Author: Editor

THE beheading of two people by suspected militants is causing alarm in northern Mozambique as such atrocities have become less common in recent years. This is partly because regional troops were deployed two years ago to help the army recapture territory from the militants in the northern region of Cabo Delgado. While this has allowed some people to return to their villages, it has also encouraged retreating insurgents to win over villagers from whom they buy food. Of late they have been saying their fight is with the defence forces, not locals. But the decapitated bodies of two fishermen were…

TWO members of the House of Representatives have defended the National Assembly in the wake of the controversy trailing its N70 billion allocation in the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Act. The funds will cover renovations in the new chambers, according to the member for Obanliku/Obudu/Bekwara Federal Constituency in Cross River State, Peter Akpanke, and his counterpart representing Igbo-Eze North/Udenu Federal Constituency in Enugu State, Dennis Agbo. “There is a lot of work to be done, if you go to the National Assembly, what is being renovated at the moment is the main chambers and we are using the temporary chambers,” Akpanke…

ITALIAN champions, Napoli, have offered Victor Osimhen a new two-year contract extension with a salary worth N6.5bn — €6.5m plus €1m in bonuses. Osimhen, who has two years left on his contract at Napoli, had demanded a salary of €7m annually to extend his current deal with the Italian champions, who are keen to tie him down to a new deal amidst interests from some of Europe’s top clubs. The new proposed deal, it was gathered, will include a release clause worth £170m for the Nigerian striker. The 24-year-old steered the Partenopei to their first title in 33 years scoring…

NEW signing Lionel Messi has been officially presented to cheering crowds at Inter Miami’s DRV PNK Stadium. A sold-out crowd of about 20,000 waited through downpours and lightning to see the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner given a number 10 shirt. In a brief address in Spanish, Messi, 36, thanked supporters and said he had the “same desire” he always has. The World Cup-winning Argentina forward joins the Major League Soccer (MLS) club on a deal until the end of 2025. He will be reunited with defensive midfielder Sergio Busquets – with whom he played at Barcelona – who has also…

MILLIONS of US military emails have been mistakenly sent to Mali, a Russian ally, because of a minor typing error. Emails intended for the US military’s “.mil” domain have, for years, been sent to the west African country which ends with the “.ml” suffix. Some of the emails reportedly contained sensitive information such as passwords, medical records and the itineraries of top officers. The Pentagon said it had taken steps to address the issue. According to the Financial Times, which first reported the story, Dutch internet entrepreneur Johannes Zuurbier identified the problem more than 10 years ago. Since 2013, he…

MORE than a thousand children have been evacuated from a summer camp after wildfires broke out in Greece. Two separate blazes are tearing through the country as it suffers the effects of a scorching Mediterranean heatwave. In the coastal town of Loutraki, west of Athens, 1,200 children were evacuated as flames approached their camp. Meanwhile, police arrested a man suspected of starting another blaze in Kouvaras, south-east of the capital. Dozens of people have had to leave their homes in the wider area, assisted by emergency service crews. Several animals also had to be evacuated, including a number of horses…

FORMER Twitter employees who were based in Ghana say the company has gone silent on all negotiations with their lawyers following the massive layoffs in November last year. They also say their severance packages have not been paid. Agency Seven Seven, which is representing the aggrieved former staff members, says Twitter has not communicated with them or the staff since May when negotiations were almost concluded. The agency says the social media giant, through its legal team, had almost reached an agreement to pay the fired staff members three months’ salaries and repatriation funds for those employed from outside Ghana…

A CONTROVERSIAL Kenyan televangelist, who claimed he created miraculous pregnancies, has been acquitted of child-trafficking charges due to insufficient evidence. The prosecution failed to prove that Gilbert Deya stole five children two decades ago, a Kenyan magistrate said. He had been accused of handing them to women struggling to become pregnant. The self-styled pastor was extradited from the UK in 2017, after his decade-long legal battle to remain failed. Concerns were first raised about the conduct of Mr Deya, who ran a church in London, in a BBC investigation in 2004. Women experiencing difficulties conceiving who attended the Gilbert Deya…

SECURITY agents have apprehended an undisclosed number of suspected bandits, their wives and informants immediately after they returned from Saudi Arabia, where they participated in the just concluded Hajj exercise. Those arrested were from the Tsafe, Zurmi, Bungudu and Shinkafi areas of Zamfara State. The alleged terrorists, who went to Saudia Arabia alongside other pilgrims from the state, were arrested at the Sultan Abubakar III International Airport in Sokoto last week. Intending pilgrims from Zamfara often travel to Saudi Arabia through the Sokoto airport. Though spokespersons of security agencies in Zamfara State are feigning ignorance of the arrest, multiple sources,…

Barely 24 Hours after the rape report by Quest Times, the Niger State State Police Command has stated that, one ofthe suspected rapists, was only released on bail on medical grounds while investigation was ongoing. THE QUEST TIMES had earlier reported the violent rape of a 16-year-old girl by a council member of Niger State’s Lavun Local Government Area, with the assistance of three other men. The father of the victim, Mallam Ibrahim Anfani claimed that while two of the guys restrained Husaina’s hands and legs, the other two beat, shoved her to the ground, and savagely raped her. She…

MANCHESTER United have completed the signing of Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana for £50m. Following a further meeting between United and Onana’s representatives on Sunday, it is understood an agreement was reached for a five-year contract, with the option of a further year. The Cameroonian, 27, will replace long-time number one David de Gea, who left the club last month after 12 seasons. Negotiations between the clubs were reportedly completed. Its certain Onana will complete his paper work in time to be on United’s tour of the United States when they leave later this week. Manager Erik ten Hag knows…

CARLOS Alcaraz defeated seven-time champion Novak Djokovic to claim his first Wimbledon title on Sunday, shattering the Serb’s dream of a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam crown. World number one Alcaraz recovered from dropping the first set and saving a set point in the second to win 1-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 after four hours and 42 minutes on Centre Court. It was a second major for the 20-year-old Spaniard following his US Open title last year as he became Wimbledon’s third youngest men’s champion. The result will also spark feverish speculation over the start of a generational shift, with…

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin said his country had enough cluster munition to answer if Ukraine was to use the weapons supplied by the US, in an interview published Sunday. Ukraine started receiving cluster weapons from the United States, a move that sparked concerns due to the long-term risk posed to civilians by bomblets that fail to explode. “Russia has a sufficient stockpile of various kinds of cluster munitions to reply Ukraine and US,” Putin told a state-television journalist. The controversial weapons can disperse up to several hundred small explosive charges, which can remain unexploded in the ground. “If they are…

IRANIAN police are resuming controversial patrols to ensure women obey dress codes and cover their hair in public, state media reports. The “morality police” will return to the streets to enforce Iran’s hijab laws, a spokesman said on Sunday. It comes 10 months after a young woman, Mahsa Amini, died in custody following her arrest in Tehran for allegedly breaking the dress code. Her death triggered massive national protests and the patrols were paused. However, Islamic hardliners have been demanding that the patrols be resumed for some time. Under Iranian law, which is based on the country’s interpretation of Sharia,…

HUNDREDS of homes have been destroyed by a fire in a poor neighbourhood of the South African port city of Durban. One person is known to have died in the blaze that tore through the Kennedy Road informal settlement early on Sunday morning, but there are fears that more bodies could be found. Video footage shows the twisted remains of corrugated iron sheets used to build the shacks amid the smouldering debris. People can be seen trying to salvage their belongings. The cause of the fire is not yet known. However, some eyewitnesses say it started when two people, who…

KARIM Khan, the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC), has told the BBC that “there is no hope of peace in Sudan without some type of justice”. Speaking to Focus on Africa from the UN in New York, Mr Khan said “new generations of Darfurians are being inflicted with new violence that is no fault of their own”. It follows the news yesterday that the bodies of 87 people, allegedly killed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), were found in a mass grave in Darfur. On Thursday, he announced that his office is looking atrecent atrocities in the Darfur…

A MEMBER of the Lavun Emirate Council of Lavun Local Government Area of Niger State, Abubakar Gimba Galadima has been accused of the outright denial of justice for a 16-year-old girl, who was violently raped by four men from Kashikoko village in the area. In an exclusive interview with THE QUEST TIMES, the victim’s father, Malam Ibrahim Anfani stated that his 16-year-old daughter, Hussaina Ibrahim was violently raped in April when she was trying to fetch firewood from the bush. According to him, Husaina was beaten, pushed to the ground and brutally raped by two of the men while another…

FRENCH champions Paris Saint-Germain have set their sights on Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen, aiming to forge a formidable partnership alongside Kylian Mbappé in a bid to sway the World Cup winner into staying at the Parc des Princes. While previous rumours hinted that PSG eyed Osimhen as a potential replacement for the Real Madrid-linked Mbappé, SPORT.es reports that PSG’s objective is not to replace the young Frenchman but rather to enlist Osimhen’s support in persuading him to sign a fresh contract. Mbappé had recently declared his intention to fulfill the remaining year of his PSG contract while forgoing the optional…

FABINHO has been left out of Liverpool’s squad for a training camp in Germany following a £40m bid for him from Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad. Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has also been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia but has travelled to Germany. The Reds received the offer for Brazil midfielder Fabinho on Friday night. A decision between the club and player was then taken to remove the 29-year-old from the 32-man touring party, which left on Saturday. Fabinho has been at Liverpool since July 2018 after the Reds signed him from Monaco for a fee in the region…

RESCUERS in South Korea working to reach cars trapped in a flooded tunnel have recovered at least seven bodies. Torrential rains have caused flooding, landslides, and power cuts across much of the country. At least 26 other people are known to have been killed, while ten remain missing. It is unclear how many people are still trapped in the tunnel – which is 685 metres long – but 15 vehicles are thought to be submerged. Officials said the tunnel in Osong – near the city of Cheongju in the central North Chungcheong province – was swamped by a flash flood,…