Author: Editor

IRAN may be able to restart uranium enrichment in a matter of months despite a wave of attacks by the United States and Israel that targeted its nuclear infrastructure, according to the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi. The remarks came on Saturday, days after US President Donald Trump insisted this month’s attacks had set Iran’s nuclear ambitions back “by decades”. Speaking to CBS News on Saturday, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said while key facilities had been hit, some are “still standing”. “They can have, you know, in a matter of months,…

MONTHLY temperature records have been broken across Morocco, sometimes topping seasonal norms by as much as 20 degrees Celsius, the national meteorological office said Sunday, as the North African kingdom was gripped by a heatwave. “Our country has experienced, between Friday 27 and Saturday 28 of June, a ‘chegui’ type heatwave characterised by its intensity and geographical reach,” the meteorological office (DGM) said in a report shared with AFP. The heatwave, which has also struck across the Strait of Gibraltar in southern Europe, has affected numerous regions in Morocco. According to the DGM, the most significant temperature anomalies have been…

AT least seven people were killed and many others wounded during recent anti-government protests in the Togolese capital Lome, according to an initial count civic groups gave journalists Sunday. Campaigning groups and rights organisations denounced “abuses committed by members of the Togolese security forces and militias”, and said seven bodies had been recovered from rivers in the capital. They also reported “dozens of wounded” and “more than 60 arrests during the three days of demonstrations held from Thursday to Saturday. Togolese authorities have yet to provide an official toll from the late-June protests, but a gendarme unit has mentioned two…

PRIOR to his death, elder statesman and renowned business mogul, Aminu Alhassan Dantata, had revealed that he no longer enjoyed life and hoped to depart this world in good faith. His death at age 94 was announced on Saturday, but about two and a half years ago he said life had become boring to him and was only awaiting his glorious exit. At 91 then, Dantata disclosed this when he received the then Vice Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Kashim Shettima. He said from a youthful age, he had the privilege of meeting many people and had…

THE first strikes in Dambe are thrown before the boxers even leave their house. Fighters don charms and amulets, dye their fist or even score their arm with a razor, inserting traditional medicine before it scars over — all guaranteed to protect them in the ring or deliver a knock-out punch. Combined with prayers from “mallams”, or spiritual guides, they are unstoppable — not just in Nigeria, but increasingly around the world. The Dambe World Series kicked off in Abuja, the capital, on Saturday in the latest evolution of a sport that traces its roots back centuries among west Africa’s…

ENGLAND Under-21s dramatically defended their European title with a thrilling extra-time win over Germany. Substitute Jonathan Rowe’s stooping header, two minutes after coming on, clinched the Euro 2025 crown in Bratislava as Lee Carsley’s side retained the trophy they won two years ago, a victory which ended a 39-year drought. Harvey Elliott swept in his fifth goal of the tournament after just five minutes before Omari Hutchinson drilled in to double their lead midway through the half. Hutchinson, Elliot and James McAtee were denied by Noah Atubolu and Jay Stansfield missed a tap in at the far post as England…

ISRAELI air attacks on al-Tuffah neighbourhood in Gaza City have killed at least 20 people, including nine children, according to medical sources. Sources at Gaza hospitals tell Al Jazeera that at least 60 Palestinians have been killed today in attacks throughout the Strip. The killings come a day after US President Donald Trump said a ceasefire in Gaza could be reached “within the next week”. Gaza’s Government Media Office says revelations in the Israeli media that soldiers were ordered to “deliberately shoot” starving Palestinians seeking aid supplies are further evidence of “war crimes” in Gaza. Also, Israeli attacks on southern…

UKRAINE said it carried out an overnight drone strike on the Kirovske airfield in Crimea and claimed that multiple Russian helicopters and an air defence system were destroyed in the strike. According to a Ukraine Security Service (SBU) statement, the drones targeted areas where Russian aviation units, air defence assets, ammunition depots and unmanned aerial vehicles were located. The agency claimed that Mi-8, Mi-26, and Mi-28 helicopters, as well as a Pantsir-S1 missile and gun system were destroyed. “Secondary detonations continued throughout the night at the airfield,” the SBU said, calling the strike part of broader efforts to disrupt Russian…

SOUTH African President Cyril Ramaphosa says he will “not yield to threats and ultimatums” in a stinging rebuke to the second biggest party in his coalition government. Ramaphosa drew the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) ire after he removed Deputy Trade Minister Andrew Whitfield over an unsanctioned trip abroad earlier this year. Whitfield, a member of the DA, was part of a delegation that travelled to the US back in February after Washington’s relations with South Africa soured. The DA has since given Ramaphosa until Saturday afternoon to remove other errant ministers and deputies in his executive from other parties as well…

THE signing of a peace agreement between the governments of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda in Washington has elicited mixed reactions, with the former Congolese president, Joseph Kabila, describing it as “nothing more than a trade agreement”. The deal signed on Friday demanded the “disengagement, disarmament and conditional integration” of armed groups fighting in eastern DR Congo – but offered few other details. While some, including Kabila, have been critical, others have hailed the agreement as a turning point in a devastating conflict that has dragged on for decades. Rwanda has denied allegations it backs an armed group,…

MANCHESTER United have had an improved bid worth up to £62.5m for Bryan Mbeumo rejected by Brentford. United have bid £55m plus £7.5m in add-ons for the 25-year-old. They had a bid of £45m plus up to £10m in add-ons for the Cameroon forward turned down earlier this month. United are looking to add goals to their side having already signed forward Matheus Cunha from Wolves for £62.5m. Sources have suggested Brentford would want at least the same fee as Wolves have received for Cunha up front before they agree to the sale of a player who still has a…

ISRAELI soldiers have deliberately shot at unarmed Palestinians seeking aid in Gaza after being “ordered” to do so by their commanders, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports. Israel ordered an investigation into possible war crimes over the allegations by some soldiers that it revealed on Friday, Haaretz said. At least 549 Palestinians have been killed and 4,066 injured while waiting for food aid distributed at sites run by the Israeli-and United States-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the Gaza Government Media Office said on Thursday. The GHF has been a source of widespread criticism since its establishment in May. According to the…

PRESIDENT Donald Trump has hit out at Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s claim that Iran won its recent 12-day war with Israel, also saying the United States will “absolutely” bomb the country again if it pursues nuclear weapons. The US president launched a torrent of abuse at Iran’s supreme leader on his Truth Social platform on Friday, claiming he had saved Khamenei from “A VERY UGLY AND IGNOMINIOUS DEATH” and accusing him of “blatantly and foolishly” lying when he claimed “victory” in the war the previous day. In his first sortie since the Israel-Iran war ended with a ceasefire earlier this week,…

SOUTH Africa’s criminal intelligence chief Lt-Gen Dumisani Khumalo has been arrested and has appeared in court on allegations of fraud and corruption. Gen Khumalo was picked up on Thursday evening after landing at the main international airport in Johannesburg by members of anti-corruption unit, local media reported. He made his court appearance in the capital, Pretoria, on Friday, alongside six co-accused, all senior police officers. Their lawyer said they intended to plead not guilty to any charges laid against them. Details of the charges are not yet clear but local media say Gen Khumalo and the other six had been…

RWANDA and the Democratic Republic of Congo have signed a peace deal in Washington aimed at ending decades of devastating conflict between the two neighbours, and potentially granting the US lucrative mineral access. The deal demands the “disengagement, disarmament and conditional integration” of armed groups fighting in eastern DR Congo. Further details are scant and previous peace deals in the region have failed – yet that has not deterred the US and Congolese presidents from framing this as a generational victory. “Today, the violence and destruction comes to an end, and the entire region begins a new chapter of hope…

ERLING Haaland scored his 300th top-level career goal to help Manchester City easily beat Juventus in the heat of Orlando to top Group G at the Club World Cup. Norway striker Haaland scuffed home a finish in the second half as the Premier League side withstood the 32C heat, as well as a short spell of showers, to dismantle Juve and avoid being in the same side of the draw as Champions League winners Paris St-Germain and Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich. However, manager Pep Guardiola may still come up against his former player Xabi Alonso in the next round, should…

LAST Thursday, just days after he had ordered strikes upon Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood outside Beersheba’s Soroka Hospital and spoke of his outrage that the building had been hit in an Iranian counterstrike. “They’re targeting civilians because they’re a criminal regime. They’re the arch-terrorists of the world,” he said of the Iranian government. Similar accusations were levelled by other Israeli leaders, including the president, Isaac Herzog, and opposition leader Yair Lapid, during the conflict with Iran, which ended with a ceasefire brokered by United States President Donald Trump on Monday. However, what was missing from these leaders…

SURGING car theft in the UK is being driven by organised crime gangs targeting vehicles to be smuggled out and resold in countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo and Russia, a study said Thursday. Criminals were increasingly using vehicle theft technology to enable a fast and well-organised “stolen to order” model especially of high-end cars, the report by the Royal United Services Institue think-tank said. Vehicle thefts have risen by 75 percent in a decade, according to government figures, a reversal of the trend seen over the previous two decades. The thieves use modern vehicle theft devices, often costing…

AT least 16 people died in the previous day’s protests across Kenya, Amnesty International said on Thursday, as businesses and residents were left to clean up the devastation in the capital and beyond. Burned-out buildings, smashed windows, looted shops — thousands of businesses in downtown Nairobi, the epicentre of Wednesday’s anti-government protests, were destroyed. The marches had been called to mark one year since the anti-tax demonstrations that left at least 60 people dead and peaked when a huge crowd stormed parliament. A protester jumps to break wooden planks to build barricades as demonstrators begin to gather for a march…

TWENTY-NINE children who were taking their school exams in the Central African Republic have been killed in a crush after a nearby explosion caused panic, a hospital director told the BBC. The blast, on the second day of the high-school finals on Wednesday, occurred at an electricity transformer, said Abel Assaye from the Bangui community hospital. “The noise of the explosion, combined with smoke” caused alarm among the almost 6,000 students sitting the baccalaureate at a school in the capital, Bangui, local radio station Ndeke Luka reported. President Faustin-Archange Touadéra has declared a period of national mourning. He also ordered…