SOUTH Africa and Rwanda’s already fraught diplomatic relations have worsened after President Cyril Ramaphosa accused the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group of killing South African peacekeepers in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. As the rebels gained the upper hand in the battlefield by capturing most of Goma – the biggest city in the east – South Africa fired a diplomatic salvo, warning that further attacks on its troops would be considered a “declaration of war”. Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame hit back, accusing South Africa of being part of a “belligerent force” involved in “offensive combat operations” to help the Congolese government…
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SUPER Eagles coach Eric Chelle says Nigeria’s mission at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) will be driven by personal and collective thirst for revenge. Nigeria has been drawn into Group C, where they will compete against 2004 champions Tunisia, as well as Uganda and Tanzania, in the group stage. With three AFCON titles to their name (1980, 1994, and 2013), the Super Eagles remain one of the tournament’s strongest contenders. The team is also fueled by the painful memory of their 2-1 loss to Côte d’Ivoire in the 2023 AFCON final – a defeat that still lingers in…
MANCHESTER City survived a huge scare as they scraped into the Champions League play-offs with victory over Club Brugge at Etihad Stadium. Pep Guardiola’s Premier League champions knew only victory would suffice to avoid the abject embarrassment of slipping out of the top 24 places in the tournament’s new format. And they were left facing that grim prospect after Raphael Onyedika gave Club Brugge a shock lead as he turned in Ferran Jutgla’s cross just before half-time. City needed a response with tension mounting, duly providing it against a Belgian side who showed enough to fully deserve their place in…
PRESIDENT Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah have rejected any forced displacement of Palestinians, days after United States President Donald Trump suggested that Arab countries take in Palestinians from the war-torn Gaza Strip. “Regarding what is being said about the displacement of Palestinians, it can never be tolerated or allowed because of its impact on Egyptian national security,” el-Sisi told a press conference on Wednesday. “The deportation or displacement of the Palestinian people is an injustice in which we cannot participate,” he said. Later on Wednesday, Jordan’s King Abdullah II said that Palestinians must remain on their land. The…
PRIME Minister Francois Bayrou was at risk on Wednesday of losing the little tacit opposition support he relies on in parliament after suggesting that immigrants were “flooding” France. Bayrou sparked an angry outcry from the leftist opposition, as well as rebukes from centrist allies, when he said Monday that immigration was “a positive” so long as it remained “proportionate” to the size of the population. “As soon as you get the feeling of flooding, of no longer recognising your own country, its lifestyle and its culture, rejection appears,” he said. While Bayrou won applause from immigration hardliners in the government,…
ONLY one person has survived a plane crash in South Sudan, which killed 20 oil workers who were on board, the government said. The plane, which was heading to the capital, Juba, crashed three minutes after take-near the oil fields in Unity State on Wednesday morning, said Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chol. Among the victims are five foreign nationals: two Chinese, one Indian, and two Ugandan crew members. The 15 other victims were all South Sudanese. The cause of the crash has not been determined, but authorities said they are investigating. “Our thoughts and condolences go out to the families…
THE daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, will be charged for her alleged involvement in the 2021 riots that left over 300 dead, her father’s party uMkhonto WeSizwe (MK) says. Violence, chaos, and fear ripped through the port city of Durban, then spread to Gauteng, after Zuma’s jailing sparked intense protests over four years ago. Zuma-Sambudla, a controversial figure in her own right, was accused of sharing incendiary social media posts that fuelled the civil unrest. MK, of which she is a senior member, said on X she would appear in a Durban court on Thursday…
THE three military-led West African nations – Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso – have officially withdrawn from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). “The withdrawal of Burkina Faso, the Republic of Mali and the Republic of Niger from ECOWAS has become effective today, 29th January 2025,” a statement by the ECOWAS Commission on Wednesday reads. ECOWAS assured that passports and identity cards bearing its logo will remain valid for travel within the region. Trade and economic activities will also proceed under the existing ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme, allowing goods and services from the three countries to move freely.…
FORMER Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes says out-of-favour Marcus Rashford has let his teammates down and should be “banished” from the dressing room. The England forward has not played for United since December 12, with manager Ruben Amorim leaving him out of the squad for every game since apart from one, in which he was an unused substitute. Amorim suggested on Sunday that he would rather have 63-year-old goalkeeping coach Jorge Vital in his squad than the 27-year-old forward, citing a perceived lack of effort. Scholes, who won 11 Premier League titles with United, expressed strong views about Rashford on…
ON Sunday, the day Israeli forces were due to withdraw from southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health reported that the Israeli army had shot and killed at least 24 people, including six women, and injured 134 others, among them 14 women and 12 children. The next day, Israeli forces shot and killed at least two people and wounded 17. The killings are the latest in a series of Israeli attacks since a ceasefire between the Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah and Israel began on November 27. In the two months from November 27 to Monday, Israel killed at least…
THE first flights carrying migrants deported from the United States to Colombia after a major diplomatic row have arrived in the capital Bogota. The Colombian government confirmed on Tuesday that two planes carrying migrants had landed. A total of 201 migrants — 110 sent from California and 90 from Texas — were on board. The flights mark an abrupt about-face for Colombia, which had rejected US military planes bearing migrants over the weekend, arguing that their passengers should not be treated as criminals. Some flights to Latin America reportedly carried migrants in handcuffs. “The well-being of our fellow citizens and…
HEAVY battles between M23 fighters and Congolese government forces in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) city of Goma have left many bodies on the streets, with hospitals struggling to deal with the growing number of casualties. In the capital Kinshasa, protesters criticising international inaction attacked the embassies of Rwanda, France, Belgium and the United States on Tuesday. On Monday, the rebels, which the United Nations says are backed by Rwanda, marched into Goma and declared the key city under their control, signalling a big blow to the Congolese army and a serious escalation in the years-long conflict…
THOUSANDS of people rallied Tuesday in Niger and Burkina Faso in support of the withdrawal of their countries from the Economic Community of West African States, which is due to take effect Wednesday. Their imminent departure from the bloc, alongside Mali, has fractured the region and is leaving the ECOWAS grouping with an uncertain future. The three junta-led countries formally notified ECOWAS of their plan for an “immediate” withdrawal in January 2024, citing the organisation’s excessive dependence on France in particular. Paris has become the common enemy of the three juntas, which now favour partnerships with countries such as Russia,…
ABOUT 3,690 Nigerians in the United States are faced with deportation as Donald Trump begins a crackdown on illegal immigrants in the country. In a document compiled by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations and sighted by our correspondent on Tuesday, the agency revealed the data is broken down by nationality and number of people faced with deportation. It also clarified that as of November 24, 2024, there are 1,445,549 non-citizens on ICE’s non-detained docket with final removal orders. In the document titled “Noncitizens on the ICE Non-Detained Docket with Final Orders of Removal by Country of…
FORMER Belgian international Radja Nainggolan was arrested on Monday as part of an investigation into cocaine trafficking via the port of Antwerp, the Brussels prosecutor’s office said. Police arrested 16 suspects including the footballer, after carrying out a series of morning raids across the country, the office told AFP. “The investigation concerns alleged facts of importation of cocaine from South America to Europe, via the port of Antwerp, and its redistribution in Belgium,” prosecutors said in a statement. In addition to 2.7 kilos (six pounds) of cocaine, police seized around half a million euros in cash and gold coins, a…
ISRAELI forces shot and killed at least two people and wounded 17 on Monday in the second day of deadly protests in southern Lebanon, health officials said, as residents displaced by the 14-month war between Israel and Hezbollah attempted to return to villages where Israeli soldiers remain. The shootings came a day after 24 people were killed and more than 130 were wounded when Israeli troops opened fire on protesters who breached roadblocks set up along the border. Under a United States-brokered ceasefire on November 27, Israeli forces were to withdraw from southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah was to move north…
THE Kremlin said Monday it was still waiting for “signals” from the United States about a possible meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and newly-inaugurated US counterpart Donald Trump. The leaders of both countries said last week they were ready for contact but neither side has indicated when or how. “So far, we have not received any signals from the Americans. The readiness remains. The same readiness, as we have heard, remains on the American side,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. The nearly three-year Ukraine conflict has plunged relations between the two nuclear powers to their lowest levels since…
THE besieged Congolese city of Goma was rocked by heavy artillery fire on Monday as France warned the regional capital was on the brink of falling to militia fighters and Rwandan troops. The M23 armed group and Rwandan soldiers entered Goma’s centre on Sunday night after weeks of advancing on the main city in DR Congo’s mineral-rich North Kivu province. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the Rwanda-backed offensive “must stop”, expressing his country’s solidarity with the Democratic Republic of Congo “as Goma prepares to fall”. With international pressure mounting for an end to the battle for Goma, Kenya announced…
JUNTA-LED Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso will officially quit the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Wednesday, following years of deteriorating relations that have redefined trade routes across the fractured region. After overthrowing civilian governments between 2020 and 2023, the military leaders in the three countries broke ties with ECOWAS and teamed up to form the Confederation of Sahel States (AES). ECOWAS imposed heavy economic sanctions in the wake of the coups, fraying diplomatic ties and forcing the juntas to look for new routes to transport goods in and out of the landlocked states. Before relations soured, 80…
SUPER Eagles striker Victor Osimhen has taken legal action against a Turkish journalist who accused him of physical assault, following Galatasaray’s thrilling 3-3 draw with Dynamo Kyiv two weeks ago. The 26-year-old forward, who has been in outstanding form this season with 16 goals and five assists in 21 appearances, is now facing off-field scrutiny amid the rising controversy surrounding the alleged incident. Bozduman alleged that Osimhen became aggressive and punched him while he was attempting to take photos of the striker outside a venue. Further reports claimed that the Napoli loanee offered money in exchange for the deletion of…