Author: Editor

AN Indonesian court has ordered two companies that distributed a toxic cough syrup that killed more than 200 children to pay compensation to each family whose child died or was injured after taking the medication. The companies, Afi Farma and CV Samudera Chemical, will have to pay as much as much as 60 million rupiah ($3,850) to the families. About 120 children survived the poisoning that caused acute kidney disease, some with disabilities. Suspicions were first raised about the cough syrups in 2022 after children began to get seriously ill after taking what their parents thought were everyday cold medications.…

THE second-largest diamond ever found – a rough 2,492-carat stone – has been unearthed in Botswana at a mine owned by Canadian firm Lucara Diamond. It is the biggest find since the 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond, found in South Africa in 1905 and cut into nine separate stones, many of which are in the British Crown Jewels. The diamond was found at Karowe mine, about 500km (300 miles) north of Botswana’s capital, Gaborone. Botswana’s government said it was the largest diamond ever discovered in the southern African state. The previous biggest discovery in Botswana was a 1,758-carat stone found at the…

THE World Food Programme (WFP) says a convoy of humanitarian aid has entered the Sudanese region of Darfur, offering temporary respite after Sudan’s forces sealed sections of the border with Chad to aid deliveries in February. The United Nations agency on Wednesday said that more than a dozen trucks delivered food assistance for about 13,000 people threatened with famine in western Darfur’s Kereinik region. The agency added that it had food ready to move for 500,000 people. More than six million people face food insecurity across Darfur, as do more than 25 million, or about half the population, across the…

IN the shadowy corridors of Tehran’s power, the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh at the end of July – widely believed to have been carried out by Israel – shattered a fragile equilibrium. The timing of this escalation in the longstanding conflict between Iran and Israel could not have been worse, with newly sworn-in President Masoud Pezeshkian still getting used to his role when this geopolitical fireball was hurled into his lap. For Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the assassination of the Palestinian group’s leader was more than a provocation, it was an existential challenge. The explosion that…

UKRAINE has launched one of its largest drone attacks on Moscow, as it presses on with a major incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, Russian authorities said. Russia’s Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday that air defence forces shot down 11 drones over Moscow and its surrounding region, with some reportedly downed over the city of Podolsk some 38km (24 miles) south of the Kremlin. “This is one of the largest ever attempts to attack Moscow with drones,” Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on the Telegram messaging app. No damage or casualties were reported. Drone attacks on Moscow are rare. Ukraine’s…

THE last elephant in South Africa’s national zoo has been released back into the wild after 40 years of captivity. The elephant, named Charlie, was captured in 1984 from Zimbabwe’s Hwange national park when he was two years old. He was taken to Boswell Wilkie Circus in South Africa and trained to perform tricks. In the early 2000s he was transferred to the country’s national zoo. In recent years, animal welfare groups have pushed for the elephant to be freed due to concern for his health. On Tuesday, EMS Foundation, which advocates for the rights of wildlife, announced that after…

QATAR Airways has acquired a 25% stake in the privately owned South African carrier Airlink. The announcement was made Tuesday (Aug. 20). No financial details of the deal were immediately disclosed. Airlink flies to more than 45 destinations in southern and East Africa. The deal will enhance an existing code-share agreement between the airlines, they said. “Our investment further demonstrates how integral we see Africa being to our business’ future,” the CEO of the Qatari state-owned carried said. Abidjan, Abuja, Accra, Harare, Luanda and Lusaka are among the African cities newly added to the extensive Qatar Airways network.

KANO State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC) has secured a post no debit on account linked to the alleged local government contract scam in the state, blocking N160million while moving to recover N440million. This is as investigators of the commission are expected to continue the quizzing of some of the key figures in the investigation. It was also gathered that Musa Garba Kwankwaso, nephew of the leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, will be quizzed by the investigators, on Thursday. He is expected to answer questions regarding the involvement of his company, Novomed Pharmaceuticals, in the alleged…

THE 2023/24 Premier League season has showcased an array of outstanding talent, and the PFA Premier League Team of the Year celebrates the best of the best. This year’s lineup features a blend of defensive solidity, midfield creativity, and attacking prowess. This was disclosed in a series of posts on Tuesday on the Professional Footballers Association X account, #PFA. This newspaper reported on Monday that the Professional Footballers’ Association Awards will take centre stage, celebrating the elite of the Premier League on Tuesday night. Five Arsenal players, the Manchester City quartet, Aston Villa goal machine and Liverpool captain made the…

DOZENS of pro-Palestinian protesters in the United States charged a line of police in an intense standoff with officers outside the Israeli consulate on the second night of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago. Protesters on Tuesday chanted “Let them go!” as police handcuffed at least four people and led them away from the demonstration. Officers carrying wooden clubs shouted “move” and penned the demonstrators in on the street, preventing them from marching. Some demonstrators set a US flag on fire in the street as the celebratory roll call for Vice President Kamala Harris took place inside the United…

THE US Treasury Department unveiled sanctions against former Haitian president Michel Martelly on Tuesday for trafficking drugs, including cocaine, destined for the United States. The actions taken by Washington echo similar moves from the Canadian government, which imposed sanctions in 2022 against Martelly and two ex-prime ministers, accusing them of profiting from armed gangs. Martelly, a former musician who served as president of the Caribbean nation between 2011 and 2016, “abused his influence to facilitate the trafficking of dangerous drugs, including cocaine, destined for the United States,” the US Treasury said in a statement. He was also involved in “laundering…

EIGHT police officers in Kenya have been suspended on suspicion of helping a suspected serial killer escape from custody, police have said. In July police said Collins Jumaisi Khalusha had confessed to the murders of 42 women, including his wife, since 2022. Mr Khalusha’s lawyer denied the claim, saying his client had been tortured to confess. He had been held at a police station since being arrested in July, but on Tuesday police said that Mr Khalusha and 12 others escaped after being “aided by insiders”. An incident report from the station says police discovered the detainees were missing at…

“I want to go home,” Kenyan Eulita Jerop tells the BBC from Lebanon, where she is employed as a domestic worker. But the terms of her employment make it difficult for her to leave, despite fears of an all-out war in the country. She has been terrified by the unfamiliar sounds she has heard overhead on the outskirts of the capital, Beirut. The 35-year-old has been working there for the past 14 months. “It was so scary. We were told it wasn’t bombs, but it was [planes breaking] the sound barrier,” she says. “But the sounds were hitting so hard.”…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has appointed Daser David as the new President/Chief Executive Officer of the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI). This was disclosed in a statement on Tuesday by the presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, describing the appointee as “an academic and industry expert with a deep understanding of digital technologies and educational leadership.” Also appointed were two directors for the Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT). They are Reuben Oshomah as Executive Director, Marketing; and Adama Kure, Executive Director, Finance and Administration. “Mr. Oshomah has extensive experience in communications satellite marketing and strategic business development, while Mr. Kure is a seasoned finance…

MORE facts have emerged on the identities of companies and individuals behind the importation of substandard petroleum products from Malta, with Sayyu Dantata, the half-brother of the president of Dangote Group Aliko Dangote as one of the importers. In July, Dangote alleged that some officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC Limited and oil traders have blending plants in Malta, where they produce and import off-spec petroleum products that are brought to Nigeria for consumption. Dangote made the revelation while reacting to the claim by the managing director of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, Ahmed…

CHELSEA have agreed a fee in principle for Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix, with Conor Gallagher moving in the other direction as part of the deal. The fee for the 24-year-old Portugal international is undisclosed, but it will allow him to return to Stamford Bridge on a six-year deal with an option for a further season. Felix’s move, which is subject to a medical, will bring him back after a 2023 loan spell at Chelsea. He scored four goals in 20 appearances in his previous spell in west London. England midfielder Gallagher, meanwhile, is set to sign a five-year deal…

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that Israel has accepted a proposal to bridge differences holding up a cease-fire and hostage release in Gaza, and he called on Hamas to do the same, without saying whether concerns cited by the militant group had been addressed. The high-stakes negotiations have gained urgency in recent days as diplomats hope an agreement will deter Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah from avenging the targeted killings of two top militants that were blamed on Israel. The escalating tensions have raised fears of an even more destructive regional war. Blinken spoke after holding a 2…

THE United States has accused Iran of launching cyber attacks on the presidential campaigns of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump and targeting US voters with influence operations designed to exacerbate political division. The assessment from the FBI and other federal agencies marks the first time the US government has assigned blame amid renewed fears of the threat of foreign election interference in the country’s election. “We have observed increasingly aggressive Iranian activity during this election cycle, specifically involving influence operations targeting the American public and cyber operations targeting presidential campaigns,” the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence…

MPOX cases and deaths are rising in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as the central African country awaits vaccines from the United States and Japan, the health minister said on Monday. The toll this year has risen in a few days from 16,000 cases and 548 deaths to 16,700 cases and “a little more than 570” deaths, Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba said. “We are talking about a continental emergency,” Kamba told a press briefing as the World Health Organisation (WHO) called on affected countries to step up vaccination programmes to counter a more deadly strain of mpox. The WHO…

THE Kenyan government plans to raise about $1.2 billion by reinstating some unpopular taxes contained in a finance bill that was scrapped in the face of deadly street protests, a government minister said. President William Ruto had warned of a funding shortfall after he decided in June to drop the controversial tax hikes after a bloody day in Nairobi that saw the storming of parliament and police firing live bullets on demonstrators. Finance Minister John Mbadi told private station Citizen TV on Sunday that the government was considering about 49 tax measures to try to raise roughly 150 billion shillings…