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…
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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…
ATALANTA stunned Anfield as Gianluca Scamacca scored twice in a 3-0 win on Thursday to leave Liverpool with a mountain to climb to reach the Europa League semi-finals. Mario Pasalic added a third seven minutes from time to condemn Liverpool to a first home defeat in all competitions for 14 months. The Reds had been favourites to end the Jurgen Klopp era by completing the German’s set of trophies won as Liverpool boss in his last game in charge in the Dublin final. With Liverpool locked in a tight three-way battle for the Premier League title alongside Arsenal and Manchester…
GAZA’s Health Ministry has said at least 63 Palestinians have been killed and 45 injured in Israeli attacks across the enclave in the past 24 hours. Iran Press/ West Asia: The World Health Organization (WHO) has said the destruction in Khan Younis and damage to the medical sector was ‘disproportionate to anything one can imagine’ after the Israeli army withdrawal. At least 33,545 Palestinians have been killed and 76,094 injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from Hamas’s October 7 attacks stands at 1,139, with dozens of people still held captive. Meanwhile, Tedros…
ITALY’s coastguard said Thursday that it had found nine dead migrants, including a child, after their boat was shipwrecked southeast of Lampedusa but that 22 people were rescued. The coastguard said it had been asked for help Wednesday by authorities in Malta, in whose search-and-rescue territory the shipwreck occurred, around 30 miles southeast of the Italian island of Lampedusa. It dispatched a patrol boat to the site and “rescued 22 shipwrecked people and recovered nine lifeless people, including a child”, the coastguard said in a statement. Rough conditions, with waves up to 2.5 metres (8.2 feet) high, complicated the rescue…
THE UK has returned dozens of artefacts looted from what is today Ghana – more than 150 years after they were taken. Some 32 gold and silver items have been sent on long-term loan to the country by the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) and the British Museum. They were stolen from the court of the Asante king, known as the Asantehene, during 19th century conflicts between the British and powerful Asante people. The objects are expected to be returned to the current king on Friday. His chief negotiator, Ivor Agyeman-Duah, told the BBC that the objects are currently in…
A TOP Ethiopian opposition figure has been shot dead and his body found on the side of a road in his hometown in Meki, in the troubled Oromia region. Bate Urgessa, 41, was an outspoken critic of the government and had been jailed on several occasions. Family members told local news site, Addis Standard, people who “looked like government security forces” took him from his hotel room on Tuesday night. The Oromia regional government denied that security forces were involved. In recent years Ethiopia has seen an increase in the killing of political and cultural figures. Mr Bate was a…
FIFTY more staff of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) were sacked on Monday, adding to the long list of ongoing disengagements in the apex bank, this newspaper gathered. The sacking under the leadership of CBN governor, Mr Olayemi Cardoso cuts across 29 departments, it was learnt. So far, 117 casualties have been recorded in the last 20 days. The termination of appointments affects directors, deputy directors, assistant directors, principal managers, senior managers and lower ranking staff. The dispatch of the disengagement letters, which started on March 15, has continued every other week with palpable apprehension amongst staff of every…
ANDREAS Christensen headed the winner as Barcelona beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-2 at the Parc des Princes in Wednesday’s first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie. Raphinha equalised for Barca with his second goal of the night before Christensen nodded in from a corner in the 77th minute. In between, PSG had turned the game around as they awoke from a poor first-half display by starting in electrifying fashion after the restart with two goals in six minutes, neither coming from Kylian Mbappe. Ousmane Dembele struck against his old club, and Vitinha briefly put the French giants in front, only…
GAZANS did their best to celebrate the end of Ramadan in the driving rain on Wednesday, as the war raged on with 14 killed, including children, in a strike on their home, the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry said. The Israeli military said it struck several targets on the first day of the Eid al-Adha holiday, with a jet hitting a rocket launch site and troops killing a “terrorist cell” in close quarters fighting. An AFP photographer witnessed the aftermath of the the bombing of the home in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. Family members clutched the bodies of dead…
IT is the most spectacular trial ever held in Vietnam, befitting one of the greatest bank frauds the world has ever seen. Behind the stately yellow portico of the colonial-era courthouse in Ho Chi Minh City, a 67-year-old property developer stands accused of looting one of Vietnam’s largest banks over a period of 11 years. The numbers involved are dizzying. Truong My Lan is charged with taking out $44bn (£35bn) in loans from the Saigon Commercial Bank. Prosecutors say $27bn may never be recovered. The habitually secretive communist authorities have been uncharacteristically forthright about this case, going into minute detail…