Author: Editor

MORE than a quarter of patients on antidepressants in England – about two million people – have been taking them for five years, the BBC has found. This is despite there being limited evidence of the benefits of taking the drugs for that length of time. A doctor who runs an NHS clinic helping people off the pills says withdrawal symptoms can make it hard for some to stop taking their medication. Withdrawal guidance was updated in 2019, but he says little has changed. More than eight million people in England are on antidepressants – which are prescribed for depression,…

THE latest temporary ceasefire between Sudan’s rival military factions appears to have brought a lull in the fighting, following battles and air strikes overnight. A resident in the capital, Khartoum, said the situation was calm and expressed hope that the truce might be the beginning of the end of the war. He said people were tired of conflict, death and looting. The 72-hour ceasefire was announced on Saturday by US and Saudi mediators. The Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces agreed to halt attacks and allow the delivery of humanitarian aid. Previous truces have been poorly observed.

THE peace of a normally tranquil suburban road near South Africa’s capital, Pretoria, is being shattered by the sound of drilling. These are not prospectors looking for a new source of the country’s mineral wealth, but workers digging for an arguably more precious resource: water. Private boreholes – like this one being excavated in Garsfontein – are springing up across the wealthier neighbourhoods in the country’s economic heartland, where taps have been running dry. “I am tired of not knowing when we will have water and when we won’t,” the frustrated homeowner says. “Having a borehole means we won’t have…

ONE week after the 10th National Assembly was inaugurated, lawmakers have begun jostling for the chairmanship and membership of key standing committees of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, this newspaper reports. Lawmakers consider committees that oversee ministries, departments and agencies of the Federal Government with enormous influence and huge budgets as ‘juicy’. The juicy committees are often reserved for key members of the leading party, in this case, the All Progressives Congress, and those loyal to the presiding officers. They include committees on Appropriations, Finance, Public Accounts, Defence (Army, Navy and Air Force), Police Affairs, National Security…

A BLUNDER by Morocco goalkeeper Munir el Kajoui led to a 2-1 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying defeat in South Africa on Saturday — their first loss since reaching the 2022 World Cup semi-finals. Zambia completed a joyful day for southern Africa by hammering the Ivory Coast 3-0 in Ndola to secure a place in the finals for the first time since 2015. South Africa and World Cup history-makers Morocco had qualified ahead of a lively Group K clash in Johannesburg that drew a 50,000 crowd despite near-freezing conditions. El Kajoui, standing in for rested Yassine Bounou, allowed a Percy…

CRISTIANO Ronaldo is the all-time international record scorer with 122 goals in 199 caps for Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo won his 199th Portugal cap as his side cruised past Bosnia-Herzegovina to maintain their winning streak in their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign. Bruno Fernandes set up Bernardo Silva who opened the scoring with a chipped effort in the 44th minute. Fernandes added a second through a 77th minute header and a third in the closing stages with a sweet strike. Ronaldo had a first-half header ruled out for offside at Estadio da Luz. Portugal stay top of Group J having won all…

AROUND 170 people been relocated from the western French town of La Laigne after an earthquake on Friday evening. The quake, believed to have been between magnitude 5.2 and 5.8 was felt from Rennes in the north-west to Bordeaux in the south-west. Homes, schools and churches were damaged, with hundreds of buildings declared uninhabitable. Earthquakes above magnitude five are unusual in France, with the last affecting the country in November 2019. Two people were injured in the town of Deux-Sevres following Friday’s tremor. The Charente-Maritime region just north of Bordeaux was particularly affected. In La Laigne, the local fire service…

CRIME has taken a sadistic turn in Ecuador, where kidnappers now regularly amputate the fingers of their victims and send images to pressure relatives to pay higher ransoms. For decades, Ecuador was a refuge of peace wedged in a dangerous region. But these days, it increasingly resembles nearby Peru and Colombia, two huge producers of cocaine with violent criminal histories. In March, the wife of a businessman in the port city of Guayaquil received images of someone snipping two fingers off her husband’s left hand, threatening to mutilate him further unless they were paid $100,000. At the end of 2022,…

SUSPECTED militants have killed about a dozen villagers and wounded several more in western Burkina Faso, security and local sources told AFP on Saturday. “Overnight (Friday-Saturday) armed people attacked the village of Sara,” 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Burkina’s second city Bobo-Dioulasso, the security source said. “Unfortunately we have a dozen dead and several wounded.” A villager, asking not to be named, said, “Nine bodies were buried this Saturday. But two people also died of their wounds, making a total of 11 dead.” A second resident said the “terrorists” attacked at 8:00 pm (2000 GMT). “They opened fire on a…

THIRTY-TWO people – EIGHT children – have been killed in an air strike in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, officials say. Twenty-five homes were destroyed in Saturday’s strike in the densely populated Yarmouk district. It came a day after a top army general threatened to step up attacks against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Fighting between the Sudanese army and the RSF broke out mid-April as a result of a vicious power struggle within the country’s military leadership. In early June, the RSF claimed full control of Yarmouk, an area of the capital which houses an arms manufacturing facility. Later on Saturday…

RUSSIA has already stationed a first batch of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, Vladimir Putin says. Russia’s president told a forum they would only be used if Russia’s territory or state was threatened. The US government says there is no indication the Kremlin plans to use nuclear weapons to attack Ukraine. “We don’t see any indications that Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said after Mr Putin’s comments. Belarus is a key Russian ally and served as a launchpad for Mr Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year. Mr Putin…

A MAN confessed to the killing of his wife who has been missing for two and a half months in western France and has led investigators to her body, police said on Friday. Karine Esquivillon, 54, a mother-of-five, disappeared on March 27 without a trace from her home in the Pays de la Loire region of western France. Her cell phone, missing a SIM card but enclosed with a photo of one of her daughters, was discovered two weeks later in a ditch by a car park by the commune’s mayor. While police appealed for witnesses to come forward, her…

AT least 25 people have been killed at a school in western Uganda by rebels linked to the Islamic State group. A further eight people remain in a critical condition after the attack on Lhubiriha secondary school in Mpondwe. Police say the attack on Friday was carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) – an Ugandan group based in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Soldiers are pursuing the group who fled towards Virunga National park in the DRC, police added. “So far 25 bodies have been recovered from the school and transferred to Bwera Hospital”, national police spokesperson…

MALI’s foreign minister has called on the UN to withdraw its peacekeeping force from his country “without delay”. Abdoulaye Diop accused the force, Minusma, of having “become a part of the problem in fuelling intercommunal tensions”. He was addressing the UN Security Council. Minusma has more than 13,000 troops. Its decade-old mission has failed to stop the spread of jihadist violence. Russian Wagner mercenaries are now assisting Mali’s military rulers. Western officials have accused Wagner of human rights abuses in Ukraine and parts of Africa, and last month the US announced sanctions on Ivan Maslov, whom it described as Wagner’s…

SUPER Falcons Chief Coach, Randy Waldrum, has released the squad list of players for this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The list of 23 players was published on the Twitter handle of the Nigerian Football Federation on Friday. The names on the list include Francisca Ordega, Assiat Oshoala, Ashleigh Plumptre, Onome Ebi, Desire Oparanozie, Chiamaka Nnadozie, Rasheedat Ajibade, Uchenna Kanu, Christy Ucheibe and Gift Monday. Others are Halimatu Ayinde, Ifeoma Onumonu, Toni Payne, Jennifer Echegini, Michelle Alozie Tochukwu Oluehi, Yetunde Balogun, Deborah Abiodun, Rofiat Imuran, Osinachi Ohale, Ijeoma Okoronkwo and Tosin Demehin. The Super Falcons…

LEICESTER hired Manchester City assistant coach Enzo Maresca as their new manager on Friday as the relegated Foxes look to bounce back to the Premier League. Maresca moves to the King Power Stadium after working as part of Pep Guardiola’s coaching staff with treble winners City. The 43-year-old Italian has signed a contract that runs until 2026 and replaces interim manager Dean Smith. Smith failed to prevent Leicester being relegated to the Championship after being appointed for the final eight games of the season following Brendan Rodgers’ exit. “I’m very excited because of the club and because we have a…

NUHU Ribadu was born in Yola, Adamawa State, on November 21, 1960. He attended Aliyu Mustapha Primary School, Yola from 1966 to 1973 and Yelwa Government Secondary School, Yola from 1973-1977. Between 1978 and 1980, Ribadu was at the College of Preliminary Studies, CPS, Yola, for his A-level studies. In 1980, he gained admission to study law at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, graduating in 1983. He graduated from the Nigerian Law School and was called to the bar in 1984. He joined the Police immediately after his national service. Ribadu holds an LLM degree with emphasis on the jurisprudence of…

JOSELU scored a late winner as Spain beat Italy to set up a Nations League final against Croatia on Sunday. Yeremy Pino won the ball off Italy legend Leonardo Bonucci outside his own box before firing in Spain’s opener in Enschede, Netherlands. Ciro Immobile equalised for Italy with a penalty after Spain debutant Robin le Normand handled in the box. Substitute Joselu pounced from close range after Rodri’s deflected shot to send Spain to the Rotterdam final. “Now the most important thing is that we win this trophy,” said midfielder Rodri, who played a full 90 minutes five days after…

THE Premier League has released fixtures for the 2023/2024 season, with defending champions Manchester City starting their title defence with newly promoted Burnley managed by former City captain Vincent Company. See the fixture dates and times of all 360 matches below: Friday 11 August 2023 20:00 Burnley v Man City Saturday 12 August 2023 12:30 Arsenal v Nott’m Forest AFC Bournemouth v West Ham Brighton v Luton Town Everton v Fulham Sheff Utd v Crystal Palace 17:30 Newcastle v Aston Villa Sunday 13 August 2023 14:00 Brentford v Spurs 16:30 Chelsea v Liverpool Monday 14 August 2023 20:00 Man Utd…

THE United States and its close allies Japan and South Korea issued a joint statement Thursday to “condemn” North Korea’s latest missile launches. “These launches are clear violations of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions, and demonstrate the threat (that North Korea’s)… unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs pose to the region,” the statement said. North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles, South Korea’s military said Thursday, shortly after Pyongyang warned of an “inevitable” response to ongoing US-South Korea joint military drills. The trilateral statement reflected the growing thaw between Japan and South Korea — a major…