Category: #newsinsouthafrica

A bomb that looked like a “jackfruit” killed at least two children in a Ugandan village on Friday, after being given to the children while they were playing, a senior police official said.

The explosion, which occurred in Nakaseke district, located about 60 km north of the capital Kampala, killed a 14-year-old and a second child with disabilities, police spokesperson Asan Kasingye said in a tweet.

The attack is the third in a week.

On Monday, a bomb on a bus left two dead, while last Saturday, a bomb in a restaurant killed one person and injured three others.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the blast in the restaurant.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Friday’s bomb.

The police could not be reached to say whether they had identified any suspects.

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A Scottish university handed over a Benin Bronze, to a Nigerian delegation, that was among thousands looted by British troops in 1897, the third European institution in two days to return cultural artefacts to their African homelands.

The sculpture represents the head of an Oba, or king, of the once-mighty Kingdom of Benin, located in what is now Nigeria. The bronzes stolen from its royal court are among Africa’s most significant heritage objects and are mostly in Europe.

The University of Aberdeen acquired the bronze head at an auction in 1957. Following a recent review of its provenance, which confirmed it was one of the looted items, the university contacted the Nigerian authorities to offer to hand it over.

“Over the last 40 years, the Benin Bronzes have become important symbols of injustice,” said Professor George Boyne, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the university, in a statement ahead of a handover ceremony.

“It would not have been right to have retained an item of such great cultural significance that was acquired in such reprehensible circumstances.”

The present Oba of Benin, Ewuare II, said the bronzes were “imbued with the spirit of the people from whom they were taken”, adding that he hoped the Scottish university’s “noble act” would inspire other institutions to follow suit.

On Wednesday, a Cambridge University college returned to Nigeria another Benin Bronze, while in Paris, the Quai Branly museum handed over 26 artefacts stolen in 1892 to the Republic of Benin, a former French colony that borders Nigeria.

The handovers are the clearest sign yet of growing momentum towards the return of artefacts taken away from Africa by Europeans during the colonial period. Germany has agreed to start returning Benin Bronzes held in its museums next year.

The returns are likely to increase pressure on the British Museum in London, which holds by far the largest and most significant collection of Benin Bronzes.

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Only five African countries will meet the target of fully vaccinating 40% of their populations against COVID-19 unless the pace of inoculations accelerates across the continent,  the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Thursday.

The COVID-19 vaccine rollout may be slowed by an “imminent shortfall” of up to 2.2 billion auto-disposable syringes globally needed to administer the vccine and routine immunisations barring an increase in their manufacturing, WHO Africa said.

At present, there is no global stockpile of the specialised syringes which are in high demand, and they will remain in short supply at least through the first quarter of 2022.

WHO Africa said in a statement that Kenya, Rwanda and South Africa have already experienced delays in receiving syringes.

“Early next year, COVID-19 vaccines will start pouring into Africa, but a scarcity of syringes could paralyse progress. Drastic measures must be taken to boost syringe production, fast,” said WHO Africa’s director Matshidiso Moeti.

So far, the continent has fully vaccinated 77 million people, just 6% of its population.

About 50 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have arrived on the continent this month, almost double September’s arrivals, WHO Africa said.

“However, at the current pace, Africa still faces a 275 million shortfall of COVID-19 vaccines against the year-end target of fully vaccinating 40% of its people,” it said.

As of Thursday, Africa had close to 8.5 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 217 000 deaths, WHO Africa said.

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The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has expressed serious concern about the military coup in Sudan and called for the country’s army commanders to restore the civilian-led transitional government.

Sudan’s military ousted the civilian-led government on Monday, detaining Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and members of his cabinet. The Council expressed concern at the military’s decision to declare a state of emergency in the country and called for the immediate release of all those detained, noting the return of Prime Minister Hamdok to his residence.

The Council also called on parties to exercise maximum restraint while emphasizing the importance of full respect for human rights, including the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.

Council members urged all stakeholders to engage in dialogue without preconditions in order to enable the full implementation of the Constitutional Document and the Juba Peace Agreement, which underpin Sudan’s democratic transition.

VIDEO: United Nations condemns coup in Sudan and calls for release of Prime Minister:

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