Splash Instablog

Dozens of people are feared to have drowned in the second shipwreck in as many days in the southern Mediterranean, amid tentative signs that some Syrians may be trying once again to make for Europe from Libya. At least 20 people drowned in a wreck 35 nautical miles north of the Libyan smuggling hub of Zuwara when a repurposed fishing boat sank on Thursday morning, the EU’s anti-smuggling operation said. Photographs taken from an EU reconnaissance plane showed groups of men desperately waving at the aircraft from a half-submerged blue trawler. It followed another tragedy on Wednesday, when a boat of about 600 sank in nearby waters, drowning at least five. Thursday’s death toll may be far higher, said a spokesman for the EU’s Operation Sophia, whose ships and planes were involved in the second rescue. “We can estimate that at least 20 or 30 have died, but we don’t know the final numbers,” said Captain Antonello de Renzis Sonnino. “The operation is still ongoing.”

The deportees, comprising men and women, arrived at the Hajj camp area of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport at 7:25am on a chartered aircraft. It was learnt that the chartered aircraft with the registration number ZTA-4741 had on board 36 Nigerians – 29 males and seven females. Also, Air Seychelles with the registration number SND-1 brought four males into the country for similar immigration offences. The two countries also deported some Ghanaians, Liberians and Egyptians The returnees were received by agencies like the Police, National Agency for Protection and Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS). They checked their identities to ascertain their nationalities.

A commercial ferry with 28 passengers aboard yesterday capsized few metres away from Origin Jetty where it took off, killing at least one passenger while 27 others survived the accident. The commercial boat, HMS I, took off at about 9.55a.m. from Ebute in Ikorodu to Addax Jetty in Victoria Island was overloaded, although that was not the only cause of the mishap. A government source at the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) disclosed that the ferry had 28 passengers aboard contrary to the prescribed 21 passengers the ferry was said to have carried. He added that the ferry "did not have any mechanical or electrical challenges until it collided with logs of wood. As a result, it became uncontrollable and eventually overturned and a life was lost." He explained that there would have been more casualties if not because rescue operatives from the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), Nigeria Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), LASEMA Emergency Respon...

WEEKAHEAD-AFRICA-FX-Uncharted waters for Nigeria's naira, others mixed May 26 Uncertainty surrounds trade on the Nigerian currency after the central bank announced plans for a flexible foreign exchange policy, while the Zambian kwacha will likely weaken as foreign currency flows are reduced. NIGERIA Nigeria's naira is expected to trade cautiously in as currency traders and investors await clarity from the central bank on its latest foreign exchange policy. The local currency weakened to 360 against the dollar on the parallel market on Thursday, from 342 a dollar last week, but continued to trade around the peg rate of 197 to the dollar on the official interbank market. On Tuesday, the central bank said it would adopt a flexible exchange rate policy, a shift from a peg for the naira seen as over valued, which had hampered investment. The bank has only said it will give guidance within days. "We are waiting for clarity on the new policy and until the central bank comes up wi...

Lagos - Multichoice Nigeria has pulled the plug on popular transgender reality TV programme,  I am Cait from E!  after Nigerians complained, reports The top TV company succumbed to the pressure from the Nigerian market, and in their statement released yesterday, said that the docu-series has been removed from the DSTV channel 124 and GOtv channel 24. The company has assured that they will review clients complaints and ensure that their interests is made priority. The company also reminded subscribers of the parental control feature to monitor what their children watch.

Speaking to newsmen when she visited the baby on admission at the Murtala Muhammad Specialist  Hospital, the Kano State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Barrister Zubaida Abubakar Damakka, said Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje had personally instructed that all medical expenses incurred by the victim should be taken care off by the state government. Lamenting that what was done to the baby was inhuman, the commissioner said her ministry had already donated some reasonable amount of cash to the mother of the victim. "The innocent boy's case is now before the court of law," she added.

The fight is over a reform that aims to boost hiring by making France's 35-hour workweek more flexible, making it easier to fire workers and weakening unions' powers. Some labor groups say the measures will erode workers' hard-won protections and mainly benefit big businesses. Here are some possible outcomes for the intensifying standoff. STRIKES COULD GROW, HURT ECONOMY Seven unions and student organizations have called for a nationwide day of protests and strikes on Thursday, in addition to blockades of fuel depots and refineries since last week. Strikers could be joined by employees of nuclear plants, which provide most French electricity. In addition, new calls for strikes in the rail sector should disrupt national and regional traffic. Since numerous street demonstrations across France in recent weeks didn't lead to the withdrawal of the law, unions are now trying to boost mobiliz...