At least 13 people, including four children, have been killed in two incidents in Nigeria as large crowds gathered to collect food and clothing distributed at annual Christmas events, police say.

In the capital, Abuja, at least 10 people died on Saturday and many more were injured in a scramble to receive gifts of charity being distributed by the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Maitama district.

“This unfortunate event, which took place around 6:30am [05:30 GMT], resulted in a stampede that claimed the lives of 10 individuals, including four children, and left eight others with varying degrees of injuries,” said Josephine Adeh, a police spokesperson.

In a separate incident in Okija in Anambra State in southern Nigeria, three people were killed in a crush at a charity event organised by a philanthropist, state police said.

“The event had not even started when the rush began,” police spokesman Tochukwu Ikenga said. There could be more deaths recorded as officers investigate, he said.

In both incidents, the victims were mostly women and children who were trampled as crowds tried to reach the provisions being offered.

[Aljazeera]

The Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, met with Mr. Takafumi Kadono, Country Director of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Sri Lanka Resident Mission, at the Prime Minister’s Office on Friday [20]. The discussions underscored ADB’s role as a key development partner and highlighted the importance of collaborative efforts in advancing Sri Lanka’s national development priorities.

During the discussion Prime Minister emphasized the importance of developing school infrastructure, teacher training, and assessment mechanisms. ADB reaffirmed its commitment to addressing challenges in the education sector through ongoing projects, including initiatives to enhance teacher and principal training.

The Sri Lankan delegation at the meeting included  Pradeep Saputhanthri, Secretary to the Prime Minister; . Nalaka Kaluwewe, Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Higher Education, and Vocational Education; Ms. Sagarika Bogahawatta, Additional Secretary to the Prime Minister; . Samantha Bandara, Director General;  Ranjith Garusinghe, Acting Director of the ADB Division; Ms. Dananji Amarasinghe, Assistant Director of the ADB Division at the Department of External Resources, Ministry of Finance; and Ms. Lashinka Dammullage, Director of Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]

Weather forecast issued at 05.30 a.m. on 22 December 2024 by the Department of Meteorology

Misty conditions can be expected at some places in Central, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva and Eastern provinces during the morning.

Showers or thundershowers may occur at several places in Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and Uva provinces and in Nuwara-Eliya, Kandy and Ampara districts during the evening or night. A few showers may occur in Northern and North-western provinces and in Anuradhapura district.

The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.