Headline

Coup: Guinea-Bissau President Beefs Up Personal Security

Published

2 years ago

September 4, 2023

Editor

Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embalo has appointed two new officials to protect his security, who took up their duties on Monday with the head of state alluding to coups d’etat elsewhere in Africa.

The security appointments were made shortly after coups in Niger and Gabon, both carried out by the security officials of the government.

General Tomas Djassi was named as head of presidential security, while General Horta Inta was appointed as chief of staff for the president on Friday.

These two positions have long existed in the government’s organisational structure but have not been filled for several decades.

Djassi and Inta were sworn in Monday during a ceremony at the presidential palace, according to an AFP journalist.

Guinea-Bissau has suffered four military coups since independence in 1974, most recently in 2012.

An attempt to overthrow Embalo took place in February 2022.

“It’s true that coups d’état carried out by presidential security officers have become fashionable,” the president told reporters on Monday while assuring that “any suspicious movement will be met with an appropriate response”.

Before his new appointment, Djassi was the head of the National Guard, an elite unit of the army whose intervention helped stall the 2022 coup attempt.

Inta was head of the central police station in Bissau.

Last month, Embalo warned that Niger’s coup presented an existential threat to the Economic Community of West African States, saying the deposed Nigerien president Mohamed Bazoum was that country’s only legitimate leader.

AFP

Headline

Putin Says Will Speak With Trump On Phone Today

Published

1 day ago

July 3, 2025

Editor

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he would speak with US counterpart Donald Trump on the phone Thursday, their first publicly announced call in over two weeks.

The two have been in regular contact since Trump took office in January and have discussed issues like the Ukraine conflict and economic cooperation.

Putin did not say what the two would discuss in Thursday’s call.

“I will talk to the US president today,” the Russian leader told the media during a visit to an exhibition centre in Moscow.

Trump confirmed the call on Truth Social, saying it would start at 10.00am (1400 GMT).

The two leaders have praised each other in recent weeks, despite Moscow’s ongoing assault on Ukraine.

Putin said last week that he had “great respect” for Trump and that US ties were improving. Trump said Putin’s statements were “very nice”.

AFP

Headline

NAFDAC Warns Against Use Of Excess Hydroquinone In Cosmetics

Published

2 days ago

July 2, 2025

Editor

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has warned users of bleaching creams to refrain from using products containing excessive hydroquinone to safeguard their health.

NAFDAC Bauchi State Coordinator, Mr Hamis Yahaya, advised in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Bauchi on Tuesday.

Hydroquinone is a skin-lightening agent used to treat hyperpigmentation, such as melasma and age spots.

Yahaya said that the approved quantity of the chemical substance in cosmetics was only two per cent.

According to him, NAFDAC conducts checks on market products to ensure public health and safety.

“The black colour provides natural protection against harmful radiation due to melanin content.

“Applying creams with hydroquinone contents more than two per cent is harmful. Mixing creams by non-experts is wrong.

“Hydroquinone affects the health of the users gradually, including causing cancer,” he said.

Yahaya urged the media to raise awareness about the dangers of cosmetics that could endanger consumer lives.

Headline

AU Helicopter Crashes In Somali Capital – State Media

Published

2 days ago

July 2, 2025

Editor

An African Union helicopter crashed Wednesday at the airport in the Somali capital Mogadishu with eight people onboard, state media said.

The aircraft was part of the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), tasked with fighting the Al-Shabaab militant group.

The state media agency Sonna said the AUSSOM helicopter, carrying eight people, “crashed during landing at Mogadishu’s Aden Adde Airport this morning after departing Balidoogle”.

“The fire has been contained, and authorities are assessing the situation,” it said in a post on X.

Sonna quoted the country’s civil aviation authorities as saying that “flight operations remain normal”.

There were no further details given, but unverified clips and images shared online showed a plume of black smoke over the city.

The AUSSOM mission faces funding difficulties, even as fears of an Al-Shabaab resurgence are stoked by attacks in the Horn of Africa nation.