Liberia’s incumbent President and football legend, George Weah, conceded defeat on Friday evening after nearly complete returns showed opposition leader Joseph Boakai leading with 50.89 per cent of the vote.

“Ladies and gentlemen, tonight the CDC (party) has lost the election, but Liberia has won. This is the time for graciousness in defeat, to put national interest above personal interest,” he said in a speech on national radio.

Results published by the electoral commission after tallying the ballots from more than 99 per cent of polling stations gave Weah 49.11 per cent of the votes cast.

The 78-year-old Boakai beat Weah by just over 28,000 votes.

Weah said he had spoken to Boakai “to congratulate him on his victory”.

“The Liberian people have spoken, and we have heard their voice. However, the closeness of the results reveals a deep division within our country,” Weah said in his speech.

Around 2.4 million Liberians were eligible to vote on Tuesday, but no turnout figures have been released.

Dozens of Boakai’s supporters danced in celebration outside one of his party’s offices in the capital Monrovia.

The elections were the first since the United Nations 2018 ended its peacekeeping mission, created after more than 250,000 people died in two civil wars in Liberia between 1989 and 2003.

AFP

A Brazilian singer, Darlyn Morais, 28, died after being bitten by a spider at his home in the northeastern city of Miranorte in Brazil on October 31.

Morais was said to have developed an allergic reaction to the spider bite on his face and was admitted to a hospital on Sunday. He died on Monday, November 6, Daily Mail reports Wednesday.

His 18-year-old stepdaughter also suffered a spider bite and was hospitalised and in stable condition, Morais’ wife, Jhullyenny Lisboa, told the Brazilian news outlet, G1.

Lisboa said that Morais experienced body fatigue and that the colour of the bruise on his face started to change as a result of the bite.

Morais developed allergic reactions later during the week and visited a hospital in Miranorte, where he was treated and discharged on Friday.

Lisboa said, “He felt weakness in his body, and his face started to darken on the same day, October 31. He went to the hospital and was admitted to Palmas General Hospital on Sunday.”

Morais immersed himself in the music world at the age of 15 and sang forró, a popular genre of music in Brazil’s northeast region that is based on a combination of the accordion, zabumba, and metal triangle. His small, three-man band included his brother and a friend.

The United Nations has said over 260,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in the Gaza Strip, as heavy Israeli bombardments from the air, land and sea continue to hit the Palestinian enclave.

It added that fierce fighting has left thousands dead on both sides since Hamas launched a surprise assault on Saturday, spurring Israel’s reprisal bombing campaign.

“Over 263,934 people in Gaza are believed to have fled their homes,” said UN humanitarian agency OCHA said in an update Tuesday, warning that “this number is expected to rise further”.

It said that around 3,000 people had been displaced “due to previous escalations”, prior to Saturday.

“More than 1,000 people have been killed in Israel in the worst attack in the country’s 75-year history, while Gaza officials have reported 900 people killed since the air strikes began,” UN added.

The bombing campaign has destroyed more than 1,000 housing units, and 560 have been so severely damaged they are uninhabitable, OCHA said, citing Palestinian authorities.

“Among the displaced, nearly 175,500 people sought shelter in 88 schools run by the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.

“More than 14,500 others had fled to 12 government schools, while close to 74,000 were estimated to be staying with relatives and neighbours or seeking shelters in churches and other facilities.

The number of displaced people inside of Gaza “represents the highest number of people displaced since the 50-day escalation of hostilities in 2014,” it said.

“Meeting basic needs is becoming increasingly challenging for those who have not been displaced,” OCHA warned.

Israel has imposed what it called a “complete siege” on the already blockaded Gaza Strip, cutting off food, water, fuel and electricity — a move that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned would worsen an already dire humanitarian situation.