Author: Editor

STRONG winds wreaked havoc in Beijing and parts of northern China on Saturday, causing hundreds of flights to be cancelled, attractions to close and rail lines to be suspended, state media said. The powerful winds stemmed mainly from a cold vortex system formed over Mongolia that was moving east and south, sweeping across northern China from Friday through the weekend, the China Meteorological Administration said. “The strongest winds are expected during the daytime of April 12, with wind speeds at some observation stations approaching or even surpassing historical records for the same period since 1951,” the CMA said in a…

THE Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has carried out a two-day attack on famine-hit camps for displaced people in the Darfur region that killed more than 100 people, including 20 children and nine aid workers, according to the United Nations. Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, on Saturday said the RSF and allied militias launched an offensive on the Zamzam and Abu Shorouk camps and the nearby city of el-Fasher, the provincial capital of North Darfur province. The camps were attacked on Friday and again on Saturday, Nkweta-Salami said in a statement, and nine aid…

GABONESE voters began casting ballots on Saturday in a presidential election with eight candidates that is widely expected to make junta chief Brice Oligui Nguema the oil-rich central African country’s first elected leader since his 2023 coup. Oligui, the general who led the August 30, 2023, putsch that ended 55 years of iron-fisted dynastic rule by the Bongo family, who were accused of looting Gabon’s wealth, has been leading in opinion polls. Snaking queues were seen outside polling stations in Libreville, the seaside capital. Aurele Ossantanga Mouila, 30, voted for the first time ever after finishing his shift as a…

EGYPTIAN forward Mohamed Salah has signed a new two-year contract extension with Liverpool, ending long-running speculation about a potential switch to the Saudi Pro League. While the club did not disclose the contract’s exact duration, it is understood the new deal will keep Salah at Anfield until 2027. His previous agreement was due to expire this summer, raising concerns about his future following ambiguous statements and interest from Saudi clubs. A decade of excellence at Anfield With this extension, Salah is poised to complete a decade with the Reds, having joined from AS Roma in 2017. Over eight years, the…

THE United Nations says Palestinian women and children were the only fatalities in at least three dozen Israeli air strikes on Gaza since mid-March, as it warned that Israel’s military offensive threatens Palestinians’ “continued existence as a group”. Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said on Friday that the office had documented 224 Israeli strikes on residential buildings and tents for displaced people in the Gaza Strip between March 18 and April 9. “In some 36 strikes about which the UN Human Rights Office corroborated information, the fatalities recorded so far were only women and…

UKRAINE’s European allies vowed Friday to step up weapons deliveries as support from the United States dries up under President Donald Trump. The US leader has switched Washington’s focus from backing Kyiv’s fight against Russia’s invasion to trying to negotiate a peace deal with President Vladimir Putin to halt the war. Britain and Germany took the reins of a meeting of Ukraine’s backers at NATO’s headquarters in Brussels — that used to be chaired by the United States under president Joe Biden. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dialled into the talks via video call. “In the weeks to come, we…

EVERY DAY, 40-year-old Landry Obame-Mezui drives a taxi in Gabon’s capital Libreville. But it’s not just any taxi. It’s a sparkling, brand-new white car with the inscription “Taxi Gab+”. For Mr Obame-Mezui, it is a shining symbol of a promise to Gabon’s youth from coup mastermind-turned-transitional leader Gen Brice Oligui Nguema, who has ruled since August 2023. With 40% of young people out of work, Oligui Nguema has offered more than 800 new vehicles to young people through a hire purchase scheme. Mr Obame-Mezui used to drive a taxi owned by someone else. He says, thanks to the interim leader,…

AN American pastor has been kidnapped by armed men after they stormed his church service in South Africa, local authorities say. Josh Sullivan had been conducting a service at Fellowship Baptist Church in Motherwell, a township in Gqeberra in the Eastern Cape, on Thursday evening when “four armed and masked male suspects entered”, police spokesman Captain Andre Beetge told the BBC. The men stole two phones before fleeing the church in the 45-year-old pastor’s silver Toyota Fortuner. Police later found the vehicle abandoned, but there was no trace of Mr Sullivan. A spokesperson from the US State Department told the…

MANCHESTER United goalkeeper Andre Onana was at fault for two goals as a last-gasp Lyon equaliser put Manchester United’s Europa League quarter-final tie in the balance at the halfway stage. United went behind after 25 minutes when under-pressure Onana failed to get a strong enough hand to Thiago Almada’s wide free-kick. In the final seconds of the first half Leny Yoro equalised with his first goal for United by reacting quickly to Manuel Ugarte’s volley and diverting the ball into the bottom corner. The visitors thought they had won late on when substitute Joshua Zirkzee headed home Bruno Fernandes’ looping…

RESCUERS continue to search for 80 missing people after multiple Israeli air strikes on Shujayea neighbourhood in Gaza City killed at least 35 Palestinians on Wednesday. At least 21 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since dawn with the majority in Gaza City where Israel continues its relentless bombardment. Our sources on the ground report that the Israeli army has fired more than five artillery shells targeting the eastern area of Jabalia in northern Gaza on Salah al-Din Street. Salah al-Din Street is the main north-south thoroughfare in the Gaza Strip. Earlier, 10 Palestinians detained from Gaza…

MICHELLE Obama has spoken out against rumours that her marriage to Barack Obama might be in trouble. The former first lady has not accompanied her husband to several high-profile events – including Donald Trump’s inauguration and the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter – fuelling speculation that they might be separating. Without explicitly mentioning these occasions, Mrs Obama told the Work in Progress podcast hosted by actress Sophia Bush that she was now in a position to control her own calendar as a “grown woman”. She said that people were not able to believe that she was “making a decision”…

A ZIMBABWEAN court denied bail Thursday for nearly 100 people arrested 10 days ago for allegedly protesting against the rule of President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Police rounded up the 95 men and women on March 31 at a small protest in central Harare mobilised by a veteran of the ruling ZANU-PF party who has called for the president to leave office. They were charged with breaching the peace and participating in gatherings with intent to promote public violence, offences that carry sentence of up to five years in jail. Magistrate Isheunesu Matova said he denied bail on the grounds of public…

A COURT in Tanzania has charged opposition party leader Tundu Lissu with treason after his arrest at a public rally in which he called for electoral reforms. The charges against the chairman of the Chadema party will bring new scrutiny to President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s bid for re-election in October as critics accuse the government of cracking down on the opposition. The opposition leader was forced into a police vehicle late on Wednesday after he had finished addressing a public rally in Mbinga in southern Tanzania. “I came here, we held a peaceful meeting and now I understand the tactics…

RAPHINHA equalled Lionel Messi’s club record for goal involvements in a single Champions League campaign as Barcelona thrashed Borussia Dortmund to take command of their quarter-final tie. The Brazilian forward scored and assisted twice to reach 19 goal involvements in the competition this term, the same as Messi achieved in the 2011-12 campaign. Raphinha’s 12th European goal of the season gave Barcelona a deserved first-half lead, before Robert Lewandowski struck twice after the break and Lamine Yamal added a fourth to put the Spanish side on course for the semi-finals. The hosts ran riot in the early stages and could…

AT least 35 Palestinians are killed, 55 wounded and 80 missing in a series of powerful Israeli air strikes on Shujayea district in northern Gaza City. Medical charity Doctors Without Borders says an Israeli attack hit close to its clinic in the so-called safe zone of al-Mawasi in southern Gaza. “The death toll from the Shujaiya massacre has risen to 23 martyrs, including eight children and eight women,” the agency’s spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP, adding that more than 60 people were wounded. “There are still people trapped under the rubble.” Ayub Salim, a 26-year-old Shujaiya resident, told AFP he…

A SENIOR figure in France’s main right-wing party has sparked outrage in France by suggesting “dangerous” foreigners who refuse to leave the country should be sent instead to wind-swept French islands off Canada in the north Atlantic. French politics have shifted to the right in recent months, with the government increasingly picking up far-right talking points such as security and immigration. Algeria has refused to take back nationals France has ordered to leave, including a 37-year-old man who went on a stabbing rampage in the French city of Mulhouse in February, killing one person. “I suggest dangerous foreigners under order…

KENYA’s government urged vigilance on Wednesday as it tackles a cholera outbreak that has killed at least five people, a health ministry official said. Cholera is an acute intestinal infection that spreads through contaminated food and water and typically causes severe diarrhoea, vomiting and muscle cramps. It is especially dangerous for young children. The East African nation reported dozens of cases in the aftermath of massive floods that swept over parts of the country last year. “The government is asking you to be extremely vigilant of your surroundings… to deal with a cholera outbreak that has now claimed over five…

THREE Americans convicted for their role in a failed coup in Democratic Republic of Congo last year have been sent home to the US to serve the rest of their jail terms. The three were originally sentenced to death by a military court before their sentences were commuted to life in prison last week. US Department of State spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the three were “in our custody”. The repatriation comes as the US and DR Congo explore a deal to exploit the central African country’s huge mineral wealth. Last week, US President Donald Trump’s senior adviser for Africa visited…

ARSENAL stormed to a stunning 3-0 win over Champions League holders Real Madrid as Declan Rice’s free-kick masterclass left the Gunners within touching distance of a place in the semi-finals. Rice scored two majestic free kicks in the second half of the quarter-final first leg at the Emirates Stadium. Mikel Merino added Arsenal’s third goal before Real’s Eduardo Camavinga was sent off for kicking the ball away in the closing minutes to leave the Spanish giants in disarray. The brilliance of Rice’s brace cannot be understated, with even Real keeper Thibaut Courtois — usually so inspired on Champions League nights…

UNITED Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has spoken out about the dire humanitarian situation unfolding in the besieged Gaza Strip, saying “civilians are in an endless death loop” amid renewed Israeli bombardments and a ban on the entry of much-needed aid. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Guterres rejected a new Israeli proposal to control aid deliveries in Gaza, saying it risks “further controlling and callously limiting aid down to the last calorie and grain of flour”. “Let me be clear: We will not participate in any arrangement that does not fully respect the humanitarian principles: humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality,” Guterres…