Author: Editor

TED Kaczynski, better known as the Unabomber, has been found dead in his prison cell, federal officials confirmed to the BBC. Kaczynski, 81, killed three people and injured 23 more during a mass mail-bombing spree between 1978 and 1995. He later pleaded guilty to his crimes. He was sentenced to life without parole in 1996 after evading capture for almost 20 years. The Harvard-trained mathematician was eventually caught in a Montana cabin. He was a man who fascinated America for decades, and he became the focus of numerous TV documentaries. Kaczynski spent the past three decades held at prisons across…

ROMANIA has recalled its ambassador to Kenya and apologised after he compared Africans to monkeys. Dragos Tigau made the comments during a meeting at a UN building in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, on April 26. According to the AFP news agency, Mr Tigau said “the African group has joined us” when he saw a monkey outside a window. Mr Tigau’s behaviour was first made public on Thursday by Kenyan foreign affairs official Kamau Macharia. On Twitter Mr Macharia said he was left “appalled and disgusted” by the incident, and claimed that attempts were made to cover up Mr Tigau’s behaviour. African…

RESIDENTS say an uneasy calm has returned to Sudan’s capital city, Khartoum, after the country’s warring generals agreed to a 24-hour truce that was brokered by Saudi Arabia. Previous attempts at ceasefires between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have failed. People are using the brief pause in fighting to buy food and medicines. At least 1.5 million Sudanese have fled their homes since the conflict began in April, according to UN estimates. The truce is meant to hold until 07:00 local time (05:00 GMT) on Sunday. It is not clear if Saturday’s ceasefire is being respected…

MANCHESTER City will look to win the Champions League for the first time and complete the Treble when they play Inter Milan in the final at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul. Pep Guardiola’s side have already won the Premier League and FA Cup. It is the second time in three years City have reached the Champions League final, losing to Chelsea in 2020-21. “We just need to find a way to win the first one,” City playmaker Kevin de Bruyne told BBC Radio 5 Live. “If we could do that, it would be immense for the players, the clubs…

SUPER Eagles coach, José Santos Peseiro has invited notable players such as Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, captain Ahmed Musa, defender William Ekong, midfielders Alex Iwobi and Wilfred Ndidi for next weekend’s 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against the Leone Stars of Sierra Leone in Monrovia, Liberia. Man of the moment, Osimhen, whose 31 goals in all competitions for SSC Napoli this season helped the Italian giants to clinch their first Serie A title in 33 years and the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, tops the strikers’ list. La Liga Best African Player for the 2022/2023 season, Villarreal’s Samuel…

FOUR children have been found alive more than a month after their plane crashed in Colombia’s Amazon jungle, the country’s president has said. The siblings, aged 13, nine, four and a one-year-old baby, were on board the plane with their mother, a pilot and a co-pilot when it crashed on 1 May. Their mother and the other adults on board the plane died. President Gustavo Petro said finding the children after weeks of searching was “a joy for the whole country”. He called it a “magical day”, adding: “They were alone, they themselves achieved an example of total survival which…

FORMER President Donald Trump has been charged with mishandling hundreds of classified documents, including about US nuclear secrets and military plans. The 37-count indictment accuses him of keeping the files at his Florida estate, including in a ballroom and a shower, and lying to investigators. It alleges he then tried to obstruct the investigation into the handling of the documents. Mr Trump, who is running for president again in 2024, denies any wrongdoing. Charges have also been filed against Walt Nauta, a personal aide to Mr Trump. The former White House military valet is accused of moving files to hide…

THE UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) says it is suspending some food aid to Ethiopia while it addresses worries that donations are being diverted from those in need. It will continue to help the most vulnerable, such as children and new mothers, and welcomed what it called the Ethiopian government’s commitment to investigate. The United States – the biggest donor to Ethiopia – also suspended aid a day ago, saying it had uncovered a campaign to divert assistance. It did not say who was behind it. Donors have heard allegations that Ethiopian government entities were the orchestrators, and military units…

SUSPECTED militants have killed at least 27 people in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Local reports say they used axes and machetes to attack civilians in their homes in Bukokoma village, Nord Kivu province, on Thursday evening. The attackers are thought to be from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a militia linked to the Islamic State group. Eastern DR Congo is a hotbed for rival militia who’ve been blamed for attacks that have killed thousands of people. A similar attack last week in Beni territory left at least nine dead.

I’M getting ahead of myself. Father’s Day is still next Sunday. But after the Executive Editor of LeVogue, LEADERSHIP’s Fashion and Lifestyle magazine, Nikki Odu-Khiran, asked me if I could write a piece to mark the day, it got me thinking. If my father, who passed on May 28, 2000, ever had to write on Father’s Day, what would he have written? Of course, he wouldn’t have written anything. A pensioner who worked as a storekeeper at the Apapa (Lagos) Quays of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) before he retired in 1996, Robert could barely write. But my, oh, my,…

SHEIKH Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani made a fifth bid to buy Manchester United earlier this week, according to a source close to the Qatari banker. This will be Sheikh Jassim’s final bid, and after Friday he will no longer engage with the process. The bid is for 100% of the club, will clear United’s debt and has a separate fund for the club and local community. Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos Group are the other main party trying to buy the Premier League club. Figures in March showed United owed £969.6m through a combination of gross debt, bank borrowings and…

WORLD Cup-winning France midfielder N’Golo Kante’s planned move to Saudi side Al-Ittihad is being stalled by medical issues, a club source told AFP on Thursday. Kante, 32, has a history of injuries and missed six months of Chelsea’s Premier League season with a hamstring problem. The Al-Ittihad source said Kante had signed a binding agreement but the club were examining the results of medical tests before agreeing a final deal. On Tuesday, the Jeddah-based club officially unveiled 35-year-old French Ballon d’Or-winner Karim Benzema as the biggest signing in their history. “Kante signed a binding agreement, not a final contract,” the…

FOUR young children who were stabbed in a park in Annecy, in France’s south-east, are now in a stable condition, officials have told the BBC. The children, aged between one and three, are being treated in hospital. Police overpowered and arrested the knifeman after he entered a children’s playground to carry out the attack. A three-year-old British child is among the injured, another is Dutch. Two adults were also hurt, with one in a critical condition. Police have confirmed that the suspect is a 31-year-old Syrian, who had refugee status in Sweden. Regional deputy Antoine Armand described the attack as…

FORMER US President Donald Trump has been charged over his handling of classified documents after he left the White House. Mr Trump, 76, faces seven charges including unauthorised retention of classified files, US media reported. The charges are not yet public. It is the second indictment of Mr Trump and the first ever federal indictment of a former president. He is campaigning to make a return to the White House in 2024. Legal experts say the indictment will not limit Mr Trump’s ability to run for the presidency again. In a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Mr Trump said…

NEARLY 300 orphans caught in the crossfire in Sudan’s capital have been rescued in a daring and dangerous evacuation by humanitarian workers. The evacuations were carried out following the deaths of 67 children at the Mygoma orphanage in Khartoum. They died of starvation, dehydration and infections as fighting prevented staff from reaching the orphanage. Khartoum has been hit by daily air strikes and heavy clashes between rival forces since 15 April. The orphanage is in an area that has been at the heart of the fighting between the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). In a risky operation,…

UGANDA’s President Yoweri Museveni has said he has contracted Covid-19 after one of three tests conducted on him turned out positive. Mr Museveni, who gave a state of the nation address earlier on Wednesday, said he had developed a slight cold, prompting him to get tested. The permanent secretary at the health ministry, Diana Atwine, said the president had developed mild flu-like symptoms but was in good health and would continue his duties. She said the president would adhere to standard operating procedures for Covid cases while performing his role. Uganda had some of the strictest measures in Africa to…

JARROD Bowen’s dramatic 90th-minute goal secured West Ham their first major European trophy since 1965 with a 2-1 win over Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final on Wednesday. It is the second European trophy for West Ham after they won the now defunct Cup Winners’ Cup 58 years ago with a team including England World Cup heroes Bobby Moore and Geoff Hurst. Bowen picked up a superb through ball from Lucas Paqueta, before sending a low shot past a helpless Pietro Terracciano in the Fiorentina goal. “I obviously dreamed of scoring but to score the winner in the last…

ARGENTINA legend Lionel Messi will join American side Inter Miami after his exit from French champions Paris St-Germain. Messi, 35, had a more lucrative offer from Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal while a return to Barcelona became an impossibility because of Financial Fair Play (FFP) limitations. “I’ve taken the decision that I am going to Miami,” Messi told newspapers Diario Sport and Mundo Deportivo. “[I decided] to leave Europe.” He added: “It’s true that I had offers from another European team but I didn’t even think about it because in Europe, my idea was only to go to Barcelona. “After winning…

THOUSANDS fled their homes Wednesday after the destruction of a Russian-held dam in Ukraine flooded dozens of villages and parts of a nearby city, sparking fears of a humanitarian disaster. Ukraine and Russia have traded blame for the Kakhovka dam being ripped open on Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin calling the destruction a “barbaric act”, in his first public reaction. The breach of the dam in southern Ukraine, which provides cooling water for Europe’s largest nuclear plant, took place as Ukrainian troops prepared to launch the offensive to recover lost territory. Downstream from the breached Kakhovka dam, police and troops in…

SLAIN rap legend Tupac Shakur was honored with a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame on Wednesday, almost three decades after the best-selling artist was gunned down in a drive-by shooting. The ceremony paid tribute to a rapper who died at age 25 after a brief but spectacular career, in which he went from backup dancer to self-styled gangsta and one of the most influential figures in hip-hop. “It fills my heart with honor to stand here today representing the Shakur family,” said Shakur’s sister Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur at the unveiling in Los Angeles. “Tupac knew deep down that he…