Nigerian health workers call off three months strike

Nigerian health workers under the umbrella of Joint Health Sector Unions, JOHESU, have suspended their three-month old strike following a meeting with Nigeria’s president, Goodluck Jonathan.
The health workers, who have been on strike since November, 2014, are all expected to return back to work on Tuesday, says Ayuba Wabba, JOHESU’s Chairman.
The suspension of the strike came immediately after the union was able to secure a meeting with Mr. Jonathan, one of the needs the union termed necessary in a communique released two weeks ago.
Since the strike, which lasted three months, doctors ran the affairs of hospitals in Nigeria without help from nurses, laboratory scientists and other workers.
The union members were aggrieved that promises made by the Nigerian government that within three weeks, positive steps would have been taken to see Mr. Jonathan about the adjustment of CONHESS salary and other issues were not kept.

Egypt Court confirms mass death sentences

An Egyptian court has confirmed death sentences against 183 men convicted of killing 13 policemen, in a verdict slammed as 'outrageous' by rights group Amnesty International.

The verdict came as another court announced that deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi would stand trial on February 15 in an espionage case.

The policemen were killed in an attack on a police station in Kerdasa, a town on the outskirts of Cairo, on August 14, 2013.

The attack took place on the same day that security forces killed hundreds of demonstrators in clashes as they dismantled two massive protest camps in Cairo supporting Morsi.

The court had in December issued a preliminary verdict against 188 defendants in a mass trial, of whom two were acquitted on Monday while one, a minor, was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Charges against the remaining two were dropped after the court found that they were dead.

Monday's verdict, which can be appealed, came after the initial sentences were sent to the grand mufti, the government's official interpreter of Islamic law, for ratification.

Since the army deposed Morsi on July 3, 2013, at least 1400 people have been killed in a police crackdown on protests, mostly Islamists supporting the ousted leader.

Blast Rocks Gombe State after President’s Campaign Rally

A blast struck a stadium in the north eastern Nigerian town of Gombe where President Goodluck Jonathan campaigned earlier on today.
The explosion occurred after Jonathan and his staff left the town, spokesman Mike Omeri told reporters in Abuja.
Three people, including the female suicide bomber who detonated the explosives, died in the blast, Samaila Garba, a worker at Gombe General Hospital, said by phone. At least 18 were injured, Garba said. Omeri earlier said casualty figures were being ascertained.
In a presidential vote set for Feb. 14, Jonathan, 57, is facing a tight race against his main challenger, Muhammadu Buhari, 72. Both have 42 percent support among likely voters, according to an Afrobarometer poll released Jan. 27.
The International Criminal Court said Monday it will send a team to Nigeria to discourage political violence.

I intend to marry and have a child this year – D’banj

35-year old popularly known as D’banj stands tall as one of the most eligible bachelors in the Nigerian entertainment industry. And despite being romantically linked with several women, some of them the most beautiful in this part of the world over the years, he remains single.

D’banj said that it’s his desire to settle down and have a child this year. D’banj admitted that he was under pressure to get married last year, saying: ‘Yes, I was under pressure towards the end of last year to get married, my mum really wanted it.’ When asked if he has plans of taking a bride home to his mum this year, D’banj said: ‘Well, I don’t know yet, but said he know he is intending to do it this year.

More importantly for me, I’ve always wanted to have a child, but last year my brother, Kay Switch had a child and it brought so much joy to me. So this year, I’m thinking of settling down to have my own Koko junior soon.’