Harry, Meghan in Nigeria to champion Invictus Games
Abuja, May 10: Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, arrived in Nigeria on Friday to champion mental health for young people affected by conflicts and to promote the Invictus Games, which the prince founded to aid the rehabilitation of wounded and sick servicemembers and veterans.
The couple, in the West African nation for the first time on the invitation of its military, visited the Lightway Academy college which receives support from their Archewell foundation to educate and train young girls affected by conflicts in Nigeria.
Harry and Meghan will also be meeting with wounded soldiers and their families in what Nigerian officials have said is a show of support to improve the morale of the soldiers, including those fighting a 14-year war against Islamic extremists in the country’s northeast.
“This engagement with Invictus is giving us the opportunity for the recovery of our soldiers,” Abidemi Marquis, the director of sports at Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters, told reporters on Thursday. Harry served in Afghanistan as an Apache helicopter copilot gunner, after which he founded the Invictus Games in 2014 to offer wounded veterans and servicemembers the challenge of competing in sports events similar to the Paralympics. Nigeria was among the nations that participated in last year’s edition of the games. (AP)
Makeshift shelter saves hundreds of dogs amid floods in Brazil
Canoas, May 10: Hundreds of volunteers have set up a makeshift dog shelter in an abandoned, roofless warehouse in the Brazilian city of Canoas, one of the hardest hit by floods since last week.
They treat and feed sick, hungry or injured dogs, hoping to reunite them with their owners.
Their work was at full speed Friday morning as heavy rains are expected again in the region for the weekend.
Floods in Rio Grande do Sul have killed at least 107 people. Another 136 are reported missing and more than 230,000 have been displaced, according to state authorities. There is no official tally for the number of animals that have died or are missing, but local media estimated the number to be in the thousands.
Since Sunday, the makeshift shelter, about the size of a football pitch, has welcomed hundreds of ill and agitated canines from inundated areas. Every hour, between 20 and 30 dogs arrive, many of them injured after having been run over or nearly drowned. The shelter sends some to veterinary hospitals, but others in need of medical attention are too frail to be transported.
Hairdresser Gabriel Cardoso da Silva, 28, is one of the main organisers of the improvised facilities. He came from neighbouring city of Gravatai, which was not hit by the heavy rains. (AP)