GHANA’s governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has chosen Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia as its presidential candidate in next year’s election. He will be the first northerner and Muslim to contest the presidency under the NPP’s banner since multi-party democracy was restored in 1992. In his victory speech, Mr Bawumia promised to lead a “united and energised” NPP into the election. He won the primaries by a convincing margin, getting 61.47% of the vote. Mr Bawumia’s nearest rival Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, who got 37.4% of the vote, accepted defeat. President Nana Akufo-Addo, a member of the NPP, will step down after…
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THOUSANDS of people are trapped in flooded areas following heavy rains in Somalia’s Jubbaland state, the UN’s humanitarian agency says. The heavy rains that started last month have elevated the water levels on Juba river, causing flooding in riverine areas of the state, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) said in a statement. “In Luuq district, 2,400 people have been trapped in an area surrounded by water,” the statement added. Efforts by authorities and rescue partners are underway to evacuate the stranded locals. At least 14 people have died and 47,000 displaced in the flash floods across…
HARRY Kane scored a hat-trick as Bayern Munich thrashed Borussia Dortmund 4-0 away on Saturday, closing the gap with leaders Bayer Leverkusen to two points. Bayern captain Manuel Neuer lauded his striker, telling German TV “that’s his experience, he brought it with him to the Bundesliga from England and he shows us it week after week.” “We’ve got some quick guys up front and with them, we really hurt Dortmund.” Stung by a midweek German Cup elimination by third-division Saarbruecken, Leverkusen’s 3-2 win at Hoffenheim on Saturday meant injury-hit Bayern were five points behind Xabi Alonso’s side at kickoff. Bayern…
LAYAN al-Baz cries in agony when the effect fades of the painkillers she receives after her legs were amputated — the result of a strike on Gaza as Israel fights Hamas. “I don’t want a false leg,” the 13-year-old Palestinian tells AFP in Khan Yunis’s Nasser hospital, in the southern Gaza Strip, where getting artificial limbs was nearly impossible anyway. The impoverished Palestinian territory, under a crippling Israeli-led blockade for years and besieged since war erupted on October 7, suffers severe shortages of food, water and fuel, and medical supplies are scarce. “I want them to put my legs back,…
MORE than 150 people have been killed after an earthquake struck remote western Nepal on Friday. Security forces have been deployed to help rescue efforts in the rugged districts of Jajarkot and West Rukum, 500km (310 miles) west of Kathmandu. Strong tremors were felt far away in the Nepalese capital and in cities in neighbouring India, including Delhi. The government said about 375 people had been injured. Jajarkot’s hospital is packed with the wounded. Some people have had to be airlifted as far as Kathmandu, but officials are worried about getting others out after nightfall. One survivor, Geethakumari Bista, told…
GUINEA’s former military ruler, Moussa Dadis Camara, is back in jail after being taken from prison by armed men, according to his lawyer. The group stormed a jail in the capital, Conakry, early on Saturday morning – taking Capt Camara and three others. Those taken are currently on trial for their alleged roles in deaths of more than 150 people in a 2009 protest. Besides Capt Camara, two other prisoners have also been found. It is unclear if they were kidnapped or freed by their supporters. Capt Camara’s lawyer earlier told the BBC the former leader was taken against his…
US investment could help African countries make the most of its critical minerals and industrialise their economies, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has said At the opening ceremony of a major US-Africa trade summit in Johannesburg, he said: “Africa is an important source of critical raw materials, but we do not want to be defined as simply the producers of commodities.” He added that African countries would profit greatly from keeping these materials in-house and transforming them into goods that can then be sold globally, rather than exporting the resources to countries with greater manufacturing capabilities. “We look forward to…
GUINEA has foiled an attempted coup as the former head of Guinea’s 2008 military junta, Moussa Camara, was sprung from prison by heavily armed men in Conakry in the early hours of Saturday. He was taken along with three other high-ranking officers, Justice Minister, Charles Wright said. Residents told local reporters that military vehicles and special forces were policing the streets of the Guinean capital after shots were heard in the Kaloum administrative district, where Camara and others were held at the Central House prison. “It was around 0500 (0500 GMT) that heavily armed men burst into the Central House…
BUNDESLIGA club Mainz sacked footballer Anwar El Ghazi on Friday, hours after German prosecutors opened an investigation over his social media posts on the Israel-Hamas war. Mainz tweeted they were “ending the contractual relationship with Anwar El Ghazi and terminated the player with immediate effect”. Mainz also clarified in a statement that they were “taking this action in response to the player’s statements and posts on social media”. Earlier on Friday, German prosecutors said the Dutch footballer is suspected of “disturbing public peace by condoning criminal acts in conjunction with incitement to hatred” through his message on Instagram. El Ghazi…
AT least 13 people have been killed in a blast outside Gaza City’s biggest hospital, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says. BBC Verify has verified graphic videos showing badly injured and possibly dead people lying outside the hospital. The Israeli military has confirmed it struck an ambulance that it says was being used by Hamas operatives. It did not say where the air strike took place. “An IDF aircraft struck an ambulance that was identified by forces as being used by a Hamas terrorist cell in close proximity to their position in the battle zone,” it said in a…
CROATIAN Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman sparked controversy on Friday after his attempt to kiss his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock while posing for a group photo in Berlin went viral online. The video shows Radman, 65, reaching out to Baerbock to shake her hand and trying to kiss her on the cheek at a photoshoot during an EU conference Thursday, while the German foreign affairs minister dodges his affections. The gesture drew fierce debate on social media and sparked outrage from feminist groups, but Grlic Radman shrugged off the criticism. “I don’t know what the problem was… We always greet…
KING Charles and Queen Camilla have ended a state visit to Kenya by posing in a tuk-tuk used by commuters on the streets of Mombasa. Sat in the three-wheeled vehicle, the King quipped to reporters: “Maybe we can use this to get to the airport.” Tuk-tuks are used widely across Kenya as an affordable form of transport. The visit was the King’s first to a former British colony since he came to the throne last year. He focused on the two countries’ cooperation on economic development, climate change and security issues. He also expressed his “deepest regret” for the violence…
SACKED Twitter staffers in Africa are threatening to sue the company for failing to pay out the redundancy money they say they were promised. Most had only been in the job a matter of months when the social media platform, now known as X, told them they were fired last November. “It’s difficult when it’s the world’s richest man owing you money and closure,” one of the sacked workers tells the BBC. The BBC has approached X for comment several times but was rebuffed with, among other things, a smiling poo emoji. A more recent attempt received this response: “Busy…
MANCHESTER United’s ownership situation needs a quicker resolution to bring greater clarity to Erik ten Hag’s position, numerous sources connected to the club have told BBC Sport. The Dutchman is under pressure following successive 3-0 home defeats by Manchester City and Newcastle. Ten Hag says he is “a fighter” and admitted United are “in a bad place”, while club officials have attempted to play down speculation about his future. United face a run of “must-win” games. Saturday’s trip to Fulham, opponents United have not lost to since 2009, is followed by a Champions League trip to Denmark to face FC…
THE health ministry in the Gaza Strip said Thursday that the death toll there since the start of Israel’s war against Hamas had surpassed 9,000. The ministry said 9,061 people had been killed by Israel’s missiles since the war on October 7. Of these, 3,760 were children and an additional 32,000 had been wounded, the ministry said.
ONE of the five US police officers charged in the beating death of a young African-American man in the southern city of Memphis pleaded guilty Thursday, the Justice Department announced. Bodycam footage of the January incident showed the officers, who are all Black, repeatedly kicking and punching Tyre Nichols, 29, during a traffic stop close to his home in Memphis. Nichols died in hospital three days later. The guilty plea by Desmond Mills comes as part of a settlement of pending state and federal charges, and marks a course reversal given that he had pleaded not guilty along with the…
EGYPT will help evacuate “about 7,000” foreigners and dual nationals from the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday. For the first time after weeks of deadly fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants since the Hamas attacks of October 7, the Rafah border crossing opened on Wednesday to let people out of Gaza. In a meeting with foreign diplomats, Assistant Foreign Minister Ismail Khairat said Egypt was preparing “to facilitate the reception and evacuation of foreign citizens from Gaza through the Rafah crossing”. Khairat said that involved “about 7,000” people, representing “more than 60” nationalities.…
ZAMBIA’s government has withdrawn retirement benefits and privileges from former President Edgar Lungu following his decision to return to active politics. Mr Lungu lost the presidency to Hakainde Hichilema in 2021, after which he announced his retirement. After six years in office he left the country facing serious economic issues as Africa’s most indebted nation. His return to politics sets a stage for a bruising 2026 presidential race. The former president has already been notified about the immediate withdrawal of his retirement benefits and privileges, according to government spokesman Cornelius Mweetwa. He said it was clearly stated in the law…
THE Senate and the House of Representatives, on Thursday, passed the N2.17trn 2023 Supplementary Appropriation Bill after third reading. Before the passage of the bill, the Senate adopted the report of the harmonized sittings of both red and green chambers on the 2023 Supplementary Appropriation Bill as submitted by Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (APC Ogun West). The bill expeditiously scaled readings in both upper and lower chambers as lawmakers said it is for the benefit of the country. President Bola Tinubu had written the National Assembly seeking the approval of the sum of N2,176,791,286,033 as…
NEWCASTLE United claimed their second Old Trafford victory over Manchester United since 1972 to avenge their Carabao Cup final defeat at Wembley and pile the pressure on home manager Erik ten Hag. First-half goals from substitute Miguel Almiron and Lewis Hall, his first for the club, were followed up by a solo effort from Joe Willock on the hour to give Newcastle their biggest away win over their hosts in 93 years as they cruised into the quarter-finals. Newcastle will travel to Stamford Bridge to take on fellow Premier League side Chelsea, who beat Blackburn 2-0 in the fourth round.…