Masked Man ‘With Sword Or Knife’ Kills Teacher, Injures 4 At Swedish School

Police cordon an area after a masked man attacked people with a sword at a school in Trollhattan, western Sweden October 22, 2015. © Stig Hedstrom / TT News Agency / Reuters

A teacher was killed and four others injured by a masked attacker with a sword or knife at a school in the city of Trollhättan in southwest Sweden, local media report.  “A single man went into the school building...and he injured four persons – two male adults and two boys," police media officer Stefan Gustafsson told RT.

He confirmed that an adult male had been killed.

Sweden's Channel 4 said the killed man was a teacher who died at the scene.

Kenya's Government 'Doesn't Care' About Para-Athletes

Kenya, which came top of the medals table at the World Championships in Beijing this summer, will not be represented at the IPC World Athletics Championships, which has started today in the Qatari capital Doha. 

Kenyan para-athletes were reportedly only told last Wednesday that the government did not have enough money to fund their participation at the championships: 

"It is unfair for the Paralympic team because the able-bodied team had the World Champs in Beijing, and the government supported them 100%, but when it comes to the para-athletes they really don’t care," President of the Kenya National Paralympic Committee, Agnes Oluoch, told the BBC's Newsday programme.

Akure Monarch Bans 'Eze Ndi Igbo' Title

Deji of Akure, Oba Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi

The Deji of Akure, Oba Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi, has banned the title of ‘Eze Ndi Igbo’ in Akureland and ordered it to be reviewed and replaced with a non-controversial honorary title. This is one of the conditions given by the monarch to end the crisis between him and the leader of the Igbo community in the town, Mr. Gregory Iloehike. The monarch said the condition must be met before Igbo traders in the area would be allowed to continue operating their businesses in the community.

The traditional ruler dethroned the Igbo leader last week and stopped his men from opening their shops following an alleged rude behaviour against the traditional ruler at his palace by the Igbo leader during a meeting with Oba Aladelusi.

Some other conditions included that the dethroned Eze must apologize for his behaviour, said to be unruly in at least three national dailies as well as go to broadcast stations to also tender an unreserved apology. He was also ordered to write a letter of apology to the monarch and the Deji-in-Council.

‘Nigeria Losing Millions Of Naira To Non-Evacuation Of Generated Power’

The Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC) on Thursday said it was losing several millions of naira on power it generated but could not be evacuated by distribution companies. Yakubu Lawal, spokesman of NDPHC, said this during an interview with NAN.

“NDPHC has capacity to generate more power but cannot generate according to its capacity because distribution companies do not have facilities to evacuate this power being generated to the national grid,” he said.

“This un-evacuated power causes NDPHC a lot of money.”

"Roads? Can We Eat Roads?": As Côte d'Ivoire Heads To Polls, Many Left Out Of Economic Boom

President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d'Ivoire

At 3 a.m. on a Sunday last month Charles Kakou was awoken by the trill of whistles he had helped distribute to warn that bulldozers had arrived to demolish his seafront community in Côte d'Ivoire's commercial capital Abidjan. Police moved in with tear gas, arresting anyone who resisted. By the afternoon, Kakou and his neighbours were homeless and the last vestiges of what was once a 9 km-long (6 mile) coastal shantytown had been reduced to rubble.

"We've been here for 40 years. All our children were born here," he said, standing amid a vast expanse of sand and broken concrete adjacent to a highway, whose refurbishment authorities used to justify the eviction of tens of thousands of residents.

In the five years since President Alassane Ouattara was elected, Côte d'Ivoire has emerged from a decade-long political crisis and a 2011 civil war to become Africa's rising star.

FOR THE RECORD: President Muhammadu Buhari Announces Mahmood Yakubu As INEC Chairman

L-R Former Justice of the Federation, Justice Uwais, Former Head of Government, Chief Eanest Shonekan, Former President, General Ibrahim Babangida, Speaker of the House of the Representative’s Hon. Yakubu Dogara, Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, President Muhammadu Buhari, Former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, Former Head of State, General Abdulsalam Abubakar and others at the National Council of State Meeting at the Presidential Villa Abuja on Wednesday (INSET: Prof Yakubu - New INEC Chairman/Image clip from TheCable)

Mahmood Yakubu, a professor of political history and international studies, is the new chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), subject to senate confirmation. The appointment of the former executive secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund was endorsed by the council of state at its meeting on Wednesday.

Briefing state house correspondents at the end of the meeting, Aminu Tambuwal, governor of Sokoto state,‎ said Buhari acted in line with provisions of Sections 154 (1 and 3) and 156 (3) empowering him to appoint a chairman and national commissioners of INEC, in consultation with the council.

He explained that the emergency meeting was convened to approve the nominations.

Call For Peaceful Uprising In Congo; Shots Fired In Congo

The president has ruled for more than 30 years (AFP)

A leader of the main opposition party in Congo-Brazzaville has called for a "peaceful popular insurrection" to prevent Sunday's controversial referendum on whether President Denis Sassou Nguesso can run for office again, AFP news agency reports.

Several people were shot dead by police during protests yesterday in the capital Brazzaville, said Pascal Tsaty Mabiala of the PanAfrican Union for Social Democracy party.

A government spokesman said he was unaware of any casualties.

FOR THE RECORD: Superhighway’ll Expand Nigeria’s Economic Frontiers — Buhari

Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State shows President Buhari the Architectural design/plan of the Project during the Ground Breaking Ceremony of 260Km Super Highway Double Carrier Road from Calabar to Northern Nigeria on 20th Oct 2015.

President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday in Calabar, said the superhighway being constructed by the Cross River State governor, Senator Ben Ayade, was a project that would expand the economic frontiers of not just the state, but the entire country.

According to the President, the road would give access to markets in Chad, Niger and other parts of the region.

President Buhari, who spoke in Obung village of Akamkpa Local Government Area of the state, while on a working visit to Cross River State to conduct the ground-breaking of the 260 kilometres superhighway, said the Federal Government would assist the Cross River State Government to ensure completion of the road.

UN Official Adds Support For Women Candidates For UN Chief

Mogens Lykketoft

The General Assembly president added his voice Tuesday to a push for strong consideration to be given to women candidates for the top U.N. post as secretary-general. In the U.N.'s 70-year history, there has never been a female secretary-general, but there is a growing campaign for Ban Ki-moon's successor to be a woman. He is slated to leave the job when his second five-year term ends on Dec. 31, 2016.

"I am absolutely confident that there are any number of potential female candidates" qualified for the top U.N. job, Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft told the Security Council.

Ebola: Trouble Not Over Yet, Says FG

Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health, Mr. Linus Awute

The Federal Government said on Tuesday that the country was still under Ebola alert and surveillance. The government’s fresh warning is coming one year after the World Health Organization certified Nigeria free of the Ebola Virus Disease.

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health, Mr. Linus Awute, said this at a press briefing on Tuesday evening in Abuja.

The press conference was held to commemorate the WHO certification one year ago.

According to Awute, Nigeria cannot rest until when “transmission of the disease in human population reaches zero in West Africa.”

Ghana Resolves Dispute With Nigeria Over Unpaid Gas Bill

Old headline from Daily Graphic; New agreement: Volta River Authority to settle its outstanding gas debt to Nigeria's N-Gas in three tranches starting in November

Ghana's government said it will pay a Nigerian gas consortium US$170 million it owes by February, apparently resolving a dispute that led the consortium to threaten to cut its supply. Ghana's state power generating company, the Volta River Authority, will settle the debt to Nigeria's N-Gas in three tranches starting in November, said Kweku Sersah, a spokesman for Ghana's Ministry of Power.

He said that the terms were still being finalized.

First Picture Of Aer Lingus Passenger Who Bit Fellow Traveller Then Died After Cocaine Pellets Burst In His Stomach

Image source: Facebook

24-year-old John Kennedy dos Santos Gurjao sank his teeth into a passenger, then lay screaming and shaking before being pronounced dead at Cork airport, where the Aer Lingus flight diverted

A man who bit a fellow jet passenger during a violent mid-air fit before he collapsed and died has been pictured for the first time (SEE STORY HERE). John Kennedy dos Santos Gurjao sank his teeth into a passenger who tried to restrain him, then lay screaming and shaking before being pronounced dead at Cork airport, where the Aer Lingus flight diverted.

The 24-year-old Brazilian was on the plane from the Portuguese capital of Lisbon to Dublin on Sunday evening when the incident unfolded just after 5pm.

Packages were reportedly recovered from the body and sent for analysis after the postmortem.

A Portuguese woman in her 40s, thought to have been sat next to him, was arrested after 4lbs of white powder believed to be amphetamine was allegedly found in her luggage.

EFCC Quizzes Moro Over NIS Recruitment Saga

Abba Moro

Abba Moro, former minister of interior, is being interrogated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the recruitment tragedy that rocked the Nigeria Immigration Service in 2014. TheCable understands that he arrived the Abuja office of the anti-graft agency on Monday morning following an invitation to respond to allegations of fraud in the recruitment process which ended tragically with 16 deaths.

The recruitment test, written on March 15, 2014, attracted 6.5 million applicants, 700,772 of whom paid ₦1000 each as online registration fee.

Only 4,000 vacancies were available.

Senate Ministerial Screening Enters Final Lap On Tuesday

Senate

The Nigerian Senate will today resume the screening of ministerial nominees, which is expected to last for two days. Eighteen nominees were screened last week before the Senate shifted the exercise to Tuesday.

One of the nominees expected to be screened include the former Governor of Rivers State, Mr Chibuike Amaechi, whose screening was shifted due to a petition against him, filed by a group in Rivers State over allegations of corruption and criminal breach of trust.

The petition was forwarded to the Senate Committee on Ethics Privileges and Public Petitions which is expected to submit its findings to the Senate before the screening begins on Tuesday.

Côte d'Ivoire's Ouattara To Push For New Constitution If Re-Elected

President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d'Ivoire

Côte d'Ivoire President Alassane Ouattara said on Monday he would push for constitutional reform if he wins re-election this week to scrap a nationality clause that helped drag his West African nation into a decade-long crisis. Côte d'Ivoire, the world's largest cocoa producer, has long been a magnet for immigrants from neighbouring countries. Ivorian nationality became a burning political issue at the heart of a 2002-2003 civil war that divided the country in two for eight years.

Ouattara himself was barred from seeking the presidency over what opponents said were his foreign origins before finally winning election in 2010, though his victory sparked a second brief civil conflict that killed more than 3,000 people.

Police Arrest Fake Presidential Adviser, Fraudster

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command on Monday said it had arrested a 70-year- old fake Presidential Adviser on Defence Matters. Presenting the suspect who claimed to be a retired Army Colonel, to the media, the command’s Spokesman, ASP Anjuguri Manzah, said the suspect was arrested on Oct. 18 in Maitama area of Abuja, following a tip-off.

“Police operatives attached to Maitama Division acting on a tip-off arrested one fake Colonel (name withheld) who claimed to be the Special Adviser to the President on Defence Matters,” Manzah said.

New Deadly Genetic Disease In Russia's Yakutia: Children Don’t Live To 3yo

© Mariana Bazo / Reuters

Fourteen children in Yakutia have died of a previously-unknown disease caused by mutations in multiple genes. The illness kills kids before they turn three as it progresses rapidly and there's no cure so far, according to the scientist who discovered it.

In total 16 children have been diagnosed with the genetic illness, says Nadezhda Maksimova, head of a Yakutsk laboratory at the North-Eastern Federal University who discovered the deadly disease.

"We are currently studying a new, very severe disease which causes irreversible metabolic disorders in children who don't survive beyond three years of age. Of the 16 patients that we have found, only two are left alive," she told Ogonyok magazine.

Why Oscar Pistorius’ Release to House Arrest Does Not Guarantee His Freedom

 Oscar Pistorius leaves North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, South Africa, on Sept. 11, 2014. (Christopher Furlong—Getty Images)

After serving 12 months behind bars for killing Reeva Steenkamp, his girlfriend, South Africa’s two-time Paralympian, Olympian and international celebrity Oscar Pistorius will be released to house arrest on Tuesday to serve out the rest of his five-year sentence. Whiling around the years in his uncle’s luxurious Johannesburg mansion may not sound so bad after time in jail, but the self-described adrenaline junkie is still likely to chafe at his court-mandated restrictions: continued psychotherapy, consistent monitoring and a short leash. Not all details of Pistorius’ parole have been released, but he will be barred from having a firearm, and, according to correctional services minister Michael Masutha, he will be required to meet with the family of Steenkamp, his dead girlfriend, “if and when they agree to meet him.”

Unhappy Manchester City Star Yaya Toure Lashes Out At English Media

Yaya Toure feels he should get more recognition for his achievements in football

Midfielder Yaya Toure wants greater recognition for his achievements after launching an impassioned defence of his record with Manchester City. The 32-year-old Ivory Coast international joined City from Barcelona in July 2010 and has lifted two Premier League trophies, the FA Cup and the League Cup since his arrival, but has looked below his best this season despite their impressive start.

He lasted just 45 minutes of Saturday's 5-1 victory over Bournemouth before being substituted and has repeatedly been linked with a move away from the Etihad Stadium amid suggestions of unrest and disillusionment.

And although Toure admits he is unhappy with life in football, he claims it is because he has never been given the plaudits he feels he deserves, particularly from the English media.

"Everyone thinks I am happy: I have won titles, lots of money, but no, I am not happy," he said in a lengthy interview with French newspaper L'Equipe.

Anti-graft War Will Be Priority Of Ministers — SGF

The office of the secretary to the government of the federation (OSGF) has said that the incoming ministers will focus attention on the current administration’s avowed resolve to combat corruption. The senior special adviser on political matters to the SGF, Engineer Babachir Lawal, Hon. Gideon Sammani, at the weekend in Abuja assured the incoming ministers of a harmonious working relationship from the SGF’s office towards advancing the fight against corruption in the country.

He noted that the incoming cabinet members were already aware of Buhari’s strong desire to revive the national economy, starting with the fight against corruption.