THE Israeli government has approved a proposal to register large areas of the occupied West Bank as “state property” for the first time since the Israeli occupation of the territory began in 1967. Israeli public broadcaster Kan on Sunday said the proposal was submitted by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Defence Minister Israel Katz. “We are continuing the settlement revolution to control all our lands,” Smotrich said. Most Palestinian land is not formally registered because it is a long, complicated process that Israel stopped in 1967. Registration of land establishes permanent ownership. International law states…
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IRAN is ready to compromise on its stockpile of highly enriched uranium in exchange for US sanctions being lifted, its deputy foreign minister said. Majid Takht-Ravanchi’s remarks followed a resumption of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States in Oman on February 6. Switzerland on Saturday announced that a new round of talks would take place in Geneva next week, but without specifying which day. Iran has not yet officially confirmed the new round of talks, but Takht-Ravanchi, who was in Iran’s Oman delegation led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, said they would be on Tuesday, the BBC reported.…
SOUTH African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he will deploy the army to help the police fight criminal gangs and illegal mining in the country. Gang violence is a major problem in South Africa, which has one of the world’s highest murder rates. “Organised crime is now the most immediate threat to our democracy, our society and our economic development,” Ramaphosa said in his annual State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Thursday. “I will be deploying the South African National Defence Force to support the police,” he added. Last month, Police Minister Firoz Cachalia said the country’s police were not…
A NOW-HALTED plan to run a hepatitis B vaccine trial involving thousands of newborns in Guinea-Bissau has been criticised by the World Health Organization as “unethical”. The US-funded study had sought to give one set of babies the vaccine at birth, while another would have had the shot delayed until six weeks of age. The WHO said it had “significant concerns” about the plan, and described the birth-dose vaccine as “an effective and essential public health intervention, with a proven record”. The US health department, headed by Robert F Kennedy Jr, who has questioned the effects of vaccines, had sought…
MOHAMMED Salah struck as Liverpool cruised into the FA Cup fifth round with a 3-0 win over Brighton on Saturday, while Marc Guehi scored his first goal for Manchester City in a 2-0 victory over fourth-tier Salford. Brighton had beaten Manchester United in round three, but the Seagulls have been in miserable form since and were easily beaten by an improving Liverpool at Anfield. Curtis Jones was forced to start in an unusual role at right-back due to a number of defensive injuries for the English champions and burst into the box to open the scoring from Milos Kerkez’s cross.…
ISRAEL’s more than two-year genocidal war has decimated Gaza‘s health system, as medical personnel and doctors struggle to treat patients with limited and damaged equipment, with a “ceasefire” doing nothing to ease the peril and suffering the ill face. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, more than 1,700 healthcare workers – including doctors, nurses and paramedics have been killed since Israel’s war began. The United Nations has accused Israel of deliberately targeting Gaza’s health facilities and killing medical personnel to destroy the besieged enclave’s healthcare system. All medical facilities have been damaged or destroyed Doctors at Al-Aqsa Hospital, in central Gaza,…
THE Department of Homeland Security entered a partial shutdown Saturday as US lawmakers fight over funding the agency overseeing much of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Thousands of government workers, from airport security agents to disaster relief officials, will either be furloughed or forced to work without pay until funding is agreed upon by Congress. At the centre of the budget dispute is the department’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), whose agents killed two US citizens amid sweeping raids and mass protests in Minneapolis. Democrats oppose any new funding for DHS until major changes are implemented over how ICE conducts…
BURKINA Faso’s transitional government, led by President Captain Ibrahim Traoré, on Thursday adopted a sweeping decree requiring large companies operating in the country to build their headquarters domestically, officials said following a Council of Ministers meeting in the capital. The measure, ratified during the Feb. 12 cabinet session in Ouagadougou, applies to firms with average annual revenues of at least 5 billion CFA francs (about $8.8 million) over the previous three fiscal years. It is part of a broader push to strengthen economic sovereignty and reinforce the corporate presence on Burkinabé soil. Under the new regulations, companies are divided into…
CHADIAN authorities, in cooperation with international police partners, have arrested a group of suspected killers and thieves linked to a brazen theft of 163 million CFA francs in January 2025, law enforcement officials said in statements this week. The National Police of Chad announced that the suspects were taken into custody in neighboring Cameroon with assistance from the International Criminal Police Organization, commonly known as Interpol. The arrests cap a months-long investigation into the robbery and alleged homicides that occurred on Jan. 13, 2025, in the Mardjandaffack district, a volatile area in the Chadian capital. According to the police, the…
THERE are men who pass through power and there are men who redefine it. Murtala Ramat Mohammed belonged to that rare breed who carried authority lightly and carried conscience heavily. He was a comrade in uniform, a patriot in spirit, a true son of Africa whose love for this nation was not performed for applause but proven through action. He rose to lead the most populous Black nation on earth, yet power never altered his posture or polluted his character. He remained simple in conduct, measured in speech and humble in lifestyle. He never allowed the office to swallow the…
THE 2027 Africa Cup of Nations will go ahead as planned in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, the Confederation of African Football said on Friday. CAF president Patrice Motsepe denied press reports that the competition could be postponed to 2028 because Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania were not yet ready to host the tournament. “We have done a lot to have AFCON held in east Africa, and our commitment remains to have AFCON in east Africa,” Motsepe said after a CAF executive committee meeting. “I believe we will hold a very successful AFCON among the three countries. “CAF will work closely with…
THE al-Najjar family gathered at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, early to await the arrival of their matriarch. They stood shoulder to shoulder, eagerly waiting for the bus. For nearly two years, they have been counting down the days, amid Israel’s genocidal war, destruction, trauma and mourning, until Mariam could return home via the Rafah crossing. “We [the family] feel happy because we will see my mother again,” Mohammad al-Najjar, Mariam’s son, told Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Khan Younis. The family has suffered heavy losses, like all in Gaza. “But we are sad…
AT least 17 heads of state, the United Nations chief, and several global tech CEOs are set to attend next week’s AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, India, said Friday. Touted as the biggest yet, it is the fourth edition of the annual global gathering to address the risks and opportunities posed by the booming artificial intelligence technology. Leaders from France, Brazil, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, and 13 other nations will join, as well as Google’s Sundar Pichai, Sam Altman of OpenAI, and Nvidia boss Jensen Huang, according to a statement from India’s foreign ministry. The summit “will bring…
MORE than 6,000 people were killed in just three days when Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized the city of el-Fasher last year, according to victims and witnesses cited in a UN report. “It was like a scene out of a horror movie,” recalled one person, who saw bodies thrown into the air as RSF fighters opened fire on 1,000 people sheltering in a university building last October. The report cites evidence of mass killings, summary executions, torture, abductions and sexual violence against civilians. These amount to war crimes and possible crimes against humanity, it says. The RSF has…
GHANAIANS have rushed to defend their colourful handwoven “fugu” smocks after President John Mahama’s wearing of the loose-fitting traditional garment on a recent state visit to Zambia caused an online storm. Traditionally produced in northern Ghana on narrow-strip looms, the fugu is widely treated as the West African country’s national costume, worn at festivals, political events, and—increasingly—in offices and public life. But Mahama’s choice to walk the red carpet and inspect a guard-of-honour parade in Lusaka while rocking a blue-white-grey striped version of the flare-armed tunic drew mockery from non-Ghanaians on social media, with some calling the garment inappropriate for…
ENGLAND will face Spain, Croatia and the Czech Republic in the 2026-27 Uefa Nations League group stage, while Wales are in the same group as champions Portugal. England and Wales, who will also play Denmark and Norway in a bid to qualify for the knockout stages, both secured promotion to League A in the 2024-2025 competition. Scotland, who will compete at their first World Cup since 1998 this summer, will meet Switzerland, Slovenia and North Macedonia in their League B group. Also in League B, Northern Ireland will play Hungary, Ukraine and Georgia, while the Republic of Ireland face Israel,…
US President Donald Trump will announce a multi-billion dollar reconstruction plan for Gaza and detail plans for a UN-authorized stabilization force for the Palestinian enclave at the first formal meeting of his Board of Peace next week, two senior US officials said on Thursday. Delegations from at least 20 countries, including many heads of state, are expected to attend the meeting in Washington, DC, which Trump will chair on February 19, the officials told Reuters on condition of anonymity. The details on Trump’s plans for the first meeting of his Board of Peace for Gaza have not been previously reported.…
NORTH Korean leader Kim Jong Un has entrenched his daughter as heir apparent ahead of a landmark party conference, a South Korean lawmaker said on Thursday after a briefing from Seoul’s main intelligence agency. The Kim family has ruled North Korea with an iron grip for decades, and a strong personality-driven leadership tradition surrounding their “Paektu bloodline” dominates daily life in the isolated country. Kim’s teenage daughter Ju Ae has long been seen as the next in line, a perception stoked by a string of recent high-profile outings. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said Ju Ae has now been clearly…
KENYA’s border with Somalia will re-open in April almost 15 years after it shut because of attacks by Islamist militant group al-Shabab, President William Ruto has announced. Based in Somalia, the group has masterminded a series of deadly assaults in Kenya including one on a shopping centre in the capital, Nairobi, killing 67 people in 2013 and one at a university in Garissa two years later killing 148. The plan has been announced before, in 2023, but further attacks postponed the arrangements. Ruto said the intention to re-open two crossings follows years of security assessments, adding that there will be…
AT least 21 people have died after a passenger boat sank in River Nile state in northern Sudan, a medical group has told the BBC. The boat was travelling between the villages of Tayba al-Khawad and Deim al-Qarai, carrying nearly 30 passengers, including women, elderly people and children, the Sudan Doctors Network said. “Rescue teams are continuing with their work since there could be more bodies,” said Dr Mohamed Faisal Hassan, the network’s spokesperson. Authorities in River Nile state said on Thursday that 21 bodies had been recovered, AFP news agency reported. Eyewitnesses said the boat capsized due to high…