THE leader of Palestinian militant group Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, on Wednesday accused Israel of committing “massacres” in the Gaza war to cover its own “defeats”. Haniyeh, whose Islamist group launched the bloody October 7 attacks on Israel that sparked the Gaza war, accused Israel of “committing barbaric massacres against unarmed civilians”. “Its villainy will not save them from resounding defeat,” he vowed in a speech broadcast by Al Jazeera. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Wednesday that 3,648 children are among 8,796 people killed in Israeli strikes since the war erupted. The weeks of Israeli bombardment and a more…
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THE boss and three other officials of an Indonesian firm whose cough syrup was linked to the deaths of over 200 children have been sentenced to jail. They were handed two-year prison sentences and fined 1bn Indonesian rupiah ($63,029; £51,7130) each. The firm, Afi Farma, was accused of producing cough syrups containing excess amounts of toxic substances. The company’s lawyer said they denied negligence and the firm was considering whether to appeal. Prosecutors had been seeking a prison sentence of seven to nine years for Afi Farma’s chief executive, Prasetya Harahap, and seven years each for the other defendants. The…
THE German president has expressed “shame” for the colonial atrocities his country inflicted on Tanzania. German forces killed almost 300,000 people during the Maji Maji rebellion in the early 1900s, one of the bloodiest anti-colonial uprisings. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was speaking at a museum in Songea, where the uprising took place. “I would like to ask for forgiveness for what Germans did to your ancestors here,” he said. “What happened here is our shared history, the history of your ancestors and the history of our ancestors in Germany.” The Maji Maji rebellion was triggered by a German policy designed to…
A GAMBIAN court has sentenced a soldier to 12 years in prison for plotting a coup in the West African country which has restored democracy after 22 years of dictatorship. The court found lance corporal Sanna Fadera guilty of treason on Tuesday, according to a judgement seen by AFP on Wednesday. While the region has faced a series of military coups since 2020, Gambia has undergone a re-establishment of democracy. Former dictator Yahya Jammeh held sway over the tiny state for 22 years until he was unexpectedly defeated in presidential elections in December 2016 by political newcomer Adama Barrow. The…
SAUDI Arabia is set to host the 2034 men’s FIFA World Cup after Australia withdrew its interest in hosting the global showpiece just hours before the bid deadline on Tuesday. “We have explored the opportunity to bid to host the FIFA World Cup and – having taken all factors into consideration – we have reached the conclusion not to do so for the 2034 competition,” Football Australia said in a statement. Instead the Australia football federation has opted to proceed with their bids for the Women’s Asian Cup in 2026 and the FIFA Club World Cup in 2029. Australia’s withdrawal…
PROTESTERS with hands covered in red paint repeatedly interrupted a congressional hearing on US military aid Tuesday, demanding Washington stop funding Israel’s fight against Hamas. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin were appealing to the Senate Appropriations Committee for billions of dollars in military assistance to support Israel, Ukraine and other security costs. Some two dozen spectators raised hands covered in paint in a symbol of the bloodshed in the Gaza Strip since Israel began its bombardment of the Palestinian territory after Hamas’s attack earlier this month. Several wore messages of “Free Gaza” written on their…
THE late American singer, songwriter, and dancer, Michael Jackson, has topped Forbes’ list of the 13 highest-paid dead celebrities with an estimated $115 million in earnings. This was revealed in the 2023 annual ranking of the highest-paid dead celebrities, which was made available by Forbes on Tuesday, October 31. According to Forbes, the 13 deceased musicians, authors, and other A-listers on Forbes’ annual ranking of the highest-paid dead celebrities earned $470 million during the past 12 months, a 70% decrease from the record-breaking $1.6 billion grossed in 2022. Michael Jackson returned to the No. 1 spot for the first time…
KING Charles III and Queen Camilla began a state visit to Kenya on Tuesday, facing widespread calls for an apology over Britain’s bloody colonial past. Although the four-day trip has been billed as an opportunity to look to the future and build on the cordial modern-day ties between London and Nairobi, the legacy of decades of British colonial rule looms large. It is the 74-year-old British head of state’s first visit to an African and Commonwealth nation since ascending the throne in September last year on the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. The royal couple, who arrived late…
FIVE prisoners branded as dangerous Islamists have escaped from a jail in Tunisia. The country’s interior ministry released their photos and called on citizens to provide any information they have to prevent “terrorist acts”. The inmates escaped from Mornaguia prison early on Tuesday, the ministry said on its Facebook page. Ahmed Malki, imprisoned for killing two politicians in 2013, was among those who escaped, Reuters said. Also known as “the Somali”, he had been serving a 24-year sentence for the assassination of secular politicians Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi, it said. The killings in 2013 plunged Tunisia into political crisis,…
Manchester United defender Jonny Evans has blamed his team’s dismal form on a rash of injuries after their troubled season hit a new low with Sunday’s derby disaster against Manchester City. City swept to a 3-0 victory at Old Trafford in a one-sided clash that could have been an even bigger defeat for Erik ten Hag’s outclassed side. After winning their previous three matches, United were back to the sloppy, lethargic form that condemned them to six losses in their first 10 games in all competitions. United boss Ten Hag has had to deal with a significant injury list including…
ISRAELI forces on Monday advanced from three directions toward the battered and densely populated Hamas stronghold of Gaza City, slowly pushing deeper into the Gaza Strip while battering the territory with airstrikes and renewing evacuation warnings to people and hospitals. On the fourth day of Israel’s invasion, formations of its troops and armored vehicles approached the city and neighboring population centers from the north, east and south, as shown by eyewitness photos and videos verified by The New York Times, as well as satellite imagery. The deepest penetration, about three miles, paralleled the Mediterranean coast toward the Shati refugee camp…
CANADA has announced it will ban WeChat on government devices. The Chinese-owned app is sometimes referred to as the “everything app” – like WhatsApp, Facebook, Amazon and Tinder all in one. However Western governments have security concerns about it, mainly that the app could be used to spy on users. The BBC has reached out to Tencent, the company that owns WeChat, for comment but has not yet received a response. WeChat is one of the most used apps in the world. It is ubiquitous in China and also popular in Southeast Asia and within Chinese diaspora communities. Canada’s ban…
A TIKTOK star accused of falsely claiming to be a doctor has been arrested after trying to enter a hospital in South Africa. Matthew Lani garnered thousands of followers by sharing medical advice and selling medication online. On Sunday night, Mr Lani tried to bypass security by disguising himself with a surgical mask and stethoscope. He tried to escape police custody by jumping out of a bathroom window, before being caught. The Gauteng province Department of Health released a statement saying Mr Lani frequently used the Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg where he was caught to “curate misleading content under…
A NOW-SACKED Ghanaian government minister has admitted that he accepted a cash gift of $40,000 (£33,000) “in order not to offend the sensibility of a potential wealthy investor”, according to an official report into the incident. Charles Adu Boahen was dismissed as a minister last November after an investigative journalist caught him on camera appearing to accept the money from someone pretending to be a wealthy sheikh who had expressed an interest in investing $500m in the continent including setting up an Islamic Bank in Ghana. Ghana’s Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), which looks into alleged corruption and corruption-related…
OLIVIER Giroud scored twice for AC Milan before hosts Napoli hit back to draw a thrilling game in Serie A. Giroud put the visitors ahead, scoring with two headers from crosses by Christian Pulisic and Davide Calabria. Matteo Politano’s superb strike into the roof of the net halved the deficit five minutes after the break at Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. Giacomo Raspadori curled in a superb free-kick to level the match, before Natan was dismissed late on for Napoli. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia fired a shot towards goal in the dying seconds but Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan saved with his legs to…
IRANIAN President Ebrahim Raisi on Sunday said Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Gaza “may force everyone” to act in the latest warning issued by the Islamic republic since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Israel has been pounding the tiny Palestinian territory since Hamas gunmen stormed across the border on October 7 and, according to Israeli officials, killed more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians. Since then, more than 8,000 people have been killed, half of them children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, an impoverished strip of land which is home to 2.4 million people. “The crimes…
KAZAKHSTAN said Sunday that 42 bodies of miners were found at an ArcelorMittal facility, with four still missing, making it the deadliest such accident in the Central Asian country’s post-Soviet history. The blaze ignited on Saturday and 32 people were initially reported dead at the Kostenko mine, which is owned by steel giant ArcelorMittal. The new figure was confirmed by the ministry for emergency situations as rescuers pulled bodies from the rubble. The search for four missing miners is ongoing at the partially destroyed mine. Emergency services are searching for the miners in two main areas of the wreckage, spaced…
KENYA is to end visa requirements to all African visitors by the end of the year, President William Ruto has said. “It is time we… realise that having visa restrictions amongst ourselves is working against us,” he told an international conference. Visa-free travel within the continent has been a goal of the African Union (AU) for the past decade. While there are regional deals and bilateral arrangements, progress towards no restrictions has been slow. Only Seychelles, The Gambia and Benin offer entry to all African citizens without a visa, according to a 2022 AU-backed report. But according to Africa’s Visa…
TO THE full-throated cheers of his supporters, Zambia’s former President Edgar Lungu has announced that he is making a political comeback. He retired from politics in 2021 after suffering a crushing defeat in a presidential election. After six years in office he left the country heavily in debt and with a precarious economy. But Mr Lungu is now aiming to capitalise on growing dissatisfaction with his successor, Hakainde Hichilema. His return had long been anticipated but this was the first formal announcement. “I am ready to fight from the front, not from the rear, in defence of democracy. Those who…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu, on Sunday afternoon, received the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja. Scholz, who arrived at the Villa’s forecourt at 03:40 pm (local time), is visiting Nigeria for the first time since assuming office in December 2021. It also begins his two-day working visit where he is scheduled to meet business leaders in Lagos on Monday, October 30. Both leaders met at the 18th G20 Summit in India where the German helmsman told Tinubu, “We acknowledge the business-friendly reforms you have put in place. I am happy to inform you of my desire…