LIBERIAN President Joseph Boakai has signed an executive order to establish the country’s first war crimes court, more than 20 years after the end of two civil wars which killed 250,000 people. Mr Boakai said Liberia had “endured downpours of agony”. The 1989-2003 conflicts saw atrocities including mass killings, rape and the forced recruitment of child soldiers. Critics in Liberia have opposed the creation of the court, saying it risks reopening old wounds. But Mr Boakai said the court would “help ferret the causes and effects of the violence” and bring about “justice and healing”. Adama K Dempster, one of…
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THE Sokoto State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of some of its officers allegedly involved in the kidnapping of minors in the state. The spokesman for the command, ASP Ahmad Rufai, who confirmed the arrest of the officers simply identified as ASP Kulu and one other named Elizabeth, said the command has commenced investigations into the alleged abduction of five children from the state. Recall that an Assistant Superintendent of Police, ASP Kulu, alongside her accomplice, Elizabeth, were arrested by the FCT police command for allegedly abducting five children, including a less than two-week-old baby girl in the state.…
NIGERIAN Guild of Editors (NGE) has reaffirmed that media freedom, freedom of expression and access to public information are crucial to democracy and must be at the heart of Nigerian government’s values and actions. The professional body of editors and media executives in Nigeria also said that it recognizes the crucial role played by journalists, media workers and free/ independent media in protecting the country democracy and advised them not to give up, in spite of the prevailing economic challenges. In a press statement issued on Thursday to mark this year World Press Freedom Day and signed by its President,…
MANCHESTER United are considered front-runners to sign Michael Olise should the winger leave Crystal Palace this summer, sources told ESPN. Olise, 22, is understood to have a release clause in his contract that becomes active after the end of the season, and United’s new leadership group under minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe have identified Olise as key target in their summer rebuild. It is unclear exactly how much a deal to sign Olise would cost but the figure is significantly higher than the £35 million ($43.7m) clause in his previous contract. One source put the amount between £50m and £60m.…
THE world hasn’t seen anything like the unprecedented destruction of housing in Gaza since World War II, and it would take at least until 2040 to restore the homes devastated in Israel’s bombing and ground offensive if the conflict ended today, the United Nations reported Thursday. The UN assessment said the social and economic impact of the war launched after Hamas’ surprise attack in southern Israel on October 7 has been increasing in an exponential manner. It called the level of casualties 5 per cent of Gaza’s 2.3 million population – unprecedented in such a short time. By mid-April, it…
SCHOOLS and many offices were closed across the United Arab Emirates on Thursday as heavy rains returned to the desert country just two weeks after record downpours that experts linked to climate change. A lightning storm with high winds swept across the oil-rich monarchy overnight, with more than 50 millimetres (two inches) of rain falling before 8:00 am in some areas, the National Center of Meteorology said. Flooding was seen in some parts of financial hub Dubai, and the city’s airport, the world’s busiest by international passenger traffic, cancelled 13 flights and diverted five, a spokesperson said. State-owned, Dubai-based Emirates…
KENYAN President William Ruto on Thursday named Charles Muriu Kahariri as defence chief after the death of his predecessor in a helicopter crash. He replaces Francis Omondi Ogolla who was among 10 military officers killed when their chopper went down in a remote area of northwestern Kenya on April 18. Kahariri had previously served as deputy to Ogolla, 62, who had been Chief of Defence Forces for a year and was about to mark 40 years of military service. A former Kenya Navy deputy commander, Kahariri joined the Kenya Defence Forces in April 1987, rising through the ranks during “his…
THE US is still engaged with Niger and Chad, despite withdrawing troops from the countries, the head of the US Africa Command has told the BBC. On Wednesday, dozens of US troops left Chad after the country’s military leaders raised concerns over their presence ahead of the 6 May elections. Gen Michael Langley told the BBC it was a “temporary repositioning” of troops. Last month, US troops left neighbouring Niger after being ordered out by the country’s junta. Russian military instructors have arrived in Niger as part of a new agreement with the military leaders. Several other military-led countries in…
THE Manchester United loanee breezed past Paris St-Germain defenders time and time again as Borussia Dortmund took a slender 1-0 advantage in the Champions League semi-final first leg and left many Man Utd fans asking why their club could not get the best out of the forward. The 24-year-old had completed more dribbles by half-time in front of Dortmund’s raucous ‘Yellow Wall’ on Wednesday than he managed in any of his 58 appearances in the Premier League as he showed signs of being the player United paid Dortmund £73m for in July 2021. His high-profile move to Old Trafford saw…
UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says Israel “impeded” and “denied” a significant number of aid missions to north Gaza in April, and that despite the opening of new aid crossing, six months of starvation cannot be ended without a consistent supply of aid. The Beit Hanoon (Erez) crossing, the Gaza Strip’s northern border crossing with Israel, has been opened for the first time since October 7, admitting a convoy of 31 aid trucks from Jordan. Meanwhile, Fifty-seven US House Democrats have signed an open letter calling for President Joe Biden’s administration to take every possible measure to…
FOR 98-year-old Lidiia Lomikovska, Russia’s invasion is worse than the Second World War, which she also lived through. She’s learnt to trust her instincts. It’s why when Russian forces entered her home village of Ocheretyne in eastern Ukraine, she and her family decided it was time to go. However, under heavy shelling, Lidiia soon became separated from her relatives, so started walking west in her slippers. “I took a stick and a plank of wood [for support] and made my way,” she told the BBC. “My legs were carrying me somehow; I wasn’t carrying them!” She would end up walking…
GHANA’s Asante King on Wednesday displayed for the first time dozens of royal artefacts looted during colonial rule, after they were returned by British museums on a long-term loan as part of his silver jubilee celebrations. The British Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum earlier this year agreed to give back 32 gold and silver treasures pillaged by British military forces from Asante leader Asantehene’s court during the 19th-century Anglo-Asante Wars. They include the sword of the state known as Mpomponsuo and the gold badges of officials authorised to purify the king’s soul. The collection also features a gold…
NEARLY a hundred tourists are among people marooned after rivers overflowed in Kenya’s famed Maasai Mara wildlife reserve following a heavy downpour, a local administrator said Wednesday. Torrential rains, amplified by the El Nino weather pattern, have lashed much of the East African country and destroyed roads, bridges and other infrastructure. “Approximately 100 or more tourists” were stranded in more than a dozen lodges and camps, Narok West sub-county administrator Stephen Nakola told AFP. “That is the preliminary number as of now because some of the camps are inaccessible,” he said. The world-famous Maasai Mara, in southwestern Kenya, is a…
SUPER Falcons’ Chiamaka Nnadozie has clinched the best goalkeeper award in the French women’s league. The Nigerian defeated Olympique Lyon’s Christiane Endler and Paris Saint-Germain’s Katarzyna Kiedryznek to claim the prize on Monday night. She was also named in the team of the season, capping off a thrilling night for the 23-year-old shot-stopper. An excited Chiamaka took to social media to express happiness over the feat, thanking her teammates and coaches. “Excited to have won the French D1 Arkema Goalkeeper of the Year. A big thanks to everyone who voted for me and also a special appreciation to my coaches…
PRIME Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has renewed his promise that Israel will launch a ground assault on Rafah in southern Gaza amid shaky ongoing truce talks to reach a ceasefire deal. Netanyahu on Tuesday said Israel will destroy Hamas’ battalions there “with or without a deal” to achieve “total victory” in the nearly seven-month war. Israel and Hamas are negotiating a potential ceasefire agreement and an exchange of hostages held by Palestinian groups in Gaza for prisoners held in Israeli jails. “The idea that we will stop the war before achieving all of its goals is out of the question. We…
THOUSANDS of people have been evacuated and flights disrupted after Indonesia’s Mount Ruang erupted again, sending thick clouds of ash more than 5km (3 miles) into the sky. Officials said the volcano in the archipelago’s North Sulawesi province erupted at least three times on Tuesday, prompting fears debris might fall into the sea and cause a tsunami. Footage shared by Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency (BNPB) showed strikes of lightning flashing above Ruang’s crater as fiery red clouds of lava and rocks were thrown into the air. The agency said that all 843 residents living on Ruang Island, where the volcano…
STATE TV in Mali says a senior Islamic State commander who had a $5m (£4m) US bounty on his head has been killed by a force including troops from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Abu Huzaifa had been linked to several high-profile raids in the Sahel region. This included a 2017 attack which killed four American soldiers and several troops from Niger. Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have all suffered from relentless attacks by jihadist fighters. All three countries are under military rule and have been developing close links with Russia while cutting ties with Western allies including the US.…
BRITAIN on Tuesday imposed sanctions on several Ugandan politicians, including the speaker of the East African country’s parliament, following claims of corruption. London said it was the first time its new “global anti-corruption sanctions regime” had been used on individuals facing corruption claims in Uganda, and that it was part of a worldwide crackdown. Anita Among, the speaker of the Ugandan parliament, was one of three people targeted with the UK travel bans and asset freezes. The other two — Mary Goretti Kitutu and Agnes Nandutu — were previously ministers responsible for Uganda’s isolated and impoverished border region of Karamoja.…
ENGLAND may have no Premier League clubs left in the Champions League but two of the country’s biggest stars will go head to head for a place in the competition’s final. Three Lions captain Harry Kane has been prolific for Bayern Munich despite the German giants failing to win the Bundesliga for the first time in 12 years. Jude Bellingham, meanwhile, has lit up the Bernabeu during his debut season at Real Madrid. England boss Gareth Southgate will no doubt be among the keenest of observers when the pair meet in the first leg in Munich on Tuesday. Both men…
ISRAELI airstrikes killed at least 40 Palestinians on Monday, with more than half of the dead in the southern Gaza city of Rafah where bombs hit three houses, medics said, as Hamas leaders arrived in Cairo for a new round of truce talks. In Gaza City, in the north of the Gaza Strip, Israeli warplanes struck two houses, killing at least six people and wounding several others, health officials said. With nightfall, an Israeli air strike on a house in the Al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza Strip killed three Palestinians, including a local journalist, medics and Hamas media said.…