THE giants of the European leagues continued to flex their muscles this weekend as Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Paris St-Germain maintained their 100% records. Teenager Lamine Yamal shone for Barca with two goals in their 4-1 win at Girona while Harry Kane hit his fifth hat-trick in a Bayern shirt as they thrashed Bundesliga new boys Holstein Kiel. There were goals for Tammy Abraham and Conor Gallagher too. Barcelona stayed top of the standings in Spain as Yamal scored twice in a dominant first half. Dani Olmo and Pedri also found the net before former Manchester City winger Ferran Torres,…
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AFTER denials for months, the Israeli military says there is a “high probability” its air strike was responsible for the deaths of three Israeli captives in Gaza in November. The military on Sunday said it was unaware the captives were present in a tunnel in the Palestinian territory when they launched the attack on November 10, 2023. The bodies of the three captives – Corporal Nik Beizer, Sergeant Ron Sherman and French-Israeli national Elia Toledano – were recovered on December 14. But the cause of death was not determined. “The findings of the investigation suggest a high probability that the…
FORMER United States President Donald Trump said he is “safe and well” after gunshots were reported in his vicinity as he played golf at his resort in Florida. The FBI said it is “investigating what appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump”, in the incident the Secret Service said occurred before 2pm local time (18:00 GMT) on Sunday. “I am safe and well, and no one was hurt. Thank God!” Trump said in a statement on his website. “But, there are people in this world who will do whatever it takes to stop us,” the Republican presidential…
OLYMPIC marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei, who was set ablaze by her former boyfriend and later died has been buried in her father’s homestead in eastern Uganda. As she was also a member of Uganda’s armed forces, soldiers carried the coffin and she was given a three-volley salute. Dickson Ndiema attacked Cheptegei with petrol just under a fortnight ago outside her home in neighbouring north-west Kenya, close to where she trained. The 33-year-old’s killing, and its brutal nature, left her family distraught and shocked many others across the world. It underscored the high levels of violence against women in Kenya and…
BOTSWANA’s former President Ian Khama has unexpectedly returned to the country after three years of self-imposed exile, appearing in court to face charges, including money laundering and owning illegal firearms. The 71-year-old had only recently claimed there was a plot to poison him if he set foot on home soil. The government called those allegations “outrageous”. Supporters chanted “the general is back” as Khama left the courthouse on Friday in the capital, Gaborone. “We were taken by surprise,” said state prosecutor Ambrose Mubika of Khama’s decision to appear. Ian Khama led Botswana for 10 years until 2018. He is not…
VINICIUS Junior and Kylian Mbappe both struck from the penalty spot to earn Real Madrid a 2-0 win at Real Sociedad in La Liga on Saturday. The Spanish champions moved within a point of leaders Barcelona who face last season’s surprise package Girona on Sunday. Real Sociedad hit the woodwork on three occasions before Madrid’s second half spot-kicks earned them three points from an end-to-end clash at the Reale Arena. “It was a tough game, probably we didn’t deserve to win because Real Sociedad played very well… but we bore it out, we suffered, we were committed in the tough…
THOUSANDS of antigovernment Israeli protesters have gathered in central Tel Aviv, calling for more efforts to secure the release of captives held in Gaza. The protesters gathered outside army headquarters and other government buildings on Saturday, chanting slogans against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and urging him to reach a deal with the Palestinian group Hamas to ensure the return of about 100 captives still held in the war-battered strip. Families of the captives who participated in Saturday’s rally said they are frustrated over the government’s failed negotiations to bring the captives home. Many blamed Netanyahu for not reaching a deal…
ON Saturday, the US State Department said it had approved the sale of dozens of F-35 fighter jets to its NATO ally Romania, a deal worth $7.2 billion. The contract, which must still be approved by the US Congress, covers Bucharest’s purchase of 32 F-35A aircraft and related equipment, produced by the US aerospace and defence giant Lockheed Martin. “This proposed sale will support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a NATO Ally that is an important force for political and economic stability in Europe,” a State Department statement…
THE government of South Sudan is holding an emergency cabinet meeting hours after it announced that long-delayed national elections would be postponed by two years. The polls were due to take place this December. A 2018 peace deal that ended a civil war allowed president Salva Kiir to remain in charge of a transitional government with his former foe Riek Machar serving as his deputy. South Sudan, the world’s youngest country, has not held national elections since independence in 2011. The decision to postpone the vote by another two years has not come as a great surprise. The political leaders…
A MAN who attacked Comoros President Azali Assoumani with a knife and injured him slightly has been found dead in prison, the national prosecutor said Saturday, a day after the incident. “He was isolated in a cell so that he could calm down yesterday after his arrest. Investigators found his lifeless body lying on the floor this morning. A doctor declared him dead,” Ali Mohamed Djounaid told a press conference. “An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of his death,” he added. Government spokeswoman Fatima Ahamada said Saturday that 65-year-old Assoumani was at home with his family and…
ENGLAND striker Ivan Toney made his debut for Saudi club Al-Ahli as they drew 1-1 with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr. The 28-year-old joined Al-Ahli from Brentford for £40m on 31 August – and started their first game since then, playing the full 90 minutes. Among his team-mates are ex-Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino, former Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez and ex-Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy. Franck Kessie, once of AC Milan and Barcelona, scored the opening goal for Toney’s side with a fantastic strike from the edge of the box. But a Bassam al Hurayji own goal deep into injury time gave Al-Nassr…
UNITED Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the Security Council is an “outdated,” “unfair” and “ineffective system” whose failure to put an end to Israel’s war on Gaza has damaged the credibility of the organisation as a whole. Speaking to Al Jazeera Arabic in an exclusive interview, the UN chief decried the failures of the council, which was established in the aftermath of World War II to ensure international peace and security but whose permanent members’ veto power has consistently proven to be an obstacle to that goal. The council, Guterres said, “doesn’t correspond to the world of today”. “The truth…
NORTH Korea released images of its uranium enrichment facility for the first time on Friday, showing leader Kim Jong Un touring it as he called for more centrifuges to boost his nuclear arsenal. The country, which conducted its first nuclear test in 2006 and is under rafts of UN sanctions for its banned weapons programmes, has never publicly disclosed details of its uranium enrichment facility. Such facilities produce highly enriched uranium — which is needed to produce nuclear warheads — by spinning the material in centrifuges at high speeds. Kim toured the Nuclear Weapons Institute and the “production base of…
THIRTY-SEVEN people – including three Americans, a Briton, a Belgian and a Canadian national – have been sentenced to death over an attempt to overthrow the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The men were accused of leading an attack on both the presidential palace and the home of an ally of President Félix Tshisekedi in May. Christian Malanga, a US national of Congolese origin, the suspected leader of the plot, was killed during the attack, along with five others. In total 51 people were tried in a military court, with hearings broadcast on national TV and radio. Malanga’s…
MOROCCO has recorded a case of mpox in the tourist city of Marrakesh, the first in North Africa since the WHO declared an international emergency last month, the Africa CDC said Friday. “Africa CDC confirms the first mpox case in North Africa for 2024, reported by Morocco’s Ministry of Health” on September 12, a statement on the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention website said. With Morocco, 15 African Union member states have reported cases — now across every region of the continent, according to Africa CDC. Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is caused by a virus transmitted to humans…
CRISTIANO Ronaldo has made history by becoming the first person to reach one billion followers across his social media platforms. He expressed his gratitude to his fans, acknowledging their unwavering support throughout his career. Ronaldo, who currently plays for Al Nassr, shared a heartfelt message on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday night, emphasising that this milestone is a testament to the shared passion and love for the game between him and his supporters. With over 638 million followers on Instagram, 170 million on Facebook, and 113 million on X, 60.7 million subscribers on YouTube, and others, Ronaldo continues to break…
MANCHESTER United manager Erik ten Hag has dismissed Cristiano Ronaldo’s latest criticism and says the outside noise around the club does not bother him. Speaking to former United team-mate Rio Ferdinand on a podcast, Ronaldo said Ten Hag had been wrong to say in a pre-season interview in the manager’s home country of the Netherlands that the club were “a long way away” from winning the Premier League for the first time since 2013. Although Ronaldo went on to say he also thought his old club could not win the championship, he felt, as manager, Ten Hag was sending out…
ISRAEL’s war on Gaza has devastated the Palestinian enclave’s economy, reducing it to less than one-sixth of its 2022 size, while there has also been a “significant downturn” in the occupied West Bank, according to a United Nations report. “Production processes have been disrupted or decimated, income sources have disappeared, poverty has intensified and expanded, neighbourhoods have been eradicated, and communities and towns have been ruined,” a report published on Thursday by the UN Trade and Development agency (UNCTAD) found. Mutasim Elagraa, who coordinates UNCTAD’s Palestinian assistance programme, said it remained unclear how much it would cost to rebuild. “But…
MALAYSIAN authorities have rescued more than 400 children suspected of being sexually and physically abused at charity homes run by a prominent business group, police said. Following coordinated raids on 20 premises across two states on Wednesday, police rescued 402 children and arrested 171 adults – including religious teachers and caretakers, according to Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain. The homes were run by Global Ikhwan Services and Business (GISB), Razarudin said. Religious authorities in Selangor state on Thursday widened their investigation into GISB, which said it did not run the homes. Those rescued included 201 boys and 201 girls, aged…
THE United States called Thursday for two permanent seats on the UN Security Council to be reserved for African nations, alongside a rotating seat for small developing island nations. The proposals would transform the 15-member top body of the global organization which has been largely unchanged for decades. However the new African representatives would not wield veto power over council resolutions, unlike the current permanent members — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — said a top US administration official. “I’m announcing the United States supports three additional changes to the Security Council,” said Washington’s ambassador to the…