SAUDI Arabia is to host the first face-to-face talks on Saturday between the warring armies in Sudan, after several ceasefires broke down. A joint US-Saudi statement welcomed the start of “pre-negotiation talks” in Jeddah between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). On Friday reports spoke of continuing clashes in Khartoum. The Sudanese army says the talks aim to address humanitarian issues. There has been no official RSF comment. The army confirmed it had sent envoys to Jeddah to engage in the talks, which the UN and aid agencies have been pressing for, faced with a dire humanitarian…
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MALI’s military authorities have announced 18 June as the new date for a referendum on a draft constitution. Security forces will vote a week earlier, government spokesman Col Abdoulaye Maïgasaid said in a decree on state television on Friday. The junta had set the referendum on constitutional changes for 19 March, before it was postponed. A new constitution is one of the key steps put in place before the restoration of a civilian government, following the ousting of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in 2020. Elections are due to be held in February next year. Mali has been facing a growing…
BRIGHTON gained sweet revenge for their defeat to Manchester United on penalties in the FA Cup semi-final on Thursday as Alexis Mac Allister scored from the spot in the dying seconds to earn a 1-0 win. Classy Brighton dominated possession but lacked a cutting edge until Luke Shaw’s handball deep into injury time gave them a chance to take all three points. The Seagulls beat United 2-1 in their first match of the season but suffered a painful defeat in last month’s FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on spot-kicks. The result leaves United in fourth place in the Premier League…
A RECORD eight international players, six of them linemen from Nigeria, were assigned to NFL clubs on Thursday under the league’s International Player Pathway program for the 2023 season. Australia and France will also be represented at clubs by players starting with training camps in July. It’s the most players ever allocated to squads in a single year under the NFL’s global development program, established in 2017 to give global athletes a chance to learn and train with NFL clubs and perhaps find jobs on elite American football rosters. After 38 athletes from 13 nations tried out at Tottenham Hotspur…
THREE Nigerian men have been accused of global sexual extortion that led a teenage boy in the United States to commit suicide. The men who are awaiting extradition to the U.S., have been identified as Samuel Ogoshi, 22, Samson Ogochi, 20, and Ezekiel Ejehem Robert, 19. U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, Mark Totten on Wednesday, 3 May, 2023, announced the unsealing of a federal indictment charging the three Nigerians with sexually extorting numerous young men and teenage boys in the Western District of Michigan and across the United States. One of the men has been charged with…
SEVERAL people have been killed and at least 10 injured in the second mass shooting in Serbia in as many days. The gunman reportedly fired an automatic weapon from a moving vehicle near a village 60km (37 miles) south of Belgrade. Unconfirmed reports say that the perpetrator is still on the run. Earlier this week, a teenager killed eight students at a school in Belgrade in the worst mass shooting to occur in Serbia in years. On Friday morning, Serbian media said that special police forces had arrived at the villages of Mladenovac and Dubona, where the latest massacre occurred.…
TWO Nigerian girls have been burnt to death by their boyfriends in Burkina Faso, A Catholic source claims. The incident happened on Wednesday, 3 May 2023. According to the Catholic Seminarian, the remains of the girls were buried on the afternoon of Thursday, 4 May. He also added that he will reveal the identity of the girls on Friday as the person who took photos of their bodies was sent to the Nigerian embassy in Ouagadougou. “Two Nigerian girls that came to Burkina Faso to do runs were burnt alive yesterday by their boyfriends. One girl here her mum sold…
THE death of a well-known actress, killed in cross-fire in the north of Khartoum, has shocked residents of Sudan’s capital. But she is just one of many civilians still in the city who are paying with their lives as the fighting continues to rage despite the latest ceasefire. Zeinab Mohammed Salih is a journalist living in Omdurman, next to the Sudanese capital – she describes daily life for people caught up in the conflict. Short presentational grey line Asia Abdelmajid, who was born in 1943, was famous for her theatre performances – first coming to prominence in a production of…
PRESIDENT-ELECT Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said his administration will put incentives and policies in place that will make corruption unattractive for judges and other Nigerian workers. A statement by the Office of the President-elect signed by Abdulaziz Abdulaziz quoted Tinubu as making the pledge on Thursday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, during the inauguration of Magistrate Courts Complex. The event was part of Tinubu’s two-day visit to the state to inaugurate projects executed by the Nyesom Wike administration. Tinubu said with the right incentives that guarantee conducive working atmosphere and polices that make it easy for workers to acquire…
ERLING Haaland set a new record of 35 goals in a Premier League season as Manchester City overcame West Ham 3-0 to move back to the top of the table on Wednesday as Liverpool edged out Fulham 1-0. City were made to work by an under-manned Hammers to edge one point clear of Arsenal in the title race, with a game in hand still to come. The visitors were missing England international Declan Rice, Tomas Soucek and Nayef Aguerd through illness, while injuries meant David Moyes could only name five outfield substitutes. But Moyes’ men held out for 50 minutes…
NIGERIA’s Golden Eaglets suffered a lone-goal defeat at the hands of their North African contingents, Morocco at the ongoing U-17 African Championship in Algeria. In spite of a dominant show in the first half of the game, the Golden Eaglets conceded an own goal in the second minute courtesy of Tochukwu Ogboji to the Atlas Cubs the happier side with maximum points in the game. The Moroccans were strong in defence and were unfazed by the lethargic press from Nigeria. The Golden Eaglets will hope to put the defeat aside as they face South Africa in their last group game…
A TEENAGER who killed eight fellow students and a security guard in a Serbian school planned the attack for weeks and had a “kill list”, according to police. The 13-year-old was arrested following Wednesday morning’s attack at the Vladislav Ribnikar primary school in central Belgrade. Another six pupils and a teacher were also injured in the shooting. The motive for the attack is still being investigated, police said. Officers in helmets and bulletproof vests cordoned off the area around the school, located in the central Vracar neighbourhood, shortly after 08:40 (06:40 GMT). The suspect is alleged to have used his…
THE US central bank has raised interest rates to the highest level in 16 years as it battles to stabilise prices. The Federal Reserve increased its key interest rate by 0.25 percentage points – its 10th hike in 14 months. The Fed signalled that Wednesday’s rise may be its last one for now. The moves have pushed its benchmark rate to between 5% and 5.25% – up from near zero in March 2022. Higher rates have sharply raised borrowing costs across the world’s largest economy, spurring a slowdown in sectors such as housing and playing a role in the recent…
DIVORCE court papers seen by the BBC allege that the daughter of Zimbabwe’s ex-President Robert Mugabe owned 25 residential properties, including a Dubai mansion, worth a total of around $80m (£64m). Bona Mugabe filed for divorce from former pilot Simba Mutsahuni Chikore in March. Mr Chikore wants to split their assets, which also include 21 farms, he says. Ms Mugabe has not yet commented on the claims but will be able to do so. A source close to the Mugabe family told the BBC that the former president had nothing in his name when he died, although he received £10m…
ZAMBIAN police have surrounded the house of ex-President Edgar Lungu in the capital, Lusaka, and demanded access to search it. Mr Lungu’s lawyer, Jonas Zimba has told Diamond TV that police officers are conducting a search, allegedly linked to the ownership of three motor vehicles and a title deed. He said the search follows a complaint against the former first lady, Esther Lungu, over her suspicious ownership of the three motor vehicles. Police have not yet issued a statement over the development. The former ruling party, Patriotic Front (PF), have described the deployment as a breach of Mr Lungu’s immunity…
REAL Madrid’s slim hopes of regaining the Spanish La Liga title were all but extinguished by a defeat at Champions League hopefuls Real Sociedad. After a tight first half, Real Madrid fell behind when Eder Militao sold Thibaut Courtois short with a backpass and Takefusa Kubo slid into an empty net. Madrid’s frustrations spilled over as right-back Dani Carvajal was sent off for two bookings in quick succession. The home side, made to tick by veteran midfielder David Silva, sealed a deserved win when substitute Ander Barrenetxea fired in a late second. The loss leaves Carlo Ancelotti’s side 14 points…
MANCHESTER City manager Pep Guardiola has said there is plenty of scope for Erling Haaland to get even better. The Norway striker has scored 50 goals for City this season, including 34 in the Premier League and 12 in the Champions League. The English record for goals by a top-flight player in a single season is 63, by Everton’s Dixie Dean in 1927-28. “Always I’ve said with Erling it will be tough when you look at what he has done,” said Guardiola. “If he doesn’t score the goals like he’s scoring now people will say ‘Oh, he’s in a bad…
THE remains of an Australian man who vanished while fishing with friends have been found inside a crocodile. Kevin Darmody, 65, was last seen at Kennedy’s Bend – a well-known saltwater crocodile habitat in a remote part of northern Queensland – on Saturday. After a two-day search of the area, police euthanised two large crocodiles and found human body parts. Police said it was a “tragic ending” for Mr Darmody. A formal identification process will be carried out. Mr Darmody was an experienced fisherman and a well-known member of the community in Cape York. The two crocodiles, which measured 4.1m…
A WELL-KNOWN critic of the Laos government has been shot dead in a late-night attack in the capital. Anousa ‘Jack’ Luangsuphom, 25, was shot point blank in the face and chest while sitting at a coffee shop on Saturday. He had run the Kub Kluen Duay Keyboard (Driven By Keyboard) Facebook page, where people dared to expressed criticism of the Communist authorities. Rights groups have condemned officials for not yet announcing an investigation into the brazen “cold-blooded killing”. Security cameras captured the attack. Footage shows a gunman dressed in a brown long-sleeved shirt and black cap entering the cafe and…
THE death toll from landslides and floods in Rwanda has now risen to more than 100 amid heavy rains in the country, the authorities have said. The Rwandan public broadcaster, RBA, reports that 109 have so far died, 95 of those in the western province and 14 in the northern province. Earlier, the governor of the country’s western province had told the BBC that at least 50 had died after heavy rains pounded the region “all night”. “Many houses collapsed on people, the provisional number of those who have died is now 55 and [there are] many injured,” governor François…