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TITANIC submersible pilot Stockton Rush was “extremely” serious about safety, his former business partner said Friday after mounting criticism following a deadly implosion. “Titanic” movie director James Cameron has accused OceanGate Expeditions of ignoring safety warnings, after Rush and four other people were lost in the disaster while descending to the North Atlantic shipwreck. William Kohnen, chairman of the Manned Underwater Vehicles Committee, a voluntary industry body, said OceanGate was “not willing” to undergo a standard certification process for the Titan submersible. But Guillermo Soehnlein, who started OceanGate with Rush in 2009 before leaving the company in 2013, denied his…

THE Sudanese army’s infantry battalions have hardly been present on the streets of Khartoum during the two months-long conflict that has raged in the country, leaving much of the capital under the control of the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). This is despite the fact that the army is made up of about 200,000 soldiers, roughly twice the size of the RSF. Yet the army is heavily outnumbered on the streets of Khartoum, as well as the two cities across the River Nile – Bahri and Omdurman. RSF fighters were initially moving the three cities in their armed pick-up…

SIERRA Leoneans are voting in a general election following a tense campaign marred by violence. On Wednesday, the main opposition party alleged that one of its supporters was shot dead by police, which the police have denied. Supporters of both main parties have been accused of attacking opponents. This election is taking place against the background of a troubled economy, the rising cost of living, as well as concerns about national unity. The voters are choosing a president, MPs and councillors in the West African country’s fifth election since the civil war ended in 2002. The 11-year conflict cost an…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has set up an inter-agency committee to resolve the lingering row between the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), TheCable understands. According to sources, the committee was set up to resolve NNPC’s failure to remit funds into the FAAC account. “I can comfortably tell you that Mr. President has approved the memo from NNPC Limited to set up a committee to reconcile the crisis between NNPC Limited and FAAC over the failure to remit money into the federation account,” a source said. “So many things have been told to Mr.…

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has accepted “not everything was perfect” for fans after criticism about the Champions League final in Istanbul. There were reports of fans having to walk extended distances along busy roads, queue for hours for transport to and from the stadium and being left without water as Manchester City beat Inter Milan on 10 June. Uefa previously apologised after Liverpool fans were penned in and teargassed before last year’s final in Paris. European football’s governing body had not previously addressed the issues experienced by supporters in Istanbul. However, at the opening of the four-day European Football Fans…

CHELSEA’s owners have agreed a deal to buy a majority stake in French Ligue 1 club Strasbourg. Chairman Todd Boehly has previously said a multi-club model is a good pathway for young players to gain experience. The size of the stake is unknown – however it has been reported the Blues will pay 75m euros (£65m) for close to 100% ownership. Club president Marc Keller said it was an “important day” for Strasbourg. The former West Ham midfielder added that while there was “no financial urgency” to the agreement, the shareholders were aware the club had “reached the ceiling of…

TURKEY has hiked its main interest rate from 8.5% to 15%, reversing one of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s unorthodox economic policies. The 6.5-point rise was far lower than economists were expecting, but it marked a major shift in policy by his new economic team brought in to tackle rampant inflation. Turkey’s leader has until now insisted on keeping interest rates down. Inflation is almost 40% and Turks are in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis. The head of Turkey’s central bank, Hafize Gaye Erkan, 44, was only recruited from the US this month in the wake of Mr Erdogan’s re-election…

‘TITANIC’ movie director and renowned deep-sea explorer James Cameron said many warnings were ignored about the safety of the tourist submersible that imploded near the famous shipwreck, killing five people. Cameron said the sub had been the source of widespread concern in the close-knit ocean exploration community, and drew parallels to the 1912 ocean liner sinking in which around 1,500 people died. “I’m struck by the similarity of the Titanic disaster itself, where the captain was repeatedly warned about ice ahead of his ship, and yet he steamed at full speed into an ice field on a moonless night, and…

PEOPLE are rushing to markets in Sierra Leone’s capital to stock up on food ahead of elections on Saturday, residents in Freetown have told the BBC. It follows a stand-off on Wednesday between the security forces and supporters of the main opposition party that reportedly left at least one person dead. Businesses shut down briefly amid the chaos and there is now a palpable fear that there could be further violence after Saturday’s poll. Sidi Yahya Tunis, spokesperson for the opposition All People’s Congress (APC), told the Reuters news agency that one of the party’s supporters had been killed by…

ABOUT two dozen students in northern Mozambique fainted en masse during classes. Pemba Secondary School, in province of Cabo Delgado, confirmed that the fainting spells had mainly affected girls during lessons on Wednesday. Officials say those affected by what seemed to be a contagious phenomenon showed signs similar to those of an epileptic attack. The students all recovered and are reported to be well. Provincial chief physician, Edson Fernando, said it may be related some kind of hysteria causing a ripple effect of emotion. This was not the first time there have been spells of mass fainting at schools in…

BRAZILIAN defender Dani Alves, who is awaiting trial in Spain for an alleged rape, defended his innocence in an interview published Wednesday, saying he has a “clear conscience”. The 40-year-old was detained in January in Barcelona after being accused of raping a young woman in the bathroom of a nightclub in the city in late December. The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-German star has been held in custody without bail because the court investigating him felt there was a risk he would try to flee. “I have a really clear conscience regarding what happened that night in the bathroom of…

GHANA’s record goalscorer Asamoah Gyan has announced his retirement from football. The 37-year-old fought back tears as he revealed his decision while on stage with former Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba in the Ghanaian capital, Accra. “It’s time to tell everybody. It’s a very, very difficult moment,” said the former striker who scored 51 goals in 109 games for his country. Gyan later took to social media to explain why he was calling time on his 20-year career. “It is time,” he wrote, “to hang the jersey and boots in glory as I retire officially from active football. “A stage…

A GERMAN woman who joined the Islamic State (IS) group has been jailed for nine years for crimes including keeping a Yazidi woman as a slave. The defendant was also found guilty of crimes against humanity and membership of a foreign terrorist organisation. A court in the western city of Koblenz said the 37-year-old had abused the young Yazidi woman for three years while they lived in Syria and Iraq. It also found she had encouraged her husband to rape and beat the woman. “All of this served the declared purpose of IS, to wipe out the Yazidi faith,” said…

A CROSS that former pope Benedict XVI used to wear on his chest has been stolen from a church in southern Germany where it was on display, police said Tuesday. The pectoral cross was in a case in the wall of St. Oswald’s church in Traunstein, in the state of Bavaria, where the late Benedict spent his adolescent years. Thieves broke into the case and took the item, which the former pope had bequeathed to the parish, between 11:45 am (0945 GMT) and 5:00 pm (1500 GMT) on Monday. “For the Catholic Church, the value of this sacred object cannot…

SOUTH African police are investigating the death of Tina Joemat-Pettersson, an MP for the governing African National Congress (ANC) who was recently involved in a bribery scandal. There are suspicions that her death two weeks ago at the age of 59 might not have been due to natural causes. Before she died, Ms Joemat-Pettersson was one of three MPs accused of trying to extort a bribe of around $33,000 (£26,000) from the husband of suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane to make her impeachment inquiry “go away”. All three denied the allegations. Last week, Ms Mkhwebane released some recordings of conversations…

A PROMINENT Tunisian journalist has been arrested on charges of insulting President Kais Said. A judge ordered the detention of Zied el-Heni ahead of a trial in which he could be sentenced to five years in prison. Tunisian activists have expressed concern over his health as he reportedly suffered a stroke some time ago. In recent months, Tunisian judges have detained or opened investigations into more than 20 political, judicial, media and business figures associated with opposition to President Said. The main opposition parties have condemned the arrests as politically motivated.

THE absence of counsel for the Federal Government, on Wednesday, stalled the trial commencement of Tukur Mamu, who is being tried over his alleged relationship with terrorists that were involved in last year’s attack on a Kaduna-bound train. The matter was fixed for trial before Justice Inyang Ekwo of a Federal High Court, Abuja. When the matter was called, only Mamu’s counsel, Obiabo Francis-Amedo, was in court. The lawyer told the court that he was notified through a letter from the prosecution that the prosecuting counsel in the matter had gone on training and that they suggested a date before…

THE Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has approved a 114 per cent increase in the salaries of elected politicians, including the President, vice president, governors, lawmakers as well as judicial and public office holders. RMAFC is saddled with the responsibility of determining the remuneration appropriate for political officeholders including the President, Vice President, Governors, Deputy Governors, Ministers, Commissioners, Special Advisers, Legislators and the holders of the offices as mentioned in Sections 84 and 124 of this Constitution. The commission urged the 36 states’ Houses of Assembly to hasten efforts on amendment of relevant laws to give room for…

PORTUGAL captain Cristiano Ronaldo scored a last-minute winner on his historic night as he became the first men’s player to win 200 international caps in their Euro 2024 qualifying win over Iceland. The 38-year-old turned home Goncalo Inacio’s header from close range. The goal was initially ruled out for an Inacio offside but was awarded by the video assistant referee. That was Ronaldo’s 123rd international goal, extending his world record. Al-Nassr’s Ronaldo broke Kuwait forward Bader Al-Mutawa’s 196-cap record in March – and was given a certificate by Guinness World Records before kick-off to mark this latest landmark. “For me…

CHELSEA and France midfielder N’Golo Kante has agreed to sign for Saudi Arabian champions Al-Ittihad. The 32-year-old’s contract at Stamford Bridge expires at the end of June. Kante has struggled with injuries and made nine appearances for Chelsea during the 2022-23 campaign. He will join Karim Benzema at Al-Ittihad after his fellow Frenchman left Real Madrid and agreed a three-year deal with them this month. The move brings to an end a highly successful period in English football for Kante. He helped Leicester City win the Premier League in the 2015-16 season before moving to Stamford Bridge. At Chelsea Kante…