Rwanda has launched Africa’s first mpox vaccination campaign, marking a crucial step in the continent’s fight against the disease.

As of Tuesday, 300 vaccine doses were administered to high-risk individuals in a border region near the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Jean Kaseya, Director-General of the Africa Centre for Disease Control (Africa CDC), confirmed the start of the campaign, emphasizing the urgency of controlling the outbreak.

“This outbreak must be stopped quickly,” Kaseya stated, while also highlighting the importance of local vaccine production.

“We are working closely with manufacturers and partners to ensure these vaccines are produced in Africa,” he added.

The Rwandan Ministry of Health prioritized health workers, cross-border traders, hospitality staff, and other high-risk groups in the initial phase of the rollout.

The DRC, the epicenter of the mpox outbreak in Africa, reported 2,912 new cases and 14 deaths in the past week, raising its total to 6,105 cases and 738 deaths since January.

The DRC is set to begin its vaccination campaign in early October, with 165,000 doses already delivered and more pledged by European countries.

Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), called for global cooperation to contain the spread of mpox, stating on X (formerly Twitter), “International collaboration and support are needed to stop the virus.”

Other African countries, including Nigeria, have also received vaccine donations.

In August, the United States provided 10,000 mpox vaccine doses to Nigeria through USAID to support containment efforts.

The official dates for the Super Eagles’ 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Libya have been confirmed, Wavenewsng can exclusively report.

The doubleheader is set for next month, with the Super Eagles hosting the Mediterranean Knights for the matchday three fixture at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo on Friday, October 11.

The return leg, a matchday four encounter, will take place in Tripoli four days later.

Nigeria currently leads Group D with four points from two matches, while Libya sits at the bottom of the group with one point from the same number of games.

As electorate prepares to vote in the upcoming gubernatorial election to select a successor to outgoing Governor Godwin Obaseki, security measures have been significantly heightened across the state.

According to Journalist, voters have already begun arriving at their polling stations.

Security personnel, primarily from the Nigerian Army and police force, have set up roadblocks on several major streets and roads.

In Benin City, military operatives have blocked both sides of the road at Agho and Joromi junctions along Ekenwa Road, causing disruptions for motorists.

Similarly, Oba Market Road, as well as Ebiwe, Forestry, and Mission Road junctions, have been secured by the Army and police.Further roadblocks have been set up by military personnel at Sokponba junction, Sapele, and Airport Roads.

Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) belonging to the Army are stationed at Akpakpava Road near the Central Bank of Nigeria.

As part of its youth talent development program, the Nigeria Football Federation has successfully completed a two-week training program for the National U15 Boys, otherwise known as Future Eagles in Abuja.

This is in line with FIFA’s Talent Development Scheme (TDS) initiative aimed at creating a sustainable legacy for long-term talent development in the country.

Head of TDS delegation in Nigeria, Mr. Nasiru Jibril, a former Nigeria international, said the program is a welcome development which will serve as a pathway for every child within the ages of 12-15 to showcase themselves and be discovered.

With the main goal of the TDS project being to help raise the standards of national-team football around the world for both men and women, which is driven by FIFA’s desire for a long-term dedication to global talent development, Jibril said he is confident the program will form the major plank for supplies to our senior national teams in no distant time.

“Talent Development Scheme (TDS) is a project initiated by FIFA in all countries of the world to benefit places like Africa.

Presently, we are trying to go round and give every single child the opportunity to showcase their talent.

Players from the ages of 12, 13, and 14 are the ones we are bringing to this center so we can pick the best out of them and build them into a group where the national teams will be getting supplies from. From 2025, the U17 AFCON will become an annual project, and if there is no program like this, any country may struggle in assembling the best legs to represent her.

” Also speaking, Head Coach of Nigeria’s U15 national team, Mr Patrick Bassey said the process of recruitment has been transparent with merit as key factor, without any form of bias or sentiments.

“In the selection of the players, there has not been any sentiment; every player that was scouted and brought here has the talent, the skill and the commitment to the game.

I believe these players will be very useful to the nation in the long run.

” A total of 120 players divided into two batches were invited to camp for the first phase of the program, with 40 players to be selected for another schedule before the end of the year, according to Coach Bassey.

President Bola Tinubu has declared to the National Assembly that he has no intention of exploiting his position for personal gain.

Tinubu says his administration is focused on delivering tangible results and making a positive difference in the nation’s infrastructure, food and energy security, education and long-term economic stability.

At a meeting with the Forum of Former Presiding Officers of the National Assembly, led by former Senate President Ken Nnamani, the President emphasized that he is not in office for personal gain but to serve the country.

”I didn’t come to look for money and exploit the situation; I came to work. I asked for the votes, and Nigerians gave them to me, ” the President, who was a former senator, told the meeting after a session of banters and handshakes with former parliamentary colleagues.

The meeting was attended by 16 former presiding officers, including former senate presidents, former speakers of the House of Representatives, former deputy senate presidents, and former deputy speakers of the House of Representatives.

The President acknowledged the support and encouragement from the Forum members, irrespective of party affiliations, and implored them to continue fostering unity and camaraderie to achieve national development goals.

Reflecting on the complex nature of legislative activities, constitutional reviews, and nation-building processes, the President expressed confidence that Nigeria can progress through collaboration and inclusiveness.

”Regardless of party differences of the past and difficulty of the present, you still believe in me and what we all plan for this country.

”I thank you very much; no one will do it better than us. I have travelled the world and seen how developed countries have done it for themselves through collaboration, inclusiveness and financial structure.

”Yes, there is hardship, but how did we get here? What did we do when we had very high crude production?”

“We neglected our communities; we neglected the goose that lays the golden eggs; we forgot even to give them a good standard of living.

”We forgot to educate our children. Go round and look at the dilapidated schools. The education environment must be decent enough for pupils to want to learn.

”We can complain from now till eternity that the school enrolment is low. But did we do anything to encourage the enrolment process? We must ask ourselves because it is a matter of conscience,” he said.

The President outlined his administration’s focus on addressing these challenges, including improving infrastructure, ensuring compliance with financial regulations, exploring alternative energy sources and providing energy security.

”We have come a long way, and I promise we must do our best,” he said.

He urged the former presiding officers to continue sharing their wealth of experience in nation-building and governance, noting that they were uniquely positioned to provide “clear interpretations of where we are” to Nigerians.

Senator Nnamani, who spoke on behalf of the delegation, expressed full support for President Tinubu’s administration and its efforts to address Nigeria’s pressing challenges.

He noted that the meeting was the president’s first official engagement with the group since his assumption of office. Nnamani congratulated the President.

”Mr President, history has never been the burden of one man alone, but some are called to meet a special share of its challenges.

”Though not of your creation, it has fallen onto you to end the pervasive insecurity across the nation, the economic downturn that has resulted in hunger and anger, infrastructural decay due to years of neglect and myriads of other national challenges.

”As difficult as these problems are, we believe that with your experience, you can face the difficulties and surmount them.

Italy has moved towards legalising chemical castration for rapists and paedophiles under a proposed new law.

The parliament in Rome gave its approval on Wednesday to the creation of a committee that could draft laws on treating violent sex offenders with androgen-blocking drugs.

The treatment would be consensual and reversible with the aim of preventing reoffending, Politico has reported.

It is the latest move by Italy’s Right-wing government led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to crack down on law and order.

Since she came to power in 2022, Meloni has spearheaded legislation establishing new crimes and tougher penalties.

Pictured: Chemical castration being carried out in Kazakhstan (file photo)
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has launched a campaign to crack down on law and order
The new law, however, was proposed by a far-Right branch of her governing coalition who previously made chemical castration for paedophiles and rapists a key part of its platform.

Under the proposal, violent sex offenders could avoid jail in exchange for taking hormone-blocking drugs.

The plans, however, have been criticised by opposition groups for being ‘extremist’ and a ‘violation of humanity and justice’.

Enrico Borghi from the centrist Italia Viva party posted on social media: ‘What’s next? Tar and feathers, or rope and soap?’

Simona Bonafè from the centre-Left Democratic Party added that the plans were ‘unconstitutional’ and undermined ‘the foundation of our legal system that has overcome the use of corporal punishment for centuries’.

Chemical castration involves a person taking hormone-blocking drugs to prevent the production of testosterone.

However, concerns have been raised about physical and psychological side effects and its effectiveness at stopping reoffending.

The method has already been introduced in a number of countries as a punishment for certain crimes.

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The new sentences come amid a campaign in Kazakhstan for a toughening in the current laws to permit surgical castration for the most serious child sex offenders
Details were not given of the cases, but the child sex offenders are this year starting to forcibly receive libido-sapping injections (pictured: a nurse conducting the chemical castration of a paedophile convict)
Last month, Kazakhstan announced the mass chemical castration of 11 paedophiles amid a campaign for the worst offenders to have their genitals surgically removed.

All the men reportedly ‘committed crimes against the sexual inviolability of minors’ in the Kostanay region in the north of the country.

Approval was given for the paedophiles to be jabbed 24 times a year at an annual cost of £278 each.

And in March Madagascar’s parliament approved a new law that will see paedophiles surgically castrated for their crimes.

Under the plans, anyone found guilty of raping a child under ten-years-old will be surgically castrated and sentenced to life imprisonment.

While if the victim is between ten and 13-years-old, they will instead be chemically castrated and face 15 to 20 years of forced labour.

Whereas Russia is also moving towards the forced chemical castration of paedophiles.

A pro-Putin political party in Moscow proposed the legislation last year following a series of paedophile attacks on children.

The new draft laws would impose forcible chemical injections on convicted paedophiles in the months before they are released at the end of sentences.