Author: Editor

A FEW days after the founder of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, alleged that some officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited have blending plants in Malta, indications have emerged that Nigeria imported fuel worth $2.25bn from the foreign country in nine years. According to information on Trade Map, Nigeria imported petroleum oils obtained from bituminous minerals worth $2.8bn in 2023, jumping by a 342 per cent increase from $47.5m in 2013. Nigeria imported fuel worth $59.98m in 2014; $117.01m in 2015 and $13.32m in 2016. It was observed that from 2017 to 2022, there was no…

GRAND Slam record-breakers Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were placed on an Olympics second-round collision course in the draw for the Paris Games on Thursday. Nadal, a singles gold medallist at the 2008 Olympics, is playing in his final Games having also won doubles gold in Rio in 2016, while Djokovic was a bronze medallist in singles in 2008. Serbia’s Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam champion and top seed in Paris following the withdrawal of world number one Jannik Sinner, begins his campaign against Australia’s Matthew Ebden. “I am excited for this duel in the second round, and I will…

AT least five people have been arrested and police used pepper spray on protesters on the streets of Washington DC. This came after large numbers of people gathered to protest against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who spoke to US lawmakers Wednesday. Netanyahu blasted the demonstrators, calling them “Iran’s useful idiots” Speaking to the US Congress, he said America and Israel “must stand together” and that “our enemies are your enemies” He recalled the Hamas attacks of 7 October – when 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage – calling it a day that “will live in…

NORTH Korean hackers are attempting to steal nuclear and military secrets from governments and private companies around the world, the UK, US and South Korea have warned. They say the group – known by the names Andariel and Onyx Sleet – is targeting defence, aerospace, nuclear and engineering entities to obtain classified information, with the aim of advancing Pyongyang’s military and nuclear programs and ambitions. The group has been seeking information in a wide range of areas – from uranium processing to tanks, submarines and torpedoes – and has targeted the UK, US, South Korea, Japan, India and elsewhere. US…

A HEATWAVE in Morocco has killed at least 21 people in a 24-hour period in the central city of Beni Mellal, the health ministry announced on Thursday. The meteorology department said soaring temperatures affected much of the North African country from Monday to Wednesday, reaching 48ºC in some areas. In Beni Mellal, “the majority of deaths involved people suffering from chronic illnesses and the elderly, with high temperatures contributing to the deterioration of their health conditions,” the regional health directorate said in a statement. Morocco has suffered a sixth consecutive year of drought and record heat this winter, with the…

INTERNATIONAL rights campaigners called Thursday for the Ugandan government to free dozens of protesters who have been arrested and charged for taking part in anti-corruption rallies this week. Inspired by widespread protests against the government in neighbouring Kenya led largely by Gen-Z activists, Ugandans took to the streets of the capital Kampala on Tuesday to demand action in the wake of several high-profile graft scandals. About 60 people, including a prominent TV and radio presenter and three young protest leaders, have been remanded in custody on charges including being a “common nuisance”, according to their lawyers. President Yoweri Museveni, who…

CHAOS and confusion reigned on Wednesday as Morocco beat Argentina 2-1 in their opening game of the men’s Olympic football tournament, but only after a late equaliser for the South American side was disallowed and the final minutes were played out in an empty stadium following crowd trouble. Argentina thought they had escaped from the Group B match in Saint-Etienne with a 2-2 draw when Cristian Medina scored in the 16th minute of added time. But as their players celebrated, projectiles including bottles and plastic cups rained down from the stands and several spectators entered the pitch, with the referee…

THE Lebanese armed group Hezbollah has broadcast a drone video that it said showed air defence facilities, planes and fuel storage units at Israel’s Ramat David airbase, nearly 50km (30 miles) into Israeli territory. The footage included labels pointing out apparent military infrastructure, including the short-range Iron Dome air defence system which is designed to destroy rockets. The video, more than eight minutes long, was mostly filmed on Tuesday, the Iran-aligned group said. The video also included nighttime shots that Hezbollah said were captured “earlier” and other images the group said were taken earlier in July. The caption said it…

A PASSENGER plane crashed on take-off in Kathmandu on Wednesday, with the pilot rescued from the wreckage but all 18 others aboard killed, police in the Nepali capital told AFP. Nepal has a woeful track record on aviation safety and the Himalayan republic has seen a spate of deadly light plane and helicopter crashes over the decades. The Saurya Airlines flight was carrying two crew and 17 of the company’s staff members, Nepali police spokesman Dan Karki said. “The pilot has been rescued and is being treated,” he said. “Eighteen bodies have been recovered, including one foreigner. We are in…

POLICE in South Africa have arrested five suspects, including three Mexicans, after uncovering a multi-million dollar crystal meth lab on a remote farm. Officers raided the lab, in the northern town of Groblersdal, after getting tipped off about “suspicious activities”, a statement from an elite police unit known as the Hawks said. It added that the lab was operating on an industrial scale, producing the highly addictive drug for both local and international markets. South Africa is one of the largest meth markets in the world and a transit location for illicit drugs, according to the United Nations Office on…

KENYA’s President William Ruto has appointed four members of the main opposition party as part of a new cabinet as protests continue to rock the East African nation. Ruto announced the nominees in an address to the nation on Wednesday. The president had promised to appoint a new “broad-based” cabinet in response to continuing nationwide protests that have threatened his hold on power. The announcement came two weeks after Ruto scrapped the previous cabinet as the protests, prompted by planned tax hikes, swelled. A clampdown by the authorities helped raise the number of people killed to more than 50, with…

PALESTINIAN factions have signed a “national unity” agreement aimed at maintaining Palestinian control over Gaza once Israel’s war on the enclave concludes. The deal, finalised on Tuesday in China after three days of intensive talks, lays the groundwork for an “interim national reconciliation government” to rule post-war Gaza, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The agreement was signed by long-term rivals Hamas and Fatah, as well as 12 other Palestinian groups. “Today we sign an agreement for national unity and we say that the path to completing this journey is national unity,” said senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk at…

NORTH Korea has floated more trash-carrying balloons across the tense inter-Korean border, with at least one dumping refuse on South Korea’s presidential compound for the first time, South Korean authorities have said. The balloon that landed near President Yoon Suk-yeol’s office in Yongsan, central Seoul, on Tuesday did not contain any dangerous material or cause any injuries, the Presidential Security Service said in a statement. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff announced earlier on Wednesday that North Korea had launched more balloons towards its territory, and Seoul city authorities asked residents to report the objects and avoid touching them. Pyongyang’s…

USING shovels or their bare hands, local residents on Tuesday searched desperately for survivors after a landslide in a remote area of southern Ethiopia killed at least 229 people, the deadliest such disaster recorded in the Horn of Africa nation. Crowds gathered at the site of the tragedy in an isolated and mountainous area of South Ethiopia regional state as some people clawed through mounds of red dirt, according to images posted on social media by the local authority. So far, 148 men and 81 women are confirmed to have lost their lives after the disaster struck on Monday in…

DOZENS of people who joined scattered anti-corruption rallies in the capital Kampala on Tuesday in defiance of an official ban have been charged and held behind bars, their lawyers said. About 60 people, including a prominent TV and radio presenter and three young protest leaders, were hurriedly brought before the courts and remanded in custody on charges including being a “common nuisance”, they said. President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled the East African country with an iron fist for almost four decades, had warned at the weekend that the demonstrators were “playing with fire”. Riot police were out in force…

MANCHESTER United had a helping hand from legendary defender Rio Ferdinand in persuading highly rated Leny Yoro to join them. Centre-back Yoro was coveted by many of Europe’s top clubs, including Real Madrid, this summer. In the end, he plumped for United, signing a five-year contract after agreeing a £52m move from French club Lille. Ferdinand sent Yoro a social media message welcoming him to Old Trafford and, speaking to in-house club media, 18-year-old Yoro explained the former England star had already adopted a more direct approach. “Two weeks ago, he called me,” said Yoro. “We spoke for 10 minutes…

DEMOCRATIC politicians and commentators in the United States have heaped praise on President Joe Biden since he dropped out of the 2024 presidential race on Sunday. Representative Maxine Waters, for instance, called Biden a “kind and decent man”. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, meanwhile, extolled his “vision, values and leadership”. But while political leaders showered Biden with compliments, bombs continued to rain down on Gaza, killing dozens and sparking another wave of mass displacement in Khan Younis. For many Palestinian rights advocates, the carnage and abuses in Gaza will define Biden’s place in the history books, as the US remains…

DEMOCRATIC Party donors have poured a record amount into US Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign in the 24 hours since Joe Biden stepped down from the White House race and endorsed his erstwhile running mate. “Team Harris raised $81 million in its first 24 hours, adding to the existing near quarter-of-a-billion dollar war chest already amassed this election cycle,” her campaign said in a statement Monday. It claimed the haul was the “largest 24-hour raise in presidential history.” Harris, 59, swiftly secured the backing of a flood of Democrats after receiving Biden’s endorsement on Sunday — including from California Governor…

OPPOSITION leader Bobi Wine said heavily armed security forces were besieging his party headquarters on Monday and had arrested several leaders, on the eve of a planned anti-corruption march that has been banned by the authorities. The action comes two days after President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled the country with an iron fist for nearly four decades, warned that Ugandans planning to take to the streets on Tuesday were “playing with fire”. Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, told AFP that the headquarters of his National Unity Platform (NUP) in Kavule, a suburb of the Ugandan capital Kampala,…

TANZANIA’s information minister Nape Nnauye has been removed from his post following an outcry over comments he made suggesting that elections could be rigged. Mr Nnauye was filmed at a rally on 15 July, saying that he would help a fellow ruling party MP win in the 2025 election. He added that “election results are not necessarily those in the [ballot box], rather they depend on the person counting and making announcements”. Following a public backlash after a video of his controversial remarks went viral, Mr Nnauye said he had made them in jest. President Samia Suluhu Hassan sacked him…