THE head of the United Nations children’s agency, Unicef, says Sudan is one of the worst places in the world for children. Catherine Russell says it now has the largest displacement of children anywhere, with millions facing malnutrition and most not in school She is travelling to the country torn apart by more than a year of brutal civil war as warnings of famine grow louder. The pillars of Sudan’s food economy have collapsed, and both warring parties – the Sudanese army and a paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – are restricting the delivery of desperately needed…
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FAMOUS Malian singer Rokia Traoré has been arrested at the main international airport in Italy’s capital Rome over a conviction in Belgium arising from a child custody dispute. She was arrested at Fiumicino airport as she flew in for a concert, Italian media reported. A spokesperson for the airport told the AFP news agency on Sunday that border police had confirmed her arrest. Traoré was initially detained in France in 2020 on a Belgian arrest warrant after failing to heed a court order to hand over her child to her Belgian father. Months after she was conditionally released, she flew…
WITHIN four years, politically exposed personalities (PEPs) in Nigeria have doubled their investment in the real estate sector of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, according to an investigation on Business Day. The newspaper reports that the investigation is part of ‘Dubai Unlocked,’ a six-month probe of UAE’s booming and secretive property market led by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) together with more than 70 media partners. Economy Post is said to be the only Nigerian firm which participated in the project. The newspaper reported that as of 2020, 800 houses were traced to Nigerian PEPs, but four years…
VP Shettima Expected, As Nda-Isaiah Hosts Amuka, Yusuf, Olorunyomi, Other Icons THE Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, will chair the unveiling of Writing for Media and Monetising It, the new book on getting rewards from valuable content written by the Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP, Azu Ishiekwene, and published by Premium Times Books. The event will take place on Wednesday, June 26, at 10 am at the Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja. A “two-in-one event”, it would also feature a panel discussion themed “Reflections on the Media.” A statement by Azu and Premium Times Books described the unveiling as “one…
THE health Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Fahd al-Jalajel, has disclosed that 1,301 pilgrims died during the 2024 hajj. Speaking on the state television, Jalajel said 83 percent of the deceased made the pilgrimage without the necessary permits. Al-Jalajel said these unauthorized pilgrims walked long distances under the intense sun. “We dealt with large numbers of people affected by heat stress. Regrettably, the number of mortalities reached 1,301, with 83 percent being unauthorised to perform hajj and having walked long distances under direct sunlight, without adequate shelter or comfort,” the official Saudi Press Agency reported. Al-Jalajel said the…
SUBSTITUTE Niclas Fullkrug scored a late equaliser for Germany as they rescued a draw with Switzerland to top Group A. The Swiss thought they were going through to the last 16 as group winners after an early goal from Dan Ndoye until Fullkrug headed in the equaliser. There was an outburst of celebration from home supporters behind the goal as Germany maintained their unbeaten start to Euro 2024. It was a blow to Switzerland, who had defended resolutely for more than 90 minutes but they still progress to the knockout stages. Murat Yakin’s side knew victory would see them leapfrog…
ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has indicated that he is open to a “partial” deal that would facilitate the return of some captives still held in Gaza, even if not all. He reiterated, however, that he would not agree to any deal that stipulated an end to Israel’s war on Gaza, despite previous claims by the United States that an Israeli proposal would be a pathway to ending the offensive. “The goal is to return the kidnapped and uproot the Hamas regime in Gaza,” he said in an interview with Israeli media outlet Channel 14 on Sunday. Tens of thousands…
A WOMAN from Texas has been charged with attempted murder after she tried to drown a three-year-old Palestinian girl, according to United States media reports, citing local police. The incident, which took place on May 19 in Euless, Texas, is being described by civil rights groups as racially motivated. According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Texas), the accused, 42-year-old Elizabeth Wolf, attacked the girl at the swimming pool at her family’s apartment complex. The child’s mother and six-year-old brother were also present. “Mrs. H, the mother, who wears hijab [Islamic headscarf] and modest swimwear, was watching her children in…
KENYA’s President William Ruto said he was ready for “a conversation” with thousands of young protesters who held nationwide demonstrations this week to oppose proposed tax increases, a presidency official said Sunday. Led largely by Gen-Z Kenyans who have livestreamed the demonstrations, the protests caught the government off-guard, as discontent mounts over Ruto’s economic policies. “Our young people have stepped forward to engage on the affairs of their country. They’ve done their democratic duty, to stand and be recognised. I’m proud of them,” Ruto said in quotes shared by presidency spokesman Hussein Mohamed on X, formerly Twitter. “We’ll have a…
A US tourist from New Mexico was killed by an elephant, after it attacked her vehicle while parked during a safari drive in Zambia on Wednesday. The animal pulled Juliana Gle Tourneau, 64, out of the vehicle and trampled her, officials said. Ms Tourneau was with a group that had stopped near the Maramba Cultural Bridge in Livingstone due to traffic from an elephant herd when one of the animals attacked, a police official told the Zambian national broadcaster ZNBC. This marks the second fatal elephant attack on a US tourist in the southern African country this year. Gail Mattson,…
PORTUGAL coach Roberto Martinez said it was lucky that none of the multiple fans who invaded the pitch during his team’s Euro 2024 game against Turkey on Saturday had ill intentions after several supporters ran on looking for a selfie with Cristiano Ronaldo. The Group F match in Dortmund, which Portugal won 3-0, was interrupted on several occasions in the second half as pitch invaders got away from security in an attempt to take a photograph with the 39-year-old superstar. The first fan, a young boy wearing a red tracksuit top, emerged from the stand behind the benches midway through…
UNITED Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed increasing concern over the escalating war of words and deadly border clashes between Israel’s military and Lebanon’s Hezbollah fighters. UN peacekeepers are working to calm the situation and prevent “miscalculation” after both sides heightened their rhetoric and raised the possibility of full-scale conflict, he said on Friday. “One rash move – one miscalculation – could trigger a catastrophe that goes far beyond the border and, frankly, beyond imagination,” Guterres told reporters. “Let’s be clear: The people of the region and the people of the world cannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza.” A UN…
A SENIOR US Department of State official and expert on Israeli-Palestinian affairs has resigned this week, United States media reported, amid the eight-month war in Gaza that has killed more than 37,400 Palestinians. Andrew Miller, the deputy assistant secretary for Israeli-Palestinian affairs, cited personal reasons for his decision to leave his job, The Washington Post newspaper reported on Friday. Miller told colleagues that he wanted to spend more time with his family as the current conflict which started in October had “become all-consuming”, the report said. He was a sceptic of US President Joe Biden’s “bear hug” approach towards Israel’s…
A 21-YEAR-OLD protester died after being hit by a tear gas canister during protests in Kenya this week, a human rights commission official said Saturday, in the second fatality resulting from the youth-led demonstrations. Led largely by young Kenyans who have livestreamed the demonstrations, the protests against tax hikes have been galvanised by widespread discontent over President William Ruto’s economic policies. Thursday’s demonstrations in Nairobi were mostly peaceful, but officers fired tear gas and water cannon throughout the day in an attempt to disperse protesters near parliament. According to a Kenya Human Rights Commission official, 21-year-old Evans Kiratu was “hit…
MAURITANIAN President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani called on West African countries to come together to confront jihadism, in an interview ahead of the country’s presidential vote. “The region must generate a common political will to be able to fight against insecurity,” Ghazouani told AFP on Friday, on the campaign trail ahead of an election on June 29. “I am not one of those who think today that countries can face a threat like terrorism individually.” The 67-year-old former army chief and defence minister is tipped for a second term as head of the country of 4.5 million that lies…
THE chief key holder and caretaker of the Kaaba Sheikh Saleh Al-Shaibi passed away on Saturday, June 22. The burial will take place at the Al Mu’alla Cemetery in Makkah. Sheikh Saleh Al-Shaibi was the 109th successor of Uthman bin Talha, a companion of prophet Muhammad. The key of the Kaaba was handed over to this companion by the prophet. The descendants of the prophet’s companions have been inheriting the key since then. He took over as caretaker of the Kaaba in 2013. The family has been serving as caretakers of the Kaaba for centuries and Al-Shaibi was the 77th…
FRANCE, with Kylian Mbappe on the bench, and the Netherlands drew 0-0 in a Euro 2024 Group D match on Friday after the Dutch had a second-half goal controversially disallowed. The draw means Poland are eliminated from the group after they lost their second match of the tournament earlier, in a 3-1 defeat to Austria. Xavi Simons had a goal controversially ruled out for the Dutch, while Antoine Griezmann wasted two glorious chances for France. A share of the spoils leaves the sides level on four points at the top of Group D, one ahead of Austria who beat Poland…
ISRAELI bombardment of Gaza killed dozens of people as it intensified its attacks on the besieged territory amid a worsening humanitarian crisis. The Gaza health ministry said the bodies of 30 people killed in Israeli raids arrived at al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City on Friday in what it described as a “difficult and brutal day”. At least 25 people were also killed and 50 others wounded in Israeli attacks on tents for displaced Palestinians in al-Mawasi, near Rafah, in the south of the coastal enclave, it said. In a separate incident, the Palestinian Civil Defence agency said crews transported…
A SENIOR Saudi official defended the Gulf kingdom’s management of the hajj pilgrimage on Friday after various countries reported more than 1,100 deaths, many attributed to high heat. “The state did not fail, but there was a misjudgement on the part of people who did not appreciate the risks,” the official told AFP in the government’s first comments on the deaths. An AFP tally on Friday, compiling official statements and reports from diplomats involved in the response, put the toll at 1,119, more than half of them from Egypt. The Saudi official said officials had confirmed 577 deaths for the…
TOP comedian-turned-politician Micheal Usi has been sworn as Malawi’s vice-president at a ceremony held in parliament in the capital, Lilongwe. The 55-year-old replaces Saulos Chilima, who died in a plane crash earlier this month, along with eight other people. Dr Usi received a standing ovation when he spoke after his inauguration, saying he accepted the role with a mixture of sadness and gratitude. He promised to honour his predecessor’s memory and thanked President Lazarus Chakwera for believing in him as he takes up his position as vice-president in the power-sharing government. His appointment has certainly left Malawians divided. Some have…