THE Confederation of African Football (CAF) has officially updated its records to recognise Morocco as the champions of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, with Senegal recorded as runners-up. The update comes after a ruling by CAF’s Appeals Board on 18 March, which overturned the on-field result of the 18 January final held in Rabat. Checks on the CAF website on Monday show that Morocco are now listed as the winners of the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON Morocco 2025, with Senegal recorded as runners-up. Nigeria retained its position as the third placed team. The ruling grants Morocco its second AFCON title,…
Author: Editor
AFTER a United States F-35 fighter jet made an emergency landing at an airbase in the Middle East last week during the escalating US-Israeli war on Iran, two sources familiar with the matter told US media the jet had been struck by Iran as it returned from a combat mission – a claim Iranian state media also reported. If true, this would be the first time during the war that an F-35, the cornerstone of Washington’s aerial firepower, has been struck by Iran. Here’s what we know about the incident and why it is significant: After the F-35 stealth fighter…
BRITAIN is sending short-range air defence systems to the Gulf to help counter Iranian missile attacks, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday. “We’re deploying short-range air defence systems to Bahrain at speed,” Starmer told a parliamentary committee, adding the UK was “doing the same with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia”. The UK is working with industry to “distribute air defence missiles to Gulf partners,” which have faced waves of Iranian barrages in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes, and has embedded airspace specialists there, Starmer said. Defence minister John Healey told parliament the country would be deploying its Rapid Sentry anti-drone system to…
A FORMER teacher accused of historical sex abuse charges in Scotland has been found guilty of indecently assaulting a former pupil in South Africa. Iain Wares, 86, has been accused of abuse by scores of former pupils of Edinburgh Academy and Fettes College, where he taught in the 1960s and 1970s. Wares now lives in Cape Town, where the high court previously ruled he could be extradited to face trial in Scotland – although this was delayed when authorities submitted further charges. In a separate case, a Cape Town court has found him guilty of indecently assaulting a former student…
FORMER Kenyan Foreign Minister Raphael Tuju has been arrested a day after he was reported to have disappeared, leading to fears he may have been abducted. Director of Criminal Investigations Mohamed Amin said in a press conference that Tuju was inside his residence the whole time, describing it as a “carefully staged disappearance rather than a genuine case of abduction”. Just before his arrest, Tuju had told local station Citizen TV that he had gone into hiding after being followed by an unmarked vehicle. The former minister has been embroiled in a long-running legal battle contesting the auction and takeover…
IRAN’s Foreign Ministry has firmly denied engaging in any form of dialogue with the United States, contradicting claims by US President Donald Trump that both countries had held “very good and productive conversations” aimed at resolving escalating tensions in the Middle East. The denial, issued on Monday through the semi-official Mehr News Agency, underscores deepening mistrust between the two long-time adversaries at a time when the region is witnessing heightened military confrontation. According to a source quoted by Mehr, there is “no dialogue” between Tehran and Washington, directly challenging Trump’s assertion of ongoing diplomatic engagement. The Iranian source described the…
US President Donald Trump on Monday said Washington and Tehran engaged in what he described as “productive” peace discussions over the weekend aimed at ending ongoing hostilities. In a post on Truth Social, Trump added that he has ordered a temporary halt to planned military strikes on Iranian power infrastructure. According to him, the talks marked progress toward resolving tensions between both countries. “I am pleased to report that the United States of America, and the country of Iran, have had, over the last two days, very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities…
MANCHESTER City punished Kepa Arrizabalaga’s howler to lift the League Cup as Nico O’Reilly’s double sealed a 2-0 win against Arsenal in Sunday’s final at Wembley. Arsenal goalkeeper Kepa already had a tortured relationship with the League Cup and the Spaniard’s latest mishap in the tournament’s showpiece proved decisive. Allowing Rayan Cherki’s cross to slip through his fingers, Kepa presented O’Reilly with the chance to put City ahead in the second half. O’Reilly struck again just four minutes later to seal City’s ninth League Cup, giving boss Pep Guardiola a record fifth triumph in the competition. Mikel Arteta chose to…
IRANIAN missiles have struck the towns of Arad and Dimona near an Israeli nuclear research centre in what Iran says was a response to an Israeli attack on its Natanz nuclear facility in Isfahan province. At least 180 people were wounded in Saturday’s attack, and hundreds of people have been evacuated from the strategic towns as the Israeli-United States war on Iran is seemingly entering a new, more lethal phase of fighting. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country had a “very difficult evening in the battle for our future”. There have been at least 4,564 people wounded in…
QATAR on Sunday confirmed four of its military personnel and three Turkish nationals, including one serviceman, were killed on board a helicopter that crashed in Qatar’s territorial waters. The Gulf state’s interior ministry said in a statement rescue operations had been completed and a final seventh individual was confirmed dead. “All those who were on board have been found, numbering seven, and their martyrdom has been confirmed,” it said. Earlier, Qatar’s defence ministry named the victims of the crash as Captain Mubarak Salem Daway al-Marri, Sergeant Fahad Hadi Ghanem al-Khayarin, Corporal Mohammed Maher Mohammed and Captain Saeed Nasser Sameekh from…
SUDAN’s army has denied it carried out a deadly attack on a major hospital on Friday night in a city in the west of the country held by its rivals, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said 64 people – including 13 children, two nurses and a doctor – had died in the strike on el-Daein Teaching Hospital and 89 others had been wounded. “Enough blood has been spilled,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted on X, urging the warring parties to end the conflict, which started nearly three years ago. The RSF said…
KENYANS enlisted to fight for Russia in the war against Ukraine will be granted amnesty on their return home, the East African nation’s foreign minister has said. The announcement follows Musalia Mudavadi’s recent visit to Moscow to tackle the issue and where it was agreed that no more Kenyans would be recruited. Under Kenya’s laws it is illegal for the country’s citizens to be conscripted into foreign armies – an offence that can carry up to a 10-year prison sentence. The foreign ministry estimates that 252 Kenyans have been illegally conscripted to fight on the front line – a trend…
THE Israeli Ministry of Health says at least 180 people have been wounded in Iranian missile attacks on the southern city of Dimona, home to the country’s main nuclear facility and nearby Arad, in one of the most dramatic escalations since the US-Israel war on Iran began. Iranian state television framed Saturday’s strikes as a “response” to an attack on Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment complex earlier in the day, marking a stark new phase of tit-for-tat targeting in the conflict, now in its fourth week. At least 116 people were wounded in Arad and a few dead, including seven seriously,…
CHELSEA’s hopes of Champions League qualification suffered another damaging blow as Everton stormed to a 3-0 win on Saturday to compound a miserable week for Liam Rosenior’s men. Dumped out of the Champions League 8-2 on aggregate by holders Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday, the Blues have now lost four consecutive games to put Rosenior under pressure just over two months into his reign.Beto struck twice for the Toffees as they surged into contention for a top-five finish, before Iliman Ndiaye rounded off Everton’s best win so far at their new home. Only two points now separate the sides as Chelsea…
THE United States and Israel have struck Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility, according to its atomic energy organisation. “Following the criminal attacks by the United States and the usurping Zionist regime against our country, the … Natanz enrichment complex was targeted this morning,” the organisation said in a statement carried by the Tasnim news agency on Saturday. It added that there was “no leakage of radioactive materials reported” at the Shahid Ahmadi Roshan enrichment facility in Natanz in central Iran, one of the country’s most important uranium enrichment sites, about 220km (135 miles) southeast of Tehran. No radioactive material was released,…
UNITED States President Donald Trump has threatened to deploy federal immigration agents to the country’s airports to “do Security like no one has ever seen”. “I look forward to moving ICE in on Monday, and have already told them to, ‘GET READY,’” Trump wrote in a series of posts on Saturday. “NO MORE WAITING, NO MORE GAMES!” Trump’s warnings on Saturday arrived on the five-week mark of a partial government shutdown that affects the Department of Homeland Security. Congress missed a February 14 deadline to fund the sprawling department, which includes agencies dedicated to border security, anti-terrorism operations, immigration services…
THE Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has begun discussions with Energy China International (CEEC) to deepen cooperation on the development of regional energy infrastructure aimed at expanding electricity access and strengthening power systems across West Africa. The engagement took place during a meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, where officials from the ECOWAS Energy and Mines Directorate met with CEEC representatives to advance dialogue on priority regional energy projects. The session also included participants from the West African Power Pool (WAPP), the regional body responsible for coordinating electricity generation and transmission among West African countries. During the meeting, participants reviewed…
GERMANY has temporarily withdrawn its diplomatic staff from Niger Republic over concerns about the security situation in the country. Berlin cited fears that Western nationals are prime targets for kidnappings carried out by terrorist groups and criminal gangs. The United States ordered its own embassy staff to leave the country in late January. Monitoring groups say Insurgent groups have deepened their presence in the border areas between Niger, Benin and Nigeria over the last year. Violent attacks are up by 80 percent and the number of deaths have tripled. Niger has been plagued by jihadist violence for more than a…
MANCHESTER City coach, Pep Guardiola, has expressed surprise over the Confederation of African awarding the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title to Morocco suggesting the decision was made without transparency. Fabrizio Romano’s X post on Friday quoted Guardiola as saying, “Pep Guardiola on AFCON verdict: “It’s a surprise! I don’t know the reason… but it’s a decision made behind-the-scenes. “What happens everywhere is what we see, it’s not happened, it always happens behind the scenes and you don’t see their faces.” This newspaper reports that the Confederation of African Football has awarded the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title to…
DRONES have struck Kuwait’s largest oil refinery for the second day as Iran launched a sweeping assault on energy infrastructure across the Gulf, while explosions boomed over Tehran from Israeli attacks as the country marked the Persian New Year. Fires broke out across multiple units at the Mina al-Ahmadi refinery, which processes about 730,000 barrels of oil per day, early on Friday morning, as Kuwaitis marked Eid al-Fitr, the celebration ending the holy month of Ramadan. Kuwait’s national oil company said several units had been shut down, though there were no casualties. The country’s military said its air defences were…