Author: Editor

RESCUERS on Friday raised the death toll in Spain’s worst floods for a generation to 205 as the government deployed more troops in an increasingly desperate search for survivors. The floods that have tossed vehicles, collapsed bridges and covered towns with mud since Tuesday are the European country’s deadliest such disaster in decades. The organisation coordinating emergency services in the hardest-hit eastern Valencia region said 202 people had been confirmed dead there. Officials in neighbouring Castilla-La Mancha and Andalusia had already announced a combined three deaths in their regions. Rescuers equipped with drones and sniffer dogs waded through water and…

BOTSWANA’s new president took office Friday in a whirlwind transfer of power following elections that saw a historic defeat handed to the party that had governed the diamond-rich country for nearly 60 years. Human rights lawyer Duma Boko, 54, was sworn in during a closed session at the office of the chief justice three days after elections which booted the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) out of office. Boko later delivered an acceptance speech and press briefing that was broadcast live on state television and touched on some of his campaign pledges, such as more than doubling the minimum wage to…

THE Indian Ocean island of Mauritius blocked access to social media on Friday, just days ahead of a general election, as tensions mounted over a wire-tapping scandal. Mauritius has been gripped by the release of secret recordings of phone calls by politicians, journalists, members of civil society and even foreign diplomats that began to emerge online last month. On Friday, the office of Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth said it had ordered internet service providers to block access to the most widely used social networks. The blockage is due to last until November 11 — the day after the election…

LA LIGA champions Real Madrid’s match against Valencia, which was scheduled for Saturday, has been postponed after the devastating flash floods in Spain. The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has postponed all matches in the Valencia region, where at least 95 people have died and dozens more are missing after torrential rain. On Thursday, Real and the Red Cross donated $1m (£845m) to support those impacted by the flooding. “The donation will go towards helping the numerous families currently dealing with what is a critical situation, and who are in need of all our assistance and solidarity,” Real said in a…

AT least six health workers have been killed in Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon as Israel has bombarded areas around the ancient eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek for a second day after issuing forced evacuation orders. “Enemy aircraft launched four strikes on the village of Douris and the surroundings of the city of Baalbek,” Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported on Thursday. Lebanon’s Ministry of Health said the six medics were killed and four others were wounded in multiple Israeli attacks. It said Israeli forces hit a gathering point for civil defence workers, killing four medics. Two other medics were…

UNITED States presidential candidate Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against a US television network for what he calls a “misleading” interview with rival Kamala Harris. The suit against CBS News filed in a Texas court on Thursday alleged the network aired two different responses from Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris when responding to a question about the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The version that aired during the 60 Minutes programme on October 6 did not include what the lawsuit called a “word salad” response from Harris about the Biden administration’s influence on Israel’s conduct of the…

BOTSWANA’s governing party has suffered a shock election defeat after nearly six decades in power, preliminary election results show. President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) lost its grip on power on Friday after opposition parties won at least 35 of 61 seats in parliament, tallies released by the electoral commission showed. The BDP, which has governed the diamond-rich Southern African nation since 1966, had won only just seat as of early Friday morning. Umbrella for Democratic Change, led by Harvard University-trained human rights lawyer Duma Boko, won 22 seats and the Botswana Congress Party, headed by economist Dumelang Saleshando,…

CHADIAN President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno is “personally” leading an army counter-offensive against Boko Haram after a deadly attack by the insurgent group on a military garrison, the presidency said Thursday. Insurgents killed around 40 people during a late Sunday to Monday raid on the base in the Lake Chad region, an area plagued by armed groups. “The president of the republic, the supreme commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, is still camped on the edge of Lake Chad where he is personally leading operation ‘Haskanite’,” the presidency said on Facebook. Accompanying the post was a photograph…

THE Carabao Cup Quarter-Final draw was announced late Wednesday on the EFL website, with matches set for the week commencing December 16. Here is a full list of the quarter-final games: Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United Arsenal vs Crystal Palace Newcastle United vs Brentford Southampton vs Liverpool This newspaper earlier reported that the Carabao Cup Round Four delivered thrilling matches on Wednesday. Liverpool advanced to the quarterfinals, edging Brighton 3-2, with Cody Gakpo scoring twice. Manchester United, led by interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy, overpowered Leicester City 5-2, featuring a long-range opener from Casemiro. Crystal Palace defeated Aston Villa 2-1…

ISRAELI forces launched more strikes on two towns in Lebanon’s historic Baalbek region, killing at least 19 people, including eight women. Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati says he hopes a ceasefire deal with Israel will be announced in the coming hours or days as United States’ envoy Amos Hochstein travels to Tel Aviv for talks. Mikati said he became more optimistic about the possibility of a truce after speaking on Wednesday with the United States envoy for the Middle East, Amos Hochstein, who was due to travel to Israel on Thursday. “Hochstein, during his call with me, suggested to…

SPAIN is enduring its worst flooding disaster in decades, with at least 95 people dead and dozens more missing, after huge rains swept the eastern province of Valencia and beyond. Torrential rain on Tuesday triggered flash floods which swept away bridges and buildings and forced people to climb on to roofs or cling to trees to survive. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has declared three days of national mourning as the extreme conditions continue, restricting some rescue efforts. The death toll is feared to climb as “there are many missing people”, the government says. At least 92 deaths were recorded in…

SEVERAL women have taken their lives in Sudan’s central Gezira state after being raped by paramilitary fighters in the brutal civil war raging in the country, rights groups and activists have said. The reports come after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) was accused by the UN of “atrocious crimes”, including mass killings, in the state last week. With RSF fighters continuing to advance, one rights group has told the BBC it is in contact with six women who are contemplating taking their own lives as they fear being sexually assaulted. But the RSF has dismissed a recent UN report…

NIGER Republic’s ruling military junta has struck a deal with US billionaire Elon Musk’s satellite internet provider Starlink to expand coverage in the poorly connected country, state media said on Wednesday. The vast desert nation’s internet penetration rate currently stands at 32 percent, according to the Electronic Communications Regulation and Mail Authority (ARCEP). Starlink will bring broadband coverage to 80 to 100 percent of the territory, Nigerien communication and digital economy minister Sidi Mohamed Raliou said on state television. Starlink’s network of low-Earth orbit satellites can provide internet access to remote locations or areas that normal communications infrastructure do not…

SPORTING boss Ruben Amorim says he has not yet made a decision about his future after Manchester United expressed an interest in appointing him manager. Sporting confirmed earlier on Tuesday that United had made an approach and are willing to pay Amorim’s 10m euros (£8.3m) release clause. Speaking after his side’s 3-1 Portuguese League Cup quarter-final win against Nacional on Tuesday evening, Amorim told Sport TV:, external “Nothing is decided yet. I don’t know if it’s the farewell game or not.” Then in a news conference he added: “There is interest from Manchester United, there is the payment of a…

ISRAEL’s military has again bombed residential buildings in Gaza’s Beit Lahiya, killing at least 19 Palestinians, as civilians in the besieged northern town searched for survivors in the aftermath of an earlier Israeli raid that killed nearly 100 people. The latest Israeli bombing, late on Tuesday night, hit several homes belonging to the Al Louh family, according to the Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza. The attack came less than a day after Israel’s military bombed a five-storey building belonging to the Abu Nasr family in Beit Lahiya, killing at least 93 people and wounding dozens more. The Ministry of Health…

BARBARA Bush, one of Republican former US president George W. Bush’s daughters, has endorsed Democrat Kamala Harris in the razor-thin White House race and campaigned for her over the weekend, she told People magazine. Bush, 42, spent part of the weekend knocking on doors for the vice president’s campaign in Pennsylvania, considered one of the most crucial swing states that will decide the November election between Harris and Republican Donald Trump. “It was inspiring to join friends and meet voters with the Harris-Walz campaign in Pennsylvania this weekend,” she told People. “I’m hopeful they’ll move our country forward and protect…

CHAD on Tuesday urged the international community to step up support for counter-terrorism efforts in the Sahel, after Boko Haram jihadists killed around 40 Chadian troops in a surprise attack. The jihadist group late on Sunday targeted a military garrison in the Lake Chad region, an area plagued by various armed groups, in an offensive that killed some 40 “brave Chadian soldiers”, the government said in a statement published by spokesman Abderaman Koulamallah on Tuesday. Around 20 people were also wounded, military sources said. “The government is calling on the international community to intensify its support and to reinforce assistance…

FRANCE’s President Emmanuel Macron has told Morocco’s parliament that he believes Western Sahara should be under Moroccan sovereignty, and has pledged to invest French money there. Western Sahara is a territory on the north-western coast of Africa that has been the subject of a decades-long dispute. It was once a Spanish colony, and is now mostly controlled by Morocco and partly by the Algerian-backed Polisario Front – which says it represents the indigenous Sahrawi people and wants an independent state. France was the former colonial power in both Morocco and Algeria. It joins other nations including Spain, the US and…

THE Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, has warned landowners within the territory to pay all outstanding ground rent or risk losing their properties. Wike made the remark during the inauguration of the upgrading of War College/Army Checkpoint Road and other ancillary roads in Ushafa, Bwari Area Council, Abuja, on Monday. Describing ground rent as the “FCT’s oil,” the minister stressed the importance of these payments in enabling the FCT Administration to provide infrastructure. He said: “I have published the names of debtors in today’s newspapers. “Some of you seated here are debtors; pay your ground rent.…

MANCHESTER United are in talks about appointing Sporting manager Ruben Amorim as Erik ten Hag’s replacement. Dutchman Ten Hag was sacked on Monday following the side’s poor start to the season. Amorim, 39, is a highly regarded coach who has won two Portuguese league titles with Sporting – including their first in 19 years – since joining in 2020. The extent of the talks over Amorim are not known. It is also not clear whether other alternatives remain in the frame to take the Old Trafford job. However, Amorim is now becoming the leading candidate. Speaking at a news conference…