GUINEA’s junta leader, Col Mamady Doumbouya, has said the Western model of democracy does not work in Africa, as he defended the use of military intervention. He told the UN General Assembly in New York that the continent was suffering from a “model of governance that has been imposed on us” and which was “having trouble adapting to our reality”. “It is time to stop lecturing us and stop treating us with condescension like children,” he added. Col Doumbouya took power in a coup in 2021, ousting President Alpha Condé. He defended taking that action to the UN assembly saying…
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NIGERIA have qualified for the 2024 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship after defeating Morocco 28-14 on Wednesday in the quarter-finals of the Africa Women’s Youth Handball Championship in Monastir, Tunisia. Nigeria’s U-18 women’s handball team went into the match knowing full well that a win against their North African counterparts would qualify them for the Mundial in Asia and wasted no time to make a statement. The IHF Women champions were dominant in the first half and went into the break with a comfortable 17-5 lead. The Moroccans came back in the second half determined to reduce the deficit but…
OLE Gunnar Solskjaer has criticised the behaviour of some players during his time as Manchester United manager, saying they were not as good as they thought they were. Solskjaer was sacked in November 2021 after nearly three years in charge. His successor Erik ten Hag has said there was “no good culture” when he arrived at Old Trafford in May 2022. “Some weren’t as good as their own perception of themselves,” Solskjaer, 50, told The Athletic. The former United and Norway forward added: “I won’t name names, but I was very disappointed when a couple turned down the chance to…
AN Indonesian court has sentenced a woman to two years in prison and handed her a heavy fine after she recited an Islamic prayer before eating pork in a viral TikTok video widely criticised in the Muslim-majority country. Lina Mukherjee, 33, was found guilty of “spreading information aimed at inciting hatred against religious individuals and specific groups” at a court on Tuesday in the South Sumatra city of Palembang, according to the verdict. It came after a resident reported Mukherjee in March for the video, that amassed millions of views, in which she uttered a Muslim prayer that translates to…
A FRENCH journalist was held overnight and questioned by police in connection with a 2021 report which alleged that French intelligence was used by Egypt to kill civilians. Police reportedly searched Ariane Lavrilleux’s house on 19 September and later took her into custody. Lavrilleux’s lawyer said she was questioned as part of an investigation into compromising national security. She was released after a night in custody. Amnesty International’s Katia Roux had said she was “very worried” for the journalist at the time of her arrest. “To put in police custody a journalist for doing her job, moreover for revealing information…
THE discovery of ancient wooden logs in the banks of a river in Zambia has changed archaeologists’ understanding of ancient human life. Researchers found evidence the wood had been used to build a structure almost half a million years ago. The findings, published in the journal Nature, suggest stone-age people built what may have been shelters. “This find has changed how I think about our early ancestors,” archaeologist Prof Larry Barham said. The University of Liverpool scientist leads the Deep Roots of Humanity research project, which excavated and analysed the ancient timber. The discovery could transform the current belief ancient…
THE state prosecutor in Gabon says the eldest son of the ousted president, Ali Bongo, and several of his political allies have been charged with corruption. Noureddin Bongo Valentin, who’s 31, was arrested shortly after last month’s coup. National TV showed images of him and some of his father’s close allies in front of suitcases of cash it said had been seized from their homes. They have not commented on the allegations. The military seized power soon after Ali Bongo was declared the winner of Gabon’s presidential election. He had been in office since 2009 when he succeeded his father…
A UNITED States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, has granted the request filed by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, seeking the release of President Bola Tinubu’s academic records by the Chicago State University. Judge Jeffrey Gilbert, a US magistrate, gave the ruling on Tuesday, ordering CSU to produce “all relevant and non-privileged documents” to Abubakar Atiku, the plaintiff, within two days. “This matter is before the Court on Atiku Abubakar’s Application Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1782 for an Order Directing Discovery from Chicago State University for Use in a Foreign…
MANCHESTER United manager Erik ten Hag says he has “never started his best XI” as his injury-hit side prepare to face Bayern Munich in the Champions League. Ten Hag is without 12 first-team players as United take on the Bundesliga champions in Germany on Wednesday. This includes Raphael Varane, Mason Mount and Harry Maguire, who have not travelled to Munich. “There was always something, but you have to deal with it,” said Ten Hag. “I think I never started the best starting XI. That is football. You have to deal with it. I love these situations. You have to know…
UKRAINIAN President Volodymyr Zelensky in a wartime trip to the United Nations on Tuesday urged the world to stand firm against Russia’s “genocide,” as he told skeptical developing nations they had a stake in Kyiv’s victory. Taking the rostrum of the UN General Assembly in his trademark military fatigues, Zelensky renewed an invitation for world leaders to join a “peace summit” to end the war on Ukraine’s term. “For the first time in modern history, we have the chance to end the aggression on the terms of the nation which was attacked,” Zelensky said in a speech met with applause…
A KILOGRAM of fentanyl was found under a nap mat at a nursery in New York City where one child died and three others were taken to hospital, police say. Nicholas Dominici, one, who had been at the nursery for just a week, died of a suspected drug overdose on Friday. Three other children were admitted to hospital after being exposed to the powerful narcotic at the daycare centre in the Bronx. Drug conspiracy and murder charges have been filed against two people. Police believe the children, ranging in age from eight months to two years old, inhaled fentanyl at…
THE partial suspension was instituted during the 63rd Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) meeting in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly to discuss developments in member states. Held on Monday, the meeting was chaired by Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Tourism, of Samoa, Fiamē Naomi Mata’afa, according to a statement made public on Tuesday. Ministers from Barbados, Canada, Ghana, Mauritius, and Rwanda, and representatives of Belize, Malaysia and Malta, were also in attendance. According to the statement, the ministers expressed the collective concern of the Commonwealth on the political situation in…
RWANDA’s President Paul Kagame has said he will run for a fourth term in next year’s presidential election. “Yes, I am indeed a candidate,” Mr Kagame told French-language magazine Jeune Afrique on Tuesday. Asked about what the West would think about his decision to run again, Mr Kagame said, “I’m sorry for the West, but what the West thinks is not my problem”. “I am happy with the confidence that the Rwandans have in me. I will always serve them, as much when I can.” Mr Kagame had in April said he was looking forward to retiring and handing over…
PEP Guardiola says Manchester City “haven’t done anything special” having won just one Champions League. After winning the Premier League and FA Cup last season, City became just the second English team to complete the Treble when they defeated Inter Milan 1-0 in the Champions League final. City begin their Champions League title defence when they take on Red Star Belgrade at home on Tuesday. “It’ll be easier. The hardest to win is the first one,” Guardiola said. “For our club to win the Champions League is incredible, but in perspective, how many won one Champions League? A lot. “We…
THE United States and Iran on Monday swapped five prisoners each in one of the arch-foes’ first deals in years as Tehran gained access to $6 billion in frozen funds. The five Americans freed by Iran, including one held for eight years, flew out of Tehran in a Qatari jet, hours after the unblocked funds were deposited in accounts also managed by Qatar. The freed prisoners walked in the setting sun on the tarmac and within hours a separate US government plane shuttled them to Washington, where some will undergo medical check-ups. The White House said Biden held an “emotional…
AT least 24 people have been killed and 21 injured in a coach crash in Peru. The inter-city coach was travelling overnight in the Andes mountains between the cities of Huancayo and Huanta when it fell into a 200m-deep (650 ft) ravine. Coach crashes are common in Peru, especially at night and on mountain highways. Official figures suggest more than 3,300 people died in traffic accidents in the Andean country in 2022. So far, officials have not said what might have caused the coach to veer off the road and into the ravine in an area known as Huaccoto, high…
MIGRANTS make up about 10% of those known to have died when floods hit Libya a week ago, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has told BBC News. Libya is hugely popular with migrants. According to data from the IOM, which is a United Nations body, over 706,000 migrants lived in the North African country in February 2023. Some live and work in Libya long-term, while others use it as a transit point in bids to reach Europe. Four-hundred migrants are registered as having died in the floods, the IOM understands, although it says that this death toll is likely…
UN human rights experts say war crimes and crimes against humanity are still being committed in different parts of Ethiopia 10 months after government and regional forces from Tigray signed a peace deal. Their report describes the situation in Ethiopia as extremely grave. It documents crimes committed by all sides – including Eritrean soldiers – during the war in Tigray. The International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia said government forces were arresting, detaining and torturing civilians in Oromia. It also reports having received numerous credible reports of violations against Amhara civilians since the announcement of a state of…
BENJAMIN Mendy, acquitted in a sex offences trial in England in July, played his first game in two years on Sunday when he came on as a substitute for Lorient against Monaco in Ligue 1. The 29-year-old France international and former Manchester City player was introduced 70 minutes into his new club’s 2-2 draw with the Ligue 1 leaders. Lorient were trailing 2-1 when Mendy came on, and it was the defender’s cross which led to Romain Faivre’s equalising goal in the eighth minute of stoppage time in Brittany. His last competitive game before Sunday was back in August 2021…
AN ex-police officer in the US state of Colorado – who locked a handcuffed woman in a police car that was then hit by a freight train – has avoided jail. Jordan Steinke was sentenced to 30 months on supervised probation, after being found guilty of reckless endangerment and assault in July. She was acquitted of criminal attempt to commit manslaughter. The 29-year-old, who lost her job over the incident, has been ordered to perform 100 hours of community service. The woman who was placed in the car, Yareni Rios-Gonzalez, suffered serious injuries in the crash, including a brain injury.…