DUTCH Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp has resigned after failing to secure cabinet support for additional sanctions against Israel over its military onslaught in Gaza. Veldkamp, a member of the centre-right New Social Contract party, said on Friday that he could not achieve agreement on “meaningful measures” and had repeatedly faced resistance from colleagues over sanctions already in place. His efforts included imposing entry bans on far-right Israeli ministers, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, citing their role in inciting settler violence against Palestinians. Veldkamp also revoked three export permits for navy ship components, warning of “deteriorating conditions” in Gaza and the…
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NORTH Korea has accused South Korean forces of firing warning shots earlier this week at its soldiers who were part of a border reinforcement project, cautioning Seoul that its actions risked raising tensions to “uncontrollable” levels. In a report published on Saturday, Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) quoted the North ‘s Korean People’s Army Vice Chief of the General Staff Ko Jong Chol as saying that the South should stop its “premeditated and deliberate” provocation, which he described as “inciting military conflict”. Calling the incident a “serious provocation”, Ko said the South Korean military fired more than 10…
A MILITARY prosecutor on Friday demanded the death penalty for DR Congo’s former president Joseph Kabila, who is on trial in absentia on treason charges. General Lucien Rene Likulia called on the judges to condemn Kabila to death for war crimes, treason and organising an insurrection, the court heard. The former president went on trial in his absence in July for his alleged support for Rwanda-backed militants M23. Kabila, who has been outside the DRC for two years, is also accused of having plotted to overthrow President Felix Tshisekedi and charges including homicide, torture and rape linked to the M23…
NINE bodies have been exhumed from fresh graves suspected to be linked to Kenya’s notorious starvation cult. In one of the worst ever cases of cult-related mass deaths, more than 400 bodies were found in 2023 in the remote Shakahola Forest, inland from the coastal town of Malindi. It is believed they were followers of self-proclaimed pastor Paul Mackenzie, who is alleged to have encouraged them to starve themselves to death. These exhumations were ordered in July after the disappearance of some children triggered a new probe. Prosecutors said 11 people had been arrested in connection with the case, including…
MANCHESTER United have just 11 days to complete more deals in this transfer window before the September 1 deadline. So far, Matheus Cunha, Diego Leon, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko have been the new additions at Old Trafford. Cunha and Mbeumo both started in United’s Premier League opener against Arsenal, while Sesko came on in the second half, replacing Mason Mount. It remains to be seen whether the final days of the window will bring another addition or two. In the meantime, the club continues working behind the scenes to finalise exits for Alejandro Garnacho, Tyrell Malacia, Jadon Sancho, and…
ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he will give final approval for the seizure of Gaza City while also restarting negotiations with Hamas aimed at returning all the remaining captives and ending the nearly two-year-old war, but on “terms acceptable to Israel”. Speaking to soldiers near Gaza on Thursday, Netanyahu said he was still set on approving plans for seizing Gaza City, the densely populated centre at the heart of the Palestinian enclave, forcibly displacing close to 1 million people and carrying out the systematic demolitions of Palestinian homes. “At the same time I have issued instructions to begin immediate…
THE United States Department of State has said that it’s reviewing the records of more than 55 million foreigners who hold valid US visas for potential revocation or deportable violations of immigration rules. The news came shortly before an announcement on Thursday by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the country was immediately pausing the issuance of all worker visas for commercial truck drivers, who claimed on X that foreign truck drivers were “endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers.” In a written response to a question posed by The Associated Press, the department said that…
SUDAN’s army has denied bombing a World Food Programme (WFP) convoy taking aid to a famine-hit area in the country’s Darfur region. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had blamed the army for Wednesday’s air strike in the town of Mellit, which is under RSF control. A UN agency said a drone hit the convoy, and three lorries in the 16-vehicle convoy caught fire and were destroyed. All staff travelling in the convoy were safe, it added. Sudan plunged into a civil war in April 2023 after a vicious power struggle erupted between the army and the RSF, creating one…
A PROMINENT South African lawmaker fired his gun to fend off a violent attack by a gang on him and two of his colleagues in Cape Town. Ian Cameron – along with two other members of parliament’s police committee, Lisa Schickerling and Nicholas Gotsell – were returning from a work trip when their vehicle was ambushed in the township of Philippi on Tuesday. The assailants smashed the car’s windows with bricks, injuring Cameron and Gotsell. Cameron, whose teeth were broken, retaliated by opening fire, injuring one of the attackers. Police said two teenagers, aged 16 and 18, had been arrested…
EBERECHI Eze is expected to join Arsenal for £60m after the Gunners reached an agreement in principle to sign the forward from Crystal Palace. Sources have told BBC Sport that Eze favours a move to Arsenal, with whom he started his youth career, despite north London rivals Tottenham having been in talks to sign him. A deal for Spurs to sign Eze had been agreed between the clubs earlier on Wednesday after talks lasting 10 days, sources said, but it was not finalised. Arsenal’s offer also includes £8m in add-ons. The Gunners have concerns over a knee injury sustained by…
THE fluorescent lights of Adana City Training and Research Hospital cast harsh shadows across Hamed Abu Zerka’s gaunt face as he stands beside his six-month-old daughter’s hospital bed. The 34-year-old’s weathered hands tremble as he adjusts Habiba’s blanket. Abdullah, his four-and-a-half-year-old son, died Tuesday morning in this same room, his small body finally succumbing to the malnutrition that had been slowly consuming him for months as Israel laid siege to Gaza. The family became emblems of the Israel-imposed famine on Gaza’s 2.1 million people when a video of Abdullah went viral weeks ago, the clearly malnourished child screaming in hunger,…
PRESIDENT Donald Trump ramped up pressure on the US central bank on Wednesday, calling for Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to step down after his recent criticism of Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not lowering interest rates sooner. “Cook must resign, now!!!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, while sharing a Bloomberg news report on how the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s director has called for greater scrutiny of Cook over a pair of mortgages. FHFA director Bill Pulte, a staunch ally of Trump had reportedly written a letter to the US attorney general calling for an investigation of Cook…
M23 REBELS killed at least 140 people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo last month in one of the worst atrocities by the armed group since its resurgence in late 2021, Human Rights Watch has said in a report. This is despite a peace process, brokered by the US and Qatar, to end the conflict in the region. Witnesses told the advocacy group that the Rwanda-backed rebels “summarily executed” local residents, including women and children, largely from the Hutu ethnic group in the Rutshuru area, near the Virunga National Park. The rebels have previously strongly denied any role in these…
RESCUERS have recovered 10 more bodies from a Beninese river which a bus plunged into at the weekend, bringing the accident’s total death toll to 37, authorities told AFP on Wednesday. Six more people are still missing after the bus fell off a bridge into the Oueme River in the night from Saturday to Sunday, said the civil protection authority’s director, Abdel Aziz Bio Djibril. He added that searches were ongoing for any potential survivors. “On the first day, 27 bodies were fished out, and on the second day, 10 bodies, which makes a total of 37 bodies fished out,”…
ANGOLAN civil society groups have called on the Argentine Football Association and star player Lionel Messi to cancel a proposed friendly match in Luanda later this year, citing human rights abuses and the recent killing of at least 30 people during anti-government protests. Talks have been underway between the football associations of both countries to stage the game in November as part of events marking Angola’s 50th independence anniversary. However, in an open letter released Tuesday, four civic organisations – including Catholic, legal and pro-democracy groups, appealed to Argentina’s football federation, the Albiceleste squad, and the Lionel Messi Foundation to…
AT least 18,885 children are among the more than 62,000 Palestinians killed by Israel since the start of its genocidal war in Gaza nearly two years ago, Gaza’s Government Media Office has said. The staggering, grim toll comes as the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said on Tuesday that no place is safe for children in the enclave, where Israeli-induced starvation is rife due to Israel’s blockading of desperately-needed aid and medical supplies. UN-run schools have become shelters for “hundreds of thousands of people” in Gaza amid constant Israeli bombardments that have levelled homes, UNRWA said. Palestinians have…
THE administration of United States President Donald Trump has revoked the security clearances of 37 people it accused of politicising or weaponising intelligence for partisan aims. In a statement posted to X on Tuesday, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said the group had “abused the public trust”, accusing them of “politicizing and manipulating intelligence, leaking classified intelligence without authorization, and/or committing intentional egregious violations of tradecraft standards”. The statement did not explain in what ways the 37 had violated the terms of the national security clearance or provide evidence of them having done so. Security clearances are rarely revoked,…
MALI’s civilian ex-prime minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga, dismissed in November after he criticised the junta, was charged Tuesday with embezzlement of public funds and remanded in custody following a hearing before the country’s Supreme Court. Plagued by insurgents and separatist violence, Mali has been led by the military since back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021. Maiga is accused of “embezzlement of public funds” his lawyer Cheick Oumar Konare told AFP, adding that no date has yet been set for his trial. “We believe in justice, we are calm while awaiting the trial,” Konare said, explaining that Maiga would remain in…
ACCORDING to Check Point Research’s July 2025 Global Threat Report, South Africa has entered the top four most frequently targeted African countries. Among African nations, Nigeria suffers the most from cyberattacks. Companies there experienced 6,101 cyberattacks in just one week in July, a 67% increase from the previous year. Kenyan organizations rank second with 3,468 weekly attacks per organization, followed by Angola with 3,731 attacks per week. However, the number of attacks in Kenya and Angola has decreased year-on-year by 25% and 34% respectively. According to Check Point Research, organizations in South Africa face 2,113 weekly attacks, which is 14%…
RUBEN Amorim was 55 seconds into a post-match news conference that lasted less than three and a half minutes at Old Trafford on Sunday when he was asked a question that made him flinch back and raise his eyebrows in disbelief. It concerned his goalkeeper and whether he had given any consideration to picking veteran former England man Tom Heaton ahead of Altay Bayindir for the Premier League defeat by Arsenal. “Why?” came the response, the stare accompanying it unwavering. What followed was the kind of exchange that used to be commonplace at Manchester United when Sir Alex Ferguson was…