Author: Editor

THE Republic of Ecuador on Tuesday decided to suspend its recognition of the so-called “rasd,” initially acknowledged in 1983 with the establishment of a so-called embassy in 2009. Ecuador’s Foreign Minister, Gabriela Sommerfeld, conveyed the decision to her Moroccan counterpart, Nasser Bourita, during a phone call. She also confirmed that a notification letter had been sent to the so-called representation of the separatists in Quito. This decision aligns with the momentum driven by His Majesty King Mohammed VI in recent years, to enshrine the Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara and the Autonomy Plan as the sole basis for resolving this…

RUSSIA’s embassy in Sudan has said it is investigating reports that a cargo plane with Russian crew was shot down in Darfur, a key battle ground in the civil war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The aircraft, identified as a Russian-made ilyushin Il-76, was on a mission to deliver equipment and medicine to the army-held city of el-Fasher, military sources told Sudanese media. On Monday, the RSF said it had downed a Russian-made plane flown by the Egyptian military that it accused of bombing civilians – though it was identified as an Antonov. Egypt denies…

THE Speaker of Ghana’s parliament has suspended proceedings indefinitely following chaotic scenes in the chamber over a row about which party holds the parliamentary majority. Last week, it was discovered that four MPs had switched allegiance and would run for different parties in the 7 December general election. Speaker Alban Bagbin then declared that their seats were vacant, arguing that the constitution does not allow MPs to defect. In a finely balanced parliament, that decision – which is being challenged in court – means that the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has become the majority party. Last Friday, President Nana…

THE Executive Director of the Niger State Motor Vehicle Administration Agency, Doctor Bako Mohammed, has declared that the recent Federal High Court ruling prohibiting the Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO) from stopping vehicles on the road does not apply to the state. This statement was made during a press conference in Minna, North Central Nigeria, ahead of the National Conference on Standardization and Harmonization of Vehicle Testing and Licensing. According to Doctor Bako, the state governor is constitutionally empowered to formulate laws guiding vehicular movement within the territory. This stance, he argued suggests that Niger State will continue to operate its…

JUVENTUS say their English X account was hacked after a fake post was published announcing the signing of Real Madrid midfielder Arda Guler. The post showed a photograph of the 19-year-old Turkey international at an airport with the caption: “Welcome to Juventus, Arda Guler. The rising star of football is now part of the Juventus family.” But the Serie A club later clarified the situation on their Italian X account, external, saying their English account had been “compromised” and to ignore the “false information” published. Even if Juventus wanted to sign Guler they would be unable to do so until…

THE Lebanese armed group has said it has bombed the Glilot base of military intelligence unit 8200 in the suburbs of Tel Aviv with a “qualitative missile salvo”. Earlier, Hezbollah said it bombed the Nirit area in Israel’s Tel Aviv suburbs with missiles, seemingly referring to a separate attack. The Israeli military has said there have been no casualties reported so far. Hezbollah’s statement came after videos verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad agency showed smoke rising near the Beit Aryeh settlement located north of the occupied West Bank and east of Tel Aviv after sirens sounded in three settlements in…

PERUVIAN ex-President Alejandro Toledo has been sentenced to more than 20 years in prison, the latest Latin American leader to be jailed in connection with the Odebrecht construction firm corruption scandal. Toledo was convicted of taking $35m in bribes from the Brazilian construction firm in exchange for a freeway construction contract, and was sentenced to 20 years and six months in prison on Monday. “I want to go to a private clinic. I ask you please to let me get better or die at home,” Toledo said at a hearing last week, saying that he was dealing with health issues…

CAMEROON’s 91-year-old President Paul Biya has been seen in public for the first time in six weeks amid speculation about his ailing health. His absence from the public eye led to unfounded rumours of his death. But on Monday afternoon state television showed footage of the president’s arrival at the airport in the capital, Yaoundé, on a flight from Switzerland. The government had banned the media from discussing the health of Biya – in power since 1982 – classifying it as a matter of national security. Rumours of his death have been circulating on and off for the past two…

MOROCCO’s Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said Monday that a recent proposal by a United Nations envoy to partition the disputed territory of Western Sahara was “unacceptable”, citing past rejections of similar plans. In a closed session of the UN Security Council last week, Western Sahara envoy Staffan de Mistura proposed dividing the territory between Morocco and the pro-independence Polisario Front in order to resolve a decades-old conflict. Bourita said de Mistura had already made the proposal in a visit to Morocco in April, which the kingdom had rejected. “Morocco has not and will not even accept hearing the proposal, because…

MANCHESTER City snatched a controversial 2-1 win at Wolves as John Stones’ last-gasp goal was given after a VAR review to send the champions to the top of the Premier League on Sunday. Pep Guardiola’s side trailed to Jorgen Strand Larsen’s surprise opener for Wolves early in the first half. Josko Gvardiol dragged City back on level terms before the interval and, with just seconds left in stoppage time, Stones headed the visitors to a dramatic sixth win in eight league games this season. Bottom of the table Wolves claimed Stones’ goal should have been disallowed for offside and interference…

UNITED Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon have said the Israeli army “deliberately” damaged one of their positions in southern Lebanon, in the latest incident reported by the force that remains deployed in all of its positions. An Israeli “army bulldozer deliberately demolished an observation tower and perimeter fence of a UN position” in southern Lebanon, the UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a statement, adding that its forces remain in all positions “despite the pressure being exerted”. “We remind the [Israeli forces] and all actors of their obligations to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and property…

BRAZILIAN President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Sunday canceled a trip to Russia for a BRICS summit after injuring his head, his office announced. It did not say how the injury occurred but said he was taken to a hospital where doctors found he had suffered a cut to the back of his head and advised him against long-distance travel. Local media said Lula had fallen in his bathroom on Saturday night, causing a cut that required stitches. The 78-year-old Lula will, however, participate by videoconference in the BRICS meeting and will carry on his normal duties this week…

EGYPT has been certified as malaria free, with the World Health Organization (WHO) calling the achievement “truly historic” and the culmination of nearly a century of work to stamp out the disease. “Malaria is as old as Egyptian civilisation itself, but the disease that plagued pharaohs now belongs to its history and not its future,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement on Sunday. “This certification of Egypt as malaria-free is truly historic, and a testament to the commitment of the people and government of Egypt to rid themselves of this ancient scourge.” Globally, 44 countries and one…

THE WHO chief on Sunday urged Rwanda to keep up its fightback against Marburg, as the country battles an outbreak of one of the world’s deadliest viruses. There have been 62 confirmed cases and 15 deaths in the outbreak, which was first announced in late September. No new cases have been detected in the last six days and 44 people have recovered from infection. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, visited Rwanda to see the outbreak response for himself and hailed the country’s handling of the situation. “We’re pleased to see that there have been no…

THE Department of State Service (DSS) has withdrawn Adegboyega Fasasi as Chief Security Officer (CSO) to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This newspaper gathered that Rasheed Atanda Lawal, a Deputy Director at the secret police, has been appointed as replacement for Fasasi. Sources at the Presidential Villa hinted our correspondent that Fasasi, who has served as CSO since Tinubu became President, was sent on a professional training. According to sources privy to the development, the Director-General of the DSS, Tosin Ajayi, had requested President Tinubu to approve the release of Fasasi to proceed on a strategic training course. Lawal is said…

MIKEL Arteta said it was “an accident waiting to happen” – but just how costly could Arsenal’s red card problem be to the Gunners’ title hopes? Just eight games into the new Premier League season and already Arsenal have had three players sent off. William Saliba was the latest to be shown red after he was dismissed for the first time in his career in Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Bournemouth, which ended Arsenal’s unbeaten start to the campaign. It follows red cards for Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard earlier in the campaign and each time Arsenal have gone down to…

THREE partially functioning hospitals treating severely wounded patients and sheltering thousands of displaced Palestinian civilians in northern Gaza are now out of service after coming under intense Israeli fire, a Gaza health official told Al Jazeera, as the siege on Jabalia enters its third week, with at least 33 more people killed in the northern area. Israeli forces bombed al-Awda Hospital in Jabalia early on Saturday, and have also shelled Kamal Adwan and the Indonesian hospitals in Beit Lahiya over the past few hours, Al Jazeera correspondents have reported. “We cannot count the number of those killed. The numbers are…

COLOMBIA, the world’s biggest cocaine exporter, set a new record last year for production of the drug and cultivation of the coca leaf it is made from, a United Nations report said Friday. Coca leaf cultivation was 10 percent higher last year than in 2022, while cocaine production rose 53 percent from 1,738 tonnes to 2,600, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). These were the highest numbers since the UN started monitoring in 2001. Most Colombian cocaine is destined for the United States and Europe. Coca leaf production now spreads over 253,000 hectares (625,100 acres) in…

A BRITISH national has told the BBC that he and several Turkish citizens were abducted in the Kenyan capital Nairobi by masked men on Friday, with four of the Turkish citizens still missing. Necdet Seyitoğlu, who lived in the UK for 18 years before moving to Kenya two years ago, said he was released after eight hours when he showed his alleged abductors a copy of his British passport. In a statement, the UK Foreign Office said they were “providing consular support to a British man and his family following an incident in Kenya”. Kenyan police told the BBC they…

THE lawyer for Mozambique’s leading opposition candidate Venancio Mondlane, who ran for president in October 9 elections, was gunned down in Maputo on Saturday. The lawyer, Elvino Dias, was killed with another candidate, Paulo Guambe, from the Podemos party backing Mondlane. Two gunmen shot up their car while it was immobile on a road in the centre of the capital, witnesses said. Podemos head Albino Forquilha confirmed the killings to AFP, while the national lawyers’ association expressed “deep shock” at Dias’s death. A civil society observer group, Mais Integridade, called the “repugnant” murders an “act of intimidation” undermining democracy. Police…