Author: Editor

THE ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) Task Force has urged the Republic of Benin and Niger Republic to put aside their differences through dialogue and reopen their common frontier. The Task Force Chairman, Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas, made the call in a statement made available to this newspaper in Abuja on Friday on the recent high-level dialogue between the two countries. He commended the efforts made by two former presidents of Benin, Nicephore Soglo and Thomas Boni Yayi, to normalise the free movement of persons and of goods between the two countries, which had been interrupted since July 2023. Chambas…

US Vice President Kamala Harris effectively secured the Democratic party’s presidential nomination Friday, confirming her remarkable rise to party standard bearer in November’s showdown against Republican Donald Trump. Harris was the sole candidate on the ballot for a five-day electronic vote of nearly 4,000 party convention delegates. She will be officially crowned at a Chicago convention later this month. “I am honored to be the presumptive Democratic nominee for President of the United States,” Harris, 59, said on a phone-in to a party celebration after securing enough votes by the second day of the marathon vote. In the two weeks…

SAUDI Arabia has submitted plans to build 11 stadiums – including one set 350 metres above ground level – as part of the country’s bid to host the 2034 World Cup. The proposed stadium in Neom, an as-yet-unbuilt city in the north-west of the country, will only be accessible via high-speed lifts and driverless vehicles. The arena, which is part of the country’s ‘The Line’ project to diversify the kingdom’s economy away from oil, is set to host a quarter-final fixture. Saudi Arabia’s bid is uncontested and the country had until October’s deadline to submit its plans. Of the 11…

HEZBOLLAH leader Hassan Nasrallah has said the war with Israel has “entered a new phase” as he addressed crowds of supporters who had gathered for the funeral of Fuad Shukr, the group’s senior commander who was killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut. Nasrallah said on Thursday that Hezbollah is considering a “real, studied” response to the attack, rather than a symbolic one, adding that several countries had urged the Lebanese group against retaliating. Israel has “crossed red lines” and a response is “inevitable”, Nasrallah said, adding that a regional escalation will depend upon Israel’s response to the upcoming reprisal.…

RUSSIA has freed Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich and ex-US Marine Paul Whelan as part of an extensive prisoner swap between Moscow and the West, US President Joe Biden has confirmed. “Today, three American citizens and one American green-card holder who were unjustly imprisoned in Russia are finally coming home: Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Vladimir Kara-Murza,” Biden said in a statement on Thursday. “The deal that secured their freedom was a feat of diplomacy.” The West obtained the release of 16 people from Russia, including five Germans and seven Russian political prisoners, according to the United…

A COURT in Guinea has sentenced former military ruler Moussa Dadis Camara to 20 years in prison for crimes against humanity. The charges stemmed from one of the worst massacres in the nation’s history – the killing of more than 156 people after troops opened fire at a rally held in September 2009 to demand a return civilian rule. Camara took power in a coup when long-time President Lansana Conté died in 2008, but he fled the country after surviving an assassination attempt not long after the massacre. He returned from exile in Burkina Faso in September 2022 to face…

SIX children were killed after a train collided with a school bus in South Africa, injuring 19 other pupils, the government said on Thursday. The accident occurred on Wednesday afternoon near the village of Mafube, close to the city of Middelburg, about 180 kilometres (110 miles) northeast of Johannesburg, according to local media. The death toll for the accident was revised up to six on Thursday morning from an initial five. “The sixth learner succumbed to injuries while receiving treatment at the nearby hospital,” the provincial transport department said in a statement. The crash happened when the school bus, which…

FORMER Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp says it would be “the biggest loss of face in the history of football” if he were to take the England job. The German is among those to have been linked with the vacancy since Gareth Southgate stepped down after England’s defeat by Spain in the final of Euro 2024. Klopp, 57, left Liverpool at the end of last season saying he was “running out of energy” after nine years with the Reds during which he delivered the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, two League Cups, Fifa Club World Cup and Uefa Super Cup.…

AL JAZEEERA Arabic journalist Ismail al-Ghoul and his cameraman Rami al-Rifi have been killed in an Israeli air attack on the Gaza Strip. The reporters were killed when their car was hit on Wednesday in the Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, according to initial information. They were in the area to report from near the Gaza house of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas who was assassinated in the early hours of Wednesday in Iran’s capital, Tehran, in an attack the group has blamed on Israel. Al Jazeera’s Anas al-Sharif, reporting from Gaza, was at the hospital…

THE United States has announced plea agreements with three men held in Guantanamo and accused of plotting the September 11, 2001, attacks, including alleged mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. The Pentagon did not release full details of the deals involving Mohammed, Walid bin Attash, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, but US media reported the three would plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence rather than the death penalty. They were due to face trial in a military court at the maximum-security facility, but their cases have been bogged down in legal manoeuvring for years. Karen Greenberg, the director of the Center on…

SUDAN’s military leader Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has survived an assassination attempt, the army spokesman has told the BBC. Nabil Abdallah blamed the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which the army has been battling for the last 16 months for control of the country. He said two drones had struck an army graduation ceremony killing five people at a base in Jabait in the east – territory under the control of the military. But the RSF’s legal adviser told the Reuters news agency that the group, which has agreed to go to US-mediated talks next month, was not responsible. Speaking…

A LEOPARD attacked two men at a South African air force base that borders the world-famous Kruger National Park. One of the men, a uniformed air force member, was attacked while out for a run. The other, a civilian working at the base, encountered the leopard while on a walk, an air force spokesman said. The two individuals were admitted to hospital with scratches but no major injuries, Brig Gen Donavan Chetty told the BBC. One has since been discharged and the other is due to leave on Thursday. On Wednesday, the leopard was captured and relocated to a sanctuary…

TWENTY-FOUR hours before the planned 10-day hunger protest, the Federal Government took some proactive steps to quell the demonstration. Recall that recently, a group, the Take It Back movement called for a nationwide protest against hunger and bad governance in the country. The group tagged the protest, “Days of Rage” which it said would hold nationwide from August 1 to 10. However, there have been calls from top government personalities, groups, and religious bodies, including the Christian Association of Nigeria, the Muslim Student Society of Nigeria (Lagos chapter), and the Muslim Rights Concern, citing a palpable fear that it might…

HAMAS’s political chief Ismail Haniyeh has been assassinated in Iran’s capital, Tehran, according to a statement from the group that governs Gaza, which blamed Israel for his death. Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were killed after the building where they were staying was struck, the statement said, adding that Haniyeh was in Tehran to attend the inauguration ceremony of Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday. “The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas mourns to our great Palestinian people, to the Arab and Islamic nation, and to all the free people of the world: Brother, leader, martyr, Mujahid Ismail Haniyeh, the head…

FRESH protests have broken out in the Venezuelan capital Caracas after the disputed result of the country’s presidential election. Thousands gathered in the city centre to show their opposition to President Nicolas Maduro’s claim of victory. Many said they would not stop until there was a new government, and some said this would only be achieved if the security forces joined opposition protesters. However the military and police have so far remained loyal to Mr Maduro and have fired tear gas and rubber bullets at some protesters. Local officials say around 750 people have been arrested. Two leading NGOs in…

THE Democratic Republic of Congo has accused the Rwandan army of jamming satellite navigation systems affecting civilian flights in the conflict-hit east of the country. It said Rwanda, which borders DR Congo, was interfering with aircraft Global Positioning System (GPS) signals through “jamming” and “spoofing” – a type of cyber-crime that involves creating a false identity or impersonation. This posed a “significant risk” to both commercial and humanitarian flights bringing in essential aid for victims of conflict, the government added in a statement. Rwanda has not yet responded to the allegations. A UN report released earlier this month accused Rwanda…

AN arrest warrant has been issued for Liberia’s former finance minister following allegations he was involved in a $500m (£389m) corruption scam. Samuel Tweh, along with four other senior officials in former President George Weah’s administration, have been indicted for allegedly stealing from the government when they were in office. Mr Tweh, who was previously sanctioned by the US for corruption, called the indictment a “politically motivated witch-hunt” against him and other former officials. The Weah adminstration, whose six years in power ended in January, was plagued with allegations of corruption and financial mismanagement. When President Joseph Boakai took over,…

THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has invited the Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Malam Jalal Arabi, to its headquarters located in Jabi area of Abuja, this newspaper gathered. Arabi, who is expected to be at the office of the anti-graft agency by 12:00pm today (Tuesday), will explain to the crack detectives of the EFCC how his commission spent N90bn subsidy provided for 2024 exercise. Sources within the anti-graft agency, who are familiar with the matter, also confided in Daily Trust that Arabi would provide detailed explanations on how NAHCON shared thousands of dollars allocated…

NOVAK Djokovic crushed Rafael Nadal 6-1, 6-4 in their blockbuster Olympics clash on Monday as the two titans met for the 60th and possibly final time. The showdown between the two most successful men’s tennis players in history appeared to be fizzling out before a late fightback from Nadal enabled him to avoid his heaviest-ever defeat by Djokovic. “I’m very relieved,” said Djokovic. “Everything was going my way, I was 6-1, 4-0 up but I played a sloppy service game and gave him chances.” It was 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic’s 31st win in a rivalry that began on the…

IRAN’s new President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday warned Israel against attacking Lebanon as tensions soar over a deadly rocket strike in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights blamed on Tehran-backed Hezbollah. “The Zionist regime (Israel) will make a great mistake with heavy consequences if it attacks Lebanon,” Pezeshkian said during a call with French President Emmanuel Macron, according to the Iranian president’s website. Pezeshkian assumed official responsibilities on Sunday after official endorsement from supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei, and is to be sworn into parliament on Tuesday. Israel vowed to hit back after the strike on a football field in Majdal Shams,…