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GAZA’s health system is on the brink of an unprecedented collapse, with thousands of patients facing death or disability amid a harsh Israeli siege on the enclave, a top health official has warned. Munir al-Barsh, director-general of Gaza’s Ministry of Health, told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that the situation inside the territory’s hospitals was “tragic and horrific”, as Israeli authorities continued to block the flow of much-needed medical supplies, directly impacting the ability of doctors to respond to critical cases. Al-Barsh said the health system was suffering from widespread shortages of medicines and medical supplies, particularly surgical consumables needed to…

POPE Leo XIV on Tuesday called for a global truce on Christmas Day, expressing “great sadness” that “apparently Russia rejected a request” for one. “I am renewing my request to all people of good will to respect a day of peace — at least on the feast of the birth of our Saviour,” Leo told reporters at his residence in Castel Gandolfo near Rome. Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and has repeatedly rejected calls for a ceasefire saying it would only give a military advantage to Ukraine. “Among the things that cause me great sadness is the fact that…

THE Libyan army chief has been killed in an air crash in Turkey, Libya’s prime minister has said. Gen Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad and four others were on board a Falcon 50 aircraft flying out of the Turkish capital, Ankara, on Tuesday evening. In a post on X, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said signal with the business jet was lost at 20:52 local time (17:52 GMT) – about 42 minutes after it took off from Ankara’s airport. The Tripoli-bound jet had issued an emergency landing request before contact was lost. The aircraft’s wreckage was later found south-west of Ankara,…

UGANDA has imposed restrictions on the importation of Starlink equipment and similar devices barely a month before national elections on January 15, raising fears of an internet shutdown. President Yoweri Museveni is seeking to extend his 40-year rule but is opposed by Bobi Wine, a singer turned politician whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi. Museveni has been accused of growing authoritarianism despite rising to power after overthrowing a dictatorship in the 1980s. The opposition has been facing repression, including repeated attacks on Wine’s campaign during the current election period. In a letter dated Tuesday, the country’s communications commission warned against…

A CAR bomb killed a senior Russian general in southern Moscow on Monday morning, the latest high-profile army figure to be blown up in a blast that came just hours after Russian and Ukrainian delegates held separate talks in Miami on a plan to end the war. Kyiv has not commented on the incident, but Russian investigators said they were probing whether the blast was “linked” to “Ukrainian special forces”. The attack was similar to other assassinations of generals and pro-war figures that have either been claimed, or are widely believed to have been orchestrated, by Ukraine. Lieutenant General Fanil…

ISRAELI forces have killed at least two Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as Israel continues to violate a ceasefire agreement and block desperately needed humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged coastal enclave. The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported on Monday that two people were killed after Israeli troops opened fire in the Shujayea neighbourhood of eastern Gaza City. Their deaths bring the total number of Palestinians reported killed in Gaza over the past 24 hours to at least 12, including eight whose bodies were recovered from the rubble in the territory. The Gaza City attack is the latest in hundreds of…

DETTY December, a popular term for Ghana and Nigeria’s end-of-year party season, can have “negative connotations”, Ghana’s official for diaspora affairs has said, adding that he does not want the label linked with his country. “On a personal level I don’t want the word ‘detty’ to be associated with anything Ghana… that’s something I’m not very comfortable with,” Kofi Okyere-Darko said. “Detty”, West African Pidgin for “dirty”, is used to express unrestricted fun when it comes to seeing the year out. The celebrations are thought to be a huge boost to Ghana’s economy. Last December more than 125,000 international visitors,…

HE has traded in his military fatigues for civilian clothes but still rules Guinea with an iron fist: Junta leader Mamady Doumbouya intends to legitimise his rule of the west African country in presidential elections on Sunday. Seated behind a desk wearing a white cap and T-shirt emblazoned with his name and “Building Together” campaign slogan, the 41-year-old promised “peace and stability” in a video released in early December. It was the only public statement made by the coup leader during his campaign. Despite his initial promise to return power to civilians when he took over in 2021, Doumbouya is…

MORGAN Rogers struck twice as Aston Villa extended their winning run to 10 matches in all competitions, their best run as a top-flight club since 1914, by beating Manchester United at Villa Park. On a day when Unai Emery’s side were not at their best, in-form Rogers put them ahead with a curling shot into the corner a minute before the break. After Matheus Cunha had capitalised on a Matty Cash error to level, Rogers stepped inside United defender Leny Yoro a second time before curling a replica effort over Senne Lammens for his sixth goal in as many league…

ALLEGATIONS of a fresh cover-up over the Jeffrey Epstein files grew Sunday, as Democrats accused President Donald Trump of trying to protect himself by defying an order to release all files on the convicted sex offender. Victims of Epstein have expressed anger after a cache of records from cases against the late financier, who amassed a fortune and circulated among rich and famous people, were released Friday with many pages blacked out and photos censored. Several images were removed from the trove after being published on Friday evening — including one of Trump. “It’s all about covering up things that,…

AT an airforce base in Bamako, Mali’s army ruler General Assimi Goita presided over a ceremony marking the creation of a unified force for the Sahel countries. The force is the latest in a series of measures by Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to achieve closer integration. The three countries are all led by juntas and are beset by an Islamist insurgency. In January, Niger’s defence minister said that the 5000-strong force would ‘intervene together’ to counter security threats in the region. Burkinabe General Daouda Traoré was appointed to head the force which will maintain a command base in Niamey,…

EGYPT’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi on Saturday reiterated calls for structural changes in the U.N Security Council to grant Africa a larger role in shaping global decisions. El-Sissi made the plea for a “more pluralistic” world order at a conference of the Russia-Africa partnership held in Cairo, which was attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and ministers from more than 50 African countries along with representatives from several African and regional organizations. “The voice of Africa should be present and influential in making global decisions given the continent’s human, economic, political and demographic weight,” el-Sissi said in a statement read…

ISRAELI forces have shot dead two Palestinians, including a teenage boy, during separate raids in the Jenin governorate in the occupied West Bank, officials say, with security camera footage showing soldiers shooting the victim at a “point-blank” range. The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced late on Saturday that Rayyan Abdel Qader, 16, had been fatally shot by Israeli forces after storming the town of Qabatiya, while the second victim, 22-year-old Ahmad Zayoud, was killed in Silat al-Harithiya, west of Jenin. Witnesses said Israeli troops had opened fire directly at Abdel Qader, the Wafa news agency reported on Sunday, blocking emergency…

THE Africa Cup of Nations will be staged every four years following an edition planned for 2028 in a major change to what is currently a biennial showpiece, African football chief Patrice Motsepe announced on Saturday. The Confederation of African Football president revealed the change as part of a significant restructuring of the international game on the continent to help it fit better into a packed global calendar. An AFCON every two years was a vital source of revenue for African national associations, but Motsepe said the introduction of an annual African Nations League competition similar to the UEFA Nations…

DOCTORS Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, has warned that babies and children in the Gaza Strip are dying from harsh winter weather, calling on Israel to ease its aid blockade as the military continues to violate the ceasefire and press on with its genocidal war. Citing the death of a 29-day-old premature baby, Said Asad Abedin, from severe hypothermia in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, MSF said on Friday that winter storms “combined with the already dire living conditions [are] increasing health risks”. The death toll from extreme weather stood at 13 as of Thursday, according to Gaza’s…

PAKISTAN’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi have been sentenced to 17 years in prison after a Pakistani court found them guilty of illegally retaining and selling valuable state gifts. The sentence, handed down on Saturday, capped a years-long saga that saw the duo accused of selling various gifts including jewellery from the Saudi Arabian government at far below market value. They have denied all charges. In order to keep gifts from foreign dignitaries, Pakistani law requires officials to purchase them at market value and to declare profits from any sales. But prosecutors claimed that the…

UNKNOWN gunmen killed 10 people and wounded 10 others in an attack at a township outside Johannesburg, police said in Sunday, in the second mass shooting in South Africa this month. The motive for the attack at Bekkersdal, 40 kilometres (25 miles) southwest of the city, was not clear, police told AFP. “Some victims were randomly shot in the streets by unknown gunmen,” a police statement said. “Ten people are dead. We don’t have a breakdown of who they are,” Brigadier Brenda Muridili, police spokesperson for Gauteng province, told AFP. The shooting took place near a tavern or informal bar…

THE Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has completed the fifth review of Ghana’s 39 month Extended Credit Facility arrangement, paving the way for the immediate disbursement of about US$385 million to the country. The approval brings Ghana’s total disbursements under the US$3 billion IMF programme to about US$2.8 billion since the arrangement was approved in May 2023. The Fund said in a statement on its website that Ghana’s performance under the programme had been broadly satisfactory, despite some delays in implementing complex structural reforms. According to the IMF, macroeconomic stabilisation is gaining momentum, supported by strong growth…

FORMER heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, delivered a dominant performance on Saturday morning, stopping YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul with a sixth-round knockout in their heavyweight bout in Miami. Although Paul exceeded expectations by lasting beyond the early rounds, Joshua’s superior power and experience proved decisive, according to The Athletic. The British boxer dropped Paul twice during a chaotic fifth round, setting the stage for the finish. Joshua sealed the victory in the sixth round, unleashing a sustained combination of heavy punches that left Paul unable to continue, prompting the referee to halt the contest. Speaking after the fight, Joshua turned his attention…

THE Israeli military has carried out a deadly attack on a shelter in Gaza City as senior officials from Qatar, Egypt and Turkiye were in the United States for talks on reaching the next phase of the shaky ceasefire. At least six Palestinians were killed and several others wounded on Friday in an Israeli attack in Gaza City’s Tuffah neighbourhood. Local sources told Al Jazeera that Israeli tank shells struck the second floor of a school-turned-shelter while displaced Palestinian families were gathered there to attend a wedding. The attack was the latest in hundreds of Israeli ceasefire violations that have…