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KHALED Meshaal, a senior official in Hamas, has been speaking at an event in Doha. Meshaal, who was speaking at an event to mourn members of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s family after they were killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza on Wednesday, said the group would “break the enemy soon”. Meshaal lives in exile and heads Hamas’s political office in the diaspora. “This is not the final round,” he said, referring to the now six-month-old war. “It is an important round on the path of liberating Palestine and defeating the Zionist project.” Meanwhile, Five people have been killed…

THE IMF executive board confirmed Friday that it had reappointed Kristalina Georgieva to serve for a second five-year term at the helm of the international financial institution. It means that Georgieva, who was the sole candidate in the running to lead the International Monetary Fund, will continue in office when her current term ends on September 30, 2024. The decision was taken by consensus, the IMF said in a statement confirming the board’s decision. “I am deeply grateful for the trust and support of the Fund’s Executive Board, representing our 190 members, and honored to continue to lead the IMF…

LIBERIA’s House of Representatives is investigating how former President George Weah’s asset declaration documents were leaked to the public. All senior government officials in the country, including presidents, are mandated to declare their wealth upon taking office before the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (Lacc). It is meant to ensure public officials avoid conflicts of interest and illicit wealth accumulation. But it is not mandatory for such declarations to be made public. The former president’s asset declaration documents are said to have been leaked to the public without his consent. “Weah’s asset declaration form is now all in the public space and…

AN aid agency working in Sudan has warned levels of hunger and malnutrition after a year of civil war are much worse than previously thought. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and other organisations say the breakdown of governance and infrastructure mean a famine is now almost inevitable. The United Nations, meanwhile, has said Sudan could become “the world’s worst hunger crisis”. Aid to the troubled Darfur region has been largely blocked by the war. In addition, the country is not in a position to begin planting crops for the new growing season in May. MSF said one child was dying every…

THE Nigeria School Sport Federation says it’s seeking sponsors for the 2024 International School Sport Federation U-18 World School Cup for girls, which will take place in Dalian, China from May 16 to 27, after ending their trials on Tuesday. After a two-day national trial inside the main bowl of the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, which had over 300 girls from secondary schools across the country, the NSSF has selected 25 players for the tournament. NSSF president, Olabisi Joseph, expressed excitement on the quality of talents at the body’s disposal and called on interested individual and corporate organisations to partner…

ATALANTA stunned Anfield as Gianluca Scamacca scored twice in a 3-0 win on Thursday to leave Liverpool with a mountain to climb to reach the Europa League semi-finals. Mario Pasalic added a third seven minutes from time to condemn Liverpool to a first home defeat in all competitions for 14 months. The Reds had been favourites to end the Jurgen Klopp era by completing the German’s set of trophies won as Liverpool boss in his last game in charge in the Dublin final. With Liverpool locked in a tight three-way battle for the Premier League title alongside Arsenal and Manchester…

GAZA’s Health Ministry has said at least 63 Palestinians have been killed and 45 injured in Israeli attacks across the enclave in the past 24 hours. Iran Press/ West Asia: The World Health Organization (WHO) has said the destruction in Khan Younis and damage to the medical sector was ‘disproportionate to anything one can imagine’ after the Israeli army withdrawal. At least 33,545 Palestinians have been killed and 76,094 injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from Hamas’s October 7 attacks stands at 1,139, with dozens of people still held captive. Meanwhile, Tedros…

ITALY’s coastguard said Thursday that it had found nine dead migrants, including a child, after their boat was shipwrecked southeast of Lampedusa but that 22 people were rescued. The coastguard said it had been asked for help Wednesday by authorities in Malta, in whose search-and-rescue territory the shipwreck occurred, around 30 miles southeast of the Italian island of Lampedusa. It dispatched a patrol boat to the site and “rescued 22 shipwrecked people and recovered nine lifeless people, including a child”, the coastguard said in a statement. Rough conditions, with waves up to 2.5 metres (8.2 feet) high, complicated the rescue…

THE UK has returned dozens of artefacts looted from what is today Ghana – more than 150 years after they were taken. Some 32 gold and silver items have been sent on long-term loan to the country by the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) and the British Museum. They were stolen from the court of the Asante king, known as the Asantehene, during 19th century conflicts between the British and powerful Asante people. The objects are expected to be returned to the current king on Friday. His chief negotiator, Ivor Agyeman-Duah, told the BBC that the objects are currently in…

A TOP Ethiopian opposition figure has been shot dead and his body found on the side of a road in his hometown in Meki, in the troubled Oromia region. Bate Urgessa, 41, was an outspoken critic of the government and had been jailed on several occasions. Family members told local news site, Addis Standard, people who “looked like government security forces” took him from his hotel room on Tuesday night. The Oromia regional government denied that security forces were involved. In recent years Ethiopia has seen an increase in the killing of political and cultural figures. Mr Bate was a…

FIFTY more staff of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) were sacked on Monday, adding to the long list of ongoing disengagements in the apex bank, this newspaper gathered. The sacking under the leadership of CBN governor, Mr Olayemi Cardoso cuts across 29 departments, it was learnt. So far, 117 casualties have been recorded in the last 20 days. The termination of appointments affects directors, deputy directors, assistant directors, principal managers, senior managers and lower ranking staff. The dispatch of the disengagement letters, which started on March 15, has continued every other week with palpable apprehension amongst staff of every…

ANDREAS Christensen headed the winner as Barcelona beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-2 at the Parc des Princes in Wednesday’s first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie. Raphinha equalised for Barca with his second goal of the night before Christensen nodded in from a corner in the 77th minute. In between, PSG had turned the game around as they awoke from a poor first-half display by starting in electrifying fashion after the restart with two goals in six minutes, neither coming from Kylian Mbappe. Ousmane Dembele struck against his old club, and Vitinha briefly put the French giants in front, only…

GAZANS did their best to celebrate the end of Ramadan in the driving rain on Wednesday, as the war raged on with 14 killed, including children, in a strike on their home, the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry said. The Israeli military said it struck several targets on the first day of the Eid al-Adha holiday, with a jet hitting a rocket launch site and troops killing a “terrorist cell” in close quarters fighting. An AFP photographer witnessed the aftermath of the the bombing of the home in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. Family members clutched the bodies of dead…

IT is the most spectacular trial ever held in Vietnam, befitting one of the greatest bank frauds the world has ever seen. Behind the stately yellow portico of the colonial-era courthouse in Ho Chi Minh City, a 67-year-old property developer stands accused of looting one of Vietnam’s largest banks over a period of 11 years. The numbers involved are dizzying. Truong My Lan is charged with taking out $44bn (£35bn) in loans from the Saigon Commercial Bank. Prosecutors say $27bn may never be recovered. The habitually secretive communist authorities have been uncharacteristically forthright about this case, going into minute detail…

A “SOPHISTICATED internet fraud syndicate” has been uncovered in Zambia, leading to the arrest of 77 people, including 22 Chinese nationals. It was a “significant breakthrough in the fight against cybercrime”, the authorities said after a multi-agency raid on a Chinese-run company. The firm employed Zambians who believed they were to be call-centre agents. Among equipment seized were devices allowing callers to disguise their location and thousands of Sim cards. Golden Top Support Services, the company at the centre of the raid, has not commented on the allegations. The swoop on its premises, located in Roma, an upmarket suburb of…

THE editor of a Togolese newspaper detained over a report about the death of a supporter of President Faure Gnassingbe was released on Tuesday, his lawyer said. The arrest of Apollinaire Mewenemesse, 71, who is editor of La Depeche, heightened fears of a press clampdown ahead of elections. He was arrested on March 28 in connection with an article questioning a general’s conviction in the murder of an Gnassingbe ally. He faces seven charges, including “publication of fake news” with the aim of inciting the public or the military to rise up against the state. “Apollinaire Mewenemesse is released under…

NO fewer than 39 lecturers in the nation’s tertiary institutions have been indicted and dismissed over sexual misconduct in the past five years, analysis of media reports by this newspaper has revealed. Sexual harassment has been recurring in Nigerian higher educational institutions with a survey conducted in 2018 by the World Bank Group’s Women revealing that 70 per cent of female graduates from tertiary institutions in the country were sexually harassed in school, with the main perpetrators being classmates and lecturers. Although the Senate had in 2021 passed a bill stipulating 21 years imprisonment for randy lecturers, The PUNCH reports…

REAL Madrid and Champions League holders Manchester City shared a pulsating 3-3 draw in a rollercoaster quarter-final first leg on Tuesday. Bernardo Silva put City ahead with a low free-kick but Ruben Dias’ own goal and Rodrygo Goes helped Madrid dramatically and swiftly fight back. Manchester City’s own quick-fire double in the second half through Phil Foden and Josko Gvardiol stunned the record 14-time winners, but they snatched a draw through Fede Valverde’s scorching volley. The thrilling match was played in the shadow of a threat by Islamic State to target every quarter-final first leg, with a heavy security presence…

AT least 14 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting a house in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, Palestinian medical sources and eyewitnesses said Tuesday. Eyewitnesses told Xinhua that Israeli warplanes targeted a house belonging to the Abu Yousef family in the camp, completely destroying the house and causing damage to nearby homes. Medical sources told Xinhua that 14 people, including children, were killed in the airstrike, and several others sustained varying degrees of injuries. All the injured were transported to hospitals. Earlier in the day, the Gaza health ministry announced that the Palestinian death toll in…

SIMON Harris became Ireland’s youngest ever prime minister Tuesday, pledging to bring “new energy” to the role but conceding that time is tight before looming crucial election tests. Harris, 37, replaces Leo Varadkar who abruptly quit last month citing personal and political reasons. Ireland’s parliament voted 88 to 69 in favour of Harris who was officially installed at a ceremony with President Michael D. Higgins. The centre-right Fine Gael party — part of a three-party governing coalition — selected Harris as its leader following an uncontested election after Varadkar resigned. But he faces key elections within months as well as…