Author: Editor

MANCHESTER United captain Bruno Fernandes says it “hurt” to realise the club “wanted me to leave” when Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal proposed a huge offer in the summer. The Portugal international, 31, rejected the move to the Saudi Pro League in order to stay at Old Trafford, despite Al-Hilal reportedly being open to paying a fee of about £100m and wages of up to £700,000 a week. Fernandes has a contract that runs to 2027, with the option of an additional year. He said in October, before his 300th United appearance, that he will not discuss his future with anyone…

A PALESSTINIAN infant has frozen to death in the Gaza Strip, local authorities say, as Israel continues to restrict the entry of shelter supplies and other humanitarian aid to the enclave despite the harsh winter conditions there. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said on Tuesday that the two-week-old baby, Mohammed Khalil Abu al-Khair, died a day earlier after seeking treatment for severe hypothermia, brought on by the extreme cold gripping Gaza. Reporting from Gaza City, Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum noted that the child’s death comes as basic protections in Gaza have been “systematically dismantled” due to Israel’s…

UNITED States President Donald Trump has added five countries to the list of nations whose citizens are banned from entering the US, including Palestine and Syria. The White House announced the expansion of the ban on Tuesday, as it intensifies its crackdown on immigration. Tuesday’s order imposed a travel ban on six new countries – Palestine, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria – in addition to the 12 initially made public in June. The decree did not refer to Palestine, which Washington does not recognise as a state, by name or even as the occupied Palestinian territory. Instead,…

A FRENCH court has sentenced a former rebel leader and politician from the Democratic Republic of Congo to 30 years in jail after finding him guilty of complicity in crimes against humanity more than two decades ago. Roger Lumbala headed a rebel movement backed by neighbouring Uganda accused of committing atrocities during a period known as the Second Congo War. The judge said the 67-year-old was found guilty of ordering or aiding and abetting torture and inhumane crimes, summary executions, rape constituting torture, sexual slavery, forced labour and theft. Lumbala, who was living in France when he was arrested nearly…

SUDAN’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has been trying to cover up mass killings in the city of el-Fasher by burying and burning bodies, a research team from Yale University says. The RSF had drawn international condemnation amid reports of executions and crimes against humanity when its fighters captured the city in October. Now, analysis of satellite images by Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) shows the RSF likely disposed of tens of thousands of bodies after seizing el-Fasher. The RSF has not responded to the report, but its leader previously admitted his fighters had committed some violations in the city.…

A T-SHIRT worn by Kobbie Mainoo’s half-brother was among the post-match talking points at Old Trafford – even after a game as thrilling as the 4-4 draw between Manchester United and Bournemouth. Jordan Mainoo-Hames wore a ‘free Kobbie Mainoo’ T-shirt during the match, a move that risks making a delicate situation even more fraught. Mainoo’s United future is the subject of huge debate, with head coach Ruben Amorim yet to hand him a single Premier League start this season. Amorim has defended himself on numerous occasions against allegations he does not rate Mainoo and that he has no trust in…

THE Israeli military will demolish 25 residential buildings in the occupied West Bank’s Nur Shams refugee camp this week, according to local authorities. Abdallah Kamil, the governor of the Tulkarem governorate where Nur Shams is located, told the AFP news agency on Monday that he was informed of the planned demolition by the Israeli Defence Ministry body COGAT. Faisal Salama, the head of the popular committee for the Tulkarem camp, which is near Nur Shams, said the demolition order would affect 100 family homes. Israel launched Operation Iron Wall in the occupied West Bank in January. It says the campaign…

SAUDI Arabia has broken its own record for executions carried out in a single year, according to an AFP tally, after authorities said three people were put to death Monday. The kingdom has legally executed 340 people so far this year, according to AFP’s count, and has in recent years trailed only China and Iran among countries carrying out the death penalty. The toll marks the second-straight year Saudi Arabia has broken its own record since rights groups first began documenting the number of executions in the 1990s. It executed 338 people in 2024. A statement by the interior ministry…

A FLASH flood in a Moroccan coastal town killed at least 37, local officials said Monday, as search and rescue operations continued. Drought-hit Morocco often faces severe weather, but Sunday’s flooding in Safi is already the deadliest such disaster in at least a decade. A muddy torrent swept cars and bins from the streets in Safi, which is around 300 kilometres (186 miles) south of the capital Rabat. Fourteen survivors are being treated at Mohammed V hospital in the town, and two of them are in intensive care, according to local officials updating the overnight toll. Schools have been closed…

THE Ugandan military has confirmed it is holding a Catholic priest who went missing nearly two weeks ago, accusing him of involvement in “violent subversive activities”. In a brief statement, the military said Father Deusdedit Ssekabira had been arrested, was in “lawful custody” and would be charged in court. The Catholic Diocese in the city of Masaka previously said Father Ssekabira was “kidnapped by men in Uganda Army uniform”. The church has not responded to the military’s accusations. As Uganda prepares to hold elections next month, it faces growing scrutiny from human rights groups over reports of enforced disappearances and…

MANCHESTER City thumped Crystal Palace 3-0 on Sunday to climb back to within two points of Premier League leaders Arsenal as Aston Villa twice came from behind to beat West Ham. Elsewhere, Nottingham Forest demolished Tottenham 3-0, while Sunderland saw off local rivals Newcastle 1-0 thanks to a Nick Woltemade own goal. Arsenal, who have set the pace in this season’s Premier League, squeaked home on Saturday with a 2-1 win against bottom-club Wolves, thanks to two own goals. That put the pressure back on City, who have been showing ominous signs that they are finding their feet in recent…

HAMAS has confirmed the killing of senior commander Raed Saad in an Israeli attack in Gaza in the highest-profile assassination of a senior figure in the Palestinian group since the October ceasefire. The Israeli military had said it killed Saad in an attack on Saturday near Gaza City. At least 25 people were wounded. Confirming Saad’s killing in a video statement on Sunday, Hamas’s Gaza chief, Khalil al-Hayya, accused Israel of violating the ceasefire. “In the wake of Israel’s continued violations, including the latest assassination of a Hamas commander just yesterday, we call on the mediators and especially the US…

A FATHER and son opened fire on a Jewish festival at Sydney’s Bondi Beach in a shooting spree that killed 15 people, including a child, authorities said Monday as they denounced the attack as antisemitic “terrorism”. The duo fired into crowds packing the beach for the start of Hanukkah on Sunday evening, sending people fleeing in panic across the tourist hotspot. A 10-year-old girl was among the 15 dead in Australia’s worst mass shooting for almost 30 years, while 42 more were rushed to hospital with gunshot wounds and other injuries. Police are still unravelling what drove the shootings, although…

CHABI Yayi, son of former Beninese president and current opposition figure Thomas Boni Yayi, was arrested early Sunday at his home, according to several of his relatives. No reason was given for the arrest, which comes a week after the foiled coup attempt there. “At this time, we don’t know what he is accused of,” one relative told AFP. “We don’t know if it is linked to the events of last Sunday,” said another close friend, a member of the Democrats party, the main opposition party, which Yahi heads. Thomas Boni Yayi condemned the abortive coup in a video address…

PRESIDENTS and their deputies from across West Africa met Sunday in Nigeria for a regional meeting whose agenda was dominated by two recent coup attempts. A successful putsch in Guinea-Bissau in November and a foiled military takeover in Benin a week ago have rattled the regional bloc ECOWAS. The bloc was previously hit with a string of coups between 2020 and 2023 in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, and Niger, all of whom are still under junta control. “The events of the last few weeks have shown in concrete terms what regional solidarity means,” ECOWAS commission president Alieu Touray said at…

ANGRY spectators broke down barricades and stormed the pitch at a stadium in India after football star Lionel Messi, who is on a three-day tour of the country, abruptly left the arena. As a part of a so-called GOAT Tour, the 38-year-old Argentina and Inter Miami superstar touched down in the eastern state of West Bengal early Saturday, greeted by a chorus of exuberant fans chanting his name. Hours later, thousands of fans wearing Messi jerseys and waving the Argentine flag packed into Salt Lake stadium in the state capital Kolkata, but heavy security around the footballer left fans struggling…

THE Israeli military sats it has killed senior Hamas commander Raed Saad in a strike in Gaza City. The attack on Saturday killed five people and wounded at least 25, according to Gaza health authorities. Hamas in a statement did not confirm the death of Raed Saad. It said a civilian vehicle had been struck outside Gaza City and asserted it was a violation of the ceasefire that took effect on October. In a post on Telegram, the army alleged that the commander had been operating to re-establish Hamas’s capabilities, which have been severely depleted by more than two years…

BELARUS has freed 123 prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski and leading opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova, in exchange for sanctions relief from the United States. John Coale, the US special envoy for Belarus, announced the lifting of sanctions on potash on Saturday after two days of talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk. Belarus is a leading global producer of potash, a key component in fertilisers, the former Soviet state is a leading global producer. The prisoner release was by far the biggest by Lukashenko since the Trump administration opened talks this year with the close ally…

A DRONE attack has hit a United Nations facility in war-torn Sudan, killing six peacekeepers, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. The attack on Saturday hit the peacekeeping logistics base in the city of Kadugli, in the central region of Kordofan, Guterres said in a statement. Eight other peacekeepers were wounded in the strike. All the victims are Bangladeshi nationals, serving in the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA). “I strongly condemn the horrific drone attacks that targeted the United Nations peacekeeping logistics base in Kadugli, Sudan,” Guterres said in a statement. “Attacks targeting United Nations peacekeepers may constitute war…

TOP US diplomat Marco Rubio said Saturday that Rwanda had clearly violated a peace agreement signed with US President Donald Trump. He also vowed unspecified “action” in response, after Rwandan-backed forces advanced in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. “Rwanda’s actions in eastern DRC are a clear violation of the Washington Accords signed by President Trump, and the United States will take action to ensure promises made to the President are kept,” Rubio wrote on X. The capture of Uvira, along the border with Burundi, has raised fears of the conflict breaking out into a regional war. Part of an offensive…