THE death toll from floods that have devastated many parts of Kenya has almost doubled to 120, a government official said on Tuesday. More than 89,000 households have also been displaced and are being sheltered in over 112 camps, top interior ministry official Raymond Omollo said in a statement. Kenya and its Horn of Africa neighbours Somalia and Ethiopia are battling flash floods caused by torrential rains linked to the El Nino weather pattern. The floods are exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the region just as it emerges from the worst drought in four decades that left millions of people…
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A SOUTH African court has sentenced a former security guard to 12 years in prison for instigating deadly riots in support of ex-President Jacob Zuma. Mdumiseni Zuma is the first person to be convicted for the 2021 unrest triggered by Mr Zuma’s arrest. Zuma, who is not related to the former president, shared a video inciting people to loot and burn a mall. At least 350 people died in the unrest, the worst to hit South Africa since apartheid ended in 1994. President Cyril Ramaphosa, who succeeded Jacob Zuma in 2018, described the violence as an “attempted insurrection”. Some of…
KYLIAN Mbappe scored a controversial late penalty to deny Newcastle an impressive win at Parc des Princes but the draw keeps the visitors in the fight to reach the Champions League knockout stages. The spot-kick was awarded after review by the video assistant referee, with referee Szymon Marciniak consulting the pitchside monitor before ruling Tino Livramento had handled the ball inside the box when blocking a cross. It was a cruel blow for Eddie Howe’s side, who had looked on course to secure a hugely impressive win after Aleksander Isak struck in the first half when Miguel Almiron’s effort had…
TWELVE more hostages were freed Tuesday from Gaza captivity in exchange for Palestinian prisoners under an extended truce, as mediators worked for a lasting halt to the seven-week Israel-Hamas war. Ten Israelis and two Thais were released, the Israeli prime minister’s office said, with the army saying they were handed over to the Red Cross and were “inside Israeli territory”. Israel’s prison services later said 30 Palestinian detainees were released under the truce deal. An AFP journalist saw masked and armed fighters, some from Hamas and others from Islamic Jihad, hand over hostages to Red Cross officials in Rafah, near…
INDIAN workers were greeted with wild cheers and flower garlands Tuesday as rescuers safely brought out all 41 from the collapsed Himalayan road tunnel where they were trapped after a marathon 17-day engineering operation. With beaming smiles, the rescued men were welcomed as heroes after being hauled through 57 metres (187 feet) of steel pipe on stretchers specially fitted with wheels, where they were greeted by state officials before embracing their families. “Hail mother India!” crowds outside the tunnel cheered, as news spread that all had made it safely out of the under-construction tunnel in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand,…
AT LEAST 40 civilians were killed in a militant attack in the northern Burkina Faso town of Djibo at the weekend, the UN Human Rights Office said Tuesday. Burkina has been caught since 2015 in a spiral of militant violence perpetrated by rebels affiliated with the Militant State group and Al-Qaeda, which are also hitting neighbouring Mali and Niger. “A large number of Jama’at Nusrat wal Muslimeen (JNIM) fighters attacked a military base, homes and Internally Displaced People’s camps in the city Djibo, in the Sahel region, killing at least 40 civilians and injuring more than 42,” the UN agency…
SENEGAL’s military has seized more than three tonnes of cocaine from a ship moored off the coast, in one of the country’s largest drugs hauls, the navy said Tuesday. Authorities did not provide details on the vessel, its crew or the value of the intercepted cargo. A navy patrol boat “seized nearly 3 tonnes of pure cocaine aboard a ship intercepted 150 km (91 miles) off the coast” of Dakar, the navy posted to X, formerly Twitter. Some 2.975 tonnes of cocaine was seized, a senior Senegalese military official told AFP on condition of anonymity. The army told AFP the…
CRISTIANO Ronaldo is known for his goalscoring exploits but on Monday night the Al-Nassr forward convinced the referee not to award him a penalty. The 38-year-old went down in the second minute after a challenge in his side’s Asian Champions League 0-0 draw with Iranian side Persepolis. But when Chinese referee Ma Ning awarded a penalty, Ronaldo argued the case for the decision to be overturned. Ning was sent to the pitchside monitor and ultimately changed his call. A combination of the video assistant referee and Ronaldo’s honesty came to Persepolis’ rescue. The match went on to finish goalless, with…
A TRUCE between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip will be extended by two days, the Palestinian group and mediator Qatar said Monday, opening the way for further releases of hostages and prisoners. With just hours to go before the humanitarian pause was to end early Tuesday, Hamas said that an agreement had been reached to prolong it by 48 hours under the existing terms. There was no immediate confirmation from the Israeli side of the extension, which was nevertheless hailed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as “a glimpse of hope and humanity in the middle of the darkness…
THE first transatlantic flight powered only by sustainable fuels is due to take off on Tuesday morning. Operated by Virgin Atlantic, it will fly from London’s Heathrow to New York’s JFK airport at 11:30 GMT. Airlines see the flight, which is supported by government funding, as demonstrating that a greener way of flying is possible. But a lack of supply remains a challenge, while other technology will be needed to hit emissions targets. So-called sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) can be made from a variety of sources, including crops, household waste and cooking oils. For this flight, a Boeing 787 will…
SOUTH Africa has recorded a fall in the number of people living with HIV, according to a new survey released on Monday. The study, conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council, found that 12.7% of the country’s population are infected with the virus that leads to Aids. The number was down from 14% when the survey was last conducted five years ago, its the first time the prevalence dropped in 15 years. The team behind the research said there was no clear reason behind the fall, but added that the growing use of anti-retroviral therapy medicines had radically changed the…
THIRTEEN soldiers were among the 19 killed during Sunday’s violence in Sierra Leone, which saw gunmen attacking a military barracks and prisons, an army spokesman has said. Sierra Leoneans spent Sunday under a nationwide curfew amid disarray in capital, Freetown. The information minister described the attacks as “co-ordinated and planned”. A BBC correspondent saw armed men on the streets chanting that they would “clean” Sierra Leone. As well as the 13 soldiers, one police officer, one civilian and a private security employee were also killed along with three of the attackers, Army spokesman Col Issa Bangura said. Eight soldiers were…
PRESIDENT Biden apologized to some prominent Muslim-American leaders for publicly questioning the Palestinian death toll being reported by the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health, a new report says. Biden huddled with five Muslim American leaders the day after his Oct. 25 comments about reported Gaza deaths roiled the Islamic community, vowing to “do better.” During the meeting, which was initially planned for 30 minutes but lasted more than twice as long, Biden heard the leaders describe individuals they knew who were personally affected by the conflict. “I’m sorry. I’m disappointed in myself,” Biden told the group, the Washington Post reported.…
AHEAD of the numerous Supreme Court political judgments, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, has reiterated the judiciary’s determination not to be overwhelmed by the sentiments of the “mob” in their decisions. Following the rulings on electoral disputes, which led to the sacking of some governors and lawmakers, many have accused judges of bias. But speaking at the opening of the special session of the 2023/2024 legal year and the swearing-in of 58 newly conferred Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), Ariwoola asked judges to remain firm. He said, “I expect every judicial officer to work very hard…
“I DON’T think I’ve ever been in a stadium where I’ve seen an overhead kick that good… and I was there for Wayne Rooney’s against Manchester City.” High praise indeed from Gary Neville, but deservedly so as Alejandro Garnacho scored one of the great Premier League goals in Manchester United’s 3-0 win at Everton. The 19-year-old Argentina winger met Diogo Dalot’s cross in the third minute at Goodison Park from about 15 yards out and unleashed a stunning overhead kick into the top corner. “I can’t believe it to be honest,” he said afterwards. “I didn’t see how I scored,…
THE military wing of Hamas said Sunday that the commander of its northern brigade and four other senior leaders had been killed during Israel’s offensive against the movement. In a statement, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades said Ahmed al-Ghandour was a member of its military council, and named three of the others, among them Ayman Siyyam, head of its rocket division, while its West Bank branch confirmed another leader’s death. “We pledge to Allah we will continue their path and that their blood will be a light for the mujahedeen and a fire for the occupiers,” the statement said, without saying…
A MAN in France on Sunday confessed to killing his three children and turned himself in, said prosecutors and a police source. “A man presented himself to the police in Dieppe (Seine-Maritime) to report that he had killed his three children,” the public prosecutor said, referring to the town in the northern French region of Normandy. The bodies of two children were then found in the town of Alfortville, in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, where the father lives. “Two deaths have been confirmed,” said the public prosecutor. The children were stabbed to death, said a police source, without providing…
SOMALIA has joined the East African Community (EAC) in a move intended to boost economic growth in the country following three decades of war. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said joining the regional trade bloc was a “beacon of hope” for Somalia. He said it offered “hope for a future of opportunities and prosperity”. Somalia has been wracked by conflict since 1991 and many parts of the country are controlled by jihadist group al-Shabab. Some of its neighbours have sent troops to help fight the Islamist group, which is affiliated to al-Qaeda. The decision to admit Somalia was made after a…
SIERRA Leone has been placed under a nationwide curfew after armed men broke into prisons, setting inmates free. Detainees from a number of “major” facilities were released on Sunday morning, said the West African nation’s information minister. President Julius Maada Bio later said most of the leaders behind the attack had been arrested. In a televised address, he described the events as a “breach of security” and an attack on democracy. He carefully avoided calling them an attempted coup. He said calm had been restored but gave no details about who the perpetrators were or what they wanted. The political…
FORMER England manager Terry Venables has died at the age of 80 after a long illness. Venables managed England from 1994 to 1996, most notably leading them to the semi-finals of Euro 96 on home soil. He also had spells in charge of Barcelona, Tottenham and Australia. “We are totally devastated by the loss of a wonderful husband and father who passed away peacefully yesterday after a long illness,” read a family statement. “We would ask that privacy be given at this incredibly sad time to allow us to mourn the loss of this lovely man who we were so…