Author: Editor

ALL EU countries except Hungary joined a call Monday for an “immediate humanitarian pause” in the Gaza war, foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said. The European Union has struggled for a united response to Israel’s military operation following the October 7 attack by Hamas. But Borrell said foreign ministers from 26 states had agreed a statement calling for “an immediate humanitarian pause that would lead to a sustainable ceasefire”. The EU countries also reiterated their calls for Israel not to launch an assault on the Gaza city of Rafah, which has become the main shelter zone in the stricken territory.…

ABRAHAM Lincoln pardoned Joe Biden’s great-great-grandfather after a late-night Civil War-era brawl, documents reportedly show, linking the two US presidents across the centuries. The court martial records in the US National Archives, reported on by the Washington Post Monday, detail the trial of Moses J. Robinette after a fight with fellow Union Army civilian employee John J. Alexander on March 21, 1864. Robinette was charged with attempted murder after the tussle in the Army of the Potomac’s winter camp in Virginia, when Alexander overheard him saying something about him to a cook, and rushed at him. The two men scuffled,…

THE jailed head of Tunisia’s Islamic opposition Ennahda party, Rached Ghannouchi, has joined a hunger strike by other political detainees to mark a year since their detention began. Mr Ghannouchi – who has accused Tunisia’s President Kaïs Saïed of mounting a coup – was given a three-year prison sentence earlier this month after being convicted for accepting external financing. President Saïed has closed the Ennahda party’s headquarters, jailed many leading political opponents and critical journalists and reduced the independence of the country’s courts. He claims the measures were necessary to prevent chaos and root out corruption.

SECURITY forces in Somalia’s north-eastern Puntland region on Sunday arrested Jamal Osman, a reporter for British broadcaster Channel 4, on charges of spreading al-Shabab propaganda, private news site Puntland Post reported. Mr Osman, who won a Rory Peck award in 2022 for a feature on al-Shabab, was detained shortly after he arrived in regional capital Garowe, the website said. “Security sources have confirmed that journalist Jamal was taken [from the airport] to Garowe town, where officials from the Puntland intelligence agency were questioning him,” it added. Channel 4 and Puntland authorities have not commented on the reports. Sources have indicated…

ENGLAND captain Harry Kane’s late goal at Bochum was not enough as Bayern Munich suffered their third defeat in nine days. Bayern took the lead through Jamal Musiala, before the first of two stoppages following fans’ protests. Bochum scored twice, with goals from Takuma Asano and Keven Schlotterbeck. Kevin Stoger’s penalty made it 3-1 after Dayot Upamecano had been sent off and, despite Kane’s 25th league goal of the season, it was not enough. Thomas Tuchel’s Bayern are now eight points behind Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen. Tuchel said winning the Bundesliga title “does not look very realistic”, but added: “Last…

BRAZILIAN President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has accused Israel of committing “genocide” against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and compared its war on Gaza with Adolf Hitler’s campaign to exterminate Jewish people. “What’s happening in the Gaza Strip isn’t a war, it’s a genocide,” Lula told reporters in Addis Ababa where he was attending an African Union summit on Sunday. “It’s not a war of soldiers against soldiers. It’s a war between a highly prepared army and women and children,” added the Brazilian president. “What’s happening in the Gaza Strip with the Palestinian people hasn’t happened at any other…

EMIRATI authorities will seek the maximum penalty against 84 individuals accused of terrorism, they announced on Sunday in a trial denounced by human rights groups. The trial has been adjourned until March 7, when the defence will present its case, the official WAM news agency reported, saying the public prosecutor has demanded the “maximum sentence” without elaborating. Most of the defendants, among them human rights activists and government critics, were previously convicted more than a decade ago on similar charges and had completed or were about to complete their sentences. The United Arab Emirates has accused the defendants of forming…

X, FORMERLY known as Twitter, has finally paid off the staff it sacked in its African headquarters more than a year after they were laid off, the agency which represents them has said. Most had only been in the job, based in Ghana’s capital, Accra, for a few months when the social media platform fired them in November 2022. They had threatened to take X to court for failing to pay the redundancy money they said they were promised. The company has not commented. X has previously said that it had paid ex-employees in full. Elon Musk, who took over…

MARIEME and Ndeye were not expected to survive for more than a few days when they were born. Now aged seven, they are thought to be the only growing conjoined twins in Europe. While both girls have their own unique personalities and moods, they rely on each other to survive. “When you are told from the beginning there is no future, you just live for the present,” said their dad, Ibrahima. Conjoined twins are rare, representing about one in every 500,000 live births in the UK. Around half are stillborn, with another third dying within 24 hours of birth. So…

TALKS to agree a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza were “not very promising” in recent days, mediator Qatar has said. Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said he remained optimistic, but added “time is not in our favour”. It comes as Israel’s prime minister said he would press ahead with plans for a Rafah ground invasion, despite growing international pressure. Hamas has blamed Israel for a lack of progress in achieving a ceasefire deal. Talks have been taking place in Cairo as senior officials from the US, Israel, Egypt and Qatar meet to try to broker a…

THAILAND’s convicted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has arrived at his mansion in the capital Bangkok after being released on parole. The billionaire was freed from a police hospital, where he had been serving a one-year jail sentence for corruption and abuse of power. Thaksin, 74, was detained as soon as he returned to Thailand last August from 15 years in self-imposed exile. He did not spend a single night in jail after complaining of health problems. Thaksin’s original eight-year prison term was commuted to one year by Thailand’s king – just days after he returned from exile. The handling…

THOUSANDS of demonstrators have gathered in Senegal’s capital, Dakar, demanding swift presidential elections. It comes after the country’s top court blocked President Macky Sall’s attempt to postpone the election, originally scheduled for this month. Mr Sall’s last minute decree, backed by parliament, had triggered a political crisis in Senegal, once regarded as a bastion of democracy in West Africa. On Saturday, opposition supporters held signs demanding a “Free Senegal”. It is the first rally allowed by authorities since Mr Sall’s announcement two weeks ago. “Today’s watchword is mobilisation,” said presidential candidate Malick Gakou on the march. He told the AFP…

THE chair of the African Union Commission (AUC) has called on leaders to tackle conflicts in the continent, and condemned a series of coups in some African countries. Moussa Faki Mahamat made the call on the first day of the two-day AU summit. War in Sudan and instability in the Democratic Republic of Congo are at the top of the African bloc’s agenda. The conflict between Israel and Hamas, poverty, climate change and education are other key topics to be discussed. In his remarks to delegates at the summit in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, Mr Faki – who heads…

MAURICIO Pochettino has promised his Chelsea side will attack Manchester City when they travel to the Premier League champions’ Etihad Stadium on Saturday. Chelsea and City drew a memorable game 4-4 at Stamford Bridge in November, with former City player Cole Palmer scoring a penalty in stoppage time for the hosts to snatch a point. Chelsea have endured mixed fortunes since, losing half of their 12 league fixtures, though they could climb to a season-high seventh place with victory against Pep Guardiola’s side, depending on results elsewhere. With 14 games to go, Chelsea have already scored three more league goals…

DAYOT Upamecano said “racism has no place anywhere” after the defender was subjected to racist abuse following Bayern Munich’s 1-0 defeat by Lazio. Upamecano, 25, was sent off in the 67th minute of the first leg of Bayern’s Champions League last-16 tie, with Ciro Immobile scoring the resulting penalty. Bayern Munich condemned the racist abuse directed at the centre-back on social media after the fixture. “2024 and we still have to repeat it,” wrote Upamecano on Instagram. “Making mistakes is part of football. I made one and I apologise to my team-mates and supporters. “Everything remains possible at home and…

The UN’s top court Friday rejected South Africa’s request to put more legal pressure on Israel to halt a threatened offensive against the Gaza city of Rafah, saying it was “bound to comply with existing measures.” Pretoria has already filed a complaint against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, alleging that its assault on Gaza amounts to a breach of the Genocide Convention. The court has yet to rule on the underlying issue, but on January 26 it ordered Israel to ensure it took action to protect Palestinian civilians from further harm and to allow…

RUSSIAN state media tends not to give much or any airtime to critics of the government, and their initial treatment of Alexei Navalny’s reported death continues in this vein. On state TV channels, the media outlets with the biggest audiences in Russia, there has been minimal coverage of Navalny’s death, and the first reports were largely slow to come and perfunctory. On two of the most popular channels – Channel One and Rossiya 1 – it took almost 45 minutes and an hour respectively after the announcement, before it was mentioned. These reports provided no contextual information of who Navalny…

SOUTH African troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo have suffered their first fatalities since their recent deployment to quell a rebellion. Two soldiers were killed and three were injured after a mortar bomb landed in their base on Wednesday. The attack has led to South African opposition politicians calling for the withdrawal of troops from DR Congo. The troops are part of a regional force helping DR Congo’s military as it confronts a series of armed groups. The most prominent group is the M23, which has taken up positions on the major routes leading into Goma, the main city…

SEYCHELLES’ main opposition leader Patrick Herminie is no longer facing witchcraft charges after prosecutors dropped the case against him. He had always denied the accusations and speaking outside court on Thursday described them as “malicious action”. The police had said the case related to the discovery of two bodies exhumed from a cemetery on the island of Mahé. Mr Herminie plans to run in the 2025 presidential election under the banner of the United Seychelles Party. He called the case an “abuse of power” by President Wavel Ramkalawan, the AFP news agency quotes him as saying. “We do not have…

FORMER presidential spokesman Laolu Akande says Nigeria needs bold leaders to confront the country’s multifaceted challenges, especially security and economic problems. He made this known on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande aired on Channels Television on Friday during ‘My Take’ segment which normally opens the weekly programme. According to him, leaders must be honest and courageous to overcome the challenges in the country. “The problems as of today, the widespread hardship in the land and the menacing  insecurities require courageous leadership at the very top. Our leaders must be bold enough to fire appointed public officials who don’t deliver on…