Author: Editor

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…

A PALESSTINIAN infant has frozen to death in the Gaza Strip, local authorities say, as Israel continues to restrict the entry of shelter supplies and other humanitarian aid to the enclave despite the harsh winter conditions there. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said on Tuesday that the two-week-old baby, Mohammed Khalil Abu al-Khair, died a day earlier after seeking treatment for severe hypothermia, brought on by the extreme cold gripping Gaza. Reporting from Gaza City, Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum noted that the child’s death comes as basic protections in Gaza have been “systematically dismantled” due to Israel’s…

UNITED States President Donald Trump has added five countries to the list of nations whose citizens are banned from entering the US, including Palestine and Syria. The White House announced the expansion of the ban on Tuesday, as it intensifies its crackdown on immigration. Tuesday’s order imposed a travel ban on six new countries – Palestine, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria – in addition to the 12 initially made public in June. The decree did not refer to Palestine, which Washington does not recognise as a state, by name or even as the occupied Palestinian territory. Instead,…

A FRENCH court has sentenced a former rebel leader and politician from the Democratic Republic of Congo to 30 years in jail after finding him guilty of complicity in crimes against humanity more than two decades ago. Roger Lumbala headed a rebel movement backed by neighbouring Uganda accused of committing atrocities during a period known as the Second Congo War. The judge said the 67-year-old was found guilty of ordering or aiding and abetting torture and inhumane crimes, summary executions, rape constituting torture, sexual slavery, forced labour and theft. Lumbala, who was living in France when he was arrested nearly…

SUDAN’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has been trying to cover up mass killings in the city of el-Fasher by burying and burning bodies, a research team from Yale University says. The RSF had drawn international condemnation amid reports of executions and crimes against humanity when its fighters captured the city in October. Now, analysis of satellite images by Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) shows the RSF likely disposed of tens of thousands of bodies after seizing el-Fasher. The RSF has not responded to the report, but its leader previously admitted his fighters had committed some violations in the city.…

A T-SHIRT worn by Kobbie Mainoo’s half-brother was among the post-match talking points at Old Trafford – even after a game as thrilling as the 4-4 draw between Manchester United and Bournemouth. Jordan Mainoo-Hames wore a ‘free Kobbie Mainoo’ T-shirt during the match, a move that risks making a delicate situation even more fraught. Mainoo’s United future is the subject of huge debate, with head coach Ruben Amorim yet to hand him a single Premier League start this season. Amorim has defended himself on numerous occasions against allegations he does not rate Mainoo and that he has no trust in…

THE Israeli military will demolish 25 residential buildings in the occupied West Bank’s Nur Shams refugee camp this week, according to local authorities. Abdallah Kamil, the governor of the Tulkarem governorate where Nur Shams is located, told the AFP news agency on Monday that he was informed of the planned demolition by the Israeli Defence Ministry body COGAT. Faisal Salama, the head of the popular committee for the Tulkarem camp, which is near Nur Shams, said the demolition order would affect 100 family homes. Israel launched Operation Iron Wall in the occupied West Bank in January. It says the campaign…

SAUDI Arabia has broken its own record for executions carried out in a single year, according to an AFP tally, after authorities said three people were put to death Monday. The kingdom has legally executed 340 people so far this year, according to AFP’s count, and has in recent years trailed only China and Iran among countries carrying out the death penalty. The toll marks the second-straight year Saudi Arabia has broken its own record since rights groups first began documenting the number of executions in the 1990s. It executed 338 people in 2024. A statement by the interior ministry…

A FLASH flood in a Moroccan coastal town killed at least 37, local officials said Monday, as search and rescue operations continued. Drought-hit Morocco often faces severe weather, but Sunday’s flooding in Safi is already the deadliest such disaster in at least a decade. A muddy torrent swept cars and bins from the streets in Safi, which is around 300 kilometres (186 miles) south of the capital Rabat. Fourteen survivors are being treated at Mohammed V hospital in the town, and two of them are in intensive care, according to local officials updating the overnight toll. Schools have been closed…

THE Ugandan military has confirmed it is holding a Catholic priest who went missing nearly two weeks ago, accusing him of involvement in “violent subversive activities”. In a brief statement, the military said Father Deusdedit Ssekabira had been arrested, was in “lawful custody” and would be charged in court. The Catholic Diocese in the city of Masaka previously said Father Ssekabira was “kidnapped by men in Uganda Army uniform”. The church has not responded to the military’s accusations. As Uganda prepares to hold elections next month, it faces growing scrutiny from human rights groups over reports of enforced disappearances and…

MANCHESTER City thumped Crystal Palace 3-0 on Sunday to climb back to within two points of Premier League leaders Arsenal as Aston Villa twice came from behind to beat West Ham. Elsewhere, Nottingham Forest demolished Tottenham 3-0, while Sunderland saw off local rivals Newcastle 1-0 thanks to a Nick Woltemade own goal. Arsenal, who have set the pace in this season’s Premier League, squeaked home on Saturday with a 2-1 win against bottom-club Wolves, thanks to two own goals. That put the pressure back on City, who have been showing ominous signs that they are finding their feet in recent…