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MALAYSIA’S former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has been charged with abuse of power and money laundering in connection with the awarding of government contracts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Muhyiddin, who led the country from March 2020 through the worst of the pandemic, pleaded not guilty to the six charges at a Kuala Lumpur court on Friday morning. The charges were filed after Muhyiddin was questioned by investigators from Malaysia’s anti-corruption agency for a number of hours on Thursday over a government support programme that his government introduced to help building contractors during the coronavirus lockdown. He faces four counts of…

A NUMBER of people have been killed in a shooting at a Jehovah’s Witness meeting hall in the north German city of Hamburg. Police say the gunman acted alone and is thought to be dead. It is unclear if the attacker is among the six or seven fatalities reported by German media. As yet, “there is no reliable information on the motive”, police say. A number of people were also injured in the shooting on Deelböge street in the city’s Gross Borstel district. Police say they found a dead person at the scene who they believe may have been a…

AMNESTY International on Thursday called on Ethiopian authorities to restore access to social media networks including Facebook, TikTok and Youtube as a blockade on some platforms entered its second month. In a statement, Amnesty said the blockade clearly violated rights to freedom of expression and access to information and “further stains the country’s already dismal record on media freedom”. “Amnesty International urges the Ethiopian authorities to lift this blockade without delay and to end this culture of interfering with people’s right to express themselves and to seek and receive information,” said deputy regional director for East and Southern Africa Flavia…

FOURTEEN migrants from sub-Saharan Africa have drowned off the coast of the Tunisian city of Sfax, the coastguard said on Thursday.Fourteen migrants from sub-Saharan Africa have drowned off the coast of the Tunisian city of Sfax, the coastguard said on Thursday. “Coastguard patrols last night intercepted a group whose boat had sunk, rescuing 54 people of various sub-Saharan African nationalities, and recovering 14 bodies,” the authority said in a statement on Facebook. Black migrants in Tunisia have complained of a rising tide of racist violence since President Kais Saied accused them last month of causing a crime wave and representing…

A CHINESE National, Frank Geng-Quangrong, 47, on Thursday, again told a Kano High Court that he never intended to kill his Nigerian girlfriend, Ummukulsum Sani, 22. The defendant, who lives at Railway Quarters Kano is charged with culpable homicide. Frank, led in evidence by defence counsel, Muhammad Dan’azumi, tendered a black mobile phone Redmi, WhatsApp messages, pictures,videos of the deceased and a certificate of compliance dated March 8. “The exhibits include the defendant’s phone, WhatsApp computer generated chats between Frank and Ummukulsum between Sept.13 and Sept.16, 2022. “Other exhibits include pictures, the receipt of the N5 million gold jewelry he…

LAGOS State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has expressed deep shock and sorrow over the early morning accident, on Thursday, involving a train and a Lagos State Government staff bus, which happened between Shogunle and Ikeja, axis of the state. Three persons reportedly died, while over 84 others sustained various degrees of injuries in the accident as confirmed by Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA. In a swift reaction to the unfortunate incident, the Governor, who expressed sadness, registered his sincere condolences to the families of those that lost their lives in the accident, praying that God would grant them eternal rest.…

BAYERN Munich cruised into the quarter-finals of the Champions League as they condemned Paris St-Germain to another last-16 exit. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting swept home just after the hour mark for the hosts against his former club, with substitute Serge Gnabry adding the gloss to a professional display late on. PSG have now been eliminated from the competition at this stage in five of their previous seven campaigns and this represented another dismal failure for the Ligue 1 leaders and their under-pressure head coach Christophe Galtier. Despite boasting a collection of stars, the Parisians not only failed to score over two…

TOTTENHAM Hotspur’s Champions League campaign ended in bitterly disappointing fashion as they failed to overturn a first-leg deficit in the last 16 against AC Milan. Spurs paid the price for another passive start that allowed Milan to settle into their task – the misery complete when defender Cristian Romero was sent off late on after receiving a second yellow card for a wild challenge on Theo Hernandez. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg tested AC Milan keeper Mike Maignan with a powerful second-half shot and Harry Kane headed wide, but Spurs failed to mount sustained pressure on the Italian defence. A late Kane header…

MANCHESTER United manager Erik ten Hag says captain Bruno Fernandes is an “inspiration to the team” after his attitude was criticised in the 7-0 Premier League defeat by Liverpool. A visibly frustrated Fernandes appeared to push the referee’s assistant in the 81st minute at Anfield. Ten Hag said Portugal midfielder Fernandes will remain captain despite calls for him to lose the armband. “He is playing a brilliant season,” said Ten Hag. “He has played a big role in us being where we are. Everyone makes mistakes and we learn. I have to learn and he will as well. “He is…

A DRONE strike killed four people in government-held eastern Syria on Wednesday in an area controlled by Iran-backed factions, a war monitor said. “Four people were killed and eight wounded in a drone strike near a weapons factory belonging to Iran-backed groups and near a truck loaded with weapons,” Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP. There was no immediate word on who carried out the strike in the eastern city of Deir Ezzor or whether the dead were fighters or civilians. The strike targeted a part of the city that is home to residences…

A SIX-YEAR-OLD boy who shot his teacher in a primary school in the US state of Virginia is unlikely to be charged, a prosecutor has said. But authorities in the city of Newport News have yet to decide if any adult will face criminal charges in the case. Police have said the child brought the gun in his backpack to Richneck Elementary School on 6 January. Abigail Zwerner, a 25-year-old teacher, was shot in the hand and chest, but survived. On Wednesday, Newport News Commonwealth’s Attorney Howard Gwynn told NBC News that his office would not seek charges against the…

FOR the first time in Tanzania’s history, the president has attended an International Women’s Day event organized by the main opposition party, Chadema. President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s presence was welcomed by Chadema chairman Freeman Mbowe, who said it was the fruit of meetings aimed at achieving reconciliation. Ms Samia, who addressed thousands in the meeting, said that reconciliation was ongoing in Tanzanian politics, and that some steps had already been taken meanwhile others were in progress, including the finding of a new constitution. In her address, President Samia added it had been difficult to start the reconciliation process as some…

SOUTH Sudanese President Salva Kiir has sacked his foreign minister, less than a week after dismissing the defence and interior ministers. No explanation was given for the dismissal of Mayiik Ayii Deng, which was announced in a decree on the state television. The sacked minister is an ally of Mr Kiir, and previously served as the minister in the president’s office. Last week’s sackings have threatened to derail a peace deal with opposition leader First Vice-President Riek Machar. The opposition called for the reinstatement of Angelina Teny, who Mr Kiir dismissed as defence minister and handed the position to his…

PRESIDENT-ELECT Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has sent his hearty congratulations to the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), on his 66th birthday. The Vice President turns 66 today, Wednesday March 8, 2023. Asiwaju Tinubu lauded the leadership and administrative skills of Professor Osinbajo and his professional accomplishments as an academic and erudite lawyer, which have seen him serve successfully as Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice during his administration as Governor of Lagos and now as the Vice President of Nigeria. “I rejoice and celebrate with our Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, on attainment of 66 today. Professor Osinbajo has…

THREE days to the Governorship election, the women leader of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Sokoto state, Hajiya Kulu Rabah, has joined the All Progressives Congress (APC). Rabah was received into her new party by Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, APC leader in Sokoto. APC governorship candidate, Ahmed Aliyu, was among those who witnessed her defection. The February 25 presidential election was a stiff one between the PDP and APC, with the ruling party carrying the day but with a margin less than 5,000. The results of the parliamentary elections are still being expected as of the time of…

LAOLU Akande, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Office of the Vice President, has congratulated Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on his 66th birthday. The vice president turned 66 years old on Wednesday. Akande extended his felicitations in a birthday message to the vice president who was born on March 8, 1957. According to him, Osinbajo exists to inspire to build a better future for individuals, groups and the country. “The place of inspiration and imagination in the pursuit of personal or national fulfilment is not only pivotal but also irreplaceable and this is why people who…

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has joined Nigerian women in celebrating the International Women’s Day (IWD), observed on March 8, recognising the invaluable role women have played in advancing the progress of the country since independence. The President saluted the hardwork and dedication of Nigerian women working tirelessly and achieving results in different fields of endeavour, from those sacrificing daily in the markets and farms to train the next generation of leaders, to those breaking limits in education, sports, medical field, arts, entertainment and even in politics, where they are still largely under-represented. The President in a statement by his media aide,…

AN area court in Gwagwalada in the FCT on Tuesday ordered that two cattle herders who pleaded guilty to abducting and raping a woman be remanded in a correctional centre pending sentencing on March 22. Earlier, the prosecutor, Dabo Yakubu, told the court that the defendants, Nuru Tukur (21) and Yusufa Haruna (29), on February 25, abducted a woman who was eight months pregnant from her house in Abaji Area Council of the FCT, took her to a bush were both of them raped her. He said one Abubakar Wakili of Yaba in Abaji Area Council reported the matter at…

Chelsea 2 v Dortmund 0 (Aggregate 2-1) GRAHAM Potter enjoyed his finest night as Chelsea manager as they overcame a first-leg deficit against Borussia Dortmund to reach the Champions League quarter-finals. Potter was under huge pressure after a dismal run of results following Chelsea’s huge outlay in the transfer market, but he will hope the manner of this performance and the advance into the latter stages of Europe’s elite competition will deliver a measure of calm and stability to Stamford Bridge. Chelsea fully deserved their win, although they squandered several big opportunities before Raheem Sterling made the breakthrough after 43…

WIDOW of the late football legend Pele will inherit 30 per cent of his assets, according to his Will, which also mentions a woman who could be Pele’s unrecognised daughter, the widow’s lawyer told AFP on Tuesday. The Will states that Marcia Cibele Aoki, Pele’s third and last wife, will inherit his mansion in Guaruja, a seaside resort town south of Sao Paulo, where the couple lived, according to her lawyer Luiz Kignel. Other assets belonging to Pele, who died after battling cancer in late December at age 82, include more real estate and a stake in the Pele brand,…