Cash-strapped Sri Lanka announced a 40 percent price hike for dozens of commonly used medicines on Saturday as the island nation labours through its worst economic crisis in decades.
After Months of lengthy blackouts and acute shortages of food, fuel and pharmaceuticals have sparked widespread protests calling for the government’s resignation.
Hospitals have already cancelled routine surgeries after running out of anaesthetics, and Saturday’s directive applies to 60 medicines in short supply.
Antibiotics, non-prescription painkillers and medications for heart conditions and diabetes will all be subject to the price rise, health minister Channa Jayasumana said.
It is the second time in six weeks that pharmaceutical prices have been raised. In mid-March a 30 percent increase was imposed.Industry officials said the latest hike was necessary to offset the impact of fuel prices, which have doubled since December.
Official figures released Friday showed Sri Lanka’s inflation rate at nearly 30 percent in April, a seventh consecutive record high and Sri Lanka has run out of foreign currency to import sorely needed essential goods.
The government this month announced a default on its $51 billion foreign debt and asked citizens abroad to donate money to help the island out of its economic predicament.
Sri Lanka has asked for an International Monetary Fund bailout, which could take up to three months to arrive.
More than 35,000 refugees who have fled to Uganda this year seeking safety from violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.
The U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, and 44 humanitarian partners are appealing for $47.8 million to respond to the critical needs of newly arrived refugees.
Uganda already hosts over 1.5 million refugees, the largest refugee population on the African continent.
While the 35,000 refugees who arrived this year constitute only a fraction of that number, their needs nonetheless are great.
UNHCR spokesman Boris Cheshirkov said a third of those have arrived in just the past three weeks from the DRC who had fled intense fighting in North Kivu and Ituri provinces.
Sporadic clashes in South Sudan’s West Nile state also have sent thousands fleeing into Uganda this year. Cheshirkov said a large proportion of the refugees this year, as in the past, are women and children.
Cheshirkov said the appeal is intended to support an initial emergency response to an anticipated influx of up to 60,000 refugees in Uganda in the first half of this year.
Cheshirkov added that the UNHCR is working with the government of Uganda and humanitarian partners to provide emergency assistance and protection to refugees in border areas.
He further said that efforts were being made to move them to refugee settlements as soon as possible.
Kenya has held a state funeral for its third president, Mwai Kibaki, who died last week at the age of 90. With officials hailing Kibaki for transforming Kenya’s economy and education.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta led other African leaders and tens of thousands of Kenyans in paying last respects to Kibaki who had led the East African nation between 2002 and 2013, when he stepped down after two terms.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was among the leaders who attended the prayer service at Nyayo stadium in Nairobi.
Kenya’s third president is praised for transforming the country’s infrastructure, agriculture and education sector. His election in 2002 brought an end to four decades of one-party rule.
The East African nation recorded its highest economic growth at 7% per year during his tenure in office.
Many Kenyans also remember Kibaki for his role in the 2007 and 2008 political violence. His disputed election win against opposition leader Raila Odinga, who accused him of rigging the vote, led to street protests and inter-communal clashes that claimed the lives of more than 1,100 people.
At the funeral, Odinga spoke about meeting with Kibaki after the violence and how the two agreed to work together. The truce led to the formation of a unity government, with Odinga becoming prime minister.
Kibaki will be buried on Saturday at his rural home in central Kenya.
The U.N.’s refugee chief, Filippo Grandi, on a visit to Cameroon this week, vowed to give more support to displaced Central Africans and Cameroonians fleeing intercommunal violence.
Grandi spoke at a ministerial conference in Yaoundé on helping refugees from the Central African Republic and during a visit to northern Cameroon.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi has said the U.N.’s refugee agency (the UNHCR) would step up support for nearly 1.4 million displaced Central Africans.
Grandi was speaking at a conference in Cameroon’s capital, Yaoundé, with ministers from Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Republic of Congo, South Sudan, and Sudan.
They are all countries with displaced people and refugees from the Central African Republic that have fled ongoing fighting back home since 2013.
The ministers pledged to continue to support ongoing reconciliation efforts in the CAR for peace to return to the troubled state so that IDPs and refugees can go home.
Grandi praised Cameroon, which hosts about half of the the CAR’s refugees.
He says Cameroon is home to about half-a-million refugees from the Central African Republic, Nigeria, and other nationals who find hospitable reception and peace in the central African state.
Grandi says he met with Cameroonian authorities and UNHCR partners to find ways of increasing and coordinating international aid to improve conditions for people displaced from their homes by crises.
The UNHCR says about 600,000 people are internally displaced in the Central African Republic, while another 700,000 have fled to neighboring countries.
A high court in Malawi has convicted five people of murder for the 2018 killing of a 22-year-old albino man, including the victim’s brother after the court convicted seven other people of selling the victim’s body parts.
Malawi officials say over 170 albinos have been attacked in the country since 2014 by people who believe their body parts bring luck and wealth.
Family members of the deceased, MacDonald Masambuka, left the courtroom Thursday with hopes of justice being served after the court convicted all 12 people accused in his death.
Family members, including Masambuka’s mother, appeared calm and composed as Judge Dorothy NyaKaunda Kamanga read the judgments.
Those convicted included a Catholic priest, Father Thomas Muhosa, police officer Chikondi Chileka, clinician Lumbani Kamanga, and the deceased’s brother, Cassim Masambuka.
Charges included murder, extracting human tissues, causing harm to a person with disability, and trafficking in persons.
The judge said the state proved beyond reasonable doubt the 12 people conspired to kill Masambuka to extract his bones based on a perception they would benefit financially.
She said Masambuka is the latest victim of violent attacks on persons with albinism who have not been protected by the community.
Director of Public Prosecutions Steve Kayuni represented the state in the case. He said he was pleased the court agreed on all the seven charges he presented.
Masambuka went missing from his village on March 9, 2018, and his limbless body was found buried in a garden on April 2, 2018, in his home district of Machinga south of Malawi.
Libya is losing tens of millions of dollars a day from the shutdown of its oil facilities, while global prices are at their highest in years, according to the country’s oil minister.
In an interview with Newmen at his office in Tripoli Minister of Oil and Gas Mohammed Aoun said Production had fallen by about 600,000 barrels a day,” half of the prior level.
He added, “Calculating the sale price at $100 a barrel, losses are at least $60 million daily.”
Oil is the lifeblood of the North African country trying to move past a decade of conflict since the fall of Dictator Moamer Kadhafi in a 2011 NATO-backed uprising.
But since mid-April Libya’s two major export terminals and several oil fields have been held hostage to the country’s latest political schism.
Since Russia started its invasion of Ukraine in February, triggering Western sanctions, global crude prices have reached levels unseen since 2014.
On Friday the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude traded above $106 per barrel. The price of Brent crude exceeded $109 a barrel.
The Libyan closures follow the selection in February of a new prime minister, Fathi Bashagha, by Libya’s eastern-based parliament in a direct challenge to Tripoli-based interim Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah.
Analysts say eastern Libyan forces who back Bashagha have forced the closure of the oil facilities in a bid to press Dbeibah to step down, but the incumbent insists he will only hand power to an elected successor.
The political bloc supporting Bashagha is aligned with Libya’s eastern-based strongman Khalifa Haftar, who in 2019-20 led a failed offensive against Tripoli, accompanied by his forces blockading oilfields.
It was all glamour, glitz and fanfare at Fair and White Nigeria premises, Ikoyi, Lagos Wednesday 27th April 2022 at the contract renewal ceremony of beauty queen, Esther Agunbiade as brand ambassador for Fair and White range of beauty products.
Agunbiade, a 2019 housemate of the famed Big Brother Naija TV reality show is making a rebound as an ambassador of the brand for two straight years. She was first signed on in February 2020.
According to Fair and White Nigeria’s Media Adviser, Chief Ingram Osigwe, “the renewal of her contract is the definitive definition of the popular saying, “one good turn deserves another”. The brand ambassador, he said, performed exceedingly well in her first contract hence Fair and White deemed it fit to renew it.
Speaking shortly after signing the contract renewal, Agunbiade urged beauty enthusiasts and all those who want the best for their skin to switch brands and be Fair and White compliant.
Beaming with satisfaction as she displayed the brands, Agunbiade counseled that “for Fair and White to work for you, you need to first know your skin type and then go for the brand’s variant that suits it. There is Fair and White for every skin. I have been able to sensitize consumers on this”
Continuing, the brand ambassador said: “Fair and White is the brand for all those who care for great skin and beauty. Fair and White is a brand that works. Just use it according to the instructions”
On his part, Osigwe who is the CEO/MD of FullPage International Communications Ltd and who anchored the event explained that shortly after Agunbiade signed the first contract in February 2020 the covid 19 pandemic broke out and inhibited most of what she was to do for the brand but she was not deterred as she took on to social media to educate ladies on the imperativeness of using Fair and White rather than resorting to brands that damage their skin.
In his address, the General Sales Manager of Fair and White Nigeria, Mr. Sunny Adekoya said the company will not relent in taking care of the beauty of African women by making sure that it gives the best of Fair and White at all times.
He recalled that the company has for over 25 years provided consumers with genuine Fair and White brands, pledging that it won’t relent in this regard.
On the issue of fake Fair and White brands, Mr. Adekoya said the company now puts distinguishing features on the Fair and White range of products to mark them out from fake brands in the market.
Essentially, beyond the Fair and White Gold which she was initially signed for, Esther now has the additional mandate to promote Fair and White So- Carrot and Fair and White Glu- Tathion.
Dignitaries, including industry stakeholders present at the contract renewal signing ceremony, were Emenike Agu, Station Manager/Head oF News LN247.News, Frances Emetarom, a YouTube blogger, bere Nwachukwu of Full Page Communications Ltd, Vivienne Emenike-Agu, a businesswoman, Blessing Okogbue, a beauty consultant, Vivian Onyebukwa, Style Editor, The Sun Magazine, Mercy Ikoro Business Manager, The Sun Newspaper, Josephine Ugbode, Beauty Consultant to Fair & White Group, Chimaka Chibueze, Online Sales Manager, Sunday Adekoya, General Sales Manager, Fair and White Nigeria, Emma Okoh, Sales Manager, Jenifer Maduka, staff of London City Airport, Chiamka MadukaIgboanugo, a YouTube blogger and Oscar Ochiogu, Photo Editor, Vanguard Media group.
Manufactured in France, Fair and White come in various variants including So- White, Exclusive, Exclusive Vitamin C, So- Carrot, Gold, Original, Glu Tathion and So-Fruity.
Ghana is set for the implementation of the country’s Electronic Transactions Levy (E-Levy) to kick off on Sunday (May 1).
This comes after several criticisms from a large portion of the Ghanaian population since its announcement in November 2021 by the country’s finance minister.
Some industry stakeholders are supporting the levy but others believe this would have a negative impact on digital payments and also affect the digitization journey that Ghana is championing.
In December last year, a debate on the introduction of the levy triggered a fight in parliament but regardless, the implementing agencies of the levy say they have put in place the relevant systems and mechanisms to start collecting 1.5 per cent as a levy on daily electronic transfers.
The agencies include the Ghana Revenue Authority, banks and specialised deposit-taking institutions (DFIs), electronic money issuers (EMIs) and telecommunications companies (telcos)
In separate interviews with state-owned newspaper, Daily Graphic, on Thursday, heads of the agencies said they expect the implementation to be smooth.
The Commissioner-General of the GRA, Owusu-Amoah said the revenue target for the E-Levy had been revised downwards to GH¢4.5 billion from the initial GH¢6.9 billion, following the reduction in the rate from 1.75 to 1.5 per cent and the delay in the implementation.
Once the implementation begins, all charges will be borne by the sender except in the case of inward remittances where the charge will be borne by the recipient. According to the Finance Minister, the country’s total digital transactions for 2020 were estimated to be over GH¢500 billion compared to GH¢78 billion in 2016.
South Africa’s commission of inquiry into state capture has found that former president Jacob Zuma was prepared to do anything requested by the controversial Gupta family, which has fled from South Africa
The fourth part of the investigations into the plots that led to the looting of South Africa’s state coffers during the presidency of Jacob Zuma (2009-2018) was handed over to the presidency on Friday.
Since January, the anti-corruption commission of Judge Raymond Zondo, has been churning out the conclusions of four years of investigation and hundreds of hours of hearings on organised state corruption linked to a sulphurous trio of businessmen of Indian origin, the Gupta brothers.
The new report focuses on the misappropriation of funds at the state-owned electricity company, Eskom.
According to the report, “the Guptas set up a plan to take over Eskom” and former president Jacob Zuma was “a key player” in interfering in their favour in the composition of the board.
The former management, against whom Judge Zondo is recommending criminal proceedings, is suspected of having entered into irregular contracts worth more than €96 million (R1.6 billion) with consultancy firms.
-A coal supply contract with a Gupta-owned entity, Tegeta, worth more than €221 million was also tainted by irregularities.
The company said it had been the victim of “immense prejudice” and said in a statement that “appropriate action” would be taken if anyone involved was still employed. Eskom, which supplies more than 90% of South Africa’s electricity, is struggling to recover from the wrongdoing, burdened by a debt of about 24 billion euros.
Leptis Magna, also known as Lepcis Magna, is an ancient Roman city which nowadays lies in ruins and it serves as an archaeological site, located in the northwestern part of the State of Lybia.
Being one of the most prominent cities in Roman Libya, it was originally founded by the Berbers and Punics from Carthage, but it was greatly expanded under Emperor Septimius Severus.
Considered to be founded in 7 century BC, not a lot of information exists about this interesting city, however, it appears to have been powerful enough to repel Dorieus’ attempt to establish a colony in 515 BC. Still, the city thrived and depended mainly on the fertility of its surrounding farmland, but definitely the most developed branch of agriculture were the olive trees.
There are excavations of olive presses that have been discovered which confirm the importance of the olive oil production for the city. In order for a better control of the city, the Roman Republic sent to Leptis Magna a small garrison, and since then the city started to grow and was even allowed to create its own money, which at that time were actually coins.
As the Wadi Lebda meets the Mediterranean Sea, continued thriving even until the reign of the Roman emperor Tiberius, who incorporated the city and the surrounding area into the Empire, as part of the Province of Africa.
As mentioned previously, the Emperor Septimius Severus made sure that the city would become an even bigger and better one with the ambitious building program which was initiated.
Over the following centuries, Leptis Magna remained in a pretty calm state, however, it became to decline due to the increasing insecurity of the frontiers, culminating in a disastrous incursion in 363, and the growing economic difficulties of the Roman Empire.
It was with the final Arab conquest in 642 when the city ceased to effectively thrive and it fell into ruin.
The sand unfortunately for that time, however, fortunately for us today, buried the city up until 20 century when the Italians conquered Italian Libya, and with the great effort that was dedicated to the rediscovery of the city, nowadays, people are still being able to see the magnificence of Leptis Magna.
They fortunately were able to discover plenty of well preserved columns, and with additional archaeological discoveries, Theater, Amphitheater, Marketplace, Severan Basilica, and Forum were found.
Nevertheless, the Arch of Septimius Severus is probably one of the most significant discoveries as it honors the great Emperor who made sure that Leptis Magna would remain in the history books as one of the greatest cities to have ever existed in Roman time.
Due to the immense importance, the city was listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1982, however, with the war conflict that destroyed the nation, it is not so safe to visit the ruins and the state of the city should improve too as the situation improves bit by bit.
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