Author: Editor

MOBILE internet has been cut since Tuesday night in Mauritania’s capital, AFP journalists saw, after scuffles broke out following the announcement that incumbent Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani had won the presidential election. Witnesses reported disturbances in working-class districts of Nouakchott on Monday evening, hours after final provisional results showed that Ghazouani had comfortably won re-election in Saturday’s presidential poll. The witnesses did not specify the extent of the disorder to AFP. Nouakchott appeared calm on Tuesday, with businesses open as usual. The authorities have not commented on the mobile internet cuts. Internet restrictions have become a common tactic by…

A FORMER gangster and bank robber who turned into a nightclub owner and opposition politician, Gayton McKenzie has now risen to become South Africa’s minister of sports, arts and culture. President Cyril Rampahosa appointed Mr McKenzie – the leader of the Patriotic Alliance (PA) – to the portfolio in the multi-party government that he announced on Sunday after his African National Congress (ANC) lost its parliamentary majority in the 29 May election. A prolific tweeter, the 50-year-od relished his appointment, posting a photo of himself putting on football boots and, with a touch of humour, typed: “Thank you for all…

DIOGO Costa’s penalty heroics helped Portugal reach the quarter-finals of the Euro 2024 against Slovenia after a tough encounter on Monday night. Portugal forward Ronaldo broke down in tears after missing a penalty in the first period of extra-time in the goalless tie in Frankfurt. But he recovered to convert in the shoot-out as Portugal scraped through to set up a blockbuster clash with France in the quarter-finals. Slovenia battled valiantly to keep Portugal at bay, with Jan Oblak making a stunning save to keep out Ronaldo’s penalty after Diogo Jota was fouled. However, Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva…

MANY Palestinians have been reported dead as heavy battles and bombardment hit Gaza City’s Shujaiya district for a fourth day on Sunday, months after the Israeli army declared Hamas’s command structure dismantled in the northern area. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have fled the devastated neighbourhood, where the army said it has fought Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants both “above and below ground” in tunnels. The military said troops had “eliminated several terrorists, located weapons and conducted targeted raids on booby-trapped combat compounds” over the past 24 hours while the air force had “struck dozens” of the militants’ infrastructure sites.…

STEVE Bannon, a prominent right-wing figure in American politics and former senior advisor to Donald Trump, reported to prison Monday to begin a four-month sentence for contempt of Congress. He was convicted of defying a subpoena to testify before the congressional panel that investigated the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters. Bannon, 70, spoke defiantly as he showed up at a federal prison in Connecticut. “I’m proud of going to prison today,” Bannon said, “if it’s what it takes to stand up to Joe Biden.” Bannon and others argue that legal proceedings stemming from the…

MAURITANIA’s incumbent President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani has comfortably won re-election with 56.12 per cent of the vote, the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) said Monday. The victory gives the former army chief a second term as head of the vast desert country, seen as a rock of relative stability in Africa’s volatile Sahel region and set to become a gas producer. Ghazouani would have faced a second round had he not won more than half the votes in Saturday’s election. As it was, he placed well ahead of his main rival, anti-slavery activist Biram Dah Abeid, who won…

KENYA’s President William Ruto says the country will have to borrow more to keep the government running following the rejection of a hugely unpopular finance bill that was going to raise more money in taxes. The president said he would withdraw the bill containing controversial tax hikes last Wednesday after deadly protests which saw parliament set on fire. But on Sunday he said dropping the bill had set the country back two years, as he explained the difficulty of being unable to raise extra taxes while facing a huge debt burden. He said this meant Kenya would have to borrow…

HARRY Kane and Jude Bellingham saved England from defeat against Slovakia in a 2-1 victory after extra time on Sunday. The Three Lions have been hyped as one of the favourites to end a 58-year wait for major tournament glory but looked set to go out with a whimper to Ivan Schranz’s 25th minute goal. However, Bellingham’s moment of inspiration five minutes into six added on in stoppage time breathed new life into Gareth Southgate’s reign as England boss. Kane then headed in just a minute into extra-time to set up a quarter-final meeting with Switzerland on Saturday. Southgate looked…

AT least six Palestinians have been killed in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), and several homes have been destroyed as Israeli forces pushed deeper into the city and pressed further into Shujayea in northern Gaza. Israeli tanks, which re-entered Shujayea four days ago, fired shells towards several houses, leaving families trapped inside and unable to leave, residents said. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimated that “60,000 to 80,000 people were displaced” from Shujayea in recent days. For those who remain, “our lives have become hell”, said…

NORTH Korea denounced on Sunday joint military drills by South Korea, Japan and the United States, calling them an “Asian version of NATO” and warning of “fatal consequences”. It comes a day after the allies wrapped up three-day exercises, dubbed “Freedom Edge”, in ballistic missile and air defences, anti-submarine warfare and defensive cyber training. US, South Korean and Japanese leaders agreed at a trilateral summit last year to conduct annual drills as a sign of unity in the face of North Korea’s nuclear threats and China’s rising regional influence. “We strongly denounce… provocative military muscle-flexing against the DPRK,” Pyongyang’s foreign…

PARAMILITARY forces battling Sudan’s army for more than a year say they have captured a key state capital in the war-torn country’s southeast. “We have liberated the 17th Infantry Division from Singa [the capital of Sennar state],” the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced on X on Saturday. Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan, reporting from the capital Khartoum, said the RSF is gaining control of an increasing number of territories across Sudan, especially in eastern and western parts of the country’s south. “They already control a large portion of the Darfur region, with the exception of el-Fasher, which is the only remaining…

HUNDREDS of people marched in the Kenyan capital Nairobi Sunday, to honour those who died in anti-government demonstrations this week, as President William Ruto insisted that “I have no blood on my hands.” Rights groups say at least 30 people died in protests driven by a government drive to substantially raise taxes in the East African country. Following the violence, Ruto announced an about-turn earlier this week, saying he would “listen to the people” and would not sign the finance bill into law. Ruto, in a television interview, put the toll at 19 — the first figures issued by the…

A KAI Havertz penalty and a Jamal Musiala strike gave Germany a 2-0 win over Denmark as the host nation reached the Euro 2024 quarter-finals after a dramatic game that was delayed by almost half an hour in the first half due to a violent storm. Havertz stroked home from the spot early in the second half in Dortmund following a handball by Joachim Andersen, the unlucky Danish defender who had a goal disallowed at the other end only moments earlier. Musiala, of Bayern Munich, then ran away to stroke in the second goal midway through the second half as…

HAMAS says there’s been no progress in ceasefire talks with Israel over the war on Gaza as tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv demanding the government save the captives and get a deal done. Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official based in Lebanon, said on Saturday the Palestinian group is still ready to discuss any truce proposal that ends the nearly nine-month conflict. “Once again, Hamas is ready to deal positively with any proposal that secures a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and a serious swap deal,” Hamdan told a…

TEN women have come forward with sexual assault accusations against Canadian auto parts magnate Frank Stronach, according to court documents released Friday. The 91-year-old was arrested twice in recent weeks and charged with 13 criminal counts including attempted rape, sexual assault, indecent assault and forcible confinement. Both times — including on Wednesday — he was released the same day with conditions ahead of a first court appearance scheduled for July 8. The court documents describe allegations of attempted rape and assault as far back as June 1977 in Toronto. Other victims accused him of rape or sexual assaults in 1980,…

SOME 25.6 million people, or more than half of Sudan’s population, are facing high levels of “acute food insecurity”, a report cited by the United Nations said Thursday. That figure includes 755,000 people who are facing famine, while 8.5 million face “emergency” conditions, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said. Sudan has been gripped by war since April 2023, when fighting erupted between the regular military led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. The war has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and triggered one of…

A HIGH Court in Kenya has ruled in favour of a petition demanding a halt to the use of potentially deadly weaponry by police. Hundreds gathered for the funeral of a teenage demonstrator killed during Kenya’s anti-government protests as the death toll from days of unrest rose to 27. Aljazeera reports that three more protesters died overnight Friday as police continued a violent crackdown with the Kenyan High Court ordering security forces to halt the firing of live rounds, rubber-coated metal bullets, tear gas and water cannon into crowds. The turmoil unfolded as young activists successfully forced the government to…

GERMANY defender Antonio Rudiger on Friday returned to training ahead of Saturday’s Euro 2024 last 16 clash with Denmark, having missed earlier sessions with a hamstring strain. Denmark however will be forced to sweat on the fitness of midfielder Christian Eriksen, who did not take the pitch in the Danes’ pre-match training session. A spokesperson from the Danish FA (DBU) said Eriksen had taken part in a gym workout instead. Rudiger’s potential absence was a threat for Germany, who are already set to do without fellow centre-back Jonathan Tah, who misses the game with a yellow card suspension. The Real…

PALESTINIAN fighters engaged Israeli forces in fierce battles in northern Gaza City’s Shujayea neighbourhood a day after tanks and troops rolled in and sent tens of thousands of terrified civilians fleeing. In a statement on Friday, al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, said it blew up a booby-trapped residential building in Shujayea, killing four Israeli soldiers and wounding five others. The improvised explosive device used was an undetonated F-16 missile recovered intact after it was fired from an Israeli warplane, it said. The Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, said its fighters also continue to engage in “violent…

THE roof of a terminal building at New Delhi’s international airport partially collapsed in heavy rains early Friday, killing one person, rescuers said, months after a refurbishment project inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Images posted online showed vehicles crushed under giant steel girders at the departure forecourt of the airport’s Terminal 1, one of several projects Modi celebrated in March ahead of the country’s recent general election. “Due to heavy rain since early this morning, a portion of the canopy… collapsed around 5 am,” airport authorities said in a statement. The terminal is used for domestic flights only. Departures…