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Somali President Mohamud confirms 100 persons, including women, children, killed in Saturday’s twin bomb blasts

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The President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, on Sunday, confirmed that at least 100 people, including women and their children were killed in a twin bombing at the Ministry of Education in Mogadishu on Saturday morning.

Mohamud who visited the scene of the bombings on Sunday morning to access the destruction, added that over 300 persons including security officials and top government officials were wounded in the by twin blasts suspected to be the handiwork of Islamist militants, Al-Shabaab.

Speaking at the sight of the bombings, President Mohamud who called for medical aid from the international community, said:

“We ask our international partners and Muslims around the world to send their medical doctors here since we can’t send all the victims outside the country for treatment.”

“I am here to tell the Somali people that such October attacks will not happen again, God willing,” President Mohamud said after visiting the scene of the attack.

“The bombings were a message sent by the militants to show that they are still alive, despite the fact that they were defeated in battlefield by government forces,” he added.

The double explosions occurred in the Zobe district and appeared to target the education ministry and other government offices which share the same complex.

Mogadishu Police Captain, Nur Farah, who also spoke to newsmen, said the “two car bombs hit the walls of the ministry,” detonating the explosives.

“The explosions left scores of civilian casualties,” Somali National Police spokesman, Sadiq Dodishe, told state media. He added that one of the dead is believed to be an independent journalist, Mohamed Isse Kona.

On Saturday night, the Al-Qaeda-linked Islamist group claimed responsibility for the attack on their pirate radio station Andalus following Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre blaming the the extremist group for the attack.

In the announcement, the terror group said the ministry was an “enemy base that receives support from non-Muslim countries and “is committed to removing Somali children from the Islamic faith.”

The deadly group controls much of southern and central Somalia, but has also been able to extend its influence into areas controlled by the government based in Mogadishu

The site of Saturday’s blasts was also the scene of a devastating truck bombing in 2017 which killed over 500 people and was also claimed by the militant group.

Metro

Nigerians plunged into darkness as national grid collapses again

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The hopes of many Nigerians celebrating the Easter period in the comfort of their homes may be truncated after the national electricity grid collapsed again on Thursday.

The national grid’s collapse was the fourth time
in the first three months of the year, despite assurances from the Minister of Power, Adelabu Adebayo, that everything had been put in place to curb the incessant collapse of the grid.

This recent blackout occured when the national electricity grid centrally managed from Osogbo, Osun State, suffered a collapse at 4:30 pm on Thursday, leaving millions of homes and businesses without power.

According to a statement from several distribution companies (DisCos) across the country, the collapse caused their feeders to become inactive resulting in widespread blackouts across the country.

Data from the Transmission Company of Nigeria’s (TCN’s) further showed that the grid collapse had left to power dropping from 2,984 megawatts (MW) to zero in an hour, with all 21 plants connected to the grid ceasing operations by 5 pm.

The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), in a statement on the situation, said the power outage was due to a system failure from the national grid.

“The system collapsed at about 16:28 hours today 28 March 2024, causing the outage currently being experienced across our franchise area,” the AEDC said in a statement.

“We appeal for your understanding as all stakeholders are working hard to restore normal supply,” it added.

In a notice to its customers, the management of Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) said the system collapse resulted in a loss of power supply across its network.

“We are currently working with our partners as we hope for speedy restoration of the grid. We will keep you updated as soon as the power supply is restored. Kindly bear with us,” EKEDC said.

Major power generation plants which were affected by the grid collapse included th Egbin, Afam, Geregu, Ibom Power, Jebba, Kainji, Odukpani, and Olorunsogo, among others, which remained dormant, further exacerbating the electricity deficit nationwide.

Over the past 10 years since the privatisation of the electricity industry, the grid has experienced collapses a staggering 141 times, underscoring the magnitude of the systemic challenges facing the sector.

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Metro

Egypt’s population growth declines by 1.4%

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Egypt’s planning ministry has announced that the country’s population went down to its lowest rate of population increase in decades in 2023, at 1.4%.

 

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt frequently emphasizes the need to control population growth, saying the country’s budget and services are being overburdened by the country’s high birth rate.

 

 

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt frequently emphasizes the need to control population growth, blaming the country’s budget and services for being overburdened by the country’s recent high birth rate. The population is currently estimated by Egypt’s official statistics office to be just over 106 million.

 

It is believed that 60% of the population lives below or near the poverty line in a nation plagued by a shortage of water, a dearth of employment possibilities, and congested hospitals and schools.

 

World Bank data from 1961 indicates that Egypt’s population growth peaked in 1984–85 at 2.8%, declined to 1.9% in 2006, and then increased to 2.3% in 2014. It has progressively decreased since then, reaching 1.6% in 2022.

 

Sisi has started many massive projects that critics claim waste money and add to Egypt’s debt load, but he claims will create jobs and infrastructure for the country’s expanding population.

 

Egypt started a family-planning campaign called “Two Is Enough” in 2019 intending to question the customs of large families in rural areas.

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