Author: Editor

TEN members of the same family have been shot dead in an attack on their home in South Africa, police say. Seven females and three males were killed when their home near the city of Pietermaritzburg was ambushed early on Friday morning. Police Minister Bheki Cele said two suspects had been arrested, one was shot dead and another is still at large. The motive is unclear. South Africa has one of the world’s highest murder rates. Police were first alerted to the shooting after neighbours heard gunshots. Mr Cele said one of the victims was as young as 13, adding:…

STREET battles are being fought by Sudan’s rival forces in the capital, Khartoum, in an escalation of violence despite calls for a ceasefire to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said they had agreed to a three-day truce and several hours later the army did the same. But bombing, shelling and gunfire continue. At least 400 people have been killed in a week of fighting. It is the result of a bitter power struggle between two factions of the Sudanese military leadership over how the country should be run. A Sudanese employee of…

MANCHESTER United were dumped out of the Europa League quarter-finals following a dreadful second-leg performance in defeat by Sevilla. United were well below their best – creating almost nothing going forward, overrun in midfield and making two terrible mistakes in defence – as they exited Europe with a whimper. The Spanish side were gifted the lead after eight minutes when Youssef En-Nesyri finished following an awful error from Harry Maguire, and Sevilla doubled their advantage shortly after half-time with a looping header from defender Loic Bade. Sevilla’s win – and United’s humiliation – was complete nine minutes from time when…

JUVENTUS’ 15-point penalty over transfer dealings has been reversed, with Italy’s highest sporting court ordering the case to be re-examined. Juve were punished in January after being found guilty of false accounting. The club have now moved from seventh to third in Serie A, but could still be punished at a later date when a new hearing is held. Tottenham director of football Fabio Paratici lost his appeal against a 30-month ban as part of the same case. The former Juve sporting director was one of 11 directors at the club, either former or still in place at the time…

TWITTER began the mass removal of its blue ticks on Thursday, as the symbol previously used to signify a verified account vanished from users including the Pope, Donald Trump and Justin Bieber. Owner Elon Musk, who has seen his $44 billion investment in the site shrivel, earlier pledged to get rid of what he described as a “lords & peasants system.” He offered instead to sell the blue badge to anyone who would pay $8 a month, in a move he said last year would “democratize journalism & empower the voice of the people.” Earlier dates set for the rollback…

THE defence ministry in Moscow says a Russian fighter jet accidentally bombed the city of Belgorod near the border with Ukraine. Regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said the blast had left a huge crater about 20 metres (60 ft) wide in the city centre. Two women were injured and several buildings were damaged, he said. A Su-34 fighter-bomber jet accidentally discharged aircraft ordnance, the ministry said. The incident took place at 22:15 local time (19:15 GMT) on Thursday, Russian news agencies said. An investigation is under way. Photos and videos on social media show apartments damaged by the blast, while one…

THE United States is deploying forces to eastern Africa in case an evacuation of American embassy staff in Sudan becomes necessary due to the battling rival factions in Khartoum, officials said Thursday. “We are deploying additional capabilities nearby in the region for contingency purposes related to securing and potentially facilitating the departure of US Embassy personnel from Sudan,” the Pentagon said in a statement. More than 300 people have been killed since fighting erupted Saturday between forces loyal to Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Some…

THE United Nations said Thursday up to 20,000 people had fled escalating violence in Sudan to seek safety in Chad, many of whom lacked basic needs such as food, water and shelter. The UN’s refugee agency said the majority of those arriving were women and children, who were currently sheltering out in the open. Some of the refugees had been caught up in the fighting in Sudan, it said. “In the past days, an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 people have fled the conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region to seek refuge in neighbouring Chad,” the UNHCR agency said, citing figures from…

Bayern 1 vs Man City 1 (Aggregate 1-4) MANCHESTER City set up a Champions League semi-final clash with holders Real Madrid as Erling Haaland’s goal ended Bayern Munich’s hopes of a comeback. Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel felt his side needed a miracle to go through after losing the first leg 3-0 – and they squandered plenty of opportunities to get back into the game. Haaland made them pay as he lashed home a shot into the top corner to cap off a swift counter-attack, 15 seconds after Ederson had saved Kingsley Coman’s shot at the other end. That was the…

MANCHESTER United boss Erik ten Hag says his side must “use emotion as a tool” when they face Sevilla in their Europa League quarter-final second leg. The tie is delicately poised at 2-2 after United conceded two late goals in the first leg at Old Trafford. “The timing of emotions is important in big games – we must focus on the best game you can as a team and individual,” ten Hag said. Sevilla have won the trophy a record six times. But ten Hag said he is “confident” his side can get back on track on Thursday with victory…

AT least 78 people have been killed in a crush at a school in the Yemeni capital Sanaa during a distribution of charity for Ramadan, officials say. Video footage on social media shows chaotic scenes after the incident in the Bab-al-Yemen area of the city. Reuters news agency reports that hundreds of people crowded into the school to receive donations which amounted to about $9 (£7) per person. Houthi rebels have run the city since they drove out the government in 2015. Those responsible for the distribution have been detained and an investigation is under way, the interior ministry said.…

TWO teenage boys and a man have been charged with murder after a shooting at a 16th birthday in Alabama that killed four and injured 32 over the weekend. Brothers Ty Reik McCullough, 17, and Travis McCullough, 16, were arrested on Tuesday night. Wilson LaMar Hill, 20, was held on Wednesday afternoon. The suspects are each being charged with four counts of reckless murder, police said. More charges are expected in connection with Saturday night’s attack. Officials said the three suspects are from Tuskegee, Alabama, which is about a 40-minute drive from the crime scene Dadeville. The two teenagers will…

THOUSANDS of civilians have fled Sudan’s capital and foreign nations are trying to evacuate their citizens, amid a fifth day of fierce fighting. Witnesses reported people leaving Khartoum in cars and on foot on Wednesday morning, as gunfire and deafening explosions rocked the city. Meanwhile, officials in Japan and Tanzania say they are considering missions to evacuate their citizens. The exodus follows Tuesday’s collapsed ceasefire between the warring factions. The Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had agreed a 24-hour humanitarian ceasefire on Tuesday, but the truce collapsed within minutes of its proposed launch at 18:00 local…

THE daring prison break, the celebrity girlfriend and the escape across borders had all the elements of a fictional thriller. But in some ways that tempting description serves to glamorise and trivialise what South African rapist and murderer Thabo Bester actually did. While many were open-mouthed after each revelation about how this man managed to flee prison and live undetected for a year, his victims saw it a different way. It also exposed a stunning level of official incompetence. One of the women he attacked spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity. Bester, known locally as the “Facebook rapist”…

UNKNOWN gunmen have reportedly abducted Mr Daniel Ogoshi, a driver attached to the Office of Deputy Governor of Nasarawa State, Dr. Emmanuel Akabe, News Point Nigeria gathered. This newspaper learnt that the unfortunate incident happened at Ombi 2, College of Agriculture along Kwandere road, Lafia East Development Area of the state. Our correspondent gathered that the victim was abducted from the residence of one of his friends at about 9:30 pm on Tuesday night, with the abductors leaving his phone and car behind. A family friend, who didn’t want his name to be mentioned, confirmed the incident to our correspondent,…

Chelsea 0 v Real Madrid 2 (Aggregate 0-4) REAL Madrid cruised into the Champions League semi-finals with a 2-0 win against Chelsea on Tuesday that wrapped up an emphatic 4-0 aggregate triumph, effectively ending the struggling London club’s season. The home team, with Frank Lampard back in the dugout for a second spell, came into the match at Stamford Bridge with form and history against them. They started brightly, playing enterprising football, but rued two huge missed chances in the first half that would have heaped pressure on the defending champions. The Spanish giants made Chelsea pay for their profligacy…

PEP Guardiola says Manchester City will face “11 players, not the history” of Bayern Munich in Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final second leg. The teams will meet at the Allianz Arena with City holding a three-goal advantage from the first leg. But Guardiola said Bayern, who have won the trophy six times, will still be a threat on home soil. “We don’t play against what they achieved, but having something like that is something special,” he said. City have yet to win the Champions League, having lost the 2021 final to Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea and were beaten in last season’s semi-finals…

OVER 14,000 people have been arrested and 8,000 weapons seized in an anti-firearms operation across Central and South America, Interpol said Tuesday. As well as weapons, the raids swept up over 200 tonnes of cocaine and other drugs worth $5.7 billion, as well as 370 tonnes of drug precursors (chemical ingredients), the France-based police cooperation body said in a statement. Dubbed “Trigger IX”, it was “the biggest firearms operation ever coordinated by Interpol,” it added. “The fact that an operation targeting illicit firearms resulted in such massive drugs seizures is further proof, if needed, that these crimes are intertwined,” Interpol…

A FIRE in a Beijing hospital has killed 21 people, the state-run Beijing Daily said on Tuesday. Emergency response teams first received word just before 1 pm (0500 GMT) that a fire had broken out at the Beijing Changfeng Hospital in the capital city’s Fengtai District, the Beijing Daily report said. The fire was extinguished about half an hour later and rescue efforts continued for about another two hours, by which time a total of 71 patients had been evacuated and taken to another location. The death toll was put at 21 by 6 pm, the report said. The Beijing…

EXPLOSIONS shook Sudan’s capital Tuesday evening despite one side’s claiming a ceasefire on the fourth day of fighting that has killed over 250. A weeks-long power struggle erupted into battles Saturday between the forces of two generals who seized power in a 2021 coup: army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Since then, international calls have mounted for an end to hostilities that have spawned increasing lawlessness, death and damage. RSF commander Daglo, commonly known as Hemeti, announced support for an internationally-brokered 24-hour “armistice”, which the army denied…