₦airaland Forum

The swift intervention of the police at Teshie, a suburb in Accra averted what could easily have been a major disaster in the area following clashes between indigenes and some Nigerians.

The disturbance is said to have occurred when a Nigerian refused to pay a taxi driver after using his services.

The driver then mobilized some residents of Teshie to attack the Nigerian and some of his countrymen who live in the area.

The incident left several people injured as eyewitnesses told Joy News some of the victims have been sent to the hospital for medical attention.
One of the eyewitnesses, Simon Anum said the rioters hurled bottles, cudgels at each other.

Some had head wounds and bled profusely.

According to him, the police intervened by firing warning shots to disperse the rioters.

The Teshie Police, who declined to speak on record, however confirmed the incident to Joy News and assured the situation is under control.

http://edition.myjoyonline.com/pages/news/201207/90250.php

Nigeria 'frees Chinese traders'
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Dozens of Chinese textile traders arrested in Nigeria and accused of "economic scavenging" earlier this week have now been released.

Chinese embassy spokesman Ding Yonghua said many of the traders, who were picked up in the northern city of Kano, had already left the country.

Dozens more Chinese held in Lagos for visa offences were also freed.

Mr Ding urged Chinese nationals to obey local laws and ensure all their documents were in order.

Those arrested in Kano had been trading at a textile market. Nigerian law bans foreigners from the retail trading of textiles.

Local immigration chief Emmanuel Brisca Ifeadi described the Chinese as "scavengers" and said the arrests were part of a wider crackdown.

He said all foreigners found to be trading illegally would be targeted in the crackdown, not just Chinese.

China is now Africa's largest trading partner, surpassing the United States and its traditional European partners.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18205032

Br J Haematol. 2002 Jul;118(1):337-43.
In vitro effects of NIPRISAN (Nix-0699): a naturally occurring, potent antisickling agent.
Iyamu EW, Turner EA, Asakura T.
Source

Division of Hematology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. iyamu@email.chop.edu
Abstract

Among the various potential antisickling agents tested, hydroxyurea (HU) has been the most effective compound used for the treatment of patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). Although HU is effective in many patients, not all patients respond to this drug. In addition, some patients reveal adverse effects, including myelosuppression. In an attempt to find other effective agents with less adverse effects, we investigated the antisickling effect of NIPRISAN (Nix-0699). We found that Nix-0699, an ethanol/water extract from indigenous plants, has a strong antisickling effect. The concentration of Nix-0699 required to inhibit 50% of erythrocyte sickling was about 0.05 mg/ml. As for the kinetics of polymerization, addition of 0.05 microg/ml Nix-0699 caused a sixfold prolongation of the delay time prior to deoxy-Hb S polymerization when compared with that of untreated Hb S samples. The solubility of deoxy-Hb S significantly increased upon treatment with Nix-0699. Analysis of the effect of Nix-0699 on the Hb S oxygen affinity indicated that the drug slightly shifted the oxygen-dissociation curve of Hb S toward the left without any apparent change in the Hill coefficient. These results suggest that the antisickling properties of Nix-0699 may involve direct interaction with Hb molecules. Incubation of red blood cell (RBC) suspensions with various concentrations of Nix-0699 did not dehydrate RBCs, cause haemolysis, increase the amount of denatured Hb, nor form met-Hb. In view of the outcome of this study, Nix-0699 may be a promising option for the treatment of patients with SCD.

About 70 Nigerian militants occupying the Korkdam Hotel at Achimota in Accra have been rounded up by the Tesano police.

The Nigerians, who have been staying at the hotel since they arrived in Ghana for a reintegration programme, were in a standoff with the management of the hotel. It is unclear what sparked the altercation.

According to eyewitnesses, the police fired warning shots to disperse the disgruntled Nigerians, who mounted road blocks in the area. Residents of the area, especially some auto mechanics were involved in near fatal clashes with the ex-combatants.

The Nigerian High Commissioner to Ghana is reported to have rushed to the area to calm tempers “as well as negotiate for the release of his countrymen,” the editor of the Publisher newspaper Kofi Agyepong, who is at the scene told Citi News.**

https://www.nairaland.com/977157/70-nigerian-ex-militants-rioted-arrested