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Documents show concerns about Ebola shipment from National Microbiology Lab, no relation to COVID-19 (according to the CBC) Newly-released access to information documents reveal details about a shipment of deadly pathogens last year from Canada's National Microbiology Lab to China — confirming for the first time who sent them, what exactly was shipped, and where it went. CBC News had already reported about the shipment of Ebola and Henipah viruses but there's now confirmation one of the scientists escorted from the lab in Winnipeg amid an RCMP investigation last July was responsible for exporting the pathogens to the Wuhan Institute...

Content warning: This story contains references to violence, suicide, child abuse and self-harm. A suicide attempt, depression, substance abuse, insomnia, surveillance, threats. These are just some of the experiences reported by the low-paid moderators tasked with sifting through Facebook and Instagram’s most disturbing images. The tech giant Meta, which owns both platforms, has kept the whereabouts of this operation a closely guarded secret since moving it from Kenya, where the company is facing lawsuits over working conditions and human rights. For months, it has also refused to name the company that won the lucrative contract to provide the content moderators...

The first LDS temple in West Africa is completed... and will open for public tours tomorrow. The Accra Ghana temple, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was built entirely by Africans, with materials native to the continent. The temple facade is Namibian granite. Moldings are of native makore wood. Handcrafted furniture and special art-glass windows also reflect an African influence. Pulic tours will end on December 20th. The temple will be dedicated in January.

Posted on Tue, Aug. 05, 2003 Macon mayor defends trip to Africa Ellis says Ghana could process city's parking tickets By Mike Donila Telegraph Staff Writer Macon Mayor Jack Ellis on Monday defended his plans to visit Africa, saying that his mission, in part, is to encourage Ghanian officials to import more goods from Middle Georgia. Ellis also said that during his weeklong trip he will lay the groundwork to possibly enable Macon's Ghanian sister city of Elmina to process local parking tickets. "Ghana is very important to the city, the state - even the region where we live. They...

So many widows, so little time. Lately, I have been honored with the distinction of several trusting people from across the planet to make me rich. Mostly unfortunate Nigerian widows. Their English is spotty, but the message is clear....I'm not quite sure what they may have unearthed in my 'financial pursuits' portfolio, but it is somewhat of a distinction, knowing an international trade commission has given me the green light....(snip) For Complete Article, Pleae Click Here.

One brand of gin, the Dutch drink par excellence, has fans in an unlikely corner of the world – West Africa. It's especially popular in Ghana, and not only for drinking. Number one in the Ghanaian gin market is the Dutch distiller Bols, from the town of Schiedam. The distillery exports some 63,000 litres of gin annually to Ghana. Bols produces an extra strong blend of gin especially for the West African market, with an alcohol percentage of 42%. The drink is sold under the name Henkes Schnaps, and is so popular that a Bols employee in Ghana has...

This video, created by Black Conservative Perspective, criticizes recent actions by African leaders regarding the Juneteenth holiday. The creator argues that the recent commemoration in Ghana, which involved a reenactment of the slave trade, is an inappropriate way to observe the holiday, which he defines as a celebration of freedom. Key points covered in the video: Critique of Juneteenth Observance (0:00 - 2:05): The creator expresses disapproval of observing Juneteenth through displays of sorrow or slavery reenactments, asserting that the day should focus on happiness and gratitude for emancipation. The "Hijacking" of Juneteenth (2:06 - 4:10): The creator discusses how...

Excerpt - Three Italian women were brutally attacked while on a surfing holiday at a Cape Verde resort island, dragged into the woods, and left for dead at the bottom of a hole, according to the single survivor who recounted the tragedy yesterday. When she came to, the teenager said, she crawled out of the hole and went for help. The two women with her, aged 28 and 33, had been stoned to death. The story of the attack, which occurred on Friday, has shocked Italians, many of whom consider the islands of the west coast of Africa to be...

DAKAR, Oct 25 (AFP) - Senegal said it would restore diplomatic ties with China, becoming the latest west African country to ditch relations with Taiwan in favor of mighty Beijing. A government statement, released after a Beijing trip by Foreign Minister Cheikh Tidiane Gadio, hailed the "important decision to renew diplomatic relations with China" and said both countries would soon exchange ambassadors. A joint statement published in the Chinese capital and reported by the state news agency Xinhua said the re-establishment of ties after the hiatus "conformed to the interests and aspirations of the two countries." China had severed its...

Fr. Alphonsus Afina, who served as a priest for many years in the Catholic Diocese of Fairbanks, has been captured by the militant Islamist terrorist group – Boko Haram – in his home Diocese of Maiduguri, Nigeria. A social media alert sent on June 2 by Fairbanks Bishop Steven Maekawa called on parishioners to join him for a special Mass on June 3 to pray for Fr. Afina. “I ask for your urgent prayers for Fr. Alphonsus Afina,” Bishop Maekawa stated. “As many of you know, Fr. Alphonsus served in our diocese for six and half years and returned to...

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The United States is sending troops to Nigeria to help train the West African nation's military in fighting extremism, Nigerian authorities said Wednesday, as a multifaceted security crisis spreads in the north of the country.The American personnel won't engage in combat or have a direct operational role, and Nigerian forces will have complete command authority, Maj. Gen. Samaila Uba, spokesman for Nigeria’s Defense Headquarters, said in a statement.“At the invitation of the Government of Nigeria and in continuation of our longstanding security cooperation and military-to-military partnership with the United States, Nigeria will host a contingent of...

Bout is alleged to have fueled multiple conflicts across the globe through arms dealing, sometimes to both sides ... A senior defense official is concerned that convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, the "Merchant of Death" .. could go back to illegally trafficking weapons, thereby fueling deadly conflicts around the world. "I think there is a concern that he would return to doing the same kind of work that he's done in the past.. Bout was in the middle of serving a 25-year prison sentence in a U.S. prison for several offenses, including conspiring to kill Americans ... Bout, a...

It is unclear whether the cause of the syndrome is viral or bacterial – a distinction with implications for treatment – although autopsies have indicated that those who died were suffering from other complications, such as Chikungunya.Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever (VHF) is endemic in the two states of Portuguesa and Barinas, but transmission from person-to-person is uncommon.While samples have been sent to the Venezuelan National Institute of Health, the results have not yet been released publically and there is no suggestion from health officials that VHF is behind this particular outbreak.One doctor, who wishes to remain anonymous, attended a meeting last...

...we continue our travels through Guinea-Bissau, a country that just weeks ago experienced a deadly coup attempt that aimed to kill the president, prime minister, cabinet, and army officials, and succeeded in killing almost a dozen people before it was stopped. The president describes the coup attempt as an attack on democracy, and the officials say that it was led by a convicted drug baron...Before European colonial times, Guinea-Bissau and the Bissagos Islands in particular... were central to trade between Africa and Europe... but today, it's the drug trade that they are essential to.The islands are famous for having huge...

The Biden administration shows no signs of stopping research on “pathogens of pandemic potential” abroad through a controversial US nonprofit, Sen. Joni Ernst said Monday, as the Pentagon will complete a $2.8 million grant this year for experiments on “high-risk pathogens” in Guinea. The Department of Defense began funding Georgetown University in September 2021 for a three-year project out of its Defense Threat Reduction Agency focused on “reducing the risk of pathogens causing fever” in Guinea, a grant database shows. EcoHealth Alliance has received subgrants as part of the project — despite concerns from lawmakers and scientific experts that the...

The crater lies deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean and was formed around 66 million years ago – making it a contemporary of Chicxulub. It is thought that the asteroid hit Earth at around 72,000 kilometers (44,700 miles) per hour. Image credit: muratart/Shutterstock.com Some 66 million years ago, a massive asteroid slammed into Earth. The Chicxulub impactor, as it is called, famously wiped out the non-avian dinosaurs and left a huge crater at the edge of the Yucatán peninsula – but it may not have acted alone. New research has revealed that a second, smaller space rock smashed into our planet...

Thousands of Guineans on Wednesday cheered a young army captain chosen as de facto head of state by the military junta that took over the West African country in a coup after the death of President Lansana Conte. The installation of Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara as leader of the world's top bauxite exporter went ahead despite international condemnation and statements opposing the coup from civilian leaders and the top military commander. The coup leaders, calling themselves the National Council for Democracy and Development (CNDD), appeared unopposed in their control of the Guinean capital Conakry two days after Conte's death from...

Researchers have discovered there was an anomaly in Earth's gravitational field between 2006 and 2008, potentially caused by a mineral shift deep within Earth's mantle...The large gravitational anomaly lasted for about two years over the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It peaked in January 2007, the same month Steve Jobs announced the first iPhone (though, of course, there was no connection between the two events).Researchers recently discovered the signal while analyzing data collected by the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites between 2003 and 2015. The gravitational anomaly happened around the same time as a geomagnetic "jerk" -- an abrupt change...

VENEZUELAN tyrant Nicolas Maduro is not merely complicit in organised crime — he leads it. From generals to judges, the very top of Venezuela’s political and military elite are deeply embedded in a powerful, sprawling cocaine trafficking network, experts say. Cartel de los Soles, translated as Cartel of The Suns, isn’t a cartel in the traditional sense. It’s a web of Venezuelan military, intelligence and political elites accused of taxing, protecting and moving cocaine with state resources. With parts of Maduro’s government deeply enmeshed in the drug trade, the lines between state power and organised crime have been blurred. Dr...

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers intercepted two separate shipments of bushmeat at Detroit Metropolitan Airport last month, including one haul of primate meat, in seizures officials say highlight the dangers of disease entering the United States. Bushmeat—defined by U.S. health agencies as meat from wild animals such as bats, monkeys, and cane rats—is illegal to import into the country. CBPOps and DFODetroit announced the discoveries Saturday in a joint post on Instagram, writing, “Scary!!! @DFODetroit CBP agriculture specialists intercepted back-to-back bushmeat at @DTWShots. Bushmeat poses serious risks to public health and violates federal regulations. CBP remains vigilant in protecting...