A MINIBUS carrying students to school collided with a truck south of Johannesburg on Monday, killing 13 pupils, South African police said. It was the latest in a string of deadly crashes in a country whose modern road network is undermined by rampant speeding, reckless driving and poorly maintained vehicles. The crash happened near the industrial city of Vanderbijlpark, about 60 kilometres (40 miles) south of Johannesburg. Police said the driver of the minibus appeared to have lost control while attempting to overtake other vehicles. The toll rose to 13 after an injured child died of their injuries, the provincial…
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MOROCCO’s King Mohammed VI has accepted US President Donald Trump’s invitation to join his “Board of Peace” as a founding member, the Moroccan foreign ministry said on Monday. “Welcoming President Donald Trump’s commitment and vision to promoting peace,” the monarch “has graciously accepted this invitation”, the ministry said in a statement published by MAP news agency, adding the country would “ratify the charter establishing this board”. The US-led initiative aims to “contribute to peace efforts in the Middle East and adopt a new approach to resolving conflicts around the world”, it said. The board was originally conceived to oversee the…
SENEGAL stunned Morocco in Sunday’s Africa Cup of Nations final as Pape Gueye’s goal gave them a 1-0 extra-time win over the hosts at the end of a match marred by disgraceful scenes following a controversial penalty award. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco when he stepped up to take the spot-kick in the 24th added minute at the end of normal time. But Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay of almost 20 minutes that followed the penalty award. Congolese…
ARSENAL may have left Nottingham Forest on Saturday night regretting a missed opportunity. The reality is they will actually never have a better chance of ending a Premier League title drought stretching back to ‘The Invincibles’ of 2004. Mikel Arteta’s side have emerged from the weekend with an advantage stretched to seven points as the chasing pack aiming to put them under pressure stumbled badly. Arsenal and Arteta will rightly urge caution, but the Gunners will never forgive themselves if they do not claim the crown that has proved so elusive, faced with the domination of Manchester City and the…
ISRAELI forces have wounded several Palestinians across the Gaza Strip, firing on civilians and launching air and artillery attacks in the latest near-daily violations of the ceasefire in place since October, as its genocidal war on the besieged enclave continues unabated. Medical sources told the Palestinian news agency Wafa that Israeli drone fire on Sunday injured civilians in the Zeitoun neighbourhood in southern Gaza City. In southern Gaza, two people, including a girl, were wounded by Israeli gunfire in al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis. Additional injuries were reported in areas from which Israeli forces were meant to have withdrawn under…
AT least 21 people have been killed after two high-speed trains collided in southern Spain, authorities say. Spain’s ADIF rail body said in a post on X that a train travelling on Sunday from coastal Malaga to the capital, Madrid, derailed near Adamuz, crossing onto the other track. It crashed into an oncoming train, which also derailed. Spain’s Interior Ministry said that at least 21 people were confirmed dead. Andalusia’s emergency services had earlier said that 25 people were “seriously” injured. Five mobile intensive care units, four emergency critical care units and numerous ambulances were deployed to the site of…
THE Federal Government has commiserated with the governments and peoples of South Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe following the loss of lives in the recent floods ravaging the countries. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement issued on Sunday, sympathised with the affected countries over the human and material losses caused by the floods. “Nigeria also notes with concern the secondary humanitarian impacts, including food insecurity, disease outbreaks, and the heightened vulnerability of women, children, and other at-risk populations. “The Government of Nigeria expresses solidarity with the ongoing rescue, evacuation, and relief efforts being undertaken by national authorities, regional institutions,…
UGANDA said Sunday it would maintain a ban on social media platforms, while lifting a nationwide internet block hours after longtime ruler Yoweri Museveni was declared the winner of national elections. The internet was blocked two days before the polls opened on Thursday. While the government said that it was necessary to curb “misinformation”, the United Nations labelled the decision “deeply worrying”. Although much of the country remained calm after the vote, there were reports of small-scale protests late Saturday after the results, with AFP journalists hearing tear gas in parts of the capital, Kampala. As of Sunday morning, the…
MICHAEL Carrick enjoyed the perfect start to his second spell as Manchester United caretaker boss as second-half goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu inflicted massive damage on Manchester City’s Premier League title hopes. After so much recent discontent, this was a day when Old Trafford came alive, leaving Sir Alex Ferguson celebrating in the stands and United fans sarcastically waving off City spearhead Erling Haaland when he was replaced 10 minutes from time. City had goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to thank for keeping his side in the game, with the Italian making a string of superb saves to deny Dorgu,…
ISRAELI attacks killed at least seven people in Gaza on Saturday, including four children, Palestinian civil defence officials said, underscoring the fragility of a ceasefire that has largely paused full-scale fighting but failed to halt deadly strikes. According to Gaza’s civil defence agency, a drone strike hit a tent sheltering displaced families in southern Gaza, killing four people, three of them children. In the north, an 11-year-old girl was killed near the Jabalia refugee camp, while another person died in a strike on a school. A separate drone attack near Khan Yunis in the south killed a man. Israeli military…
INDONESIAN authorities are searching for a plane carrying three government workers and at least eight crew members after contact with the aircraft was lost, officials said. The fisheries surveillance aircraft had been heading to Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi, after departing from Yogyakarta Province, before contact was lost, Andi Sultan, operations chief at the Makassar search and rescue agency, told the news agency Reuters. He said that air traffic control lost contact with the ATR 42-500 aircraft, operated by Indonesia Air Transport, at about 1:30pm (0530 GMT) on Saturday, around the Maros region in South Sulawesi province. He declined…
UGANDAN opposition leader Bobi Wine said Saturday that he had escaped a police raid on his home and was in hiding as the country braced for the results of a fraught election held under an internet blackout. Earlier reports by his party suggested that Wine was forcibly taken away in an army helicopter from his home on Friday, a day after elections marred by reports of violence. The President Yoweri Museveni, 81, looked set to be declared winner and extend his 40-year rule in an election marred by reports of at least 10 deaths and intimidation of the opposition and…
TORRENTIAL rains have killed more than 100 people across Southern Africa, forcing mass evacuations and rescue operations as authorities warn that more destructive weather may still be to come. Weeks of heavy rainfall have battered South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, overwhelming rivers and infrastructure and leaving entire communities cut off. Weather services across the region have issued further alerts, raising fears of additional flooding. In South Africa, officials said on Friday that flooding in the northern provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga had killed at least 30 people. Army helicopters have been deployed to rescue residents trapped on rooftops and in…
UGANDAN President Yoweri Museveni won a seventh term in office on Saturday after an election marred by violence and an internet shutdown, with African observers saying arrests and abductions had “instilled fear”. Museveni, 81, won 71.65 percent of the vote in Thursday’s election, the Electoral Commission said, amid reports of at least 10 deaths and intimidation of the opposition and civil society. His victory allows him to extend his 40-year rule of the east African country. He defeated Bobi Wine, 43, a former singer-turned-politician who won 24.72 percent and said he was in hiding on Saturday after a raid by…
MANCHESTER City have agreed a deal in principle to sign Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi this month for £20m. City started talks with the England centre-back, 25, this month following injuries to defenders Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias. Guehi, who has been linked with some of Europe’s top clubs, is out of contract this summer and was close to a move to Liverpool last summer. BBC Sport reported earlier this month that City were exploring a move for Guehi and talks have accelerated in the past 24 hours. Guehi is now expected to join City on a long-term contract this…
ISRAELI attacks have killed at least three Palestinians in Gaza in the latest violations of its tenuous ceasefire with Hamas, a day after the United States announced the start of the second phase of President Donald Trump’s plan to end Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinian people in the besieged territory. A 10-year-old girl, a 16-year-old boy and an elderly woman were killed in Israeli attacks on Friday, as members of a planned Palestinian technocratic committee sat down for the first time in Cairo to prepare for the rollout of phase two of the peace plan. Palestinian news agency Wafa…
SAUDI Arabia’s 90-year-old King Salman was discharged from hospital after undergoing medical tests in the capital Riyadh, the kingdom’s Royal Court said on Friday, adding that the results were “reassuring”. The monarch “left the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh today (Friday) after undergoing medical tests that proved reassuring”, the royal court said in a statement shared on state media, having announced his admission earlier in the day. Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude oil exporter, has for years sought to quell speculation over King Salman’s health. He has been on the throne since 2015, though his son Mohammed bin…
UGANDAN opposition leader Bobi Wine was forcibly taken away in an army helicopter from his home on Friday, his party said, a day after elections marred by reports of violence. President Yoweri Museveni is seeking to prolong his four-decade rule in an election that saw widespread repression and an internet blackout. His main opponent, singer-turned-politician Bobi Wine, earlier said he had been under house arrest after police surrounded his compound. Late Friday, his party, the National Unity Platform (NUP), said in a post on X that an army helicopter had landed in the compound and “forcibly taken him away to…
ETHIOPIAN police say they have seized thousands of rounds of ammunition sent by Eritrea to a violent armed rebel group, stoking fears of renewed conflict. Eritrea has denied the allegation and accused Ethiopia of “floating false flags to justify the war that it has been itching to unleash for two long years”. It comes at a volatile moment for the relationship between the Horn of Africa neighbours, which share a fractious and violent history. Hopes of tentative peace, forged during a 2020-22 civil war in northern Ethiopia, have of late given way to a war of words over control of…
DEFENDING champions, Nigeria, have been drawn against Zambia, Egypt, and Malawi in Group C of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON). The Super Falcons, record `10 times winners, will play the Group C games at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca, Morocco. Nigeria’s match against the Copper Queens will be a reenactment of their quarter-final outing in the 2024 edition of the tournament. The Super Falcons thrashed the Zambians 5-0 in that game. Morocco, runners-up in the last two editions of the WAFCON, are in Group A against Algeria, Kenya, and Senegal. Games in that lot will be…