Author: Editor

AN Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has spread to a part of eastern South Kivu province under the control of the Rwanda-backed M23 militia, the group’s spokesman said on Thursday, heightening fears of the deadly disease’s growing spread. Efforts to get a grip on the latest outbreak of the highly contagious haemorrhagic fever, which the World Health Organization has declared an international emergency, have been hampered by the DRC’s long-running conflicts, including between the Congolese army and the M23.Having seized swathes of land in the mineral-rich east with Rwanda’s help, the M23 has set up to govern…

GHANA said Thursday it has delayed the evacuation of more than 800 of its citizens from South Africa after a viral video showing the alleged assault of a Ghanaian man triggered outrage. The footage showing the attack on Emmanuel Asamoah, a Ghanaian living in South Africa, circulated widely on social media during the latest wave of xenophobic violence targeting foreign nationals in the country. The Ghanaian foreign ministry said earlier this month that it was evacuating citizens from South Africa as a result. Some 800 Ghanaians were to be evacuated starting Thursday, but the process was delayed because of the…

DOMINANT Aston Villa dispatched Freiburg to win the Europa League and end a 30-year trophy drought. First-half stunners from Youri Tielemans and Emi Buendia gave Villa control before Morgan Rogers’ strike sealed a second major European title 44 years after they won the European Cup. Nine of that team from 1982 were at Besiktas Park in Istanbul to watch Unai Emery win his fifth Europa League. Emery replaced Steven Gerrard in November 2022 with Villa three points above the relegation zone and has transformed them into top five contenders and, now, a European champion. Villa supporter Prince William celebrated at…

IRAN’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has said it coordinated the transit of 26 vessels through the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours, as talks between Washington and Tehran over the resumption of traffic through the narrow waterway remain stalled. “Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is being carried out with permission and in coordination with the IRGC Navy,” the statement carried by Iran’s state-affiliated ISNA news agency said on Wednesday. Later on Wednesday, Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) published a new map of Hormuz on X, marking a controlled maritime zone that vessels will not be…

UNITED States federal prosecutors have indicted Cuba’s former President Raul Castro in connection with the 1996 downing of planes operated by the Miami-based exile group Brothers to the Rescue. The indictment, unsealed on Wednesday, marks one of the sharpest escalations in tensions between Washington and Havana in years. The US Department of Justice alleges that Castro, Cuba’s defence minister at the time, played a leading role in the decision to have Cuban fighter jets shoot down two civilian aircraft on February 24, 1996. It has charged Castro with one count of conspiracy to kill US nationals, four counts of murder…

THE World Health Organization (WHO) says it could take up to nine months before a vaccine against this particular species of Ebola is ready. Two possible “candidate vaccines” against the Bundibugyo species are being developed, but neither had gone through clinical trials yet, WHO advisor Dr Vasee Moorthy said on Wednesday. WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there have been 600 suspected cases of Ebola and 139 suspected deaths but numbers are expected to rise given the time taken to detect the virus. Speaking to journalists in Geneva, he said 51 cases have been confirmed in the Democratic Republic…

SIERRA Leone has become the latest African country to receive migrants deported from the United States amid Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration. A plane carrying nine West African migrants landed at Sierra Leone’s international airport, just outside the capital, Freetown, on Wednesday morning. Last week, Foreign Minister Timothy Musa Kabba told the Reuters news agency his country had agreed to accept up to 300 people a year expelled by the United States. However, he added that the new arrivals must originally come from member states of Ecowas, west Africa’s economic bloc. The US has already sent deportees to several…

THE Lagos State Government has unveiled an ambitious roadmap to end the “culture of blackouts” and establish a 24-hour electricity market driven by private-sector investment, smart metering, and independent power generation across the state. News Point Nigeria reports that the Lagos State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Biodun Ogunleye, disclosed this during the 2026 Ministerial Press Briefing held in Alausa, Ikeja, on Monday, where he presented the achievements and strategic direction of the ministry under the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration. Ogunleye said the state had commenced aggressive reforms following the implementation of the Lagos State Electricity Law 2024, describing the…

THE Saudi National Center for Meteorology has warned pilgrims participating in the 2026 Hajj exercise to prepare for extreme heat conditions, with temperatures expected to rise as high as 47 degrees Celsius during the pilgrimage period. The agency urged pilgrims to take precautionary measures to avoid heat-related illnesses, particularly during outdoor religious activities in Makkah and the surrounding holy sites. According to the advisory issued by Saudi authorities, pilgrims are encouraged to carry umbrellas while moving between locations and to drink water regularly to remain properly hydrated throughout the pilgrimage. The advisory also urged pilgrims to avoid prolonged exposure to…

VETERAN Portugal striker Cristiano Ronaldo will lead his country into the 2026 World Cup this summer after coach Roberto Martinez named the 41-year-old in his squad on Tuesday. The former Real Madrid and Manchester United star, now at Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr, is set to appear at a record sixth World Cup. Portugal and Ronaldo, the all-time leading men’s international goalscorer with 143 goals, have never won the competition. Ronaldo could face former Barcelona rival Lionel Messi, who is also set to play at a sixth World Cup after leading Argentina to glory four years ago in Qatar. The…

US President Donald Trump says Iran has “two or three days” to reach a deal to end the war or face renewed attacks. An Iranian official says the US threat of a massive assault at any moment will be met “resolutely” and Iran is “prepared to confront any military aggression”. Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian says “dialogue does not mean surrender”, and Tehran has entered talks with “dignity, authority, and the preservation of the nation’s rights”. Trump had earlier said that he stopped his purported attack plan at the urging of Gulf Arab allies, which Iran has threatened with reciprocal attacks…

THE United Nations has said 15,850 people, including 791 children, have been killed in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion of the neighbouring country in February 2022. The “actual figures are likely significantly higher”, Kayoko Gotoh, Europe and Central Asia director of the UN’s Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), told the UN Security Council on Tuesday. Peace talks have stalled between Ukraine and Russia. US President Donald Trump has attempted to mediate and announced the most recent three-day ceasefire earlier this month, but fighting has resumed. Tuesday’s Russian attacks on Ukraine killed at least six people. A 15-year-old boy…

FEAR has gripped Ebola-hit areas in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as the suspected number of deaths continues to rise, as officials say they are struggling to catch up to an outbreak that may have previously been spreading undetected. “Ebola has tortured us,” says a taxi rider in his late twenties in the gold-mining town of Rwampara. “I am scared because people are dying very fast… We are really afraid.” Following a visit to Ituri province, the epicentre of the outbreak, over the weekend, Congolese Health Minister Dr Samuel Roger Kamba acknowledged health teams are playing catch-up with the virus,…

TRANSPORT operators in Kenya have suspended their nationwide strike following talks with the government over rising fuel prices. The operators say the suspension will remain in place until next Tuesday to allow for further negotiations with the government. The move comes after the nationwide strike, which brought the capital Nairobi and other cities to a standstill, entered a second day on Tuesday. At least four people were killed and 30 injured in Monday’s protests, with more than 700 arrested nationwide, according to the authorities. On Tuesday, Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said the deal to end the strike came after consultations…

ARSENAL are on the brink of ending a 22-year wait to win the Premier League after beating Burnley 1-0 on Monday to open up a five-point lead at the top. Kai Havertz headed in the only goal but was also lucky to avoid a second-half red card that could swung the title race back in Manchester City’s favour. The Gunners could be crowned champions as early as Tuesday should City fail to win at Bournemouth. Even if City do end the Cherries’ 16-game unbeaten run and beat Aston Villa, Arsenal will secure the title with victory at Crystal Palace on…

PAKSITAN is scrambling to keep channels of diplomacy open between the United States and Iran, amid escalating rhetoric from both sides, and growing signals from Washington that it is prepared to restart attacks that have been on pause since an April 8 ceasefire in the US-Israel war on Iran. Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi arrived in Tehran on Saturday for a two-day visit, meeting President Masoud Pezeshkian, Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf as Islamabad scrambled to prevent ceasefire negotiations from collapsing altogether. Ghalibaf has also been Iran’s chief negotiator in peace talks with the US…

AUTHORITIES in the United States say three people have been killed at a complex housing a mosque and an Islamic school in San Diego in a suspected hate-motivated attack. San Diego Police chief Scott Wahl said the two shooters in the incident at the Islamic Center of San Diego (ICSD) in southern California on Monday were also found dead of apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds. “Because of the Islamic centre location, we are considering this a hate crime until it’s not,” Wahl told reporters. The suspects were to males, believed to be aged 17 and 19, according to the police chief.…

AT least four people have been killed and 30 injured in Kenya amid nationwide protests over sharply rising fuel prices. At least 348 people were arrested on Monday, according to Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen, as people gathered in the streets to show support for a nationwide public transport strike. The government will likely be wary, given that protests over the past two years have threatened to become uncontrollable, despite brutal crackdowns that killed dozens. “We lost four Kenyans in today’s ⁠violence, which also ⁠saw more than 30 ⁠people injured,” Murkomen said during a televised press conference. The streets leading towards…

AT least 100 deaths have been reported in an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with more than 390 cases suspected, the head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has told the BBC. Jean Kaseya warned that with no approved drugs or vaccines people should follow public health measures, including at funerals of Ebola victims. There are also two confirmed cases and one death in Uganda, says the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak of the current strain of Ebola, which is caused by…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has assured that all victims abducted during the attack on schools in Oyo State will be rescued, while condemning the reported killing of one of the kidnapped teachers. This was contained in a statement sent to News Point Nigeria on Monday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga. Bandits invaded the Esiele community in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State last Friday, abducting staff, students and pupils of Community Grammar School, Baptist Nursery and Primary School, and L.A. Primary School. According to the statement, security operatives are working round the clock to rescue…