Author: Editor

THE president of Somaliland has held separate talks with his Israeli counterpart and the second son of the US leader, as the breakaway region continues to seek international recognition and foreign investment. Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi met Isaac Herzog and businessman Eric Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. ”Our discussions focused on strengthening and advancing bilateral relations between the Republic of Somaliland and the State of Israel,” Abdullahi said in a post on X about the meeting with Herzog. Last month, Israel became the first country to recognise Somaliland – 35 years after it declared independence…

Introduction OVER time, it has been observed that diplomatic terms and practices are largely misused and misunderstood in Nigeria. There are publications in the media and commentators who, in their public discourses, make glaring errors, blunders, goofs, and sometimes misinterpret diplomatic terms in the context of Nigeria’s diplomatic practices. Although diplomatic practice is universal in line with the provisions of Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961) and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (1963), some national peculiarities, local customs and traditions are usually respected by States in their interaction with one another. Failure to adhere to time-honoured diplomatic practices and…

MANCHESTER United have said midfielder Casemiro will leave the club when his contract expires at the end of this season. The 33-year-old joined from Real Madrid for £70m in 2022 and has made 146 appearances. He scored the opening goal in the 2023 Carabao Cup final win over Newcastle as Manchester United finished third in the Premier League in his first season. But last year he was mentioned by new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe who told BBC Sport some players were “not good enough” and “overpaid”. The Brazil international said: “I will carry Manchester United with me throughout my entire…

ISRAEL has spent more than two years attacking Gaza in its genocidal war on the Palestinian enclave. It has destroyed the majority of its housing and infrastructure, and killed more than 70,000 Palestinians, leaving the rest of Gaza’s population facing a harsh winter with inadequate food, medicine, and shelter. And yet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – for whom the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for war crimes committed in Gaza – this week joined US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace”, established to oversee the reconstruction and governance of Gaza. It opens up the question of…

UNITED States President Donald Trump said a US naval “armada” was heading towards the Gulf region, with Iran being the focus, as officials said an aircraft carrier strike group and other assets would arrive in the Middle East in the coming days. “We’re watching Iran,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Thursday as he flew back from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “We have a big force going towards Iran,” Trump said. “I’d rather not see anything happen, but we’re watching them very closely,” he said. “And maybe we won’t have to use it … we…

A TUNISIAN court has handed new prison terms to two well-known media figures in what critics say is the government’s latest attempt to punish dissent. The criminal chamber of the Tunis Court of First Instance sentenced radio journalists Bohran Bssaies and Mourad Zghidi to three and a half years in prison on Thursday for “money laundering”, a judicial source told Tunisia’s state TAP news agency. The conviction adds to a growing list of cases against opposition figures, journalists, and other perceived critics of President Kais Saied, who rights groups say has overseen a wide-reaching rollback on freedoms since taking office…

MILITARY authorities in coup-prone Guinea-Bissau have scheduled presidential and legislative elections for 6 December, despite calls for a swifter transition to civilian rule. Transitional President Horta N’Tam signed a decree on Wednesday after meeting members of the National Transitional Council, military, and government officials, as well as representatives of the electoral commission. He told reporters the conditions for free and fair elections had been met. Since seizing power from President Umaro Sissoco Embaló in November, Guinea-Bissau’s coup leaders have been under pressure from the West African regional body, Ecowas, to organise elections within a short transitional timeframe. The regional bloc…

ALGERIAN players Luca Zidane, son of France football legend, Zinedine Zidane and Rafik Belghali have been banned for two and four matches, respectively, for their part in ugly scenes following a quarter-final defeat to Nigeria at the African Cup of Nations. The news was announced on Wednesday by the Algerian football federation (FAF), which was fined $100,000 for security lapses and improper conduct by players, officials, and supporters. Goalkeeper Zidane and defender Belghali will serve their suspensions during qualifying for the 2027 tournament. The FAF said it was lodging an appeal to challenge the sanctions. Algeria were denied a penalty…

AT least 11 Palestinians, including two children and three journalists, have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since dawn, with six others injured, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. Munir al-Bursh, director-general of the ministry, told Al Jazeera that the photojournalists killed when their vehicle was struck on Wednesday worked for the Egyptian Committee for Gaza Relief, which supervises Egypt’s relief work in Gaza. Anas Ghunaim, Abdul Ra’ouf Shaath and Mohammad Qeshta were documenting developments on the ground in central Gaza near the so-called Netzarim Corridor when they were hit in an Israeli strike, colleagues and medical officials told…

IRANIAN state television has released the first official death toll from the recent antigovernment protests that engulfed the country, reporting that 3,117 people were killed during the crackdown. In a statement carried by Press TV on Wednesday, Iran’s Martyrs Foundation said that 2,427 of those killed in the demonstrations were civilians and security forces. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has said 4,519 were killed during the wave of demonstrations, including 4,251 protesters, 197 security personnel, 35 people aged under 18 and 38 bystanders who it says were neither protesters nor security personnel. HRANA also said 9,049 additional…

AN armed attack has killed at least 31 civilians in western Niger near the borders with Burkina Faso and Mali in a region rife with Insurgent groups, local sources said Tuesday. The assailants struck on Sunday in a village lying in the Tillaberi region, located in the tri-border area — a flashpoint zone where the frontiers of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali converge. Insurgents linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group have made the region a fiefdom, carrying out deadly attacks for nearly a decade. Tillaberi became the “deadliest region across central Sahel” in 2025, with more than 1,200…

THE life of Uganda’s veteran opposition figure Kizza Besigye is in danger, his wife has said after visiting him in prison. ”He is extremely weak,” said Winnie Byanyima in a statement posted on X. The 69-year-old politician had been taken overnight to a medical facility, the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) party said, without specifying what he was suffering from. A prison service spokesperson denied that Besigye’s health was dire, describing his visit to a doctor as a “general check-up”. Besigye, a former personal doctor to President Yoweri Museveni and one of his longest-standing political rivals, has been in detention…

MANCHESTER City suffered a humiliating 3-1 defeat against Bodo/Glimt on Tuesday as the Norwegian minnows caused one of the biggest shocks in Champions League history. Pep Guardiola’s side were blown away by Kasper Hogh’s first half brace and a second half strike from Jens Petter Hauge at the ecstatic Aspmyra Stadion.Rayan Cherki got one back moments after Hauge’s goal, but Rodri’s dismissal for two bookings left City in tatters as Bodo/Glimt celebrated their first ever win in the Champions League group phase. In a fishing town situated 200km north of the Arctic Circle, the 2023 European champions were caught cold…

ISRAEL has begun bulldozing buildings inside the headquarters of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in occupied East Jerusalem, as the far-right government clamps down heavily on humanitarian groups that provide desperately needed aid to Palestinians in Gaza. UNRWA said in a statement on Tuesday that Israeli forces had confiscated staff devices and forced them out of their headquarters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood. “This is an unprecedented attack not only against UNRWA and its premises. It constitutes a serious violation of international law and the privileges and immunities of the United Nations,” it said. The Ramallah-based Palestinian…

THE gunman who killed Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe has been sentenced to life in prison, more than three years after the politician’s assassination in broad daylight shocked the world. Judge Shinichi Tanaka handed down the sentence against Tetsuya Yamagami on Wednesday at a court in the city of Nara. Yamagami, 45, had admitted to fatally shooting Abe in 2022 in a crime that convulsed Japan, where gun violence is extremely rare. In Japan, a sentence of life imprisonment leaves open the possibility of parole, though experts say that many of those who receive the penalty die while incarcerated.…

TOGO has arrested and extradited Burkina Faso’s former leader to his home country, after authorities in Ouagadougou accused him of plotting to kill his successor. Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba – who came to power in a coup in 2022 before himself being overthrown by Ibrahim Traoré eight months later – is accused by the current regime of masterminding an assassination attempt against Traoré. According to the Togolese justice ministry, Damiba was handed over to the Burkinabè authorities on Saturday. It says as part of the deal, Burkina Faso promised to ensure “physical integrity, dignity and fair‑trial rights of Mr Paul‑Henri Sandaogo…

MALAWI’s energy regulator has hiked petrol and diesel prices by more than 40%, marking the second time fuel costs gone up in four months. In a statement on Tuesday, the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera) said the fixed pricing system of the previous government was “unsustainable” and had led to “significant” losses. President Peter Mutharika, who returned to power last year, has been trying to revive Malawi’s ailing economy. However, local commentators said Tuesday’s fuel increase could harm the president’s efforts and worsen the cost-of-living crisis for many Malawians. “Fuel is not a luxury commodity. Any increase has a cascading…

THE Moroccan Football Federation said Monday it has formally referred to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA incidents involving Senegalese players and supporters protesting a penalty to Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations final. Senegal’s protest in added time of normal play during Sunday night’s clash in Rabat led to the match being paused for nearly 20 minutes as the players walked off the pitch in anger. Some Senegalese fans at the opposite end of the stadium threw chairs and other objects and attempted to get onto the field of play. The AFCON hosts’ football federation said…

THE Israeli military has launched a “large-scale” operation in Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank, deploying hundreds of soldiers and heavy machinery in a move that has paralysed the city’s southern districts. In a joint statement issued on Monday, the Israeli army and the internal security service, Shin Bet, confirmed the offensive, stating it aims to “thwart terror infrastructure” and confiscate weapons in the Jebel Johar area. The army warned the operation would continue for “several days”. Reporting from the scene, Al Jazeera Arabic’s correspondent Montaser Nassar described a state of total lockdown. “We are in the so-called southern…

YEMEN, one of the world’s most impoverished nations, is entering a perilous new phase of food shortages with more than half the population – about 18 million people expected to face worsening hunger in early 2026, according to the International Rescue Committee (IRC). The warning follows new projections under the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification hunger-monitoring system that were released on Monday and show an additional one million people at risk of life-threatening hunger. It also comes as Yemen is experiencing its latest internal conflict with external regional actors involved in fighting in the nation’s south. The assessment also forecasts…