Author: Editor

AT least 26 people have died in Mississippi and Alabama after a tornado tore through the southern US states. Search and rescue efforts are continuing, and the Mississippi state government has declared a state of emergency. In Rolling Fork, crushed cars, bricks and glass litter the streets – the town has been almost entirely wiped out. One resident told the BBC he was lucky to survive after seeking shelter in his bath tub. Approaching the neighbourhood in western Sharkey County, there is little indication of anything unusual. The lush farmland that surrounds it is completely untouched, the trees aren’t even…

DECADES of silence and fear followed the 1977 massacre of perhaps as many as 90,000 people in Angola, but as the families of the disappeared started to speak out, demanding answers, the government took action in an attempt to promote reconciliation. Though in some cases its attempts appear to have gone cruelly wrong. For João Ernesto van Dunem it was like his parents had been killed for a second time. First, hopes were raised for the man who was orphaned when he was three months’ old. Angola’s justice minister appeared on national television last year to announce that the remains…

THE Chadian government has nationalised assets belonging to a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil. It’s the latest development in a dispute between the authorities of the Central African country and the US oil giant over the sale of its assets in Chad to a third party. The vast majority of Chad’s revenue comes from exporting oil. So when it disagreed with the terms under which Exxon sold its Chadian assets to British company Savannah Energy last year, it promised to go to court to block the purchase. Now the Chadian authorities have gone one step further – they’ve nationalised Exxon’s assets,…

INEC assured in Abuja on Saturday that it would conduct credible supplementary governorship election in Adamawa that would be the pride of Nigerians and of the international community. INEC’s commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, gave the assurance when some women staged a protest at the Commission’s headquarters in respect of the Adamawa election. The protesters were led by the president, National Council of Women Societies, NCWS, Lami Lau. INEC had earlier in the week declared the March 18 governorship election in Adamawa as inconclusive. The final results tallied by INEC at the election showed that the Adamawa…

SUSPECTED armed bandits have kidnapped the Special Adviser on political affairs to Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara state, Alhaji Ibrahim Ma’aji in Gusau the state capital. The armed bandits in their large numbers were said to have invaded the residence of the Special Adviser in the early hours of Saturday in the Mareri area of the Gusau metropolis. A close source to the family, Lukman Ibrahim who is the elder son of the kidnapped victim confirmed the abduction of his father Ibrahim Maaji in the state. According to Lukman, his father was in his apartment when gunmen entered their compound…

THE Court of Appeal, Abuja, Friday evening, dismissed an appeal by Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, seeking the disqualification of Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate, All Progressives Congress, APC, and his deputy, Kashim Shettima, in the February 25 election. A three-member panel headed by Justice James Abundaga, in a unanimous judgment, held that the PDP failed to establish that its had locus standi to institute the case. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the PDP, in an appeal marked: CA/ABJ/CV/108/2023, had prayed the appellate court to reverse the January 13 judgment delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo of a Federal High…

KYLIAN Mbappe marked his first game as France captain on Friday with two goals and an assist as the World Cup finalists romped to a 4-0 win against a depleted Netherlands side in a Euro 2024 qualifier in Paris. Mbappe has succeeded long-standing France skipper Hugo Lloris and the new era got off to a flying start as the Paris Saint-Germain superstar set up the pink-haired Antoine Griezmann to score inside two minutes. Dayot Upamecano bundled in the second goal in the eighth minute and Mbappe got his name on the scoresheet to make it 3-0 before the midway point…

ROMELU Lukaku scored a hat-trick to lead Belgium to victory against Sweden in their Euro 2024 qualifier and upstage Zlatan Ibrahimovic on his international return. Lukaku headed in a first-half opener before turning in from close range, and then slotted in late on. Ibrahimovic, 41, came on in the 73rd minute to a standing ovation from the Swedish fans. It was his first international appearance for almost a year. At 41 years, five months and 21 days, Ibrahimovic had initially been hailed as breaking the the record, held by Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff since 1983, as the oldest man to…

A WOMAN burned alive in a town square by her jilted ex-boyfriend died following five days of agony, Peru’s women’s minister said Friday, slamming police for their slow response. Katherine Gomez, 18, was admitted to the hospital last Saturday suffering from burns to 60 percent of her body. “She fought for her life but, unfortunately, the amount of damage she suffered made it impossible for doctors to save her life and they told us she has died,” Minister Nancy Tolentino told RPP radio station. The grim case has shocked Peruvians. According to police, the perpetrator was a 19-year-old Venezuelan who…

A PLANNED visit to France from Sunday by King Charles III has been postponed due to ongoing protests over pension reform, the French presidency announced.“Given the announcement yesterday of another national day of protests against pension reform on Tuesday March 28, the visit of Charles III, initially scheduled from 26-28 March, has been postponed,” a statement said. Charles was due to arrive with Queen Consort Camilla on Sunday evening before spending a day in Paris on Monday and travelling to Bordeaux in the southwest on Tuesday. The trip was due to be his first foreign tour as sovereign since ascending…

AT least 34 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa – including children and babies – are missing off the Tunisian coast after their boat capsized. It is the fifth migrant boat to sink in two days, with seven people confirmed dead so far, and 67 still missing. Authorities believe the boat was heading for Italy. The Tunisian coast guard has reportedly stopped 56 boats from leaving the country, bound for Italy, in the past two days. Houssem Jebabli from the Tunisian National Guard said that more than 3,000 migrants had been detained attempting to leave the country. Tunisia has become a launch…

PAUL Rusesabagina, a former hotel manager portrayed as a hero in the Hollywood film Hotel Rwanda, is to be released from prison in Kigali. Two years ago, he was sentenced to 25 years for terrorism by a Rwandan court in what supporters called a sham trial. A government spokesperson said Mr Rusesabagina’s sentence had been “commuted by presidential order”. Mr Rusesabagina, 68, is credited with saving some 1,200 people during the 1994 genocide. In a statement his family told the BBC: “We are pleased to hear the news about Paul’s release. The family is hopeful to reunite with him soon.”…

CRISTIANO Ronaldo celebrated his world-record 197th men’s international appearance by scoring twice as Portugal thrashed Liechtenstein in their Euro 2024 qualifying opener. The 38-year-old has now scored a men’s record 120 international goals. He made his international debut in 2003 and in Qatar last year became the first man to score in five World Cups. Ronaldo added to his goals tally with a second-half penalty before finding the top corner with a free-kick. The forward – now playing in Saudi Arabia for Al Nassr – had been frustrated in front of goal during the first period, blazing a clear-cut chance…

NEW France captain Kylian Mbappe said team-mate Antoine Griezmann’s disappointment at being overlooked for the role is “understandable”. Mbappe, 24, was named skipper this week after the international retirement of World Cup-winning captain Hugo Lloris. Griezmann, 32, was reportedly unhappy to only be vice-captain with one report suggesting he was considering retiring. “I spoke to Antoine because he was disappointed and frankly it is understandable,” Mbappe said. “I told him that I might have reacted in the same way. “What I told him was that as long as I am captain and he is vice captain, I won’t be superior…

HARRY Kane became England’s all-time record goalscorer as they opened their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with a first victory in Italy since 1961. Kane wrote his name into the history books in the 44th minute when he beat Gianluigi Donnarumma from the penalty spot for his 54th goal, overtaking previous record holder Wayne Rooney. Declan Rice gave England an early lead when he scored from close range after Kane’s shot was blocked before the captain put memories of his penalty miss against France in the World Cup quarter-final in Qatar aside with an emphatic spot-kick. Italy, whistled off at half-time…

THE US and Canada have reached a deal to reject asylum seekers at unofficial border crossings, officials say. US President Joe Biden and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau will announce the pact on Friday during Mr Biden’s visit to Ottawa. The accord is expected to allow officials on both sides of the border to turn back such asylum seekers heading in either direction. The US side has also seen a rise in migrant crossings there from Canada. The move is part of efforts to limit an influx of migrants at Roxham Road, an unofficial crossing between New York state and the…

UKRAINE President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday told European leaders that “delays” sending fighter jets and long-range missiles could extend the war, after he paid a visit to the frontline southern region of Kherson. On the train home from the war-ravaged areas, Zelensky gave an emotional account of what he had seen as he addressed a summit of his EU counterparts gathered in Brussels via video link, an EU official said. But, while he welcomed a recent EU plan aimed at sending Kyiv one million artillery shells, he kept up his demand for modern warplanes and missiles he believes will be…

FOUR Kenyan MPs have been charged with unlawful assembly after taking part in anti-government protests on Monday, the Reuters news agency says quoting their lawyer. During the demonstrations police tear-gassed opposition leader Raila Odinga’s convoy in the capital, Nairobi. Running battles took place on the main Kenyatta Avenue between police and demonstrators, some of whom threw stones at the security officers. The protests also spread to other cities, with a university student reportedly shot dead in Kisumu. Speaking on Thursday, Mr Odinga condemned what he described as “illegal arrests” – two of those held were leading members of the opposition…

SOUTH African opposition minority party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), has said Russian President Vladimir Putin is welcome to visit Pretoria despite an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against him. The ICC, which South Africa is a signatory to, has accused Mr Putin of war crimes, which include the kidnapping of Ukrainian children in Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Mr Putin is scheduled to travel to South Africa for the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit in August. EFF leader Julius Malema on Thursday said no one was going to arrest Mr Putin…

INEOS owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim will submit improved bids to buy Manchester United after the initial deadline was extended at their request amid confusion on Wednesday night. Bidders were told they had until 21:00 GMT to submit second, revised bids. BBC Sport has been told several other proposed investors met the initial deadline. It is unclear when the new deadline will be. Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim are the only publicly declared bidders. Initially on Wednesday evening there had been strong indications that the pair had submitted fresh bids. It is now understood that over the…