Author: Editor

UNITED States President Donald Trump has called for the arrest of former President Barack Obama, repeating unproven claims that the Democrat’s administration intentionally misled the public in its assessment of the 2016 election. At Tuesday’s Oval Office meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, Trump accused Obama, a longtime rival, of helming a criminal conspiracy. “ The leader of the gang was President Obama, Barack Hussein Obama,” Trump told the media. “ He’s guilty. This was treason. This was every word you can think of. They tried to steal the election. They tried to obfuscate the election. They did things that…

PEOPLE in a gold-mining area in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo have been using their bare hands and basic tools to free miners trapped underground. Six have been pulled out alive, with one seriously injured, since shafts collapsed in Lomera in the early hours of Sunday, local journalist Ashuza Barack told the BBC. There have been conflicting reports on the death toll. One resident said that 12 bodies had been found but Barack said no bodies had been recovered. The area, in South Kivu province, has been under the control of M23 rebels since they captured swathes…

A KENYAN man on death row in Saudi Arabia for more than a decade has been released after a lengthy campaign to save him from execution, a Kenyan foreign affairs ministry official has said. Stephen Abdukareem Munyakho was released under a “judicial decree”, Korir Sing’oei posted on X, without giving further details. His mother, veteran journalist Dorothy Kweyu, told local media that she “rolled on the floor” when she heard of his release. Munyakho was working in Saudi Arabia when he was convicted of murdering a Yemeni colleague in 2011. The crime carries the death penalty, but after protracted negotiations,…

BRYAN Mbeumo says he has joined “the club of his dreams” after completing his move from Brentford for an initial £65m. The 25-year-old has signed a five-year contract, with the option of a further 12 months. He is manager Ruben Amorim’s third signing of the summer after the arrivals of forward Matheus Cunha and left-back Diego Leon. Mbeumo’s move, seven weeks after United’s first bid for the Cameroon international, brings to an end one of the longest-running sagas of the summer. United’s third offer, worth an initial £65m with £6m in add-ons, was accepted last week. “As soon as I…

AT least 65 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza, medical sources say, as the Israeli military sent tanks into areas of Deir el-Balah in central Gaza for the first time since Israel began its assault on the besieged territory in October 2023. Israel on Monday launched the ground offensive on southern and eastern areas of the city that is packed with displaced Palestinians, a day after its military issued a forced displacement order for residents in the areas, forcing thousands of people to flee west towards the Mediterranean coast and south to Khan Younis. Tank shelling in…

THE Trump administration released hundreds of thousands of pages of records on Monday about the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. despite concerns from the civil rights leader’s family. “The American people have waited nearly sixty years to see the full scope of the federal government’s investigation into Dr King’s assassination,” Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said in a statement. “We are ensuring that no stone is left unturned in our mission to deliver complete transparency on this pivotal and tragic event in our nation’s history.” Gabbard said more than 230,000 pages of documents were being released and were…

SOUTH Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday dismissed his embattled higher education minister, weeks after a key party in his unity government filed criminal charges accusing her of lying to parliament. Ramaphosa has faced mounting pressure in recent months as several ministers from his African National Congress (ANC) party have been accused of corruption, deepening tensions within the 10-party ruling coalition. The second largest group in government, the Democratic Alliance (DA), earlier this month filed a complaint accusing Minister Nobuhle Nkabane of lying to parliament to cover up the “fraudulent” appointment of ANC-linked figures to education authority boards. “President Cyril…

PROMINENT Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi has been charged with illegal possession of ammunition linked to protests last month in which at least 19 people were killed. He denied the charge and has been released on bail. Mr Mwangi was not charged with “facilitation of terrorist acts”, as the police had earlier said. On Sunday, investigators said they had seized phones, a laptop, and notebooks from his Lukenya home on the outskirts of the capital, Nairobi, and hard drives, computers, tear gas canisters and a blank firearm round from his office in the city. His arrest – and especially the suggestion…

AT the ongoing TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, two women from Rwanda have not just stuck as a pair, they’ve added layers of allure and feel that is striking. Twins Aline Umutoni and Alice Umutesi are living the dream and mirror intentional synergy, strength and sisterhood. Former footballers now commanding the games as referees, are both flying high at WAFCON 2024. “I remember when we were just in Germany with the national team. Because we are real twins, if she likes something, I have to like it too. It’s mandatory,” Aline told CAFOnline. Both sisters officiated…

AT least 84 people, including 73 aid seekers, killed by Israeli attacks across Gaza. More than 200 people wounded. Two more Palestinians, including a 35-day-old infant, have died of malnutrition at Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital. Meanwhile, The Israeli military has issued a new forced evacuation warning for the Palestinians in central Gaza, ordering them to move south to al-Mawasi, an area Israel has regularly attacked despite declaring it a “safe zone”. Thousands of leaflets were dropped over Deir el-Balah on Sunday, telling displaced families living in tents in several densely populated parts of the city to leave immediately. The Israeli…

PRINCE Al-Waleed bin Khalid Al-Saud, popularly known as Saudi Arabia’s “Sleeping Prince,” has died at the age of 36. His death comes about two decades after a devastating car crash in London left him in a coma. The prince, who was just 15 years old at the time of the accident in 2005, suffered a brain haemorrhage and internal bleeding. He never regained full consciousness and had been on a ventilator ever since. His father, Prince Khaled bin Talal Al Saud, confirmed the passing in a post on X on Saturday. “With hearts believing in Allah’s will and decree, and…

EVEN before the world’s oldest president confirmed that he would run for an eighth term in power, his social media accounts left experts in no doubt. By the time 92-year-old Paul Biya officially confirmed he would seek re-election as Cameroon’s president last week, he had already been ramping up his online presence for several months. Daily posts on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) mark a striking departure from his previous, occasional presence. But Biya’s attempts to win over young people ahead of October’s election may be falling flat, analysts tell the BBC. “Cameroon has over 5.4 million social media users,…

A BUILDING collapse that killed 34 construction workers and injured dozens in Western Cape province last year was “entirely preventable”, South Africa’s government says. A new report into the tragedy reveals that serious safety concerns had been raised well before the partially built five-storey apartment block collapsed in the town of George in May 2024. Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson said the collapse was the result of multiple failures including the use of substandard materials, structural cracks, and visible gaps. “There were a number of red flags that were continually raised about this project,” said a visibly angry Macpherson. Some…

BARCELONA have reportedly reached an agreement in principle with Manchester United over the signing of forward Marcus Rashford, with talks now progressing toward a loan move that includes an option to buy. According to Sky Sports News, ongoing discussions are focused on the division of Rashford’s wages and potential compensation if Barcelona choose not to activate the buy option at the end of the loan. Rashford has reportedly identified Barcelona as his preferred destination since he hinted at seeking a new challenge back in December, following his exclusion from the first-team plans by United manager Ruben Amorim. BBC Sport also…

TWO more Palestinians, including a weeks-old baby, have succumbed to starvation, director of al-Shifa Hospital tells Al Jazeera, as UN says thousands in Gaza on the “verge of catastrophic hunger”. At least 116 Palestinians, including 38 people near food aid sites in Rafah, killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza today. Meanwhile, Hundreds of Palestinian students in Gaza are taking a crucial end-of-secondary-school exam organised by the besieged enclave’s Ministry of Education in the hope of entering university studies. Earlier this month, the ministry announced Saturday’s exam, which will be the first since Israel began its genocidal war on Gaza after…

PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s administration said Friday the United States was rejecting changes agreed last year for the World Health Organization on its pandemic response, saying they violated the country’s sovereignty. Trump on returning to office on January 20 immediately began his nation’s withdrawal from the UN body, but the State Department said the language from last year would still have been binding on the United States. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who is a longtime critic of vaccines, said the changes “risk unwarranted interference with our national sovereign right to…

THE Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda-backed armed group M23 signed a ceasefire deal on Saturday to end fighting that has devastated the country’s mineral-rich but conflict-torn east. The truce was agreed in a Declaration of Principles signed by the two sides after three months of talks in the Qatari capital, Doha, which follows a separate Congolese-Rwandan peace deal signed in Washington last month. “The Parties commit to uphold their commitment to a permanent ceasefire,” including refraining from “hate propaganda” and “any attempt to seize by force new positions”, said the agreement. The M23, which seized vast swathes of territory…

A HIGHLY respected police officer has shaken South Africa’s government – and won the admiration of many ordinary people – with his explosive allegations that organised crime groups have penetrated the upper echelons of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration. Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi did it in dramatic style – dressed in military-like uniform and surrounded by masked police officers with automatic weapons, he called a press conference to accuse Police Minister Senzo Mchunu of having ties to criminal gangs. He also said his boss had closed down an elite unit investigating political murders after it uncovered a drug cartel with tentacles in…

MANCHESTER United have had a £65m bid for Bryan Mbeumo accepted by Brentford. The Cameroon international could undergo a medical with the club before Ruben Amorim’s squad fly to the United States on Tuesday for their pre-season tour. The 25-year-old winger is set to become United’s third signing of the summer after the arrivals of forward Matheus Cunha and left-back Diego Leon. United submitted their first bid – worth an overall £55m – at the start of June. They failed with a second bid of £62.5m at the end of that month. But the Bees are satisfied with United’s latest…

ISRAELI forces have shot and killed a Palestinian child in the occupied West Bank amid more violent raids by soldiers and settlers, and as Israeli authorities position to confiscate more land. Local Palestinian sources reported on Friday that 13-year-old Amr Ali Qabha was hit with live ammunition in a street in Yabad, located south of Jenin, and was denied medical treatment as soldiers prevented ambulances from reaching him. Qabha’s father also tried to reach him, but was severely beaten and detained by Israeli soldiers, according to the Wafa news agency, which said the child was pronounced dead at the hospital…