2018 in retrospect

The spread of coronavirus around the world has impacted the staging of sporting events around the world with major sports events facing cancellation or postponement.⁣ Here’s a video highlighting five (5) major sports events facing cancellation or postponement due to the spread of coronavirus.⁣

How we rob in Nigerian bars, hotels, and events - Suspect

It has been a 60-year journey loaded with ups and downs. We have had moments when we suffered together, cried together, and laughed together. ⁣⁣⁣ We have been knocked down but, as Nigerians, we always got back up.⁣⁣⁣ And as Nigeria marks 60 years of independence, we recall these evergreen moments that have shaped our history and our story.

#EndSARS: 'I was hit by stray bullet in 2018', petitioner shares experience

In this edition, an investigatory committee for the United Nations is accusing the Malian army of committing war crimes, in a report detailing violence in the country in recent years. Also, the UN is appealing for more than $150 million in additional funding to urgently improve conditions for refugees who have fled fighting in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. And, the Ivory Coast is setting up its first protected marine area as it seeks to protect endangered marine wildlife. We speak to Angela Formia from the Wildlife Conservation Society.

There is no simple way, to sum up this year. Tumultuous, terrifying, wearisome, Resilient, heroic, hopeful? Apart from been a leap year starting on a Wednesday, the year 2020 is the most devastating year ever experienced starting from a deadly pandemic to a global movement for racial justice and several world-shifting events. Here is a timeline of the major events that shaped this year.

Iranian diplomat Assadolah Assadi was convicted of attempted terrorism Thursday by a court in Belgium for his role in a 2018 bomb plot targeting an Iranian opposition group in France. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Spectators will be allowed to attend events at this summer's delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Only domestic fans will be granted access to venues, and there are limits on the number of people who may attend.

Global warming, a weakening jet stream and the moon will combine to cause more devastating heat waves and floods in the coming decades.

The August 4 blast that thundered through Beirut levelled entire neighbourhoods, killed more than 200 people, wounded 6,500 others and pummelled the lives of survivors. A year later, AFP caught up with some survivors who spoke about the lasting trauma left behind by the explosion.

We turn our eye to the extreme weather conditions in Louisiana, where there are warnings of storm surges and flash floods for the New Orleans area. This comes in the wake of the now weakened Hurricane Ida. It slammed into the Louisiana coast on Sunday, knocking out power for more than a million people, including the whole of New Orleans. Ida comes 16 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina devastated the same area.

Climate change has led to a dramatic increase in droughts and floods around the world over the past 20 years, says the secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organization, presenting a report on the evolution of water issues related to climate.