TENS of thousands of Israelis have hit the streets demanding a ceasefire deal and Israel’s main labour union has called for a strike after six more captives were found dead in Gaza. Scuffles between the protesters and security forces were reported on Sunday night in one of the largest anti-government demonstrations in Israel since the Gaza war began nearly 11 months ago. The protesters chanted “Now! Now!” and demanded that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reach a ceasefire with Palestinian group Hamas to bring the remaining captives home. Many Israelis blocked roads in Tel Aviv and demonstrated outside Netanyahu’s office…
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A BELUGA whale nicknamed Hvaldimir, after his strange harness prompted suspicions he was a Russian super spy, has been found dead in the southwest of Norway. The whale’s carcass was discovered floating off Risavika Bay in southern Norway on Saturday by a father and son who were out fishing, Norwegian public broadcaster NRK reported. “Hvaldimir was not just a beluga whale; he was a beacon of hope, a symbol of connection, and a reminder of the deep bond between humans and the natural world,” Marine Mind, a nonprofit organisation that had been tracking his movements, said on social media. Hvaldimir,…
NONE of the African countries affected by the outbreak of a new variant of mpox have received any of the promised vaccine, pushing back a rollout that had been planned for last week. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been at the centre of an outbreak of the new clade 1b variant, with 18,000 suspected cases and 629 deaths this year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The variant has also been found in Burundi, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Sweden and Thailand. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday that the first doses should arrive in the…
CHINA will urge a summit of 50 African nations in Beijing this week to take more of its goods, before Western curbs kick in on its exports such as electric vehicles and solar panels, in exchange for more pledges of loans and investment. But the dozens of African leaders arriving in the Chinese capital for the three-yearly event may not be easy bait. They will want to hear how China plans to meet an unfulfilled pledge from the previous summit in 2021 to buy $300 billion of goods. They will also seek assurances on the progress of incomplete Chinese-funded infrastructure…
BUNDESLIGA champions Bayer Leverkusen suffered their first Bundesliga defeat since May 2023 as a 3-2 loss at home to RB Leipzig on Saturday snapped their 35-match unbeaten run in the top flight. In a volatile match which saw visiting coach Marco Rose sent to the stands in the first half, Leverkusen jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Jeremie Frimpong and Alex Grimaldo. But Kevin Kampl scored for Leipzig against the run of play just before half-time and Lois Openda levelled things up early in the second period. Openda scored again with 10 minutes remaining to secure…
ISRAEL’s military is conducting raids in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, blocking access to aid for Palestinians in the besieged refugee camp on the fourth day of its assault. Dozens of Israeli soldiers were stationed on the outskirts of the Jenin refugee camp, with Israeli military jeeps and armoured personnel carriers moving into the area. Israel’s army on Saturday announced the first death of a soldier since its ongoing raid began four days ago. An army statement said 20-year-old Elkana Navon “fell during operational activity” on Saturday and that another soldier was “severely injured” in the same incident, without…
TELECOMMUNICATIONS regulators in Brazil have begun the process of blocking X after the Supreme Court ordered the suspension of the social media platform for failing to meet a deadline to appoint a legal representative in the country. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes on Friday ordered the “immediate, complete and total suspension of X’s operations” in the country “until all court orders … are complied with, fines are duly paid, and a new legal representative for the company is appointed”. Three of the country’s top telecommunications carriers said they would begin blocking access from midnight (03:00 GMT on Saturday), according…
UNICEF today announced that it has issued an emergency tender for the procurement of mpox vaccines. Vaccines can play a critical role in containing the mpox outbreak which was declared a public health emergency by both the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The UNICEF tender is issued to help secure mpox vaccines for the hardest hit countries in collaboration with Africa CDC, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, WHO, the Pan American Health Organization and other partners. This collaboration to increase access and timely allocation also includes working together to facilitate donations of…
JAPAN says it is committed to more ‘sustainable development’ with Africa as it pursues to make itself a relevant and different partner from other world powers seeking a slice of the continent. Last week, Japan hosted foreign ministers from around the continent for the 9th ministerial meeting under the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (Ticad-9). The meeting in Tokyo, as is tradition, was held in predation for the Ninth summit to be held in August 2025 in Yokohama. Ticad was began 31 years ago to help built a forum for discussions on African development. Since then, however, more world…
ITALIAN Serie A side Napoli have reached an agreement with Saudi club side Al Ahli for African Footballer of the year Victor Osimhen. According to a tweet from sports journalist, Fabrizio Romano, on his official X handle, the deal is worth €75/80m. Osimhen would be signed onto the club side for four years and would be earning €25/30m per season. The club side also included an affordable and easy release clause for Victor Osimhen as part of their proposal and it is lower than reported €100m. Medicals have beeen scheduled for later today. Chelsea F.C were favorites to sign 25…
AN Israeli missile hit a convoy carrying medical supplies and fuel to an Emirati hospital in the Gaza Strip, killing several people from a local transport company, the American Near East Refugee Aid (Anera) group has said. Israel claimed without immediate evidence that it opened fire after gunmen seized the convoy. The strike killed several people employed by a transportation company that the aid group was using to bring supplies to the Emirates Red Crescent Hospital in Rafah, Sandra Rasheed, Anera’s director for the Palestinian territory, said on Friday. The strike happened Thursday on Salah al-Din Street in the Gaza…
A SINGAPOREAN man has been sentenced to nearly four years behind bars after attempting to frame his estranged wife by placing cannabis in her car, knowing she could get the death penalty. Tan Xianglong, 37, was sentenced at a district court on Thursday to three years and 10 months in jail, court documents showed. The couple had been estranged for less than two years, after having sought a divorce but failing to get one immediately because of the short duration of their union, the documents said. Tan had been angry at his wife because he thought she did not contribute…
RUSSIA is withdrawing 100 of its paramilitary officers from Burkina Faso to help in the war in Ukraine. They are part of about 300 soldiers from the Bear Brigade – a Russian private military company – who arrived in the West African nation in May to support the country’s military junta. On its Telegram channel, the group said its forces would return home to support Russia’s defence against Ukraine’s recent offensive in the Kursk region. There are fears the pull-out could embolden Islamist insurgents in Burkina Faso, who recently killed up to 300 people in one of the biggest attacks…
A MILITARY alliance between Somalia and Egypt is ruffling feathers in the fragile Horn of Africa, upsetting Ethiopia in particular – and there are worries the fallout could become more than a war of words. The tensions ratcheted up this week with the arrival of two Egyptian C-130 military aeroplanes in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, signalling the beginning of the deal signed earlier in August during a state visit by the Somali president to Cairo. The plan is for up to 5,000 Egyptian soldiers to join a new-look African Union force at the end of the year, with another 5,000 reportedly…
AS the nation groans under hunger, hardship and inflation, the governor of the Central Bank, CBN, Yemi Cardoso, and his four deputies are lavishing in abundance, purchasing ulta-modern armored vehicles and smiling home with jumbo allowances. The CBN governor and his deputies were nominated and confirmed by the Senate in September 2023. This newspaper gathered that Mr Cardoso recently procured six armored Lexus LX 600 2023 models for himself and four deputies at the cost of over N10 billion. Insiders said each of the apex bank’s deputy governors — Emem Usoro, Philip Ikeazor, Bala Bello and Sani Abdullahi — has…
UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin on Thursday honoured Cristiano Ronaldo with a special award in recognition of his remarkable legacy in the world’s most prestigious competition. Cristiano Ronaldo the all-time leading goalscorer in the UEFA Champions League. Ronaldo’s achievements in Europe’s premier club competition – over the course of more than 18 years – were recognised during the inaugural 2024/25 UEFA Champions League 36-team league phase draw ceremony on Thursday 29 August at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. The former Sporting Clube de Portugal, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus forward has scored 140 Champions League goals in 183 appearances. He…
ISRAEL’s military and Palestinian militant group Hamas have agreed to three separate, zoned three-day pauses in fighting in Gaza to allow for the first round of vaccination of 640,000 children against polio, a senior WHO official said on Thursday. The vaccination campaign is due to start on Sunday, with the pauses scheduled to take place between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m. (0300-1200 GMT), said Rik Peeperkorn, the World Health Organization’s senior official for the Palestinian territories. He said the campaign would start in central Gaza with three consecutive daily pauses in fighting, then move to southern Gaza, where there would…
FRENCH President Emmanuel Macron has defended a decision to grant fast-track citizenship to indicted Telegram CEO Pavel Durov. Speaking at a news conference during a visit to Serbia, Macron said that granting nationality to high-profile figures who learn French and contribute to the nation is “good for our country”. “It’s part of a strategy to allow women and men, whether artists, athletes or entrepreneurs, when they make the effort to learn the French language and that they develop wealth, innovation … to be given French nationality,” Macron said. Macron said he had no prior knowledge that Durov was travelling to…
LIBERIA’s former justice minister and chief justice Gloria Maya Musu-Scott has been acquitted of the murder of her niece by the country’s Supreme Court. The 70-year-old and three female relatives had been sentenced to life in prison for the brutal killing in February 2023 of 29-year-old Charlotte Musu. The case gripped the nation as Ms Musu-Scott had been one of Liberia’s most famous judges and politicians, a champion of women rights and at the time of her conviction had just won a significant case against the electoral commission as part of the then-opposition party’s legal team. A jubilant crowd greeted…
ONE of the worst droughts in living memory is sweeping across southern Africa, leaving close to 70 million people without enough food and water. In Mudzi district in northern Zimbabwe, a community and their livestock are gathered on a bone-dry riverbed. The Vombozi normally flows throughout the year but right now, it is just beige sand as far as the eye can see. Armed with shovels and buckets, the men are digging into the river floor, desperately trying to extract the last drops of water from it. Rivers and dams have dried up in other parts of the district and…