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CAMEROON’s Interior Minister Paul Atanga Nji says opposition leader Issa Tchiroma Bakary will face legal action over allegations he incited “violent post-election demonstrations”. At least four protesters have been killed during clashes between security forces and opposition supporters since Cameroon’s election on 12 October, with 92-year-old President Paul Biya winning an eighth consecutive term. Tchiroma Bakary insists he won the election, a claim dismissed by Biya’s ruling party, the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM). Violent crackdowns by police and security officers on protesters have alarmed the international community, with the UN, African Union and EU calling for restraint. On Tuesday,…

LIVERPOOL crashed out of the League Cup on Wednesday as Crystal Palace’s 3-0 win in the fourth round added to the mounting crisis at Anfield. Ismaila Sarr struck twice in the first half and Yeremy Pino grabbed the third to condemn Arne Slot’s side to a sixth defeat in their last seven games in all competitions. Slot fielded a weakened team as he prioritised Liverpool’s crucial games against Aston Villa, Real Madrid and Manchester City over the next two weeks. But it was still another embarrassing result for Liverpool, coming hot on the heels of a 3-2 loss at Brentford…

DURING Israel’s war on Gaza, Dr Hussam Abu Safia, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, was warned by Israeli soldiers for months in 2024 to take his family and leave his duties. But Abu Safia refused to leave his patients behind, as his colleagues and family said in a documentary by Al Jazeera’s Fault Lines. Then in December as Israeli forces surrounded the hospital, an Israeli officer called Abu Safia and promised to relocate him and his staff to another hospital. But the promise was a lie. Instead, the paediatrician and neonatologist was abducted…

RESIDENTS of a Rio de Janeiro community lined up their dead in the street Wednesday after Brazil’s bloodiest police raid killed at least 119 people, spotlighting the city’s controversial war against drug gangs entrenched in poor neighborhoods. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was left horrified by the death toll from the operation, just days before Brazil hosts COP30 global climate talks in the Amazon city of Belem. While activists and the United Nations raised concerns over the use of force by police, Rio’s state government hailed the operation as a success in its bid to halt the takeover of…

THE Rapid Support Forces militia reportedly killed hundreds of civilians at the main hospital in el-Fasher, days after it captured the Sudanese city, the head of the UN’s health agency says. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the UN health agency was “appalled and deeply shocked” by the reported killing of 460 people at the hospital. Earlier, the Sudan Doctors’ Network said that on Tuesday RSF fighters had “cold bloodedly killed everyone they found inside the Saudi Hospital, including patients, their companions, and anyone else present”. It gave no causality figures, but said medical facilities in the city had been “transformed into…

TANZANIA’s authorities have imposed a curfew in Dar es Salaam, the nation’s biggest city, following violent clashes between the police and protesters on election day. Sources at the city’s Muhimbili Hospital told the BBC they had seen an influx of wounded patients, as Tanzanians voted in presidential and parliamentary elections. The poll is expected to be a shoo-in for President Samia Suluhu and her ruling party, as the main opposition leader is in jail on treason charges, which he denies, and his party has boycotted the vote. The protesters, who want electoral reforms and free political activity, set fire to…

THE Israeli military has killed at least 20 Palestinians in attacks across Gaza after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered “powerful” strikes following an exchange of gunfire in southern Rafah, during which one Israeli soldier was wounded. The attacks on Tuesday marked the most significant flare-up in violence since a ceasefire brokered by United States President Donald Trump came into effect in the war-devastated territory on October 10. Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, accused Israel of violating the truce and said it would postpone the planned handover of the body of a missing captive. In a statement, it also warned…

NORTH Korea has test-fired several sea-to-surface cruise missiles into its western waters, according to state media, hours before United States President Donald Trump begins a visit to South Korea. The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Wednesday that the missiles, carried out in the Yellow Sea on Tuesday, flew for more than two hours before accurately striking targets. Top military official Pak Jong Chon oversaw the test and said “important successes” were being achieved in developing North Korea’s “nuclear forces” as a war deterrent, according to KCNA. The test was aimed at assessing “the reliability of different strategic…

A PLANE crash near Kenya’s coast has killed 10 European tourists and a local pilot, officials have said. The aircraft was flying from the popular beach resort of Diani to an airstrip in the world-famous Maasai Mara game park when it went down at 05:30 local time (02:30 GMT), the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) said. Mombasa Air Safari said the plane was carrying eight Hungarians, two Germans and a Kenyan pilot, all of whom had been killed in the crash. “Our primary focus right now is on providing all possible support to the families affected,” it added in a…

MALI has suspended schools and universities nationwide due to a severe fuel scarcity caused by a blockade on fuel imports imposed by insurgents. Education Minister Amadou Sy Savane announced on state television that all education institutions would remain shut until 9 November, saying the movement of staff and students had been affected by the blockade. He said the authorities were “doing everything possible” to end the crisis so that classes could resume on 10 November. For weeks, Mali has been hit by a fuel shortage, especially in the capital Bamako, after militants from an al-Qaeda affiliate imposed a blockade by…

JURRIEN Timber urged Arsenal “not to get too high” after they extended their lead at the top of the Premier League. On a weekend where title rivals Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea all lost, the Gunners beat Crystal Palace 1-0 to move four points clear of shock second-placed team Bournemouth. Arsenal’s seventh consecutive victory in all competitions put them six points in front of City and seven ahead of reigning English champions Liverpool. The victory over capital rivals Palace also capped a fine week for Mikel Arteta’s men, who also posted a third successive Champions League win with a 4-0…

ISRAEL’s aggressions around the Middle East haven’t ceased with the recent ceasefire agreement in Gaza. The pact, established on October 10, has eased the pressure on Palestinians in Gaza, even if Israeli strikes there continue. And in other parts of the region, Israel is still attacking on multiple fronts. Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank have all witnessed Israeli strikes in the last week, giving credence to the idea that Israel is trying to keep its neighbours destabilised and weak. United States officials visited Israel this week, but Tel Aviv’s biggest backer didn’t seem to indicate it was ready to…

PRIME Minister Inga Ruginiene has said Lithuania has started shooting down smuggler balloons crossing from Belarus and also shut its border crossings with the neighbouring country following repeated interruptions to its air traffic. “Today we have decided to take the strictest measures, there is no other way,” Ruginiene told a news conference on Monday, saying the crossings will be closed except for travel by diplomats and by European Union citizens leaving Belarus. NATO and European Union member Lithuania closed Vilnius Airport four times last week after balloons entered its airspace. Each time, it temporarily shut its Belarus border crossings in…

IVORY Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara has won a fourth term, securing a crushing 89.77 percent in a vote which his two greatest rivals were barred from, the electoral commission said Monday. Nearly nine million voters were eligible to cast their ballot Saturday in the world’s top cocoa producer, which has resisted coups and jihadist attacks plaguing much of west Africa but which saw tensions soar and deadly violence in the run-up to the election. Even before the provisional results’ announcement Ouattara was already anticipated to have swept the polls, after early tallies on Sunday showed him winning upwards of 90…

FORMER Mali prime minister Moussa Mara will spend one year in prison after a Bamako court sentenced him Monday following a social media post supporting political prisoners. His punishment for “undermining the credibility of the state and opposing legitimate authority” additionally includes a one-year suspended sentence. Mara, who was prime minister for eight months from 2014 until 2015, has been in prison since August 1 on charges following his July social media post in which he said he had met with political prisoners and promised justice. Mara listened impassively Monday as the National Cybercrime Centre court in Bamako handed down…

CAMEROON’s President Paul Biya, 92, has been re-elected for an eighth term with 53.7 per cent of the votes. This is according to official results announced by the Constitutional Council on Monday. Rival candidate and former government minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary came second with 35.2 per cent, the council said. Chiroma had claimed victory against the incumbent two days after the October 12 election. Earlier, four people were killed in clashes between security forces and supporters of a Cameroon opposition leader who claims to have won the recent presidential elections, authorities said ahead of the announcement of official results on…

REAL Madrid extended their lead at the top of La Liga to five points on Saturday after defeating Barcelona 2–1 in a fiercely contested El Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu. However, the celebration was overshadowed by winger Vinicius Junior’s angry reaction to being substituted in the second half. Jude Bellingham marked his return to form with a goal and an assist his first league contributions since recovering from shoulder surgery while Kylian Mbappe continued his ruthless scoring streak, netting what proved to be the decisive goal. The victory also marked a successful first El Clasico in the dugout for manager…

ON the morning of October 16, nine-year-old Muhammad al-Hallaq woke up for another day in his small village south of Hebron. His mother, Alia, prepared his clothes and breakfast, and packed three extra slices of pizza for him to share with his friends, just like he’d asked. Muhammad came back from school with a new backpack and put his books and notepads inside it, excited to take it to school after the weekend. He ate a bit of food and then went out to watch the birds, as he liked to do. A child, excited by the simple things, and…

FRESH clashes near the border with Afghanistan have killed at least five Pakistani soldiers and 25 fighters, Pakistan’s army says, even as the two countries hold peace talks in Istanbul. The Pakistani military said armed men attempted to cross from Afghanistan into Kurram and North Waziristan on Friday and Saturday, accusing the Taliban authorities of failing to act against armed groups operating from Afghan territory. It said on Sunday that the attempted infiltrations raised questions over Kabul’s commitment to tackling “terrorism emanating from its soil”. Afghanistan’s Taliban government has not commented on the latest clashes, but has repeatedly rejected accusations…

DJIBOUTI’s parliament has removed the constitutional age ceiling for presidential candidates, opening the door for Ismail Omar Guelleh to seek a sixth term despite being 77 years old. All 65 lawmakers present voted on Sunday to eliminate the age restriction of 75 years, a move that would allow the veteran leader to contest elections scheduled for April 2026. The decision requires either presidential approval followed by a second parliamentary vote on November 2, or a national referendum. Guelleh, known widely as IOG, has governed the Horn of Africa nation since 1999, when he succeeded Hassan Gouled Aptidon, the country’s founding…