HUMAN AND ANIMAL HEALTH

View photos Albino girls wait at a clinic run by the Standing Voice NGO, on Ukerewe Island on Lake Victoria during International Albinism Awareness Day on June 13, 2016 (AFP Photo/Carl De Souza) More By Nicolas Delaunay Dar es Salaam (AFP) - A "Miss and Mister Albino" contest, heavy sentences for ritual murder and concrete graves to ward off tomb raiders were all discussed at a UN summit on albinism concluding in Tanzania on Monday. During the four-day meeting people with albinism and advocates for their rights discussed ways to safeguard and improve the lives of those who suffer discrimination, health problems and even murder as a result of the condition that leaves their skin without pigment. It is a particular problem in Africa in general and in Tanzania in particular, which is why the East African nation was chosen to host the summit. "Of all the regions in the world, Africa is the most hostile for people with albinism," said Ikponwosa Ero...

a Share Image caption Some 1.2 million fake phones are reportedly expected to be disconnected About 630,000 counterfeit mobile phones have so far been disconnected in Tanzania, the telecom authority says. A government ban on using fake phones came into force at midnight, causing communication difficulties for those who owned them. Tanzania joined Cameroon, South Africa and Nigeria in efforts to boost security and health measures by disconnecting the phones. About 3% of mobile phones in Tanzania are fake, official figures show. The country has about 33 million mobile phone subscribers, out of an estimated population of 49 million people. Some 1.2 million fake phones are expected to be disconnected, local media reports. Africa Live: BBC newsupdates The BBC's Sammy Awami in the main city Dar es Salaam says that some people have complained that they did not know they had bought fake phones. But overall, the ban has been welcomed an...

By  Michelle Boorstein Pope Francis blesses a newly wed couple during his weekly general audience in the Pope Paul VI hall at the Vatican on Feb. 4, 2015. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File) Pope Francis said Thursday that “the great majority” of Catholic marriages are religiously null because people don’t understand the concept of a lifetime commitment. Francis’ comments, which were reported by  the Catholic News Agency , came during the question-and-answer session of a meeting of the Diocese of Rome. According to CNA, a layperson asked about the “crisis of marriage” and how Catholics can help young people overcome their “resistance, delusions and fears” about marriage. [ Pope Francis offers hope to divorced Catholics ] Francis, who in his three-plus years as pope has regularly made news with his off-the-cuff remarks, cited a case he’d heard of a young man who wanted to become a priest — but just for 10 years. The culture is too provisional, Francis said. “It’...

Kenya Railways Corp. shrugged off Rwanda’s preference to route a line via Tanzania and said it plans to develop the western town of Kisumu into a hub that could eventually connect with the resource-rich Democratic Republic of Congo. Rwanda’s decision to focus a route to an Indian Ocean port in Tanzania instead of one in Kenya “has no impact on our development,” the state-owned company’s managing director, Atanas Maina, said Tuesday in an interview in Nairobi, the capital. Kenya will continue developing its standard-gauge line in phases, he said. “Kisumu makes a lot of sense, because we are still able to serve the rest of the countries and meet our obligation as a country to make sure there is inter-connectivity,” he said. A line from Kenya to Congo, which have no common border, would cross Uganda. Rwanda last week said the proposed Tanzanian route is “ cheaper and shorter ” than a line through Kenya. It’s the second time Kenya may lose out on plans to develop regional infrast...

Tanzania removes thousands of non-existent workers from public payroll By  Divya Kishore As part of a major anti-corruption drive, Tanzania has removed more than 10,000 non-existent workers from the public payroll. According to officials, the payroll audit will continue and more "ghost workers" are likely to be identified. "We will identify those behind this payroll fraud and take them to court ... the fight against corruption is top priority for the government," Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa  said in an official statement , adding, it would save the exchequer more than 4.5 billion shillings ($2.832m, £1.9m) a month. More from IBTimes UK  UK's hypocrisy on Nigerian corruption  John Kerry: Corruption 'as much of an enemy' as extremism  Ending fuel subsidy in Nigeria 'sensible first step' towards ending corruption Ranked 117 out of 167 countries in the Transparency International corruption index, Tanzania is struggling hard to...