At the Guangzhou Baoshutang Haemodialysis Centre, patients spend hours connected to dialysis machines before heading upstairs to work on clothing production, including sewing, cutting and ironing garments.

The project was started by former oncologist Xie Qiang after he saw many kidney disease patients struggling with unemployment, financial pressure and mental health difficulties.

“Chronic illness can push patients into a situation where they lose their jobs and income, and some even lose support from their families. It’s common to see patients having mental health struggles. But we noticed that some patients were actually still able to work. So we want to help them find a job,” Xie explained.

Long-term illness leaves many patients isolated 

Patients with end-stage renal disease often require haemodialysis treatment several times each week. The process can take hours and makes regular employment difficult for many people.

Some patients also face rejection during job applications because of strict medical checks.

“These companies are strict in pre-employment medical examinations. It feels like society has left us behind. Even though we are still able to work, very few workplaces are willing to accept people like us,” worker Xiong Rencheng said.

“Here, we can do haemodialysis and can work at the same time. Otherwise, it would be hard for us to make ends meet.”

Shi Yiyang, another patient working at the factory, said treatment costs had placed pressure on his family.

“My parents don’t earn much money. However, my treatment costs a lot. Back in my home city, the insurance coverage was not that good. I had to spend around 2,500 yuan on haemodialysis and daily expenses,” Shi shared.

Factory offers flexible work for dialysis patients 

The garment factory allows patients to work according to their physical condition and treatment schedules. Workers are paid through a piece-rate system and reportedly earn between 2,000 and 6,000 yuan each month. 

For many patients, the opportunity to work has also improved their mental wellbeing. 

“It is better (to be here) than being stuck at home. It feels pointless to be stuck at home day after day,” Xiong noted.

The project, which began as a charity effort, now employs nearly 70 people .

Xie said he hopes similar programmes can be introduced elsewhere and has proposed reforms that would allow dialysis patients to earn part-time wages without losing healthcare support. 

“We hope the factory can become sustainable, growing with the strength from everyone, and eventually run on its own. If the project depends only on me, it won’t last very long. But we can see it’s a model with good potential. With the support from the government and the public, I believe the factory can survive,” Xie said.

The 100-year-old showed his military awards and documents from his time in the Red Army. Serving under Soviet military leader Georgy Zhukov, Gspoyan carried out reconnaissance missions behind enemy lines to collect intelligence. During the Battle of Berlin, he sustained serious injuries from shell fragments to his back.

Doctors removed two fragments but left two near his spine due to the risk of damaging nerve endings. He marked Victory Day in the hospital.

After the war, Gspoyan remained in the military until 1951. His service earned him several honours, including the Order of the Patriotic War II degree, the Medal "For Bravery", and personal recognition from Joseph Stalin for his role in the Battle of Berlin.

Gspoyan is now the last living veteran of the 89th Taman Division. On May 9, 2025, marking the 80th anniversary of Victory, Russian President Vladimir Putin personally congratulated Armenian veterans after the parade on Red Square.

The proposed constitution extends the presidential term from five to seven years, allows two terms, and crucially removes a ban preventing junta members, including General Mamady Doumbouya, from standing for office.

Additionally, it introduces a new Senate, one-third of whose members the president would appoint.

The vote comes ahead of planned general and presidential elections in December 2025, which the referendum is meant to enable legally.

The stakes

In September 2021, Doumbouya seized power in a coup, which dissolved the constitution with a vow to return the country to civilian rule. He initially promised that no junta member would run in future elections. That promise is now in shambles.

Opposition leaders, including Cellou Dalein Diallo, are either under suspension, in exile, or stripped of political space, and are calling for a boycott of the referendum.

The media landscape is also experiencing the heat with severe restrictions. Private outlets have been shut, websites suspended, and campaign coverage tightly regulated.

The AFP, however, reports that some media restrictions have been eased ahead of the vote.

Critics argue these conditions support a process that looks democratic on paper but is deeply curtailed in practice

What September 21 means

If the draft passes, Doumbouya is almost certain to run in December. A “Yes” vote would mark a legal framework that elevates executive power, leverages a compliant legislature, and further limits opposition.

If the referendum fails or if turnout is very low, legitimacy instantly becomes the issue. The junta would face internal pressure and external scepticism.

Delay or reform of the election schedule might follow. Unrest, protest, or resistance which have been banned in the country since 2022 could grow.

Lake Chad province in the west hosts over 268,000 internally displaced people (IDPs), uprooted by armed violence and flooding. Across the regions, access to healthcare, clean water , shelter, and basic protection is deteriorating.

The situation has worsened since the suspension of U.S. funding from USAID and the Bureau of Population, Refugees , and Migration (PRM) support that had sustained much of the lifesaving response.

The report also reveals that the funding halt has forced the closure of maternity wards, suspended mobile clinics, and disrupted the delivery of essential reproductive health supplies to over 80 health facilities.

Despite escalating needs, UNFPA has received less than $1 million of the $27 million it urgently requires for 2025.

In April 2025 alone, the UNFPA undertook the following;

UNFPA is coordinating with partners across Chad to maintain operations, including safety audits in IDP camps, GBV case management, and youth education on reproductive health.

Chad’s crisis is no longer looming, it is here, escalating, and underfunded.

The cost of inaction will be measured in lives lost, dignity denied, and futures cut short.

According to investigators, the girls had been trafficked by a foreign national and were being forced to make daily payments to repay alleged transportation costs totalling nearly 2 million CFA francs. DNLT officers raided the residence of the prime suspect, where the two girls were discovered alongside the trafficker.

During interrogation, the suspect admitted partial involvement, revealing collaboration with accomplices in Nigeria, Benin, and Senegal. She confessed to having purchased one of the girls for 500,000 CFA francs, while the other had been delivered to her by a Nigerian man from Tenkoto, Dakar Buzz reports.

Evidence collected at the scene included notebooks used for recording the amounts extorted from the victims. According to the entries, one girl had paid nearly 1 million CFA francs, and the other about 792,000 FCFA. The accused claimed that a portion of the funds was used to cover her brother’s medical expenses, with the rest spent on personal needs.

Further investigation revealed a highly organised human trafficking network operating between Lagos (Nigeria), Cotonou (Benin), and various locations across Senegal. The network is believed to handle the recruitment of victims, fabrication of false travel documents, their transportation, and subsequent exploitation.

On May 19, 2025, the suspect was brought before the public prosecutor at a high court of Kédougou. The two victims were placed in the care of a non-governmental organisation (NGO) providing immediate support and rehabilitation services.

Trijntje Keever (255 cm)

Trijntje Cornelisdochter Keever, known as "De Groote Meid" (The Tall Girl), is alleged to be the tallest woman in recorded history. Born in 1616 in the Netherlands, she stood 254 cm (8 ft 4 in) tall at the time of her death at age 17.

Ella Ewing (254 cm)

Ella Ewing, known as "The Missouri Giantess," was born on March 9, 1872, in La Grange, Missouri. She became famous for her extraordinary height, reaching over 8 feet tall due to a pituitary disorder. Ella's height began to increase rapidly after her seventh birthday, and by age fourteen, she was already 254cm tall.

Zeng Jinlian (248 cm)

Zeng Jinlian holds the record as the third tallest woman ever verified in modern times. Born on June 26, 1964, in Hunan Province, China, she reached a height of 248 cm (8 ft 1 in) before she died in 1982 at 18. Her extraordinary height was due to a combination of gigantism and scoliosis.

Anna Bates (242 cm)

Anna Haining Bates, born Anna Swan on August 6, 1846, in Nova Scotia, Canada, was renowned for her extraordinary height of 242 cm (7 ft 11 in). She was one of the tallest women ever recorded. Her parents were of average height, and her remarkable growth began in childhood.

Jane Bunford (241 cm)

Due to a pituitary gland disorder that caused an overproduction of growth hormone, Jane Bunford born on July 26, 1895, in Bartley Green, England, was one of the tallest women ever recorded in history. She reached a height of 241 cm (7 ft 11 in).

Starting his journey in the South African village of Cape Agulhas, the endurance athlete from Worthing in southern England set forth on a mission to traverse the entire length of Africa, battling through the continent's varied terrain, from dense jungles to barren deserts.

The 27-year-old passed through Namibia, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania and Algeria, before arriving at Ras Angela.

Sharing his journey with the world via the social media platform X, Cook declared, "The first person ever to run the entire length of Africa. Mission complete." Yet, his path to victory was fraught with obstacles.

Despite his initial hope of completing the journey in 240 days, setbacks such as theft, injury, and visa complications delayed his progress.

Reflecting on the most harrowing moments of his odyssey, Cook recounted a brush with death in the Congo , where he found himself at the mercy of a gang armed with machetes made him contemplate quitting his expedition.

"The scariest moment was in the Congo, when I was on the back of a motorbike, thinking I was about to die, getting driven into the jungle. That was pretty nuts," he shared with reporters.

"Probably for about one minute I thought about quitting, and then I realised I couldn't, so that was about as close as it got," he added.

Cook's achievement transcends personal glory, as it has also raised funds for noble causes. His run generated over $870,000 for charities such as the Running Charity, which supports homeless young people, and Sandblast, aiding displaced individuals from Western Sahara.

However, amid the jubilation surrounding Cook's feat, his claim of being the first person to run the length of Africa has been contested by the World Runners Association (WRA).

WRA, a group made up of seven athletes who claim to have successfully circumnavigated the world on foot cited Jesper Kenn Olsen, a Danish ultrarunner who completed a similar journey in 2010.

Olsen's 12,791km trek began on December 28 2008, spanning from Taba, Egypt, to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa lasting 434 days.

However, he managed to put himself together and walk with his available limbs, although on a steeply bent left knee.

With the efforts of Doctor Sietse Wouters, an orthopaedic surgeon at the Netcare Garden City Hospital in Johannesburg, Peterson has gotten better.

Through consultations and extensive research, Dr. Wouters found a way to improve Peterson’s situation.

The continuous bending caused positional scoliosis in Peterson. He had to go through multiple surgeries including a Steel’s Ilio-femoral fusion and a Syme amputation to be able to use a prosthesis and walk upright.

Today, the 18-year-old matric is living life normally, inspiring many through his story which signifies determination and resilience.

Peterson is an icon of hope today, using his testimony as a shining example for persons who may be facing challenging times because of disabilities.

“I see myself as differently-abled, and I never let it hold me back,” Keenan told South Africa’s Independent Online news portal.