PRESIDENT Donald Trump has confirmed that the United States carried out another strike on a vessel in the Caribbean Sea this week, further escalating tensions with nearby Venezuela. In an Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, Trump made his first statements about the attack, when confronted with media reports about survivors. “We attacked a submarine, and that was a drug-carrying submarine built specifically for the transportation of massive amounts of drugs,” Trump said, without offering evidence about what kind of vessel it was or what it was transporting. “This was not an innocent group of people.…
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A JUDGE on Friday ordered the release on bail of Hannibal Kadhafi, son of deposed Libyan ruler Moamer Kadhafi, after nearly a decade of pre-trial detention in Lebanon, a judicial official said. Lebanese authorities arrested Kadhafi in 2015 and accused him of withholding information about the disappearance of Lebanese Shiite cleric Mussa Sadr in Libya in 1978. Kadhafi, now 49 according to his lawyer, was around two years old at the time of Sadr’s disappearance. After questioning Kadhafi on Friday, the judge ordered his release “on $11 million bail and banned him from travel,” the judicial official told AFP, requesting…
COLONEL Michael Randrianirina has been sworn in as the new president of Madagascar days after a military takeover on the Indian Ocean nation. He swapped his fatigues for a suit and thanked the young people who took to the streets for weeks of protests that prompted President Andry Rajoelina to flee the country and led to his impeachment. The ceremony took place at the Constitutional Court in the capital, Antananarivo, where a large crowd gathered to watch – including those who spearheaded the demonstrations. “Today marks a historic turning-point for our country. With a people in full fervour, driven by…
RUBEN Amorim should be looking ahead to Manchester United’s return to Premier League action this weekend with a renewed sense of optimism. Yet four huge games now await United, starting at Liverpool. They could shape how this season turns out for the team, for better or worse. Amorim’s side produced one of the most solid performances of his time in charge by beating Sunderland 2-0 immediately before the international break. The result eased pressure that had been mounting on the Portuguese head coach in the aftermath of a woeful defeat at Brentford the week before. Since then, minority owner Sir…
US President Donald Trump threatened Thursday to “go in and kill” Hamas if it keeps killing people in Gaza, in an apparent reference to recent shootings of Palestinian civilians following a ceasefire deal with Israel. Trump’s comments come just days after he said that the Hamas shootings — which include public executions — “didn’t bother me much” and described them as killings of gang members. “If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the Deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social network.…
RUSSIAN forces struck gas facilities in eastern Ukraine early Thursday, sparking major disruption to the network in another large-scale bombardment piling pressure on the energy infrastructure. Moscow has attacked Ukrainian power infrastructure each winter since invading in 2022, forcing Kyiv to impose emergency blackouts and import energy from abroad. “There are hits and destruction in several regions at once. The operation of a number of critically important facilities has been halted,” the CEO of gas company Naftogaz, Sergii Koretskyi, said in a statement. The Ukrainian energy grid operator announced emergency power cuts in eight regions, and restrictions for all industrial…
AT least two people have been killed after police in Kenya fired shots to disperse crowds of mourners gathered to view the body of opposition leader Raila Odinga, who died earlier this week in India. The country’s head of police operations, Adamson Bungei, confirmed the shooting at the 60,000-capacity football stadium in the capital, Nairobi, where the viewing was to take place on Thursday ahead of the funeral over the weekend. “We have at least two deaths,” Bungei told The Associated Press news agency, describing the incident as a “confrontation.” Local media outlets KTN News and Citizen TV later said…
FORMER Congolese President Joseph Kabila has announced a movement to “save” his country, after a meeting with other opposition leaders in Kenya’s capital Nairobi. The meeting, held on Tuesday and Wednesday, resolved to rally Congolese to oppose the “dictatorship” of President Félix Tshisekedi, according to a document seen by the BBC. Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya dismissed it as a “non-event”, and a meeting of “fugitives and convicts”. Kenya’s foreign ministry has not responded to the BBC’s request for comment. Kabila was recently sentenced to death back home for war crimes and treason. He rejected the charges as “arbitrary” but…
CRISTIANO Ronaldo scored twice and set a new goalscoring record but his Portugal side could only draw with Hungary to miss a chance to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. Ronaldo, 40, has now scored 41 goals in World Cup qualifying to move clear of the previous record holder, former Guatemala striker Carlos Ruiz who got 39 qualifying goals in his career. With England beating Latvia 5-0 to qualify from Group K, Portugal were minutes away from also securing their spot in next summer’s tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States. However, in the 91st minute Liverpool midfielder Dominik…
GAZA’s Ministry of Health says it has received the remains of 45 Palestinians who were held in Israeli custody via the International Committee of the Red Cross, bringing the total number of bodies returned to 90 as part of a United States-brokered ceasefire deal. Medical teams are continuing to examine, document and prepare the bodies for delivery to families “in line with approved medical procedures and protocols”, the Health Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. Under a ceasefire deal backed by US President Donald Trump and aimed at ending the two-year Gaza war, Israel was to turn over the…
A UNITED States federal judge in California has ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to halt mass layoffs during a partial government shutdown while she considers claims by unions that the job cuts are illegal. During a hearing in San Francisco on Wednesday, US District Judge Susan Illston granted a request by two unions to block layoffs at more than 30 agencies pending further litigation. Her ruling came shortly after White House Budget Director Russell Vought said on “The Charlie Kirk Show” that more than 10,000 federal workers could lose their jobs because of the shutdown, which entered its 15th day…
THE African Union told AFP Wednesday it was suspending Madagascar “with immediate effect” after a coup saw an elite army unit seize power following President Andry Rajoelina’s impeachment. “The country is suspended with immediate effect,” AU Commission chair Mahamoud Ali Youssouf told AFP after Madagascar’s top court confirmed Colonel Michael Randrianirina as president to plunge the poor Indian Ocean nation into crisis. The military leadership under Colonel Michael Randrianirina has promised elections within two years after President Andry Rajoelina was impeached following weeks of popular demonstrations. The international community voiced alarm, with the United Nations censuring what it called an…
KENYAN President William Ruto announced seven days of national mourning and a state funeral for opposition leader Raila Odinga, who died on Wednesday. Ruto described him as “Kenya’s foremost statesman and one of Africa’s greatest sons… a giant of democracy, a fearless freedom fighter, and a tireless warrior of good governance.” Ruto said he would postpone all his public engagements in the coming days “as a mark of respect.” “A king”, “a hero”, “Nelson Mandela” no superlatives were too much for the crowd that came to mourn the death of Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga at his Nairobi home on…
ENGLAND confirmed their qualification for next summer’s World Cup by overwhelming Latvia in Riga. Thomas Tuchel’s side needed victory to assure their place in the showpiece, the outcome never in doubt as England outclassed a Latvian side ranked 137th in the world. Amid the celebrations, it was at times an uncomfortable night for Tuchel, who felt anger and frustration from England’s travelling fans as they chanted sarcastically, and loudly, in response to the head coach’s criticism of “silent” supporters after the friendly against Wales at Wembley. The bigger picture, however, reveals that England qualified with two games to spare after…
ISRAEL has imposed new restrictions on aid entering the besieged Gaza Strip and will not open the Rafah crossing as planned, while Israeli forces killed several people in the Palesitinian territory as the Israel-Hamas ceasefire came under growing strain. Israel notified the United Nations on Tuesday that it will only allow 300 aid trucks half of the number it originally agreed to – daily into the Gaza Strip from Wednesday. Olga Cherevko, a spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Gaza, confirmed the UN had received the note from the Coordination of Government Activities…
US President Donald Trump slammed China’s halt of American soybean purchases as an “economically hostile act,” warning on Tuesday that his country could in turn stop buying cooking oil from the world’s second-biggest economy. “We are considering terminating business with China having to do with Cooking Oil, and other elements of Trade, as retribution,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform. His comments online, however, came shortly after he appeared to soothe rising temperatures between Washington and Beijing. “We have a fair relationship with China, and I think it’ll be fine. And if it’s not, that’s okay too,” Trump told…
A MADAGASCAR army colonel says the military has taken charge of the African island nation after its parliament voted to impeach President Andry Rajoelina, following weeks of youth-led antigovernment protests. There were celebrations in the streets of the capital, Antananarivo, following Colonel Michael Randrianirina’s announcement, which came almost immediately after parliament voted on Tuesday to impeach Rajoelina, who fled the country after soldiers joined the mass protests. “We have taken the power,” Randrianirina said, adding that the military was dissolving all institutions except the lower house of parliament. He later told reporters that a committee led by the military would…
A KENYAN police officer stationed at one of the gates of the president’s official residence in the capital, Nairobi, has died after being shot with an arrow, officials have said. Police said that on Monday morning, a 56-year-old man, armed with a bow and arrows, approached officers at the gate of State House and was ordered to surrender. Instead, he moved forward and shot PC Ramadhan Matanka in the ribs. The policeman was immediately taken to hospital but died while undergoing treatment, according to a police statement. The attack has raised questions about possible security lapses as State House is…
RUSSIA has urged Pakistan and Afghanistan to exercise restraint after deadly fighting erupted along the border for two days, killing dozens and halting bilateral trade in what has amounted to the worst clashes in recent memory. The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday that it was closely monitoring the events and that “the situation is stabilising”, following similar statements from China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. “We welcome this process,” the ministry added. Tensions rose on Thursday, when the Taliban blamed Pakistan for explosions in Kabul and the eastern province of Paktika. Two days later, on Saturday night, Taliban forces…
FAMILIES of many of the Palestinian prisoners being released by Israel under an exchange deal say their long-awaited freedom is bittersweet after they learned their loved ones would be deported to third countries. At least 154 Palestinian prisoners being freed on Monday as part of the swap for Israeli captives held in Gaza will be forced into exile by Israel, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office said. Those to be deported are among a larger group of Palestinians being released by Israel, 250 people held in Israeli prisons along with about 1,700 Palestinians seized from the Gaza Strip during two years…