Author: Editor

AT least 155 people have died in Tanzania as torrential rains linked to El Nino triggered flooding and landslides, the country’s prime minister said Thursday. Tanzania and other countries in East Africa — a region highly vulnerable to climate change — have been pounded by heavier than usual rainfall during the current rainy season, with several dozen deaths also reported in Kenya. Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said more than 200,000 people have been affected by the disaster in Tanzania, with 155 fatalities and 236 people injured. “The heavy El Nino rains, accompanied by strong winds, floods and landslides in various…

THREE more African countries have joined a rollout of malaria vaccines targetting millions of children in a continent that accounts for 95 percent of malaria deaths, the UN said Thursday. Africa accounts for approximately 94 percent of global malaria cases, according to the World Health Organization. Most of the deaths are of children. Benin, Liberia and Sierra Leone joined other African countries offering the malaria vaccine as part of their childhood immunisation programmes, a statement by WHO and UNICEF said. Since 2019, more than two million children have been vaccinated in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, resulting in substantial reductions in…

BARCELONA coach Xavi will remain at the club until at least the end of his contract in June 2025 after changing his mind that this would be his last season. The 44-year-old announced in January he would step down as boss this summer. But, with president Joan Laporta keen for him to remain, the former Barcelona and Spain midfielder has performed a U-turn. Xavi took charge in November 2021 after leaving Qatari club Al Sadd and guided Barca to the Spanish title in his first full season in charge in 2022-23. However, they are 11 points behind La Liga leaders…

THE discovery of a mass grave inside the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip this week has been met with grief and horror from Palestinians and has drawn condemnation from the United Nations and calls for a transparent and credible investigation. More than 300 bodies have been uncovered so far from the hospital after Israeli forces withdrew on April 7. The UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday said more bodies were found at Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital, the enclave’s largest health facility, which the rights body said was “an empty shell” after a two-week Israeli…

UKRAINE has begun using long-range ballistic missiles secretly provided by the US against invading Russian forces, American officials have confirmed. The weapons were part of a $300m (£240m) aid package approved by US President Joe Biden in March and they arrived this month. They have already been used at least once to strike Russian targets in occupied Crimea, US media report. Mr Biden has now signed a new $61bn package of aid for Ukraine. The US previously supplied Ukraine with a mid-range version of the Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) but had been reluctant to send anything more powerful, partly…

A RESIDENTIAL building that was under construction in Ethiopia’s capital city has collapsed, killing seven people sleeping in a house next door. The disaster happened early on Wednesday at around 05:00 local time (02:00 BST) in Addis Ketema, one of the busiest neighbourhood’s in Addis Ababa, local media reported. Nigatu Mamo, a spokesperson for the local authoritie, told the BBC the deceased include children aged four, 11 and 12. “The victims lost their lives due to lack of air,” Mamo added. Reports say the police have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the collapse. It is not the…

THE Tanzanian government has denied allegations that villagers have been subjected to abuses, including forced evictions, as part of a project to expand a national park in the south of the country. On Tuesday, the World Bank said it had suspended its funding of a $150m (£120m) tourism project in Ruaha National Park, saying it was deeply concerned about the allegations. “The Tanzanian government does not violate human rights when implementing all its projects, including this one being funded by the World Bank,” government spokesperson Mobhare Matinyi told state broadcaster TBC. “What happened is that the World Bank received some…

BARCELONA president Joan Laporta said Monday the club will demand a Clasico replay if they can prove officials made a mistake by not allowing Lamine Yamal’s “ghost goal”. The champions fell to a 3-2 defeat against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday in a match which featured multiple controversial incidents, leaving their arch-rivals 11 points clear at the top of La Liga. The most debated was 16-year-old winger Yamal’s first-half flick from a corner which may have crossed the line before Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin pushed it away. Without goal-line technology in Spain, officials used VAR to try…

THE health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said at least 34,183 people have been killed in the territory as the war between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militants marked its 200th day on Tuesday. The tally includes at least 32 deaths in the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 77,143 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7. Meanwhile, Three members of a family in Rafah have been killed and four wounded after an Israeli military strike hit their home in southern Gaza’s Rafah: Al Jazeera correspondent.…

THE US Senate has approved a controversial landmark bill that could see TikTok banned in America. It gives TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, nine months to sell its stake or the app will be blocked in the United States. The bill will now be handed over to US President Joe Biden, who has said he will sign it into law as soon as it reaches his desk. ByteDance has told the BBC that it did not have an immediate response to the move. Previously the firm said it would oppose any attempt to force it to sell TikTok. If the US…

THE UN called Tuesday on Britain to reconsider plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, warning it threatened the rule of law and set “a perilous precedent globally”. The UK government’s controversial Rwanda scheme has been beset by legal challenges since 2022, but was passed by parliament late on Monday after a marathon tussle between the upper and lower chambers. UN rights chief Volker Turk and UN refugee head Filippo Grande called in a statement on the government to “reconsider” the scheme, urging it to instead “take practical measures to address irregular flows of refugees and migrants, based on international…

MORE than 50,000 people have been displaced by clashes in a disputed area in northern Ethiopia, the United Nations said, as the international community expressed concern about the violence involving fighters from rival regions. “The number of people displaced by the armed clashes in Alamata Town, and Raya Alamata, Zata and Ofla… since 13/14 April has reached more than 50,000,” the UN said late Monday, citing local authorities in the disputed area, which is claimed by Tigray and neighbouring Amhara. “The humanitarian situation is dire, with thousands of women and children in need of broad humanitarian support to survive,” it…

A FORMER governor of Imo State Emeka Ihedioha has left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), 26 years after joining one of Nigeria’s leading political parties. Having been one of the party’s founding members, Ihedioha cited a variance of “personal beliefs” as part of his reason for quitting the PDP. “Regrettably, in recent times, the party has taken on a path that is at variance with my personal beliefs. Despite my attempt to offer counsel, the party is, sadly no longer able to carry out internal reforms, enforce its own rules, or offer credible opposition to the ruling All Progressives Congress,”…

INTER Milan sealed their 20th Italian title by beating arch-rivals and nearest challengers AC Milan in a historic Derby della Madonnina. Francesco Acerbi was unmarked to head in Benjamin Pavard’s flick-on from a corner to give Inter the lead. Marcus Thuram latched onto a long ball and was given too much time to cut in before smashing their second into the bottom corner at the San Siro. England’s Fikayo Tomori headed in from close range to give Milan brief hope. There were three red cards in injury time as tempers boiled over. Milan’s Theo Hernandez and Inter’s Denzel Dumfries were…

ISRAEL’s military intelligence chief has resigned after taking responsibility for failures leading to the Hamas attack on October 7, the military said on Monday, as Israel carried out more shelling in war-battered Gaza overnight. General Aharon Haliva is the first top Israeli official to step down for failing to prevent the Hamas attack, which triggered the war in Gaza and brought the government and military under intense scrutiny in Israel. “The intelligence division under my command did not live up to the task we were entrusted with,” Haliva said in his resignation letter. “I carry that black day with me…

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday promised that deportation flights of asylum seekers to Rwanda will begin in “10 to 12 weeks”, as the plan entered its final stage in parliament. “We are ready, plans are in place and these flights will go, come what may,” Sunak told a Downing Street news conference, hours before parliament is set to approve the contentious proposal. Sunak says it is essential to deter record numbers of asylum seekers crossing the Channel to England from France in small boats and has made it a key pillar of his Conservative party’s pitch to voters.…

AN EGYPTIAN statue aged more than 3,000 years old has arrived back home, over three decades since it was stolen and smuggled out of the country, authorities have said. The statue depicts a head of the ancient Egyptian King Ramses II, who was one of Egypt’s most powerful rulers. It is “part of a mass statue depicting King Ramses II seated next to a number of Egyptian gods”, the ministry of tourism and antiquities said on Sunday. The artefact, which dates back to more than 3,400 years, was taken from the Ramses II temple in the ancient city of Abydos.…

THERE are reports from Mali that at least 100 civilians are being held by suspected insurgents after being kidnapped last week. Local residents told the AFP news agency that they were travelling in three buses when the attackers forced them to drive in the direction of a forest between Bandiagara and Bankass. Six days on, there has been no sign of the dozens of hostages. This area of Mali’s Mopti region has seen frequent attacks by insurgents. Following several recent attacks in the area, people are getting increasingly frustrated. Civil society organisations in Bandiagara have been staging protests denouncing the…

JUDE Bellingham scored a late winner as Real Madrid beat Barcelona to move 11 points clear at the top of La Liga after an enthralling El Clasico. Bellingham smashed into the roof of the net as the clock ticked into stoppage time as Real twice came from behind at the Bernabeu. Andres Christensen scored the opener for Barcelona but a Vinicius Jr penalty had the game level at half-time. Fermin Lopez made it 2-1 to Barca before Lucas Vazquez equalised again. The victory puts Real firmly on track to reclaim the title with just six games left to play this…

PRIME Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said Israel will increase “military pressure” on Palestinian militant group Hamas in a bid to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza. “In the coming days we will increase the military and political pressure on Hamas because this is the only way to free our hostages,” Netanyahu said in a video statement on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Passover, threatening to “deliver additional and painful blows” without specifying. Despite an international outcry, Netanyahu has repeatedly said that the army will launch a ground assault on Rafah, a southern Gaza city so…