Author: Editor

CRISTIANO Ronaldo is close to agreeing a new contract with Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr, Saudi sources have told BBC Sport. The 40-year-old Portugal captain’s deal was due to expire at the end of June, but sources indicate a two-year extension is close to being finalised. Ronaldo posted on social media “the chapter is over” following the Riyadh club’s final Saudi Pro League game of the season last month, leading to speculation he was set to leave. Fifa president Gianni Infantino then raised the prospect of him joining a team involved at the Club World Cup after Al-Nassr’s failure to qualify…

ISRAELI attacks have killed at least 78 people in the Gaza Strip since dawn, including 14 Palestinians who were waiting near aid distribution centres, medical sources told Al Jazeera, even as United States President Donald Trump said “great progress” was being made to bring an end to the war. Sources at al-Awda and Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospitals in Gaza told Al Jazeera that at least nine Palestinians were killed and several others injured by Israeli fire early on Wednesday while waiting for aid near the Netzarim Junction in central Gaza. The deaths are the latest in a wave of violence near…

IRANIAN authorities are moving to allow for tougher punishment of cooperation with foreign governments after a 12-day war with Israel and the United States ended with a ceasefire on Monday. In a late Tuesday written message addressed to the Iranian nation, President Masoud Pezeshkian claimed a “historic victory” and said plans to sow “discord and division” among Iranians would fail. At the same time, the country’s parliament and judiciary are advancing efforts to enforce more serious punishment against any action viewed as damaging to national security. The Iranian parliament on Monday approved a plan to “intensify punishment for espionage and…

MARCHES in Kenya to mark a year since massive anti-government demos turned violent on Wednesday, with two killed and running battles between protesters and police, who flooded Nairobi’s streets with tear gas and sealed off government buildings with barbed wire. At least 60 people were killed last year by security forces in weeks of protests over tax rises and the dire economic situation for young Kenyans, peaking when a huge crowd stormed parliament on June 25. Thousands gathered in central Nairobi and other towns on Wednesday, including the families of last year’s victims, for initially peaceful anniversary marches. They soon…

A SOUTH African court has halted plans to bury former Zambian President Edgar Lungu at a private ceremony just as it was about to start. The news was only announced to mourners in a church in South Africa after a funeral mass had already finished. This is the latest twist in a row between the government and Lungu’s family over his burial, after the family opted for a private ceremony in South Africa, rather than a full state funeral at home. The Zambian government had filed an urgent case in the Pretoria High Court seeking to stop the burial planned…

MRS Medina Isah, the mother of the immediate past President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors ( NGE), Mustapha Isah, has passed away at the age of 80.  She died on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, at the Auchi General Hospital, Edo State where she was receiving treatment for an illness.  Mrs Medina Isah was a devout Muslim and a philanthropist who impacted her community positively.  She has since been buried according to Islamic rites .  Mrs Medina Isah is survived by her husband, Chief Isah Umoru Osikhekha, the Ovhoitse of Ubuneke, Ivbiaro, in Owan East Local Government Area of Edo…

BENFICA beat Bayern Munich to progress into the Club World Cup last 16 as Group C winners amid sweltering temperatures in the United States. The match began at 3pm local time (20:00 BST) at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina with the temperature at 36C – and both sides were far from their best in the tough conditions. Andreas Schjelderup scored the only goal in the 13th minute, with a low finish from 15 yards out after Fredrik Aursnes had done well and pulled the ball back into his path. Victory means Portugal’s Benfica will play the…

ISRAELI forces and drones have killed at least 86 Palestinians since dawn, including 56 near aid distribution centres, in the latest attacks on desperate people seeking aid in the besieged Gaza Strip, according to medical sources in hospitals. In Rafah alone, in the south of the enclave, 27 aid seekers were gunned down by the Israeli military on Tuesday. The overall death toll from Israel’s war has risen to more than 56,000 killed and 131,848 injuries since October 7, 2023. The killings are the latest in a wave of daily carnage near aid distribution points established late last month by…

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that a ceasefire between Iran and Israel was holding, shortly after he lashed out at both countries and cursed as he accused them of violating the truce. In a fast-moving series of declarations, the 79-year-old Republican, who was on his way to attend a NATO summit in The Hague, posted on his Truth Social app that “the Ceasefire is in effect!” “ISRAEL is not going to attack Iran. All planes will turn around and head home, while doing a friendly ‘Plane Wave’ to Iran. Nobody will be hurt,” Trump wrote. Minutes earlier, he had…

“ANOTHER appalling attack” on a hospital in Sudan has seen more than 40 people killed, many of them children and medics, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has said. “We cannot say this louder,” wrote Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on X on Tuesday, “attacks on health must stop everywhere!” Al-Mujlad Hospital was struck on Saturday, and is located in West Kordofan state, close to one of the frontlines where Sudan’s warring parties are fighting in the conflict that is now in its third year. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) blames its opponents the Sudanese army for attacking the hospital,…

MALI and Russia have signed a series of agreements aimed at expanding mutual trade and strengthening economic ties. Among them is a pledge for greater cooperation on nuclear energy, according to details released by the Kremlin. The announcement of the deals came during a visit by Mali’s junta leader Col Assimi Goïta to Moscow, which included two hours’ of talks with President Vladimir Putin, Russian state media report. Goïta has boosted relations with Russia since seizing power in 2021, while reducing ties with former colonial power France. This reflects a broader regional trend, with neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger also…

MANCHESTER United have submitted an improved bid of more than £60m for Brentford striker Bryan Mbeumo. This month United had a bid rejected for the 25-year-old of £45m plus up to £10m in add-ons. Talks over the Cameroon forward, who would become the club’s second signing of the summer, are due to continue this week. Following the £62.5m capture of Matheus Cunha from Wolves, United are keen to further strengthen Ruben Amorim’s squad before they return for pre-season training on 7 July. New Tottenham manager Thomas Frank was keen to be reunited with Mbeumo, while there has also been interest…

AT least 43 people have been killed in various Israeli attacks since dawn as the military relentlessly pounds the besieged enclave, medical sources say, with the overall Palestinian death toll in the war surpassing a staggering 56,000. Those killed on Monday include at least 20 aid seekers who lost their lives while desperately trying to access food for their families at distribution centres run by the controversial United States- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which the United Nations has condemned for its “weaponisation” of aid. The killings are the latest in a wave of daily carnage, targeting hungry Palestinians…

OIL prices sank more than six percent Monday after Iran attacked a US military base in neighboring Qatar in retaliation for US weekend strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Near 1815 GMT, futures for West Texas Intermediate fell 6.5 percent to $69.96 a barrel, while Brent oil futures dropped 6.4 percent to $72.07 a barrel, its lowest level in 10 days. A US defense official said there were no known American casualties from the incident, which analysts said did not appear to be near key oil infrastructure. John Kilduff of Again Capital described the Iranian action as “somewhat measured” and apart…

THREE senior police officers in Kenya have been charged with the murder of a 31-year-old blogger who died in police custody earlier this month. Albert Ojwang’s death has sparked outrage in Kenya with protests held to demand justice. Mr Ojwang was arrested after Kenya’s deputy police chief Eliud Lagat filed a complaint, accusing the blogger of defaming him on social media. Mr Lagat stepped aside last week pending the outcome of investigations into Ojwang’s death. He has denied any wrongdoing. The three police officers – Samson Kiprotich, Talaam James Mukhwana and Peter Kimani – were charged along with three civilians.…

THERE have been celebrations at the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea as communities from the frontier villages came together for the first time in five years. Separated by the closed border since the outbreak of the 2020 conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, and subsequent political tensions, Sunday’s coming together was a symbolic moment of peace and reconciliation. The reunion of families and friends took place in the Ethiopian town of Zalambessa in the presence of village elders and religious leaders. The move to re-open a section of the border was organised by local activists and community figures without the…

TEN-MAN Real Madrid beat Mexican side Pachuca to take a big step towards the Fifa Club World Cup knockout stages. Xabi Alonso’s side were reduced to 10 men early on in Charlotte when Raul Asencio fouled Salomon Rondon when the veteran former West Brom striker was through on goal. Pachuca caused Real problems and had several chances and a penalty appeal rejected by the video assistant referee. Real took the lead when Jude Bellingham ran on to a pass, carried the ball into the box and slotted a well-hit effort past the goalkeeper. Arda Guler doubled the lead after Gonzalo…

IRANIANS inside and outside the country have been closely monitoring and reacting to rapidly unfolding events after United States President Donald Trump ordered the bombing of Iran’s top nuclear sites amid the ongoing conflict with Israel. US bunker-buster bombs dropped from B-2 Spirit strategic bombers and Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from naval platforms hit Iran’s three main nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan early on Sunday. Trump claimed the nuclear facilities were “totally obliterated”, though there has been no evidence shown as of yet to confirm that. Iranian authorities confirmed the strikes after several hours, but said there was…

A SUICIDE bomber in Syria has carried out an attack inside a church filled with people, killing at least 20 people and wounding dozens more, according to the Syria’s Ministry of Health and security officials. The explosion in Dweil’a on the outskirts of Damascus took place as people were praying during mass inside the Mar Elias Church on Sunday. No group immediately claimed responsibility, but the Syrian Interior Ministry said a fighter from the ISIL (ISIS) group entered the church and fired at the people there before detonating himself with an explosives vest, echoing some witness testimonies. The death toll…

TWO South African engineers have returned home after spending more than two years in jail in Equatorial Guinea on what the UN has called “arbitrary and illegal” drugs charges. Frik Potgieter and Peter Huxham, both in their mid-50s, were arrested in February 2023 after drugs were allegedly found in their luggage. They were sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined $5m (£4m) but have been given a presidential pardon after a long campaign by their families and the South African government. Their arrest came days after luxury assets belonging to Equatorial Guinea’s Vice-President Teodoro Nguema Obiang were seized in…