LINK UP WITH RMA

21/07/2025

Israeli forces kill 67 Palestinians seeking aid in northern Gaza, Hamas-run ministry says

The Israeli military has killed at least 67 people waiting for UN aid lorries in northern Gaza, the territory's Hamas-run health ministry says.

The UN World Food Programme said its 25-truck convoy "encountered massive crowds of hungry civilians which came under gunfire", soon after it crossed from Israel and cleared checkpoints.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that it had "fired warning shots" to remove "an immediate threat". It disputed the number of reported deaths.

On Saturday the ministry warned that extreme hunger was increasing in Gaza and growing numbers of people were arriving at its facilities "in a state of extreme exhaustion and fatigue".

"We warn that hundreds of people whose bodies have wasted away are at risk of imminent death due to hunger," it said. The UN has also said civilians in Gaza are starving and called for an urgent influx of essential goods.

On Sunday the ministry said it had recorded 18 deaths "due to famine" over the past 24 hours.

Many of the casualties from northern Gaza were taken to Shifa hospital in Gaza City. The medical director there, Dr Hassan al-Shaer, told BBC Arabic on Sunday the facility had been "overwhelmed".

Outside the hospital one woman told BBC Arabic that "the whole population is dying".

"Children are dying of hunger because they have nothing to eat. People are surviving on water and salt… just water and salt," she said.

In an updated death toll, Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli fire had killed a total of 93 people and wounded dozens more across Gaza on Sunday. Eighty people were killed in northern Gaza, it said, while nine people were shot dead near an aid point in Rafah and four more near an aid point in Khan Younis, both in southern Gaza.

BBC News
NewsHub

27/01/2025

24/12/2024

Ugandan politician's wife condemns ban on Christmas Day visit

Detained Ugandan politician's wife condemns ban on Christmas Day visit

The wife of detained Ugandan opposition politician Kizza Besigye has denounced as "cruel and inhumane" a ban on prisoners receiving visitors on Christmas Day.

Besigye, 68, has been charged in a military court with possession of pistols and attempting to purchase weapons abroad, which he denies. His trial has been delayed until next month.

Prison authorities say that as part of measures to prevent "potential security lapses", inmates would not be allowed visitors for seven days, starting on Christmas Eve.

Besigye's wife Winnie Byanyima, the head of the UN's organisation to tackle HIV and Aids, said she planned to camp outside the Luzira Prison so that she could see her husband and give him food on Christmas Day.

She told the BBC her husband remains "strong and persevering" in a "tiny little room" behind six prison gates, but she was worried that he could be "harmed".

"I'm not leaving Besigye's food at the gate [as directed]. I will go there and see my husband because I don't trust them with him even for a single day," Ms Byanyima said.

"Maybe I will take a tent and sleep there… if that's what they want," she added.

Besigye has contested and lost four presidential elections against President Yoweri Museveni, who has been in power since 1986.

But the veteran opposition politician has been less active in politics in recent years, and did not contest the 2021 election.

Source: BBC

'swifecondemnsbanonChristmasDayvisit

23/12/2024

Another deadly crush in Nigeria at event offering free food
The number of dead from a crowd crush in the south-east town of Okija in Nigeria has risen to 22, police say.

Another deadly crush in Nigeria at event offering free food

The number of dead from a crowd crush in the south-east town of Okija in Nigeria has risen to 22, police say.

It is the third case this week of people being crushed to death at events where free food was being distributed.

The fatalities in Okija occurred at a charity event on Saturday, when residents rushed to collect Christmas donations, including rice and vegetable oil.

On the same day, a similar tragedy at a Catholic church in the capital city Abuja killed 10 people, while 35 children died during a carnival event on Wednesday in the city of Ibadan.

Police have now warned organisers to notify authorities before holding charity events in order to prevent such loss of life.

Toyin Abdul Kadri, who witnessed the crush at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Abuja, told AFP news agency the attendees "forced the gates and forced their selves inside".

The event involved "vulnerable and elderly individuals" and four children were killed, the police said.

In a social media post about the crushes, Amnesty International Nigeria wrote: "President Bola Tinubu's government must urgently prioritise addressing widespread hunger, higher unemployment and the rapidly falling standard of living."

Food and transportation costs have more than tripled in Nigeria in the last 18 months.

The global bout of inflation has been exacerbated by some of the policies of the government – designed to strengthen the economy in the long-term – such as ending a fuel subsidy.

Source: BBC

22/12/2024

US warplane shot down in Red Sea 'friendly fire' incident

An American fighter jet has been shot down over the Red Sea in an apparent "friendly fire" incident, the US military has said.

Both crew from the US Navy F/A-18 Hornet ejected safely, with one suffering minor injuries, according to Central Command.

The incident came after the US carried out a series of air strikes against a missile storage site and command facilities in the Yemeni capital Sanaa operated by Iran-backed Houthi militants.

US Central Command added it also hit multiple Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea.

In a statement, US Central Command confirmed a "friendly fire" incident over the Red Sea.

"The guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, which is part of the USS Harry S Truman Carrier Strike Group, mistakenly fired on and hit the F/A-18, which was flying off the USS Harry S Truman," the statement said.

It is not clear whether the downed aircraft had been involved in the Yemen operation.

Earlier Central Command said the strikes against targets in Sanaa aimed to "disrupt and degrade Houthi operations, such as attacks against US Navy warships and merchant vessels in the Southern Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb, and Gulf of Aden".

The US military also said it struck "multiple Houthi one-way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles, or drones, and an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea" using "US Air Force and US Navy assets, including F/A-18s".
Source: BBC

'friendlyfire'incident

26/08/2024

Doctors strike in Nigeria over kidnapped colleague

Doctors in Nigerian public hospitals have started a seven-day nationwide strike to demand the release of their colleague, Dr Ganiyat Popoola, who has been held by kidnappers for eight months.
The mother of five was taken from her home in the middle of the night on 27 December alongside her husband and a nephew.

Her husband was released in March after a ransom was reportedly paid but the kidnappers held onto the ophthalmologist and her relative.
The doctors say they will not even provide emergency care during the strike.
They feel that the security agencies are not doing enough to secure Dr Poopola's freedom.

President of the doctors' association Dr Dele Abdullahi told the BBC: "It’s been eight months of agony for her, her family, and her colleagues. The life of doctors should matter to Nigerians," adding that if nothing changes, they would declare an indefinite strike.

Her colleague Dr Ibrahim Mohammed Okpanaki said doctors were "demoralised and terrified. In a country where medical workers are leaving, those that have chosen to stay should be protected."
Dr Poopola started working at the National Eye Centre hospital about six years ago, Dr Okpanaki said.

He described her as a very dedicated professional and responsible family woman.

At the time she was kidnapped, she was still breast-feeding her youngest child.
Source: BBC

21/08/2024

Health Expert says Mpox is not new Covid and can be stopped

A leading World Health Organization expert has said Mpox is "not the new Covid", because authorities clearly know how to control its spread.
Despite real concern about a new variant of the virus, and a global alert, Europe regional director Dr Hans Kluge told journalists, together we could - and must - tackle mpox.

And strong action now - including ensuring vaccines reach the areas most in need - could stop another cycle of panic and neglect.
A case of the new variant, Clade Ib, was confirmed in Sweden last week and linked to a growing outbreak in Africa.

Mpox has killed at least 450 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the former Zaire, in recent months, linked to Clade Ib.
There is still a lot to learn about the new variant, experts say, but it may be spreading more easily, causing more serious disease.

No Clade Ib cases have been seen in the UK - but experts warn it can spread unless international action is taken.
A different variant, Clade II, was behind the 2022 outbreak that initially affected Europe and continues to circulate in many parts of the world.

Dr Kluge said experts know how to control mpox, regardless of the variant - through non-discriminatory public-health action and equitable access to vaccines.
The virus, which causes a fever and rash, can be spread by skin-to-skin contact with lesions, including during s*x.
Source: BBC

23/02/2024

30/05/2023

29/11/2022

27/05/2022

SLTU issues out a strike action notice.

Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) issues out a 21-day notice for an industrial strike action.
Zoom in photos attached for more.