Author: Editor

AT least 34 people have been killed and thousands evacuated after wildfires broke out across Algeria, the country’s interior ministry says. Outbreaks of 97 wildfires were recorded across 16 provinces affecting forest, crops and farmland on Monday. About 8,000 firefighters were working to bring the blazes under control, authorities said. Twenty-six people were also injured and 1,500 evacuated from their homes in Fenaia, Bejaia, Zbarbar and Bouira. Ten soldiers were killed battling the fires in Bejaia, the Algerian defence ministry said. The most extensive fires, in the mountainous Kabylie region to the east of Algiers, spread to residential areas in…

TWITTER’s owner Elon Musk and its new CEO said Sunday that the social media network would ditch its bird logo, be rebranded with the name X and move quickly into payments, banking and commerce. Founded in 2006, Twitter takes its name from the sound of birds chattering, and it has used avian branding since its early days, when the company bought a stock symbol of a light blue bird for $15, according to the design website Creative Bloq. Tweeting a picture of the company’s new logo — a white X on a black background — late Sunday night, Twitter chief…

HISTORY could be made on day five of the Fifa Women’s World Cup if Nouhaila Benzina plays for Morocco. The 25-year-old defender will become the first player to wear a hijab, the Islamic headscarf, at a World Cup if she features against one of the tournament favourites, Germany. That is the second game of the day, with Italy facing Argentina, who are trying to win their first World Cup match, earlier in the morning. Brazil, who have won all eight of their World Cup openers, get their tournament under way against debutants Panama. Italy are hoping to build on a…

PEP Guardiola says Manchester City can improve “many things” after coming from behind to beat Yokohama F Marinos 5-3 in Tokyo. The City boss also warned Erling Haaland was “fitter” than last season after scoring twice in the friendly. “It’s a good test because we don’t have enough preparation,” said Guardiola. The match saw Kyle Walker start as captain, Mateo Kovacic make his debut and Joao Cancelo play following his loan spell at Bayern Munich. “Yokohama played really well on the transitions – it was good for us,” added Guardiola. “Many things we can improve, of course, and no-one injured,…

AT least 11 people are now known to have died after the roof of school gymnasium collapsed under heavy rain in north-east China, state media reports. Officials say 19 people were trapped inside the gym when it collapsed. Eyewitnesses told media that many of the victims are children, although this is yet to be officially confirmed. Police have arrested the person in charge of the building in Qiqihar city in the industrial Heilongjiang province. Officials say four people managed to escape. Of the 15 people pulled out of the rubble, only four have survived. Perlite, a form of volcanic glass,…

THE death toll from overnight flash floods caused by torrential rain in central Afghanistan has risen to 26, with more than 40 people missing, officials said Sunday. Shafiullah Rahimi, spokesman for the State Ministry for Disaster Management, said a total of 31 people had been killed nationwide in floods since Friday and extensive damage had been caused to property and farmland. Government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said urgent aid was being rushed to the main disaster zone in the Jalrez district of Maidan Wardak province. Although Afghanistan lies on the western edge of the Asian monsoon footprint, flash floods happen regularly…

A DISTRAUGHT Congolese soldier shot dead at least 13 civilians, most of them children, in a village in the northeast of the conflict-plagued country, military and local sources said Sunday. The naval serviceman couldn’t bear the fact that his child had been buried in his absence, the day before he arrived in the village of Nyakova, according to testimonies gathered by AFP. Nyakova is a fishing village in the Djugu territory, about 65 kilometres (40 miles) east of Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, one of eastern DR Congo’s violence hotspots, where deadly attacks are common. The angry soldier “fired…

IN a war-devastated district of Sudan’s capital, Abbas Mohammed Babiker says he and his family have only been able to eat once a day. Now even that is in doubt, but on Sunday a citizens’ support group issued an urgent appeal for donations to help people like him. “We only have enough for two more days,” Babiker said from Khartoum North, where residents said at least one person, a local musician, has already died from hunger. Since April 15, battles between Sudan’s army led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), headed by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo,…

THE National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has released the final lists of successful candidates for the 2023 recruitment exercise for Narcotic Officer and Narcotic Assistant cadres. A statement released on Sunday by the agency spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said successful candidates for cadet, trainees are to report at the NDLEA Academy in Jos and NSCDC College of Peace and Disaster Management in Katsina states respectively. The statement partly read, “The under-listed successful candidates are therefore to report for Narcotic Officers Basic (Cadet) training at the NDLEA Academy, Kotton Rikus, Jos Plateau State, while the Narcotic Agent/Assistant (Trainees) will report for their…

THE Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has shifted the date to effect new tariff toll fare at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) from July 17 to Aug. 1. In a statement signed by the FAAN Management on Sunday in Abuja, the postponement was to make the airport users enjoy more of the current charges. According to the management, the fare for cars will change from N200 to N300, while that of buses and Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) will change from N300 to N500 only. It said the truck (six tyres) tariff would change from N500 to N1,000 while…

MANCHESTER United gained bragging rights over rivals Arsenal as first-half goals from Bruno Fernandes and Jadon Sancho sealed a 2-0 friendly win at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The match was played in front of a stadium soccer record crowd of 82,262. Fernandes celebrated being appointed United’s new captain by beating Aaron Ramsdale from 20 yards, although the Arsenal keeper could have done better. And Sancho doubled the advantage with a powerful shot into the top corner. The winger, playing as a false nine in an outfield line-up manager Erik ten Hag changed completely at half-time, finished after speeding on…

ENGLAND squeezed past Haiti 1-0 as they began their Women’s World Cup title bid in unconvincing fashion on Saturday, but holders the United States and former champions Japan were far more comfortable. European champions England have been touted as the prime challengers to a United States team chasing an unprecedented third World Cup crown in a row. But they will have to play far better than they did in front of nearly 45,000 spectators in Brisbane, where a youthful Haiti side making their World Cup debut could have snatched a point at the end. A Georgia Stanway penalty in the…

THOUSANDS of people have been evacuated from homes and hotels on the Greek island of Rhodes after wildfires engulfed large parts of the island. The country’s fire service has described the fires as the most difficult it is currently facing. It is estimated more than 3,500 people have been moved by land and sea to safer locations. The island has been battling wildfires fanned by strong winds since Tuesday, amidst a heatwave in Europe. No injuries have been reported, according to the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection in Greece. It said visitors are being evacuated safely from the…

THE death of a Russian journalist in Ukraine was “a heinous, premeditated crime” committed by Western powers and Kyiv, Russia’s foreign ministry said Saturday, vowing a “response” against those to blame. Earlier the Russian military announced that Rostislav Zhuravlev, a war correspondent working for the state RIA Novosti news agency, had been killed in a Ukrainian strike in the southern Zaporizhzhia region on Saturday. The agency also reported his death, saying he was killed near the frontline village of Pytikhatki. “As a result of a strike by the Ukrainian army using cluster munitions, four journalists were wounded in various levels…

AT least 20 Sudanese civilians have been killed by rocket fire on residential areas of one of Darfur’s main cities and by shelling near hospitals in North Kordofan state, lawyers and medics said Saturday. The doctors’ union said that since Friday morning shells had struck near four hospitals in the North Kordofan state capital El-Obeid, killing four civilians and wounding 45. In the South Darfur state capital Nyala, the local lawyers’ union said that rocket fire had killed 16 civilians. The Darfur region, already ravaged by brutal conflict in the early 2000s, has seen some of the worst of the…

A MALAWIAN court has convicted a Chinese national on multiple charges including trafficking and procuring children to take part in entertainment. Lu Ke, also known as Susu, has been handed a 12-month prison sentence, which he has already served in police custody. He has been ordered to leave the country within seven days and is barred from ever returning. He was arrested last year following a BBC Africa Eye investigative report. The report showed him filming Malawian children making personalised greeting videos, some of which included racist content. The videos were being bought for up to $70 (£55) on Chinese…

NO fewer than 21 out of 28 states across the country have yet to swear in their commissioners, findings by this newspaper have revealed. According to the constitution, state governors have until July 27 to send the list of their commissioners to their various Houses of Assembly, whose confirmation they must get before their swearing-in. However, with barely six days to the stipulated date, only seven states have sworn in their commissioners since the governors’ 2023 inauguration. On May 29, 2023, more than a dozen governorship candidates who emerged winners in the March 18 governorship elections and April 15 reruns…

GOVERNOR Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State says crude oil prices will dictate the pump price of petroleum in Nigeria, adding that the product sells for over N1,000 per litre in some West African countries. here has been a hike in the price of petrol in Nigeria since President Bola Tinubu pronounced the subsidy era gone. Since the late May inauguration comment, the price of the commodity has gone from around N190 per litre to between N600-N700 in many parts of the country. While the development has triggered a wave of backlash and criticism of the government, Governor Sule said since…

FORMER Barcelona, Real Madrid and Real Mallorca striker Samuel Eto’o continues to make the headlines for all the wrong reasons as President of the Cameroonian FA. Earlier in the week, he was accused by a former Vice-President of trying to ruin Andre Onana’s international career. Now, he has been accused of helping to fix matches in the national leagues. According to Camfoot, via La Razon, Eto’o had promised to ensure two sides would be promoted to the top division in Cameroon. A conversation has been published where Eto’o allegedly tells Valentine Gwain, President of Victoria United. “There are things we…

ARGENTINA star Lionel Messi curled in a stunning stoppage-time free-kick on his Inter Miami debut to clinch a 2-1 victory against Mexican side Cruz Azul. Messi, 36, struck in the fourth minute of added time as his Major League Soccer side won the Leagues Cup tie. The 20,000-capacity crowd included celebrities such as basketball’s LeBron James, tennis legend Serena Williams and US TV star Kim Kardashian. “We wanted to start like this by giving these people a victory,” said Messi. “We knew that it was very important for us to start this championship in winning fashion. Luckily we were able…