SOUTH AFRICA GAS LEAK LEAVES SIXTEEN DEAD.

A suspected nitrate oxide gas leak in South Africa has led to the deaths of sixteen people.

The victims including women and children died from gas inhalation at an informal settlement in Boksburg, east of Johannesburg.

Wednesday’s leak has been linked to illegal gold mining in the area.

Nitrate oxide gas is often used by illegal gold miners known locally as zama zamas to extract gold from soil stolen from abandoned mine shafts.

One of the gas cylinders was found leaking in Boksburg’s densely populated Angelo shanty town.

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GHANA’S PARLIAMENT PUSH FOR PASSING OF ANTI-GAY BILL.

Parliament in Ghana has backed a proposed amendment to an anti-gay bill that would make identifying as “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender”, LGBT, punishable by a three-year prison sentence.

The proposed legislation has faced condemnation at home and abroad.

Critics say it infringes on rights guaranteed in Ghana’s constitution.

People who campaign for LGBT rights could also face up to 10 years in jail.

The amendments were backed by a cross-party group of Members of Parliaments, but will be scrutinised again before becoming law.

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The Kenyan government says it’s delaying the reopening of its border with Somalia, after attacks on its soil attributed to the Islamist militant group al-Shabab.

Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki said the phased reopening of border posts along the lengthy frontier would not go ahead as announced in May.

He said the decision has been informed by the “recent incidents of threats and cases of insecurity in the frontier counties”.

It comes as five civilians and eight police officers were killed in separate incidents near the border last month.

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KENYA DELAYS REOPENING SOMALI BORDER OVER ATTACKS.

The Kenyan government says it is delaying the reopening of its border with Somalia, after attacks on its soil attributed to the Islamist militant group al-Shabab.

Interior Minister, Kithure Kindiki said the phased reopening of border posts along the lengthy frontier would not go ahead as announced in May.

He said the decision has been informed by the “recent incidents of threats and cases of insecurity in the frontier counties”.

It comes as five civilians and eight police officers were killed in separate incidents near the border last month.

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RUSSIAN STRIKE HITS APARTMENTS IN LVIV, KILLS FOUR.

A Russian rocket has hit an apartment building in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, killing at least four people.

Ukraine’s Interior Minister, Ihor Klymenko says another 32 people were injured in what the mayor of Lviv said was “one of the biggest attacks” on the city’s civilian infrastructure.

President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed a “tangible” response to the overnight assault by “Russian terrorists”.

Russia’s military has not commented on the reported attack.

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HONG KONG POLICE ARREST FOUR OVER NATIONAL SECURITY.

Hong Kong police have arrested four men whom they accuse of supporting people based overseas who “endanger national security”.

The local arrests come two days after Hong Kong put up bounties for eight pro-democracy activists living abroad.

The bounties have sparked an overseas outcry and follow a sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing.

The four arrested include Ivan Lam, the former chair of disbanded political party Demosisto, local media said.

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SHELL WARNS CUTTING PRODUCTION DANGEROUS.

Energy Giant, Shell says Cutting oil and gas production would be “dangerous and irresponsible.

This is according to its boss, Wael Sawan who insisted that the world still “desperately needs oil and gas” as moves to renewable energy were not happening fast enough to replace it.

Sawan warned increased demand from China and a cold winter in Europe could push energy prices and bills higher again.

He angered climate scientists who said Shell’s plan to continue current oil production until 2030 was wrong.

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ZUCKERBERG SAYS TEN MILLION JOIN META’S TWITTER RIVAL.

Ten million users signed up for Meta’s newly-launched Threads app in its first seven hours.

Company’s chief, Mark Zuckerberg pitched the app as a “friendly” rival to Twitter, which was bought by Elon Musk in October.

Experts say Threads could attract Twitter users unhappy with recent changes to the platform.

Threads allows users to post up to 500 characters, and has many features similar to Twitter.

Earlier, Zuckerberg said keeping the platform “friendly… will ultimately be the key to its success”.

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INDIAN AUTHORITIES DEMOLISH HOME OF MAN FOR URINATING.

Authorities in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh have demolished the home of a man who was arrested for urinating on a tribal worker in public.

Pravesh Shukla has been charged under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act – a law meant to protect historically oppressed communities.

He was arrested after a video, which shows him urinating on the man, was widely shared on social media.

The incident sparked outrage online.

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