Author: Editor

ETHIOPIAN-born scientist Gebisa Ejeta has received the National Medal of Science, the highest state honour attainable by scientists in the United States. US President Joe Biden said he awarded Mr Ejeta the medal for his “outstanding contributions to the science of plant genetics”. Mr Ejeta is acclaimed as one of the world’s leading plant geneticists. He specialises in the study of sorghum, a popular source of food in Africa. In 2009, Mr Ejeta won the prestigious World Food Prize for developing a sorghum hybrid that is resistant to both drought and the parasitic weed Striga, which commonly invades farms in…

MANCHESTER United manager Erik ten Hag often reverts back to a simple demand when asked about players who are performing at a level below that required in a theatre as grand as Old Trafford. “They need to step up,” the Dutchman likes to say. In the Champions League against Copenhagen, on a night when United were honouring one of their greatest players and when the manager admitted “victory is our only option”, two of his most criticised players certainly did step up. Harry Maguire and Andre Onana have been heavily scrutinised in recent times. Maguire lost captaincy in the summer…

THE war between Israel and Hamas could deal a “serious” blow to global economic development, the president of the World Bank told an investor conference in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. “What just happened recently in Israel and Gaza — at the end of the day you put all this together, I think the impact on economic development is even more serious,” Ajay Banga said, adding: “I think we’re at a very dangerous juncture.” Hamas militants stormed into Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7 and killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians who were shot or burnt to death…

CHINA removed defence minister Li Shangfu and ousted ex-foreign minister Qin Gang from its cabinet on Tuesday, state media said, in a major reshuffle of top leadership. The news comes after months of speculation about the country’s cabinet, including confusion over the abrupt removal of Qin from office in July without explanation and the months-long absence of Li from public view. Both Qin and Li are believed by experts to have been personally selected for their roles by President Xi Jinping. On Tuesday state broadcaster CCTV announced the removals in its regular evening bulletin, but did not offer reasons for…

LIBERIAN President George Weah faces a November 14 run-off vote after edging out his main rival by less than half a percent in the first round, the National Electoral Commission said Tuesday announcing final results. Ex-international soccer star Weah garnered 43.83 percent of the votes from the October 10 election while Joseph Boakai won 43.44 percent, said election commission chief Davidetta Browne-Lansanah. With no candidate taking enough votes for an absolute majority to be elected, “the run-off vote is hereby declared to be held on Tuesday, 14th of November 2023,” she said. That sets up a repeat of the 2017…

THE United States on Monday ended assistance to Gabon over its August 30 coup but said it was ready to provide aid in return for concrete progress toward democracy. The United States, which had already paused assistance after the military takeover, said it had formally determined that a coup took place, which under US law requires an end to non-humanitarian aid. “We will resume our assistance alongside concrete actions by the transitional government toward establishing democratic rule,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement. “The United States stands with the Gabonese people in their aspirations for democracy, prosperity…

TOTTENHAM Hotspur returned to the top of the Premier League as goals from Son Heung-min and James Maddison comfortably saw off Fulham. Spurs had only dropped points this season in London derbies – against Arsenal and Brentford – but they were always in control against a limited Fulham side. Captain Son curled in an excellent goal in the 36th minute after Calvin Bassey’s poor pass was cut out by Micky van de Ven. Maddison doubled the lead in the second half with an almost identical goal, as another Bassey pass was cut out and the England playmaker was teed up…

PALESTINIAN group Hamas said on Monday it had freed two more women hostages abducted to the Gaza Strip from Israel during the October 7 attacks. The group’s military wing said in a statement the two had been freed for “compelling humanitarian” reasons following mediation by Qatar and Egypt. There was no immediate confirmation by Israeli authorities but Israeli media reported that the women had been taken to the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt. Two American women, a mother and daughter, were freed on Friday. Israel on Monday increased the number of hostages it has confirmed to 222 people…

DANISH Deputy Prime Minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen said Monday he was retiring from politics, just months after he returned from a six-month leave due to stress and overwork. His resignation will also mean he steps down as leader of the liberal Venstre party, which is part of Denmark’s ruling coalition party. “The short version: I am quitting Danish politics completely and permanently today,” Ellemann-Jensen, who is also economy minister, told a press conference. Venstre has seen opinion poll numbers drop since it entered a coalition government led by Social Democrat Mette Frederiksen. Ellemann-Jensen said that his personality overshadowed the party’s results…

THE Kenyan shilling sank to a new all-time low of 150 to the dollar on Monday, adding to the woes of people already battered by high inflation and a raft of new taxes. The shilling has been in decline for several years and plunged by almost 24 percent over the past year, under pressure from high debt levels and depleted government revenues. According to Central Bank of Kenya data, the dollar was selling at just over 150 shillings, although some commercial banks and foreign exchange bureaux have been trading it at that level or higher in recent weeks. Ken Gichinga,…

SOUTH Africa’s third biggest political party, the Economic Freedom Fighters, has held a protest outside the Israeli embassy in the capital, Pretoria. Party leader Julius Malema once again called for the closure of the embassy after saying Israel’s government had “no respect for humanity”. Mr Malema also urged retailers in the country to remove Israeli-produced goods from their shelves by the end of October. “If they don’t remove products from Israel, we’ll remove them ourselves. We don’t want Israeli products sold in South Africa, we don’t want food from people who have the blood of innocent people on their hands,”…

MARC Guiu scored the winner 33 seconds into his senior debut to give Barcelona a 1-0 home win over Athletic Bilbao. The 17-year-old Spanish forward came on for fellow youngster Fermin Lopez in the 79th minute and struck almost immediately. It means he has scored his first league goal for Barcelona quicker than any other player in the club’s history. Victory took third-placed Barca back within a point of leaders Real Madrid, who they face next Saturday. Barcelona manager Xavi said: “I told him he would have one good chance. I love seeing the face of these kids. They have…

THE lives of at least 120 newborn babies on incubators in war-torn Gaza’s hospitals are at risk as fuel runs out in the besieged enclave, the UN children’s agency warned Sunday. More than 1,750 children have already been killed by Israeli strikes launched against the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the October 7 Hamas attacks, according to the Palestinian territory’s health ministry. Hospitals face a dire lack of medicines, fuel and water not only for the thousands wounded in more than two weeks of the war between Gaza militants and Israel but also for routine patients. “We have currently 120…

THE president of a synagogue in the US city of Detroit, Samantha Woll, has been found stabbed to death in a park not far from her home. Police said they responded to a call in the Lafayette Park area on Saturday and found the victim unresponsive, but they believe she was killed at home. They have been searching the area with dogs but there is no information about who carried out the killing, or why. No evidence has yet suggested that the motive was antisemitism, police added. Officials paid tribute to Ms Woll as “one of Detroit’s great young leaders”.…

THE UN says it has pulled its peacekeepers out of a camp in northern Mali earlier than planned, because “their lives were in danger”. It says its last convoy left the camp in Tessalit on Saturday. Mali’s military leaders, who ordered the withdrawal of all UN and French troops earlier this year, says the Tessalit camp is now in its control. Saturday’s withdrawal happened “in an extremely tense and degraded security context putting in danger the lives of personnel”, said the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, Minusma, in a statement seen by AFP. With fewer international troops on the ground…

AN auction in France of items belonging to the first Senegalese president has been delayed, as the government in Dakar negotiates to buy them directly. Léopold Sédar Senghor’s possessions – including military medals and jewellery – were to be sold in the city of Caen. The current president of Senegal, Macky Sall, urged the culture minister and the embassy in Paris to hold discussions with the auctioneers. Senghor led Senegal for 20 years after independence from France in 1960. He was a distinguished poet who pioneered Négritude – an anti-colonialist movement that championed African cultures – alongside Martinican poet Aimé…

FORMER two-time world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has revealed the punch that he won’t forget among some of the big hits he has received in his boxing career. From the beating he sustained at the hands of Andy Ruiz Jr, the 24 rounds he shared with world champion Oleksandr Usyk, the war against Wladimir Klitschko where he was hurt on numerous occasions and getting clipped by Russian dynamo Alexander Povetkin, Joshua had been on the receiving end of some heavy leather. However, in a recent feature with Men’s Health when asked the most pain he ever felt in the ring,…

MANCHESTER United manager Erik ten Hag believes “a legend and giant” has been lost in the passing of Sir Bobby Charlton. And Ten Hag said that his players were inspired to their 2-1 win at Sheffield United by wanting to pay a fitting tribute to the 1966 World Cup hero. Charlton’s death at the age of 86 was announced four hours before kick-off at Bramall Lane, as Diogo Dalot curled home a suitably spectacular winner late on. Having said before the game United ‘have to win for Sir Bobby’ following the announcement of Charlton’s passing, it was appropriate in-form midfielder…

ISRAEL is to step up its punishing strikes in Gaza to increase pressure on Hamas, a military spokesman said Saturday as top officers warned troops to be ready to enter the besieged Palestinian territory. Since shock Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, Israel has launched devastating air and ground bombardments of Gaza. The Hamas authorities say 4,385 people have died. Israel has massed tens of thousands of troops and hundreds of tanks along the Gaza border for a widely anticipated ground invasion. “We have to enter the next phase of the war in the best conditions, not according to…

SIX postal workers have been killed and a further 16 injured after a missile hit a distribution centre in eastern Ukraine late on Saturday night. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram the Nova Poshta sorting office was struck in Kharkiv. Pictures from the scene posted on President Zelensky’s account showed the building with windows blown out. Kharkiv’s regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said the victims all worked for the postal company. Police said 22 people were inside when the suspected S-300 rocket hit the building just before 22:30 local time (20:30 BST). Investigators, together with criminologists and forensic experts, are…