COLOMBIA’s ELN guerrilla group on Thursday freed the father of Liverpool footballer Luis Diaz, 12 days after kidnapping him, according to live TV footage. After being handed over by the rebels to a humanitarian mission, Luis Manuel Diaz arrived by helicopter in the northeastern city of Valledupar, some 90 kilometers (56 miles) from his hometown of Barrancas where he was abducted with his wife on October 28. She was rescued the same day. “Long live Freedom and Peace,” President Gustavo Petro wrote on X, formerly Twitter, after the release. The Bishops Conference of Colombia, involved in negotiating the handover, released…
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IRAN on Thursday rejected a G7 statement which called on Tehran to stop supporting Hamas militants and taking actions that “destabilise” the Middle East. Tehran’s comment came a day after foreign ministers from the G7 group of advanced economies, meeting in Tokyo, expressed support for “humanitarian pauses and corridors” in the Israeli-Hamas war. The subsequent Israeli bombing campaign in Gaza has killed more than 10,500 people, two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The G7 also called on Iran to “refrain from providing support for Hamas and taking further actions that destabilise the Middle East,…
A TEAM of surgeons in New York announced Thursday they had performed the world’s first transplant of an entire eye in a procedure widely hailed as a medical breakthrough, although it isn’t yet known whether the recipient will actually regain his sight. The groundbreaking surgery involved removing part of the face and the whole left eye of a donor and grafting them onto a line worker from Arkansas who survived a 7,200-volt electric shock in June 2021, when his face touched a live wire. Aaron James, 46, suffered extensive injuries including the loss of his left eye, his dominant left…
SOUTH African opposition leader Julius Malema has criticised Kenya’s President William Ruto for failing to fulfil the promises he made to Kenyans when he ran for office last year. Speaking on Thursday at the launch of the Pan African Institute in Kenya, Mr Malema accused President Ruto of backtracking on his commitment to lead in getting rid of the US dollar as a means of trade in Africa, highlighting a contradiction between the president’s words and actions. “I don’t know if President William Ruto means it because he said so many things and I cannot locate him these days because…
MALAWI’s currency has lost nearly half its value against the US dollar, sparking concerns from some consumers in the southern African country that basic goods will soar in price. Others have hailed the central bank’s devaluation move as “overdue”. The bank’s 44% decrease was brought in to better reflect the kwacha price in different markets. One thousand seven hundred kwacha will now be needed to buy one US dollar, up from 1,180, its statement said. It is the second time in 18 months that Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world, has significantly decreased the value of the…
THE White House says Israel has agreed to put in place four-hour daily humanitarian ceasefire in its assault on Hamas in northern Gaza starting on Thursday, as the Biden administration said it has secured a second pathway for civilians to flee fighting. President Joe Biden had asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to institute the daily ceasefire during a Monday call. US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that the first humanitarian ceasefire would be announced Thursday and that the Israelis had committed to announcing each four-hour window at least three hours in advance. Israel, he said, also was…
THE Minister of State for Defence, Dr Bello Matawalle, has assured residents and electorate in Imo, Bayelsa and Kogi of their safety and protection during Saturday’s off-season elections. Matawalle gave the assurance on Thursday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Abuja. “Adequate arrangements have been made for security agencies to deal decisively with any noise maker and anyone who wants to foment trouble or crises during the elections. “The military will be available, ’24/7′, for anyone who wants to contact them. “I, particularly, will be in the office within the period of the election so as…
Al ITTIHAD have sacked former Tottenham Hotspur manager Nuno Espirito Santo, the Saudi champions said, following a poor run of results under the Portuguese coach. Nuno was under pressure because of their struggles in the Saudi Pro League, and the club brought down the axe following a 2-0 defeat to Air Force Club of Iraq in the Asian Champions League on Monday. Nuno, who enjoyed a successful spell as Wolverhampton Wanderers boss from 2017-2021, had been in charge of Jeddah-based Al Ittihad since July last year. The former Porto coach took Al Ittihad to the Saudi title last season, but…
ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again rejected the prospect of a ceasefire in Gaza on Wednesday, amid reports of negotiations for a temporary truce with Hamas. A source close to Hamas earlier said talks were underway for the release of a dozen hostages held by the group, including six Americans, in return for a three-day ceasefire in Gaza. “I’d like to put to rest all kinds of false rumours we’re hearing from all kinds of directions, and reiterate one clear thing: there will be no ceasefire without the release of our hostages,” Netanyahu said. The source close to Hamas had…
REPUBLICANS in Congress aggressively ramped up an impeachment inquiry against US President Joe Biden on Wednesday by issuing subpoenas for testimony from his son Hunter and brother James. The attempt to compel the pair to testify came from the Oversight Committee in the House of Representatives, where the Republican majority has spent months trying to prove the president committed wrongdoing — with a view to potential impeachment. The committee has already poured over bank records and interviewed associates of Hunter Biden, the president’s troubled son, alleging a corrupt influence-peddling scheme with his father at the time he was vice president…
FIGHTING has erupted in the historic Ethiopian town of Lalibela, as government forces and local militia have clashed, residents told the BBC. Lalibela is home to 13th Century churches that are registered as Unesco world heritage sites. Fano, a militia in the surrounding Amhara region, has been battling the army since it was ordered to disband. Government spokesperson Legesse Tulu has disputed reports of violence in the city, according to Reuters news agency. But witnesses told the BBC that fighting was intense and a plane due to land at the airport on Wednesday morning failed to do so. The Amhara…
THE Kenya Red Cross has called for “emergency action” amid intensifying rains and floods that have so far killed at least 15 people and displaced more than 85,000 households in the East African state. The World Meteorological Organisation said that El Niño, the phenomenon behind the heavy rains, is likely to persist at least until April 2024. The Kenya Red Cross said that the counties of Garissa, Tana River and Kilifi were at risk of flooding as the heavy rains push water in the Tana River beyond “critical levels”. In the neighbouring Mandera county, the town of Elwak town has…
PORTUGAL defender Pepe became the oldest goalscorer in Champions League history as his late header helped Porto beat Royal Antwerp in Group H. Pepe, 40 years and 254 days old, scored his side’s second with a thumping 91st-minute finish, becoming the first player over 40 to score in European football’s showpiece competition. Francesco Totti had held the oldest scorer record at 38 years and 59 days. Pepe is also the oldest outfield player in the competition’s history. He broke that record when he started against the same opponents on October 25. Goalkeeper Marco Ballotta is the Champions League’s oldest appearance…
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday warned that the bombarded Gaza Strip was becoming a “graveyard for children,” as he urged an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict. “The unfolding catastrophe makes the need for a humanitarian ceasefire more urgent with every passing hour,” he told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York. “The parties to the conflict — and, indeed, the international community — face an immediate and fundamental responsibility: to stop this inhuman collective suffering and dramatically expand humanitarian aid to Gaza,” he said. “The nightmare in Gaza is more than a humanitarian crisis. It is a…
A WHITE police officer was found not guilty Monday in the death of a Black man who was put in a chokehold and injected with ketamine during his arrest. A jury in the western state of Colorado cleared Aurora police officer Nathan Woodyard of reckless manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the death of Elijah McClain, whose August 2019 death sparked public outrage. The not guilty verdict came less than a month after a jury convicted fellow officer Randy Roedema of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault and acquitted Jason Rosenblatt. Roedema is due to be sentenced in January. McClain…
SOUTH African police are on a manhunt for suspects who robbed a government minister at gunpoint and disarmed her two bodyguards of their pistols on a busy Johannesburg highway, police said Tuesday. The robbery took place while Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga’s bodyguards were changing a punctured tire in the early hours of Monday morning. Three gunmen allegedly appeared from bushes, ordered the bodyguards to lie on the ground before taking their firearms, and then pointed a gun at Chikunga and robbed her of some personal items. “A manhunt has since been launched following this unprecedented incident,” police spokeswoman Athlenda Mathe…
THERE has been a significant increase in the number of people fleeing fresh violence in the Sudanese region of Darfur, a medical charity says. Witnesses have accused the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and allied militias of carrying out ethnic killings against non-Arabs in West Darfur. The RSF did not immediately comment on the claims but it had earlier said it was not involved in what it described as a “tribal conflict”. Seven thousand people have crossed over the Sudanese border into Chad in three days, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) says. Among them are dozens of wounded people. MSF says the…
PORTUGUESE Prime Minister Antonio Costa announced his resignation on Tuesday after he was embroiled in a corruption investigation into the awarding of energy-related contracts. “The duties of prime minister are not compatible with any suspicion of my integrity,” Costa told a press conference after briefly speaking with President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa earlier on Tuesday. “In these circumstances, I have presented my resignation to the president of the Republic,” he added. Earlier Tuesday, Portuguese media reported that investigators had searched several ministries as well as Costa’s offices. Public prosecutors later said they had indicted Infrastructure Minister Joao Galamba and issued…
MAURICIO Pochettino made a winning return to Tottenham with Chelsea as his former club were reduced to nine men on a night of chaos and controversy. The Argentine’s comeback was reduced to a minor sub-plot by an epic game which brought five goals, a further five which were disallowed, two red cards, and a slew of VAR decisions in one of the Premier League’s most frenetic ever encounters. Spurs started brilliantly and deservedly went ahead when Dejan Kulusevski’s sixth minute shot deflected in off Chelsea defender Levi Colwill, before Son Heung-min had an effort narrowly ruled out for offside as…
A COMBATIVE Donald Trump clashed repeatedly with the judge on Monday as he took the stand in the New York civil fraud case threatening to cripple his real estate empire. One year out from an election he hopes will return him to the White House, Trump became the first former US president to testify as a defendant in a court case in more than a century. During his testimony, the 77-year-old Trump accused Judge Arthur Engoron of issuing “fraudulent” rulings, and denounced New York state attorney general Letitia James, who brought the case against him, as a “political hack.” “He…