QATAR Airways has acquired a 25% stake in the privately owned South African carrier Airlink. The announcement was made Tuesday (Aug. 20). No financial details of the deal were immediately disclosed. Airlink flies to more than 45 destinations in southern and East Africa. The deal will enhance an existing code-share agreement between the airlines, they said. “Our investment further demonstrates how integral we see Africa being to our business’ future,” the CEO of the Qatari state-owned carried said. Abidjan, Abuja, Accra, Harare, Luanda and Lusaka are among the African cities newly added to the extensive Qatar Airways network.
Author: Editor
Read More
KANO State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC) has secured a post no debit on account linked to the alleged local government contract scam in the state, blocking N160million while moving to recover N440million. This is as investigators of the commission are expected to continue the quizzing of some of the key figures in the investigation. It was also gathered that Musa Garba Kwankwaso, nephew of the leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, will be quizzed by the investigators, on Thursday. He is expected to answer questions regarding the involvement of his company, Novomed Pharmaceuticals, in the alleged…
THE 2023/24 Premier League season has showcased an array of outstanding talent, and the PFA Premier League Team of the Year celebrates the best of the best. This year’s lineup features a blend of defensive solidity, midfield creativity, and attacking prowess. This was disclosed in a series of posts on Tuesday on the Professional Footballers Association X account, #PFA. This newspaper reported on Monday that the Professional Footballers’ Association Awards will take centre stage, celebrating the elite of the Premier League on Tuesday night. Five Arsenal players, the Manchester City quartet, Aston Villa goal machine and Liverpool captain made the…
DOZENS of pro-Palestinian protesters in the United States charged a line of police in an intense standoff with officers outside the Israeli consulate on the second night of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago. Protesters on Tuesday chanted “Let them go!” as police handcuffed at least four people and led them away from the demonstration. Officers carrying wooden clubs shouted “move” and penned the demonstrators in on the street, preventing them from marching. Some demonstrators set a US flag on fire in the street as the celebratory roll call for Vice President Kamala Harris took place inside the United…
THE US Treasury Department unveiled sanctions against former Haitian president Michel Martelly on Tuesday for trafficking drugs, including cocaine, destined for the United States. The actions taken by Washington echo similar moves from the Canadian government, which imposed sanctions in 2022 against Martelly and two ex-prime ministers, accusing them of profiting from armed gangs. Martelly, a former musician who served as president of the Caribbean nation between 2011 and 2016, “abused his influence to facilitate the trafficking of dangerous drugs, including cocaine, destined for the United States,” the US Treasury said in a statement. He was also involved in “laundering…
EIGHT police officers in Kenya have been suspended on suspicion of helping a suspected serial killer escape from custody, police have said. In July police said Collins Jumaisi Khalusha had confessed to the murders of 42 women, including his wife, since 2022. Mr Khalusha’s lawyer denied the claim, saying his client had been tortured to confess. He had been held at a police station since being arrested in July, but on Tuesday police said that Mr Khalusha and 12 others escaped after being “aided by insiders”. An incident report from the station says police discovered the detainees were missing at…
“I want to go home,” Kenyan Eulita Jerop tells the BBC from Lebanon, where she is employed as a domestic worker. But the terms of her employment make it difficult for her to leave, despite fears of an all-out war in the country. She has been terrified by the unfamiliar sounds she has heard overhead on the outskirts of the capital, Beirut. The 35-year-old has been working there for the past 14 months. “It was so scary. We were told it wasn’t bombs, but it was [planes breaking] the sound barrier,” she says. “But the sounds were hitting so hard.”…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has appointed Daser David as the new President/Chief Executive Officer of the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI). This was disclosed in a statement on Tuesday by the presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, describing the appointee as “an academic and industry expert with a deep understanding of digital technologies and educational leadership.” Also appointed were two directors for the Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT). They are Reuben Oshomah as Executive Director, Marketing; and Adama Kure, Executive Director, Finance and Administration. “Mr. Oshomah has extensive experience in communications satellite marketing and strategic business development, while Mr. Kure is a seasoned finance…
MORE facts have emerged on the identities of companies and individuals behind the importation of substandard petroleum products from Malta, with Sayyu Dantata, the half-brother of the president of Dangote Group Aliko Dangote as one of the importers. In July, Dangote alleged that some officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC Limited and oil traders have blending plants in Malta, where they produce and import off-spec petroleum products that are brought to Nigeria for consumption. Dangote made the revelation while reacting to the claim by the managing director of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, Ahmed…
CHELSEA have agreed a fee in principle for Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix, with Conor Gallagher moving in the other direction as part of the deal. The fee for the 24-year-old Portugal international is undisclosed, but it will allow him to return to Stamford Bridge on a six-year deal with an option for a further season. Felix’s move, which is subject to a medical, will bring him back after a 2023 loan spell at Chelsea. He scored four goals in 20 appearances in his previous spell in west London. England midfielder Gallagher, meanwhile, is set to sign a five-year deal…
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that Israel has accepted a proposal to bridge differences holding up a cease-fire and hostage release in Gaza, and he called on Hamas to do the same, without saying whether concerns cited by the militant group had been addressed. The high-stakes negotiations have gained urgency in recent days as diplomats hope an agreement will deter Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah from avenging the targeted killings of two top militants that were blamed on Israel. The escalating tensions have raised fears of an even more destructive regional war. Blinken spoke after holding a 2…
THE United States has accused Iran of launching cyber attacks on the presidential campaigns of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump and targeting US voters with influence operations designed to exacerbate political division. The assessment from the FBI and other federal agencies marks the first time the US government has assigned blame amid renewed fears of the threat of foreign election interference in the country’s election. “We have observed increasingly aggressive Iranian activity during this election cycle, specifically involving influence operations targeting the American public and cyber operations targeting presidential campaigns,” the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence…
MPOX cases and deaths are rising in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as the central African country awaits vaccines from the United States and Japan, the health minister said on Monday. The toll this year has risen in a few days from 16,000 cases and 548 deaths to 16,700 cases and “a little more than 570” deaths, Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba said. “We are talking about a continental emergency,” Kamba told a press briefing as the World Health Organisation (WHO) called on affected countries to step up vaccination programmes to counter a more deadly strain of mpox. The WHO…
THE Kenyan government plans to raise about $1.2 billion by reinstating some unpopular taxes contained in a finance bill that was scrapped in the face of deadly street protests, a government minister said. President William Ruto had warned of a funding shortfall after he decided in June to drop the controversial tax hikes after a bloody day in Nairobi that saw the storming of parliament and police firing live bullets on demonstrators. Finance Minister John Mbadi told private station Citizen TV on Sunday that the government was considering about 49 tax measures to try to raise roughly 150 billion shillings…
ERLING Haaland scored on his 100th Manchester City appearance as the Premier League champions began their title defence with a win against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Haaland opened the scoring on 18 minutes with a dinked finish over Robert Sanchez for his 91st City goal since joining from Borussia Dortmund in 2022. Former Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic made the game safe late on with a curling shot from just outside the penalty area. A low-key match only fleetingly burst into life, with Kevin de Bruyne curling just wide from the edge of the box shortly after Haaland’s opener, before Sanchez…
A FAMILY, including six children, have been killed in the central Gaza Strip, in the latest waves of Israel’s deadly attacks across the besieged Palestinian territory. At least 25 Palestinians were killed in the past 24 hours, the Gaza Health Ministry said on Sunday. The parents and their six children were killed in Deir el-Balah in the central part of the Strip, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said. The grandfather of the children said their mother worked for the United Nations. “My daughter, together with her husband and six children, was sleeping peacefully at home in Deir al-Balah. They were taken by…
BELARUSIAN President Alexander Lukashenko says Kyiv has stationed more than 120,000 soldiers along its border with Belarus, the country’s state news agency reported, as fighting continues amid Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region. Lukashenko, a staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said on Sunday that Minsk had deployed nearly a third of its armed forces along the entire border in response to the Ukrainian deployment, BelTA reported. Kyiv did not immediately respond to the claims. “Seeing their aggressive policy, we have introduced there and placed in certain points – in case of war, they would be defence – our…
SUDAN has been stricken by a cholera outbreak that has killed nearly two dozen people and sickened hundreds more in recent weeks, health authorities said. Health Minister Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim said in a statement on Sunday that at least 22 people have died from the disease, and that at least 354 confirmed cases of cholera have been detected across the war-torn country in recent weeks. On Saturday, he declared a cholera epidemic in Sudan and noted that the outbreak was “because of the weather conditions and because drinking water has been contaminated”. He said the decision was taken in conjunction…
NINETY-FIVE Libyans found at a suspected military camp in South Africa’s northeast in July would be deported back to their country on Sunday, the home affairs ministry said. The Libyan men have been detained since July 26 when police raided the remote training camp near the town of White River about 360 kilometres (220 miles) east of Johannesburg. “They are scheduled to leave South Africa from the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport this morning in a flight that has been paid for by the Libyan Government,” the home affairs ministry said in a statement. Police had said the men entered South…
ARSENAL made a flying start to their bid to win the Premier League title as the “unbelievable” Bukayo Saka inspired a 2-0 victory against Wolves on Saturday. Germany forward Kai Havertz put Mikel Arteta’s side ahead from Saka’s assist in the first half at the Emirates Stadium. England winger Saka wrapped up the points after the interval with a brilliant strike to cap a virtuoso display. “Bukayo had an unbelievable action to score the 2-0. With good players it’s like that. With (Lionel) Messi, I know he’s going to come in and do that, but you can’t stop him,” Arteta…