Author: Editor

KENYA’s President William Ruto says his peacekeeping police force is expected to arrive in Haiti to help quell growing gang violence in about three weeks. In an exclusive interview with the BBC, Mr Ruto confirmed a planning team was already in Haiti and had met local police to secure arrangements before the Kenyan troops are deployed. Mr Ruto’s comments came as he concluded a three-day trip to Washington DC, the first official state visit of any African leader to the US in over 15 years. During his trip, the White House called for the swift deployment of the Kenyan-led multinational…

CHELSEA have drawn up an early shortlist of managerial options, which includes Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna, Leicester City’s Enzo Maresca and Brentford’s Thomas Frank. The Blues are in search of a replacement for Mauricio Pochettino after he left the club by mutual consent on Tuesday. Contact has been made with McKenna, 38 – who won promotion from the Championship with Ipswich Town this season – but there is competition from Brighton, who are looking to replace Roberto de Zerbi. Manchester United are also reportedly interested in McKenna, who would cost more than £4m in compensation. He is believed to be…

THE UN’s top court said it will rule (today) Friday on a request by South Africa to order Israel to implement a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. South Africa has petitioned the International Court of Justice for emergency measures to order Israel to “cease its military operations in the Gaza Strip” including in Rafah city, where it is pressing an offensive. The rulings of the ICJ, which judges on disputes between states, are binding, but it has no power to enforce them – it has ordered Russia to halt its invasion of Ukraine to no avail, for example. But a…

THE Council of Sandwell, a metropolitan district of the West Midlands county in the United Kingdom has appointed its first female Muslim mayor. Councillor Syeda Khatun will serve as the mayor of Sandwell for the 2024/25 year following a ceremony in Oldbury on Tuesday. The long-standing Sandwell councillor was first elected in 1999 becoming the first Bangladeshi woman to be elected in the Midlands region and the first Muslim woman to win a seat on Sandwell Council. At the full council meeting on Tuesday evening, Cllr Khatun said she was “very humbled and honoured” to become the borough’s first citizen.…

KENYAN President William Ruto vowed Thursday that his country’s upcoming deployment to Haiti will seek to crush gangs that have ravaged the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country. Ruto was speaking on a state visit to Washington alongside President Joe Biden, who saluted Kenya’s willingness to assist and promised that the United States would provide intelligence and equipment in hopes of stabilising its troubled southern neighbour. “Gangs and criminals do not have status. They have no religion,” Ruto told a White House news conference. He vowed that the international mission would “deal with them firmly, decisively, within the perimeters of the law.”…

TENS of thousands of genetically modified (GMO) mosquitoes have been released in Djibouti in an effort to stop the spread of an invasive species that transmits malaria. The friendly non-biting male Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes, developed by Oxitec, a UK-based biotechnology company, carry a gene that kills female offspring before they reach maturity. Only female mosquitoes bite and transmit malaria and other viral diseases. It is the first time such mosquitoes have been released in East Africa and the second time in the continent. Similar technology has been successfully used in Brazil, the Cayman Islands, Panama, and India, according to the…

ADEMOLA Lookman was the night’s hero as his three goals ended Bayern Leverkusen’s fairy-tale unbeaten run to secure Atalanta’s first European Cup title. Lookman became the first player to score a hat-trick in a European final for 49 years to secure Atalanta’s first-ever continental trophy. The side from Bergamo have long lived in the shadow of nearby giants AC and Inter Milan. However, they have enjoyed a golden era under Gian Piero Gasperini, reaching the Champions League on four occasions, and now have silverware to show for it. Leverkusen have made a habit of late fightbacks in their remarkable run…

NORWAY, Ireland and Spain on Wednesday announced they will recognise a Palestinian state from next week, highlighting the European Union’s deep split over the issue as the Israel-Hamas war rages. The three nations hope other countries will follow suit, but France said now was not the right moment — yet Paris noted recognition was not “taboo”. The announcement by Prime Ministers Jonas Gahr Store of Norway, Spain’s Pedro Sanchez and Simon Harris of Ireland came days after the International Criminal Court prosecutor said he would seek arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and Hamas leaders. Sanchez, who has visited several…

AT least five people have been killed and 15 more injured after a stage collapsed at an election campaign rally in Mexico’s northern Nuevo León state, the local governor says. The incident occurred as centre-left presidential candidate Jorge Alvarez Maynez was delivering a speech in the city of San Pedro Garza Garcia, near Monterrey. The collapse was caused by a sudden gust of wind, Mr Maynez said in a post on X. Dramatic footage has emerged apparently showing the moment the lighting structure collapsed as a number of people were on the stage. Video posted to social media showed Mr…

A COURT in Greece has abandoned the trial of nine Egyptian men accused of causing the biggest migrant shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea for a decade. The judges in the southern port city of Kalamata ruled they did not have jurisdiction to hear the case on the grounds the vessel sank in international waters. It is feared more than 600 people drowned last June when an overcrowded fishing boat, the Adriana, sank on its way to Europe from Libya. The accused had faced life in prison if convicted of people-smuggling and causing the sinking of the boat. There were cheers…

FORMER South African President Jacob Zuma has launched a scathing attack on some of the country’s top judges after he was barred from running for parliament on Monday. In his first interview since the ban, Mr Zuma told the BBC the Constitutional Court was wrong to decide he was unfit to run, based on his 2021 conviction for contempt of court. “I expected that from our judges, but they are definitely wrong. Not correct,” the 82-year-old said, adding that the constitution should be changed. Ahead of next week’s general election, Mr Zuma had been campaigning under the banner of the…

JUSTICE Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court Abuja has granted erstwhile Commander of the Force Intelligence Response Team, DCP Abba Kyari, temporarily bail for two weeks on passionate grounds, to go bury his mother. Kyari was granted bail to the tune of 50 million Naira and a surety in like sum. While giving the order, Justice Nwite also held that the surety, which shall be his counsel in the matter, should deposit a copy of his call-to-bar certificate to the deputy registrar of the court. Kyari is to deposit his travel passport with the court and shall always report…

RT. HON Elvert Ekom Ayambem has been impeached as the Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly. The Speaker was impeached on Wednesday by 17 members out of the 15-member House over allegations of misappropriation of funds. Majority of the lawmakers passed a no-confidence vote on the Rt. Hon. Ayambem, about 11 months in office. The impeachment motion was moved by Hon. Effiom Ekarika representing Calabar South 1 Constituency and seconded by Hon. Omang Charles Omang representing Bekwarra State Constituency. Rt Hon Elvert Ayambem was elected Speaker of the 10th Cross River State House of Assembly in June…

THE Federal Government has approved a $750m World Bank funding for the construction of 1,200 mini-grids in rural communities across Nigeria. The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Electrification Agency, Abba Aliyu, disclosed this Tuesday while addressing newsmen at the Alliance for Rural Electrification Energy Access Forum held in Lagos. According to Aliyu, President Bola Tinubu approved the fund for the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up project, which aimed at providing energy access to Nigerians in rural communities. Aliyu noted that about 19 million of the 85 million Nigerians without access to energy would be provided electricity under…

CRISTIANO Ronaldo is set to play in his 11th major international tournament, having been named in the Portugal squad for Euro 2024. The 39-year-old Al-Nassr forward is the most capped player in international football history, with 206 appearances for Portugal and 128 goals. Portugal boss Roberto Martinez included Ronaldo as one of seven forward players in his 26-man squad for next month’s tournament in Germany. Martinez said at a news conference that Ronaldo continued to offer “a quality in front of goal which we greatly appreciate and which we need”. Ronaldo made his tournament debut at Euro 2004 when Portugal…

THE helicopter in the crash that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was a US-made Bell 212, a model introduced in 1968 during the Vietnam War and last produced in 1998. Here is what we know about the Bell 212: – Decades-old helicopter – Brought into service in 1971, the civilian helicopter had a military version known as Twin Huey, which was used by US troops during the Vietnam conflict. One of its variants, the Huey UH-1 Iroquois, gained notoriety in an iconic scene in the film “Apocalypse Now” during which US troops play Richard Wagner’s The Ride of the Valkyries…

ONE person died and more than 70 were injured Tuesday when a Singapore Airlines flight from London hit severe turbulence and was forced to make an emergency landing in Bangkok. Flight tracking data suggested the plane dropped more than 1,800 metres (6,000 feet) in just five minutes, causing multiple head injuries to those on board. It is the latest drama involving a Boeing plane, after a fuselage panel blew out of an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX in January as well as two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019. Singapore Airlines said flight SQ321 took off from London’s Heathrow airport and…

KENYA’s government has defended the cost of President William Ruto’s trip to the US. The price of hiring the luxury private jet in which he and his delegation travelled is estimated to be $1.5m (£1.2m), according to Kenya’s private KTN TV station. “The benefits from this visit far outweigh such a million times,” government spokesman Isaac Mwaura told the BBC, without confirming the cost. More than 30 people, including a popular comedian, are reported to be accompanying the president, who landed in Atlanta, Georgia, on Monday. Mr Ruto is on a four-day visit at the invitation of his US counterpart…

A PROMINENT Malian economist and professor has been sentenced to two years in jail, one of which was suspended, for his criticism of the military junta. Étienne Fakaba Sissoko was also ordered to pay a fine of 3m CFA francs ($4,900; £3,900). The 41-year-old academic, who has been in custody since March, was charged with defamation and damaging the state’s reputation by distributing fake news. The charges relate to a book he published last year, which he defended in court, saying the work was based on fact. Human rights groups say his is the latest case in a widespread crackdown…

ACCORDING to Il Corriere dello Sport, Manchester United, Chelsea, and PSG remain interested in Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, while the Partenopei have been monitoring Real Madrid-owned defender Rafa Marin. Napoli are preparing to part company with their star striker Osimhen. The Nigeria international is expected to make his final appearance in a Napoli shirt this coming weekend in a Serie A match against Lecce at the Stadio Maradona. Osimhen has a €130m clause included in his contract with the Partenopei and according to Corriere dello Sport, Chelsea, Manchester United and PSG are among the clubs watching closely last season’s Serie…