Author: Editor

PORTUGAL is planning measures to ban smoking near schools and hospitals as well as in covered outdoor seating areas, the country’s health minister said on Thursday. The law, which will be discussed in Parliament at an unspecified date, would also forbid the practice in all indoor spaces such as smoking areas inside cafes. Additionally, it would prohibit installing new such areas and would stop the sale of tobacco products in locations where smoking is banned, from 2025. Last June, the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said it had an ambition to decrease tobacco use in the 27-country bloc to…

SOUTH Africa slammed remarks Thursday by the US ambassador in Pretoria, who accused the country of having covertly provided arms to Russia despite its professed neutrality in the Ukraine war. The US envoy to South Africa on Thursday accused the country of having covertly provided arms to Russia, a charge that drew an angry rebuke from Pretoria. Ambassador Reuben Brigety told a media briefing the US believed weapons and ammunition had been laden onto a Russian freighter that docked at a Cape Town naval base in December. “We are confident that weapons were loaded onto that vessel and I would…

TWO babies have been rescued floating near the shores of Lake Kivu days after floods killed more than 400 people in east Democratic Republic of Congo. “It is a miracle, we were all amazed,” local community leader Delphin Birimbi tells the BBC. Their parents have died but the community is in touch with people who can raise them, Mr Birimbi adds. It is not clear how the babies survived three days in the lake, but onlookers say they were floating on debris. The babies were rescued on Monday – one in Bushushu and the other in Nyamukubi, the two villages…

AHEAD of the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly in June, aggrieved members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Thursday met with members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) at the national headquarters in Abuja. In attendance are Senators Abdulaziz Yari, Orji Kalu, Mohammed Musa, and Sadiq Umar. The APC Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu; National Secretary, Iyiola Omisore; and National Women Leader, Beta Edu were also present at the meeting. Addressing the NWC, Kalu, a Senate President aspirant, said giving every part of the country a pie makes the country beautiful. He argued that the party should not zone…

INTER Milan took a big step towards reaching the Champions League final as they beat their city rivals in a thrilling Milan derby at San Siro. In a game that had been anticipated for weeks in Italy and was witnessed at the ground by a vocal and passionate 80,000-strong crowd, Inter made the perfect start when Edin Dzeko volleyed home in the eighth minute. The goal silenced the Milan fans – the designated home side for this tie in the stadium the two sides share – as they significantly outnumbered the Inter supporters. And the hosts were stunned further three…

CAPTAIN Sergio Busquets has confirmed he will leave Barcelona at the end of the season after 18 years at the club. The former Spain midfielder, 34, has played 718 matches for Barcelona – the third-most in the club’s history. His list of honours won with the club includes eight La Liga titles, seven Copa del Reys, seven Spanish Super Cups and three Champions Leagues. “Although it has not been an easy decision, I think the time has come,” Busquets said. “It has been an unforgettable journey,” he added. “I always dreamed of playing with this shirt and at this stadium.…

AN eight-year-old boy lost in the remote woodlands of Michigan survived for two days by eating snow and hiding beneath a log for shelter. Nante Niemi went missing on Saturday while camping with his family in the Porcupine Mountains state park. He got lost while walking to gather firewood, sparking a 150-person search effort to rescue him. On Monday he was found underneath his log “in good health”, about two miles from his camp. “He had braved the elements by taking shelter under a log where he was ultimately found,” Michigan State Police said in a statement. The boy told…

FORMER Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan appeared in a special court at the capital’s police headquarters Wednesday to answer graft charges, local media reported, a day after his arrest prompted violent nationwide protests. Some local media, citing unnamed sources, said prosecutors had asked for Khan to be remanded in custody for 14 days. Geo TV said Khan was allowed to consult with his lawyers during the hearing, but court officials were not available to confirm details of the proceedings, held behind closed doors. Khan’s detention Tuesday follows months of political crisis and came hours after the powerful military rebuked the…

FEROCIOUS fighting between paramilitary fighters and the military is taking place in the northern suburbs of Sudan’s capital, residents say. The battles in Bahri echo those that took place in central Khartoum in the first days of the conflict, which erupted more than three weeks ago. The paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF) group said in a video that it had shot down a military fighter jet in Bahri. This is yet to be confirmed independently. Since the start of the conflict, RSF fighters have been in control of much of Khartoum with the army attacking them from the air. The…

TANZANIA has opened its first bone marrow transplant centre in the capital, Dodoma. According to the director of Benjamin Mkapa Hospital, it marks a milestone for the country’s health sector and the unit will focus on treating patients with sickle cell. Very few countries in Africa offer bone marrow transplants – only Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, South Africa and Tunisia have similar treatment programmes. Sickle cell is an inherited disorder and most cases are found in sub-Saharan Africa. It is caused by a faulty gene that affects how red blood cells develop and the condition can cause severe pain and organ…

THE Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, has cleared the air over the Senate’s probe of its budgets for 2021 and 2022. In a statement of clarification, the NDDC Managing Director urged the public to avoid jumping to conclusions based on the Senate’s decision and assured them of the NDDC’s commitment to transparency and accountability. He said the NDDC respects the oversight function of the Senate and is ready to cooperate with the investigation committee. He also appealed to the general public to refrain from making hasty judgments based on Senate’s decision. In the…

PRESIDENT-ELECT, Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Wednesday afternoon left Nigeria for Europe on a working visit. He will use the opportunity of the trip to finetune the transition plans and programmes, and his policy options with some of his key aides without unnecessary pressures and distractions. During the visit, the President-elect will engage with investors and other key allies with the goal of marketing investment opportunities in the country and his administration’s readiness to enable a business-friendly climate through policies and regulations. Already, meetings with multi-sectoral actors in Europe’s business community including manufacturing, agriculture, tech and energy have been lined up.…

KEVIN de Bruyne’s screamer earned Manchester City a Champions League semi-final first-leg draw at Real Madrid to keep their dream of a Treble on track. City know any win next Wednesday at home against Madrid will send them to only their second Champions League final, against either Inter Milan or AC Milan. Pep Guardiola’s side dominated the early stages at a nervy Bernabeu, with Thibaut Courtois denying De Bruyne, Rodri and Erling Haaland twice. But Vinicius Jr scored with Real’s only chance of the first half, a 25-yard thunderbolt which flew past Ederson following a brilliant run by Eduardo Camavinga.…

BRAZIL’s Dani Alves has had second a request to be released from jail on bail rejected by a Spanish court as an investigation continues into an alleged sexual assault. Alves, 40, has been held since January over an allegation he assaulted a woman in a Barcelona nightclub in December. He denies any wrongdoing. His lawyer offered to surrender both his passports, Brazilian and Spanish. The court rejected the request as there was a “high risk” he would try to flee. The High Court of Justice of Catalonia said Alves’ wealth “could allow him to leave Spain at any time”. He…

THE United States on Tuesday announced a new $1.2 billion security assistance package for Ukraine to boost the country’s air defenses and provide it with additional artillery ammunition. The package underscores the continued US commitment to Ukraine “by committing critical near-term capabilities, such as air defense systems and munitions, while also building the capacity of Ukraine’s armed forces to defend its territory and deter Russian aggression over the long term,” the Defense Department said in a statement. The assistance comes in the form of Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative funds, which pay for the procurement of equipment from the defense industry…

AT least 21 people died on Tuesday when a bus crashed off a bridge in India, officials said, reportedly after the driver fell asleep at the wheel. The vehicle smashed through a barrier and plummeted around six metres (20 feet) onto a dry river bed south of the central city of Indore in Madhya Pradesh state. “At least 21 people have died,” a senior police official said, without wishing to be named. The dead included three children and 10 women, the Times of India newspaper reported. The bus driver had fallen asleep at the wheel before the crash and had…

TWO visitors and two security guards have been killed in a gun attack near Africa’s oldest synagogue, on the Tunisian island of Djerba. The attack took place during an annual pilgrimage to the island, which attracts Jewish visitors from Europe and Israel. A guard reportedly shot dead his partner before opening fire on visitors and security forces near the synagogue before being killed himself. His motivation was not clear. One of the visitors killed is a French national. Four other visitors and five members of the security forces were injured. It is not clear whether the visitors were pilgrims visiting…

THE number of people displaced inside Sudan by fighting between rival military factions has more than doubled in the past week to around 700,000, a UN agency has said. The increase in displacements has raised fears of an escalation in violence despite ceasefire talks being held in Saudi Arabia. Air strikes and ground battles are continuing in the capital Khartoum. Entire neighbourhoods have become empty as residents flee their homes. Khartoum had a population of 5.4 million, but the once-peaceful city has been devastated by the conflict that broke out on 15 April between the army and the paramilitary Rapid…

PRESIDENT-ELECT Bola Tinubu has congratulated Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke over his victory at the Supreme Court, urging him to now move quickly to unite the state. The President-elect said with the final court in the land giving its verdict on the Osun governorship tussle, all must respect the judgement. Asíwájú Tinubu also commended the immediate-past governor of the state, Alhaji Adegboyega Oyetola, for discharging himself creditably during his first term and for deepening democracy by pursuing his democratic rights peacefully to the end. In a statement on Tuesday by his office, the President-elect said: “I congratulate Mr. Ademola Adeleke…

RODRYGO Goes’s two goals earned Real Madrid the Copa del Rey and highlighted his taste for the big occasion, but Champions League semi-final opponents Manchester City need no reminder of that. The Brazilian’s dramatic strikes in the 90th and 91st minutes against City last season snatched City’s ticket to the final out of their grasp. Madrid clinched victory in extra-time at the Santiago Bernabeu to progress and went on to win the competition for a record-extending 14th time. In contrast, Pep Guardiola’s side are yet to get their hands on the trophy. With the lethal Erling Haaland leading the line,…