MIKEL Arteta has revealed Arsenal’s preparations for their 3-1 win at Brentford were hampered by a virus that swept through his squad. Several of Arsenal’s stars were struck down by the illness on the eve of the crucial Premier League clash on Wednesday. German forward Kai Havertz was sent home with the bug, while England midfielder Declan Rice was only able to come off the bench in the second half. Martin Odegaard reportedly struggled with the virus ahead of kick-off and although he was able to start, the Arsenal captain made a mistake that led to Bryan Mbeumo’s opener and…
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AT least 11 Palestinians, including women and children, have been killed in an Israeli air strike on makeshift tents housing displaced people in a designated humanitarian safe zone in southern Gaza, local medics and news organisations report. The predawn attack on Thursday in the al-Mawasi area – which Israel’s military declared a “safe zone” early on in its war on Gaza – is reported to have resulted in the killing of three children and two women among the 11 who died. A video clip from the aftermath of the attack showed people searching for survivors among burning tents, scattered debris,…
AT least 15 people have been killed and dozens more injured in New Orleans, the United States, after a man smashed a pick-up truck into New Year’s revellers in an attack that authorities have linked to ISIL (ISIS). US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that the FBI had informed him that the suspect had posted videos on social media indicating that he was inspired by the Middle East-based armed group. “To all the people in New Orleans who are grieving, I grieve with you,” President Biden said in remarks from the presidential retreat at Camp David. “Our nation grieves…
MOZAMBIQUE’s main opposition leader Venâncio Mondlane has called for unity ahead of a fresh round of protests against the outcome of presidential elections. In a live broadcast on his Facebook page, Mondlane – who is in self-imposed exile – urged citizens to join hands in their neighbourhoods at 11.45pm and sing the national anthem until 2025 kicks in. “We must find ourselves again as Mozambicans,” he said. Mozambique has faced one of is bloodiest weeks since October, when Mondlane first called for protests after rejecting his defeat in the elections. A local monitoring group, Plataforma Decide, said that 179 people…
GUANTANAMO Bay inmate Ridah Bin Saleh al-Yazidi has been repatriated to Tunisia, the US Department of Defense says. He was found eligible for transfer from the detention facility after a “rigorous interagency review process”, a press statement said. Human rights groups say Mr Yazidi was one of the prison’s original detainees in January 2002. The Pentagon did not say if he had accepted any guilt. Since 2002, the Guantanamo Bay detention facility has been used to hold what the US describes as captured unlawful combatants during America’s “war on terror”. The camp is part of a US naval base complex…
RUBEN Amorim said Manchester United are in a battle for Premier League survival after losing 2-0 to Newcastle on Monday to end 2024 14th in the table. United are seven points above the relegation zone but are on the slide since Amorim took charge last month. Alexander Isak and Joelinton struck inside the first 19 minutes as United lost a third consecutive home league game since 1979. “That is really clear so we have to fight,” said Amorim on United being dragged into a relegation battle. “It is a really difficult moment, one of the more difficult moments in the…
A UN report says Israel’s claims that Gaza hospitals are being used for military purposes by Palestinian armed groups are “vague” amid continuing Israeli attacks on health facilities protected under international law. The report – released on Tuesday by the UN human rights office – said Israeli strikes targeting hospitals and their surroundings in the Gaza Strip have pushed the territory’s healthcare system “to the brink of total collapse with catastrophic effect on Palestinians’ access to health and medical care”. The 23-page report looked at the period from October 7, 2023, to June 30, 2024. During this time there were…
A UNITED States military appeals court has denied an effort by Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin to throw out possible plea deals for the alleged mastermind of the attacks on September 11, 2001, and his two co-conspirators. The deals could see the three men — Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi — plead guilty to the attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people. In exchange, they would be spared the possibility of the death penalty. A plea hearing for Mohammed, who is accused of orchestrating the killings, is set for next week. The New York Times and Associated Press…
IVORY Coast has announced that French troops will withdraw from the West African nation, further reducing the military influence of the former colonial power in the region. In an end-of-year address, Ivory Coast’s President, Alassane Ouattara, said the move was a reflection of the modernisation of the country’s armed forces. Separately, Senegal, which last month announced France would have to close its military bases on its territory, confirmed the withdrawal would be completed by the end of 2025. Ivory Coast is home to the biggest remaining contingent of French troops in West Africa. There are some 600 French military personnel…
ZIMBABWE’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has approved a law that abolishes the death penalty in the southern African state with immediate effect. Rights group Amnesty hailed the decision as a “beacon of hope for the abolitionist movement in the region”, but expressed regret that the death penalty could be reinstated during a state of emergency. Mnangagwa’s move comes after Zimbabwe’s parliament voted earlier in December to scrap the death penalty. Zimbabwe last carried out an execution by hanging in 2005, but its courts continued to hand down the death sentence for serious crimes like murder. About 60 people were on death…
MANCHESTER United ended a 2024 to forget with a fourth consecutive defeat as Newcastle cruised to a 2-0 win at Old Trafford to intensify the scrutiny on Red Devils’ boss Ruben Amorim. Just two months into his tenure, Amorim conceded this week that his job is on the line unless results begin to improve. The Portuguese has won just two of his first nine league games to leave United languishing down in 14th, just seven points above the relegation zone. Alexander Isak and Joelinton struck inside the first 19 minutes as a fifth consecutive win lifted the Magpies into fifth.…
THE sound of tanks rumbling through the streets outside of Kamal Adwan Hospital woke everyone up, they were already on edge after enduring months of direct Israeli attacks. Then came the loudspeakers ordering everyone to evacuate – the sick, the wounded, medical staff, and displaced people seeking shelter – early on Friday morning. It was clear that the medical complex in northern Gaza’s Beit Lahiya was about to face an Israeli raid, like so many had before it as Israel seemed to systematically destroy all healthcare in Gaza. It didn’t matter that, according to the World Health Organization, the hospital…
VENEZUELA’s highest court on Monday fined TikTok $10 million in connection with viral challenges that authorities say left three adolescents dead from intoxication by chemical substances. Supreme Tribunal of Justice Judge Tania D’Amelio said that the popular video-sharing app had been negligent in failing to implement “necessary and adequate measures” to stop the spread of content encouraging the challenges. TikTok, which is owned by China’s ByteDance, was ordered to open an office in the South American country and given eight days to pay the fine or face “appropriate” measures. Venezuela would use the money to “create a TikTok victims fund,…
ON December 9, an army air attack hit a fuel station in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, killing at least 28 people and injuring scores. The army said it was targeting fighters from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group that it has been at war with since April 2023. Speaking weeks after the attack, Mohamed Kandasha, a medic in the area, remembers treating people with severe burns at a nearby hospital. There were men, women and children among them, a symbol of the indiscriminate nature of the attacks committed by both sides in Sudan’s war. “The RSF doesn’t care about…
AT LEAST 71 people have died in southern Ethiopia after a lorry plunged into a river, officials say. The vehicle, which was travelling through Sidama state on Sunday, fell into the river after it missed a bridge, a local official told the Reuters news agency. Wosenyeleh Simion said many of the passengers had been guests at a wedding party. Traffic police in the region reported the lorry was overloaded, which was likely to have caused the incident, Mr Simion said. Further investigations are under way. Of the people known to have died, 68 were men and 3 were women, the…
LIVERPOOL moved a step closer to a record-equalling 20th English top-flight title as a 5-0 thrashing of West Ham opened up an eight-point lead at the top of the Premier League. Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota were on target for the rampant Reds in east London as they ended the year as huge favourites to deliver just a second league title in 35 years. Nottingham Forest are the surprise closest challengers in second, but Arsenal and Chelsea can close the gap when they are in action later in the week. Arne Slot has repeatedly…
A 20-DAY-OLD baby in Gaza has died from severe cold, the fifth such fatality from hypothermia in six days in the Israeli-besieged Palestinian enclave. Jumaa al-Batran died on Sunday while his twin brother, Ali, remains in intensive care at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, Gaza’s Ministry of Health said in a statement. Jumaa’s father, Yahya al-Batran, said his son was found with his head as “cold as ice” when he woke up on Sunday. He said the twins were born one month prematurely and spent just a day in the nursery at the hospital in Deir el-Balah, which like other health centres…
AMONG the maize, yam and peanut farms of Savelugu-Nanton, a remote district of northern Ghana, the legacy of Jimmy Carter is less complicated than it is back in the former US president’s homeland. Thanks to the work of his charity, The Carter Center, locals are nowadays spared the misery of Guinea worm disease – a parasite that breeds in the human belly and emerges through the skin before laying larvae in stagnant pools to await the next victim. Carter’s work in fighting the bug and tracking votes in poor countries won him a Nobel Prize for Peace in 2002. It…
THE movement for visa-free travel in Africa is gaining traction, with Rwanda and Kenya recently opening their borders to all African citizens. This action aims to promote unity, economic prosperity, and cultural interchange in the continent. While visa-free travel is not yet universal in Africa, a few countries have fully embraced the concept. Here are five African countries that currently offer visa-free entry to travellers from across the continent. 1. Seychelles Seychelles has been a pioneer in promoting travel without a visa for a long time. By 2018, it was the only African nation that allowed international nationals, including those…
CHAD voted Sunday in a general election the government says is a key step towards ending military rule, with turnout expected to be low after the opposition called for a boycott. Midday figures suggested a turnout of just 38 percent to choose a new parliament, provincial assemblies and local councils, according to the elections management agency ANGE. Election officials in the upmarket district where the president’s family and ruling dignitaries live put voter apathy down to the “cold weather”. But opposition parties have urged Chad’s eight million voters to shun the election, the results of which they say had been…