Author: Editor

THREE people have died after a suspected hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean, the World Health Organization (WHO) has told the BBC. One case has been confirmed, with five suspected cases under investigation, it said. One British national aged 69 is in intensive care in Johannesburg, South Africa. Hantavirus is usually passed to humans from rodents via their urine or faeces. It can cause severe respiratory illness. Rarely, it can be transmitted between people. The UK Foreign Office told the BBC it was monitoring reports, and ready to support British nationals. The outbreak was reported aboard…

VIKTOR Gyokeres and Bukayo Saka starred in Arsenal’s 3-0 win against Fulham on Saturday as the Premier League leaders moved a step closer to their first title in 22 years. Mikel Arteta’s side demolished woeful Fulham with a three-goal first-half blitz at the Emirates Stadium. Gyokeres put Arsenal ahead, and the Sweden striker netted again on the stroke of half-time after Saka had doubled their lead. The Gunners’ second successive league victory lifted them six points clear of second-placed Manchester City. Pep Guardiola’s men have two games in hand, with the first of those at Everton on Monday, but Arsenal’s…

ISRAEL has launched multiple strikes across southern Lebanon, killing at least 10 people in further violations of the “ceasefire” declared two weeks ago. Lebanon’s Ministry of Health said the latest wave of attacks on Saturday increased the total recorded over the previous 24 hours to 41. The overall death toll since March 2 is 2,659, with 8,183 injured. Quoting the health ministry, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) said three people were killed in an Israeli attack on the town of Shoukine in Nabatieh district. An earlier attack on a car in the village of Kfar Dajjal killed two people. Three…

THE United States embassy in London has issued a security alert telling its citizens in the United Kingdom to be cautious after the British government raised the national threat level to “severe”. The embassy advised citizens on Friday to remain “alert in public places” and to stay away from schools, churches, tourist locations and transportation hubs. It also said that US nationals should vary their “travel routes and times” to reduce predictability and to keep a low profile. The UK’s domestic intelligence agency, MI5, said on Friday that the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre had raised the threat level from “substantial”…

EGYPTAIR has cancelled its hajj flights to and from crisis-struck Mali, directly impacting more than 4,000 people, the country’s pilgrimage-organizing body said Saturday. The cancellations come as the west African nation faces a dire security situation, with separatist and jihadist rebels targeting its authoritarian junta. Large-scale attacks at multiple junta strongholds last weekend killed the country’s defence minister, and jihadists have since begun blocking certain entry points into the capital, Bamako. The cancellation of the flights was due to “the cost difference related to the increase in kerosene prices, as well as the security situation in Mali”, said the government…

SOMALI pirates have hijacked an oil tanker off the coast of Yemen, according to multiple Somali security officials that spoke with the BBC. The Yemeni coastguard earlier said the tanker MT Eureka had been hijacked and was headed towards Somalia. Sources said it was overrun by pirates in the Gulf of Aden, near the port of Qana. The pirates departed a remote coastal area near the seaside town of Qandala, which sits on the Gulf of Aden, according to three separate security officials from the semi-autonomous Puntland region who spoke with the BBC. It marks the second hijacking of an…

BENFICA coach Jose Mourinho said Friday there has been no contact between him and Real Madrid, despite speculation the Spanish giants could turn to him this summer. The veteran Portuguese coach, who led Los Blancos from 2010 to 2013 in a heated rivalry with Pep Guardiola’s Barca, is reported to be on Madrid’s shortlist for a new coach. Current Madrid boss Alvaro Arbeloa seems set to be replaced with the team heading for a second consecutive season without a major trophy. “No one from Real Madrid has spoken to me. I can guarantee that,” Mourinho, 63, told reporters. “I’ve been…

DONALD Trump has said that he is “not satisfied” with Iran’s latest peace proposal to end the war which has killed thousands and triggered a global energy crisis. Speaking to the media on Friday, the US president said he was uncertain whether a deal with Iran would be reached, warning that he would “blast them away” if negotiations failed. “They want to make a deal, I’m not satisfied with it, so we’ll see what happens,” Trump said, as a ceasefire in the conflict continued for a third week. The president added that he would prefer to reach an agreement that…

AT least 12 people have been killed, including a child, in southern Lebanon, as Israel continues its strikes despite a ceasefire. Israeli forces killed at least eight people in Habboush in the Nabatieh district on Friday, and wounded at least eight others, including another child and a woman. The Lebanese Civilian Defence searched through the rubble of the “massive set of air strikes that destroyed a residential neighbourhood”, Al Jazeera’s Obaida Hitto reported from the southern Lebanese city of Tyre. “The footage coming out of there is really dramatic, with buildings completely flattened.” “We keep seeing this same kind of…

THE US has imposed sweeping sanctions on former Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila, accusing him of backing the M23 rebel group. Washington alleges he provided financial support, encouraged defections from the Congolese army and even “sought to launch attacks” on the military from outside the country. The 54-year-old ex-president, who led DR Congo for 18 years from 2001, said the measures were “profoundly unjustified, politically motivated and based on unsubstantiated accusations”. The US said these latest sanctions were part of a wider effort to support last year’s peace deal between neighbours DR Congo and Rwanda that it brokered.…

CHINA will scrap tariffs for all African countries from Friday – except Eswatini, which maintains ties with Taiwan. As of December 2024, China had already implemented a duty-free policy for 33 least-developed African nations. The policy now covers 53 countries, and will be in place until 30 April 2028. It is unclear what will happen after that. Beijing has boasted that it is the first major economy to offer unilateral zero-tariff treatment to Africa. But analysts say that while China is seizing the chance to enhance its soft power, they point out that tariffs are rarely the main obstacle for…

IRAN were the only country not represented as Fifa met on Thursday for its annual congress in Canada. But Gianni Infantino, president of world football’s governing body, reiterated again that the country “will be participating” in this summer’s World Cup, to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico. There has been uncertainty over Iran’s participation in the tournament because of the war with the US and Israel. But Infantino added: “Of course, Iran will play in the United States of America. The reason for that is simple, because we have to unite. We have to bring people together.”…

THE United States lost aerial equipment worth up to $2.8bn, according to a US-based think tank. Speaking at a televised Cabinet meeting on March 26, the US secretary of defense boasted of US military successes against Iran in the ongoing war. “Never in recorded history has a nation’s military been so quickly and so effectively neutralised,” he said, seated next to US President Donald Trump. The very next day, Iran fired missiles and drones that struck a US base in Saudi Arabia, wounding several US soldiers and destroying a radar surveillance plane that cost $700m. It was no one-off hit.…

REPORTERS without Borders (known by its French acronym RSF) has condemned Israel for “kidnapping” three journalists on board the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, which Israel intercepted while it was travelling in international waters. In a post on social media Thursday, RSF said it “condemns the kidnapping in international waters by the Israeli army” of French correspondent Hafed Mribah and Turkish cameraman Mahmut Yavuz, who both work for Al Jazeera, and journalist Alex Colston, who works for US media outlet Zeteo. Al Jazeera expressed “its deep concern for the safety” of its journalists. “The Network holds the Israeli authorities fully responsible…

A MAN has been sentenced to death by hanging for the murder of four toddlers at a nursery school in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, earlier this month. On 2 April, Christopher Okello Onyum, 38, entered the Ggaba Early Childhood Development Program and fatally stabbed the infants – Eteku Gideon, Keisha Agenorwoth, Sseruyange Ignatius and Odeke Ryan – all aged between one and two years old. While capital punishment has not been abolished in Uganda, it is rarely carried out, with the last recorded case taking place in 2005. Onyum, who holds both Ugandan and US citizenship, has 14 days to appeal…

A RUSSIAN paramilitary launched air strikes against rebel forces near Mali’s capital Bamako, video footage shows, following a shock offensive against the ruling military government. Insurgents and Tuareg separatist forces on Saturday carried out attacks across Mali and killed the country’s Defence Minister Sadio Camara. Russian forces claimed up to 12,000 fighters took part in the offensive. The Kremlin-controlled Africa Corps, which supports Malian military operations, has posted several videos since Saturday showing air strikes and attack helicopters engaging with rebel troops. BBC Verify located the clips to the town of Kati, around 20km (12 miles) from Bamako. Despite the…

SUPER Eagles Striker, Ademola Lookman missed numerous golden opportunities as Atletico Madrid and Arsenal settled for a dramatic draw in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final clash, leaving the tie finely balanced ahead of next week’s decisive return leg in London. News Point Nigeria Sport reports that both sides scored from the penalty spot in an incident-packed encounter at the Estadio Metropolitano, with Arsenal initially taking the lead before Atletico fought back strongly in the second half. The game began cautiously, with neither side willing to concede an early advantage in what was a tense and tactical…

TOP Iranian football officials have left Canada before the start of the FIFA Congress because of the behaviour of officials during immigration checks at Toronto’s international airport, Iranian media reported Wednesday. Iran’s football federation president and deputy secretary general “returned to Turkey on the first flight due to the inappropriate behaviour of the immigration officials at the airport and the insult to one of the most honourable organs of the Iranian Armed Forces”, several outlets reported, without providing further details. In 2024, Canada designated Iran’s Revolutionary Guards a terror group, barring its members from entering the country. The Iranian reports…

ISRAELI military forces have intercepted Global Sumud boats using jamming technology and armed boarding teams to halt the humanitarian fleet in the middle of the Mediterranean, according to organisers and Israeli media. “Our boats were approached by military speedboats, self-identified as ‘Israel’, pointing lasers and semi-automatic assault weapons, ordering participants to the front of the boats and to get on their hands and knees,” the Global Sumud Flotilla aid mission said on Thursday. “Boat communications are being jammed, and a SOS was issued.” Israel Army Radio cited an Israeli source as saying it began seizing control of aid ships heading…

PRESIDENT Donald Trump says the United States will continue its naval blockade of Iran until a nuclear deal is reached with Tehran. The US president told Axios on Wednesday that he does not want to end his blockade on Iranian ports, apparently rejecting the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz so that US-Iran talks could proceed. “The blockade is somewhat more effective than the bombing. They are choking like a stuffed pig,” Trump said of Iran. “And it is going to be worse for them. They can’t have a nuclear weapon.” Iran has set lifting the siege as a precondition…