Author: Editor

UGANDAN opposition leader Bobi Wine said Saturday that he had escaped a police raid on his home and was in hiding as the country braced for the results of a fraught election held under an internet blackout. Earlier reports by his party suggested that Wine was forcibly taken away in an army helicopter from his home on Friday, a day after elections marred by reports of violence. The President Yoweri Museveni, 81, looked set to be declared winner and extend his 40-year rule in an election marred by reports of at least 10 deaths and intimidation of the opposition and…

TORRENTIAL rains have killed more than 100 people across Southern Africa, forcing mass evacuations and rescue operations as authorities warn that more destructive weather may still be to come. Weeks of heavy rainfall have battered South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, overwhelming rivers and infrastructure and leaving entire communities cut off. Weather services across the region have issued further alerts, raising fears of additional flooding. In South Africa, officials said on Friday that flooding in the northern provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga had killed at least 30 people. Army helicopters have been deployed to rescue residents trapped on rooftops and in…

UGANDAN President Yoweri Museveni won a seventh term in office on Saturday after an election marred by violence and an internet shutdown, with African observers saying arrests and abductions had “instilled fear”. Museveni, 81, won 71.65 percent of the vote in Thursday’s election, the Electoral Commission said, amid reports of at least 10 deaths and intimidation of the opposition and civil society. His victory allows him to extend his 40-year rule of the east African country. He defeated Bobi Wine, 43, a former singer-turned-politician who won 24.72 percent and said he was in hiding on Saturday after a raid by…

MANCHESTER City have agreed a deal in principle to sign Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi this month for £20m. City started talks with the England centre-back, 25, this month following injuries to defenders Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias. Guehi, who has been linked with some of Europe’s top clubs, is out of contract this summer and was close to a move to Liverpool last summer. BBC Sport reported earlier this month that City were exploring a move for Guehi and talks have accelerated in the past 24 hours. Guehi is now expected to join City on a long-term contract this…

ISRAELI attacks have killed at least three Palestinians in Gaza in the latest violations of its tenuous ceasefire with Hamas, a day after the United States announced the start of the second phase of President Donald Trump’s plan to end Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinian people in the besieged territory. A 10-year-old girl, a 16-year-old boy and an elderly woman were killed in Israeli attacks on Friday, as members of a planned Palestinian technocratic committee sat down for the first time in Cairo to prepare for the rollout of phase two of the peace plan. Palestinian news agency Wafa…

SAUDI Arabia’s 90-year-old King Salman was discharged from hospital after undergoing medical tests in the capital Riyadh, the kingdom’s Royal Court said on Friday, adding that the results were “reassuring”. The monarch “left the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh today (Friday) after undergoing medical tests that proved reassuring”, the royal court said in a statement shared on state media, having announced his admission earlier in the day. Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude oil exporter, has for years sought to quell speculation over King Salman’s health. He has been on the throne since 2015, though his son Mohammed bin…

UGANDAN opposition leader Bobi Wine was forcibly taken away in an army helicopter from his home on Friday, his party said, a day after elections marred by reports of violence. President Yoweri Museveni is seeking to prolong his four-decade rule in an election that saw widespread repression and an internet blackout. His main opponent, singer-turned-politician Bobi Wine, earlier said he had been under house arrest after police surrounded his compound. Late Friday, his party, the National Unity Platform (NUP), said in a post on X that an army helicopter had landed in the compound and “forcibly taken him away to…

ETHIOPIAN police say they have seized thousands of rounds of ammunition sent by Eritrea to a violent armed rebel group, stoking fears of renewed conflict. Eritrea has denied the allegation and accused Ethiopia of “floating false flags to justify the war that it has been itching to unleash for two long years”. It comes at a volatile moment for the relationship between the Horn of Africa neighbours, which share a fractious and violent history. Hopes of tentative peace, forged during a 2020-22 civil war in northern Ethiopia, have of late given way to a war of words over control of…

DEFENDING champions, Nigeria, have been drawn against Zambia, Egypt, and Malawi in Group C of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON). The Super Falcons, record `10 times winners, will play the Group C games at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca, Morocco. Nigeria’s match against the Copper Queens will be a reenactment of their quarter-final outing in the 2024 edition of the tournament. The Super Falcons thrashed the Zambians 5-0 in that game. Morocco, runners-up in the last two editions of the WAFCON, are in Group A against Algeria, Kenya, and Senegal. Games in that lot will be…

ISRAEL killed at least 10 Palestinians across Gaza, just as the United States announced that the two sides had progressed to the second phase of a 20-point ceasefire deal with Hamas to end the conflict. The Wafa news agency reported that the Israeli military bombed two houses belonging to the al-Hawli and the al-Jarou families in the central town of Deir el-Balah on Thursday evening, with health officials confirming a 16-year-old minor was among six killed. The Israeli military announced that one of the victims, Muhammad al-Hawli, was a commander in the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas. Reporting…

INDIA has shut down a medical college in Indian-administered Kashmir in an apparent capitulation to protests by right-wing Hindu groups over the admission of an overwhelming number of Muslim students into the prestigious course. The National Medical Commission (NMC), a federal regulatory authority for medical education and practices, on January 6 revoked the recognition of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Medical Institute (SMVDMI), located in Reasi, a mountainous district overlooking the Pir Panjal range in the Himalayas, which separates the plains of Jammu from the Kashmir valley. Of the 50 pupils who joined the five-year bachelor’s in medicine (MBBS) programme in…

LIBYAN authorities have uncovered a mass grave containing the bodies of 21 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, local media reported Thursday. News outlets cited government sources as saying a Libyan national has been arrested on suspicion of killing the migrants and holding others captive on a farm in the northeastern town of Ajdabiya. Libya is a key transit country for thousands of migrants attempting to reach Europe each year, with deaths among migrants frequently reported. The Internal Security Agency for Libya’s east said it had “discovered a mass grave containing the bodies of 21 individuals of various African nationalities”, according to…

VOTES are being counted in parts of Uganda amid an internet shutdown and opposition accusations of rigging in presidential and parliamentary elections. “Massive ballot-stuffing reported everywhere,” declared presidential hopeful Bobi Wine in a post on social media, without providing documentary proof. The authorities have not responded to his allegations of electoral fraud, nor to his claim that “many” polling agents and supervisors belonging to his NUP party were “abducted, and others chased off polling stations”. Delays of up to four hours have been blamed on malfunctioning biometric machines used to verify voters’ identities. Some have linked the problems to the…

GOALKEEPER Robert Sanchez made errors that contributed to two of Arsenal’s three goals in a dramatic Carabao Cup semi-final first leg – but Alejandro Garnacho scored twice to keep Chelsea in the tie. Sanchez failed to claim Declan Rice’s corner, allowing Ben White to head in Arsenal’s seventh-minute opener from close range – and the goalkeeper let a cross squirm through his fingers shortly after half-time for Viktor Gyokeres to make it 2-0. Garnacho pulled one back 12 minutes into the second half, but Martin Zubimendi’s brilliant shimmy and finish restored Arsenal’s two-goal advantage. The former Manchester United winger then…

UNITED States President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East has announced the launch of the second phase of a US-brokered plan to end Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Steve Witkoff said in a social media post on Wednesday that Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan is “moving from ceasefire to demilitarization, technocratic governance, and reconstruction”. The second phase will establish a transitional administration to govern over the bombarded Palestinian territory and see the “full demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza”, Witkoff said. “The US expects Hamas to comply fully with its obligations, including the immediate return of…

IRAN has temporarily closed its airspace to most flights amid attack threats by United States President Donald Trump, the US aviation authority said. Most flights were prohibited from Iranian airspace between 1:45am and 4:00am local time (22:15 to 00:30 GMT) and again from 4:44 am to 7am (01:14 to 03:30 GMT) on Thursday, according to the notices posted by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The restrictions applied to all commercial flights without “prior approval” from Iran’s Civil Aviation Organisation (CAO), according to the notices. FlightRadar, an online flight tracking service, showed just three aircraft over Iran as of 6:05am…

UGANDA’s opposition leader told AFP on Wednesday that he would call for protests if President Yoweri Museveni rigs this week’s election and said he would welcome an intervention by the United States. More than 20 million people are registered to vote in the east African country on Thursday, with 81-year-old Museveni widely expected to continue his four-decade rule thanks to his near-total control of the state and security apparatus. His main opponent is singer-turned-politician Bobi Wine, 43 — real name Robert Kyagulanyi — who is taking a second run at the presidency after his 2021 campaign was met with violent…

FOR weeks, Somalia has been engaged in intense diplomatic efforts to rally international support after Israel recognised its breakaway region of Somaliland as an independent state. Through diplomatic outreach and high-level phone calls, Somalia’s government has won the backing of many countries across Africa and the Middle East, rallying them to oppose the recognition. But one relationship has sharply deteriorated – Somalia’s long-standing partnership with the United Arab Emirates (UAE). For years, the oil-rich Gulf state has been viewed as a significant player in Somalia’s security, economy, and politics, as the country has a coastline of more than 3,000km (1,864…

SADIO Mane scored the winner as Senegal beat Egypt to reach the final of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) and end Mohamed Salah’s hopes of winning his first continental title in Morocco. Mane struck the only goal of a cagey contest with 12 minutes remaining in Tangier, firing a right-footed shot inside the left-hand upright after the ball broke to him outside the box. It marks the third occasion that the Senegal forward has got the better of his former Liverpool team-mate in a high-stakes international match. Both of those previous wins came four years ago, as the…

ALL eyes are on Rabat as two continental giants, Nigeria and Morocco clash in a blockbuster game in the semi-final of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). News Point Nigeria Sport reports that the high-flying Super Eagles of Nigeria, parading the likes of Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman among other game-changers, will face their biggest test yet in the tournament against the host nation. Morocco, on the back of a long-running unbeaten streak, are under pressure to deliver the AFCON trophy, having only won it once in 1976. With Achraf Hakimi and Brahim Diaz leading the way for the…