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THE United States and Iran on Monday swapped five prisoners each in one of the arch-foes’ first deals in years as Tehran gained access to $6 billion in frozen funds. The five Americans freed by Iran, including one held for eight years, flew out of Tehran in a Qatari jet, hours after the unblocked funds were deposited in accounts also managed by Qatar. The freed prisoners walked in the setting sun on the tarmac and within hours a separate US government plane shuttled them to Washington, where some will undergo medical check-ups. The White House said Biden held an “emotional…

AT least 24 people have been killed and 21 injured in a coach crash in Peru. The inter-city coach was travelling overnight in the Andes mountains between the cities of Huancayo and Huanta when it fell into a 200m-deep (650 ft) ravine. Coach crashes are common in Peru, especially at night and on mountain highways. Official figures suggest more than 3,300 people died in traffic accidents in the Andean country in 2022. So far, officials have not said what might have caused the coach to veer off the road and into the ravine in an area known as Huaccoto, high…

MIGRANTS make up about 10% of those known to have died when floods hit Libya a week ago, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has told BBC News. Libya is hugely popular with migrants. According to data from the IOM, which is a United Nations body, over 706,000 migrants lived in the North African country in February 2023. Some live and work in Libya long-term, while others use it as a transit point in bids to reach Europe. Four-hundred migrants are registered as having died in the floods, the IOM understands, although it says that this death toll is likely…

UN human rights experts say war crimes and crimes against humanity are still being committed in different parts of Ethiopia 10 months after government and regional forces from Tigray signed a peace deal. Their report describes the situation in Ethiopia as extremely grave. It documents crimes committed by all sides – including Eritrean soldiers – during the war in Tigray. The International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia said government forces were arresting, detaining and torturing civilians in Oromia. It also reports having received numerous credible reports of violations against Amhara civilians since the announcement of a state of…

BENJAMIN Mendy, acquitted in a sex offences trial in England in July, played his first game in two years on Sunday when he came on as a substitute for Lorient against Monaco in Ligue 1. The 29-year-old France international and former Manchester City player was introduced 70 minutes into his new club’s 2-2 draw with the Ligue 1 leaders. Lorient were trailing 2-1 when Mendy came on, and it was the defender’s cross which led to Romain Faivre’s equalising goal in the eighth minute of stoppage time in Brittany. His last competitive game before Sunday was back in August 2021…

AN ex-police officer in the US state of Colorado – who locked a handcuffed woman in a police car that was then hit by a freight train – has avoided jail. Jordan Steinke was sentenced to 30 months on supervised probation, after being found guilty of reckless endangerment and assault in July. She was acquitted of criminal attempt to commit manslaughter. The 29-year-old, who lost her job over the incident, has been ordered to perform 100 hours of community service. The woman who was placed in the car, Yareni Rios-Gonzalez, suffered serious injuries in the crash, including a brain injury.…

THE death of Mahsa Amini on 16 September 2022 after being detained by Iran’s morality police sparked protests unlike any the country had seen before. To mark the one year anniversary of her death, thousands of people all around the world have taken to the streets to demonstrate. In Iran, Ms Amini’s father Amjad was detained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and warned against marking the anniversary of his daughter’s death – according to human rights groups including the Kurdish support group Hengaw, and the Norway-based Iran Human Rights. He was later released. The Iranian state news agency IRNA denied…

THE death toll from catastrophic flooding in Libya’s eastern city of Derna has climbed to 11,300, the United Nations said in an update on Saturday, citing the Libyan Red Crescent. Another 10,100 people are still missing in the devastated city, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said, using Red Crescent figures. Elsewhere in eastern Libya outside Derna, the flooding took an additional 170 lives, the update said. “These figures are expected to rise as search-and-rescue crews work tirelessly to find survivors,” the UN update said. Nearly a week after Storm Daniel hit northeastern Libya, “the humanitarian situation…

THE Congolese Government has denied reports about a coup attempt against President Denis Nguesso who has been in power for 38 years. This is according to Congo’s Minister of Information Thierry Moungalla who tweeted on his X handle. “URGENT – Fanciful information suggests serious events that are underway at #Brazzaville,” he wrote on the social media platform with the statement also posted on the government’s website. “The Government denies this fake news. We reassure public opinion about the calm that reigns and invite people to calmly go about their activities.” Nguesso, 78, has spent 38 years at the helm of…

CRISTIANO Ronaldo and Sadio Mane each scored for the fourth successive game to help Al-Nassr to a fourth straight victory in the Saudi Pro League. Mane netted from 18 yards in first-half stoppage-time to put the visitors ahead at 10-man Al-Raed, while Ronaldo’s fine solo run and finish sealed a 3-1 win. Ronaldo leads the league’s goal charts on seven with Mane one behind on six. Elsewhere in the league, ex-Newcastle forward Allan Saint-Maximin hit the winner as Al-Ahli beat Al-Taawon 3-2. Former Celtic striker Moussa Dembele was also on target on Saturday as Al-Ettifaq, the club managed by Steven…

FOURTEEN people have been killed in a plane crash during bad weather in the Brazilian Amazon on Saturday. The small propeller plane was nearing the end of its 400km (248 mile) trip between Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state, and the remote jungle town of Barcelos when it went down. Officials said all those on board – 12 passengers and two crew – were killed in the crash. An investigation has been launched into the cause of the incident. Amazonas state security secretary Vinicius Almeida said initial information suggested the plane crashed after running out of runway when it descended…

JOE Biden, America’s oldest president, received support from an unexpected ally over his age: Donald Trump said the Democrat was “not too old” to seek a second term, while quickly adding: “I think he’s incompetent.” The former president’s comments, made in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” to be aired Sunday, come as America faces a profound debate over the ageing of its political class, a major factor ahead of the 2024 elections — when Biden will be just shy of 82 and Trump himself 78. Polls show that while the age gap between the two men is small,…

AN official in eastern Libya has denied allegations that many of those killed in devastating floods last weekend were told to stay in their homes. Othman Abdul Jalil, a spokesperson for the Benghazi-based government, told the BBC that soldiers warned people in the city of Derna to flee. He denied that people were told not to evacuate, but conceded some may have felt the threat was exaggerated. Meanwhile, BBC teams in Derna say aid agencies are yet to arrive at the city. While reporters witnessed a hive of activity in the centre of Derna – with rescuers, ambulance crews and…

THE president of Sierra Leone on Friday accused the United States of pressuring him to interfere in his country’s June 24 election count, a statement in stark contrast to the concerns Washington has leveled regarding the fairness of the poll. “When the elections were at the height — of calling the results — this is when the problems started,” President Julius Maada Bio said during a speaking event at American University in Washington. The Election Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL), he said, “had done all their calculations, collations, all the processes. I was now requested to stop them from calling…

SOME aggrieved senators have started making moves to impeach the Senate president, Senator Godswill Akpabio, when the Senate reconvenes on September 26, 2023. This newspaper’s investigations revealed that two prominent senators from the North West and other senators across the national assembly are already meeting and mapping out plans to carry out the daring move. According to sources who revealed these, the senators believe that the senate president is a rubber stamp for the presidency and may not be able to carry out his duty effectively. They are also planning to not only impeach the senate president but to make…

MANCHESTER United boss Erik ten Hag says he does not know if Jadon Sancho will play for the club again. The 23-year-old winger is training away from the first team after claiming he had been made a “scapegoat” following his omission from the squad for the defeat at Arsenal on 3 September. Ten Hag said at the time he had been excluded because his training performances were below standard. Asked if he could play for the club again, Ten Hag said: “I don’t know.” Sancho’s comment was made in a social media post that he subsequently deleted. Ten Hag added:…

A LEADING Russian general has resurfaced in Algeria after disappearing from public view following the Wagner mercenary group’s attempted mutiny in June. Nicknamed “General Armageddon”, Sergei Surovikin was removed from his post as commander of Russia’s aerospace force in August, two months after the mercenary group sought to topple Russia’s military command. The general — one of the leading commanders of Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine — was a mediator between the Russian army on the one hand, and Wagner and its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin on the other. Surovikin appeared in images published by the Facebook page of the grand…

APPLE will update its iPhone 12 in France after fears about radiation, the country’s digital minister says. Jean-Noel Barrot said Apple would deliver a software update for users in the country in the coming days. Sales of iPhone 12 were halted in France after a regulator detected too much electromagnetic radiation. Apple was told to fix the issue. The firm said the new update would only apply to users in France, where it said a specific testing protocol existed. The American tech giant suggested the radiation findings were a result of that testing regime, and that it was “not a…

THE new military rulers of Niger have cancelled more than 990 diplomatic passports held by nationals and foreigners linked to the ousted regime. The foreign ministry has written to notify diplomatic representations in Niger that the passports are now “lapsed”, according to copies of the letter posted on social networks. The diplomatic documents were held by former senior figures in institutions and ministries as well as ex-MPs and advisers including to the president and prime minister, the official press agency ANP said late Thursday. About 50 of the passports had been given to American, British, French, Libyan and Turkish people…

THE thoughts of one Moroccan schoolteacher immediately turned to her pupils when she felt the 6.8-magnitude earthquake strike a week ago. Nesreen Abu ElFadel was in Marrakesh – but Adaseel, the mountain village that was home to her school and pupils, was closer to the epicentre. The Arabic- and French-language teacher returned to Adaseel where she went searching for the children. She discovered that all 32 – ranging from six to 12 years old – had died. “I went to the village and started asking about my kids: ‘Where is Somaya? Where is Youssef? Where is this girl? Where is…