Michael Ojuroye Initiative (Ngo)

A powerful car bomb attack on a police bus in Pakistan’s commercial hub of Karachi has killed at least 11 policemen and injured dozens more, officials said. The blast went off early on Thursday morning as more than 50 officers were boarding the bus near the national highway in Karachi. “Apparently an explosive-laden car hit the police bus transporting officials for security duty,” Muhammad Iqbal, a senior police official, told the Agence France-Press news agency. Doctor Semi Jamali at Karachi’s Jinnah hospital told the AFP that in addition to the killed officers, about three dozen more policemen had been hospitalized, 10 of whom were in a critical condition. The attack happened outside a police training centre, Iqbal said. Police officer Rao Anwaar told the Associated Press news agency that it appeared to be a suicide attack, although there was no immediate claim of responsibility. Pakistan’s business hub, the port city of Karachi has been plagued for years by sectarian, ethnic an...

At least two people have been shot dead during a student demonstration in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas. A pro-government activist and at least one student were killed in a shootout, officials said. At least 23 people are said to have been injured in demonstrations across the country. President Nicolas Maduro is facing rising criticism for the country’s economic woes and high levels of violence. He later spoke on national TV, condemning the violence and appealing for calm. “Let nobody go mad and accept provocations,” Maduro said. The students were demonstrating against the detention of fellow students earlier in the week on the day Venezuela celebrated the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Victory, also known as the Venezuelan Day of Youth, an historical episode in which students defended a city against Spanish-led troops. Opposition leaders also took part in the march. But as in other protests called by the opposition, many also took to the streets to support the government....

China’s first lunar rover had stopped functioning, state media reported Wednesday, but signs are emerging that Yutu, as it is known in Mandarin, may be up and running again. Following technical malfunctions Xinhua said that the lunar rover had lost communication with mission control but on Thursday the state news agency said that the rover was “fully awake” and had returned to its normal signal-receiving status. “Jade Rabbit has fully resurrected and is able to receive signals, but still suffers a mechanical control abnormality,” China’s lunar program spokesman Pei Zhaoyu told Xinhua. “The rover entered hibernation while in an abnormal state. We were worried it wouldn’t be able to make it through the extreme cold of the lunar night. But it came back alive. The rover stands a chance of being saved as it is still alive.” Xinhua also posted a screenshot of the Chang’e-3 Moon Probe’s Sina Weibo account, which, at 8.49am Thursday morning local time, asked: “Is anyone ou...

The students of The Polytechnic Ibadan on Tuesday gave the Oyo State government and the institution’s branch of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic, ASUP, a 24-hour ultimatum to resolve their differences and reopen the school or face major student unrest. The students gave the warning during a peaceful protest staged to condemn the ongoing strike embarked upon by their teachers since October 2013. Displaying placards with inscriptions criticizing the face-off between their lecturers and government, the students marched from the main gate of the campus, through the Sango-UI road and on other major roads within the axis to air their grievances. Though no major breakdown of law and order was recorded during the protest, the students were accompanied by the Nigerian Police. The protest, however, disrupted vehicular movement for about three hours. The president of the Students’ Union of the polytechnic, Iyiola Oladimeji, said, “We can’t continue to tolerate this continuous neglec...