ETHOPIAN Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has held his first face-to-face talks on Friday with Tigrayan leaders since a peace deal was inked ending two years of war, officials and state media said. Abiy met senior leaders of the Tigray region forces on Friday about three months since the Addis Ababa government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) signed agreements to permanently cease hostilities. The conflict, which has at times spilled out of Tigray into the neighbouring regions of Amhara and Afar, has killed thousands of people, displaced millions from their homes and left hundreds of thousands on the brink…
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EAST African regional leaders have renewed their call for an immediate ceasefire by all sides in the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that pits the country’s military against a rebel group that the government has accused Rwanda of supporting. At a summit in Burundi’s capital Bujumbura on Saturday, the leaders of the regional East African Community (EAC) bloc enjoined an “immediate ceasefire by all parties,” according to a communique issued at the end of the meeting. “The summit reiterated its call to all parties to de-escalate tensions,” the communique read. The M23 rebel group has seized large areas…
CHILE has extended an emergency declaration to yet another region as firefighters struggled to control dozens of wildfires that have killed at least 23 people. The latest emergency order on Saturday covers the southern region of Araucania, next to the previously declared Biobio and Nuble regions, located near the middle of the South American country’s long Pacific coastline. The measure allows the government to mobilise the military to help battle the fires. “Weather conditions have made it very difficult to put out [the fires] that are spreading and the emergency is getting worse,” Interior Minister Carolina Toha told reporters at…
THE US has shot down a giant Chinese balloon that it says has been spying on key military sites across America. The Department of Defence confirmed its fighter jets brought down the balloon over US territorial waters. China’s foreign ministry later expressed “strong dissatisfaction and protest against the US’s use of force to attack civilian unmanned aircraft”. Footage on US TV networks showed the balloon falling to the sea after a small explosion. An F-22 jet fighter engaged the high-altitude balloon with one missile – an AIM-9X Sidewinder – and it went down about six nautical miles off the US…
SEBASTIEN Haller scored his first goal since recovering from testicular cancer as Borussia Dortmund thrashed Freiburg. The former West Ham striker, who returned to action three weeks ago, scored the third goal with a 51st-minute header in front of the Westfalenstadion’s ‘Yellow Wall’. Haller was diagnosed days after signing for Dortmund as Erling Haaland’s replacement, and needed two operations. The 28-year-old has had four rounds of chemotherapy, and surgery in November. Haller returned to the pitch on January 22 in a 4-3 home league win over Augsburg, before making his first Dortmund start against Bayer Leverkusen a week later. Dortmund…
A FINE Lionel Messi strike earned Paris St-Germain a comeback win over Toulouse and moved them eight points clear in Ligue 1. Mid-table Toulouse took a surprise lead in Paris, Branco van den Boomen scoring a free-kick after 20 minutes. Achraf Hakimi drew PSG level before half-time, and after the break, Messi curled home expertly from 25 yards. The win moves PSG on to 54 points from 22 games, eight ahead of second-placed Marseille. PSG were missing both Kylian Mbappe and Neymar because of injuries, and surprisingly fell behind to a set-piece by Dutch midfielder Van den Boomen. Hakimi made…
Everton 1 vs Arsenal 0 New manager Sean Dyche enjoyed a dream start as a much-improved Everton side stunned Premier League leaders Arsenal at a raucous Goodison Park. Dyche was appointed last Monday following the departure of Frank Lampard, who was sacked with the team in the relegation zone. And the hosts picked up their first victory in 11 games in all competitions courtesy of a link-up between two men who played for Dyche at Burnley. Centre-half James Tarkowski rose at the far post to power home a header from Dwight McNeil’s corner to spark the sort of joyous scenes…
THE decomposed bodies of the two abducted wives and five children of the Chief of Mutumbiyu Justices Chiefdom in Taraba State, Justice Sani Muhammed (retd), have been found. According to the monarch, the decomposed bodies were found on Saturday and would be buried at Mutumbiyu. He explained, “The bodies of the members of my family killed by the kidnappers were found and will be brought to Mutumbiyu for burial. Two weeks ago, he stated that at his residence in Jalingo, eight of his family members were kidnapped by unknown gunmen suspected to be kidnappers. The monarch explained that among the…
WIKIPEDIA has been blocked in Pakistan for hosting “blasphemous content”. The move was announced on Saturday after the free online encyclopaedia was given a 48-hour deadline to remove some material. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said Wikipedia failed to comply with its ultimatum. The Wikimedia Foundation, which hosts Wikipedia, said the ban meant Pakistanis would be denied access “to the largest free knowledge repository”. Blasphemy is a highly sensitive and incendiary issue in Pakistan. Other platforms including Tinder, Facebook and YouTube were previously blocked in the Muslim-majority country. PTA spokesperson Malahat Obaid said Wikipedia failed to respond to “repeated correspondence”…
PRESIDENT Joe Biden says the US is “going to take care of” a suspected Chinese spy balloon that has been flying across the US in recent days. Mr Biden, who did not offer further details, is facing intense pressure domestically to shoot the object down. Officials advised against such a move due to the danger of falling debris. The incident comes amid fraying tensions between the US and China, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling off a trip to Beijing over it. Mr Blinken said the “surveillance” balloon’s presence was “an irresponsible act”. However, China – which says…
PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has described the All Progressives Congress Presidential Candidate, Asíwájú Bola Tinubu, as the next president of the country, declaring that he would continue to campaign for him. President Buhari made the declaration in Lafia, capital of Nasarawa State, on Saturday at the APC Presidential Campaign rally that had thousands of party supporters and residents. The president confirmed Asiwaju Tinubu’s earlier statement on their over 20 years friendship, assuring Nigerians and the people of Nasarawa State that the APC presidential candidate would be a good President that will make the country better after him. President Buhari assured party…
FORMER Sokoto state governor and a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa has stated that Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasiru ElRufai is uncouth. According to Bafarawa, who was responding to an interview El-Rufa’i granted the Hausa Service of the BBC monitored by News Point Nigeria, in which he described northern elders as ‘mere paperweights’ who cannot swing votes in anyone’s favor, the Kaduna state Governor, is a Lilliputian with warped reasoning. 48 hours earlier El.Rufa’i had alleged that there were certain persons or ‘elements’ in the Presidential Villa working against Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the All…
THE Russian ambassador to the Central African Republic (CAR) has said that 1,890 “Russian instructors” were present in the country, a focus of operations for the Kremlin-linked Wagner Group mercenary outfit. “Today, there are 1,890 Russian instructors in the C.A.R,” Russian state-owned news agency RIA quoted ambassador Alexander Bikantov as saying in an interview on Friday. The government is interested in increasing their number. Relatively recently, Bangui sent the relevant application to the UN Security Council.” The Wagner Group, founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, has become a major player in CAR, largely displacing former colonial power France. The mineral-rich Central African…
BRAZIL has sunk a decommissioned aircraft carrier in the Atlantic Ocean despite concerns expressed by environmental groups that the ageing warship was packed with toxic materials. The “planned and controlled sinking occurred late in the afternoon” on Friday, some 350 km (220 miles) off the Brazilian coast in the Atlantic Ocean, in an area with an “approximate depth of 5,000 meters [16,000 feet]”, Brazil’s Navy said in a statement. The decision to scuttle the six-decade-old aircraft carrier “Sao Paulo” came after Brazilian authorities had tried in vain to find a port willing to welcome the vessel. Though defence officials said…
ISRAELI forces have shot dead an unarmed Palestinian man in the West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said, in what the Israeli army described as an “attack” on soldiers at a military outpost. Abdullah Sami Qalalweh, 26 was killed on Friday evening by “Israeli occupation bullets near the town of Huwara, south of Nablus”, the Palestinian ministry said in a statement. The official Palestinian news agency WAFA quoted Ahmad Jibril, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent, as saying the victim died just minutes after being critically injured by Israeli forces. Qalalweh’s death brings the toll of Palestinians killed by…
BRITISH record signing Enzo Fernandez made his Chelsea debut but could not help his new side claim only their second win of 2023 as they were held by Fulham at Stamford Bridge. Argentina midfielder Fernandez completed a £107m move to the Blues from Benfica three days ago and Graham Potter opted to hand him an immediate start. He made a solid impression and almost enjoyed a dream debut when his curled effort flew just wide of the post in the second half. Kai Havertz also went close before the break when his lobbed effort from Hakim Ziyech’s superb pass clipped…
THE Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojala II, CFR has made a Hollywood debut in the film Take Me Home. Take Me Home is the story of an American family that got stuck in a series of Pandora Box-like events when their daughter manifests unusual behaviour and utterances after wearing African masquerade costume purchased during a tour of Osun State. In a bid to save her life, the family undergoes challenges following the promises of the two African immigrants. The Yoruba royalty played the unique role befitting to his throne as the custodian of the Yorubaland in the…
THE World Health Organisation Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, has said that cancer mortality may increase to nearly one million deaths per year by 2030 if there are no urgent and bold interventions. According to her, an estimated 1.1 million new cancer cases occur each year in Africa, with about 700,000 deaths. She said this in a message to commemorate the 2023 World Cancer Day. World Cancer Day is an international day marked yearly on February 4 to raise awareness of cancer and encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment. The 2023 theme is “Close the care Gap: Uniting…
SOUTH Africa’s official tourism board says it intends to continue to pursue a proposed sponsorship deal with Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur, despite public uproar after details were leaked in the media this week. Themba Khumalo, the acting CEO of South African Tourism (SAT), said while there was no signed contract as yet, the board had conditionally approved the proposed three-year deal worth 900m South African rand (£42.5m/$52.5m). Khumalo revealed that despite details of the deal – proposed to start at the beginning of the 2023-24 Premier League season – being leaked, confidentiality agreements mean he is unable to confirm…
THE President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, on Friday, said the court had so far received 600 pre-election matters from its 20 Divisions. Dongbam-Mensem made this known when the Ambassador of the European Union Delegation, Samuela Isopi, paid her a visit in her office. “The court received over 600 pre-election appeals in the 20 divisions of the court from November to date and more appeals are still being filed. “Over 60 panels were set up in the various divisions to hear and determine all pre-election appeals filed. “Mindful of the pressures under which the Hon Justices are…