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Nepal closes schools as deaths from heavy rains hit 129

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By Gopal Sharma

KATHMANDU (Reuters) -Nepal has shut schools for three days after landslides and floods triggered by two days of heavy rain across the Himalayan nation killed 129 people, with 62 missing, officials said on Sunday.

The floods brought traffic and normal activity to a standstill in the Kathmandu valley, where 37 deaths were recorded in a region home to 4 million people and the capital.

Authorities said students and their parents faced difficulties as university and school buildings damaged by the rains needed repair.

“We have urged the concerned authorities to close schools in the affected areas for three days,” Lakshmi Bhattarai, a spokesperson for the education ministry, told Reuters.

Some parts of the capital reported rain of up to 322.2 mm (12.7 inches), pushing the level of its main Bagmati river up 2.2 m (7 ft) past the danger mark, experts said.

But there were some signs of respite on Sunday morning, with the rains easing in many places, said Govinda Jha, a weather forecaster in the capital.

“There may be some isolated showers, but heavy rains are unlikely,” he said.

Television images showed police rescuers in knee-high rubber boots using picks and shovels to clear away mud and retrieve 16 bodies of passengers from two buses swept away by a massive landslide at a site on the key route into Kathmandu.

Weather officials in the capital blamed the rainstorms on a low-pressure system in the Bay of Bengal extending over parts of neighbouring India close to Nepal.

Haphazard development amplifies climate change risks in Nepal, say climate scientists at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).

“I’ve never before seen flooding on this scale in Kathmandu,” said Arun Bhakta Shrestha, an environmental risk official at the centre.

In a statement, it urged the government and city planners to “urgently” step up investment in, and plans for, infrastructure, such as underground stormwater and sewage systems, both of the “grey”, or engineered kind, and “green”, or nature-based type.

The impact of the rains was aggravated by poor drainage due to unplanned settlement and urbanisation efforts, construction on floodplains, lack of areas for water retention, and encroachment on the Bagmati river, it added.

The level in the Koshi river in Nepal’s southeast has started to fall, however, said Ram Chandra Tiwari, the region’s top bureaucrat.

The river, which brings deadly floods to India’s eastern state of Bihar nearly every year, had been running above the danger mark at a level nearly three times normal, he said.

(Reporting by Gopal Sharma; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

Education

Nigerian Law School Student Reportedly Takes His Own Life Following Disqualification From Bar Final Exam In Yola

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Ayomiposi Ojajuni, a Nigerian Law School student, has passed away after reportedly being barred from taking the Bar Final examinations at the Yola Campus.

According to SaharaReporters, sources said that Ojajuni, a graduate of Olabisi Onabanjo University, became visibly distressed on Saturday morning, December 6, upon learning he had been barred from participating in the professional examination, which began that day.

He was later said to have ingested a harmful substance shortly after receiving the news.

It was further gathered that the decision to deny him access to the exam was taken as a disciplinary action, following multiple queries previously issued to him by the institution.

Ojajuni was rushed to the Modibbo Adama University Teaching Hospital, Yola, where he died on Sunday.

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Education

Borno Kids Stole The Show At NYSC Camp With Flawless March Past (Video)

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A group of primary school pupils from host communities in Borno State captivated participants at the NYSC orientation camp in Maiduguri with a precise and energetic marching display during the inter-platoon parade competition.

The viral footage shows four children marching confidently beside corps members, sparking loud cheers from onlookers who were visibly delighted by their coordination and enthusiasm.

The heartwarming moment quickly gained traction on social media, where users applauded the Army and the NYSC for creating an atmosphere of joy and normalcy in a region often defined by insecurity.

The children later received warm praise and encouragement from military officials and corps members at the camp, rounding off a memorable day marked by wide smiles and excitement.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DR4aCOMAh4d/?igsh=dnZtdHN1azZqcnJq

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Education

Teachers strike looms in Kwara over unmet demands

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A statewide industrial action by the Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, looms in Kwara State as a result of unmet demands to the state government.

The national body of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) criticised the state government for what it described as continued failure to address long-standing welfare concerns affecting teachers across the state.

In a letter addressed to Governor Abdulraham Abdulrazaq, the union condemned the government’s refusal to implement the 27.5% Teachers Specific Allowance (TSA) and the National Harmonized Teachers Retirement Age Act, 2022.

The letter, dated November 13, 2025, and acknowledged by the Governor’s Office on November 17, was jointly signed by the NUT National President, Comrade Audu Titus Amba, and the Secretary-General, Dr Clinton Ikpitibo.

The NUT stated in the letter that several engagements with government officials between 2023 and 2025 did not yield any positive outcome.

The union expressed disappointment that while the government had approved consolidated salary structures for medical workers, nurses, and judiciary staff, the long-standing demands of teachers remained unaddressed.

It warned that the refusal to implement the 27.5% TSA for TRCN-certified teachers and 21% for non-TRCN-certified teachers had pushed teachers in the state “into a riotous mode,” noting that frustration within the system had reached breaking point.

The NUT also criticized the government’s failure to implement the National Harmonized Teachers Retirement Age Act, which extends teachers’ retirement age to 65 years or 40 years in service.

The letter added that over 25 states had already complied with the law, lamenting that Kwara State despite being led by the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, had failed to follow suit.

The union called on the governor to convene an emergency meeting before December 13, 2025, stressing that there was still room for peaceful resolution if the government acted promptly.

“We do hope that our interventionist approach is accepted, because to jaw-jaw will be better than to war-war,” the NUT said.

Copies of the letter were sent to the Acting Head of Service, the Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, the State Controller of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, and the Kwara chapters of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the NUT.

With tension rising among teachers, the union warned that failure to address the issues urgently, could trigger a fresh industrial action that may disrupt academic activities across the state.

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