FOUR Israelis have been killed in a shooting attack near a settlement in the occupied West Bank, paramedics say. Four others were wounded, one of them seriously, when two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a restaurant and petrol station on a highway outside Eli. Israel’s military said the assailants were “Hamas-affiliated terrorists”. One was shot dead at the scene by an armed civilian, while the second fled in a stolen car and was later killed by Israeli forces in the town of Tubas. Israel’s prime minister said “all options are open” in response to what he called the “shocking and…
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AT least 41 people have been killed in a riot at a women’s prison in Honduras on Tuesday. It is understood that a fight broke out between rival gangs, after which one gang set a cell alight. Officials say the fire caused the majority of the deaths but some of the victims were shot. The country’s Deputy Security Minister, Julissa Villanueva, has declared a state of emergency and promised to crack down on the violence. She also authorised the “immediate intervention” of firefighters, police and military. “The loss of human lives will not be tolerated,” Ms Villanueva said. It is…
LAWYERS representing Rwandan genocide suspect Fulgence Kayishema, who had been on the run for 22 years before his arrest last month, have told the Cape Town Magistrates’ Court that their client will apply for asylum on political grounds in South Africa. It could delay his possible extradition to Rwanda for several years and significantly delay his trial on charges of genocide, complicity to genocide and crimes against humanity. He is accused of directly participating in the killings as well as ordering the massacre on 15 April 1994 of 2,000 ethnic Tutsi people who were hiding in a Catholic Church in…
AS the number of migrants trying to reach Europe grows so does the number of deaths in the Mediterranean. While European Union officials struggle to contain the exodus the plight of those fleeing poverty and persecution is leaving its tragic mark on the shores of Tunisia. As the sun creeps above the horizon off the shores of its eastern coast, fisherman Oussama Dabbebi begins hauling in his nets. His face fixes anxiously on its contents, because sometimes fish are not all he finds. “Instead of getting fish I sometimes get dead bodies. The first time I was afraid, then step…
THE Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has recommitted itself to creating the enabling and sustainable environment that upholds press freedom and protection of journalists’ rights, in order to ensure the sustainability of democracy and good governance. Conscious of its constitutional and social responsibility, the professional body of all editors in Nigeria also said that its commitment to professionalism will help shape the narratives, influence public opinion, and help forge a society that thrives on transparency, inclusivity, justice and a system of government that is accountable to the citizens. The editors stated these at the end of its two-day national biennial…
THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, will close their case on Thursday, June 22. This followed the decision of the court to add two extra days to the party, after losing the said days during the matter. According to the timetable, the party was scheduled to close its case Tuesday, but due to the Democracy Day holiday on Monday, June 12, and last Saturday, they lost two days meant to tender documents and field witnesses. Speaking off camera, counsel to PDP, Chris Uche said they had fielded 25 witnesses and would make it a round…
BUKAYO Saka scored the first hat-trick of his career as England made it four wins out of four Euro 2024 qualifiers by thrashing North Macedonia at Old Trafford. Gareth Southgate’s side are well on course to qualify for the tournament in Germany next summer and, even though North Macedonia provided meagre opposition, England still demonstrated the dazzling array of attacking options they have at their disposal. And at the heart of it all was Arsenal’s Saka who struck a superb treble before departing to a standing ovation with the game won. England actually laboured in the early stages in the…
FRENCH champions Paris St-Germain are close to appointing Luis Enrique as their new manager. PSG have not yet confirmed the exit of boss Christophe Galtier, but it is widely assumed his spell at the club will come to an end this summer. Galtier, 56, was appointed as Mauricio Pochettino’s successor in July 2022 but fell short of expectations. Luis Enrique has been linked with numerous jobs since leaving Spain after the World Cup in Qatar. PSG turned to the 53-year-old after talks with former Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann ended without agreement. Luis Enrique made his name as a player…
THE face of a girl who died more than 1,300 years ago has been revealed through facial reconstruction. Her skeleton was found buried on a wooden bed, with a gold and garnet cross on her chest at Trumpington, Cambridgeshire, in 2012. The image will go on display as part of a Cambridge University exhibition. Anglo-Saxon specialist Dr Sam Lucy said “as an archaeologist I’m used to faceless people” so it was “really lovely” to see how she may have looked. Forensic artist Hew Morrison created the likeness using measurements of the young woman’s skull and tissue depth data for Caucasian…
A GUNMAN opened fire Monday in a school he used to attend in southern Brazil, killing one pupil and wounding another before being arrested, authorities said. The ex-student arrived at the school in the Londrina metropolitan area saying he needed a transcript, but took out a gun once inside and began shooting, said authorities in the state of Parana. Brazilian media reports said the shooter was 21. A 16 year old female student was killed, and a male student taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds, the state security ministry said in a statement, adding that the attacker had been…
THE Ugandan authorities say they have arrested three people in connection with an attack on a school on Friday in which about 40 people were killed. Most of the victims were students at the Lhubiria school in the western town of Mpondwe. Many were burnt to death in their dormitory. District Commissioner Joe Walusimbi said the arrests followed tip-offs from local residents. But he added that the Ugandan army was still hunting for the Islamist militants who have been blamed for the attack and reportedly fled into the Democratic Republic of Congo.
BRITISH actor Idris Elba, who also has Sierra Leonean citizenship and heritage, has called for a peaceful general election in Sierra Leone, which will take place on Saturday. “This election please let it be peaceful,” he said in a message in Pidgin English. He reminded young people that they have the “power” in this vote, and that if the country is destroyed due to violence, it will be down to Sierra Leoneans to have to patch it back up again. “Not only is the world watching,” he said, but the whole of Africa. Saturday’s vote will be the country’s sixth…
CROATIA missed out on their first international trophy after losing on penalties to Spain in the Nations League final. Dani Carvajal calmly chipped home the winning effort to seal a 5-4 victory on spot-kicks after Unai Simon had saved from Bruno Petkovic. The contest in Rotterdam had finished goalless after extra time. It is Spain’s first international trophy for 11 years, since their victory at Euro 2012. “We’re so happy, it was a really tough game and this is so difficult to do,” said Spain midfielder Rodri, who was named man of the match and for whom this trophy follows…
LUKE Shaw has been selling Manchester United to his England team-mates and would welcome Harry Kane and Declan Rice to the club “in a heartbeat”. Monday’s Euro 2024 qualifier against North Macedonia is being played at United’s home ground Old Trafford. Tottenham striker Kane and West Ham midfielder Rice are said to be summer transfer targets for the Red Devils. “I would love a few of them to join – I am not going to lie,” said United defender Shaw, 27. “I am speaking to them, telling them how good Manchester is, because I know their qualities. “I know they…
AN Ecuadorean woman has died days after mourners at her funeral were shocked to find her alive in her coffin. Bella Montoya, 76, was first declared dead by a doctor at a hospital in the city of Babahoyo last week. But when mourners attending her wake heard her knocking on her coffin, she was immediately rushed back to the same hospital for treatment. After seven days in intensive care, Ecuador’s health ministry confirmed she died on Friday from an ischemic stroke. The ministry’s statement added that she had remained under “permanent surveillance” while at the hospital. Speaking to a local…
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…