VICTIMS OF TOXIC WASTE SPILL SCANDAL IN IVORY COAST WON A HIGHT COURT CASE AGAINST BRITISH LAW FIRM.

The claimants complained that solicitors Leigh Day failed to ensure a compensation package of USD 8.6 million in damages reached them.

In 2009 the oil company had agreed to pay around $42.4 million to 30,000 people affected by the dumping of caustic soda and petroleum residues in the economic capital Abidjan in 2006.

I am extremely pleased for our clients, who have been waiting for seven years to get their compensation.

However, a group of 6,624 claimants received nothing from the settlement, after $8.6 million of the payout was fraudulently withdrawn.

Expert evidence showed that a health crisis ensued in which, according to official estimates, 15 people died and more than 100,000 sought medical attention after exposure to the waste fumes.

High Court judge Andrew Smith ruled on Thursday that the London-based legal firm Leigh Day, who represented the claimants, had been negligent in using an Ivorian bank account to park the lump sum, leaving it open to embezzlement.

“I am extremely pleased for our clients, who have been waiting for seven years to get their compensation,” the claimants’ lawyer Kalilou Fadiga, from legal firm Harding Mitchell, toldAFP after Thursday’s ruling.

AFRICA'S CHAMPIONS COFFEE MAKER PREFERS DR I KING TEA

It is no secret that Kenya is one of the hottest spots to grab a great coffee in Africa.

With the recent boom in roasteries and coffee shops there, more and more professional baristas are making an impression.

Standing out above the rest is 26-year-old Martin Shabaya, who recently won the Africa Barista Championships, and is now headed to Ireland to represent Kenya at the World Championships.

But despite all his successes, it turns out drinking coffee is not even his cup of tea.

KENYAN COURT DETAINS EIGHT LAWMAKERS OVER HATE SPEECH

Political tension continues in Kenya. Kenyan court has detained eight Members of Parliament for four days over charges of hate speech and incitement.

The court decision will allow further investigations into allegations of “hate speech” involving the eight MPs.

The development comes on the back of growing tensions in the country and weeks of violent protests with over a year to national elections in the east African country.

The Prosecution had pushed for a four-day detention, arguing that the period was sufficient for a forensic analysis of the statements by the MPs which were captured on video, in order to come up with foolproof charges to guarantee a conviction.

The eight MPs including four pro-government and four opposition members were picked up by police after they were alerted to remarks by the politicians said to be “laced with ethnic hatred, vilification and bordering on incitement”.

EX CONGO LEE ARMY GENERAL HAS BEEN JAILED FOR BREACHING NATIONAL SECURITY

Mokoko was jailed after being charged with “breaching internal state security and the illegal possession of weapons of war and ammunitions.

Lawyer for the former army general in the Republic of Congo, Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko says his client has been jailed in the capital, Brazzaville.

He was detained on Tuesday for questioning by security services.

The former army general had been grilled prior to the March 20 poll over a viral video in which he spoke about plans to overthrow the incumbent president, Denis Sassou Nguesso.

So could this arrest be for revenge purpose ...?

Wax Dey – 360 Degrees Album out now!

Award winning artiste and entrepreneur; Wax Dey, releases his new album titled; ‘360 Degrees. The album; 360 Degrees, is a bundle of melodies. It encompasses African music in many ways than one can say. Wax Dey succeeded to fuse music genres from all regions of Africa in this one album. It comprises of ‘House’ from South Africa, ‘Afro-beat’ from West Africa, ‘Zouk’ from the Carribeans, ‘Makossa’ from Cameroon, ‘Njang’ from Cameroon and ‘RnB’ and ‘Hip Hop’ from the West. Wax Dey reveals his soul in the album. He translates the influences he has gathered from the different places he has visited in Africa and the world in this album in a soulful way that is contagious.

The album has 11 tracks with collaborations from top artistes all over Africa; Yemi Alade, Omawumi, Banky W, Runtown, Kayswitch, and Shaydee from Nigeria; Cassper Nyovest, Nasty C, Simphiwe Dana, Lection, Jaden and Ruff Sketch from South Africa; and Stanis from Cameroon. He says the album was inspired by his collaborations with all these artistes.

It was first launched a couple of weeks ago via his record label; Calabash Music, in Nigeria, and then it was launched in Douala as well. There will be an album signing party on the 8th of July. Stay tuned for updates! In the meantime do well to purchase the album. It is available at all music distribution sales points in the country at a cost price of 1000frs, and on all digital music sites as well.

FASHION PROFILING: SANHDRA FONDUFE'S NATURAL HAIR GETS THE BLOGGER TREATMENT.

There’s nothing sexier than a woman embracing her own beauty. It seems the amazon best seller "YEFON  BOOK" author couldn't be more pleased with her natural texture and length. We don't blame her.

The actress keeps us spellbound with her everlasting beauty and covetable style, and now she’s really hooked us after seeing her gorgeous, all-natural mane for quite a while. Whatever she’s doing, it’s clearly working.

Not just anyone can transition seamlessly with a blown out Afro, but Sanhdra Fondufe isn’t just anyone. Love your confidence, girl.

WARNING PHOTO SENCITIVE: BABY DUMPED IN A WELL

Some atrocities should really never be forgiven. However view what is happening in that region I wonder if judgement should be passed.  Photos of a Newborn Baby Dumped Inside a Well, Rescued Alive in Niger State. Source: Lawrencia Udefe

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION: HONDURAS IS DETAINING MORE THAN 100 AFRICAN MIGRANTS AND THIS INCLUDES CHILDREN

Honduras has detained more than 100 African migrants, including some children.

The detention was carried out on Tuesday near the border with Nicaragua as they tried to make their way to the United States.

The migrants entered Honduras through the border of La Fraternidad, San Marcos de Colon, in the south, it was reported.

Immigration officers spotted the group walking along the Panamerican highway that connects the country and Nicaragua.

Migration authorities did not specify which countries they had come from but some 100 of them were said to be from Africa.

“We want to get through. That is why we are asking for an opportunity to the citizens and president of Honduras to let us through, so that we are able to continue as soon as possible because we have been travelling for a long time,” said an unidentified migrant.

A recurring situation, most immigrants entering southern Honduras do so through the border post of Guasaule.

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH WANTS AN INDEPTH INVESTIGATION INTO THE DEATH OF THE 400 I RIM PRO TESTERS IN 2015

Over 400 Oromo protesters were killed in November 2015, and thousands others were arrested by Ethiopian security forces during widespread protests against the government’s proposed expansion of the capital Addis Ababa expected to impact on Oromia farming communities.

These figures and other forms of abuses, disputed by the Ethiopian government, were detailed by Human Rights Watch in a reportthey released on Wednesday calling on the Ethiopian government to support an independent investigation into the killings, arrests and abuses.

The Ethiopian government strongly disputed the figures saying only 173 people died, including 28 policemen and officials as cited by a Commission on Human Rights, reportsAFP.

“The Ethiopian Council of Human Rights is not a friend of the government and has registered only 103 names (of victims) … Human Rights Watch is very generous with numbers when it comes to Ethiopia,” the spokesman for the Ethiopian government, Getachew Reda, said referring to another figure by the independent Ethiopian Council of Human Rights.

“Overall, the security forces behaved in a very professional and responsible manner, but there are always a few bad apples,” he added.

Human Rights Watch observed that while the protests have largely subsided since April, the government crackdown has continued as many of those arrested remain in detention and hundreds have disappeared.

34 MIGRANTS WITH 20 CHILDREN INCLUDED WERE FOUND DEAD IN NIGER DESERT

34 migrants were found dead last week in the Nigerien desert in an attempt to travel to neighbouring Algeria, the Nigerien Ministry of Interior said in a statement.

Among the 34 found near Assamaka, a border post between Niger and Algeria, are five men, nine women and 20 children who “probably died of thirst, as is often the case,” it was suggested.

The statement said only two bodies, a Nigerian and a 26-year-old Nigerien woman, were identified adding that between June 6 and 12, many migrants had been abandoned by smugglers on the desert.

The Nigerien ministry also cautioned illegal migrants about the risks they face in trying to “take this perilous path managed by criminal networks”.