LAGOS DECEMBER 29TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Kenyan President William Ruto has promised to stop abductions of government critics, in an apparent change of stance for a leader who has previously called the wave of disappearances “fake news.” Ruto, his government officials and police have maintained for months that there were no abductions. Ruto has also demanded names of…
LAGOS DECEMBER 29TH (NEWSRANGERS)-At least 120 people have been killed when a passenger plane caught fire after skidding off a runway and crashing at an airport in South Korea’s Muan city, the country’s National Fire Agency said. The accident occurred on Sunday at 9.03am local time (00:03 GMT) as the Jeju Air flight, carrying 175…
LAGOS DECEMBER 28TH (NEWSRANGERS)-At least 69 people, including 25 Malians, have died after a boat bound for Spain from West Africa capsized off Morocco, Mali’s authorities have confirmed. The “makeshift boat” was carrying about 80 people, but only 11 people survived, said a statement from the Ministry of Malians Abroad. At least nine of the…
LAGOS DECEMBER 26TH (NEWSRAGERS)-Hundreds of inmates have escaped a prison riot in Mozambique’s capital which has left 33 people dead and 15 injured. About 1,534 people managed to flee the jail in Maputo on Wednesday, but 150 of them were recaptured, according to the country’s general commander of police, Bernardino Rafael. Mozambique is experiencing escalating…
LAGOS DECEMBER 25TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Dozens are feared dead after a passenger plane carrying 67 people from Azerbaijan to southern Russia crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau on Wednesday, local authorities said. At least 28 people survived, authorities said, noting that at least two are children. All 28 have been taken to hospital, they said. Azerbaijan…
LAGOS DECEMBER 25TH (NEWSRANGERS)-An explosion at an ammunition and explosives factory in north-west Turkey has killed at least 12 people and injured four others. The blast happened at 08:25 local time (05:25 GMT) in the capsule production section, the governor of the city of Balikesir, Ismail Ustaoglu, said. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said the cause…
LAGOS DECEMBER 25TH (NEWSRANGERS)-A court in the United States has sentenced Babatunde Ayeni to 10 years’ imprisonment. Peoples Gazette reports that the court filings from the District Court for the Southern District of Alabama, which it obtained, showed that the court ordered Ayeni to pay approximately $20 million to victims of his scam. According…
LAGOS DECEMBER 25TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Protests have broken out in Syria over the burning of a Christmas tree, prompting calls for the new Islamist authorities to take steps to protect minorities. A video posted on social media showed the tree on fire in the main square of Suqaylabiyah, a Christian-majority town in central Syria. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham…