DENMARK Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen has been left “shocked” after being attacked in the street in Copenhagen, her office says. The assault took place on a square in the centre of the city where a man walked up to her and slapped her. The attacker has been arrested. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen called it a “despicable act, which goes against everything we believe in and fight for in Europe”. “Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was beaten on Friday evening at Kultorvet in Copenhagen by a man who was subsequently arrested. The prime minister is shocked by the incident,”…
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AUTHORITIES have arrested five Nigeriens at a port in Benin, accusing them of entering the site fraudulently, the latest in a tit-for-tat row between the West African nations. The Nigeriens were arrested late on Wednesday at the port of Seme-Kpodji, which has become a flashpoint in relations between the neighbours. Landlocked Niger runs a pipeline from its oilfields to the port on the Atlantic coast to export its crude. Under regional sanctions imposed on Niger after a July coup, Benin closed the border but has since reopened it. Niger’s military rulers however have refused to reopen their side. Benin announced…
THE trial of 51 individuals, including three Americans, accused of attempting to overthrow the president of thee Democratic Republic of Congo last month, has begun. The hearing is being broadcast live on national TV and radio from N’dolo military prison in the capital, Kinshasa. The defendants were ushered into the military court wearing blue-and-yellow shirts, marking their first appearance in public since the failed coup. Arrested during attacks on the presidential palace and the home of an ally of President Félix Tshisekedi, they face multiple charges, including financing terrorism, murder and attempted assassination. They have not yet been asked to…
THE Minister of Sports Development, Sen. John Owan Enoh, has charged the Super Eagles to defeat their South African counterparts on Friday to boost their chances of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The Super Eagles will take on the Bafana Bafana of South Africa in Uyo on matchday three of the qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The minister stressed the need for the Eagles to approach the tie as a make-or-break one as victory would put the team back on track for qualification. “The FIFA World Cup is the biggest showpiece in football. We cannot afford…
CRYSTAL Palace pair Eberechi Eze and Adam Wharton have been named in England’s squad for Euro 2024, with Jack Grealish, Harry Maguire and James Maddison among those left out. Winger Eze, 25, has only gained three caps for the Three Lions but impressed in Monday’s 3-0 friendly win over Bosnia-Herzegovina at St James’ Park. Midfielder Wharton, 20, came on as a substitute in that match for his first international appearance. Earlier on Thursday, it was revealed Manchester City forward Grealish, Manchester United centre-back Maguire and Tottenham playmaker Maddison had been left out of Gareth Southgate’s 26-man squad. Burnley goalkeeper James…
AN Israeli air attack on a UN-run school sheltering displaced Palestinians in central Gaza’s Nuseirat camp killed at least 40 people, mainly women and children, according to local government officials. The raid on Thursday came after the military announced a new ground and air assault in several refugee camps in central Gaza. The Palestinian news agency Wafa said thousands of displaced Palestinians were sheltering at al-Sardi school, which is linked to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), when it came under attack. Palestinian group Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, condemned the predawn attack as a “horrible massacre”. At…
A PERSON died of bird flu in Mexico in the first confirmed case of a human infected with the H5N2 variant, the World Health Organization said Wednesday. The 59-year old, who died on April 24 after developing fever, shortness of breath, diarrhoea and nausea, had “no history of exposure to poultry or other animals” and “multiple underlying medical conditions”, the WHO said in a statement. The resident of the State of Mexico was hospitalised in Mexico City and died the same day, the statement said. It was the “first laboratory-confirmed human case of infection with an influenza A(H5N2) virus reported…
SOMALIA has won a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council – hailed as a significant step for the worn-torn nation. It will be the first time the country, which descended into civil war more than 30 years ago, has held the position since the 1970s. The top table at the UN determines how the organisation should respond to conflicts around the world. Analysts say Somalia’s battle to bring an end to its turmoil and its fight against militants will help inform the UN’s decisions. There are 10 rotating non-permanent members on the council, along with the five permanent…
At LEAST 150 people, including 35 children, are feared dead in a massacre in a village in central Sudan blamed on the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary group fighting the army. The rivals have been battling over control of the country for more than 13 months. The RSF has not commented on the accusations, but on Thursday boasted of attacking two army positions. Footage circulating on social media after Wednesday’s raid showed dozens of bodies wrapped in white shrouds prepared for burial in Wad al-Nourah in Gezira state. That video was filmed by activists from a neighbourhood resistance committee,…
SIX people have been rescued while 14 other miners are still being trapped, 48 hours after a mining pit collapsed in Galadima-Kogo, Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State. This newspaper could not independently establish if the six people rescued were alive or dead. The permanent secretary, Niger State Ministry for Mineral Resources, Alhaji Yunusa Mohammed Nahauni, blamed the management of the mining company for the collapse. During a visit to the site of the tragedy where one person was reported dead on Tuesday, the commissioner said the collapse was due to lack of compliance and synergy between the mining…
THERE would be 100 more incorrect refereeing decisions made per season if clubs vote to scrap video assistant referees (VAR), the Premier League has claimed. The league sent a briefing document to all 20 clubs before the annual general meeting on Thursday, 6 June, explaining the reasons why it feels VAR should remain. Wolves formally submitted a resolution to the Premier League in May, which triggered a vote on the continued use of VAR. Premier League clubs are unlikely to vote through this proposal, though in-game VAR announcements are set to be introduced. The Premier League sent a ‘VAR Improvement…
THE Israeli military says it has taken “operational control” over eastern areas of Bureij refugee camp and the town of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, as dozens of Palestinians were reported killed. On Wednesday morning, the military said troops backed by air strikes had begun an operation against “terrorists and terrorist infrastructure above and below ground”. Residents reported intense bombardment and the charity Médecins Sans Frontières said at least 70 dead people – the majority women and children – had been brought to a local hospital since Tuesday. It came as US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators meet in Doha and…
THE Government of Cuba has demanded the country’s removal by the United States Government, from the list of countries allegedly sponsoring terrorism, stressing that Cuba has done nothing to be included in the list. Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs made the call in a statement made available to this newspaper by its Embassy in Abuja condemning the US official media reports submitted to the Congress by the Secretary of State on 15 May, 2024. The Cuban government described the reports as “one more of the arbitrary reports that normally describe countries without any international mandate or recognition.” The statement also…
SOUTH Africa’s ruling ANC said Wednesday it had reached out to rivals to form a government of national unity, after failing to win an outright majority in last week’s general election. The final tally gave President Cyril Ramaphosa’s African National Congress 159 members in the 400-seat National Assembly, its lowest score in a general election. ANC spokeswoman Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri told reporters the party held “explorative” talks with several others, as it attempts to secure enough parliamentary support to form a government and elect a president. Its decision making body was to meet on Thursday to vet all options, including trying…
TWENTY-TWO Chinese nationals have pleaded guilty to committing cyber-related crimes in Zambia. They are among 77 suspects who were arrested in April in connection to what authorities described as a “sophisticated internet fraud syndicate”. The swoop on a Chinese-run company in the capital, Lusaka, followed an alarming rise in internet fraud cases in the country, targeting people in countries around the world. The Chinese nationals are set to be sentenced on Friday, local media report. There have been increasing cases of Zambians losing money from their mobile and bank accounts through money-laundering schemes which extend to other foreign countries, the…
THE Federal Government, through the National Orientation Agency (NOA), has unveiled the approved version of Nigeria’s reintroduced national anthem. The Director-General of the NOA, Lanre Issa-Onilu, unveiled the standardised version of the anthem on Wednesday in Abuja. He urged Nigerians to pay close attention to the words in lines three and five of the national anthem that was reintroduced. On May 29, 2024, on the one-year anniversary of the current government, President Bola Tinubu signed the National Anthem Bill 2024 reverting to the old national anthem, “Nigeria, we hail thee” from “Arise, O Compatriots”. The President said the latest national…
NO fewer than 30 state governments of the federation spent N986.64bn on recurrent expenditures, including refreshments, sitting allowances, travelling, utilities, etc., in the first three months of 2024. The states’ budget implementation reports, which were obtained from Open Nigerian States, a website supported by BudgIT that acts as a repository for public budget data, were analysed. For the first three quarters of the year, our correspondent examined budget implementation data from thirty states; data for six states was not available. Benue, Imo, Niger, Rivers, Sokoto and Yobe States were the ones without Q 1, 2024 data. A breakdown showed that…
EURO 2024, beginning in Germany on June 14, is a mouth-watering prospect, as France and England lead the heavyweight contenders for a tournament which will be played out in some of the continent’s finest stadiums across a football-mad nation. The setting for the month-long competition is important, given the underwhelming nature of the last Euros three years ago, held all over the continent rather than in one country, and played before limited crowds during the Covid pandemic. This time all fans will descend on 10 stadiums in Germany, many with memories of the unforgettable summer of 2006 when the country…
FRANCE’s President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the Palestinian Authority should “ensure the governance” of the Gaza Strip, the presidential office said. Macron in phone talks backed the proposal for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal presented by US President Joe Biden. “This deal should reopen a credible perspective for the implementation of a two-state solution, the only one able to provide Israel with the necessary security guarantees and to respond to the legitimate aspirations of Palestinians,” he said. “Gaza must be an integral part of a future Palestinian state, and a reformed…
SOME of UK’s top universities could see their attractiveness decline due to hits to funding and tighter regulations on overseas students, the annual QS 2025 university rankings warned on Tuesday. Four British universities retained their spots in the top 10 of more than 1,000 universities ranked by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), a benchmark ranking alongside the Times and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Imperial College London, renowned for its science teaching, shot up from sixth to second place, dethroning for the first time the historically dominant “Oxbridge” duo, with Oxford and Cambridge ranking third and fifth respectively. More than half (52) of…