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15 dead, thousands displaced as Cyclone Gombe wrecks Mozambique

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Latest report from Mozambique says there have been 100,000 displaced persons and 15 casualties from recent flood at Cyclone Gombe, areas of northern and central Mozambique, officials said Monday.

According to official figures, about 12,000 houses were totally destroyed while 11,000 were seriously damaged.

The dead include five members of the same family in the Angoche coastal area of Nampula province, Governor Mety Gondola said. The number of injured is now at least 50, the prime minister’s office announced.

Gombe is the most recent of a series of cyclones that have hit southern Africa so far this year.

Tropical cyclone is also called typhoon or hurricane, it is an intense circular storm that originates over warm tropical oceans and is characterized by low atmospheric pressure, high winds, and heavy rain.

Cyclone draw energy from the sea surface and maintaines its strength as long as it remains over warm water, a tropical cyclone generates winds that exceed 119 km (74 miles) per hour. In extreme cases winds may exceed 240 km (150 miles) per hour, and gusts may surpass 320 km (200 miles) per hour.

In August 2019, Mozambique witnessed its first cyclone called “Cyclone Idai and Kenneth”, According to UNICEF, Death toll from the hurricane was 603 while 1,641 were injured. It The disaster affected Zambézia, Sofala, Manica, Tete and Inhambane provinces (50 districts in total) with Houses destroyed: 223,947 houses destroyed and 160,927 persons displaced.

Some coastal districts in Nampula province remained isolated on Monday, without power, water and communication.

In terms of public infrastructure affected, two bridges have been destroyed, 16 health units and 113 schools have been reported damaged. More than 140 power lines have been knocked down, according to official figures.

On the historic island of Ilha de Moçambique, six people died and the cyclone toppled several trees that were centuries old. Due to widespread flooding, many residents are desperate and the local government is using boats to provide relief as it is not possible to reach people on foot or by car, Ilha district administrator Momade Ali, told state television TVM.

“The situation is more dramatic because some spaces that we had already prepared as reception centers have also been affected,” he said. “There are families hosting about 40 to 50 people in their homes,” he added.

Cyclone Gombe weakened over the weekend but continued to batter northern and central Mozambique with rain and strong winds. Virtually all rivers in the area have reached alert levels and many roads have become impassable.

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‘Don’t start what you can’t finish’, ex-Nigerian official replies President Tchiani

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Former Nigerian Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, has told President Abdourahamane Tchiani of Niger Republic to refrain from making infantile and puerile allegations that Nigeria is conniving with France and the Lakurawa terrorists to destabilize his country.

Tchiani had, during an interview with Radio-Télévision du Niger on December 25, accused the Nigerian government of using the sect, with the help of foreign security forces notably from France, to wreck havoc in his country, insinuating that President Bola Tinubu had been paid by the France government to allow their military to establish a base in Borno State.

He also alleged that Nigeria, acting in collaboration with the French government and the terrorist group, was responsible for an attack on the Niger-Benin oil pipeline on December 13, 2024, in Gaya, Dosso Region of Niger Republic.

But in a statement he posted on his official X handle on Sunday, Fani-Kayode who is popularly called FFK, said Nigeria does not need the help of France and thr Lakurawa terrorist to destabilize Niger Republic.

FFK insisted that Nigeria is not part of the western powers sponsoring terrorists organizations to wretch havoc on the West African sub region.

“If Nigeria wanted to destabilise Niger Republic, I do not believe that we would need France or any terrorist organisation to do so,” the politician wrote.

He noted that on the contrary, western powers are the ones behind terrorist organizations operating in the region and other parts of Africa.

“I have maintained that the western powers are behind the terrorist groups that have plagued the West African sub region over the last 15 years and for the last ten years I have publicly stated this and given my reasons.

“I am equally certain that Nigeria, being one of the major victims of these terrorist organisations, has had no part in it and that no Nigerian President, past or present, has indulged in such grave and dangerous actions.”

He went on to advice Tchiani against provoking Nigeria with unguarded and infantile utterances capable of stoking Nigeria against his country.

“The Nigerien Military Head of State, Abdourahamane Tchiani, would do well to be careful not to provoke our wrath with his absurd assertions and remain mindful of the fact that the defence budget for his country, Mali and Burkina Faso COMBINED is not up to 25% of Nigeria’s.

“Tchiani’s grave allegations that President Tinubu and NSA Nuhu Ribadu have been bought by the French to destabilise Niger Republic, that our Government is jointly sponsoring a terrorist group with France to do same and that there are French military bases in Nigeria are infantile, puerile, mendacious and asinine.

“It is a squalid attempt by the Nigerien Head of State to sow the seeds of dissention in our country, to alienate our people from constituted authority, to divide our people and to undermine the Tinubu administration,” he added.

“It is also highly provocative and the FG should consider the possibility of taking other more extreeme measures if this reckless provocation continues.

“We are under no obligation to show restraint when we are being undermined and maligned.

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Zambia announces second case of Mpox as country battles cholera outbreak

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The Zambian Ministry of Health has reported a second case of Monkeypox, popularly known as Mpox, in Kitwe region of Copperbelt Province.

Acting Health Minister, Douglas Syakalima, who made the announcement on Friday during a press conference in Lusaka, revealed that the Ministry is intensifying contact tracing and surveillance to curb further spread of the disease.

Syakalima who also addressed the ongoing cholera outbreak in Nakonde, Muchinga Province, said thus far, seven cases have been confirmed.

“The second Mpox case involves a 34-year-old female from Ndeke, Kitwe, who presented with symptoms including rash, fever, swollen lymph nodes, and oral ulcers on December 21,” Syakalima said at the press parley.

He noted that there was an initial misdiagnosis with chickenpox in Lumwana, North-Western Province, but laboratory tests on December 26 confirmed that it was Mpox.

Syakalima added that the patient’s husband, who works in a neighboring country with confirmed Mpox cases, had experienced similar symptoms earlier this month.

“Both patients are now stable and under close monitoring. A rapid response team has been deployed to trace contacts and prevent further spread,” he said, adding that eight close contacts of the couple are currently under observation, while nationwide surveillance has been heightened.

The Health Minister added that on December 26, five cholera cases were confirmed at Nakonde Urban Clinic with the first three patients, a husband, wife, and their son, admitted on December 24 with symptoms of diarrhea, vomiting, dehydration, and shock.

“Today, two more cases have been reported, bringing the total to seven confirmed cholera cases from the same household,” Syakalima stated.

He explained that Nakonde’s location as a border town with high cross-border movement poses a risk for the disease to spread to other parts of the country.

The Minister however, assured that the Ministry has deployed teams to trace contacts, chlorinate water sources, disinfect affected homes, and activate Incident Management Systems at district and provincial levels while surveillance has been heightened, and contact tracing is ongoing for 33 individuals.

“The government remains committed to preventing further spread of these diseases,” Syakalima assured.

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