Author: Editor

FOOTBALL fans in China were outraged by Zhejiang FC’s decision to go ahead with a league match hours after the death of their Gabon international striker Aaron Boupendza. Police have ruled out foul play in the death of the 28-year-old, who died after falling from the 11th floor of a building in the eastern city of Hangzhou on Wednesday afternoon. Boupendza’s Hangzhou-based club went ahead with a home Chinese Super League fixture later on Wednesday against Meizhou Hakka, sparking grief and anger from fans. “Shouldn’t this match have been postponed?” one user wrote on the X-like social media platform Weibo.…

MANCHESTER United dragged their season out of the ashes in quite extraordinary fashion as they scored twice in stoppage time of extra time to complete a staggering comeback from 4-2 down against 10-man Lyon at Old Trafford. United appeared to be heading out of the competition in the worst possible manner as they tossed away a two-goal lead in the space of seven minutes before conceding twice in extra time. Supporters were streaming for the exits in their droves but Bruno Fernandes breathed new life into United when he converted a penalty seven minutes from time after a video assistant…

THE solemn portrait of a nine-year-old Palestinian boy, whose arms were severed and mutilated during an Israeli attack on Gaza City, has won the 2025 World Press Photo of the Year award. The picture, given the accolade on Thursday, was taken by Samar Abu Elouf for The New York Times newspaper, and depicts Mahmoud Ajjour. “One of the most difficult things Mahmoud’s mother explained to me was how when Mahmoud first came to the realisation that his arms were amputated, the first sentence he said to her was, ‘How will I be able to hug you’?” said Abu Elouf. Ajjour…

THE global economy is likely to avoid a recession despite the hit to growth from US President Donald Trump’s tariff rollout, the head of the International Monetary Fund said Thursday. The stop-start US tariff plans have fueled levels of market volatility unseen since the Covid-19 pandemic, and most economists expect the imposition of new import levies will stifle growth and push up inflation, at least in the short term. Trade disruptions “incur costs,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told reporters in Washington on Thursday according to prepared remarks, adding that the Fund now expects “notable” markdowns to growth but no…

CLASHES between Sudanese paramilitaries and the army have killed at least 57 civilians in the besieged Darfur city of El-Fasher, medical and activist sources said Thursday, with civilians fearing a looming bloodbath as fighters close in. The local resistance committee, a grassroots aid group, said the civilians were killed on Wednesday in clashes following an artillery attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), at war with the army since April 2023. The violence came just days after the RSF killed more than 400 people in attacks on El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, as well as nearby displacement…

FRANCE has recalled its ambassador to Algeria and ordered 12 Algerian diplomats to leave Paris as a diplomatic row escalated. Algeria earlier this week expelled 12 French officials after one of its consular staff was arrested over the kidnapping of a government critic living in Paris. President Emmanuel Macron’s office called the move “unjustified and incomprehensible”. However, relations have been on the slide for months. Observers have described the crisis as unprecedented since Algeria secured independence from France in 1962. There had been hopes that tensions would ease after France’s foreign minister held talks with Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune in…

BUKAYO Saka scored a goal and missed a penalty as Arsenal held off Real Madrid to reach the Champions League semi-finals in an incident-packed match at the Bernabeu. Arsenal had a 3-0 aggregate lead to defend after their superb victory in the first leg last week – and they were given the chance to silence the noisy home support when they were awarded a 13th-minute penalty. Saka stepped up but his weak, chipped effort was saved by Thibaut Courtois. However, the England forward made amends for his miss when he effectively killed off the tie with a fantastic chipped second-half…

ISRAEL’s defence minister says that Israeli troops will remain in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria indefinitely, as the military tightens its grip on several occupied territories. “Unlike in the past, the [Israeli military] is not evacuating areas that have been cleared and seized,” Israel Katz said in a statement on Wednesday. The army “will remain in the security zones as a buffer between the enemy and [Israeli] communities in any temporary or permanent situation in Gaza – as in Lebanon and Syria”, said the statement. The military said that it had turned 30 percent of Gaza into a “security” buffer zone…

ON April 1, Russia began a new conscription drive with the goal of enlisting 160,000 military-age men between 18 and 30. It is the largest such call-up since 2011, aiming to fulfil last year’s presidential decree to boost the armed forces to 2.5 million personnel. And it is making Bogdan, a 21-year-old on the outskirts of Moscow, nervous. Some young men often try to avoid mandatory military service. But as Russia’s war against Ukraine stands at a critical juncture, with the rival sides desperately attempting to appear triumphant amid peace talks, there is a particular urgency to the matter. “I…

SUDAN’s paramilitaries have declared the formation of a rival government to the country’s armed forces, two years into a war that has become the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. The leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo, said the group was “building the only realistic future for Sudan”. The announcement came as London hosted an high-level conference to mark the second anniversary of the conflict, where the UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy called for “a pathway to peace”. Fighting raged on, with the army saying it had bombed RSF positions outside the city of el-Fasher, forcing hundreds…

AN American pastor kidnapped by armed men during a church service in South Africa has been freed following a “high-intensity shoot-out” that left three people dead, police say. Josh Sullivan was found unharmed in the township in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape on Tuesday evening – the area where the 45-year-old was taken last Thursday. There were no immediate details on the kidnappers, who had made a ransom demand. There has been a dramatic increase in kidnappings for ransom in South Africa over the past decade. Mr Sullivan’s kidnappers had made a ransom demand, prompting the intervention of South Africa’s…

ASTON Villa threatened to pull off a stunning comeback against Paris St-Germain before going out of the Champions League on a dramatic night at Villa Park. Villa were attempting to overturn a 3-1 deficit to reach the semi-final but their hopes looked in tatters when they were two goals down inside the first half-hour Achraf Hakimi cashed in on Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez’s mistake to put PSG ahead, then Nuno Mendes doubled the French side’s lead to leave Villa needing to score at least four goals. In a thunderous Villa Park atmosphere, Unai Emery’s team refused to yield and launched…

THE United Nations says over 71 civilians have been killed by Israeli forces in Lebanon since a ceasefire was struck at the end of last year. Thameen Al-Kheetan, spokesperson for the UN Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said on Tuesday that the death toll included 14 women and nine children. He called for investigations into “each and every military action where civilians are killed”. OHCHR raised concerns about recent Israeli military operations hitting civilian infrastructure, including a strike on April 3 that destroyed a newly established medical centre run by the Islamic Health Society in the…

THE X account of a British minister was hacked Tuesday to promote a fraudulent “House of Commons” cryptocurrency, her spokesperson said. “Lucy Powell’s personal X account was hacked this morning,” said a spokesman for the MP, who has been leader of the House of Commons since July. “Steps were taken quickly to secure the account and remove misleading posts,” he added. The verified account, followed by nearly 70,000 people, was used early Tuesday to spread a series of messages promoting the “House of Commons Coin ($HCC)” cryptocurrency, allegedly linked to the lower house of the British parliament. Scammers attempt to…

FOUR men have pleaded guilty in Kenya to trying to smuggle hundreds of highly sought-after ants out of the country. The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), which is more used to protecting larger creatures, such as lions and elephants, has described this as a “landmark case”. The contraband included giant African harvester ants, which are valued by some UK dealers at up to £170 ($220) each. The case showed a “disturbing shift in trafficking patterns – from iconic mammals to lesser-known species that are vital to ecological balance”, the KWS said. The suspects had concealed the creatures in “specially modified test…

GHANA has banned all foreigners from trading in its local gold market as part of efforts to boost national revenue and streamline the country’s mining sector. It follows the enactment of a new law earlier this month that grants exclusive authority of gold mining to a new state body, the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod). “All foreigners are hereby notified to exit the local gold trading market not later than 30th April, 2025,” said GoldBod spokesperson Prince Kwame Minkah in a statement. Ghana is Africa’s largest gold producer and the sixth largest in the world, but it is struggling to address…

REAL Madrid and Croatia legend Luka Modric has become an investor and co-owner with a minority stake in Championship side Swansea City. The 39-year-old midfielder has joined Andy Coleman, Brett Cravatt, Nigel Morris and Jason Cohen among the ownership group. That cohort purchased the shares of former majority owners Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan last November. “This is an exciting opportunity. Swansea has a strong identity, an incredible fanbase, and the ambition to compete at the highest level,” said Modric. “Playing at the highest level, I believe I can provide my experience to the club. My goal is to support…

EGYPT and Qatar, the leading intermediaries in talks to end the war on the Gaza Strip, have expressed “grave concern” over the escalation of violence and deaths in the Israeli-besieged and -bombarded Palestinian territory, stressing continuing efforts to achieve a ceasefire. In a joint statement released on Monday during a visit by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to Qatar, Cairo and Doha reiterated their support for the Arab-backed Gaza reconstruction plan. The assertion comes in the face of calls by the United States and Israel for depopulating the territory, which critics and rights groups have called ethnic cleansing. The two…

SOUTH Korea’s former president Yoon Suk Yeol denied Monday he had committed insurrection, as the impeached ex-leader appeared in court for the opening of his criminal trial over his martial law declaration. Yoon was formally stripped of his presidential powers this month, after being impeached and suspended by lawmakers over his December 3 attempt to subvert civilian rule, which saw armed soldiers deployed to parliament. He became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested in January in connection to the criminal case against him, although he was later released on procedural grounds. Yoon attended the trial at…

AMNESTY International has called on the Ghanaian government to take immediate action to protect hundreds of people, primarily women, who are being subjected to rampant human rights abuses due to accusations of witchcraft. The rights group, in a statement released on Monday, highlighted the severe risks faced by those accused, particularly older women, and urged the government to criminalise such accusations as well as ritual attacks. In 2023, the Ghanaian parliament passed a bill making it a criminal offence to accuse, label, or name someone as a witch. However, the bill has yet to be signed into law, leaving many…