Author: Editor

NATHAN Ake scored twice as the Netherlands beat Gibraltar in Euro 2024 qualifying for the first win of Ronald Koeman’s second spell in charge. The Dutch were totally dominant against the minnows in Feyenoord, having all 51 shots in the game and 86% possession. Koeman took over after the World Cup, but they lost 4-0 to France last Friday in their opening game of this campaign. Memphis Depay and Ake scored headers from Denzel Dumfries balls, and Ake drove in a late deflected third. Gibraltar’s Liam Walker was sent off in the 51st minute for a bad challenge on Dutch…

NORTH Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un has called on his country’s scientists to expand production of “weapon-grade nuclear materials” and build more powerful weapons, state media has reported. Kim’s latest calls, a reiteration of an earlier promise to ramp up nuclear weapons production “exponentially”, came ahead of a United States Navy carrier strike group’s scheduled arrival in South Korea on Tuesday. North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Tuesday that Kim, in a briefing with officials from his nuclear weapons institute, said that North Korea should prepare to use its nuclear weapons “anytime and anywhere”. “We should…

THREE children and three adults have been killed after a woman opened fire at a primary school in Nashville, Tennessee, local officials said, in the latest instance of deadly gun violence in the United States. The shooting happened on Monday morning at The Covenant School, a private Presbyterian school with a student body of about 200 that teaches preschool through sixth grade. The three children, all nine years old, had gunshot wounds, officials said, and they were pronounced dead upon arrival at the Monroe Carell Jr Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. The adult victims were all over 60, according to authorities.…

CROWDS have reportedly set fire to parts of a farm owned by the family of former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, apparently in retaliation for another day of fierce opposition protests. A BBC journalist at the scene in Nairobi’s outskirts saw the invaders stealing sheep, with one man saying he was selling it for $23 (£19). There were no police in sight and some of the looters were carrying machetes. Others were felling trees, and many of the people on site had been bussed in. Many businesses near the farm and in the city centre remained closed all day. A gas…

A MIGRANT originally from Sierra Leone has told the BBC’s Newsday programme that black people have no future in Tunisia due to escalating racial tensions with Arab people in the country. “In Tunisia, black sub-Saharan Africans will not have a future here and neither will our children,” said Josephus Thomas, a construction worker. “We need evacuation,” out of Tunisia he said, “even” if that meant going to another African country, he added. Some countries have been offering to repatriate their citizens, such as Ivory Coast and Guinea. The tensions started after President Kais Saied accused sub-Saharan African migrants living in…

TO mark his 71st birthday, President-elect Asíwájú Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed that special prayers and thanksgiving service be held on Wednesday March 29, 2023, instead of the yearly birthday colloquium. The special prayers will be held in Lagos and in other parts of the country. A statement from his media office on Monday indicated that for the main event in Lagos special prayers will be offered at the Central Mosque in each of the five divisions in the state including the Central Mosque, Alausa, Ikeja. During the prayer sessions, special prayers will be offered for the peace, unity and…

THE  National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Iyorchia Ayu, has said that the PDP constitution expressly prohibits any organ of the party or executive committee at ward, state or national level to take any disciplinary measure against any member of the National Executive Committee, therefore only the NEC can suspend him. Ayu also stated that the purported announcement of his suspension is only mischief, drama and propaganda, adding that it was an exercise in futility that is derivable from gross “ignorance and desperation.” Ayu disclosed this on Monday through a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Communications,…

THE abducted wife of the traditional ruler of Bukpe in Kwali Area Council of the FCT, Mrs Sadiya Hassan Shandozhi, and her son, Osama Hassan Shandozhi, have regained their freedom after being held captive for seven weeks by their abductors. This newspaper had reported that bandits on Saturday, February 4, 2023, abducted one of the chief’s wives, two sons and three other residents of the area from their residences. Confirming the release of the chief’s wife and the son through telephone to our reporter on Sunday, a member of the family, Danjuma Usman, said they were freed on Saturday evening…

A NOTORIOUS militia in eastern DR Congo on Sunday executed 17 people it took hostage the previous day on live stream, local sources said. The CODECO insurgents killed at least 17 people on a 7-minute live stream captured in the Djugu territory, around 45 kilometres (30 miles) north of Bunia in Ituri province, local community leader Banguneni Gbalande told Nit-news. Gbalande said he had been alerted by the families of some of those killed. The “hostages are dead, they have been executed by the CODECO militia on a live stream that was later stopped”, another local traditional leader, Toko Kagbanese,…

A HIGH Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, has issued an order attaching funds standing to the credit of the Oyo State Government and its agencies in four banks. Justice A. O. Ebong issued the order while ruling on a motion ex-parte for garnishee order filed by the ex-chairpersons and councillors led by Bashorun Majeed, Bosun Ajuwon and Idris Okusesi. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the affected banks are First Bank, United Bank for Africa, Wema Bank and Zenith Bank.” Justice Ebong ordered the banks to show cause why the order should not be made absolute. The…

MANAGER Antonio Conte has left Tottenham “by mutual consent” with the team struggling to secure a top-four finish in the Premier League, the club announced on Sunday. The Italian, who took over in November 2021, launched into a rant about the club before the international break following a 3-3 draw at Southampton. He will be replaced by his assistant Cristian Stellini until the end of the season. Conte leaves with Spurs fourth in the Premier League table, but only two points above fifth-placed Newcastle who have two games in hand on the London side in the race for Champions League…

CRISTIANO Ronaldo scored twice to help Portugal thrash Luxembourg 6-0 in Euro 2024 qualifying. Ronaldo, 38, broke the deadlock after nine minutes before Joao Felix and Bernardo Silva pulled Portugal further clear. The Al Nassr forward sent his side in with a 4-0 lead at half-time, with substitutes Otavio and Rafael Leao scoring late in the second period. Portugal top Group J after winning their opening two Euro 2024 qualifiers. After scoring two against Liechtenstein on Thursday, Ronaldo further extended his record as Portugal’s leading scorer in European Championship qualifiers, taking his tally to 35 in 37 appearances. And it…

TENS of thousands have taken to the streets across Israel after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his defence minister. Yoav Gallant had spoken out against controversial plans to overhaul the justice system. In Jerusalem, police and soldiers used water cannon against demonstrators near Mr Netanyahu’s house. Early on Monday morning, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog called on the government to halt the reforms. “For the sake of the unity of the people of Israel, for the sake of responsibility, I call on you to stop the legislative process immediately,” he said on Twitter, adding that “the eyes of all the people…

MORE severe weather could be on its way to the US state of Mississippi following the tornadoes which killed 26 people, the governor has warned. Governor Tate Reeves said significant risks remained in parts of the state. Hundreds of people have been displaced in the wake of the tornadoes which tore through Mississippi and Alabama on Friday night. The mayor of one of the worst affected towns said he had lost personal friends in the disaster. Friday’s tornado was the deadliest in the state of Mississippi in more than a decade. At least 25 people have died in the state,…

KENYAN opposition has vowed to continue with protests scheduled for Monday despite police warning they will intensify crackdowns on what they consider as illegal protests. The protests started last week and turned violent in several opposition strongholds. Opposition leader Raila Odinga said they would be held every Monday and Thursday to rally the country against the high cost of living and alleged electoral malpractices. But the head of police, Japhet Koome, said on Sunday “he had not approved of any demonstrations” and warned of mass arrests. The Kenyan law does not require police approval for protests. “We have been restraining…

MILITARY and civilian political leaders in Sudan have begun talks in Khartoum on bringing the government-backed militia, the RSF, under the control of the army. This, and placing the military under civilian authority, were key demands of the civilian groups which helped overthrow President Omar al- Bashir in 2019. Sunday’s talks were part of an agreement, signed in December, meant to pave the way for a return to democratic rule and due to be adopted formally in less than two weeks. The army chief, Abdel Fattah al- Burhan, who seized power in a coup two years ago said he wanted…

THE 2023 National Population and Housing Census will be conducted digitally to ensure credibility and efficiency, Garba Abari, the director-general, National Orientation Agency, NOA, says. He made this known when he featured on the News Agency of Nigeria Forum in Abuja on Sunday. Mr Abari, who is a member of the National Publicity and Advocacy Committee on Census, said the exercise would be facilitated by the use of digital technology, contrary to previous census conducted in the country. He said “this is one census that is going to be different from previous ones. To enhance the credibility of the exercise,…

FORMER Chief of General Staff in General Sani Abacha’s military adminstration, Lt-General Donaldson Oladipo Oyeyinka Diya (retd) is dead. His death was confirmed by Prince Oyesinmilola Diya. He said the former military administrator of Ogun State passed on to glory in the early hours of 26th March 2023. Born on the 3rd of April, 1944, Diya was military Governor of Ogun State after the Buhari-Idiagbon coup of December 31st, 1983. Diya joined the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna and fought during the Nigerian Civil War. He later attended the US Army School of Infantry, the Command and Staff College, Jaji (1980–1981)…

QATARI banker Sheikh Jassim has joined Ineos owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe in submitting a second bid to buy Manchester United. A representative for Sheikh Jassim said on Saturday they put in a revised bid overnight. On Thursday, Ratcliffe put in his second bid after Wednesday’s confusion and extended deadline. It followed Finnish entrepreneur Thomas Zilliacus stating he has submitted a bid to buy the Old Trafford club. Zilliacus wants to buy half of the club with the other half bought by fans, who will be part of club decision-making. On Saturday, Zilliacus claimed he had also increased his bid for…

RUSSIA will station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, President Vladimir Putin has said. President Putin said the move would not violate nuclear non-proliferation agreements and compared it to the US stationing its weapons in Europe, according to Russian state media. Moscow would not be transferring control of its arms to Minsk, he added. The US said it did not believe Russia was preparing to use the nuclear weapons after the announcement. “We have not seen any reason to adjust our own strategic nuclear posture,” the US Defense Department said in a statement. “We remain committed to the collective defense of…