Foreign
Teacher sacked over menopause issues awarded £60,000 by court
An English teacher who was fired after her menopause symptoms got worse amid a dispute over moving to a different school has been awarded more than £60,000 for unfair dismissal.
Allison Shearer won her employment tribunal against South Lanarkshire Council at a hearing in Glasgow.
Mrs Shearer, who was based at Clydesdale Support Base in Carluke, worked with pupils with additional needs, and had been told she would be moved to Kear School in Blantyre after she disagreed with a plan to allow a pupil who had asthma to vape in every class.
In the disagreement, she told headteacher Neil Govan she did not want to move to a school with high levels of violence because she feared it would increase her blood pressure and menopause symptoms.
The tribunal heard the English teacher’s health concerns were ignored and she was later sacked.
In a meeting with staff, Mr Govan suggested that supervising the pupil’s vaping was an “aspect of the duty of care owed by teaching staff to pupils”.
Mrs Shearer objected to supervising the vaping, because she thought that it presented a risk of injury given that the pupil had asthma.
The tribunal found that there was no evidence to support the claim that moving Mrs Shearer out of her role at that school was a “punishment beating” for her objection to supervising vaping.
At the time she was instructed to move to Kear School, Mrs Shearer was taking prescribed medication for high blood pressure, anxiety, low mood and menopausal symptoms.
The planned move made her extremely anxious as she “believed that there were high levels of violence and injuries to teaching staff at that school”.
The tribunal documents said that she felt it was “inevitable that she would be assaulted, that she would not be supported when it happened and that she would be blamed for the incident”.
It added that she was concerned that her high blood pressure would worsen and that her levels of anxiety and low mood could become difficult to manage.
The tribunal said Mrs Shearer also had “regular nightmares and disrupted sleep” and “found it difficult to think about anything except the move to Kear School”.
It also found that Mr Govan’s response to an occupational health report into the English teacher’s situation was “dismissive, intransigent and unhelpful”.
While Mrs Shearer was on sick leave from work, she was called to a capability meeting which gave her an “ultimatum” with four days notice to move to a permanent supply teaching role, or into a school for pupils with severe disabilities, which she “did not think that she had the skills or training to undertake such a post responsibly”.
Mrs Shearer, who had been based at the Clydesdale Secondary Support Base between 2015 and 2022, teaching English to Higher level, and maths and health and wellbeing to SQA National 5 level, was replaced by a primary supply teacher when she was removed from that post.
Kear Campus, which is South Lanarkshire Council’s group of schools for pupils with additional social, emotional and behaviour needs, provides full and part-time education across several bases in the county.
The tribunal heard pupils at Kear School in Blantyre were those “most likely to exhibit distressed behaviour through violence, causing damage to property or attending under the influence of drugs, alcohol or other substances”.
The judge concluded that “no reasonable employer would have insisted” that Mrs Shearer teach at Kear School, given the effect of that proposal on her health.
She was awarded a total of £61,074.55 for unfair dismissal, loss of earnings and compensation for injury to feelings.
The court added she was a “talented, experienced and successful teacher of English” who would be able to find another job near her home in East Renfrewshire.
South Africa’s anti-immigration group, March and March, has announced September 30 as a fresh deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave the country, as it staged a protest outside the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in Durban on Monday.
The group marched through central Durban under the theme, “It’s time to fetch your people,” calling on African leaders attending the 46th SADC Summit to take back their citizens living in South Africa without legal documentation.
March and March had earlier led nationwide protests on June 30, demanding tougher government action against undocumented immigration and warning that its campaign would continue until its demands were addressed.
Announcing its latest action, the group said the September 30 deadline would mark the beginning of what it described as the “mother of all protests”, while urging South Africans to assist the police in identifying undocumented foreigners.
The protest took place as the 46th Ordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government got underway in Durban, with leaders from the regional bloc’s 16 member states in attendance.
The demonstration has renewed debate over South Africa’s treatment of foreign nationals, particularly citizens of other African countries.
President Cyril Ramaphosa recently condemned discrimination and violence against foreigners, saying South Africa could not advocate regional integration at the SADC summit while practising exclusion within the country.
The June 30 protests were accompanied by security operations and reports of attacks and looting in some areas, according to police reports cited in the original report.
March and March has continued to demand tougher action against undocumented immigration, while tensions over the treatment of foreign nationals have prompted some African countries to evacuate their citizens from South Africa.
The latest protest has brought the immigration dispute directly to the doorstep of the SADC summit, placing the issue before regional leaders whose citizens are among those affected.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of a US deal with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, while calling on Tehran to surrender.
Trump made the remarks in an interview with Fox News journalist Trey Yingst, amid ongoing talks between Oman and Iran over future maritime navigation arrangements through the strategic waterway.
“If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them,” Trump said, referring to the discussions between Oman and Iran as Washington pursues its own negotiations.
Iranian and Omani officials have been holding talks for weeks, with Iran’s Foreign Ministry saying Monday that both sides were working towards a joint declaration on the strait.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the Strait of Hormuz is under US control, despite Iran maintaining an effective blockade that has severely restricted maritime traffic.
On Friday, Trump said he could even declare the Strait of Hormuz part of US territory, prompting Iran to insist that the strategic waterway “will remain Iranian.”
Trump also called on Iran to “put up the white flag of surrender,” according to Yingst.
The Strait of Hormuz, which lies between Iran to the north and Oman to the south, was previously regarded as an open international waterway and carries a significant share of global energy shipments.
AFP
There has been no known deployment of US ground forces in Iran during the Middle East war, with the exception of a rescue mission in April for a downed American pilot.
Hatami did not provide any details on where or when the killing or capturing of US soldiers was expected to take place.
“Anyone who kills or captures and hands over an invading American military personnel will receive a reward equivalent to $30,000 or 5 billion tomans from the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Army,” Hatami said, using an informal unit equivalent to 10,000 Iranian rials.
The war between Tehran and Washington began on February 28 after the United States, joined by Israel, attacked Iran. It was followed by an April ceasefire after nearly 40 days of fighting, and a June framework for peace talks that later collapsed.
Iran and the United States have since traded fire sporadically, with fighting mainly centred in southern Iran and around the Strait of Hormuz.
AFP
The family of Philip Ifeanyi Elobuike, an indigene of Eziama Village, Ebe, in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State, has appealed to the public for assistance in locating him after his photograph surfaced on social media following nearly two years without contact.
Elobuike first travelled to the United States around 2004 and initially settled in the Los Angeles area of California. He later moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, before relocating to Dallas, Texas.
According to his family, Elobuike remained in contact with his relatives in Nigeria until around 2024, when communication with him suddenly stopped. Before losing contact, he was active on social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram.
His family had continued searching for him, and on August 11, 2026, they were relieved when his photograph surfaced on social media. The picture provided them with at least some reassurance that he was alive.
Elobuike Philip
However, contrary to reports circulating in some media outlets and on social media, Elobuike has not been reunited with his family or located by his kinsmen in the United States.
His relatives and members of the Nigerian community reportedly spent the entire day on August 12 searching for him in different parts of Dallas but were unable to locate him.
The family is therefore appealing to members of the public, particularly Nigerians and other individuals in the Dallas area, to assist in locating Elobuike and ensuring that he is safely reunited with his family.
The family also urged people to disregard reports claiming that he has already been found and reunited with his relatives, describing such reports as inaccurate.
Anyone who has information about Elobuike’s whereabouts or comes across him is urged to contact any of the following:
Dr. Fred Ngwu: (214) 418-8145
Moses Onyejekwe: (213) 479-2340
Law Okolo: (646) 302-2597
The family expressed appreciation to everyone who has shared his photograph and appealed for continued circulation of the information until he is successfully located.
No fewer than 205 Nigerians were deported from Canada in June 2026 as Canadian authorities intensified enforcement of the country’s immigration laws, according to official figures released by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
Immigration removal statistics published by the CBSA showed that 10,607 individuals were removed from Canada during the month, with Nigerians ranking among the top 10 nationalities affected by the exercise.
The figures indicate that Nigerians accounted for nearly two per cent of all removals carried out in June.
India recorded the highest number of deportations, with 3,323 nationals removed, followed by Mexico with 1,573. The United States accounted for 372 deportees, while Colombia and Romania recorded 354 and 293 removals respectively.
Other countries with significant numbers of nationals deported included Bangladesh, with 227, and Pakistan, with 207.
Explaining the rationale behind the removals, the CBSA said enforcing immigration laws was critical to protecting the integrity of Canada’s immigration system.
“Removing individuals who do not have the right to enter or stay in Canada is essential to maintaining the integrity of Canada’s immigration program and to ensuring fairness for those who come to this country lawfully,” the agency stated.
The latest figures underscore Canada’s continued enforcement against individuals found to have no legal right to remain in the country, as authorities seek to ensure compliance with the nation’s immigration laws.
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