.

ALSO READ:

• Somalia suspends athletics chief after video of slow sprinter goes viral

• Half of Somalia’s population hungry as drought bites

The West African nations, run by juntas that have taken power in coups in recent years, have formed an alliance known as the Confederation of Sahel States (AES).

The grouping expelled French and other Western forces and turned towards Russia for military support.

Their foreign ministers will visit Moscow on April 3 and 4 and hold meetings with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at his invitation, the statement said.

“The Moscow meeting represents an important step in establishing strategic, pragmatic, dynamic, and supportive cooperation and partnership relations in areas of common interest between the AES and Russia,” the ministries said.

It referred to this week’s visit as the first session of “AES-Russia consultations.”

The three countries’ armies are fighting a jihadist insurgency that has spread across the region south of the Sahara since it first took root in Mali 13 years ago.

ALSO READ:

• Mahama vows to relay Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso’s concerns to ECOWAS amid strained…

• Mahama visits Mali as part of ‘good neighbourliness’ tour [Photos]

The annual ranking, published on Saturday, reveals that Africa now boasts 22 billionaires, with their collective wealth soaring to $105 billion—up from $82.4 billion in 2024.

This surge has been attributed to rising market valuations and economic gains.

At the helm of the list is Aliko Dangote, owner of Dangote Petroleum Refinery, with a staggering net worth of $23.9 billion, a sharp increase from $13.9 billion last year.

Forbes credited this jump to the refinery’s valuation, which was factored into his wealth for the first time.

Following Dangote is Mike Adenuga, chairman of Globacom, ranked fifth in Africa with a net worth of $6.8 billion. Abdulsamad Rabiu, chairman of BUA Group, secured the sixth position with $5.1 billion.

Femi Otedola, chairman of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Holdings Plc, shares the 16th spot, with a net worth of $1.5 billion.

Top Richest Africans on Forbes 2025 List

– Aliko Dangote (Nigeria) – $23.9 billion (Dangote Petroleum Refinery)

– Johann Rupert (South Africa) – $11.1 billion (Luxury goods, Richemont)

– Nicky Oppenheimer (South Africa) – $9.4 billion (Diamonds, De Beers)

– Mike Adenuga (Nigeria) – $6.8 billion (Telecoms, Globacom)

– Nassef Sawiris (Egypt) – $6.7 billion (Construction, Orascom)

– Abdulsamad Rabiu (Nigeria) – $5.1 billion (Cement & Sugar, BUA Group)

– Issad Rebrab (Algeria) – $4.6 billion (Food industry, Cevital)

– Nathan Kirsh (Eswatini/South Africa) – $4.1 billion (Retail, Jetro Holdings)

– Patrice Motsepe (South Africa) – $3.9 billion (Mining, African Rainbow Minerals)

– Koos Bekker (South Africa) – $2.8 billion (Media, Naspers)

– Mohamed Mansour (Egypt) – $2.6 billion (Diversified business, Mansour Group)

– Strive Masiyiwa (Zimbabwe) – $2.5 billion (Telecoms, Econet)

– Youssef Mansour (Egypt) – $1.9 billion (Retail, Mansour Group)

– Mohammed Dewji (Tanzania) – $1.8 billion (Manufacturing, MeTL Group)

– Aziz Akhannouch (Morocco) – $1.7 billion (Petroleum, Afriquia Gaz)

– Yasseen Mansour (Egypt) – $1.7 billion (Consumer goods, Mansour Group)

– Othman Benjelloun (Morocco) – $1.6 billion (Banking & Insurance, BMCE Bank)

– Femi Otedola (Nigeria) – $1.5 billion (Banking, FBN Holdings)

– Michiel Le Roux (South Africa) – $1.4 billion (Banking, Capitec Bank)

– Christoffel Wiese (South Africa) – $1.3 billion (Retail, Pepkor & Shoprite)

Forbes also highlighted that South Africa led the rankings with seven billionaires, followed by Nigeria and Egypt with four each. Other nations represented include Morocco (3), Algeria (1), Tanzania (1), and Zimbabwe (1).

“Our list tracks the wealth of African billionaires who reside in Africa or have their primary business there,” Forbes explained. “This excludes Sudanese-born billionaire Mo Ibrahim, a U.K. citizen, and South African Nathan Kirsh, who operates out of London.”

The net worth figures were determined using stock prices and currency exchange rates as of March 7, 2025.

ALSO READ:

Roads Minister orders commencement of works on Ashaiman-Afienya and Tema Motorway-Dawhenya…

Ghana’s Resilience: Preparing for the rains ahead

Assembled locally by Belayneh Kindie Metal Engineering Complex, with components imported from China, the new fleet is equipped with an integrated Intelligent Transportation System and Fare Collection System technologies, as reported by the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation on Tuesday.

These electric buses have now begun providing a convenient commuting option for the city’s residents along the new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) routes.

The buses are designed to enhance the public transport network in Addis Ababa. They are environmentally friendly, producing zero emissions, and offer a comfortable ride with ample capacity for passengers, according to Ethiopian Minister of Transport and Logistics Alemu Sime.

Minister Sime also noted that the electric buses will use dedicated bus lanes, ensuring faster travel for commuters. They are expected to significantly alleviate the current public transport shortage in the city and provide a more comfortable, efficient, and sustainable commuting option for residents.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Transport and Logistics reports that over 100,000 electric vehicles are already on the road across the country, with plans to increase this number to 500,000 within the next decade. This initiative aims to replace 95% of fuel-powered vehicles with electric alternatives.

To accelerate the transition to electric mobility, the Ethiopian government imposed a ban on the import of gasoline and diesel vehicles early last year in response to the global surge in fuel prices.

Officers say they identified the individuals through social media posts and a WhatsApp group, as well as at the scene in the capital, Harare.

Very few people turned up for the demonstrations as citizens opted to stay away rather than take to the streets amid a heavy security presence.

The protests were called by a veteran of the governing Zanu-PF party, Blessed Geza.

He has spoken out against moves by a faction of the party to keep the president in power beyond the end of his second term 2028.

Geza, who wants Vice-President Constantine Chiwenga to replace Mnangagwa, had previously called for Zimbabweans to “fill the streets” in a final push to force the president to step down.

Police in Zimbabwe have often been accused of using violence to break up protests.

Numerous videos were shared on social media throughout Monday. In one, police can be seen using tear gas to disperse a crowd gathered at Harare’s President Robert Mugabe Square.

In another, a woman details the police’s efforts to clamp down on what was regarded as a “peaceful protest” as she vowed “we’re not going anywhere, we’re going to stay here”.

“I am 63 and life is tough… I am taking care of my grandchildren because my children cannot afford to,” a protester on crutches also told local media house Citizens Voice Network.

“We want General [Constantine] Chiwenga to take over,” she added.

The vice-president has not commented publicly about the calls for him to replace Mnangagwa and government officials deny there is a rift between the two men.

Reacting to Monday’s low turnout, Farai Murapira from the governing Zanu-PF party, said social media was not a reflection of reality.

But political scientist Ibbo Mandaza said those disparaging the turnout were wrong.

“The shutdown was a massive political statement,” he said.

Across various cities and towns, the majority of businesses were shuttered and streets were empty of the usual bustle of street vendors and choking traffic. Schools closed and public transport was scarce as fearful residents opted to steer clear of the potential chaos.

The police tightened security, mounting roadblocks into Harare and carrying out patrols on foot and trucks in the city centre throughout the day. They were also seen removing the stones, and cement blocks thrown by protesters.

The country’s clergy has since called for cool heads, as it warned that unrest could destabilise an already fragile country.

A petrol station attendant told the BBC in a hushed voice that ordinary people did not want the country to slide into civil war.

At the heart of the recent protest is a reported plan by the president to extend his final term by two years to 2030. Mnangagwa’s second term expires three years from now.

The slogan “2030 he will still be the leader” has been shared by his supporters even though Zimbabwe’s constitution limits presidential terms to two five-year terms.

Despite a recent assurance from the president that he did intend to step down in three years, many remain unconvinced.

This has angered Geza, a veteran of the 1970s war of liberation and former senior Zanu-PF member, who has led a verbal attack on Mnangagwa.

In a series of often expletive-laden press conferences, gritty-voiced and with a furrowed forehead, he repeatedly called on the 82-year-old president to go or face being removed.

“In cabinet somebody’s sleeping at 10 hours – the question is where were they… if you can start conking there? To me that is a crime, a serous crime,” Hichilema said during a swearing-in ceremony for a new minister.

He did not spell out what exactly he meant by “indulgence” but local media have interpreted this as referring to excessive alcohol drinking and late-night partying.

The president warned that such behaviour risked exposing state secrets and delayed service delivery to the public.

Hichilema won a landslide victory in 2021 with ambitious plans to turn around the economy of Africa’s second largest copper producer.

Since assuming office, he has sacked several senior officials including ministers over performance issues.

Speaking on Monday as he welcomed newly appointed Local Government Minister Gift Sialubalo, the president said he has now gone public with his concerns about cabinet members after saying it in private “over and over”.

Without naming anyone, he said that some ministers “develop a knack” of revealing confidential state information on social media “especially during happy hours”.

“I have advised cabinet that we must have a self-censure. When you’re in public office you must have… self-control, not to over-indulge,” the president added.

Citing the Bible, he warned such behaviour could lead to self-destruction.

“So how do you participate in a meeting when you are sleeping? The message is very clear: you are not interested in cabinet deliberations on behalf of Zambians. So why are you sitting there?” he asked.

The president is expected to seek a second term in next year’s general election. He could face stiff competition from his predecessor, Edgar Lungu, who has mounted a political come back but is currently barred from running.

The Alliance of Sahel States began in 2023 as a security pact between the military rulers of the three countries, who all took power in coups in recent years. It has since grown into an aspiring economic union with plans for biometric passports and closer economic and military ties.

The levy was agreed on Friday and will take effect immediately. It will affect all goods imported from outside the three countries, but will not include humanitarian aid, the statement said. It will “finance the activities” of the bloc, it said, without giving details.

The move ends free trade across West Africa, whose states have for decades fallen under the umbrella of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and highlights the rift between the three states that border the Sahara Desert and influential democracies like Nigeria and Ghana to the south.

The juntas of the three countries announced plans to leave ECOWAS last year, accusing the bloc of failing to assist in their fight against Islamist insurgents and ending insecurity.

ECOWAS had imposed economic, political and financial sanctions on the three in a bid to force them to return to constitutional order, to little effect.

Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger are some of the poorest countries in the world and have been overrun by an armed Islamist insurgency over the past decade.

The violence, committed by groups linked to al Qaeda and the Islamic State, has killed thousands, forced millions to flee, and eroded faith in the democratically elected governments that initially struggled to contain it.

ALSO READ:

• West African bloc says it risks disintegration if junta-led states leave

• Burkina Faso junta leader denies reports of army mutiny

The unexpected move, which happened on Monday, has sparked widespread speculation, with fans and industry insiders debating its significance.

This isn’t the first time Wizkid has taken such an action.

The Grammy-winning artiste previously wiped his page clean in August 2019 and July 2022, both times ahead of the release of his album More Love, Less Ego.

While the reason behind his latest social media reset remains unclear, fans are eagerly watching for any signs of a new project or major announcement.

Ghanaian authorities said Saturday they were investigating “a suspected pirate attack” on a Ghanaian-registered fishing vessel that left three Chinese crew members missing.

Ghana’s armed forces in a statement said that on Thursday evening, “reports indicated that seven armed individuals boarded the vessel and fired warning shots, prompting several crew members to seek cover in a safe area.”

The armed forces said the “pirates” stayed on board for about three hours after assembling everyone on deck and confiscating their phones. After the armed individuals left the ship, the crew discovered the missing members.

It said the MENGXIN 1 vessel was now docked.

Piracy is not uncommon in the Gulf of Guinea off West Africa.

Over the years, the Chinese have flown Ghanaian flags on their vessels to fish in Ghanaian waters, according to watchdogs.

China’s foreign ministry told reporters that all crew members were safe.

“China will continue to work with Ghana to effectively safeguard the safety of Chinese citizens and institutions in Ghana,” ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.

ALSO READ:

• Captain, others missing after suspected pirates attack Ghanaian fishing vessel

• Pirates on rampage in Gulf of Guinea – Abducts Ghanaian fishing vessel crew

One of the rogue agents is a Nigerian doctor who has worked for the NHS in the field of psychiatry.

The Home Office has acknowledged the system is open to abuse, but the BBC World Service’s investigation shows the apparent ease with which these agents can scam people, avoid detection, and continue to profit.

Our secret filming reveals agents’ tactics, including:

• Illegally selling jobs in UK care companies
• Devising fake payroll schemes to conceal that some jobs do not exist
• Shifting from care to other sectors, like construction, that also face staff shortages

Reports of immigration scams have increased since a government visa scheme – originally designed to let foreign medical professionals work in the UK – was broadened in 2022 to include care workers.

To apply for the visa, candidates must first obtain a “Certificate of Sponsorship” (CoS) from a UK employer who is licensed by the Home Office. It is the need for CoS documents that is being exploited by rogue relocation agents.

“The scale of exploitation under the Health and Care Work visa is significant,” says Dora-Olivia Vicol, CEO of Work Rights Centre, a charity that helps migrants and disadvantaged people in the UK access employment justice.

“I think it has turned into a national crisis.”

She says there is “systemic risk inherent” in the sponsorship system, because it “puts the employer in a position of incredible power” and has “enabled this predatory market of middlemen to mushroom”.

The BBC sent two undercover journalists to approach relocation agents working in the UK.

One met Dr Kelvin Alaneme, a Nigerian doctor and founder of the agency, CareerEdu, based in Harlow, Essex.

His website states his business is a “launchpad for global opportunities catering to young Africans”, claiming to have 9,800 “happy clients”.

Believing the BBC undercover journalist was well-connected in the UK care sector, Dr Alaneme tried to recruit her to become an agent for his business, saying it would be very lucrative.

“Just get me care homes. I can make you a millionaire,” he said.

As a potential business partner, our journalist was then given unprecedented insight into how immigration scams by agents like Dr Alaneme actually work. Dr Alaneme said he would pay £2,000 ($2,600) for each care home vacancy she was able to procure, and offered £500 ($650) commission on top.

He then said he would sell the vacancies to candidates back in Nigeria.

Charging candidates for a job is illegal in the UK.

“They [the candidates] are not supposed to be paying because it’s free. It should be free,” he said, lowering his voice.

“They are paying because they know it’s most likely the only way.”

The BBC began investigating him following a series of online complaints about his relocation services.

Praise – from south-east Nigeria and in his mid-30s – was one of those who complained, claiming he paid Dr Alaneme more than £10,000 ($13,000) for a job in the UK.

He says he was told he was going to be working with a care company called Efficiency for Care, based in Clacton-on-Sea. It was only when he arrived that he realised the job didn’t exist.

“If I had known there was no job, I would have not come here,” he says. “At least back home in Nigeria, if you go broke, I can find my sister or my parents and go and eat free food. It’s not the same here. You will go hungry.”

Praise says he messaged Efficiency for Care and Dr Alaneme for months, asking when he could start working. Despite promises of assistance from Dr Alaneme, the job never materialised. Almost a year later, he found a position with another care provider willing to sponsor him to remain in the UK.

Our investigation found that Efficiency for Care employed – on average – 16 people in 2022, and 152 in 2023. Yet a letter sent from the Home Office to the company dated May 2023 – and seen by the BBC – showed it had issued 1,234 Certificates of Sponsorship to foreign workers between March 2022 and May 2023.

Efficiency for Care’s sponsorship licence was revoked in July 2023. The care company can no longer recruit from abroad, but continues to operate.

It told the BBC it strongly refutes the allegation it colluded with Dr Alaneme. It said it believed it lawfully recruited staff from Nigeria and other countries. It has challenged the Home Office’s revocation of its sponsorship licence, it said, and the matter is now in court.

• Outside of the UK – watch on YouTube

In another secretly filmed meeting, Dr Alaneme shared an even more sophisticated scam involving sponsorship documents for jobs that did not exist.

He said the “advantage” of having a CoS that is unconnected to a job “is that you can choose any city you want”.

“You can go to Glasgow. You can stay in London. You can live anywhere,” he told us.

This is not true. If a migrant arrives in the UK on a Health and Care Work visa and does not work in the role they have been assigned, their visa could be cancelled, and they risk being deported.

In the secret filming, Dr Alaneme also described how to set up a fake payroll system to mask the fact the jobs are not real.

“That [a money trail] is what the government needs to see,” he said.

Dr Alaneme told the BBC he strenuously denied services offered by CareerEdu were a scam or that it acted as a recruitment agency or provided jobs for cash. He said his company only offered legitimate services, adding that the money Praise gave him was passed on to a recruitment agent for Praise’s transport, accommodation and training. He said he offered to help Praise find another employer free of charge.

The BBC also carried out undercover filming with another UK-based recruitment agent, Nana Akwasi Agyemang-Prempeh, after several people told the BBC they had collectively paid tens of thousands of pounds for care worker positions for their friends and family that, it transpired, did not exist.

They said some of the Certificates of Sponsorship Mr Agyemang-Prempeh gave them had turned out to be fakes – replicas of real CoS issued by care companies.

We discovered Mr Agyemang-Prempeh had then begun offering CoS for UK jobs in construction – another industry that allows employers to recruit foreign workers. He was able to set up his own construction company and obtain a sponsorship licence from the Home Office.

Our journalist, posing as a UK-based Ugandan businessman wanting to bring Ugandan construction workers over to join him, asked Mr Agyemang-Prempeh if this was possible.

He replied it was – for the price of £42,000 ($54,000) for three people.

Mr Agyemang-Prempeh told us he had moved into construction because rules are being “tightened” in the care sector – and claimed agents were eyeing other industries.

“People are now diverting to IT,” Mr Agyemang-Prempeh told the undercover journalist.

The government revoked more than 470 licences in the UK care sector between July 2022 and December 2024. Those licensed sponsors were responsible for recruiting more than 39,000 medical professionals and care workers from October 2020.

Mr Agyemang-Prempeh later asked for a down payment for the Certificates of Sponsorship, which the BBC did not make.

The Home Office has now revoked his sponsorship licence. Mr Agyemang-Prempeh’s defence, when challenged by the BBC, was that he had himself been duped by other agents and did not realise he was selling fake CoS documents.

In a statement to the BBC, the Home Office said it has “robust new action against shameless employers who abuse the visa system” and will “ban businesses who flout UK employment laws from sponsoring overseas workers”.

BBC investigations have previously uncovered similar visa scams targeting people in Kerala, India, and international students living in the UK who want to work in the care sector.

In November 2024, the government announced a clampdown on “rogue” employers hiring workers from overseas. Additionally, from 9 April, care providers in England will be required to prioritise recruiting international care workers already in the UK before recruiting from overseas.

On Friday, dozens of the group’s members marched in solidarity with Palestine, but violence broke out when they clashed with soldiers and police.

Critics say Nigerian security forces have increasingly resorted to using force, including live ammunition, to quell protests, and that this could radicalise groups like IMN.

Police in a statement on Saturday accused the protesters of “a violent assault” on security personnel armed with firearms and other lethal weapons in Abuja’s Wuse 2 neighbourhood.

One member of the security forces had died and 19 suspects had been arrested, he said.

Sidi Munir Sokoto, a senior IMN member blamed the military for the violence, saying the protest was peaceful. He put the death toll at five.

An army spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Isa Sanusi, head of Amnesty International Nigeria, called for an impartial investigation.

“The army used live ammunition on the protesters. It appears they approach IMN protesters always with the intent to kill,” Sanusi told Reuters, also putting the death toll at five.

At least 144 people had been killed in Myanmar and 732 injured by the the 7.7 magnitude quake struck near Mandalay today, state-run MRTV said on the Telegram.

Preliminary reports confirmed at least eight people are dead in Bangkok, where a high-rise under construction collapsed, a Thai government official has confirmed.

The full extent of death, injury and destruction across the region is not immediately clear, with officials warning that thousands are feared dead.

‘The death toll and injuries are expected to rise,’ Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the head of Myanmar’s military government, said in a televised speech this evening.

The total number of fatalities is ‘most likely to be in the range 10,000-100,000’, scientists have warned, citing the United States Geological Survey ‘PAGER’ forecast.

The 7.7 magnitude quake, with an epicentre near Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city, struck at midday and was followed by a strong 6.4 magnitude aftershock.

The quake also hit Thailand, where rescuers in the capital Bangkok were searching in the rubble of a tower block that had been under construction and collapsed.

There were 117 people missing and five dead following the building collapse, according to the rescue operation. Crews are still pulling victims from the rubble.

Myanmar’s government has said that blood is in high demand in the hardest-hit areas.

The quake brought down multiple buildings, including the Ma Soe Yane monastery, one of the largest in Manadalay, and damaged the former royal palace.

Christian Aid said its partners and colleagues on the ground reported that a dam burst in the city, causing water levels to rise in the lowland areas in the area.

A rescue worker from the Moe Saydanar charity group told Reuters that it had retrieved at least 60 bodies from monasteries and buildings in Pyinmanar, near the capital city of Naypyidaw, and more people were trapped.

‘This 60 is only from my charity group and only at Pyinmanar town,’ he said.

Officials at a major hospital in Naypyidaw declared it a ‘mass casualty area’, with the death toll expected to rise after buildings fell and debris scattered.

‘I haven’t seen (something) like this before. We are trying to handle the situation. I’m so exhausted now,’ a doctor told the AFP news agency.

Myanmar’s military junta is locked in a struggle to put down insurgents fighting its rule, a situation that is likely to complicate the rescue and relief operation.

Professor Ian Main, Personal Chair in Seismology and Rock Physics, School of GeoSciences, at the University of Edinburgh said: ‘The damage is likely to be very severe near the epicentre- based on the estimated intensity of ground shaking above, and maps of population density and vulnerability of buildings.

The force caused a mosque in Mandalay to collapse, with at least ten worshippers reported to have been killed.

More than 20 children are also believed to be trapped in a destroyed school in Taungoo, central Myanmar.

Shocking footage showed workers fleeing in neighbouring Thailand as a 30-storey high-rise building under construction in Bangkok collapsed around them.

At least three people were killed as the skyscraper toppled. Local authorities said that dozens of workers have been rescued from the site, though 90 are still missing.

President Donald Trump has announced new import taxes of 25% on cars and car parts coming into the US.

Trump said the latest tariffs would come into effect on 2 April, with charges on businesses importing vehicles starting the next day. Taxes on parts are set to start in May or later.

The president said the measure would lead to “tremendous growth” for the industry, promising it would spur jobs and investment in the US.

But analysts have said the move is likely to lead to the temporary shutdown of significant car production in the US, increase prices, and strain relations with allies.

Video below:

This is the moment two French air display jets crashed into each other in rehearsal. The pilots ejected. pic.twitter.com/wK7pnHgOSb

— Mukhtar (@I_amMukhtar) March 26, 2025

Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province militants have mainly operated in the northeast of Nigeria, attacking security forces and civilians and killing and displacing tens of thousands of people.

The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here.

In the latest assault, Boko Haram insurgents and ISWAP fighters struck an army base in the Wajiroko area of Borno State at about 2100 GMT on Monday and set military equipment on fire, the sources said.

One of the soldiers in the Wajiroko brigade said at least four soldiers had been killed and several others injured, including the brigade commander.

Armed fighters in light tactical vehicles also stormed an outpost in Wulgo, a village about 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) from the Cameroonian border town of Fotokol, killing 12 soldiers and injuring a dozen others, Cameroon’s Defence Ministry said on Wednesday.

A military source who asked not to be named told Reuters the raid that targeted soldiers who are fighting the insurgency as part of a multinational task force took place between midnight and 3 a.m. local time on Tuesday.

The source added the militants were suspected to have initially launched their attack using drones before advancing with a ground assault. “They looted an important stockpile of weapons,” the source said.

Videos shared on social media showed bloodied bodies lying on the ground after the attack, charred patrol vehicles and damaged buildings. Reuters could not independently verify those videos.

A Nigerian army spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment. Cameroon army spokesperson Cyrille Serge Atonfack Guemo confirmed the attack but said the casualty figures were still unclear.

Makinta Modu, a member of a local militia recruited to help the Nigerian army, said in the Wajiroko attack militants overran an army “forward operation base”.

“Around 10:30 p.m. (2130 GMT) air force fighter jets came for reinforcement … and killed many of the ISWAP fighters that captured the military base,” Modu said. It was not clear whether the army had regained control over the base.

Although weakened by military assaults and internal fighting over the years, Boko Haram and ISWAP have stepped up attacks on military and civilian targets in Borno this year.

An Islamist insurgency has plagued the northeast of Africa’s most populous country for more than a decade, while kidnapping and banditry are rampant in the northwest and gang and separatist violence is common in the southeast.

ALSO READ:

• Govt dismisses claims of militants using Northern Ghana as support base
• National Security Ministry dismisses Reuters’ claims that militants are using Ghana as logistical base

Mnangagwa, who took charge after a military coup that ousted longtime ruler Robert Mugabe in 2017, is facing growing dissent within his ZANU-PF party, which has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980.

The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here.

Some veterans of the Southern African country’s war of independence have called for countrywide protests on March 31 to force Mnangagwa to step down. They accuse him of deepening the country’s economic crisis and plotting to extend his rule beyond 2028 when his second term is due to end.

Mnangagwa denies those accusations and on Wednesday warned against “people who want to disturb our peace” during a ZANU-PF meeting in the capital Harare.

Analysts say Mnangagwa appears to be increasingly worried about his grip on power has been trying to bolster his position by shaking up the military, police and intelligence leadership.

Tuesday’s removal of Anselem Sanyatwe, Zimbabwe’s second most powerful general and head of the army, was the third such reshuffle by Mnangagwa in recent months. Mnangagwa also removed the chief of police and head of Zimbabwe’s intelligence service.

Political analyst Eldred Masunungure told the privately owned Newsday newspaper that Mnangagwa appeared to be “protecting himself against a potential coup”.

The anti-Mnangagwa war veterans want to replace him with Constantino Chiwenga, a retired general who led the coup against Mugabe and is now the country’s vice president.

Although diminishing in number and advancing in age, the independence war veterans remain influential in Zimbabwe’s politics and retain strong ties with its security chiefs, after fighting alongside them during the liberation struggle.

In his previous role as head of the presidential guard under Mugabe, Sanyatwe played a key role in the 2017 coup. He also oversaw the deployment of soldiers who shot dead six people and injured many others during post-election unrest in August 2018.

Sanyatwe, a close ally of Chiwenga, has been appointed sports minister, replacing Kirsty Coventry, who was elected president of the International Olympic Committee on March 20.

ALSO READ:

• Nigeria’s World Cup bid falters after draw with Zimbabwe

• Chinese national in court for illegally operating drone in Zimbabwe

In her petition, Linda told the court that she could no longer cope with her husband’s constant need for sex, which she described as unbearable.

“I urge the court to dissolve this marriage because I can’t stand his excessive sexual urge. He likes sex too much, and I can’t bear it,” she said. She further alleged that Felix frequently subjected her to long hours of sexual activity, even when she was in distress.

“Most times, he would have sex with me from midnight till early hours of the morning. Even when I am crying, he will not stop.

“It has been three months since I moved out of his house. His relatives have been pleading with me to go back to him, but they do not know what I am facing,” she added.

Linda also accused her husband of resorting to violence whenever she refused his advances, stating that he had beaten her in front of their two children.

In his defense, Felix admitted to his actions but pleaded with the court not to grant his wife’s request, expressing his willingness to change.

“I took my uncles and friends to her parents’ house to plead with her. But she refused to listen to us; instead, she walked out on us,” he said. He further begged the court for time to reconcile with his wife, assuring them that he was ready to control his sexual urges.

Presiding over the case, Judge John Dauda adjourned the matter until May 6 to allow for reconciliation efforts, urging both parties to maintain peace in the meantime.

Experts warn the move could disenfranchise millions of Americans who do not have easy access to a passport or other legal documents proving they have the right to vote.

It is unclear how enforceable the order is, given US states have wide legal leeway to determine how they run their elections. It is expected to be challenged in court.

The order, titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections”, was signed by Trump on Tuesday at the White House.

“Election fraud. You’ve heard the term. We’re going to end it, hopefully. At least this will go a long way toward ending it,” Trump said as he signed the order on Tuesday.

The order says that the US has failed “to enforce basic and necessary election protections” and calls on states to co-operate with the the White House or risk losing access to federal funding if they do not require proof of citizenship.

It is already illegal for non-citizens to vote in elections.

The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 prohibits non-citizens from voting in federal elections.

Every state is required to use a common registration form that requires people to confirm they are US citizens, under penalty of perjury for false claims, but does not require documentary proof.

Experts say there have been very few cases of immigrants voting illegally in US elections.

The order also seeks to bar states from accepting postal ballots received after election day. Currently, 18 states allow ballots to be received after election day as long as they were mailed on or before the day of the vote.

The order would withdraw federal funding for US states that do not comply.

Trump has been accused of spreading election misinformation, including by claiming that “millions” of illegal immigrants voted in his first election campaign. He also continues to deny that he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden.

Previous efforts to pass a voter ID law in Congress have failed.

Democrats who have criticised similar past reform attempts have pointed to statistics showing that a large number of Americans do not have an enhanced drivers licence or passport for ID.

The legal basis for the order is expected to be challenged in court.

“The president cannot override a statute passed by Congress that says what is required to register to vote on the federal voter registration form,” Wendy Weiser, from the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University, told the Washington Post.

UCLA law professor Rick Hasen said on his blog that elections are largely run by each individual state government, and that if allowed to stand, the order would radically shift power to the federal government.

The 32-year-old used skin-whitening products on all six of her children, under pressure from her family, with results that she now deeply regrets.

Fatima, whose name has been changed to protect her family’s identity, says one of her daughters covers her face whenever she goes out in order to hide her burns.

Another was left with darker skin than before – with a pale circle around her eyes, while a third has whitish scars on her lips and knees.

Her toddler still has weeping wounds – his skin is taking a long time to heal.

“My sister gave birth to light-skinned children but my children are darker-skinned. I noticed that my mother favours my sister’s children over mine due to their skin tone and it hurt my feelings a lot,” Fatima says.

She says she used creams she bought at her local supermarket in the city of Kano, without a doctor’s prescription.

At first, it seemed to work. The grandmother warmed towards Fatima’s children, who were aged between two and 16 at the time.

But then the burns and scars appeared.

Skin-whitening or lightening, also known as bleaching in Nigeria, is used in different parts of the world for cosmetic reasons, though these often have deep cultural roots.

Women in Nigeria use skin-whitening products more than in any other African country – 77% use them regularly, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO).

In Congo-Brazzaville the figure is 66%, in Senegal 50% and in Ghana 39%.

The creams may contain corticosteroids or hydroquinone, which can be harmful if used in high quantities, and in many countries are only obtainable with a doctor’s prescription.

Other ingredients sometimes used are the poisonous metal, mercury, and kojic acid – a by-product from the manufacture of the Japanese alcoholic drink, sake.

Dermatitis, acne and skin discolouration are possible consequences, but also inflammatory disorders, mercury poisoning and kidney damage.

The skin may become thinner, with the result that wounds take longer to heal, and are more likely to become infected, the WHO says.

The situation is so bad that Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) declared a state of emergency in 2023.

It is also becoming more common for women to bleach their children like Fatima did.

“A lot of people link light skin to beauty or wealth. Women tend to shield, as they call it, their children from that discrimination by bleaching them from childbirth,” Zainab Bashir Yau, the owner of a dermatology clinic in the capital, Abuja, tells the BBC.

She estimates that 80% of the women she has met have bleached their children or plan to do so.

Some were bleached themselves as babies, she says, so are just continuing the practice.

One of the most common ways to tell whether someone is using skin-whitening products in Nigeria is by the darkness of their knuckles. Other parts of people’s hands or feet get lighter, but knuckles tend to remain dark.

However, smokers and drug users also sometimes have dark patches on their hands, due to the smoke.

So users of skin-lightening products are sometimes mistakenly assumed to belong to this group.

Fatima says that is what happened to her daughters, aged 16 and 14.

“They faced discrimination from society – they all point fingers at them and call them drug addicts. This has affected them a lot,” she says.

They have both lost potential fiancés because men do not want to be associated with women who might be thought to take drugs.

I visited a popular market in Kano, where people who call themselves “mixologists” create skin-whitening creams from scratch.

The market has a whole row of shops where thousands of these creams are sold.

Some pre-mixed varieties are arranged on shelves, but customers can also select raw ingredients and ask for the cream to be mixed in front of them.

I noticed that many bleaching creams, with labels saying they were for babies, contained regulated substances.

Other sellers admitted using regulated ingredients such as kojic acid, hydroquinone and a powerful antioxidant, glutathione, which may cause rashes and other side-effects.

I also witnessed teenage girls buying bleaching creams for themselves and in bulk so that they could sell them to their peers.

One woman, who had discoloured hands, insisted that a seller add a lightening agent to a cream that was being mixed for her children, even though it was a regulated substance for adults and illegal to use on children.

“Even though my hands are discoloured, I am here to buy creams for my kids so they can be light-skinned. I believe my hands are this way just because I used the wrong one. Nothing will happen to my children,” she said.

One seller said most of his customers were buying creams to make their babies “glow”, or to look “radiant and shiny”.

Most seemed to be unaware of the approved dosages.

One salesman said he used “a lot of kojic” – well over the prescribed limit – if someone wanted light skin and a smaller quantity if they wanted a subtler change.

The approved dosage of kojic acid in creams in Nigeria is 1%, according to Nafdac.

I even saw salesmen giving women injections.

Dr Leonard Omokpariola, a director at Nafdac, says attempts are being made to educate people about the risks.

He also says markets are being raided, and there are efforts to seize skin-lightening ingredients at Nigeria’s borders as they are brought into the country.

But he says it was sometimes hard for law-enforcement officials to identify these substances.

“Some of them are just being transported in unlabelled containers, so if you do not take them to the labs for evaluation, you can’t tell what is inside.”

Fatima says her actions will haunt her forever, especially if her children’s scars do not fade.

“When I confided in my mum about what I did, due to her behaviour, and when she heard the dangers of the cream and what stigma her grandchildren are facing, she was sad that they had to go through that and apologised,” she says.

Fatima is determined to help other parents avoid making the same mistake.

“Even though I have stopped… the side-effects are still here, I beg other parents to use my situation as an example.”

ALSO READ:

• Akufo-Addo mourns Namibia’s Sam Nujoma

• Bawumia pays tribute to Namibia’s founding President, Dr Sam Nujoma

The move comes after Trump said in February he was revoking security clearance for his predecessor Joe Biden.

He confirmed that move in the latest announcement, adding that he was also revoking the security clearance of “any other member” of the Biden family.

“I have determined that it is no longer in the national interest for the following individuals to access classified information,” Trump’s memorandum read.

Former US presidents and top security officials usually keep their security clearance as a courtesy.

Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken and former Republican lawmakers Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger were also on the list of those who lost their security clearances – as well as Fiona Hill, a former Russian affairs adviser in the first Trump administration.

The other names were: Jake Sullivan, Lisa Monaco, Mark Zaid, Norman Eisen, Letitia James, Alvin Bragg, Andrew Weissmann and Alexander Vindman.

Trump had earlier pulled security clearances of more than four dozen former intelligence officials whom he accused of meddling in the 2020 election in Biden’s favour without providing evidence.

In 2021, Biden – serving president at the time – barred his defeated rival Trump from having access to intelligence briefings citing his “erratic behaviour”.

Details are only just emerging of the kidnappings, which took place earlier this week.

The incident happened in Ali Doro, which is near an area where around 100 university students were similarly abducted as they were heading home from their campus last July.

Survivors and local authorities blamed those abductions on the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), a rebel group that operates in the area. The group denied involvement at the time.

Referring to this week’s incident, the OLA has said it had received reports of the abductions and that it was “conducting an investigation”.

According to one report by a local media organisation, the passengers were heading to Debre Markos, a town in the country’s Amhara region, when they were attacked by the armed men, who exchanged fire with local security forces.

Another report said several buses were attacked, during which at least one person died. The number of abductees could be as high as 50, according to this report.

The government has not yet said anything about the kidnappings, and the BBC’s attempts to get an official response have been unsuccessful.

Abductions of civilians – including passengers – have become increasingly common in the area. Armed groups here have in the past demanded ransoms for the release of the people they hold.

The OLA says it is fighting for the self-determination of Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, the Oromo.

It has been classified as a terrorist organisation by the federal parliament and operates in various areas in Oromia, including the district where Ali Doro is located.

ALSO READ:

• Armed men raid former BoG Governor’s home, demand ‘vaults’ and seize vehicles

• Armed men allegedly invade Peter Amewu’s house [Audio]

While teen boys and girls are facing many of the same issues, including school pressure and mental health concerns, they may need different kinds of support, according to a Pew Research Center Survey published Thursday.

“One of our main objectives with the research was trying to understand the challenges that teens are facing these days, and specifically how they’re experiencing school, and whether these things differ by gender,” said Kim Parker, Pew’s director of social trends research.

“We’ve been doing a lot of work this year on men and masculinity, and part of that conversation involves what’s happening with boys and girls.”

The survey was conducted September 18 through October 10 among 1,391 teens ages 13 to 17.

While the data did show differences among them ­­–– such as girls reporting more of a pressure to fit in socially and look good while boys said they felt they should be strong and good at sports more often –– many of their perspectives were similar.

Both girls and boys said it was highly important to find a career they enjoy, making money and cultivating friendships in the future, according to the data.

“We are prone to negatively stereotyping teenagers as superficial in their interests, and these results are an excellent reminder that teenagers are serious about the schoolwork they’re doing now, and they are looking ahead to their careers,” said psychologist Dr. Lisa Damour, author of “The Emotional Lives of Teenagers: Raising Connected, Capable, and Compassionate Adolescents.” She was not involved in the report.

The pressure to perform

Teen boys and girls alike reported they felt pressure to get good grades, according to the data.

And for those who didn’t see it as an even split, both teen girls and boys perceived girls as getting better grades and being favored by teachers, the report showed.

What they perceive matches existing data that shows girls on average do tend to get better grades than boys, Damour said.

But grades aren’t a zero-sum game –– the success of girls in school doesn’t have to mean boys do worse, said Dr. Annie Maheux, assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Winston Family Distinguished Fellow at the Winston National Center on Technology Use, Brain and Psychological Development.

The disparity might be a sign that something in schooling isn’t working for boys as well as it should, noted Maheux, who wasn’t involved in the survey.

“Schools are set up in such a way that kids who sit still and are less impulsive are going to do well, and we know that there’s a big difference in brain development in early adolescence, and that the part of the brain that’s used for impulse control and critical thinking develops later in boys than girls,” said Michelle Icard, a parenting educator and speaker.

“We are teaching to half of the audience and need to broaden the way we approach education,” said Icard, who wasn’t involved in the report.

More activity and teaching styles that incorporate hands-on learning, for example, might help teen boys do better academically, said Icard, author of “Fourteen Talks by Age Fourteen: The Essential Conversations You Need to Have With Your Kids Before They Start High School.”

Support in friendships

There is good and bad news when it comes to what teens said about their friendships.

Only 2% of teens said that they didn’t have any friends, according to the Pew report. And while that number of those without friends would ideally be zero, it is lower than expected and feels positive, Icard said.

Friendships are especially important in adolescent years, she added.

“Teens are at an age where they’re less likely to turn to an adult for support. They’re naturally going to reach out to their peers before looking to an adult, and peers can be great ushers to adults as needed,” Icard said. “But if you don’t have someone who says, ‘Hey, this is a problem you should talk to a grown-up about,’ then that can be dangerous.”

Although most boys reported they had a close friend they could turn to for support, the number was lower (85%) compared with that of girls (95%) who said they could turn to a friend for support, the data showed.

“We need to try to lose the mythology that boys don’t make close relationships,” Damour said. But at the same time, “we need to take very seriously that we continue to socialize boys to feel that vulnerable emotions are unacceptable. And so long as we’re doing that, we’re going to have boys and adult men who don’t enjoy the strong social support they deserve.”

Different expressions of mental health

There was a difference in how teen boys and girls perceived their struggles: Both said that girls were more likely to experience anxiety and depression and boys were more likely to struggle with substance abuse, fighting and class disruptions, according to the data.

But those findings don’t mean that one group is experiencing mental health concerns and the other is just facing a behavioral issue, Damour said.

“Under mental health, we should fold in the finding that boys are more likely to engage in physical fights,” she said. “One of our well-established understandings as clinicians is that when girls are in distress, they have been socialized to collapse in on themselves –– they’re more likely to experience anxiety and depression. When boys are in distress, they are more likely to act out and get themselves in trouble.”

While disciplinary action might be appropriate when a teen is abusing substances or acting out, it is important that such punishment is paired with an understanding that the behavior comes from suffering, which needs to be addressed, too, Damour said.

“When we see anger in a teenage boy, we think, ‘Well, that’s not depression,’ but it might be. Or if you see a boy who’s acting recklessly, you might think, ‘Oh, he’s a daredevil,’” Icard added.

“That behaviour is a reflection of feeling untethered to other people. So, I wouldn’t presume that boys feel less anxious and less depressed.”

Tinubu, in a television broadcast, said he had received security reports in the last two days of “disturbing incidents of vandalization of pipelines by some militants without the governor taking any action to curtail them.”

“With all these and many more, no good and responsible president will standby and allow the grave situation to continue without taking remedial steps prescribed by the constitution to address the situation in the state,” added Tinubu.

Police said earlier they were investigating the cause of a blast in Rivers state that resulted in a fire on Nigeria’s Trans Niger Pipeline, a major oil artery transporting crude from onshore oilfields to the Bonny export terminal.

Rivers, in the Niger Delta, is a major source of crude oil and militants have in the past blown up pipelines, hampering production and exports.

The state has been embroiled in a political crisis pitting factions of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) against each other. The state lawmakers had also threatened to impeach the governor and his deputy.

Tinubu’s state of emergency enables the federal government to make regulations to run the state and also allow authorities to easily deploy security forces to bring order if needed.

Tinubu nominated a retired vice admiral as caretaker to run the affairs of Rivers State for an initial six months.

The president said he had sent a copy of his proclamation to the National Assembly, which can endorse or reject his decision.

“For the avoidance of doubt, this declaration does not affect the judicial arm of Rivers State, which shall continue to function in accordance with their constitutional mandate,” said Tinubu.

ALSO READ:

• Nigeria’s anti-graft agency recovers nearly $500m in one year

• Akufo-Addo urges Nigeria to lead Africa’s economic integration

Among the eight listed countries, six are in Africa.

The global health agency warned that Kenya, Lesotho, South Sudan, Burkina Faso, Mali, Nigeria, Haiti, and Ukraine could exhaust their supply of HIV treatments in the coming months.

“The disruptions to HIV programs could undo 20 years of progress,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference.

He added that this could lead to over 10 million additional HIV cases and three million HIV-related deaths.

Efforts to tackle HIV, polio, malaria, and tuberculosis have been significantly impacted by the U.S. foreign aid pause, implemented by President Donald Trump shortly after he took office in January.

The WHO-coordinated Global Measles and Rubella Laboratory Network, which has over 700 sites worldwide, also faces imminent shutdown, the agency said. This comes at a time when measles is making a comeback in the United States.

The United States has a “responsibility to ensure that if it withdraws direct funding for countries, it’s done in an orderly and humane way that allows them to find alternative sources of funding,” Ghebreyesus added on Monday.

Funding shortages could also force 80% of WHO-supported essential healthcare services in Afghanistan to close, the agency said in a separate statement.

As of March 4, 167 health facilities had shut down due to funding shortages, and without urgent intervention, over 220 more facilities could close by June.

The United States’ plans to exit the WHO have also forced the UN agency, which typically receives about a fifth of its overall annual funding from the U.S., to freeze hiring and initiate budget cuts.

The WHO announced on Monday that it plans to cut its funding target for emergency operations to $872 million from $1.2 billion in the 2026-2027 budget period.

New York resident Sebastien Beauzile was treated with a pioneering new gene therapy approach called Lyfgenia, developed by biotech company Bluebird Bio. Mr Beauzile received the treatment on December 17th 2024 and has not had any symptoms of sickle cell anemia since, leading his doctors to believe that the treatment has likely cured the disease.

Sickle cell anemia is a serious, inherited disorder of red blood cells which mostly affects Black and Hispanic people. There are over 100,000 people with the disorder in the U.S. and the condition causes a range of symptoms including blood clots and strokes and a resultant reduction in lifespan of 20 years on average.

It is caused by inheriting defective copies of a hemaglobin gene causing hemaglobin, which carries oxygen in red blood cells to be sub-functional. The defect causes red blood cells in affected people to be sickle, or crescent shaped instead of disc shaped as normal, limiting the cells’ ability to carry oxygen. Sickled red blood cells are also more prone to clump together and cause blockages to blood vessels, causing severe pain and tissue damage.

“Sickle cell is a debilitating, often-overlooked disease. But treatments like Lyfgenia are changing that,” said Jeffrey Lipton, MD, chief of the division of pediatric hematology/oncology & stem cell transplant at Cohen Medical Center in Queens, New York.

Lyfgenia works by extracting the patient’s own blood stem cells, genetically modifying them using a virus to paste copies of functional hemaglobin into the cells and then giving the patient chemotherapy to clear out the old, dysfunctional cells before infusing the new, modified ones back into the body. The red blood cells then produced from the transplanted, modified blood stem cells are then completely normal.

Mr Beauzile is not the first person to be successfully treated with Lyfgenia in the U.S. Lyfgenia and another genetic-modification based cell therapy for sickle cell anemia, Casgevy (Vertex pharmaceuticals) were both FDA-approved in late 2023 for the treatment of sickle cell anemia in patients 12 and older, following impressive clinical trial results.

In the Lyfgenia trial which led to the drug’s approval, 88% of 32 patients treated with the therapy ranging in age from 12 to 50 years old had complete resolution of their symptoms between 6-18 months after receiving the drug.

The photo shows the pontiff sitting in a wheelchair in front of an altar at a chapel in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he has been recovering from pneumonia.

Earlier on Sunday, in his written Angelus message, the Pope said he faced a “period of trial” as he thanked well-wishers for their prayers, and prayed for peace in “countries wounded by war”.

It marked the fifth Sunday in a row that the Pope was not present in person for his weekly blessing. The Vatican said earlier this week that an X-ray had confirmed “improvements” in his condition, but that he still needed hospital treatment.

“The Holy Father still requires hospital medical therapy, motor and respiratory physiotherapy,” it said in a statement on Saturday, adding that they were “showing further, gradual improvements”.

Pope Francis, 88, has not been seen in public since his admission to hospital on 14 February – and until Sunday, no photographs had been released.

“I join with so many brothers and sisters who are sick: fragile, at this time, like me,” the Pope said in his latest statement, released earlier in the day.

“Let us continue to pray for peace, especially in the countries wounded by war: tormented Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”

Since his arrival in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, the Pope has been treated for double pneumonia and other infections.

He has also suffered several respiratory crises, which have raised concerns about his survival.

Earlier this month, an audio recording of Pope Francis speaking in his native Spanish was played in St Peter’s Square in Vatican City.

His voice was breathless as he thanked the Catholic faithful for their prayers.

Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, is the first Pope from the Americas.

He contracted pleurisy as a young man and had a partial lung removal, which has left him particularly vulnerable to pneumonia.

As a result of his long road to recovery, there has been speculation that Pope Francis could choose to follow his predecessor Benedict XVI in resigning the papacy.

But friends and biographers close to the Pope have insisted that he has no plans to step down. And, despite his fragile health, the pontiff has continued his work from the hospital.

This year is a Catholic Holy Year, with 32 million pilgrims expected to travel to Rome.

It was just a quick trip, a temporary break – nothing to worry about. Or so I thought.

One month in, she dropped the bombshell – I was not coming back to London until I had reformed and had earned enough GCSEs to continue my education.

I was hoodwinked in a similar way to the British-Ghanaian teenager who recently took his parents to the High Court in London for sending him to school in Ghana.

In their defence, they told the judge they did not want to see their 14-year-old son become “yet another black teenager stabbed to death in the streets of London”.

Back in the mid-1990s, my mother, a primary school teacher, was motivated by similar concerns.

I had been excluded from two high schools in the London Borough of Brent, hanging out with the wrong crowd (becoming the wrong crowd) – and heading down a dangerous path.

My closest friends at the time ended up in prison for armed robbery. Had I stayed in London, I would have almost certainly been convicted with them.

But being sent to Ghana also felt like a prison sentence.

I can empathise to a degree with the teenager, who said in his court statement that he feels like he is “living in hell”.

Yet, speaking for myself, by the time I turned 21 I realised what my mother had done had been a blessing.

Unlike the boy at the centre of the London court case – which he lost – I did not go to boarding school in Ghana.

My mother placed me in the care of her two closest brothers, they wanted to keep an eye on me and it was felt that being around boarders could prove too much of a distraction.

I first stayed with my Uncle Fiifi, a former UN environmentalist, in a town called Dansoman, near the capital, Accra.

The lifestyle change hit hard. In London, I had my own bedroom, access to washing machines and a sense of independence – even if I was using it recklessly.

In Ghana, I was waking up at 05:00 to sweep the courtyard and wash my uncle’s often muddy pick-up truck and my aunt’s car.

It was her vehicle that I would later steal – something of a watershed moment.

I did not even know how to drive properly, treating a manual like an automatic, and I crashed it into a high-ranking soldier’s Mercedes.

I tried to flee the scene. But that soldier caught me and threatened to take me to Burma Camp, the notorious military base where people had disappeared in the past.

That was the last truly reckless thing I did.

It was not just discipline that I learnt in Ghana – it was perspective.

Life in Ghana showed me how much I had taken for granted.

Washing clothes by hand and preparing meals with my aunt made me appreciate the effort needed.

Food, like everything in Ghana, required patience. There were no microwaves, no fast-food runs.

Making the traditional dough-like dish fufu, for example, is laborious and involves pounding cooked yams or cassava into a paste with a mortar.

At the time, it felt like punishment. Looking back, it was building resilience.

Initially, my uncles considered placing me in high-end schools like the Ghana International School or SOS-Hermann Gmeiner International College.

But they were smart. They knew I might just form a new crew to cause chaos and mischief.

Instead, I received private tuition at Accra Academy, a state secondary school that my late father had attended. It meant I was often taught on my own or in small groups.

Lessons were in English, but out of school those around me were often speaking local languages and I found it easy to pick them up perhaps because it was such an immersive experience.

Back home in London, I used to love to learn swear words in my mother’s Fante language – but was far from fluent.

When I later moved to the city of Tema to stay with my favourite uncle, Uncle Jojo – an agricultural expert, I continued private tuition at Tema Secondary School.

In contrast to the boy making the headlines in the UK, who claimed Ghana’s education system was not up to standard, I found it to be exacting.

I was considered academically gifted in the UK, despite my troublesome ways, but actually found it tough going in Ghana. Students my age were far ahead in subjects like maths and science.

The rigour of the Ghanaian system pushed me to study harder than I ever had in London.

The result? I earned five GCSEs with grades C and above – something that once seemed impossible.

Beyond academic achievements, Ghanaian society instilled values that have stayed with me for life.

Respect for elders was non-negotiable. Throughout the neighbourhoods I lived in, you greeted those older than you, regardless of whether or not you knew them.

Ghana did not just make me more disciplined and respectful – it made me fearless.

Football played a huge part in that transformation. I played in the parks, which were often hard red clay with loose pebbles and stones, with two square goalposts fashioned out of wood and string.

It was a far cry from the neatly maintained pitches in England, but it toughened me up in ways I could not have imagined – and it is no wonder some of the greatest footballers seen in the English Premier League have come from West Africa.

The aggressive style played in Ghana was not just about skill – it was about resilience and endurance. Getting tackled on rough ground meant picking yourself up, dusting yourself off and carrying on.

Every Sunday, I played football on the beach – though I would often be late because there was absolutely no way either of my uncles would allow me to stay home instead of attending church.

Those services felt like they lasted forever. But it was also a testament to Ghana as a God-fearing nation, where faith is deeply embedded in everyday life.

The first 18 months were the hardest. I resented the restrictions, the chores, the discipline.

I even tried stealing my passport to fly back to London, but my mother was ahead of me and had hidden it well. There was no escape.

My only choice was to adapt. Somewhere along the way, I stopped seeing Ghana as a prison and started seeing it as happy home.

I know of a few others like me who were sent back to Ghana by their parents living in London.

Michael Adom was 17 when he arrived in Accra for school in the 1990s, describing his experience as “bittersweet”. He stayed until he was 23 and now lives back in London working as a probation officer.

His main complaint was the loneliness – he missed his family and friends. There were times of anger about his situation and the complications of feeling misunderstood.

This largely stemmed from the fact that his parents had not taught him or his siblings any of the local languages when growing up in London.

“I didn’t understand Ga. I didn’t understand Twi. I didn’t understand Pidgin,” the 49-year-old tells me.

This made him feel vulnerable for his first two-and-a-half years – and, he says, liable to being fleeced, for example, by those increasing prices because he seemed foreign.

“Anywhere I went, I had to make sure I went with somebody else,” he says.

But he ended up becoming fluent in Twi and, overall, he believes the positives outweighed the negatives: “It made me a man.

“My Ghana experience matured me and changed me for the better, by helping me to identify with who I am, as a Ghanaian, and cemented my understanding of my culture, background and family history.”

I can concur with this. By my third year, I had fallen in love with the culture and even stayed on for nearly two more years after passing my GCSEs.

I developed a deep appreciation of the local food. Back in London, I never thought twice about what I was eating. But in Ghana, food was not just sustenance – each dish had its own story.

I became obsessed with “waakye” – a dish made from rice and black-eyed peas, often cooked with millet leaves, giving it a distinctive purple-brown colour. It was usually served with fried plantain, the spicy black pepper sauce “shito”, boiled eggs, and sometimes even spaghetti or fried fish. It was the ultimate comfort food.

I enjoyed the music, the warmth of the people and the sense of community. I was not just “stuck” in Ghana any more – I was thriving.

My mother, Patience Wilberforce, passed away recently, and with her loss I have reflected deeply on the decision she made all those years ago.

She saved me. Had she not tricked me into staying in Ghana, the chances of me having a criminal record or even serving time in prison would have been extremely high.

I went on to enrol at the College of North West London aged 20 to study media production and communications, before joining BBC Radio 1Xtra via a mentoring scheme.

The guys I used to hang out with in north-west London did not get the second chance that I did.

Ghana reshaped my mindset, my values and my future. It turned a misguided menace into a responsible man.

While such an experience might not work for everyone, it gave me the education, discipline and respect I needed to reintegrate into society when I returned to England.

And for that, I am forever indebted to my mother, to my uncles and to the country that saved me.

Mark Wilberforce is a freelance journalist based in London and Accra.

ALSO READ:

• Son loses case against parents over move from London to Ghana

• Brunel University of London, University of Ghana hold workshop on older adults’ well-being

The blaze is said to have started around 02:30 (01:30 GMT) at the Pulse club in Kocani, a town around 100 km (60 miles) east of the capital, Skopje. Footage posted on social media shows the building engulfed in flames.

As many as 1,500 were said to have been attending a concert by the band DNK, a hip-hop duo popular in the country.

Interior Minister Pance Toskovski said that according to initial reports, the fire started from sparks caused by pyrotechnic devices.

He told reporters in front of the Kocani police station that sparks then hit the ceiling made of highly flammable material, before the fire spread through the club. He said some arrests had been made.

Footage shows the band playing on stage when two flares go off, sparks then catch on the ceiling before rapidly spreading.

Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski wrote in a statement on Facebook that the government was “fully mobilised and will do everything necessary to deal with the consequences and determine the causes of this tragedy.”

He called it a “difficult and very sad day” for the country which had now lost so many young lives.

The hospital in Kocani initially reported 90 admissions, with many suffering severe burns. Some of the injured have since been transferred to hospitals in Skopje for further treatment.

The man, who has been named as 79-year-old Edgar Riches, died on Thursday after being struck in the accident on a main road in the capital, Nairobi.

Police detained a driver, who has since been released on bail.

They say he was driving a support vehicle that was travelling at the rear of President Ruto’s official convoy.

According to the police, the president’s detail had passed by the time the accident occurred.

Police spokesman Michael Muchiri told the BBC that Mr Riches had been visiting Kenya to see his sister and nephew who are residents of the country.

Kenya’s police initially gave his name as Edgar Charles Frederick – using his middle names.

A post-mortem found he had suffered multiple trauma, including severe injuries to the chest and head.

He was a charity worker from Poole in Dorset, who had regularly raised money for projects Kenya.

The police said the driver, who failed to stop after the incident, would appear in court following an investigation.

There has been an uproar on social media following Thursday’s incident.

While Kenyans are accustomed to roads being cleared for the presidential motorcade, this time around some have questioned why the convoy was so big and moving at such speed.

This not the first time a president’s or deputy president’s motorcade has killed or injured a pedestrian, and in a number of cases, members of the president’s travelling party have died.

But some believe more attention is being paid to this latest case because the victim is a foreigner.

A spokesperson for the UK High Commission said officials were aware of the reports and were seeking more information.

Videos posted on social media show a man in blue jeans and a light-coloured shirt lying bleeding on the road outside a busy shopping area.

Other pictures show the victim covered in a checked shawl, known locally as a Maasai Shuka.

Mr Muchiri told the BBC the vehicle belonged to the regional administration and was providing support to the presidential detail.

President Ruto held events in the vicinity of the scene on Thursday as part of ongoing political engagements with the public in the capital.

Prosecutors said Lydia Mugambe “took advantage of her status” over her victim by preventing her from holding down steady employment while forcing her to work as her maid and provide childcare for free.

The 49-year-old, who is also a High Court judge in Uganda, was found guilty of conspiring to facilitate the commission of a breach of UK immigration law, facilitating travel with a view to exploitation, forcing someone to work, and conspiracy to intimidate a witness..

She will be sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on May 2.

In footage released by Thames Valley Police, Mugambe appeared shocked when an officer said he was arresting her under the Modern Slavery Act.

She then had a conversation with the officer, in which she said: “I am a judge in my country, I even have immunity. I am not a criminal.”

Asked to reaffirm that she had immunity, Mugambe told the officer: “Yes, I have a diplomatic passport.”

The conversation ended with the defendant saying: “I came here as a student, I don’t need anyone to work for me.

“I didn’t come with her, she asked me because she has worked at my home before, she asked me.”

As a sign of commitment, the Burkinabe authorities have agreed to release 23 trucks of beans, which had been earlier seized as part of the blockade. Moreover, more truckloads of other cereals destined for Ghana will be released in the coming days.

Concerns had been raised that Ghana, a significant importer of cereals from its northern neighbour, could face short-term supply disruptions and potential price hikes in local markets due to the ban.

However, after President Mahama toured the AES region, Larry Gbevlo-Lartey expressed confidence that trust between Ghana and its neighbours had been strengthened.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Blessed Sogah on Connect Africa, the Ghanaian diplomat noted: “I think President Mahama has, you know, effectively ironed that out, and further discussions between the stakeholders from the two countries will concretise what needs to be done. I think it’s settled. For instance, there was a situation with 23 trucks and eight more that were seized. The 23 trucks have been released, and they have assured President Mahama that the eight will also be released very soon.”

On Monday, January 29, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) officially confirmed the departure of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, following a six-month grace period.

The statement emphasised the importance of regional solidarity, urging both member and non-member states to recognise national passports and identity cards featuring the ECOWAS logo.

When asked whether President Mahama is seeking to bridge talks between ECOWAS and AES in the context of possible negotiations for their return, Ambassador Gbevlo-Lartey indicated, “The visit of President Mahama has raised trust between Ghana and these countries.”

“And I think that, in that perspective, Ghana has a big role to play. They are very happy that they have at least one president they can trust. That’s why many believe that President John Dramani Mahama should now serve as the bridge.”

Ambassador Gbevlo-Lartey described the exit of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger as a sovereign decision but expressed hope that future engagements could reverse their tough stance and lead to their eventual return to ECOWAS.

ALSO READ:

• Burkina Faso imposes export ban on grains and cereals

• Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso retain regional privileges amid ECOWAS exit negotiations

This followed one of its engines catching fire, sending thick black smoke billowing into the air.

This incident is the latest in a series of concerning aviation emergencies, heightening fears among travelers.

American Airlines Flight 1006, a Boeing 737-800 traveling from Colorado Springs to Dallas-Fort Worth, was carrying 172 passengers and six crew members when it diverted to Denver around 5:15 p.m. local time after the crew reported “engine vibrations,” according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

“After landing and while taxiing to the gate, an engine caught fire,” the FAA statement confirmed. The agency is currently investigating the incident.

Shortly before landing, the pilot notified air traffic controllers in Denver about the engine issues, although he emphasized it was not an emergency, based on air traffic control audio from LiveATC.net.

“American 1006, just to verify, not an emergency still, correct?” the controller inquired.

“Nah, we just have a high engine vibration, so we are cruising slower than normal,” the pilot replied.

The situation escalated quickly after landing when someone on the radio urgently shouted, “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday! Engine fire!”

The plane ultimately arrived at gate C38, a Denver International Airport spokesperson confirmed. The fire was extinguished, and all passengers were safely evacuated.

Images from the scene showed passengers exiting the plane and standing on the wing as smoke surrounded them. Some passengers used emergency slides to exit the aircraft, according to footage from Reuters.

Twelve passengers were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, the Denver Fire Department reported.

“We thank our crew members, DEN team, and first responders for their quick and decisive action with the safety of everyone on board and on the ground as the priority,” American Airlines said in a statement.

Kristal Leonard, a Montana woman waiting for a connecting flight, captured video of the incident from inside the airport. She saw large plumes of smoke coming from the plane and dozens of passengers fleeing the scene.

“I was terrified for those passengers,” Leonard told CNN. “I can’t even imagine how scared they must’ve been.”

The recall centres on latches that may not engage properly, which could lead to the doors on Grenadier SUVs opening while being driven “increasing the risk of injury to passengers inside the vehicle.”

To fix the problem, Ineos says it will replace all door button assemblies on the affected vehicles, free of charge.

The recall is the latest issue faced by the car company, which last year had to temporarily pause manufacturing after one of its parts suppliers became insolvent.

The recall affects Ineos’ Grenadier SUVs produced between 6 July 2023 and 19 April 2024.

The door button mechanism on affected vehicles may have been assembled without enough grease in them, according to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) filing.

“This may allow the exterior door buttons to remain in the depressed position and prevent the door from fully latching,” the document said.

Launched in 2022, the Grenadier was the first vehicle produced by Ineos Automotive. It is inspired by the iconic Land Rover Defender.

Sir Jim’s decision to start the car company was motivated by his disappointment over Jaguar Land Rover’s decision to stop making the Defender.

In 2020, the entrepreneur, who had campaigned for Leave in the run-up to the 2016 Brexit referendum, announced that the vehicle would be assembled in France, putting an end to hopes that it would be made at a plant in Wales.

According to the company, there are currently about 20,000 Grenadiers on the road in 50 countries around the world.

Ineos Automotive lost more than 1.4 billion euros (£1.1bn, $1.5bn) before tax in 2023, according to a filing with the UK registry Companies House.

Sir Jim, who is one of the UK’s richest people, owns a 27.7% stake in Manchester United.

The measure raises a flat duty on steel and aluminium entering the US to 25% and ends all country exemptions to the levies.

Several countries, including the UK and Australia, have tried to secure carve-outs without success. Others, including Canada and the European Union, have said they will retaliate.

Trump hopes the tariffs will boost US steel and aluminium production but critics say it will raise prices for US consumers and dent economic growth.

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), a group representing US steelmakers, welcomed the tariffs saying they will create jobs and boost domestic steel manufacturing.

The group’s president Kevin Dempsey said the moved closed a system of exemptions, exclusions and quotas that allowed foreign producers to avoid tariffs.

“AISI applauds the president’s actions to restore the integrity of the tariffs on steel and implement a robust and reinvigorated program to address unfair trade practices,” Mr Dempsey added.

The US is a major importer of aluminium and steel, and Canada, Mexico and Brazil are among its largest suppliers of the metals.

The tariffs mean that US businesses wanting to bring the metals into the country will have to pay a 25% tax on them.

This is likely to lead to higher costs for a large number of US industries, including aerospace, car manufacturing and construction.

Michael DiMarino runs Linda Tool, 17-person Brooklyn company that makes parts for the aerospace industry. Everything he makes involves some kind of steel, much of which comes from American mills.

“If I have higher prices, I pass them onto my customers. They have higher prices, they pass it onto the consumer,” Mr DiMarino said, adding that he supports the call for increased manufacturing in the US but warning the president’s moves risk backfiring.

The American Automotive Policy Council, a group that represents car giants such Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, also echoed such concerns.

“We are still reviewing and awaiting all of the details of the proposed tariffs, but are concerned that specifically revoking exemptions for Canada and Mexico will add significant costs for our suppliers,” said Matt Blunt, organisation’s president said.

Some economists are warning that the tariffs could help the US steel and aluminium industries but hurt the wider economy.

“It protects [the steel and aluminium] industries but hurts downstream users of their products by making them more expensive,” said Bill Reinsch, a former Commerce Department official who is now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

‘No exceptions’

In 2018, during his first term as president, Trump imposed import tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminium, but he eventually negotiated carve-outs for many countries.

Several countries, including the UK and Australia, which had previously been exempted from paying such tariffs were looking to avoid them once again.

But President Trump has said he will not be granting the same sort of exclusions and exemptions that he did in his first term.

Responding to the tariffs that are coming into effect, Australia’s Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, said in a press conference that the Trump administration’s decision to go ahead with the new tariffs is “entirely unjustified.”

“It’s against the spirit of our two nations’ enduring friendship and fundamentally at odds with the benefits that our economic partnership has delivered over more than 70 years,” he added.

Albanese also said Australia will not be imposing reciprocal tariffs on the US because such a move would only push up prices for Australian consumers.

Meanwhile, Canada’s Energy Minister, Jonathan Wilkinson, told CNN his country would relaliate but added that Canada is not looking to escalate tensions.

Canada is one of America’s closest trade partners, and the largest exporter of steel and aluminium to the US.

The European Union has also previously said it would hit back against Trump’s mov

Last month, the UK government signalled that it was seeking an exemption to the tariffs and added that it would not retaliate immediately.

Recession fears

Fear of the economic cost of Trump’s trade tariffs has sparked a selloff in US and global stock markets, which accelerated this week after the US president refused to rule out the prospect of an economic recession.

The S&P 500 index of the largest firms listed in the US fell a further 0.7% on Tuesday after dropping 2.7% on Monday, which was its biggest one-day drop since December.

The UK’s FTSE 100 share index, which had edged lower earlier on Tuesday, fell further and closed down more than 1%. The French Cac 40 index and German Dax followed a similar pattern.

Meanwhile, economic research firm, Oxford Economics, said in a report it had lowered its US economic growth forecast for the year from 2.4% to 2% made even steeper adjustments to Canada and Mexico.

“Despite the downgrade, we still expect the US economy to outperform the other major advanced economies over the next couple of years,” its report added.

“Uncertainty around the path for US tariffs is higher than ever”.

Ontario showdown

Earlier on Tuesday, the US and Canada stepped back from the brink of a major escalation in the trade war.

That was after Trump said he had halted a plan to double US tariffs on Canadian steel and metal imports to 50%, just hours after first threatening them.

The move by the president came after the Canadian province of Ontario suspended new charges of 25% on electricity that it sends to some northern states in the US.

Despite the climbdown, Canada will still be facing Trump’s 25% tariff on steel and aluminium imports that have just come into effect.

Maradona was convalescing when he died of a heart attack at his home in 2020, aged 60. He had been recovering at home from surgery on a brain blood clot earlier that month.

Prosecutors allege that Maradona’s death could have been avoided and accuse the hospital staff of medical negligence.

The defendants say Maradona had refused further treatment and should have stayed in hospital for longer after his operation.

They risk prison terms between eight and 25 years if convicted on the charge of “homicide with possible intent”.

In an opening statement, the prosecution said it intended to submit “solid” evidence that no member of the team “did what they were supposed to do” in the “horror theatre” that was Maradona’s death bed.

“Today, Diego Armando Maradona, his children, his relatives, those closest to him, and the Argentine people, deserve justice,” prosecutor Patricio Ferrari told the court.

Investigators have classified the case as culpable homicide, a crime similar to involuntary manslaughter, because they said the accused were aware of the seriousness of Maradona’s health condition but did not take the necessary measures to save him.

The defendants in the case are a neurosurgeon, a psychiatrist, a psychologist, a medical co-ordinator, a nursing co-ordinator, a doctor and the night nurse.

The night nurse previously said he had seen “warning signs”, but had received orders “not to wake” Maradona.

More than 100 witnesses will testify at the trial, which is expected to last until July.

Diego Maradona is largely considered to be one of the greatest footballers ever to play the game. He was captain when Argentina won the 1986 World Cup, scoring the famous “Hand of God” goal against England in the quarter-finals.

During the second half of his career, Maradona struggled with cocaine addiction and was banned for 15 months after

The news of his death threw the football world – and his home country of Argentina – into deep mourning, with many thousands of people queuing for hours to walk by his coffin at the presidential palace in Buenos Aires.

Sharing the news on Instagram, Nengi announced that she gave birth on February 21, 2025.

Describing her daughter as “the purest form of love” and “the most precious gift,” she expressed gratitude for the new chapter in her life.

Alongside her announcement, she shared heartwarming visuals of her pregnancy journey and delivery.

“My greatest blessing, my heart in human form, my purpose. God knew I needed you, my baby… I love you more than words could ever explain. It’s us forever,” she wrote.

Her announcement has drawn congratulatory messages from fans, followers, and colleagues in the Nigerian creative arts industry.

Read the full post below:

 

View this post on Instagram.

 

A post shared by Nengi Hampson (@nengiofficial)

 

ALSO READ:

• KiDi captured in cozy moment with BBNaija’s Nengi [Video]

• I knew people will call me ‘beauty with no brains’ – BB Naija’s Nengi

Jennifer Lee Wilson, 48, was sentenced in January to six years in prison, with one year suspended to be served on probation, according to WMAQ. She was charged with reckless homicide in the death of Dakota Levi Stevens.

On April 25, police responded to a home in Valparaiso, Indiana, after receiving a report that the boy was not breathing. Officers found him unresponsive with no pulse and observed bruising on his lower neck and chest. Despite efforts to resuscitate him, he was transported to a hospital, where he later died.

Wilson told police that Dakota had recently run away but was found at a neighbor’s house and brought back home. She claimed he continued misbehaving, threw himself on the ground, and threatened to leave again.

According to a court filing, Wilson stated that while trying to stop him, she was unsure if she tackled him or if they both fell. Her intention, she claimed, was to restrain him.

She admitted to sitting on his midsection for about five minutes. When he stopped moving, she believed he was pretending. “Are you faking?” she asked before rolling him over and noticing his pale eyelids. She then attempted CPR and called 911.

On April 27, South Bend Memorial Hospital confirmed Dakota had died. An autopsy determined his cause of death as mechanical asphyxia, with organ and soft tissue damage, liver and lung hemorrhaging, and other injuries. His death was ruled a homicide.

A neighbor later told officers that before the medical emergency, Dakota had run to her house and asked her to adopt him, claiming his parents hit him in the face. However, the neighbor did not observe any visible injuries. Wilson then arrived to take him back home.

At the time of his death, Dakota was 4’10” and weighed 91 pounds, while Wilson was listed as 4’11” and 340 pounds.

ALSO READ:

• Prof. Gyampo actively lobbied for his appointment – Miracles Aboagye alleges [Video]

• I never went through JHS – Prof Gyampo

In a statement on X, Rubio said these initiatives “spent tens of billions in ways that did not serve” or even harmed US interests. As a result, only 18% of USAID’s programs will continue, now under the administration of the State Department.

The move has sparked global concern, with humanitarian organizations warning of severe consequences, including potential threats to lives due to the sudden withdrawal of US aid.

The Trump administration has long emphasized aligning overseas spending with its “America First” policy. Shortly after Donald Trump returned to the White House on January 20, thousands of USAID employees were placed on leave, and many working overseas were recalled.

On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order freezing foreign aid funding and ordering a comprehensive review of USAID’s global operations. The review, led by billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), resulted in the cancellation of thousands of development contracts and widespread job losses within the agency.

Rubio confirmed that the US was “officially ending” approximately 5,200 of USAID’s 6,200 programs.

“In consultation with Congress, we intend for the remaining 18% of programs to be administered more effectively under the State Department,” he stated. He also praised Doge and State Department staff for their “long hours in achieving this overdue and historic reform.”

However, the decision has sparked legal challenges. Democratic lawmakers and humanitarian groups argue that shutting down USAID-funded programs—previously approved by Congress—is illegal.

USAID played a crucial role in global humanitarian efforts, from famine detection to polio vaccinations and emergency food relief in conflict zones. The impact of the funding cuts is already evident.

In Sudan, the freeze on humanitarian assistance has led to the closure of more than 1,100 communal kitchens, leaving nearly two million people without food support amid ongoing civil war.

In Oman, dozens of Afghan women who fled the Taliban for higher education now face deportation after their USAID-funded scholarships were abruptly terminated.

Meanwhile, in India, the country’s first medical clinics for transgender individuals were forced to shut down in three cities after Trump halted foreign aid to the initiative.

The decision to dismantle USAID’s operations marks one of the most significant shifts in US foreign aid policy in recent history.

ALSO READ:

• 15 CSIR research projects in danger over USAID funding cut

• Mahama announces plans to boost food production in Ghana after USAID suspension

• 50 countries affected by USAID freeze, says WHO

ALSO READ:

• Akufo-Addo urges Nigeria to lead Africa’s economic integration

• Nigerian University names ultra-modern Multimedia Centre after Anas Aremeyaw Anas

Eight residential buildings and an administrative building were also reportedly damaged following strikes in Dobropillya in Donetsk.

It comes after US President Donald Trump said he was “strongly considering” large-scale sanctions and tariffs on Russia, which he said is “absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield”.

The US has limited Ukraine’s access to satellite imagery and paused military and intelligence aid.

Ukraine has continued to target Russia – the Russian defence ministry says it intercepted 31 drones overnight.

The threat of US tariffs is unlikely to bother Vladimir Putin unduly, writes security correspondent Frank Gardner.

Okoye was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on charges of laundering N1.38 billion, $1 million, and £34,537.59.

He pleaded not guilty and was initially remanded in the Ikoyi Correctional Facility by Justice Alexander Owoeye.

His counsel, Inibehe Effiong, had requested that he be kept in EFCC custody instead, but the prosecution counsel, Larry Peters Aso, opposed the request.

During Friday’s hearing, the defense filed a bail application, which the prosecution countered with an affidavit, arguing that Okoye posed a flight risk and could interfere with witnesses.

On Monday, the judge ruled in favor of granting bail, setting conditions that require Okoye to provide two sureties, each with landed property in Lagos worth N100 million.

The court must verify the property documents, and Okoye is prohibited from traveling outside Nigeria without approval.

Justice Owoeye stated that Okoye would remain in custody until he meets the bail conditions. His trial is set to begin on April 14, 2025.

ALSO READ:

• P-Square’s former manager faces trial for alleged N1.3 billion, $1m fraud

• Paul Okoye opens up on what led to Psquare’s split in 2017

However, the court did not immediately say when the money must be released, allowing the White House to continue to dispute the issue in lower courts.

The order was unsigned but four conservative justices dissented – Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. That put five justices in the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

The majority noted that given a court-ordered deadline to spend the money last week had already passed, the lower courts should “clarify what obligations the government must fulfil to ensure compliance with the temporary restraining order.”

In a strongly worded dissent, Alito wrote that he was “stunned” by the court’s decision to permit the lower-court judge to order the administration to unfreeze the foreign aid at issue in the case.

Alito added: “A federal court has many tools to address a party’s supposed nonfeasance. Self-aggrandizement of its jurisdiction is not one of them.”

While the ruling was 5-4, it was “extremely modest,” said Steve Vladeck, CNN Supreme Court analyst and professor at Georgetown University Law Centre.

“The unsigned order does not require the Trump administration to immediately make up to $2 billion in foreign aid payments; it merely clears the way for the district court to compel those payments, presumably if it is more specific about the contracts that have to be honoured,” Vladeck said. “The fact that four justices nevertheless dissented – vigorously – from such a decision is a sign that the Court is going to be divided, perhaps along these exact lines, in many of the more impactful Trump-related cases that are already on their way.”

The appeal raced to the high court within days – exceedingly fast by the federal judiciary’s standards. It is the second case to reach the justices dealing with Trump’s moves to consolidate power within the executive branch and dramatically reshape the government after taking power in January.

At the centre of the case are billions in foreign aid from the State Department and the US Agency for International Development that Trump froze in January as he sought to clamp downon spending and bring those agencies in line with his agenda. Several nonprofit groups that rely on the funding for global health and other programs sued, asserting that the administration’s moves usurped the power of Congress to control government spending and violated a federal law that dictates how agencies make decisions.

In a brief on Friday, the groups described the administration’s actions as having a “devastating” impact.

They told the court that the funding “advances US interests abroad and improves – and, in many cases, literally saves – the lives of millions of people across the globe.”

“In doing so, it helps stop problems like disease and instability overseas before they reach our shores,” the groups said.

US District Judge Amir Ali on February 13 ordered that much of the money continue to flow temporarily while he reviewed the case. Days later, the plaintiffs argued that the administration was defying that order and continuing to block the spending and Ali then ordered the Trump administration to spend the money at issue by midnight Wednesday.

Ali was named to the bench by President Joe Biden.

The Trump administration rushed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court hours before that deadline, urging the court to at least pause it for a few days. The administration is making “substantial efforts” to review payment requests and spend the money, the government argued, but it couldn’t turn the spigot on fast enough to meet Ali’s timeline.

The groups that sued have baulked at that explanation, arguing that a small number of political appointees within the administration “are refusing to authorize essentially any payments.”

“The government has not taken ‘any meaningful steps’ to come into compliance,” the groups said in a Supreme Court filing earlier Friday.

Roberts, acting alone, gave the administration a brief reprieve on Wednesday, issuing what’s known as an “administrative stay” that pushed pause on the case so that both sides could submit written arguments. The chief justice handles emergency cases rising from the federal appeals court in Washington, DC.

Among the groups challenging the freeze are the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, a New York-based organization working to speed HIV prevention and the Global Health Council, based in Washington, DC, which represents other groups that administer health programs.

The Trump administration revealed in court filings in the case that it is attempting to terminate more than 90% of the USAID foreign aid awards.

“In total, nearly 5,800 USAID awards were terminated, and more than 500 USAID awards were retained,” a filing from the administration said.

“The total ceiling value of the retained awards is approximately $57 billion,” the filing said.

In addition to the USAID award terminations, “approximately 4,100 State awards were terminated, and approximately 2,700 State awards were retained,” the government told a lower court, referring to the State Department.

Aid programs around the world have ground to a halt due to the sweeping funding freeze and review of billions of dollars of assistance. It also comes as the Trump administration has either placed the majority of USAID’s workforce on leave or terminated them.

Democrats celebrate ruling
On Capitol Hill, Democrats said the ruling shows that Trump’s power to freeze spending is not unlimited.

“That money had already been appropriated, things were already in action, and so I think the Supreme Court ruled the right way, and now the administration needs to unfreeze them and allow those contractors and the work to be done,” said Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal called it “a very important ruling” from “a Trump-dominated court.”

“I think it reinforces … that Congress has authorization to appropriate money, and that people rely on that authorization for those programs, and that when you do the work, you should get paid when it’s been authorized,” the Washington state Democrat told CNN.

Asked if she’s confident the payments will be turned on, Jayapal said she’s not confident about anything, “but I hope that the Trump administration will pay attention to the Supreme Court.”