GABON’s military leaders say they plan to hold a general election in August 2025. This follows pressure from the international community to announce a timetable for the return to civilian rule. Gen Brice Oligui Nguema seized power in August from his cousin, Ali Bongo, vowing to rescue the country from a “severe institutional” crisis. The central African nation had been ruled by the Bongo family for 55 years. Although members of the interim government cannot stand in the upcoming elections, the transitional charter does not bar Gen Oligui Nguema from doing so. It is not yet clear whether he intends…
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AT least 11 civilians have been killed in conflict-torn eastern DR Congo, the army said on Monday, in an attack blamed on militants linked to the Islamic State group. Captain Antony Mualushayi, an army spokesman, stated that “jihadists” attacked the village of Kitsanga in the Watalinga area of North Kivu province on Sunday night. Eleven civilians were killed, he said, before soldiers intervened and “neutralised” six militants. The death toll is provisional. AFP was unable to independently confirm the details of the attack. Odette Zawadi, a civil society leader in Watalinga, said that 22 people had been killed. “At the…
COLE Palmer’s stoppage-time penalty denied former club Manchester City victory in a thriller against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. In a game of the highest quality in treacherous conditions, fortunes swung both ways. City thought they had the three points when Rodri’s shot from the edge of the area touched off Thiago Silva past Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez with four minutes left. Chelsea, showing superb resilience, were not to be denied and Palmer – a £40m summer signing from Pep Guardiola’s side – stayed cool amid the mayhem to beat Ederson from the spot to leave City just a point clear…
TWO premature babies have died at Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital after the neonatal intensive care unit stopped working due to a lack of electricity, the facility’s director has said. Thirty-seven other babies, also in the neonatal intensive care unit, are at risk of losing their lives as the hospital runs out of fuel to power their incubators, Director Mohammed Abu Salmiya told Al Jazeera on Saturday. “Unfortunately, we’ve lost two out of 39 babies because of the power outage,” Abu Salmiya, the head of the largest medical complex in Gaza, said. “We are talking about premature babies who require very intensive…
FIVE American service members were killed when a helicopter crashed into the Mediterranean during a training exercise, the US military said Sunday. Military officials did not specify where the helicopter was flying from, but the United States has deployed a carrier strike group to the Mediterranean as part of efforts to prevent the Israel-Hamas war from spiraling into a regional conflict. “During a routine air refueling mission as part of military training, a US military aircraft carrying five service members suffered a mishap and crashed into the Mediterranean Sea. All five of the service members onboard the aircraft were killed,”…
THE European Union has called for an investigation into the reported killing of around 100 people in Burkina Faso earlier this week. “Around 100 civilians, including women and children, were believed killed in a massacre,” said foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in a statement. The United States has also condemned the attack. It is not clear who was behind the 6 November attack in the village of Zaongo. Mr Borrell called on Burkina Faso’s military junta to shed light on the circumstances of the deaths. It has not yet responded. Burkina Faso is trying to contain a jihadist insurgency that…
A UGANDAN military court has found two officers guilty of cowardice as Islamist fighters stormed an African Union base in Somalia in May. Majors Zadock Abor and John Oluka ran away after they came under attack by al-Shabab in Bulo Marer, south of the capital Mogadishu. At least 50 Ugandan soldiers were killed, officials say. Uganda is part of the African Union force helping Somalia’s government fight al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda affiliate. The attack on Bulo Marer was one of the deadliest for the African Union force, Atmis, since it launched a new offensive against al-Shabab last year. Uganda’s president, Yoweri…
ALL is now set for the 19th All Nigeria Editors Conference, as Publisher of Vanguard, Uncle Sam Amuka; former Governor of Ogun State, Aremo Segun Osoba; Chairman/Editor-in-Chief of THISDAY and Arise News Channel, Prince Nduka Obaigbena, and 300 editors will arrive Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capita, on Tuesday, for the annual conference. In a press statement signed by the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) President, Eze Anaba and the General Secretary, Dr Iyobosa Uwugiaren, the professional body of editors in Nigeria, said that the conference would be declared open by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, while Aremo Osoba and Uncle…
FORMER Ghana striker, Raphael Dwamena died on Saturday after suffering a heart attack during an Albanian league match between KF Egnatia and FK Partizani, according to a statement by the Albanian football federation. “Paramedics on the pitch rushed him to hospital, where he died at the age of 28,” said the federation. Dwamena earned eight caps for Ghana and was once considered one of the country’s rising stars but encountered several cardiac problems over the course of his career. In 2017, the attacker was unable to join Brighton due to these health issues, and he eventually moved to Spain. Four…
ENGLAND captain Harry Kane continued his impressive goalscoring form with a double against Heidenheim as Bayern Munich moved top of the Bundesliga. Kane netted two goals in the first half to take his tally to 17 for the season. Having scored a hat-trick in each of his previous two Bundesliga matches, Kane has set a new league record for the most goals scored after 11 games. He overtakes Robert Lewandowski’s tally of 16 from 11 matches in 2019, while Bayern sit top of the table by a point. They lead second-placed Bayer Leverkusen, who would reclaim top spot with victory…
ABOUT 300,000 people marched through the British capital on Saturday, as pro-Palestinian supporters made a new call for a Gaza war ceasefire. Authorities had feared trouble as the “National March for Palestine” was scheduled for Armistice Day, Britain’s annual commemoration of its war dead. Dozens of arrests were reported. The march set off after a two-minute silence was observed at The Cenotaph war memorial in central London. A police spokesman said about 300,000 were estimated to be taking part. Protesters waved black, red, white and green Palestinian flags and held aloft placards proclaiming “Stop Bombing Gaza”. There have been nearly…
CROATIA’s prime Minister on Saturday dismissed Defence Minister Mario Banozic after he was involved in a car collision in which another driver was killed. Prime minister Andrej Plenkovic told a press conference that Banozic was also in hospital with serious injuries. Banozic, defence minister since 2020, was in his private car leaving the eastern town of Vinkovci when he was in collision with a van. “You have heard the circumstances of the accident and we express regret and concern about the condition of the minister who is hospitalized with serious injuries,” Plenkovic said. “I have relieved minister Banozic of his…
A DIPTHERIA outbreak has been declared at South Africa’s Pollsmoor Maximum Security Prison following the death of a 19-year-old inmate. Health Minister Joe Phaahla said the male inmate, who contracted the disease last month, died on Sunday. Eight more inmates, aged 18 to 23, are in isolation after testing positive for the disease. Two staff members who displayed symptoms are awaiting their results, Dr Phaahla added. He said that a vaccination drive in the affected section of the prison is under way. Diphtheria is a vaccine-preventable but highly contagious bacterial disease that affects the nose and throat and also causes…
GHANA’s cocoa farmers are complaining that they’re broke as the cocoa board – to which they are obliged by law to sell their produce – is unable to pay them. The farmers say that the board – known as Cocobod – has not treated them fairly. Anane Boateng, the president of the Ghana National Cocoa Farmers Association, complained that while his members do all the work and shoulder the costs, Cocobod seem unable to make a profit. There are currently worries that some farmers might be forced to smuggle their remaining beans into neighbouring Ivory Coast in order to sell…
SIR Jim Ratcliffe’s deal to become a minority shareholder in Manchester United is expected to be agreed during this month’s international break, possibly as early as next week. It is expected Ratcliffe’s Ineos Group will pay around £1.25bn to buy 25%. United’s owners the Glazer family announced on 22 November 2022 they were considering selling the club. Ineos and Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani both made offers, tabling bids of around £5bn. However, neither bidder was willing to reach the Glazer family’s valuation, with co-chairs Joel and Avram Glazer both known to be reluctant sellers. Sheikh Jassim…
THE Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip said Friday an Israeli strike on the territory’s largest hospital killed dozens. “Dozens martyrs and dozen more wounded in an Israeli strike on Al-Shifa compound today” in central Gaza City, a government statement said, giving a toll AFP was not immediately able to independently verify. Al-Shifa hospital director Mohammad Abu Salmiya said “Israeli tanks fired on Al-Shifa hospital”, while the Israeli military did not offer an immediate comment. Israel reported heavy fighting on Thursday near the hospital, saying it had killed dozens of militants and destroyed tunnels that are key to Hamas’s capacity…
ISRAEL must stop killing babies and women in Gaza, French President Emmanuel Macron has told the BBC. In an exclusive interview at the Élysée Palace, he said there was “no justification” for the bombing, saying a ceasefire would benefit Israel. While recognising Israel’s right to protect itself, “we do urge them to stop this bombing” in Gaza, he said. But he also stressed that France “clearly condemns” the “terrorist” actions of Hamas. France – like Israel, the US, the UK, and other Western nations – considers Hamas a terrorist organisation. When asked if he wanted other leaders – including in…
TRANSLATORS who work for German peacekeepers in Mali have told the BBC they fear for their lives as the UN mission winds up its mission in the West African country. The 19 interpreters wrote to the German government on 7 August asking for protection as the jihadist groups that operate in northern Mali regard those who work with the UN as traitors. “The terrorists have been openly saying that any person working for international forces is considered an enemy,” a translator for the UN’s German military contingent, whose name has been withheld for safety reasons, told the BBC. A few…
THE Gabonese government says the African Development Bank (AfDB) has lifted financial sanctions imposed on the country following the removal of President Ali Bongo in a coup in August. The economy ministry said the decision was taken at the beginning of the week after “successful negotiations between the new Gabonese authorities and senior AfDB officials”. Separate rounds of talks were held in October in Morocco and the Republic of Congo. The AfDB’s decision to lift the sanctions also followed Gabon’s move to restore confidence by clearing its arrears to the continental financial institution at the end of October, the ministry…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu on Friday assured potential investors that their investments are safe in Nigeria. Speaking at the Saudi-Africa Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, President Tinubu said Nigeria is ready for business while assuring investors of some of the world’s highest returns on investment. “I also wish to assure all potential Saudi investors of the safety of their investments based on the sanctity of the rule of law and good returns on their investments in the largest economy in Africa,” the President was quoted in a statement by his media aide, Ajuri Ngelale. “In this regard, the benefit attached to…