More than 500 mothers and babies suffered potentially avoidable harm or died due to poor care at a UK hospital, according to a damning report published Wednesday in the country’s latest maternity scandal. At least 156 cases involved the death of babies, and six mothers also died at two units run by Nottingham University Hospitals Trust in central England. The independent probe was the largest maternity inquiry in the history of the state-run National Health Service (NHS), involving over 2,500 families in cases spanning 13 years from 2012 to 2025. It comes after a string of other investigations in recent years highlighted a crisis in England’s care of mothers and babies. Sarah and Jack Hawkins’ daughter Harriet should have been born healthy but was stillborn in 2016. The couple were both senior clinicians at the trust at the time. “I just can’t compute … how they did this to us...

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, on Wednesday swore in four newly elected senators following their victories in the recent by-elections conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission. The lawmakers are Olaka Nwogu of the Peoples Democratic Party, representing Rivers South-East Senatorial District; Envulu Anza of the All Progressives Congress, representing Nasarawa North; Ikeje Asogwu of the APC, representing Enugu North; and Dayo Faduyile of the APC, representing Ondo South. Their inauguration followed the by-elections held last Saturday to fill vacancies in the four senatorial districts. The Rivers South-East seat became vacant following the death of former senator Barinada Mpigi, while Anza emerged as senator for Nasarawa North after the death of Godiya Akwashiki. Asogwu succeeded the late Okechukwu Ezea, while Faduyile filled the vacancy created by the appointment of former senator Jimoh Ibrahim as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations. PUNCH Online reports that INEC presented certificates of...

The Anambra State House of Assembly has summoned key government officials and commissioners to appear before it to discuss measures aimed at managing and preventing flood disasters across the state. This is just as many houses, markets, business premises and farmlands located in flood-prone communities of the state have been submerged by flood following persistent rainfall, resulting in rising water levels from the River Niger. The heavy flooding has left a trail of destruction at flood-prone communities in Ogbaru, Idemili North and Oyi LGAs where houses and markets such as Relief Market, Ochanja Market, Building Materials Market Ogidi, and parts of Onitsha, were among the worst-hit areas. Some videos circulating online indicated that two persons were currently missing and feared drowned at the Building Materials Market, while the force of the raging flood had swept away some fences and left roads badly damaged. Our correspondent, who visited the affected communities,...