Author: Editor

IRANIAN police are resuming controversial patrols to ensure women obey dress codes and cover their hair in public, state media reports. The “morality police” will return to the streets to enforce Iran’s hijab laws, a spokesman said on Sunday. It comes 10 months after a young woman, Mahsa Amini, died in custody following her arrest in Tehran for allegedly breaking the dress code. Her death triggered massive national protests and the patrols were paused. However, Islamic hardliners have been demanding that the patrols be resumed for some time. Under Iranian law, which is based on the country’s interpretation of Sharia,…

HUNDREDS of homes have been destroyed by a fire in a poor neighbourhood of the South African port city of Durban. One person is known to have died in the blaze that tore through the Kennedy Road informal settlement early on Sunday morning, but there are fears that more bodies could be found. Video footage shows the twisted remains of corrugated iron sheets used to build the shacks amid the smouldering debris. People can be seen trying to salvage their belongings. The cause of the fire is not yet known. However, some eyewitnesses say it started when two people, who…

KARIM Khan, the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC), has told the BBC that “there is no hope of peace in Sudan without some type of justice”. Speaking to Focus on Africa from the UN in New York, Mr Khan said “new generations of Darfurians are being inflicted with new violence that is no fault of their own”. It follows the news yesterday that the bodies of 87 people, allegedly killed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), were found in a mass grave in Darfur. On Thursday, he announced that his office is looking atrecent atrocities in the Darfur…

A MEMBER of the Lavun Emirate Council of Lavun Local Government Area of Niger State, Abubakar Gimba Galadima has been accused of the outright denial of justice for a 16-year-old girl, who was violently raped by four men from Kashikoko village in the area. In an exclusive interview with THE QUEST TIMES, the victim’s father, Malam Ibrahim Anfani stated that his 16-year-old daughter, Hussaina Ibrahim was violently raped in April when she was trying to fetch firewood from the bush. According to him, Husaina was beaten, pushed to the ground and brutally raped by two of the men while another…

FRENCH champions Paris Saint-Germain have set their sights on Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen, aiming to forge a formidable partnership alongside Kylian Mbappé in a bid to sway the World Cup winner into staying at the Parc des Princes. While previous rumours hinted that PSG eyed Osimhen as a potential replacement for the Real Madrid-linked Mbappé, SPORT.es reports that PSG’s objective is not to replace the young Frenchman but rather to enlist Osimhen’s support in persuading him to sign a fresh contract. Mbappé had recently declared his intention to fulfill the remaining year of his PSG contract while forgoing the optional…

FABINHO has been left out of Liverpool’s squad for a training camp in Germany following a £40m bid for him from Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad. Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has also been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia but has travelled to Germany. The Reds received the offer for Brazil midfielder Fabinho on Friday night. A decision between the club and player was then taken to remove the 29-year-old from the 32-man touring party, which left on Saturday. Fabinho has been at Liverpool since July 2018 after the Reds signed him from Monaco for a fee in the region…

RESCUERS in South Korea working to reach cars trapped in a flooded tunnel have recovered at least seven bodies. Torrential rains have caused flooding, landslides, and power cuts across much of the country. At least 26 other people are known to have been killed, while ten remain missing. It is unclear how many people are still trapped in the tunnel – which is 685 metres long – but 15 vehicles are thought to be submerged. Officials said the tunnel in Osong – near the city of Cheongju in the central North Chungcheong province – was swamped by a flash flood,…

AN airport staff strike grounded hundreds of flights all over Italy on Saturday, affecting 250,000 travellers in one of the world’s top tourist spots. Some 1,000 flights, both domestic and international, were cancelled as a result of the strike by ground crew, who are demanding a new collective contract, six years after the previous one expired, according to airport and airline authorities. The strike was due to last from 10:00 am (0800 GMT) to 6:00 pm (1600 GMT). The airport in Rome, saw some 200 flights cancelled, authorities said. Flights by Malta Air, which handles transfers for popular budget carriers…

IN a strong warning to the opposition, Kenya’s President William Ruto has said “protests will no longer take place in our nation. The one they have planned for Wednesday will not be possible.” He was speaking to supporters in Naivasha, central Kenya, two days after at least 10 people died during clashes between protesters and security forces. Opposition leader Raila Odinga has launched a series of demonstrations against tax rises, including the doubling of the tax on fuel, that were signed into law last month. “Elections ended on 9 August last year. You cannot look for the leadership of this…

ZIMBABWE’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has signed a bill into law that imposes penalties on Zimbabweans who are found to have wilfully harmed the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe. The controversial patriotic bill faced widespread opposition from lawyers and activists describing it as a grave assault on human rights. It comes weeks before a crucial general election which the opposition believe will not be free or fair. The law imposes sentences ranging from fines to the death penalty for those who take part in meetings which encourage international military action or trade boycotts. President Mnangagwa and much of his inner…

YOU may have seen it. The list, of course. Those who think that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not moving fast enough to appoint ministers have offered to help. They have composed their own ministerial list for him and shared it on social media. It’s trending now. Just one look at it, however, and you would know that it’s an improbable list, even for a Banana republic. It didn’t make sense. Going by the list, not a few commentators are already relishing the prospects of Adams Oshiomhole as Minister of Works; Nasir El-Rufai as Minister of Interior; and Nyesom Wike…

ADDICTION to sleeping pills in football is “much wider than people realise”, according to former Oxford United psychotherapist Gary Bloom. Everton midfielder Dele Alli said he spent six weeks in rehab for sleeping pill addiction and mental health issues. Bloom was the first psychotherapist to work at an English club. Former Liverpool goalkeeper Chris Kirkland agreed, saying, “Addiction is a massive problem in football.” During an emotional interview with The Overlap podcast, Dele talked about the abuse he suffered as a child before being adopted at 12. And in talking about his own addiction to sleeping tablets, he added that…

FORMER Manchester City and France footballer Benjamin Mendy broke down in tears on Friday, as a UK jury cleared him of sex offences, ending a three-year court ordeal. Mendy, 28, put his head on his knees and wiped away tears on hearing the verdict at the end of the three-week trial at Chester Crown Court in northwest England. The jury of six men and six women took around three hours and 15 minutes to reach their not guilty verdicts on one count of rape and another of attempted rape. The star footballer, who would have faced a lengthy jail term…

THE Covid-19 pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis and the war in Ukraine have pushed 165 million people into poverty since 2020, the United Nations said Thursday, calling for a pause in debt repayments for developing countries. Because of these shocks, 75 million people will have fallen into extreme poverty, defined as living on less than $2.15 a day, between 2020 and the end of 2023 — and 90 million more will fall below the poverty line of $3.65 a day, according to a study published by the United Nations Development Program. “The poorest suffer the most and their incomes in 2023…

MUCH of southern Europe is baking in extreme heat, with Greece seeing temperatures of 40C (104F) or more. The Acropolis, the country’s most popular tourist attraction, was closed during the hottest hours of the day to protect visitors. Potentially record temperatures are expected next week as another heatwave approaches. The European Space Agency (ESA) says Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Poland may see extreme conditions. The ESA monitors land and sea temperatures via its satellites. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Europe was 48.8C in Sicily in August 2021. There are also fears in Greece of a greater risk of…

SOUTH Africa’s ex-President Jacob Zuma travelled to Russia last week for health reasons, his foundation says. “He will be returning to the country once his doctors have completed their treatment,” its statement said. The announcement comes a day after the Constitutional Court upheld a ruling that Zuma was granted medical parole unlawfully in September 2021. He had been released from prison after serving less than eight weeks of a 15-month sentence. Zuma, now aged 81, had been jailed for failing to attend an inquiry into corruption during his presidency. He was forced to resign because of the allegations in 2018…

MAALIM is traumatised by what he saw in Sudan’s western region of Darfur, before he fled across the border to Chad. “If the people who I worked with know I have shown you these photos and videos, or even that I filmed them, I am a dead man,” he tells me as he whips out his phone to show me harrowing pictures of scattered corpses in the city of El Geneina. We have changed his name for his own safety. Before leaving the country, he was part of a group of people tasked with removing corpses from the streets and…

BARELY 24 hours after a Federal Capital Teritorry High Court sitting in Abuja ordered the release of the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, from detention, another court has nullified his arrest, detention and interrogation by the Department of State Services (DSS). In a judgment upon an Originating Motion on Notice brought before the Court by Emefiele, against Incorporated Trustees of Forum for Accountability and Good Leadership, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Inspector General of Police, State Security Service (SSS) and the Central Bank of Nigeria, the…

JUSTICE Hamza Muazu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, has issued a one week ultimatum to the Department of the State Security Service (DSS) to either charge the detained suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele to Court or set him free. The Judge issued the order while delivering ruling in a fundamental human rights suit instituted against the DSS and others by Emefiele. The judge said Emefiele hasn’t shown that his arrest and investigation is unlawful, but noted that it is within his right to get fair hearing. Justice Muazu further stated that…

CARLO Ancelotti will stand trial for tax fraud after the Real Madrid coach allegedly failed to declare image rights earnings in 2014 to the Spanish tax office. A Spanish judge said Ancelotti had “acknowledged” the actions which deprived the country’s treasury of 386,361 euros ($428,000), in a court document seen by AFP on Wednesday. “It is evident that there are sufficient indications to consider the deeds under investigation could constitute an alleged offence against the public treasury,” said the judge in her findings. Ancelotti had declared his earnings as Real Madrid coach in the 2014 tax year but not earnings…