FOR 18 months, the family of Eid Nael Abu Shaar, aged 25, a Palestinian man from Gaza, believed this eldest son was dead. They had scoured Gaza for his body, requested a death certificate and erected a tent to mourn his loss ten months after he went missing, but then an unexpected phone call from a lawyer confirmed he was alive and being held in Israel’s Ofer Prison. It ended an agonising year-and-a-half search for Eid, but the revelation highlights the devastating plight of thousands of other families in the Gaza Strip who still await news about their missing relatives.…
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UNITED States President Donald Trump says there will be a three-day ceasefire in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Posting on Truth Social on Friday, the US leader said the truce would last from Saturday to Monday. “I am pleased to announce that there will be a THREE DAY CEASEFIRE (May 9th, 10th, and 11th) in the War between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump posted. Soon after, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed on X that a three-day truce had been arranged as part of US efforts to negotiate an end to the more than four-year-old war. Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov…
DOZENS of people have reportedly been killed in attacks on two villages in central Mali, the deadliest assault since armed groups launched a co-ordinated offensive in the country last month. At least 30 people were killed when jihadists raided the villages of Korikori and Gomossogou in Mopti region, according to sources quoted by the AFP news agency. Other diplomatic and aid sources separately told the Reuters news agency the death toll from Wednesday’s simultaneous attacks had reached at least 50. The al Qaeda-linked group JNIM said it was responsible. The Malian army said it had conducted a “targeted operation” in…
SOUTH African opposition leader Julius Malema has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to resign after the Constitutional Court ruled that parliament had violated the constitution by blocking moves to impeach him in 2022. The judgement follows a legal challenge by Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and others, and could result in fresh impeachment proceedings. Ramaphosa’s office said he respects the judgement. In 2022, an independent panel said Ramaphosa may have a case to answer after burglars stole $580,000 (£430,000) in cash, hidden in a sofa, from his rural home. The theft led to allegations that he had not accounted for…
ENGLISH teams have reached the finals of three different European competitions in the same season for the first time. After Arsenal sealed their place in the final of the Champions League with a 2-1 aggregate victory against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace followed suit in their respective competitions later in the week. Unai Emery’s Villa side overturned a 1-0 first leg defeat to thrash Forest 4-1 on aggregate on Thursday and set up a Europa League final meeting with Bundesliga side Freiburg in Istanbul on 20 May. And simultaneous to Villa’s triumph, Crystal Palace followed up…
THE Iranian military has said it retaliated against United States Navy ships after US forces targeted an oil tanker in Iran’s territorial waters, a major escalation that puts further strain on the fragile truce between Washington and Tehran. Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters added on Thursday that the US also violated the ceasefire by carrying out air strikes on civilian areas, including Qeshm Island, “in cooperation with some regional countries”, without identifying them. “The American aggressor, terrorist and bandit army, violating the ceasefire, targeted an Iranian oil tanker,” the statement said. The statement also claimed that the Iranian response caused…
THE World Health Organization said Thursday that more cases of the hantavirus could emerge but expected the outbreak to be “limited” if precautions are taken, after the disease killed three passengers from a cruise ship. Another sick passenger from the MV Hondius landed in Europe earlier in the day, as the vessel headed to a Spanish island and health officials scrambled to map the outbreak of the potentially deadly human-to-human strain. The fate of the Hondius sparked international alarm after three people travelling on it died, though health officials have played down fears of a wider global outbreak from the…
SOUTH Africa’s government has condemned the circulation of what it called “fake videos and images” that have been described by some as recordings of attacks on foreign nationals in the country. The call comes as diplomatic tension has increased between South Africa and other African nations following accusations that xenophobic violence is on the rise once again in the country. Ghana’s government has written to the African Union (AU) asking the continental body to discuss the issue, which it says is a “serious risk to the safety and wellbeing” of Africans in South Africa. Nigeria has also raised the issue…
DEMOCRATIC Republic of Congo’s President Félix Tshisekedi has said he may consider seeking a third term in office when his mandate expires in 2028. Tshisekedi however said any extension of his presidency would only be done by consulting the people through a referendum. The law allows a maximum of two terms. “I have not asked for a third term, but I’m telling you – if the people want me to have a third term, I will accept,” he said on Wednesday. He added that the elections may not be held on schedule because of the conflict in the east of…
HOLDERS Paris Saint-Germain set up a Champions League final against Arsenal after a 1-1 second-leg draw at Bayern Munich secured a 6-5 aggregate victory on Wednesday. PSG exploded on the counter less than three minutes in and Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele put Luis Enrique’s visitors ahead on the night and two goals up in the tie. PSG largely succeeded in subduing Bayern’s attacking threat, despite Harry Kane’s stoppage-time goal. On their return to Munich’s Allianz Arena, the scene of their greatest triumph against Inter Milan in last year’s final, PSG once again emphasised their excellence in a competition they…
ISRAELI forces have bombed Beirut’s southern suburbs and claim to have assassinated Malek Balou, a commander of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force. “Israeli warplanes launched an attack, targeting Ghobeiri” in the southern suburbs, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported, as a loud explosion and extensive damage were reported from the area. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the attack, saying he and Defence Minister Israel Katz had instructed the army to carry out the attack. “Radwan terrorists are responsible for shooting at Israeli settlements and harming [Israeli army] soldiers. No terrorist has immunity – Israel’s long hand will catch every enemy and…
UNITED States President Donald Trump says he has had “very good talks” with Iran over the past 24 hours and it is “very possible that we will make a deal”, as Tehran reviews a US peace proposal that sources said would formally end the war. Signalling progress in the ongoing talks between the two sides, Trump on Wednesday also said Iran should suspend its nuclear programme and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, threatening to resume bombardment if negotiations fall apart. “Look, this is very simple. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon because as tough as they are, we want to…
IN a new wave of attacks in Mali, an al-Qaeda-linked group has stormed a main prison housing fighters from the armed group and set fire to trucks with food supplies heading to the capital Bamako. Fighters from the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) group stormed the Kenieroba Central Prison, a recently built complex dubbed “Africa’s Alcatraz”, located about 60km (37 miles) southwest of Bamako, Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque reported on Wednesday. The detention centre houses 2,500 prisoners, including at least 72 inmates considered “high value” by the Malian state, Haque said, adding that Malian armed forces were repelling the attack.…
DIPLOMATIC pressure on South Africa is mounting as more African countries threaten retaliatory measures over renewed xenophobic attacks targeting foreign nationals, particularly Nigerians. While no government has officially announced a total closure of borders, threats of blockades, trade suspensions and heightened security checks are gaining traction across the region in what analysts and foreign policy experts describe as the most serious diplomatic fallout since the end of apartheid. The latest wave of violence, which erupted between April 27 and 29, 2026, saw locals in Pretoria, Johannesburg and other cities stage protests against illegal immigration, with Nigerians and other African nationals…
ARSENAL reached the Champions League final for the first time in 20 years as Bukayo Saka sealed a 1-0 win against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday. Mikel Arteta’s side settled the semi-final second leg with Saka’s strike late in the first half at an ecstatic Emirates Stadium. The Gunners, who drew 1-1 in the first leg in Madrid last week, held firm after Saka’s goal to go through 2-1 on aggregate. Arsenal will face Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich in the final in Budapest on May 30. Holders PSG, who beat Arsenal in the semi-finals last year, have a 5-4 lead…
THE United Arab Emirates has come under attack from Iranian missiles and drones for the second day in a row, according to its Defence Ministry, while Iran denied being behind the aggression. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said late on Tuesday that the country’s forces “have not carried out any missile or drone operations against the UAE in recent days”. “If any action had been taken, we would have announced it firmly and clearly. Therefore, the report of that country’s Ministry of Defense is absolutely denied and is devoid of any truth,” the IRGC statement carried by the Fars…
RUSSIAN drone and missile attacks have killed at least 27 people in Ukraine, officials said, days before a two-day unilateral ceasefire by Moscow was due to take effect. Ukrainian officials said Russian glide bombs killed at least 12 people in southeastern Zaporizhzhia on Tuesday, hitting a car repair shop and residential buildings, in one of the worst attacks on the city so far this year. Twenty more were wounded, regional Governor Ivan Fedorov said. Further northeast, six people were killed, and 12 others were wounded in the city of Kramatorsk, the last hub under Ukraine’s control in the embattled Donetsk…
SUDAN has accused Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of playing a role in the recent drone attacks on the country, warning that the aggression will not be “met with silence”. On Tuesday, the Sudanese government recalled its ambassador from Ethiopia, accusing Addis Ababa and the UAE of being behind an attack on Khartoum International Airport that forced authorities to suspend operations for three days. Sudan’s military said it has evidence that four drone attacks have been launched from neighbouring Ethiopia since early March, alleging that the UAE supplied the drones. In a statement, Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the…
TWO cases of hantavirus have been confirmed after three people died and another was left seriously ill in a suspected outbreak onboard a cruise ship crossing the Atlantic Ocean. A Dutch husband and wife and a German passenger died, with the Dutch woman testing positive for the virus, the MV Hondius ship’s operator Oceanwide Expeditions said. The rare virus was also confirmed in a 69-year-old British national who was evacuated to a hospital in South Africa for intensive care. Two crew members – one British and one Dutch – with unconfirmed cases and a close contact of the German national…
THE Senate of Nigeria has amended its standing orders in a major shift to its internal rules, restricting eligibility for the office of Senate President to members of the 10th National Assembly. News Point Nigeria reports that the decision followed a marathon closed-door session held on Tuesday, during which lawmakers agreed on fresh criteria designed to reinforce parliamentary hierarchy, ranking, and legislative experience within the upper chamber. Under the revised rules, only senators who have served two terms will now be eligible to contest for principal offices in the Senate. The amendment further provides that at least one of the…