Author: Editor

PROTEST has broken out in Lafia, Nasarawa State capital, following the Supreme Court verdict which affirmed the election of Governor Abdullahi Sule in the March 18, 2023 election in the state. The Lafia-Jos road has been completely blocked as the protesters lit bonfire to prevent travelers and other road users. Our reporter, who was at the scene of the protest, reports that motorists had to take alternative routes out of Lafia. An automobile mechanic, Mallam Dogo Audu, called for the deployment of more security operatives to restore calm and avert escalation. Our correspondent also reports that shops owners and business…

ANTOINE Griezmann scored a brilliant extra-time goal as Atletico Madrid beat Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey. Samuel Lino pounced from close range to put Atletico ahead but keeper Jan Oblak knocked Luka Modric’s free-kick into his own net to hand Real a leveller. Alvaro Morata put Atleti ahead again before Joselu headed in Jude Bellingham’s 82nd-minute cross. Griezmann cut in before firing home from a tight angle in the 100th minute and Rodrigo Riquelme netted the fourth. Those goals took Diego Simeone’s side into the Copa del Rey quarter-finals. It was the second thrilling cup tie between the…

US SECRETARY of State Antony Blinken called Wednesday on Israel to help rather than hinder the Palestinian Authority, saying that Israel’s long-term security was at stake. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Blinken renewed his call for a “pathway to a Palestinian state” even as Washington backs Israel’s Gaza campaign launched in response to the October 7 Hamas attack. “You’re not going to get the genuine security you need absent that. And, of course, to that end as well, a stronger, reformed Palestinian Authority that can more effectively deliver for its own people has to be part…

AT LEAST 10 people, including nine children, drowned when a boat capsized Thursday in western India, officials said, with a search on to find more of the missing. The incident happened in Gujarat state as students were travelling to a picnic organised by their school. Dozens of people joined a frantic search for survivors around the lake in Vadodara district where the boat capsized. The victims include children aged as young as 10 along with one of their teachers, a hospital staffer and a district official involved in rescue operations, neither of whom gave their names, told AFP. The cause…

A KENYAN court on Thursday charged the leader of a starvation cult with terrorism over the deaths of more than 400 of his followers. Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie and 94 other suspects pleaded “not guilty” to charges of radicalisation. The cult leader was also charged with “organised criminal activity”, according to documents from the Mombasa court seen by AFP. Mackenzie is alleged to have incited his acolytes to starve to death in order to “meet Jesus” in a case that provoked horror across the world. He was arrested last April after bodies were discovered in the Shakahola forest near…

THREE opposition leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo have called for a nationwide protest on Saturday, when President Félix Tshisekedi is due to be sworn in for a second term. He won last month’s election with 73% of the vote, according to the electoral commission. But the result was condemned as a “sham” by several opposition candidates who demanded a rerun. The call for a demonstration on Saturday was made jointly at an online press conference by Moïse Katumbi, who, according to the official results, came second with 18%, Martin Fayulu, who came third with 5% and Anzuluni Bembe,…

THE House of Representatives Committee on Public Account has said that the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment should refund N75 billion COVID-19 intervention fund to government coffers. The resolution was sequel to the adoption of a motion by Rep. Bassey Akiba (LP-Cross River) at a public hearing on COVID-19 funds on Thursday in Abuja. Moving the motion, Akiba said that the committee had written to the ministry three times to appear and account for the funds but they had failed to reply. “The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, have been given the opportunity to appear and explain…

BARCELONA coach Xavi Hernandez said on Wednesday he would resign if his squad no longer believed in him following last weekend’s heavy Spanish Super Cup final loss to Real Madrid. Barca were hammered 4-1 by Madrid on Sunday and sit eight points off leaders Girona in the La Liga table. Defensively the Catalans have struggled this year which is in stark contrast to last season’s Liga success. They have conceded 22 goals at the halfway stage of the league season after shipping only 20 in the whole of the 2022-23 campaign. “The day my players no longer follow me, I’ll…

ISRAEL stepped up strikes on the south of war-torn Gaza Wednesday, ahead of the expected delivery of medicines for hostages in exchange for humanitarian aid under a newly brokered deal. Air strikes and artillery fire targeted Khan Yunis throughout the night, said an AFP correspondent in the southern Gaza Strip’s biggest city. “It was the most difficult and intense night in Khan Yunis since the start of the war,” said Gaza’s Hamas government, whose health ministry reported 81 deaths across the Palestinian territory. At least 24,448 Palestinians, about 70 percent of them women, young children and adolescents, have been killed…

BRITISH head of state King Charles III will attend hospital next week for a corrective procedure to treat an enlarged prostate, Buckingham Palace said Wednesday. “In common with thousands of men each year, The King has sought treatment for an enlarged prostate,” said a palace statement. “His Majesty’s condition is benign and he will attend hospital next week for a corrective procedure,” it added. The 75 year-old monarch’s public engagements will be postponed for “a short period of recuperation,” said the palace. Charles became king upon the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on September 8, 2022. He is…

A FORMER Sierra Leonean president has been granted permission to travel abroad on medical grounds despite facing treason charges. The High Court ruling comes amid speculation that Ernest Bai Koroma has agreed to go into exile in Nigeria if charges against him were dropped. He was accused of treason and other offences over a failed coup last November, in which some 20 people died. Mr Koroma, who ruled between 2007 and 2018, denies these allegations. A court order seen by the BBC on Wednesday shows Mr Koroma is allowed to travel to Nigeria for medical reasons. The order stipulates that…

THE Mozambican authorities are concerned over a strange disease that has killed more than 900 cattle in the country’s central region since December. The disease is unknown to breeders and veterinary authorities. It broke out in the province of Manica, on the border with Zimbabwe and has spread to three of the province’s districts. Concerned breeders are asking for an urgent response from veterinary authorities to prevent further losses, amid fears that the disease could spread and kill more cattle. Fernando Cupenha, a breeder from the village of Manhene, in the district of Manica, one of the regions most affected…

FORMER President Muhammadu Buhari has explained why he did not sack the erstwhile governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, despite speculations surrounding his (Emefiele) presidential ambition during the 2023 elections. Buhari disclosed that he did not remove Emefiele because of the absence of firm evidence that he was indeed pursuing a presidential ambition. Buhari revealed this in a memoir titled ‘Working with Buhari: Reflections of a Special Adviser, Media and Publicity (2015 – 2023),’ written by his former Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, and presented in Abuja on Tuesday. In the memoir, Buhari was…

THE Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, on Wednesday, said preliminary investigations by security agencies revealed that the explosion that rocked the Bodija Area of Ibadan, the state capital on Tuesday was caused by explosive devices stored by illegal miners. No fewer than 10 persons were feared killed and 15 others hospitalised following the explosion that also affected a section of the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Oyo State House of Assembly, the residence of the former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige, some buildings at Ologuneru, Apete, New Garage, Bashorun, Akobo, Sango and Eleyele. Makinde, who visited the scene…

ISRAEL and Hamas have reached a deal to allow more humanitarian aid into war-ravaged Gaza, Qatari mediators say. They say that under a deal brokered by Qatar and France, medicines will be given to hostages held by Hamas. In return Israel will allow more basic supplies into Gaza. Conditions in the territory are dire after more than three months of Israeli bombardment. Meanwhile the US says it is hopeful that further talks could lead to the release of more hostages. The US Middle East envoy has been in Qatar to discuss the possibility of such a deal, White House national…

PAKISTAN says two children were killed and three others injured in strikes by neighbouring Iran on Tuesday. Iran said it targeted two bases linked to the militant group Jaish al-Adl, according to a news agency affiliated with the country’s military. But Pakistan rejected this, calling it an “illegal act” that could lead to “serious consequences”. Pakistan is the third country, after Iraq and Syria, to be hit by an Iranian attack within the last few days. A missile attack by Iran on Pakistan is near-unprecedented. Tuesday’s strike hit a village the vast south-western province of Balochistan, which borders the two…

FRESH criminal charges against Angolan billionaire Isabel dos Santos are politically motivated, a lawyer for the businesswoman has said. Angola’s public prosecutor has charged Ms Dos Santos with 12 crimes, including embezzlement and fraud, reports said. The charges relate to Ms Dos Santos’ time as chair of a state-owned oil firm. Described as Africa’s richest woman, Ms Dos Santos ran Sonangol from 2016 to 2017. She is also the daughter of former Angolan president José Eduardo dos Santos, who led the south-west African country for 38 years until he stepped down in 2017. Critics of Ms Dos Santos have long…

KENYAN prosecutors said on Tuesday they intend to charge a suspected cult leader and dozens of other suspects with murder and terrorism over the deaths of more than 400 of his followers after a court warned it may have to free him. Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie is alleged to have incited his followers to starve to death to “meet Jesus” in a case that shocked the world. Mackenzie was arrested in April last year after bodies were discovered in a forest near the Indian Ocean coast. His pre-trial detention has been extended on several occasions as investigations draw out.…

HEALTH officials in Gaza reported on Monday more than 24,000 deaths in the war with Israel which has sent shockwaves across the region, as the fighting passed the grim 100-day milestone. Deadly violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and along Israel’s border with Lebanon as well as fighting between US forces and Iran-backed Yemeni rebels in the Red Sea have raised fears of an escalation beyond the Gaza Strip. The war, sparked has created a humanitarian catastrophe for the 2.4 million people in the besieged strip, the United Nations and aid groups warn, and reduced much of the territory to…

UKRAINE’s military says it has shot down a Russian military spy plane over the Sea of Azov, in what analysts say would be a blow to Moscow’s air power. Army chief Gen Valerii Zaluzhnyi said the air force had “destroyed” an A-50 long range radar detection aircraft, and an Il-22 control centre plane. The A-50 detects air defences and coordinates targets for Russian jets. Ukraine has struggled to make significant recent advances against Russian forces in the south-east. A briefing from the UK’s Ministry of Defence on 23 February said that Russia “likely” had six operational A-50s in service. The…