Army holds party to foster social interaction among personnel, families.

The 2 Brigade, Nigerian Army, will on Saturday hold the West African Social Party (WASA) to foster social interactions among its personnel, families and the civil populace.

Acting Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, 2 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Lt. Adebowale Adejimi, said this in a statement in Uyo.

Adejimi said the organisation of WASA had always been in line with the traditions, custom and ethics of the army.

He said the social party had continued to be an annual event of the Nigerian Army since its establishment.
“We use it to create an atmosphere for interaction among personnel, their families and the civil population.
“It provides a medium to promote civil-military cooperation. It also displays the cultural values of ethnic groups in the country,” he said

Adejimi further said that the event would be used to recognise soldiers who had distinguished themselves during the year.

Malaria vaccine arrives Nigeria, Kebbi, Bayelsa take centre stage.

The Kebbi State Ministry of Health in collaboration with State Primary Health Care Development Agency (PHCDA), has inaugurated rollout of malaria vaccination for children from five to 11 months in the state.

The programme is being launched simultaneously in Bayelsa, while the Deputy Governor of Kebbi, Umar Abubakar-Tafida, flagged off the malaria vaccine immunisation exercise in Birnin Kebbi.

Flagging the exercise, Abubakar-Tafida, lamented that malaria had been a significant challenge, “claiming countless lives and impacting the health and well-being of our communities.

“Today, we take a monumental step in our ongoing battle against this deadly disease.

“The introduction of the malaria vaccine stands as a symbol of hope and a clear demonstration of our unwavering dedication to protecting the health of our citizens.

“Kebbi State has long remained committed to improving the health and well-being of its people.

He said the present administration’s focus has always been on ensuring accessible healthcare, advancing medical interventions, and addressing the pressing health challenges that affect the communities.

Death toll in Uganda landslide rises to 28

The bodies of two three-year-old boys were among those pulled from mud in eastern Uganda, swelling to 28 the death toll from a landslide last week that buried several villages, police said, with dozens still unaccounted for.

More than 100 people had been feared missing, with 17 dead after Wednesday’s landslide on the slopes of Mount Elgon, an extinct volcano on the border with Kenya, about 300 km (190 miles) east of the capital, Kampala.

More bodies have been retrieved since, including the two boys, police said in a statement on X late on Monday, but gave no further details.

Since October, unusually heavy rains have triggered widespread flooding and landslides in some areas of Uganda, weather the Uganda Red Cross has blamed on climate change.

The area around the site of last week’s tragedy has experienced several deadly landslides, with one in 2010 killing at least 80.

Authorities’ past efforts to persuade residents of the areas most prone to such disasters to shift to safer ground have met little success as most are poor and lack the means to do so.

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Namibia’s ruling party takes lead in election results.

Namibia’s ruling SWAPO party led both the presidential and parliamentary races on Tuesday, a week after voting took place in an election marred by technical challenges.

SWAPO, which has governed the southern African nation since leading it to independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990, fielded Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as its presidential candidate.
If victorious, she would become Namibia’s first female leader.

Results were initially expected a few days after the Nov. 27 poll, but voting was extended to Nov. 29 and Nov. 30 at several polling stations after some voters were unable to cast their ballots on election day due to technical difficulties and ballot paper shortages.

At 0636 GMT, the electoral commission’s election portal showed Nandi-Ndaitwah was leading the presidential race with 54.82 per cent of the vote after 65.57 per cent of votes had been counted.

To win the presidency, a candidate must secure over 50 per cent of votes, failing which a run-off is required.
Namibians vote separately for members of the National Assembly, and SWAPO led the ballot with 56.38 per cent of the 66.39 per cent of the votes tallied.

Opposition candidate Panduleni Itula and his Independent Patriots for Change trailed a distant second, with 28.09 per cent of the presidential vote and 19.23 per cent of the vote for the National Assembly.

The timeline for the final result announcement was unclear.

Start of Biden’s visit to Angola overshadowed by son’s pardon.

U.S. President Joe Biden landed in Angola for a visit focused on a U.S.-backed railway project and the legacy of slavery, but his decision to pardon his son Hunter Biden threatened to overshadow the official agenda.

The visit fulfills a promise to visit Sub-Saharan Africa during his presidency and aims to bolster the Lobito Corridor project, which links resource-rich Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia to the Angolan port of Lobito on the Atlantic Ocean.

At stake are vast supplies of minerals like copper and cobalt, which are found in Congo and are key components of batteries and other electronics.

China is the top player in Congo, which has become an increasing concern to Washington.

China signed an agreement with Tanzania and Zambia in September to revive a rival railway line to Africa’s eastern coast.

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UN chief urges leaders to ‘take the rights path to end AIDS’ by 2030

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has said ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 is within reach, but only if global leaders commit to dismantling barriers to healthcare and upholding human rights.

Guterres, in a statement, urged the leaders to take the right path to end the scourge.
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“Every 25 seconds, someone in the world is infected with HIV.

“One-quarter of people living with HIV – more than nine million people – lack access to lifesaving treatment,” . Guterres said in a message to mark World AIDS Day.

He, however, called for a rights-based approach to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention and treatment, highlighting the harmful effects of discriminatory laws and practices that stigmatised women, girls, and minorities.

“The fight against AIDS can be won,” Guterres stressed, “If leaders take a rights-based approach to ensure that everyone – especially the most vulnerable – can get the services they need without fear.”

“We will overcome AIDS if the rights of everyone, everywhere, are protected. I call on all leaders to heed this year’s theme and take the ‘rights’ path,” he said.

UNAIDS, the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS, reinforced the call, urging governments to “take the rights path to end AIDS.”

Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS Executive Director, stressed the importance of removing systemic barriers to healthcare.

“To protect everyone’s health, we need to protect everyone’s rights,” she said.

Its World AIDS Day report showed that respecting and protecting human rights can help ensure equitable access to HIV services and prevent new infections.

It also revealed how gaps in realisation of human rights, and abuses and violations obstruct the end of the AIDS pandemic.

The UNAIDS report underscores that progress will stall without a human rights-based approach. In 2023, 1.3 million people were newly infected with HIV globally, three times the target of no more than 370,000 annual infections set for 2025.

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Israeli military confirms Hamas holding body of hostage killed on Oct. 7.

The Israeli military has declared another of the hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip to be dead.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) wrote on social media platform X that the hostage in question is a 21-year-old Israeli-American soldier born in New York.

He was killed during the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks on Israel and his body has been held in the Gaza Strip ever since, according to the IDF, citing intelligence.

The Hostages, a group that represents the families of hostages still held in Gaza as well as the Israeli communities attacked on Oct. 7, said that the soldier, a tank commander, and other troops were abducted.

Hamas and other extremist groups crossed the border from the Gaza Strip into Israel on Oct. 7 last year, killing around 1,200 people and abducting more than 250 others.

Israel responded by pounding Gaza with airstrikes and launching a ground offensive into the Palestinian territory.

At least 44,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority.

Many of the 100 hostages still unaccounted for are no longer believed to be alive. They include holders of dual nationality, including U.S. citizens.