KYLIAN Mbappe marked his 25th birthday with two goals as Paris St-Germain beat Metz – with his 16-year-old brother Ethan making his debut late on. Vitinha put the French champions ahead from Lee Kang-in’s 49th-minute cross. Mbappe fired a brilliant second into the top corner from 20 yards before Matthieu Udol gave Metz hope. PSG’s all-time top goalscorer got his second when he ran on to a loose backpass before rounding the goalkeeper with seven minutes remaining. He is the first PSG player to score a league goal on his birthday for six years – when he netted in a…
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AT least 20,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israel began bombarding the enclave more than 10 weeks ago, according to Palestinian officials. At least 8,000 children and 6,200 women are among those killed, Gaza’s Government Media Office said on Wednesday. The grim milestone was passed as the United Nations Security Council postponed a key vote on a bid to boost humanitarian aid for Gaza for the third time to avoid a veto from the United States, which traditionally shields its ally Israel from UN action. Since a seven-day truce collapsed on December 1, the war has…
BODIES of 87 people killed during bitter ethnic violence over the past eight months in India’s Manipur state were buried in a mass ceremony on Wednesday, a community leader said. At least 200 people have been killed in the northeastern state since fighting broke out in May between the predominantly Hindu Meitei majority and the mainly Christian Kuki community. Tensions between the two communities have revolved around competition for land and public jobs, with rights activists accusing local leaders of exacerbating ethnic divisions for political gain. The far-flung state has fractured along ethnic lines, with rival militias setting up blockades…
THE African Development Bank (AfDB) said Wednesday it was withdrawing international staff from Ethiopia after the arrest and assault of two staffers “by Ethiopian security forces” in October. It said two of its Addis Ababa-based staff had been “unlawfully arrested, physically assaulted, and detained for hours without charge or any official explanation” at the end of October. “This was a gross violation of their personal diplomatic immunities, rights, and privileges,” the Abidjan-based bank said in a statement. The AfDB office in the Ethiopian capital will remain open with local staff, it added. The bank did not identify the two victims.…
GUINEA-BISSAU President Umaro Sissoco Embalo on Wednesday dismissed the prime minister and immediately named a replacement, in the wake of what he has described as an “attempted coup”. A presidential order sent to AFP said Geraldo Joao Martins “is dismissed from his post as prime minister. The decree comes into force immediately.” Another decree named Rui Duarte Barros as his replacement. Violence erupted in the capital Bissau between members of the national guard and special forces of the presidential guard on the night of November 30, leaving two people dead. Embalo announced an “attempted coup” had taken place and dissolved…
THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has released a former Minister of Power and Steel, and former Minister of State for Defence, Olu Agunloye. The former minister was earlier arrested and detained over alleged official corruption and forgery to the tune of N6bn in connection with the Mambilla Power Project. This newspaper exclusively reports that the anti-graft agency released Agunloye to a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Adeola Adedipe, around 3.30 p.m. on Wednesday. When contacted over the development, the spokesperson for the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, confirmed the ex-munister’s release on Wednesday. “Yes, you’re right, Mr. Agunloye has been released by…
MEMBERS of the Senate Committee on Appropriations were shocked on Tuesday when informed that there was no provision for the scheduled 2024 population and housing census in the budget proposal for the National Population Commission. The Chairman, Senate Committee on National Population Commission, Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP Bauchi Central), informed the lawmakers about the development while presenting a report on the NPC 2024 budget to the collating Committee. He told the committee that if the money for the census was not provided in the budget, the country would lose about N200bn which the National Population Commission has spent. He, however,…
AS Roma boss, Jose Mourinho believes Arsenal are not favourites to win the English Premier League title for the 2023/2024 season. The Gunners have been in a good run of form of late despite a slip to surprise dark horse in Unai Emery’s Aston Villa side. Mikel Arteta’s men showed composure to see off Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday with goals courtesy of Gabrile Jesu and Kai Havertz to keep them on top of the log one point ahead of Liverpool who drew stubborn Manchester United side on Sunday. Despite these performances, Mourinho was dismissive of the 2003/04 champions…
MALAYSIA said it will block Israel-based ZIM Integrated Shipping Services from anchoring at any of the Southeast Asian nation’s ports, a largely symbolic move that signals rising frustration over killings of innocent Palestinians in the war in Gaza. The country is also banning ships bearing Israeli flags, and will prevent vessels destined for Israel from loading cargo at its ports, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in a statement Wednesday. The ban is effective immediately. “These sanctions are a response to Israel’s actions ignoring the basic principles of humanity and breaking the international law through continued massacres and atrocities against…
COLORADO’s Supreme Court has ruled that Donald Trump cannot run for president next year in the state, citing a constitutional insurrection clause. The court ruled 4-3 that Mr Trump was not an eligible candidate because he had engaged in an insurrection over the US Capitol riot nearly three years ago. The Trump campaign called the decision anti-democratic and vowed to appeal. It is the first ever use of Section 3 of the US Constitution’s 14th Amendment to disqualify a presidential candidate. Similar attempts to kick Mr Trump off the ballot in New Hampshire, Minnesota and Michigan have failed. Tuesday’s decision…
MILITANTS linked to the Islamic State group have burned at least 10 civilians to death in an attack on a southwestern town of Uganda, police said Tuesday. The gunmen from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), one of the deadliest militias in the strife-torn east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, crossed the border to attack a trading centre in Kamwenge, police said. “Preliminary findings reveal that 10 assailants armed with SMG rifles attacked and fatally burned to death 10 people,” regional police spokesman Vincent Twesige said, referring to submachine guns. The attackers also torched a motorcycle and looted a store,…
ON the eve of elections in the vast and impoverished Democratic Republic of Congo, voters of all stripes voiced hopes on Tuesday that the poll would be well-organised and conducted without violence. Forty-four million people are registered to vote in the concurrent presidential, parliamentary, provincial and municipal elections on Wednesday in the central African nation. “Tomorrow will be calm, it’s when the results come in that there could be problems,” said Flory Tshimanga, a 32-year-old seller of mobile phone credits, in the capital, Kinshasa. “I’m not saying who I’m going to vote for, because I don’t want to get beaten…
ALGERIAN international footballer Youcef Atal goes on trial in France Monday accused of inciting hatred after posting a video in which a Palestinian preacher purportedly threatened Israel with a “black day”. Atal, who plays for Ligue 1 side Nice, shared the video on his Instagram account, which has 3.2 million followers, shortly after the attack by Hamas militants on Israel on October 7 in which 1,139 people were killed. In an extract of the footage seen by AFP, the preacher, Mahmoud Al Hasanat, at first talked about the plight of children in Gaza. Prosecutors said they also identified another extract…
AN international NGO has accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza. Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement issued on Monday that Israel is deliberately depriving Palestinians of access to food, water and other basic necessities. The use of hunger against the civilian population is a war crime, the NGO stated, calling for world leaders to act. The press release cites statements from Israeli officials, interviews with survivors, reports from aid organisations, and evidence from satellite imagery to establish that Israel is engaged in the “deliberate use of policies to deprive Palestinians of the…
MORE than 100 people have been killed and many more injured after an earthquake hit northwestern China while many people were asleep. The earthquake, measured at 6.2 according to state news agency Xinhua, struck at about midnight in Gansu Province near the border with Qinghai, causing significant damage, state media reported on Tuesday. The tremor was felt as far away as Xi’an in northern Shaanxi province, about 570 kilometres (350 miles) from the epicentre. Gansu provincial authorities told a press conference that as of 7.50am (23:50 GMT on Monday), 105 people had been confirmed dead, and 397 injured. More than…
EGYPT’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has won a new six-year term with 89.6 percent of the vote, the election authority announced Monday. Turnout reached an “unprecedented” 66.8 percent of voters, said authority head Hazem Badawy. Over 39 million had cast their ballots for Sisi, a former army chief who has ruled the most populous Arab country for a decade. The president was up against three relative unknowns in the vote held between December 10 and 12. Runner-up Hazem Omar, who leads the Republican People’s Party, received 4.5 percent of the vote. Next came Farid Zahran, leader of the left-leaning Egyptian…
MORE than 2,200 platinum miners on Monday launched the fourth underground protest to hit South Africa’s crucial mining industry in two months. Operations were suspended in two shafts at the Bafokeng Rasimone mine, northwest of Johannesburg, because of what the owners called an “illegal underground protest”. Impala Platinum Holdings, one of the world’s key platinum producers, also known as Implats, said 2,205 miners had joined the protest. It said in a statement the reasons for the protest were “still to be determined” and that it was “closely monitoring” events. Implats said it had “proactively suspended mining operations at the two…
HOLDERS Manchester City were handed a tie against FC Copenhagen in Monday’s draw for the Champions League last 16, from which the meeting of last season’s runners-up Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid appears the standout tie. Pep Guardiola’s City, who are looking to retain the title they won in Istanbul last June, will be expected to comfortably get the better of the Danish side, who qualified from their group at the expense of Manchester United after beating the Red Devils 4-3 at home. Inter, the Serie A leaders, were one of the teams to avoid after finishing second in their…
FIFA announced details regarding the new format for the Club World Cup on Sunday, saying the first edition will take place in 2025 and feature European heavyweights Real Madrid and Manchester City. The tournament will take place from June 15 to July 13 in the United States and bring together 32 teams, spread across eight groups with two sides progressing from each pool to a last 16 knockout round. “Clubs play a fundamental role in world football, and the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 will be a major milestone in providing clubs from all confederations with a fitting stage on…
FIERCE fighting has been continuing across the Gaza Strip after hopes were raised over the weekend for another ceasefire and hostage release deal. In the past day, there’ve been deadly Israeli air strikes from the north to the south of Gaza. Attacks on the Jabalia refugee camp are said to have killed 90 people, according to local health officials. Israel says it goes to great lengths to avoid hitting civilians. But the mistaken killing of three of its own hostages carrying a white flag on Friday has added to international and domestic pressure for another ceasefire deal which could free…