A SEVERE famine in the Gaza Strip can be averted if aid is allowed in, the commissioner-general of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said Sunday. “The last time UNRWA was able to deliver food aid to northern Gaza was on 23 January,” Philippe Lazzarini said on X. “Since then, together with other UN agencies, we have warned against a looming famine, appealed for regular humanitarian access, and stated that famine can be averted if more food convoys are allowed into northern Gaza on a regular basis,” he added. “Our calls to send food aid have been denied and…
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UKRAINE’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in action in the two years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion. Speaking at the “Ukraine. Year 2024” forum in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said that “each of these losses is a great sacrifice” for Ukraine. He added that “tens of thousands of civilians” had been killed in occupied areas of Ukraine, but said that no exact figures would be available until the war was over. It’s the first time that Kyiv has confirmed the number of its losses since the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine on…
AT LEAST 15 people have been killed and two others injured following an attack on a Catholic church in north-eastern Burkina Faso on Sunday. It took place during Sunday worship in Essakane village in Oudalan province – close to the border with Mali. Few details have been given. A church official indicated the gunmen were suspected Islamist militants. There was no immediate response from the authorities in the West African country’s capital, Ouagadougou. A statement by the head of the local diocese, Abbot Jean-Pierre Sawadogo, said 12 people were killed instantly, while three others died at the hospital. “In this…
ALGERIA’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Sunday officially opened The Great Mosque of Algiers, the largest mosque in Africa. It is also the third-largest in the world, after the mosques in Saudi Arabia’s Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The massive mosque is spread across 70 acres (28 hectares) and can hold up to 120,000 worshippers at one time. It also has the world’s tallest minaret, which is the tower used to project the Muslim call to prayer. The mosque was constructed over seven years, costing more than $800m (£631m). It is expected to host prayers during the Islamic holy…
HARRY Maguire admitted “naive” Manchester United paid the price for being too attacking in the final minutes of their shock 2-1 defeat against Fulham on Saturday. Erik ten Hag’s side suffered a major blow to their hopes of a top four finish in the Premier League as Alex Iwobi snatched Fulham’s winner seven minutes into stoppage-time. United defender Maguire looked to have rescued a point when his close-range finish in the 89th minute cancelled out Calvin Bassey’s 65th minute opener. But United were caught throwing players forward in search of all three points as Iwobi capped a counter-attack to seal…
OVERNIGHT strikes on Gaza killed dozens, the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry said Saturday, as Israel’s spy chief joined talks in Paris seeking to unblock negotiations on a truce. The negotiations come after a plan for a post-war Gaza unveiled by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu drew criticism from key ally the United States, and was rejected by Hamas and the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank. They also come alongside deepening fears for Gaza’s civilians. The United Nations’ main aid body for Palestinians, UNWRA, said Gazans were “in extreme peril while the world watches”. Hamas said on Saturday morning…
THE sea of chanting, nearly-naked men tussle, push and shove towards the shrine. “Washoi! Washoi!” they yell – let’s go, let’s go. It is scene that has barely changed in the 1,250 years the Hadaka Matsuri, or the Naked Festival, has been taking place at the Konomiya Shrine, in central Japan. But this year there is a change – a big one. Away from the men’s huddle, a group are about to become the first women to ever take part. The women gathered here know they are making history. Finding room in traditionally male-dominated spaces is difficult anywhere, but in…
A COURT in Uganda has sentenced more than 100 women to one month of community service each after they confessed to sending their children to beg in the capital, Kampala. The court has also banned the women from returning to the city and ordered that they be sent back to their home district of Napak in northern Uganda, privately owned Daily Monitor newspaper reported. The women pleaded for leniency, with some saying they were widows and others single mothers, state-owned New Vision newspaper reported. “I have listened to their cries and a [jail] sentence would be inappropriate. I have to…
GUINEA’s military junta has protested to Russia’s ambassador after his embassy reportedly warned of possible unrest in the capital, Conakry. The warning was issued after junta leader Colonel Mamady Doumbouya dissolved the government on Monday, and ordered the closure of all borders. Ambassador Alexey Popov apologised to the junta for what he called a misunderstanding, Guinean media reported. Col Doumbouya took power in a 2021 coup. He dissolved his government on Monday without offering any explanation. He also ordered the seizure of the passports of sacked ministers, and the freezing of their bank accounts. Guinean media reported that Col Doumbouya’s…
A LONG-RANGE shot from Robert Andrich took Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen to a 2-1 home win against Mainz on Friday, setting a new German record of 33 games unbeaten. Andrich’s goal was helped by a goalkeeping mistake from Mainz’s Robin Zentner, who allowed the ball to slip through his hands and into the net. Leverkusen were nervy and made a number of uncharacteristic errors, but the victory takes them 11 points clear of Bayern Munich in their bid for a first-ever Bundesliga title. “We have to be honest and say we didn’t play a great game and were a bit…
THE Super Falcons were on Friday held to a goalless draw by Cameroon in the first leg of the final round of qualifiers for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Nigeria could have returned home with a win but had two goals disallowed during the game in Doula in Cameroon. The return leg of the clash will be on Monday in Abuja with the winner picking one of Africa’s tickets for the Olympics later in the year.
DOCTORS Without Borders on Wednesday condemned in “strongest possible terms” the killing of two family members of its staff in an Israeli strike on Gaza. The incident occurred late Tuesday when an Israeli tank fired on a house sheltering the employees and their families in Al-Mawasi area on Gaza’s coast, said the charity known by its French acronym MSF. “The attack killed the daughter-in-law and wife of one of our colleagues, and wounded six people, including five women and children,” MSF said in a statement. Gunshots were fired at the building, which was clearly marked with the MSF logo and…
A SPANISH priest has been temporarily suspended by the Roman Catholic Church after he was accused of selling drugs including the erectile dysfunction medication Viagra. The clergyman from Don Benito, a town of around 35,000 residents in the western Extremadura region, was detained Monday on suspicion of “trafficking narcotic substances”, the diocese of Plasencia, which is responsible for his parish, said in a statement Thursday. After his arrest, the priest, whose identity has been withheld, was provisionally released by the investigating judge, the diocese said, expressing its “pain and dismay at the suffering and scandal” caused by the events. While…
THE death toll from Zambia’s cholera outbreak has risen to almost 700, says the medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). It is the largest ever recorded in the country. It began in the capital, Lusaka, in October and has since spread to all of Zambia’s provinces infecting more 19,000 people. MSF says cholera is easily treated – with rehydration – but without the proper care a person can die in a few hours. The disease is caused by contaminated water, so access to clean drinking water is vital to stopping it spreading further.
SENEGAL’s President Macky Sall has said he will leave office when his term comes to an end on 2 April, but tensions remain over an election date. His recent decision to delay the vote, originally scheduled for Sunday, to mid-December sparked deadly protests. In a televised interview, Mr Sall said an election date would now be decided in political talks to start on Monday. But the opposition has refused to take part in the proposed dialogue dashing hopes of resolving the turmoil. Sixteen of the 19 presidential hopefuls have said they will not be turning up for what the president…
AC MILAN overcame a spirited Rennes 5-3 on aggregate despite a 3-2 loss in Thursday’s second leg to reach the Europa League last 16, where they will be joined by fellow former European champions Benfica. Benjamin Bourigeaud scored a hat-trick for Rennes, including a pair of penalties, but goals from Luka Jovic and Rafael Leao ensured Milan were never really in danger of blowing a 3-0 lead from the first leg. Benfica also saw off French opposition as a 0-0 draw away to Toulouse was enough to send the Portuguese side through following their 2-1 victory in last week’s first…
ISRAEL launched deadly air strikes on Rafah on Thursday, after threatening to send troops in to hunt for Hamas militants in the southern Gaza city where around 1.4 million Palestinians have sought refuge. Major powers trying to find a way to end the destructive Israel-Hamas war have so far failed, but a US envoy was in Israel Thursday in the latest attempt to secure a truce deal. International concern has spiralled over Gaza’s escalating civilian death toll and the desperate humanitarian crisis sparked by the war that followed Hamas’s October 7 attack against Israel. The war has also triggered mounting…
PRESIDENT Joe Biden said Thursday he met privately in California with the widow and daughter of Kremlin opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died last week in a Russian prison. After meeting with Yulia and Dasha Navalnaya in San Francisco, Biden told reporters that the late opponent to President Vladimir Putin was “a man of incredible courage.” He said that Yulia Navalnaya and her daughter, who studies at Stanford University in California, “are emulating that.” The widow is “going to continue the fight,” he said. “She’s not giving up.” Biden also reaffirmed a plan to unveil sanctions on Friday, saying they…
EIGHT women accused of witchcraft in the West African state of Guinea-Bissau have died of poisoning in the remote north, a senior official told AFP on Thursday. After a sudden illness took the lives of two youngsters at Culade, in the Cacheu region, women were blamed and an animist priest forced them to drink poison. The eight women, all aged over 50, died and 21 others were hospitalised at the local capital Sao Domingos, said Carlos Sanha, a senior administrative official in the town. “It keeps recurring in this area,” where traditional animist beliefs remain strong, Sanha said. “We intend…
SENEGAL’s outgoing President Macky Sall on Thursday said his mandate would end as planned on April 2, but left open the date of the presidential election which he postponed earlier this month. Sall had faced a growing clamour to set a date for the vote after his abrupt delay to the February 25 election triggered weeks of political crisis. “On 2 April 2024, my mission ends at the head of Senegal”, the president said. “As far as the date is concerned, we’ll see what the dialogue comes up with,” he said during a televised press interview, referring to the political…