Author: Editor

A “SOPHISTICATED internet fraud syndicate” has been uncovered in Zambia, leading to the arrest of 77 people, including 22 Chinese nationals. It was a “significant breakthrough in the fight against cybercrime”, the authorities said after a multi-agency raid on a Chinese-run company. The firm employed Zambians who believed they were to be call-centre agents. Among equipment seized were devices allowing callers to disguise their location and thousands of Sim cards. Golden Top Support Services, the company at the centre of the raid, has not commented on the allegations. The swoop on its premises, located in Roma, an upmarket suburb of…

THE editor of a Togolese newspaper detained over a report about the death of a supporter of President Faure Gnassingbe was released on Tuesday, his lawyer said. The arrest of Apollinaire Mewenemesse, 71, who is editor of La Depeche, heightened fears of a press clampdown ahead of elections. He was arrested on March 28 in connection with an article questioning a general’s conviction in the murder of an Gnassingbe ally. He faces seven charges, including “publication of fake news” with the aim of inciting the public or the military to rise up against the state. “Apollinaire Mewenemesse is released under…

NO fewer than 39 lecturers in the nation’s tertiary institutions have been indicted and dismissed over sexual misconduct in the past five years, analysis of media reports by this newspaper has revealed. Sexual harassment has been recurring in Nigerian higher educational institutions with a survey conducted in 2018 by the World Bank Group’s Women revealing that 70 per cent of female graduates from tertiary institutions in the country were sexually harassed in school, with the main perpetrators being classmates and lecturers. Although the Senate had in 2021 passed a bill stipulating 21 years imprisonment for randy lecturers, The PUNCH reports…

REAL Madrid and Champions League holders Manchester City shared a pulsating 3-3 draw in a rollercoaster quarter-final first leg on Tuesday. Bernardo Silva put City ahead with a low free-kick but Ruben Dias’ own goal and Rodrygo Goes helped Madrid dramatically and swiftly fight back. Manchester City’s own quick-fire double in the second half through Phil Foden and Josko Gvardiol stunned the record 14-time winners, but they snatched a draw through Fede Valverde’s scorching volley. The thrilling match was played in the shadow of a threat by Islamic State to target every quarter-final first leg, with a heavy security presence…

AT least 14 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting a house in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, Palestinian medical sources and eyewitnesses said Tuesday. Eyewitnesses told Xinhua that Israeli warplanes targeted a house belonging to the Abu Yousef family in the camp, completely destroying the house and causing damage to nearby homes. Medical sources told Xinhua that 14 people, including children, were killed in the airstrike, and several others sustained varying degrees of injuries. All the injured were transported to hospitals. Earlier in the day, the Gaza health ministry announced that the Palestinian death toll in…

SIMON Harris became Ireland’s youngest ever prime minister Tuesday, pledging to bring “new energy” to the role but conceding that time is tight before looming crucial election tests. Harris, 37, replaces Leo Varadkar who abruptly quit last month citing personal and political reasons. Ireland’s parliament voted 88 to 69 in favour of Harris who was officially installed at a ceremony with President Michael D. Higgins. The centre-right Fine Gael party — part of a three-party governing coalition — selected Harris as its leader following an uncontested election after Varadkar resigned. But he faces key elections within months as well as…

A SOUTH African court on Tuesday ruled that former president Jacob Zuma can stand in looming general elections, overturning a decision by electoral authorities to bar him over a contempt conviction. In a surprise verdict, the electoral court ruled in favour of the 81-year-old who is fronting uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), a new opposition party that has become a potential upsetter in the May 29 election. “The decision of the Electoral Commission… is set aside,” the court wrote in a ruling seen by AFP. It did not provide an explanation of how the verdict was reached. South Africa’s general elections…

UK LEADER Rishi Sunak and Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame reiterated Tuesday that they expect Britain to soon start sending undocumented migrants to the African country, despite fresh questions over the controversial scheme. Prime Minister Sunak hosted Kagame at his official residence in London just as a British newspaper reported that properties in Kigali earmarked for the deported migrants had instead been sold to local buyers. A government spokesperson said Sunak updated President Kagame “on the next stages of the legislation in parliament”, which is at the centre of a standoff. “Both leaders looked forward to flights departing to Rwanda in…

THE impeachment of Phillip Shaibu in Edo State has made him the 17th deputy governor to be impeached since Nigeria’s return to civil rule in 1999, Daily Trust reports. Pundits say these developments call for stronger constitutional backing for deputy governors in the country to reserve the sanctity of their offices and democracy as a whole. Shaibu, who has been in a running battle with Governor Godwin Obaseki over his ambition to succeed him, was impeached by the Edo State House of Assembly over allegations of perjury and divulging Edo State government secrets. He has been replaced by 38-year-old Omobayo…

Salaamu Alaikum, Ya Sheikh. I embraced Islam recently without my parent’s knowledge. If they knew they would be very angry and would cut off my study allowance for university. Hence I tried to keep the matter secret. But on the third day of Ramadan, I had no choice but to go to a meeting at the University, and after I arrived I found out that they had prepared dinner that happened to be one and a half hours before Maghrib. The problem was not my refusing to eat with them; rather the problem was that my parents were also present…

MIKEL Arteta has challenged Arsenal to prove their wretched Champions League record against Bayern Munich is ancient history as the Gunners look to seize their “special” opportunity to reach the semi-finals. Arteta’s side have endured a series of chastening defeats against Bayern over the last decade, but Arteta expects them to reverse that trend in Tuesday’s quarter-final first leg. Beaten 5-1 in each of their last three meetings with Bayern, Arsenal were eliminated from the Champions League by the German club in the last 16 in 2017, 2014, 2013 and 2005. However, Premier League leaders Arsenal are in superb form,…

TALKS in Cairo towards a Gaza truce and hostage release deal have made “significant progress”, Egyptian state-linked media reported Monday, more than half a year into the war started by the October 7 attack. Israel kept up the pressure, warning that it was ready for future military operations against Hamas in Gaza’s far-southern city of Rafah, the last area so far spared a ground invasion. Israel on Sunday pulled its forces out of the southern Gaza Strip and the main city there, Khan Yunis, allowing large numbers of displaced Palestinians to return to the devastated urban area. But Defence Minister…

ACROSS Mexico, the US and Canada, inside a ribbon of land stretching 155 miles wide but more than 4,000 miles long, tens of millions of people craned their necks, tilted their heads to the sky and watched in wonder as the day turned to night. What many saw on Monday was a phenomenon like no other: the Moon moving between the Earth and the Sun, extinguishing its light in a total solar eclipse. The path of totality spanned the continent, beginning over the warm sands of a Mexican beach town and darkening the skies above the crashing waters of Niagara…

MORE than 100 people have died in Mali because of an extreme heatwave that hit the country last month, reports say. Last week the south-western town of Kayes recorded a temperature high of 48.5°C. It would be the hottest day in African history recorded in April, according to meteorologists cited by online news website RFI. Gabriel-Toure Hospital in the capital, Bamako, received 102 heat-affected patients who died upon arrival, French RFI news website reported. Most of them were over 60 years of age and chronically ill, Djibo Mahamane Django, the head of anaesthesia department at hospital told local Joliba FM.…

THE death toll from the sinking of a makeshift ferry boat off the north coast of Mozambique has risen to 96, local authorities said Monday. The converted fishing boat, carrying about 130 people, ran into trouble on Sunday as it was trying to reach an island off Nampula province, officials said. “Five more (bodies) have been found in the last few hours, therefore we are talking about 96 deaths,” Silverio Nauaito, the island’s administrator, told AFP. Among them were three children, he added. Rescuers have found 11 survivors and search operations are continuing, the official said. On Sunday, authorities said…

THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is probing 50 bank accounts, as it recovered N30 billion in the case of the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Betta Edu, and the ongoing probe of the ministry over alleged money laundering. The latest development was revealed in a bulletin titled, “EFCC Alert,” detailing some major arrests, prosecutions, and recoveries made by the commission within the last month. The document authorised by the EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, which was obtained by our correspondent on Monday, revealed that the recovered N30bn is now in the Federal Government’s coffers. The document reads, “Update on Betta…

Q: Salamu Alaikum Ya Sheikh. Is it permissible to pray in a room when there is someone else in the same room who is watching television, if that person is watching it at a low volume and the program being shown does not contain anything but people who are dressed decently? Sadiya AbduRahman, Abuja A:It is makrooh to pray in a place where the worshipper will be distracted from his prayer. And undoubtedly the television is one of the greatest distractions to people; if a man prays in a place where the television is on, it will undoubtedly distract him…

LIVERPOOL captain Virgil van Dijk said a dramatic 2-2 draw at Manchester United on Sunday felt like a defeat after throwing away two points in the Premier League title race. The visitors dominated the majority of the game but needed a Mohamed Salah penalty six minutes from time to avoid defeat after spectacular strikes from Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo. The draw leaves Liverpool behind leaders Arsenal on goal difference and just one point ahead of Manchester City with seven games remaining in the tightest of title races. Despite United’s struggles this season, Liverpool have failed to beat Erik ten…

A GROUP of German civil servants have written to Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other senior ministers calling on the government to “cease arm deliveries to the Israeli government with immediate effect”. “Israel is committing crimes in Gaza that are in clear contradiction to international law and thus to the Constitution, which we are bound to as federal civil servants and public employees”, the statement says, citing the International Court of Justice’s ruling in January that Israel’s military actions are “plausible acts of genocide”. According to the organisers of the five-page statement, around 600 civil servants have voiced support for the…

ON Monday, April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will cross North America, passing over Mexico, the United States, and Canada, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has revealed. A total solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the sun and earth, completely blocking the face of the sun. The sky will darken as if it were dawn or dusk. While disclosing the information on Sunday, NASA said, “Safety is the number one priority when viewing a total solar eclipse. Be sure you’re familiar with when you need to wear specialised eye protection designed for solar viewing by reviewing…