Author: Editor

THE Africa Cup of Nations will be staged every four years following an edition planned for 2028 in a major change to what is currently a biennial showpiece, African football chief Patrice Motsepe announced on Saturday. The Confederation of African Football president revealed the change as part of a significant restructuring of the international game on the continent to help it fit better into a packed global calendar. An AFCON every two years was a vital source of revenue for African national associations, but Motsepe said the introduction of an annual African Nations League competition similar to the UEFA Nations…

DOCTORS Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, has warned that babies and children in the Gaza Strip are dying from harsh winter weather, calling on Israel to ease its aid blockade as the military continues to violate the ceasefire and press on with its genocidal war. Citing the death of a 29-day-old premature baby, Said Asad Abedin, from severe hypothermia in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, MSF said on Friday that winter storms “combined with the already dire living conditions [are] increasing health risks”. The death toll from extreme weather stood at 13 as of Thursday, according to Gaza’s…

PAKISTAN’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi have been sentenced to 17 years in prison after a Pakistani court found them guilty of illegally retaining and selling valuable state gifts. The sentence, handed down on Saturday, capped a years-long saga that saw the duo accused of selling various gifts including jewellery from the Saudi Arabian government at far below market value. They have denied all charges. In order to keep gifts from foreign dignitaries, Pakistani law requires officials to purchase them at market value and to declare profits from any sales. But prosecutors claimed that the…

UNKNOWN gunmen killed 10 people and wounded 10 others in an attack at a township outside Johannesburg, police said in Sunday, in the second mass shooting in South Africa this month. The motive for the attack at Bekkersdal, 40 kilometres (25 miles) southwest of the city, was not clear, police told AFP. “Some victims were randomly shot in the streets by unknown gunmen,” a police statement said. “Ten people are dead. We don’t have a breakdown of who they are,” Brigadier Brenda Muridili, police spokesperson for Gauteng province, told AFP. The shooting took place near a tavern or informal bar…

THE Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has completed the fifth review of Ghana’s 39 month Extended Credit Facility arrangement, paving the way for the immediate disbursement of about US$385 million to the country. The approval brings Ghana’s total disbursements under the US$3 billion IMF programme to about US$2.8 billion since the arrangement was approved in May 2023. The Fund said in a statement on its website that Ghana’s performance under the programme had been broadly satisfactory, despite some delays in implementing complex structural reforms. According to the IMF, macroeconomic stabilisation is gaining momentum, supported by strong growth…

FORMER heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, delivered a dominant performance on Saturday morning, stopping YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul with a sixth-round knockout in their heavyweight bout in Miami. Although Paul exceeded expectations by lasting beyond the early rounds, Joshua’s superior power and experience proved decisive, according to The Athletic. The British boxer dropped Paul twice during a chaotic fifth round, setting the stage for the finish. Joshua sealed the victory in the sixth round, unleashing a sustained combination of heavy punches that left Paul unable to continue, prompting the referee to halt the contest. Speaking after the fight, Joshua turned his attention…

THE Israeli military has carried out a deadly attack on a shelter in Gaza City as senior officials from Qatar, Egypt and Turkiye were in the United States for talks on reaching the next phase of the shaky ceasefire. At least six Palestinians were killed and several others wounded on Friday in an Israeli attack in Gaza City’s Tuffah neighbourhood. Local sources told Al Jazeera that Israeli tank shells struck the second floor of a school-turned-shelter while displaced Palestinian families were gathered there to attend a wedding. The attack was the latest in hundreds of Israeli ceasefire violations that have…

THE United States Department of Justice has begun to release part of its trove of files documenting the life and crimes of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. But Friday’s much anticipated release is expected to fall short of the full publication of the Epstein file mandated under a recently passed law. Earlier in the day, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche warned that some documents would be delayed, in order to ensure the privacy of Epstein’s victims. “I expect that we’re going to release more documents over the next couple of weeks,” Blanche told Fox News. “So today, several…

A UGANDA prison officer has been sacked for criticising the government on TikTok, in a rare move authorities said amounted to “gross indiscipline”. Lawrence Ampe had been under investigation over social media posts accusing senior government officials of corruption, human rights abuses and mistreatment of lower-ranking prison officers. “The standing orders don’t allow a public officer to participate in politics, which he is doing even now,” prisons spokesman Frank Baine told the BBC, saying Ampe was sacked for “politicking in the wrong forum”. The opposition has condemned the move, describing it as evidence of “systemic oppression” and double standards within…

THE South African government has dismissed accusations by the US that it harassed and intimidated American officials during a raid on a centre processing applications by white South Africans for refugee status in the US. Tuesday’s raid saw seven Kenyans expelled from South Africa for working in the country illegally. The US accused South Africa of publishing the passport details of its officials, saying this was “unacceptable” and warning of “severe consequences”. But South Africa has denied this, saying it treats “matters of data security with the utmost seriousness”. The US is offering asylum status to members of South Africa’s…

FORMER Arsenal and France striker Thierry Henry has been honoured with the Lifetime Achievement award at BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2025. The 48-year-old, widely considered to be one of the Premier League’s greatest players, retired in 2014. He was presented with the award by his four children – Tea, Tristan, Tatiana and Gabi – at the show on Thursday. “Football has given me everything and I gave it my all,” said Henry. “To be recognised as part of its history with this Lifetime Achievement award and to have made my mark for the fans and my team-mates is…

WITH a pale face and unrelenting tears, Eman Abu al-Khair sits inside her tent, clutching a small bag of her infant’s clothes. Her newborn had died of hypothermia the day before. The devastated mother, 34-years-old, still cannot believe she lost her baby, Muhammad, alive for just 14 days. Amid the devastation left by Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, she simply wasn’t able to keep him warm enough. “I can still hear his tiny cries in my ears,” Eman tells Al Jazeera, the pain visible on her face. “I sleep and drift off, unable to believe that his crying and waking…

THE administration of US President Donald Trump has lobbed its latest salvo against the government in South Africa, accusing officials of harassing and doxxing staff working with white Afrikaners. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the charge on Thursday, a day after South Africa expelled seven Kenyan nationals brought into the country with the help of the US to process Afrikaner relocations. South Africa has maintained that individuals who entered the country on tourist visas are therefore ineligible to work. In a statement, Rubio alleged that US nationals had also been briefly detained in the imbroglio, a move Washington…

THE rebel group which last week seized the Democratic Republic of Congo city of Uvira say they have begun withdrawing, promising to complete the pullout on Thursday, following pressure from the US. The M23 group captured the strategic city near the border with Burundi, days after a “historic” US-brokered peace deal between Congolese and Rwandan governments aimed at ending the long-running conflict in eastern DR Congo. However, DR Congo’s government says the reported withdrawal is a “diversion” and needs verification. On Thursday morning some Uvira residents told the BBC it was not clear if the M23 were leaving, with some…

FIFA has unveiled the 2025 The Best Men’s and Women’s 11, celebrating the standout performers in world football over the past season. The announcement was made on Tuesday at the awards ceremony held in Doha, Qatar, with Paris Saint-Germain dominating the men’s selection. Six players from PSG’s Champions League-winning squad were named in the Men’s 11 after helping the French side lift their maiden UEFA Champions League title and reach the final of the FIFA Club World Cup. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, now with Manchester City, was picked alongside Achraf Hakimi, Willian Pacho, Nuno Mendes, Vitinha and Ousmane Dembélé. Club World…

QATAR’s prime minister has warned that daily Israeli breaches of the Gaza ceasefire are threatening the entire agreement, as he called for urgent progress towards the next phase of the deal to end Israel’s genocidal war on the besieged Palestinian enclave. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani made the appeal following talks with United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Wednesday, where he stressed that “delays and ceasefire violations endanger the entire process and place mediators in a difficult position”. The Qatari premier, whose country has played a critical mediating role, said humanitarian aid must…

A NEWLY released Bollywood spy thriller is winning praise and raising eyebrows in equal measure in India and Pakistan, over its retelling of bitter tensions between the South Asian neighbours. Sunk in a sepia tone, Dhurandhar, which was released in cinemas last week, is a 3.5-hour-long cross-border political spy drama that takes cinemagoers on a violent and bloody journey through a world of gangsters and intelligence agents set against the backdrop of India-Pakistan tensions. It comes just months after hostilities broke out between the two countries in May, following a rebel attack on a popular tourist spot in Pahalgam, in…

A REBEL leader in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo says his fighters will withdraw from a key city at the request of the US. Corneille Nangaa’s statement came days after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the capture of Uvira by rebel forces violated a peace deal, and the US would “take action to ensure promises made to the President [Donald Trump] are kept”. Nangaa said that rebel forces would pull out of the city as a “trust-building measure”. The US accuses Rwanda of backing the rebels. Rwanda denies the allegation, but its President, Paul Kagame, signed a peace…

A POPULAR South African radio and club DJ has been shot dead in the country’s largest city, Johannesburg, sending shockwaves across the nation grappling with entrenched crime. Warrick Stock, popularly known as DJ Warras, was gunned down in the city centre on Tuesday afternoon. Police said the 40-year-old media personality was approached by three suspects, one of whom opened fire on him before fleeing on foot. The motive of the shooting is unknown and no arrests have been made, police said. Stock was a well-known radio and TV presenter and a podcaster in South Africa. Fred Kekana, a local police…

MANCHESTER United captain Bruno Fernandes says it “hurt” to realise the club “wanted me to leave” when Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal proposed a huge offer in the summer. The Portugal international, 31, rejected the move to the Saudi Pro League in order to stay at Old Trafford, despite Al-Hilal reportedly being open to paying a fee of about £100m and wages of up to £700,000 a week. Fernandes has a contract that runs to 2027, with the option of an additional year. He said in October, before his 300th United appearance, that he will not discuss his future with anyone…