A GROUP of civil and human rights groups in Kenya have demanded for an apology from the country’s police chief, after he vowed to take action against striking health workers. Public hospital doctors from the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) have been striking for just over a month, citing grievances like the non-payment of salary arrears and delays by the government to deploy medical interns. Clinical officers – who are less qualified than doctors but have similar responsibilities – have also walked out. Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome on Sunday accused the health workers of being…
Author: Editor
Read More
THE Attom Foundation, Nigeria, in collaboration with some football players and celebrities,’ will, through a Charity Champions Cup, provide eyecare services for 10,000 Nigerians. Speaking on Thursday in Lagos during a press conference, the convener of Attom Foundation, Attom Yahaya, explained that the Charity Champions Cup was a blend of sportsmanship and a noble cause, aiming to provide essential eye care services for the elderly in Nigeria. According to him some of the players and celebrities are Jay Jay Okocha, Didier Drogba, Victor Osimhen, Kenneth Omero, Tiwa Salvage, Peter and Paul Okoye, Asisat Oshoala, Mario Balotelli, Wilfred Ndidi, to mention…
ROMA defender Evan Ndicka is in “good spirits” in hospital after collapsing during his side’s Serie A match at Udinese on Sunday. The Serie A game was abandoned after the 24-year-old Ivory Coast player collapsed in the 72nd minute and was taken off on a stretcher. He appeared to be conscious as he left the pitch, with the score 1-1. Roma posted a photo of him in hospital, saying he “feels better” and that his team-mates had visited. The statement added: “He will remain under observation for tests in hospital.” After Ndicka’s collapse, Roma’s medical staff and emergency services were…
AFTER numerous countries condemned Iran’s attack on Israel, Tehran’s foreign ministry summoned the French, British, and German ambassadors “following the irresponsible positions of certain officials of these countries regarding Iran’s response”, a statement said. Late Saturday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps announced that they had launched “dozens of drones and missiles” towards military sites on Israeli territory. “Iran’s military action was in response to the Zionist regime’s aggression against our diplomatic premises in Damascus” earlier this month, the Iranian mission to the UN said, dubbing it “legitimate defence”. Israel’s army said it had shot 99 percent of the drones and missiles…
THE White House has warned Israel that the US will not participate in any retaliatory strikes on Iran, senior administration officials have said. Over 300 drones and missiles were fired at Israel overnight, which Iran said was in response to an 1 April strike on its consulate in Syria. Almost all weapons were shot down by Israeli, US and allied forces before they reached their targets. Officials said Joe Biden urged Israel to consider its response “carefully”. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, a senior administration official said that Mr Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “think very carefully…
SOMALI pirates have released a Bangladesh-flagged vessel and its 23-member crew after a ransom was reportedly paid. The MV Abdullah was carrying coal from Mozambique to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) when it was hijacked off Somalia’s coast about a month ago. The pirates alleged that they received $5m (£4m), but there is no independent confirmation of the claim. A spike in hijackings has been reported off Somalia’s coast in recent months. More than a dozen vessels have been targeted since late November. Security experts said a security vacuum had developed off Somalia’s coast after foreign navies patrolling its waters…
DOZENS of Russian military instructors have arrived in Niger as part of a new agreement with the country’s junta, which has cut links with the West. State media reported that they arrived along with a state-of-the-art air defence system. They are expected to install the system and teach Niger’s army how to use it. The West African country is one several in the Sahel region ruled by military authorities to have recently strengthened ties with Russia. A spokesperson for Niger’s military government on Friday said the Russians were in the country to train soldiers. The Russian Defence Ministry’s paramilitary group…
WE had to meet Lisu in secret as she says some people are trying to prevent her from talking to journalists. She was one of the 276 girls abducted from their school in the town of Chibok exactly a decade ago – a kidnapping that shocked the world and sparked a global campaign to #BringBackOurGirls, which included former US First Lady Michelle Obama. More than 180 have either since escaped or been freed, including Lisu, who gave birth to two children while she was a hostage of the militant Islamist group Boko Haram, living in a hideout in the Sambisa…
BAYERN Munich and France winger Kingsley Coman is set to miss “several weeks”, including Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final against Arsenal after injuring a leg in a 2-0 win over Cologne, the club announced on Saturday. Coman was helped off the pitch early in the second half on Saturday, needing the assistance of two Bayern staff members as he could not put weight on his leg. “Kingsley Coman will be out of action for several weeks after the forward suffered an injury in his right adductor muscle,” Bayern said in a statement, explaining “this was confirmed by an examination from the…
US PRESIDENT Joe Biden has praised American forces who he said “helped Israel take down nearly all” drones and missiles launched by Iran on Sunday. In a statement, he said the US had moved aircraft and warships to the region before the unprecedented attack. “I condemn these attacks in the strongest possible terms,” he added. Israel said Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles in its direction, the first time it has attacked Israel directly from its own territory. It said the “vast majority” were intercepted, but there were a small number of hits including at an IDF base in…
THE number of people killed by a knife-wielding assailant in a Sydney shopping centre Saturday has climbed to six, police said. “One last person died at hospital,” a New South Wales police spokesman told AFP. The attacker was shot dead at the scene by a senior policewoman. Multiple people were stabbed by the unidentified assailant, who was shot dead by a policewoman at the scene. The incident occurred at the sprawling Westfield Bondi Junction mall complex, which was packed with Saturday afternoon shoppers. “I’m advised that there are five victims who are now deceased as a result of the actions…
THOUSANDS of people in Niger’s capital on Saturday protested for the immediate departure of US soldiers from the north, after the military junta in Niamey said it was withdrawing from a military agreement with Washington. Following a July coup, the West African country said in mid-March that the 2012 cooperation agreement had been “unilaterally imposed” by the United States. Students and several prominent figures from the military regime were amongst the crowd in front of the National Assembly Headquarters in Niamey. The crowd was heard chanting “Down with American imperialism” and “The people’s liberation is on the march”. French troops…
THE African Union on Saturday urged Mali to provide a post-coup transition ‘roadmap’, saying the move was needed to steer the country back to democratic rule. Earlier this week Mali’s military junta ordered the suspension of all political activities — citing a need to maintain public order — and the African Union expressed “grave concern” at the move, saying it was likely to hinder the return to democracy. Malian Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga, appointed by the military colonels who overthrew President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in August 2020, said Thursday evening that elections will only be held once the country,…
ISRAEL was coming under direct attack from Iran Saturday, the army announced, in a major escalation of the long-running covert war between the regional foes that threatened to overshadow the conflict in Gaza. Iran had repeatedly threatened to strike Israel in retaliation for a deadly April 1 air strike on its Damascus consular building and Washington had warned repeatedly in recent days that the reprisals were imminent. “Iran launched UAVs from its territory towards the territory of the state of Israel,” military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement. “We are working in close cooperation with the…
MANCHESTER City manager Pep Guardiola says he is willing to rest Rodri after the midfielder said he needed a break. Rodri, 27, has played 41 games this season and indicated after Tuesday’s Champions League draw at Real Madrid that City were planning on resting him. Guardiola’s side play third-bottom Luton in the Premier League at Etihad Stadium on Saturday. “If a player doesn’t want to play then he’s not going to play, simple,” said the Manchester City manager. Tuesday’s 3-3 draw at Real in their Champions League quarter-final first leg made it 429 days and 66 games since Rodri lost…
KHALED Meshaal, a senior official in Hamas, has been speaking at an event in Doha. Meshaal, who was speaking at an event to mourn members of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s family after they were killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza on Wednesday, said the group would “break the enemy soon”. Meshaal lives in exile and heads Hamas’s political office in the diaspora. “This is not the final round,” he said, referring to the now six-month-old war. “It is an important round on the path of liberating Palestine and defeating the Zionist project.” Meanwhile, Five people have been killed…
THE IMF executive board confirmed Friday that it had reappointed Kristalina Georgieva to serve for a second five-year term at the helm of the international financial institution. It means that Georgieva, who was the sole candidate in the running to lead the International Monetary Fund, will continue in office when her current term ends on September 30, 2024. The decision was taken by consensus, the IMF said in a statement confirming the board’s decision. “I am deeply grateful for the trust and support of the Fund’s Executive Board, representing our 190 members, and honored to continue to lead the IMF…
LIBERIA’s House of Representatives is investigating how former President George Weah’s asset declaration documents were leaked to the public. All senior government officials in the country, including presidents, are mandated to declare their wealth upon taking office before the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (Lacc). It is meant to ensure public officials avoid conflicts of interest and illicit wealth accumulation. But it is not mandatory for such declarations to be made public. The former president’s asset declaration documents are said to have been leaked to the public without his consent. “Weah’s asset declaration form is now all in the public space and…
AN aid agency working in Sudan has warned levels of hunger and malnutrition after a year of civil war are much worse than previously thought. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and other organisations say the breakdown of governance and infrastructure mean a famine is now almost inevitable. The United Nations, meanwhile, has said Sudan could become “the world’s worst hunger crisis”. Aid to the troubled Darfur region has been largely blocked by the war. In addition, the country is not in a position to begin planting crops for the new growing season in May. MSF said one child was dying every…
THE Nigeria School Sport Federation says it’s seeking sponsors for the 2024 International School Sport Federation U-18 World School Cup for girls, which will take place in Dalian, China from May 16 to 27, after ending their trials on Tuesday. After a two-day national trial inside the main bowl of the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, which had over 300 girls from secondary schools across the country, the NSSF has selected 25 players for the tournament. NSSF president, Olabisi Joseph, expressed excitement on the quality of talents at the body’s disposal and called on interested individual and corporate organisations to partner…