SOUTH Africa’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has been forced to postpone the unveiling of the national budget following sharp disagreements within the coalition government. Coalition partners derailed his budget after opposing his plan to raise value-added-tax (VAT), which would have seen the prices of goods go up at a time when South Africans are hard-hit by the cost-of-living crisis. Godongwana is a member of the African National Congress (ANC), which was forced to enter into a coalition after losing its parliamentary majority in elections last year. His failure to table the budget sent shockwaves in South Africa, as it has…
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MORE than 200 unarmed civilians have been killed in a cluster of villages in Sudan over three days by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that is involved in a brutal conflict with the military, a local rights group has said. The Emergency Lawyers network said the attacks happened in al-Kadaris and al-Khelwat towards the north of White Nile state – areas where the military had no presence. RSF fighters were guilty of “executions, kidnappings, enforced disappearances and property looting”, the network added. The RSF, which was allied to the military before the civil war broke out in April 2023,…
PEP Guardiola strode into the Bernabeu Stadium’s palatial surroundings knowing Manchester City must overturn the odds – and logic – in a special place that usually reserves its miracles for Real Madrid. He has known every emotion in this legendary arena on a Champions League journey that has brought him here with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City. And on Wednesday, Guardiola will once more appear alongside his friend and great adversary, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, beneath those towering stands knowing victory will rank among his finest achievements. Guardiola rates City’s chances of overturning a 3-2 deficit from the…
HAMAS will release six Israeli captives and hand over the bodies of four others this week as part of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, the group’s leader in the enclave said. Khalil al-Hayya, head of the Palestinian group in Gaza said the handover of the bodies will take place in Gaza on Thursday and that six living Israeli captives will be released on Saturday. “Hamas has proven, along with the resistance, its seriousness in implementing the agreement with full responsibility,” he said on Tuesday. “We stress the need to oblige the occupation to implement all provisions of the agreement without procrastination.…
PRESIDENT Volodymyr Zelenskyy has renewed a demand that Kyiv be included in any talks on how to end Russia’s war on Ukraine after the United States and Russia agreed to create a team to negotiate a halt to the fighting. Ukraine was not represented at the talks between the US and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh on Tuesday. “We want no one to decide anything behind our backs … No decision can be made without Ukraine on how to end the war in Ukraine,” Zelenskyy told reporters during a visit to Turkiye, where he held talks with President…
CHAD’s army said that it had killed nearly 300 Boko Haram militants and lost 27 army employees in a four-month campaign against the jihadist group that ended on Tuesday. President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno ordered the campaign in October after Boko Haram a attack on a base in the Lake Chad region killed 40 troops, according to an official toll released at the time. Chad is one of four countries around Lake Chad battling Boko Haram and its allies over the past decade after the group’s insurgency in Nigeria spilt over. The conflict has left 40,000 dead across the four…
THE United Nations on Tuesday reported deadly clashes in northern South Sudan which killed civilians and left a peacekeeper wounded. The oil-rich but impoverished nation, which only achieved independence in 2011, is plagued by instability with frequent clashes and political infighting. Fighting broke out between the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) and “armed youth” in Nassir in Upper Nile state — which borders Sudan — on February 14 and 15, the UN mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said in a statement. It did not identify the armed groups clashing with the SSPDF, a national military force led by President…
NIGERIAN Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) says it will close the 2023/2024 student loan application cycle on Feb. 21. Managing Director of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, who disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja, said the 2024/2025 application cycle would commence on Feb. 22. Sawyerr said that the transition to the 2024/2025 cycle was a demonstration of the organisation’s commitment to efficiency, transparency and continuous improvement of the scheme. “NELFUND remains dedicated to providing financial support to students, ensuring that no deserving individual is denied education due to financial constraints. “In just 220 days, we have received an impressive 364,042 applications…
NEYMAR says Santos are helping him to “rediscover joy” after returning to his boyhood club on a short-term contract. The 33-year-old ended a 16-month goal drought when coolly converting from the penalty spot in Santos’ 3-1 win against Agua Santa on Sunday. “I’m happy to be playing again. I feel I’m improving,” said Neymar, who completed a return to Santos after Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal agreed to terminate his contract by mutual consent following an injury-hit spell with the club. He added: “Obviously I’m not going to be 100% physically, it’s only my fourth game but I’m getting better…
THE Israeli army says it will leave soldiers in five locations in southern Lebanon past a deadline to withdraw from the country after Lebanese President Joseph Aoun had raised concerns that a complete withdrawal would not be achieved. Israeli military spokesperson Nadav Shoshani said on Monday that the five locations in Lebanon provide vantage points or are located across from communities in northern Israel. “We need to remain at those points at the moment to defend Israeli citizens, to make sure this process is complete and eventually hand it over to the Lebanese armed forces,” Shoshani told reporters. He said…
THE United States and Russia have confirmed that their top delegates will meet in Saudi Arabia this week to discuss ending the war in Ukraine, in a move that has sparked concern among European leaders left out of the US-led effort. Senior US and Russian officials will hold talks in Riyadh on Tuesday in an effort to lay the groundwork for peace talks, the US Department of State and the Kremlin confirmed on Monday. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Yuri Ushakov, a foreign policy adviser to President Vladimir Putin, were due to travel to the Saudi capital, Kremlin spokesman…
UGANDA has reversed a controversial plan to hold a military trial for a prominent opposition leader due to his failing health. Information Minister Chris Baryomunsi announced late on Sunday that Kizza Besigye would have his case transferred to a civilian court. The announcement came amid reports that Besigye, who is on hunger strike, had been temporarily moved to a medical clinic. Baryomunsi had earlier visited Besigye in prison to urge him to end his hunger strike while his case is moved. The veteran opposition leader is charged with illegal firearm possession and threatening state security. Besigye’s wife, Winnie Byanyima, called…
MAURITIUS’ former Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth has been released on bail following his dramatic arrest on Saturday on money laundering charges. He had been detained along with three others after the anti-corruption agency said it had seized suitcases of cash and luxury watches in raids on 10 locations, including Jugnauth’s home. The former prime minister’s lawyer said he denied the charges against him. Jugnauth’s arrest came 100 days after his landslide defeat in elections, with his successor Navin Ramgoolam vowing to root out corruption. But few Mauritians expected the Financial Crimes Commission (FCC) to move so quickly, or to arrest…
MANCHESTER United loannee Antony scored for a third consecutive match as his brilliant volley helped Real Betis beat Real Sociedad in La Liga. Antony met a looping clearance with a crisp first-time shot from just inside the box that nestled into the bottom corner in the 51st minute. The 24-year-old Brazilian also assisted Marc Roca, who struck Betis’ third with a drilled finish after 69 minutes. Roca had scored Betis’ second five minutes earlier as Manuel Pellegrini’s side rose to eighth in the La Liga table. Antony has scored three goals in his last three games, as many as he…
THE Israeli military forced an 80-year-old Palestinian man to act as a human shield in Gaza by tying an explosive cord around his neck and threatening to have his head blown off, an investigation by the Israeli outlet The Hottest Place in Hell has found. A senior officer from the army’s Nahal Brigade tied the explosive cord around the man’s neck before he was ordered to scout houses. After eight hours, soldiers ordered the man to flee with his wife from their home in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood in May, said +972 magazine, which reported the piece in partnership with…
RUSSIAN drone strikes have damaged a thermal power plant in Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine overnight, leaving 46,000 consumers without heating as temperatures plunge below freezing, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said. “This was done deliberately to leave people without heat in sub-zero temperatures and create a humanitarian catastrophe,” Shmyhal said on the Telegram messenger app. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack had a much higher impact, leaving 100,000 in the city without heat. “An ordinary Ukrainian city. Ordinary civilian infrastructure. It has nothing to do with hostilities or the frontline situation,” he said in a post on X. “This…
MORE than 40 people, mostly women, were killed after an illegal gold mine collapsed in Mali on Saturday. The collapse took place near Kéniéba, in Mali’s western, gold-rich Kayes region. The victims had climbed into open-pit areas left by industrial miners to look for scraps of gold when the earth around them caved in, a gold miner’s union leader told Reuters. This is Mali’s second deadly mining accident in three weeks, after at least 10 people were killed when a mining tunnel flooded late in January. There are conflicting reports on the number people who died in Saturday’s accident. A…
RWANDAN-BACKED M23 rebels have entered Bukavu, the second-largest city in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, seizing the regional governor’s office. Some people lined the streets to clap and cheer the fighters as they marched and drove into the city centre without resistance. It is the second city after Goma to fall to the rebels in the mineral-rich region in the past few weeks. The Congolese government has acknowledged its fall and urged residents to stay at home “to avoid being targeted by the occupying forces”. The UN and European countries have warned that the latest offensive, which has seen…
MANCHESTER United forward Amad Diallo could be sidelined for the rest of the season after suffering ankle ligament damage, according to reports on Saturday. Diallo is believed to have sustained the problem in training, with United yet to confirm the extent of the damage as the 22-year-old awaits further tests. The Ivory Coast international had been one of United’s most dynamic performers in a difficult campaign for the troubled Premier League club, netting crucial goals against Manchester City and Liverpool. Diallo has scored six times in his last 14 games in all competitions and his prolonged absence would be a…
ISRAEL has destroyed dozens of homes aand education and health centres in Rafah, southern Gaza, despite the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, satellite imagery analysis conducted by Al Jazeera’s fact-checking agency, Sanad, has revealed. The crossing between Egypt and Gaza at Rafah, which has served as a critical lifeline into the enclave for decades, was closed by Israel in May 2024. Since seizing control of the border area, in breach of its 1979 peace agreement with Egypt, Israel has been digging in in the Philadelphi Corridor, a 14-km (8.7-mile) strip of land along the boundary between Egypt and Gaza. Israeli…