NIGERIAN music star, Burna Boy was a surprise guest at Buckingham Palace, London on Tuesday where England’s Lionesses celebrated their triumph at the 2025 Women’s Euros. Burna Boy was ushered on stage by the compere and former England star Alex Scott who said, “Three years ago in Trafalgar Square you [Sarina Weigman] said, ‘I am not ready to dance, the music was not quite right.’ “The surprise right now, we know who your favorite artiste is, he is in the building, so we want to see you dance. Please give it up, everybody, for Sarina’s favorite artist. Burna Boy is…
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THE Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a global hunger monitoring system, warns the “worst-case scenario of famine” is now unfolding in Gaza as Israel blocks vital aid. Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has told his cabinet that the United Kingdom will recognise the state of Palestine by September unless Israel takes “substantive steps” to end its war on Gaza and commits to a lasting peace process. According to a government statement issued after an emergency cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Starmer said the move could come before the United Nations General Assembly in New York unless Israel agrees to a…
AT least 27 people, including 16 inmates and a pregnant woman, have been killed in Russian air attacks on mostly southeastern Ukraine, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and regional officials. The attacks came overnight on Tuesday, a day after United States President Donald Trump set Russia a new deadline of “10 or 12 days” to reach a peace deal in its war on Ukraine or face tough new sanctions, shortening a 50-day deadline he had set earlier this month. Ivan Fedorov, head of the military administration in Zaporizhia, on Tuesday said Russia carried out eight overnight air attacks on his…
VETERAN Cote d’Ivoire President Alassane Ouattara said Tuesday he will seek a fourth term in the west African country, as tensions rise over the exclusion of many opposition candidates. Ouattara, 83, who has led Cote d’Ivoire since 2011, will be the overwhelming favourite to win the October 25 vote. Ouattara had already been nominated by his ruling Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP) party, but he waited until Tuesday to confirm he would run. The opposition has argued a fourth Ouattara term would be unconstitutional. “I am a candidate because the constitution of our country allows me to…
POLICE in Angola say four people have been killed and 500 have been arrested after demonstrations in the capital, Luanda. What began as a three-day strike by taxi drivers against rising petrol prices has escalated into one of the most widespread and disruptive waves of protest the country has seen in recent years. Thousands of people joined demonstrations in the capital on Monday that saw roads blocked, shops looted, cars destroyed as well as clashes between demonstrators and police. Since Monday night there have been reports of gunfire in parts of the capital. Pockets of protests continued in Luanda on…
AT least 14 Palestinians, including two children, have died from hunger and malnutrition in Gaza, according to health authorities, as United States President Donald Trump says there are signs of “real starvation” in the besieged territory. The deaths pushed the number of those who have died from malnutrition since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023, to 147, including 88 children, the Ministry of Health in Gaza said on Monday. Most of the deaths have occurred in recent weeks as a hunger crisis gripped the territory due to Israel’s severe restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid. Israel…
FIREFIGHTERS battled blazes across Turkey on Monday, as the country sweltered in a summer heatwave, officials said. Wildfires over the past week have led to at least 14 deaths in Turkey and sparked the evacuations of 19 villages and more than 3,500 people elsewhere from their homes. Turkey’s latest heatwave peaked with temperatures above 40C across much of the country last week and even reached a record 50.5C on Friday in the far southeast, in Silopi, near the Iraqi and Syrian borders. Firefighters battled blazes around the city of Bursa in the northwest, the Karabuk region in the north and…
GHANA has deployed soldiers to the conflict-ridden town of Bawku, near the border with Burkina Faso, following the reported killing of three students by gunmen at the weekend. Saturday’s shooting has sparked fresh fears about escalating violence in the northern town, which has long been gripped by a protracted chieftaincy dispute and faces concerns of a spill over from the Sahel region’s jihadist conflicts. “The Government of Ghana is stepping up its approach from peacekeeping to peace enforcement in Bawku and other affected areas due to the recent escalation of violence, which could derail the peacebuilding process,” Felix Kwakye Ofosu,…
MALI’s former Prime Minister Choguel Maïga is facing fresh legal scrutiny following allegations of financial misconduct during his time in office. The country’s Office of the Auditor General, has submitted documents to the judiciary citing irregularities and suspected embezzlement of state funds under Maïga’s leadership. Judicial sources have confirmed the existence of what is now being referred to as the “Choguel Maïga Files.” According to information obtained by RFI, the Attorney General of Mali’s Supreme Court spent the weekend reviewing the case, which could soon result in Maïga being summoned for questioning. The investigation focuses on two key incidents. The…
ENGLAND cemented their place in history with a penalty shootout victory over Spain to defend their European title at Euro 2025. Chloe Kelly, who scored the iconic winner at Wembley in the final of Euro 2022, was the hero again as she converted the decisive spot-kick to seal victory after Spain had missed three in a row, with Hannah Hampton saving two of them. It is the first time an England team has won a major trophy on foreign soil and cements manager Sarina Wiegman’s status as one of the world’s greatest with her third successive European title – achieved…
ISRAEL began “tactical pauses” in fighting for “humanitarian purposes” from 10am to 8pm (07:00-17:00 GMT) in al-Mawasi, Deir el-Balah and Gaza City, starting today. Despite the pauses, Israeli forces have killed at least 63 Palestinians in attacks on Gaza since the early hours of Sunday, as six more Palestinians starve to death. Meanwhile, the aid group Oxfam International has said that small Israeli concessions on humanitarian assistance will not be enough to reverse the damage of months of near-total restrictions. “Deadly airdrops and a trickle of trucks won’t undo months of engineered starvation in Gaza,” Bushra Khalidi, an Oxfam official…
RUSSIA on Sunday began direct commercial flights to North Korea, in a further sign of closer ties with its Asian ally helping its offensive in Ukraine. The first Moscow-Pyongyang flight, operated by Russia’s Nordwind Airlines, took off at 1625 GMT, according to the Sheremetyevo airport’s website. It is scheduled to land in the North Korean capital some eight hours later. But initially, the route will only be serviced once a month, Russia’s transport ministry said. Nordwind Airlines, which used to carry Russians to holiday destinations in Europe before the EU imposed a ban on Russian flights had tickets priced at…
AT least 38 people have been killed and 15 others injured in an attack on a church in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The attack, carried out by suspected members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) wielding guns and machetes, took place at the church in Ituri province’s Komanda city early on Sunday. The ADF, with ties to ISIL (ISIS), is a rebel group that operates in the borderland between Uganda and the DRC, and has routinely conducted attacks against civilian populations. Several houses and shops were also burned down, and many people remain missing after the…
CAMEROON’s opposition leader Maurice Kamto has been excluded from the list of candidates in the 12 October presidential election. Only 13 of the 83 names submitted to the country’s electoral body Elecam were accepted. Kamto came second in the 2018 elections amid allegations of fraud. He has not yet commented on the decision. President Paul Biya, 92, the world’s oldest president, was included on the list and will seek an eighth term in office. Defying calls to step down, he says he still has a lot to offer Cameroonians despite being in power for nearly 43 years. Biya will be…
VICTOR Gyokeres says he decided to sign for Arsenal after the Gunners thrashed his Sporting side 5-1 in the Champions League last season. The 27-year-old Sweden striker has joined Arsenal in a deal worth up to 73m euros (£64m) on a five-year contract. The move was held up because of negotiations between the clubs over additional payments, with the final agreement consisting of a 63m euro initial fee plus 10m euros in add-ons. Gyokeres was in the Sporting side dismantled by Mikel Arteta’s team in the group stage of Europe’s top competition in November. “I just felt it was the…
THE Israeli military has killed dozens of people in Gaza as the starvation crisis in the territory deepens amid an international outcry, with more Palestinians dying of malnutrition. Medical sources told Al Jazeera that Israeli attacks killed at least 71 people across Gaza on Saturday, including 42 desperately seeking aid. The Ministry of Health in Gaza also said that hospitals have recorded five more deaths due to hunger caused by the Israeli blockade of the enclave, bringing the total death toll from malnutrition to 127 since the war began. The victims include 85 children. With anger across the world mounting…
GREEK emergency services were battling many wildfires on Saturday afternoon as a week-long heatwave peaked with temperatures surpassing 45C degrees. According to firefighters, one of the most difficult fronts was around Drosopigi in northern Attica, just 30 kilometres north of Athens. Authorities called for an evacuation of the village, while according to state-run Ertnews tv, a house was already under fire in Drosopigi, as winds of 5 to 6 Beaufort raged. Authorities had warned of an extreme risk of wildfires on Saturday, placing several regions under a red Category 5 alert, the highest on the national scale, due to hot…
TWO days after he was kidnapped in July 2007, the bloodied and battered corpse of Floribert Bwana Chui Bin Kositi was dumped outside a university campus in the city of Goma, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The newly graduated 26-year-old and devout Catholic was just three months into a job as a customs official – which he had taken on with his usual zeal, by refusing to be bribed. He had stood up to people wanting to smuggle in rice from neighbouring Rwanda that had spoiled and could have proven poisonous if eaten. No-one has ever…
KENYA’s police watchdog has accused officers of using “disproportionate force” to quell a recent series of protests during which 65 people died. In a report released on Thursday, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa) linked most of the deaths to actions by the police. It also highlighted the role of opportunists who infiltrated the protests – described as “goons” – who “undermined the principles of peaceful assembly”. Over the past six weeks, there have been four separate days of demonstrations which were called over police brutality and anger at government policies. The first in the capital, Nairobi – on 12…
RUBEN Amorim says rival clubs might be in for a “shock” if they think they can sign Manchester United’s unwanted players on the cheap this summer. Amorim exiled his so-called ‘bomb squad’ – Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, Antony, Jadon Sancho and Tyrrell Malacia – at the start of pre-season. While Rashford has now sealed a “dream” move to Barcelona, the other four remain at the club and have been told to train back at Carrington, having been left out of United’s squad for the three-game Premier League Summer Series in the United States. Real Betis remain keen to bring Antony…