Author: Editor

A USUALLY staid swearing-in procedure where Indian parliamentarians take their oath of office has exploded into a controversy after veteran opposition legislator Asaduddin Owaisi chanted “Jai Palestine” after reading out the pledge on Tuesday. In Sanskrit, the word “jai” literally translates to victory, but is used more broadly to connote support, so in effect, Owaisi’s slogan amounted to: “Long live Palestine.” Parliamentarians from the governing Bharatiya Janata Party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi have accused him of violating the very constitutional pledge he was taking by, according to them, demonstrating loyalty to another nation – a charge Owaisi has denied.…

BOLIVIAN police have arrested the leader of an attempted coup, hours after the presidential palace in the capital La Paz was stormed by soldiers. Armoured vehicles and troops had taken up position on Murillo Square where key government buildings are located. They all later withdrew. The rebel military leader in charge, Gen Juan José Zúñiga, had said he wanted to “restructure democracy” and that while he respected President Luis Arce for now, there would be a change of government. He is now under arrest. President Arce condemned the coup attempt, calling on the public to “organise and mobilise… in favour…

KENYA’s President William Ruto has said he will not sign a finance bill that led protesters to storm Parliament in anger over rising costs, adding that the bill containing tax hikes would “be withdrawn”. “I concede and therefore I will not sign the 2024 finance bill and it shall subsequently be withdrawn,” Ruto said in a televised address on Wednesday. “The people have spoken.” Ruto said he would now start a dialogue with Kenyan young people, without going into details, and work on austerity measures – starting with cuts to the budget of the presidency – to make up the…

THE International Criminal Court (ICC) has convicted the former head of the Islamic police in Mali’s historic city of Timbuktu for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Prosecutors say al-Hassan ag Abdoul Aziz ag Mohamed ag Mahmoud led a “reign of terror” in Timbuktu after it was overrun in 2012 by the al-Qaeda-linked Ansar Dine group. Hassan, who remained emotionless as the verdict was read out in the Dutch city of The Hague, was acquitted on charges linked to rape, sexual slavery and imposing forced marriages on women. Judges also found he played no role in the destruction of ancient…

ENGLAND secured the top spot in Group C despite again failing to fire at Euro 2024 as Slovenia also progressed to the knockout stages thanks to a 0-0 draw in Cologne. The Three Lions were already assured of a place in the last 16 but were booed off in Cologne and can expect more criticism after failing to improve on underwhelming performances in edging past Serbia and drawing with Denmark. England will have to wait until Wednesday’s final group games to find out which of the four best third-placed teams they will face in the last 16. But more questions…

IN the early morning hours of May 15, the cargo vessel Borkum stopped off the Spanish coast, lingering in the waters a short distance from Cartagena. At the port, protesters waved Palestinian flags and called on authorities to inspect the ship based on suspicions that it carried weapons bound for Israel. Leftist members of the European Parliament sent a letter to Spanish President Pedro Sánchez requesting that the ship be prevented from docking. “Allowing a ship loaded with weapons destined for Israel is to allow the transit of arms to a country currently under investigation for genocide against the Palestinian…

THE International Criminal Court on Tuesday said it had issued arrest warrants for Russia’s top army chief and ex defence minister over strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure that constituted alleged war crimes. The ICC warrants are the latest in a series of actions by the court over the Ukraine war, including an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. The warrants, issued on Monday but made public on Tuesday, concerned the Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, and former defence minister Sergei Shoigu. The pair are accused of the war crimes of directing attacks at civilian targets and causing excessive…

SEVERAL people have been killed after police fired live rounds at protesters trying to storm Kenya’s legislature, where lawmakers voted to pass a contentious finance bill that would hike taxes. Thousands of people joined the youth-led demonstration in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on Tuesday to demand that lawmakers vote against the bill amid soaring tensions over a cost-of-living crisis in the country. But legislators voted to pass the bill, and some then fled the chamber as protesters breached the complex of the Parliament of Kenya. Parts of the Parliament building were set ablaze. Police eventually managed to drive the protesters…

A FORMER judge in South Africa, who was impeached for misconduct four months ago, has been sworn in as an MP for ex-President Jacob Zuma’s party. John Hlophe was among the 58 uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) MPs sworn in as the party ended its boycott of the parliament formed after the 29 May elections. MK, which is set to become the official opposition, has appointed Dr Hlophe to lead its team in parliament. This is despite Dr Hlophe being impeached as a judge following findings of misconduct. An investigation found Dr Hlophe, who was the leading judge in the Western Cape…

POLICE authorities in Rivers State have declared a former Niger Delta militant leader Gabriel ‘General’ Asabuja wanted. The Rivers State Commissioner for Police Tunji Disu said this on Monday when he appeared on Channels Television’s Politics Today monitored by News Point Nigeria. Asabuja was seen in a viral video making some strong comments amid the local government council crisis rocking Rivers State. But Disu has condemned the action, saying, “That video caused a lot of panic in the state. It gives a lot of concern to everybody even out of the state. I want to assure you that we are…

BARRING any last-minute change of plan, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) is expected to meet today to deliberate on salient matters aimed at tackling some of the problems bedevilling the country. This newspaper gathered that the meeting is expected to consider some serious matters of state including the vexed issue of the minimum wage impasse that had been ongoing between the federal government and organized labour. The tripartite committee set up by the federal government recently submitted its report to President Bola Tinubu. While the federal government has agreed that it can pay N62,000 minimum wage, the organised Labour consisting…

ENGLAND, France, and Netherlands progressed to the knockout stages of Euro 2024 on Monday after Albania lost 1-0 to Group B winners Spain thanks to an early Ferran Torres goal in Duesseldorf. England have qualified from Group C and France and Netherlands from Group D as at least three of the four best third-placed teams at the tournament. All three sides play their final group-stage matches on Tuesday, where they will seek a top-two finish in order to ensure a kinder draw for the last-16 stage. England have four points and sit top of Group C before their match against…

PALESTINIAN medics and rights advocates have denounced the killing of a top medical official in Gaza by the Israeli military, accusing Israel of systematically targeting the health system in the besieged enclave. Israel bombed a clinic in Gaza City late on Sunday, killing Hani al-Jaafarawi, Gaza’s director of ambulances and emergency, and four other people. The targeted clinic, which offered general health, paediatric and dental services, was also put out of commission by the Israeli attack. “The Israeli war jets bombed the clinic and destroyed its rooms completely,” said Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Ismail Algoul, reporting from Gaza City. “The…

WIKILEAKS founder Julian Assange has been freed from prison in the United Kingdom and is set to travel home to Australia after he pleads guilty to a single charge of breaching the espionage law in the United States. Assange, 52, will plead guilty to one count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified US national defence documents, according to a filing in the US District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands. He was freed from the UK’s high-security Belmarsh prison on Monday and taken to the airport whre he flew out of the country. Assange will appear at a court…

THE head of the United Nations children’s agency, Unicef, says Sudan is one of the worst places in the world for children. Catherine Russell says it now has the largest displacement of children anywhere, with millions facing malnutrition and most not in school She is travelling to the country torn apart by more than a year of brutal civil war as warnings of famine grow louder. The pillars of Sudan’s food economy have collapsed, and both warring parties – the Sudanese army and a paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – are restricting the delivery of desperately needed…

FAMOUS Malian singer Rokia Traoré has been arrested at the main international airport in Italy’s capital Rome over a conviction in Belgium arising from a child custody dispute. She was arrested at Fiumicino airport as she flew in for a concert, Italian media reported. A spokesperson for the airport told the AFP news agency on Sunday that border police had confirmed her arrest. Traoré was initially detained in France in 2020 on a Belgian arrest warrant after failing to heed a court order to hand over her child to her Belgian father. Months after she was conditionally released, she flew…

WITHIN four years, politically exposed personalities (PEPs) in Nigeria have doubled their investment in the real estate sector of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, according to an investigation on Business Day. The newspaper reports that the investigation is part of ‘Dubai Unlocked,’ a six-month probe of UAE’s booming and secretive property market led by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) together with more than 70 media partners. Economy Post is said to be the only Nigerian firm which participated in the project. The newspaper reported that as of 2020, 800 houses were traced to Nigerian PEPs, but four years…

VP Shettima Expected, As Nda-Isaiah Hosts Amuka, Yusuf, Olorunyomi, Other Icons THE Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, will chair the unveiling of Writing for Media and Monetising It, the new book on getting rewards from valuable content written by the Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP, Azu Ishiekwene, and published by Premium Times Books. The event will take place on Wednesday, June 26, at 10 am at the Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja. A “two-in-one event”, it would also feature a panel discussion themed “Reflections on the Media.” A statement by Azu and Premium Times Books described the unveiling as “one…

THE health Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Fahd al-Jalajel, has disclosed that 1,301 pilgrims died during the 2024 hajj. Speaking on the state television, Jalajel said 83 percent of the deceased made the pilgrimage without the necessary permits. Al-Jalajel said these unauthorized pilgrims walked long distances under the intense sun. “We dealt with large numbers of people affected by heat stress. Regrettably, the number of mortalities reached 1,301, with 83 percent being unauthorised to perform hajj and having walked long distances under direct sunlight, without adequate shelter or comfort,” the official Saudi Press Agency reported. Al-Jalajel said the…

SUBSTITUTE Niclas Fullkrug scored a late equaliser for Germany as they rescued a draw with Switzerland to top Group A. The Swiss thought they were going through to the last 16 as group winners after an early goal from Dan Ndoye until Fullkrug headed in the equaliser. There was an outburst of celebration from home supporters behind the goal as Germany maintained their unbeaten start to Euro 2024. It was a blow to Switzerland, who had defended resolutely for more than 90 minutes but they still progress to the knockout stages. Murat Yakin’s side knew victory would see them leapfrog…