Lagos, Nigeria - Eleven passengers died when a commercial bus in which they were travelling rammed into a truck along the Kano-Maiduguri road in northern Nigeria on Wednesday. The local media quoted the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) as saying there were 14 passengers in the bus at the time of the accident, which occurred near Potiskum in Yobe State.
FRSC Sector Commander for Yobe, Mr. Shehu Umar, said the bus burst into flames upon impact, burning four of the passengers beyond recognition while seven others died from their injuries.
The dead were buried at the scene, while the three survivors have been taken to the hospital for treatment.
“The driver of the trailer failed to provide adequate notice to warn other road users of the obstruction on the road. Similarly, the bus driver was suspected to be speeding and could not control the bus, thereby ramming into the trailer,” Mr. Umar said.
Nigeria has one of the highest road accident cases in the world, blamed largely on poor driving habits and bad roads.
-0- PANA SEG/MA 15Jan2013
Pana 17/01/2013
Botswana’s inflation stable in Nov., Dec. 2012
Gaborone, Botswana - Botswana’s national year-on-year inflation rate for December remained unchanged at 7.4%, same as in November, Statistics Botswana (SB) said here Tuesday.
It said that the group indices were stable between November and December 2012, recording movements of less than 1.0%.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Botswana (BoB) Business Survey indicates that for 2013, 46 firms expect inflation to be above the objective range, while only five think that it will be attained.
“Firms appreciate the desirability of low and stable inflation, but view imported materials (such as fuel and other inputs) and utility prices, as an obstacle to achieving the inflation objective,” said the report.
The business community expects that in 2013 inflation levels will range between 7.9% and 8.2%.
Pana 17/01/2013