LAGOS MARCH 10TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Ivory Coast Prime Minister Hamed Bakayoko, who was seen as a possible successor to President Alassane Ouattara, has died in Freiburg in southwestern Germany, two days after his 56th birthday, the government said on Wednesday. A former media executive who turned to politics, Bakayoko acted as a negotiator and intermediary between warring…
LAGOS JANUARY 4TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Bola Tinubu, former governor of Lagos state, has been hospitalised in Paris, France, after falling ill, TheCable understands. However, contrary to speculations, he has not been diagnosed with COVID-19. TheCable understands he tested negative for COVID-19 before travelling to the UK in December. He initially complained of exhaustion and had travelled out…
LAGOS DECEMBER 26TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Malian opposition leader Soumaila Cisse died of coronavirus on Friday aged 71, his family and party said, after being held hostage for six months by jihadists earlier this year. Cisse “died in France, where he had been taken for Covid-19 care,” a member of his family told AFP. “I can confirm this…
LAGOS DECEMBER 12TH (NEWSRANGERS)-A former Liberian warlord has been ordered to stand trial in France for war crimes committed during the west African country’s bloody 1989-2003 conflict, judicial sources told AFP on Thursday. Kunti Kamara is accused of torture and complicity in acts of torture during the first of Liberia’s back-to-back civil wars, which together…
LAGOS SEPTEMBER 4TH (NEWSRANGERS)-France’s education minister on Friday said 22 schools have had to shut on French territory due to the coronavirus since pupils returned to school this week, emphasising that over half of these were in the Indian Ocean island of La Reunion. Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer told Europe 1 radio that he was…
LAGOS JULY 13TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Around 5,000 fans saw the Ligue 1 champions beat Le Havre, with supporters allowed into stadiums for the first time since early March. Paris Saint-Germain crushed Le Havre 9-0 in a friendly as France allowed supporters back into football stadiums for the first time since lockdown. The occasion was described as “a victory…
LAGOS JUNE 30TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Nigeria is “saddened” by the sale of two sculptures belonging to the south-eastern Igbo community, an official from the Nigerian National Commission for Museums and Monuments, has said. A prominent art historian had called on the renowned auction house, Christie’s, to cancel the sale. Prof Chika Okeke-Agulu told the BBC the two…
LAGOS JUNE 7TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Thousands of artifacts looted from African towns over a century ago line European and British Museums and institutions. After decades of campaigns for African pieces—such as the Benin bronzes to return home, the homecoming of the looted artworks finally began looking like a real possibility. But in the middle of the global…