SOUTH Korea’s constitutional court has held its first hearing to decide if suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol should be removed from office after his shock martial law attempt last month. It ended within four minutes because of Yoon’s absence – his lawyers had earlier said he would not attend for his own safety, as there is a warrant out for his arrest on seperate charges of insurrection. In December, Yoon was suspended after members of his own party voted with the opposition to impeach him. However he will only be formally removed from office if at least six of the…
Author: Editor
Read More
GHANA’s government will investigate controversial plans to build a $400m (£330m) national cathedral, new President John Mahama has said. Pressure has been mounting on authorities to drop the project, which has divided opinions in a country experiencing an economic crisis. Former President Nana Akufo-Addo, whose party was voted out during December’s elections, had pledged to build the cathedral after crediting God for his party’s success in 2016. Akufo-Addo’s government said the cathedral would be privately funded, but $58m of taxpayers’ money has so far been spent on the project. There is nothing to show for this sum but a huge…
ALTAY Bayindir was Manchester United’s unlikely hero as the holders held out for over an hour a man down to knock Arsenal out the FA Cup on penalties after a feisty 1-1 draw at the Emirates on Sunday. United’s stand-in goalkeeper saved a penalty from Martin Odegaard in normal time and then denied Kai Havertz in the shootout as the wasteful Gunners had another day to forget in front of goal. Bruno Fernandes had fired the visitors into the lead early in the second half before Diogo Dalot was sent-off on the hour mark for a second bookable offence. Gabriel…
THE Israeli military siege on the northern Gaza Strip has left about 5,000 Palestinians dead or missing after 100 days of brutal attacks that have only intensified amid talks of a potential mediated agreement between Israel and Hamas. Another 9,500 Palestinians were injured as a result of the Israeli military operation in the north that was launched in early October, a medical source told Al Jazeera on Sunday. Gaza’s Government Media Office on Sunday described the Israeli siege as “the most horrific form of ethnic cleansing, displacement and destruction” that has affected hundreds of thousands in the war-ravaged area. Reporting…
A MAGNITUDE 6.2 earthquake rattled a region of southwest Mexico on Sunday, the US Geological Survey said, with dozens of casualties and massive properties damage. The tremor was centered eight kilometers (five miles) from Coalcoman de Vazquez Pallares, a municipality of around 20,000 people which is about 600 kilometers west of the capital Mexcio City. The quake struck at a depth of 86.2 kilometers. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on social media platform X that the national emergency services had reported “there are no new developments and are initiating review protocols” in Coalcoman. Mexico lies on five tectonic plates that…
NIGERIA has attracted $7.6bn in investment interests at the Africa Investment Forum 2024, held in Rabat, Morocco, from 4 to 6 December 2024. The announcement was made by the President of the African Development Bank, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, in a post on his X (formerly Twitter) account on Saturday. Adesina expressed optimism about the potential impact of the investment interests, highlighting the participation of several Nigerian state governors at the forum. “I am delighted the Africa Investment Forum 2024 mobilised $7.6bn of investment interest for Nigeria. It was great to have several State Governors: Lagos, Kaduna, Kastina, Kwara and Plateau,…
CHAD’s governing party has taken the majority of seats in last month’s parliamentary election that was mostly boycotted by opposition parties, according to provisional results. President Mahamat Idriss Deby’s party, the Patriotic Salvation Movement, has secured 124 of the 188 seats at the National Assembly, Ahmed Bartchiret, head of the electoral commission, announced late on Saturday. The participation rate was put at 51.56 percent, which opposition parties said showed voter doubts about the validity of the contest. The December 29 election was presented by Deby’s party as the last stage of the country’s transition to democracy after he took power…
JACK Grealish scored his first goal in more than a year and James McAtee hit a second-half hat-trick as Manchester City surged to their biggest win since January 2019 to knock League Two Salford out of the FA Cup. Grealish converted the 49th-minute spot-kick after he had been fouled, then exchanged a joke with routine penalty-taker Erling Haaland, who was on the bench after manager Pep Guardiola had chosen to leave out a number of big names for the third-round tie. The England man’s last goal came against Crystal Palace on 16 December 2023, and he has struggled for form…
AT least eight people have been killed in an Israeli attack on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in northern Gaza, as Israel sent several senior officials for talks on a potential ceasefire. An Israeli attack on Saturday hit the Zainab al-Wazir school in northern Gaza’s Jabalia al-Balad area, killing eight civilians, including two women and two children, according to the Palestinian civil emergency service. “The Israelis have targeted us without any prior warning,” a mother told Al Jazeera, as she searched through the debris. “They attacked us with a missile. I don’t know where our children are. I don’t know…
UKRAINE says it has captured two North Korean soldiers in Russia’s Kursk region and taken them to Kyiv, where investigators were questioning them. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the two prisoners of war were “communicating” with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the country’s domestic intelligence agency. “Russian forces and other North Korean military personnel usually execute their wounded to erase any evidence of North Korea’s involvement in the war,” Zelenskyy wrote on X on Saturday. Ukraine’s SBU said in a statement that one of the captured soldiers had no documents at all, while the other had been carrying a…
THE army in Sudan says it has captured a key city in the country’s east, one of its biggest gains yet in an almost two-year-long war against rebel forces. Footage on social media showed people celebrating in the streets as army soldiers entered the city of Wad Madani. The leader of paramilitary group the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, acknowledged the loss in an audio message. His admission was angry and rambling, attributing the defeat to the army’s air superiority and use of Iranian-made drones. But he vowed to continue fighting until victory,…
SIERRA Leone has reported its first confirmed case of mpox since the world’s highest alert level for the potentially deadly viral disease was raised last year. “The patient is a 27-year-old man from the rural district of the Western Zone,” near the capital Freetown, the National Public Health Agency stated in a social media post. “Health teams are actively tracing and investigating to identify potentially exposed persons and to prevent further spread,” it said. The agency added tests had confirmed the case on January 10 but did not specify the variant affecting the patient. Mpox is caused by a virus…
MANCHESTER City have agreed a 40m euros (£33.6m) deal with Lens for central defender, Abdulkadir Khusanov. Sources with knowledge of the deal say there are additional bonus payments attached to the sale, with the player due to undergo a medical before the transfer is officially confirmed. City manager Pep Guardiola has been determined to strengthen his squad after a difficult couple of months which has seen the defending Premier League champions slip to sixth in the table – and 12 points behind leaders Liverpool. The club are also in negotiations with Brazilian side Palmeiras for teenage defender Vitor Reis, although…
ISRAEL’s military said it attacked sites in Yemen controlled by Houthi fighters, including a power station near the capital Sanaa, and the ports of Hodeidah and Ras Isa. Also, several people have been killed in an Israeli air strike in Lebanon’s south with Israel’s military saying later that it was still “committed to the understanding of the ceasefire” with Lebanon. This newspaper understand that the concentration of attacks has pretty much been on the central areas. We have heard huge explosions shattering the silence of night at the Nuseirat refugee camp. We also have more emerging reports coming from the…
NOBEL Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai will attend an international summit on girls’ education hosted by her native Pakistan, where she was nearly killed by militants as a schoolgirl. Yousafzai was evacuated from the country in 2012 after being shot by the Pakistan Taliban, who were enraged by her activism, and she has returned to the country only a handful of times since. A spokesperson for the Malala Fund charity confirmed Yousafzai will appear in person at the summit, which will focus on education in Islamic nations. “I am excited to join Muslim leaders from around the world for a…
UGANDA’s army chief and son of President Yoweri Museveni, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, announced he was quitting X on Friday after a string of controversial posts including threatening to behead an opposition leader and invade neighbouring countries. Seen as the likely successor to his 80-year-old father, Kainerugaba built up more than a million followers on X, formerly Twitter, thanks to his notorious posts. Just this week, Kainerugaba, 50, said it was only the presence of his father that prevented him from murdering musician-turned-opposition leader Bobi Wine. “If Mzee was not there, I would cut off his head today,” Kainerugaba posted, using an…
SOUTH African police have rescued 26 migrants, believed to be from Ethiopia, who had been held captive in a house in Johannesburg. Fifteen were found naked inside the property while the 11 others – who had injuries – were located nearby. The discovery was made on Thursday evening in a north-eastern suburb of the city following a tip-off from neighbours, the police said. Three people have been arrested. It is not clear how the migrants ended up in South Africa but the authorities are investigating whether they were victims of trafficking. In a statement, the police said they had dismantled…
JUDGE Merchan has just given Trump his sentence – unconditional discharge on all 34 charges, as expected. “I wish you godspeed as you assume your second term in office,” he says. Merchan tells the court that he has determined that unconditional discharge is “the only lawful sentence, without encroaching upon the highest office of the land”. An unconditional discharge means Trump does not face any fines, probation or jail time. “Never before has this court been presented with such a unique and remarkable set of circumstances,” Merchan remarked. “The only lawful sentence that permits entry of a judgment of conviction…
JUDE Bellingham and Rodrygo struck to earn Real Madrid a 3-0 win over Real Mallorca on Thursday and set up a Spanish Super Cup final clash with rivals Barcelona. Madrid have the chance to earn revenge for their heavy Clasico defeat in La Liga in October after Bellingham’s clinical second-half strike sent them on their way to victory in Saudi Arabia. Backed heavily by fans in Jeddah Madrid never looked like letting the advantage slip and a stoppage-time own goal by Martin Valjent secured their win, with Rodrygo adding a late third from close range. Real Madrid made the early…
ISRAEL’s genocide in Gaza has killed at least 46,006 Palestinians and wounded 109,378 since October 7, 2023. At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks that day and more than 200 were taken captive. This is as The Polish government has adopted a resolution promising that senior Israeli officials – including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – can freely travel to Poland for the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp later this month. Netanyahu faces an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes in Israel’s war on…