Barbados has announced its intention to remove Queen Elizabeth as its head of state and become a republic. "The time has come to fully leave our colonial past behind," the Caribbean island nation's government said. It aims to complete the process in time for the 55th anniversary of independence from Britain, in November 2021.Read More
International News
Nigerian porn star arrested ‘for filming’ at sacred Osun Osogbo ground
A filmmaker has been arrested for allegedly recording a pornographic movie at the Osun Osogbo sacred grove in western Nigeria, police say. The sacred forest, home to Osun, the Yoruba goddess of fertility, is a UN-designated World Heritage Site. Police said the man, Tobiloba Jolaosho, popularly known as King Tblak HOC, was arrested for allegedlyRead More
Nigerian state approves castration of convicted rapists
The state assembly in Kaduna, in north-western Nigeria, has approved full surgical castration as punishment for those convicted of rape. State commissioner for woman’s affairs and social development, Hafsat Baba, described the approval by the state assembly as a "welcome development" and said that it will serve as "deterrent" for rapists. State governor Nasir AhmadRead More
TikTok in race to remove widely shared suicide clip
Video-sharing site TikTok is struggling to take down clips showing a man killing himself. The footage, which has been circulating on the platform for several days, originated on Facebook and has also been shared on Twitter and Instagram. TikTok is hugely popular with young people – and many have reported coming across the video andRead More
Russia’s opposition figure out of coma after poisoning
Doctors treating Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny say he is out of an induced coma and his condition, since being poisoned, has improved. He is responding to verbal stimuli, they said. Mr Navalny, 44, was flown to Germany after falling ill on a flight in Siberia in August. His team says he was poisoned onRead More
Doctors in Nigeria’s state-run hospitals go on strike
Doctors in Nigeria's state-run hospitals have embarked on a strike to demand a pay rise, better welfare and adequate facilities. The strike by the National Association of Resident Doctors (Nard) is the latest in a string of strikes by medics in Africa’s most populous nation. More than a third of Nigeria's 42,000 practising doctorsRead More
Hotel Rwanda film hero arrested
A man who inspired a Hollywood film about the 1994 Rwandan genocide has been arrested for leading "terrorist movements", officials say. Paul Rusesabagina, a Hutu, became well known after Hotel Rwanda depicted his efforts to save hundreds of Tutsis at his hotel during the genocide. He later launched an opposition party, which had anRead More
TikTok boss quits as Trump’s ban looms
TikTok chief executive Kevin Mayer has quit after just two months in the job ahead of an impending ban by US President Donald Trump. The Chinese-owned firm has been accused of being a threat to US national security by the Trump administration. Mr Mayer joined TikTok in June after leaving his role as Disney's headRead More
Trump warns Republican convention of ‘rigged election
US President Donald Trump has warned his fellow Republicans their opponents may "steal" November's election, as his party anointed him as their candidate. "They're using Covid to defraud the American people," Mr Trump told delegates on the first day of the party convention in North Carolina. Mr Trump repeated his much-disputed claims that mail-in ballotsRead More
Rwanda records highest Covid-19 cases in single day
Rwanda recorded 200 coronavirus cases on Sunday – the highest number in a single day since it reported its first case in March. Most of the new cases were reported in the capital, Kigali. The country now has more than 3,000 cases of the virus, with almost 1,000 of them recorded in the last twoRead More