SUPER Eagles coach Jose Peseiro has opened up on the situation of Leicester City forward Kelechi Iheanacho, who is yet to feature for the team at the ongoing 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast. Iheanacho was again an unused substitute in Nigeria’s 2-0 win over Cameroon in the round of 16 on Saturday at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium in Abidjan. Despite being doubtful for the tournament with a muscle injury, Peseiro didn’t replace the 27-year-old in his final 25-man list and allowed him to join the team in Ivory Coast on Saturday January 13, a day before…
Author: Editor
Read More
MOROCCO coach Walid Regragui has been cleared to take charge of their last-16 clash against South Africa at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations after his two-match ban was lifted following an appeal. Regragui was suspended for four games and fined $5,000 by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) on Wednesday, with two games of that ban suspended for one year. The sanctions related to post-match incidents following Morocco’s 1-1 draw with DR Congo in the group phase. Caf confirmed an appeal by the Moroccan football federation (RMFF) against its decision had been partially successful, and that it had overturned…
THE head of humanitarian policy and advocacy at Save the Children, Alexandra Saieh, says Israel’s war on Gaza is killing children at “rates unparalleled in recent crises”. Saieh told Al Jazeera that Israel’s bombardment of the besieged enclave has also left many children critically injured and facing lifelong disabilities. The war, she added, was leaving children in Gaza “starved and robbed of any sense of safety and security”. After examining the mental health impacts on children for many years, Save the Children found that Palestinian children in Gaza face heightened levels of emotional distress every year, Saieh added. He said…
A DRONE attack on a base in Jordan killed three American troops on Sunday, with President Joe Biden blaming Iran-backed militants and vowing to hold the perpetrators to account. It is the first time American military personnel have been killed by hostile fire in the Middle East since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, and the incident will further raise tensions in the region and fuel fears of a broader conflict directly involving Iran. Hamas said the death of the soldiers shows Washington’s backing for Israel could put it at odds with the whole Muslim world if the Gaza war…
SEVERAL African leaders are in Italy’s capital, Rome, for the Italy-Africa summit, which is aimed at boosting relations between Africa and the European nation. During the two-day summit, Italy is expected to launch a “new approach” for cooperating with African countries, which is “not predatory, not paternalistic, but not charitable either”, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said. The targeted areas for collaboration include energy, economic and infrastructure development, culture, food security and education and vocational training. The summit, which started on Sunday, is also aimed at boosting investment in African countries as a strategy to curb irregular migration from the…
SOUTH African Airways – once a giant of African aviation – is back in the intercontinental market, but there are still doubts about its financial viability. It had disappeared from our skies altogether in September 2020, having fallen victim not just to Covid but also another disease that has plagued some other state-run carriers – corruption and mismanagement. It may be on the verge of a sale that would see a private consortium take a majority share in the business. However, its handling of finances has recently come in for severe criticism by the country’s public spending watchdog. In a…
AC Milan briefly halted Saturday’s Serie A match against Bologna in the 16th minute to show support for goalkeeper Mike Maignan after he received racist abuse last weekend. Maignan, who wears the number 16 shirt, was racially abused during Milan’s 3-2 win over Udinese last Saturday. Fans held aloft their phones at San Siro and applauded before play resumed. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that,” read a Martin Luther King quote on a stadium screen. Giorgio Furlani, AC Milan’s chief executive, said: “Today’s initiative is a tangible testament to our unwavering commitment in the battle against…
ISRAEL has continued to launch attacks on Gaza, causing massive casualties despite the ruling of the International Court of Justice. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, additional 174 have been killed and 310 wounded since the court ordered Israel to desist from all acts of genocide in Gaza, including killing Palestinians and causing serious mental harm. On Friday, the court stated that Israel must take measures to prevent and punish incitement of genocide and take necessary steps to caution its military. The court had also ordered Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza and other services to help civilians. Health authorities…
BRITAIN’s King Charles III spent a second day in hospital on Saturday where he was visited by his wife Queen Camilla following scheduled prostate surgery. Camilla was seen arriving by a back entrance at the London Clinic, a private hospital in the capital, where he underwent the procedure on Friday. Charles’s daughter-in-law Catherine Princess of Wales, 42, is currently also at the hospital where she has spent 12 days following abdominal surgery. Reports have said Charles, 75, was expected to spend two days in hospital and that he was “doing well” after the surgery. Royal officials took the unusual step…
BURKINA Faso says it has received 25,000 tonnes of free wheat from Russia. Confirming the news on Friday, one minister called the delivery a “priceless gift”. Ties between Moscow and Ouagadougou have been strengthening since the military took power in two successive coups in 2022. Last month Russia re-opened its embassy in Burkina Faso, which been closed since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Burkina Faso has at the same time been distancing itself from former colonial power France, and last year it ordered its troops to leave. Burkina Faso is one of the world’s most-neglected crises, humanitarians say. About…
DEMONSTRATIONS are taking place across major cities in Kenya to protest against the rising cases of femicide and other violence against women. Hundreds have gathered in Nairobi, Nakuru, Mombasa, Nyeri and Lodwar, some carrying placards with the names of those who were killed. A 2022 survey found at least one in three Kenyan women had endured physical violence at some point in their lives. “I am here because I’m angry,” 33-year-old Winnie Chelagat told the BBC. “It is wrong, we are tired and we want something to be done about it.” Men and boys must take responsibility for their own…
THERE seem to be no end in sight for the carnage as dozens were reportedly killed when soldiers and gunmen clashed in two villages of Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State, on Saturday morning. The clash occurred after Governor Caleb Mutfwang relaxed the 24-hour curfew imposed on the area. Mutfwang had said following improvement of security, the curfew should be from 8am to 4pm. Sources told our correspondent that about 30 gunmen were killed while some soldiers sustained injuries during the clash at Satguru and Tyop villages. A security operative, who requested anonymity, told this newspaper, “The incident occurred…
NIGERIA striker Victor Osimhen will leave Napoli this summer and join “either Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain or an English club”, the Italian club’s president and owner Aurelio De Laurentiis said on Friday. De Laurentiis was responding to an interview that Osimhen, who is with Nigeria at the Africa Cup of Nations, gave to American television network CBS, in which the 25-year-old striker said he had already “made up” his mind about his next move. Questioned by Italian media after a meeting of the Italian Football League, De Laurentiis said he was not surprised, even though Osimhen signed a contract extension…
SOUTH Africa on Friday hailed a ruling by the United Nations’ top court that Israel should do everything it can to prevent any acts of genocide in Gaza. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague handed down its verdict in a landmark case brought by Pretoria also ordering Israel to allow humanitarian access to the Palestinian territory. “Today marks a decisive victory for the international rule of law and a significant milestone in the search for justice for the Palestinian people,” South Africa’s ministry of foreign affairs said. “The decision is a momentous one,” it added, thanking the…
THE proportion of people in England and Wales who are married or in a civil partnership has fallen below 50 percent for the first time, latest figures show. Figures from the Office for National Statistics, published on Thursday, estimate that in 2022 only 49.4 percent of the adult population were in a legal union. The figure for 2021, also just published, was 49.7 percent. Similarly, the estimated number of civil partnerships almost doubled over the last decade, from 120,000 in 2012 to 222,000 in 2022, the ONS said. The record low figure for marriage or civil partnerships overall was down…
THE Kenyan High Court has blocked the government from deploying police officers to fight gangs in Haiti. The judge argued that the deployment would be illegal as the National Security Council lacks the legal authority to send police outside Kenya. He added that the council can only deploy military, not police, for peacekeeping missions such as Haiti. Last year, Kenya had volunteered to lead a multinational security force in Haiti to quell gang violence. The judge further explained that Kenyan law only allows the government to deploy police officers to another country if a reciprocal agreement exists between Kenya and…
MALI’s military rulers ended a 2015 peace deal with Tuareg rebels in the country’s north, a move that could further destabilise the Sahel nation. In a statement read on state television, the junta spokesman Col Abdoulaye Maïga said it ended the deal due to a “change in [the] posture of certain signatory groups” and “acts of hostility” by the lead mediator of the deal, Algeria. The peace agreement was seen as key to maintaining stability in the country, as Tuaregs had carried out violent acts against the central government since 2012. There has not been any reaction from the Algerian…
LIVERPOOL manager Jurgen Klopp insisted Thursday it is far too early in the season to talk about another quadruple bid by his side after they reached the League Cup final. The Premier League club had a shot at winning four trophies in the one season two years ago after defeating Chelsea — their opponents in next month’s final — at Wembley. But they had to settle for a domestic Cup double, after also defeating Chelsea in the FA Cup final, with the Reds narrowly beaten to the Premier League title by Manchester City on the last day of the season…
THE UN’s top court could issue emergency measures ordering Israel to halt its military operations in Gaza. The session of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday is part of a case brought by South Africa alleging that Israel is committing genocide. Both countries testified when the case opened two weeks ago. Israel has vehemently rejected the allegation. A ruling against Israel is not enforceable by the court but would be politically significant. More than 25,000 Palestinians – mostly women and children – have been killed and tens of thousands injured, according to the health ministry in Gaza. South…
ALABAMA has executed convicted murderer Kenneth Eugene Smith with nitrogen gas, the first time the method of capital punishment has been used in the US. Smith, 58, lost two final appeals to the Supreme Court and one to a federal appeals court, arguing the execution was a cruel and unusual punishment. In 2022, Alabama tried and failed to execute Smith by lethal injection. He was convicted in 1989 of murdering a preacher’s wife, Elizabeth Sennett, in a killing-for-hire. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Smith is the first person to be put to death using pure nitrogen gas anywhere…