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INFLUENTIAL Ghanaian musician and socialite Mona Faiz Montrage, popularly known as Hajia4Real, has been extradited to the US and charged with a $2m ($1.6m) romance scam. The criminal enterprise she allegedly belonged to targeted lonely American men and women – and in one instance faked married to one victim to further her scheme. The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) in a statement indicated she had been charged with several counts, including conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering. She could receive a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail for each count if found guilty. She was also charged with…

MALIAN Prime Minister Choguel Maïga has rejected a UN report that accused the army and foreign forces of killing at least 500 civilians in the central village of Moura in March last year. Mr Maïga said the report sought to tarnish the reputation of the security forces, state-owned television ORTM reported on Monday. He said that no-one would make Malians doubt their army and its rising strength in recent months. Mali has now ordered an “espionage” probe of the UN, whom it accused of being manipulated by the “French junta”. Meanwhile, Mali’s High Authority of Communication (HAC) has condemned French…

INTER Milan reached the Champions League final for the first time in 13 years as Lautaro Martinez’s goal sealed victory over fierce rivals AC Milan at San Siro. Three-time winners Inter, who led 2-0 after the first leg, will face either Manchester City or Real Madrid in Istanbul on 10 June after a disciplined second-leg display ensured their progress. Heavily backed at a feverish San Siro as the designated home team, Inter were made to absorb early pressure as a determined start by Milan ensured the match began at a frenetic pace. Theo Hernandez fired marginally over with a ferocious…

CURTIS Jones scored twice as in-form Liverpool brushed aside hapless Leicester to maintain their recent winning streak and push the Foxes closer to Premier League relegation. Jurgen Klopp’s side have won their past seven games to bolster their push for a top-four finish and now lie a point behind Newcastle and Manchester United, albeit having played a game more. Another dismal loss for Leicester leaves the 2016 Premier League champions firmly rooted in danger in 19th position, two points adrift of safety with only two games remaining. The Reds scored twice in the space of three first-half minutes through the…

BARCELONA president Joan Laporta said on Monday the club will “do everything possible” to bring Argentine superstar Lionel Messi back in the close season. The Paris Saint-Germain forward is set to leave in the summer when his contract expires and new La Liga champions Barcelona are hoping to lure their all-time top goalscorer back, despite strong interest from Saudi Arabia. Messi has had two lacklustre seasons in Paris after a glorious era at Barcelona where he won four Champions League and 10 La Liga titles and is still worshipped by the fans there. Laporta said he has spoken with Messi…

IRANIAN authorities on Monday executed five people over “armed drug smuggling” in the south of the country, the judiciary reported. The convicts, “all criminals and armed drug smugglers”, had been sentenced to death by hanging in a verdict upheld by Iran’s top court, the judiciary’s website Mizan Online quoted Mojtaba Ghahramani, Chief Justice of the southern province of Hormozgan, as saying. “The sentences of the aforementioned were carried out this morning in Bandar Abbas and Minab prisons” in Hormozgan, he added. The latest hangings bring to eight the number of people executed in less than a week over drug smuggling.…

A MUNICH court sentenced a 27-year-old male nurse to life in prison Monday for murdering two patients by deliberately administering unprescribed drugs so he could be “left in peace”. The nurse, identified only as Mario G., was also found guilty on six counts of attempted murder, a spokesman for the Munich district court in southern Germany said. During his trial, Mario G. admitted to injecting patients with sedatives and other drug cocktails while working in the recovery room at a Munich hospital. “I wanted to be left in peace,” Mario G. told the court. Three of the attempts targeted the…

THE Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) have accused the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of attacking worshippers in a church in Omdurman, a city adjacent to the capital Khartoum. The army in a statement on Sunday claimed RSF shot at worshippers in the Blessed Church in Omdurman against international humanitarian law and established customs. But in a Twitter post, RSF denied that it had attacked the church and instead accused an “extremist group” aligned with the SAF of being behind the attack. The force also accused SAF of “assassinating” an official of a football federation, Amir Hasaballah, and other killings in…

KENYAN government officials have visited herder communities in the south-west after nearly a dozen lions were recently killed after attacking livestock. The officials, including the tourism minister and Kenya Wildlife Service officials, met residents of the Mbirikani ranch amid escalating human-wildlife conflicts that led to the killing of 11 lions by herders living near the Amboseli National Park. The minister, Peninah Malonza, said the government was working to ensure pending claims by the community seeking compensation for wildlife attacks were settled. She urged the local people to embrace a “peaceful and harmonious co-existence with wildlife” even as their concerns were…

THE Federal High Court in Lagos has adjourned indefinitely an application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), seeking a stay of execution of the ruling that lifted a forfeiture order on some assets linked to the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello. Justice Nicholas Oweibo adjourned the hearing of the application sine die because the matter is now before the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal. On April 26, Justice Oweibo struck out a suit by the EFCC seeking the final forfeiture of the assets based on the provisions of Section 308(1) of the 1999 Constitution. The…

BARCELONA sealed their first La Liga title since 2018-19 with four games to spare after a stylish win at the home of city rivals Espanyol. Barca were 3-0 up by half-time, Robert Lewandowski scoring his 20th league goal of the season before Alejandro Balde, 19, doubled the lead. Lewandowski added the third before Jules Kounde’s header made it 4-0. Espanyol did reduce the deficit through Javier Puado and Joselu but remain in trouble near the bottom of the table. Barcelona have 85 points, 14 more than nearest rivals Real Madrid, with 12 points left to play for. It is their…

THE Gunners’ hopes of a first league title in 19 years were realistically ended as goals from Julio Enciso, Deniz Undav and Pervis Estupinan left them still four points adrift of Manchester City, who have three games left to secure the one win they need to win the league. A dominant City’ trouncing of Everton pushes them to the brink of a fifth Premier League title in six seasons The encounter was expected to be a feisty affair and off the whistle, both sides were eager to show their desire for victory, however, an unmarked Julio Enciso struck the first…

TURKEY’s battle for the presidency looks set to go to a run-off, with both contenders adamant they have victory in their grasp. After 20 years in power, Recep Tayyip Erdogan stood on the balcony of his party HQ saying he was convinced he would win another five. Everything appeared to have fallen into place for his opponent Kemal Kilicdaroglu to win. But incomplete results put him behind the president in the first round. And Mr Erdogan’s alliance could also be heading for a majority in parliament. For months, Turkey’s disparate opposition parties had pooled their resources in a bid to…

BELARUS’ leader Alexander Lukashenko has missed a major state celebration, further fuelling health speculation. The autocratic politician, 68, usually speaks publicly at the annual National Flag, Emblem and Anthem Day event but his prime minister read a message on his behalf on Sunday. Last week, Mr Lukashenko left Moscow soon after Victory Day parade, skipping lunch with President Vladimir Putin. Mr Lukashenko looked visibly tired, and his right hand was bandaged. He was last seen in public laying flowers in the capital Minsk during Belarus’ own Victory Day celebrations on 9 May – a few hours after returning from the…

CHILDREN were targeted as the first to be starved to death in the final days of a Christian doomsday cult in Kenya, according to fresh accounts emerging. Police investigating an apparent mass suicide have so far exhumed 201 bodies in a forest in the nation’s southeast. A former deputy preacher of the cult told the New York Times that children were killed first, ordered “to fast in the sun so they would die faster.” Women and men were next to follow the suicide plan, Titus Katana said. Mr Katana – who is helping police with the investigation – also described…

HEAVY fighting between warring parties has continued in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, and other cities ahead of the ceasefire talks on Sunday. Residents say the Sudanese army has pounded civilian areas, while the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has occupied civilian properties. Clashes were reported in Khartoum, neighbouring Omdurman and Geneina in the Darfur region. War between the country’s army and the RSF started nearly a month ago. One resident Hani Ahmed, 28, said it was worse in the morning compared with the past two days. “You could clearly hear the tanks and the RSF were patrolling the streets more than…

REAL Madrid warmed up for their decisive Champions League semi-final visit to face Manchester City with a 1-0 win over Getafe on Saturday in La Liga. The champions’ slim victory ensured leaders Barcelona must beat city rivals Espanyol on Sunday in Cornella to be able to clinch the title this weekend. Marco Asensio broke the deadlock in the 70th minute with a deflected strike from distance, in a game of few chances which did not get pulses racing. Carlo Ancelotti rotated heavily to keep his key players fresh ahead of the second leg battle with Pep Guardiola’s City, following the…

PARIS Saint-Germain closed in on a record 11th French league title with a 5-0 home win over Ajaccio on Saturday as Lionel Messi received a mixed reception on his return from suspension. Fabian Ruiz opened the scoring on 22 minutes at the Parc des Princes and Achraf Hakimi added a second goal before Kylian Mbappe struck twice shortly after half-time. Mohamed Youssouf compounded a miserable night for the Corsicans with an own goal for PSG’s fifth, while Hakimi and Ajaccio midfielder Thomas Mangani were sent off after a late bust-up. PSG need four points from their final three games —…

TURKS vote on Sunday, in the most pivotal elections in their modern history, to decide if Recep Tayyip Erdogan remains as president after 20 years in power. His main rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, promises to scrap many of the powers acquired by President Erdogan after he survived a failed coup in 2016. Buoyed by a broad opposition alliance, he has a real chance of victory. But this race has become so intense that campaigning went up to the wire. President Erdogan was filmed stretching election rules by addressing worshippers at Saturday evening prayers in Istanbul. Turkey’s 64 million voters go to…

UKRAINIAN President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Pope Francis and Italy’s prime minister on Saturday as part of a diplomatic tour also involving Germany, as Berlin unveiled a huge new weapons package ahead of an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive. “An important visit for (the) approaching victory of Ukraine!” Zelensky tweeted as he arrived in Rome, on his first visit to EU and NATO member Italy since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Zelensky was due to travel on Sunday to Berlin, a German government source said, where the defence ministry earlier Saturday announced a new weapons package worth 2.7 billion euros ($2.95…