Author: Editor

TWO presidents vying for a second term at Malawi’s elections next week drew hundreds of supporters to their final rallies Saturday ahead of what is expected to be a tight race to govern one of the world’s poorest countries. Tuesday’s presidential and parliamentary elections come with the southern African country in economic crisis, marked by fuel and foreign currency shortages and the after-effects of drought and cyclones. “There have been complaints about the cost of living, the lack of resources, food scarcity,” incumbent President Lazarus Chakwera told a crowd packed into a stadium in the capital Lilongwe, the heartland of…

CONVICTED South African rapist Thabo Bester has lost a court bid to block Netflix from broadcasting a documentary about his life including how he allegedly faked his death and escaped from prison. His lawyers argued that Beauty and the Bester was defamatory, but the streaming giant defended its plan to release the three-part investigation. Bester’s partner, celebrity doctor Nandipha Magudumana, features in the documentary, having allegedly helped him escape. She was part of the court bid to halt the release. In a court ruling on Friday, a judge said the rape case was “firmly in the public domain” and that…

PEP Guardiola said Erling Haaland is “a little bit above” Alexander Isak as the Manchester City boss responded to Arne Slot’s claim that Liverpool’s new signing was “maybe the best striker in the world.” Isak could make his Liverpool debut at Burnley on Sunday after the Sweden star completed a British-record £125 million ($169 million) move from Newcastle on transfer deadline day. Liverpool manager Slot hailed Isak’s quality after the 25-year-old trained with the Premier League champions for the first time this week. But his suggestion that Isak could be the world’s best did not go down well with City…

THE UN General Assembly voted Friday to back a resolution which seeks to breathe new life into the two-state solution between Israel and Palestine without the involvement of Hamas. The text was adopted by 142 votes in favor, 10 against including Israel and key ally the United States — and 12 abstentions. It clearly condemns Hamas and demands that it surrender its weapons. Although Israel has criticized UN bodies for nearly two years over their failure to condemn Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023, the declaration, presented by France and Saudi Arabia, leaves no ambiguity. Formally called the New York…

BRAZIL’s Supreme Court on Thursday sentenced firebrand ex-president Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years in prison for coup plotting at the end of a landmark trial that divided the nation and drew US fury. The sentence could see the 70-year-old far-right leader spend the rest of his days in jail. Judges voted 4-1 to convict Bolsonaro of plotting to overthrow Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva following his October 2022 election defeat by the left-winger. Prosecutors said the plan failed only due to a lack of support from military top brass. Bolsonaro’s defense team called the sentence “incredibly excessive” and announced he…

BURKINA Faso says it has removed visa fees for all African travellers, in an effort to facilitate the movement of people and goods into the country. “From now on, any citizen from an African country wishing to go to Burkina Faso will not pay any amount to cover visa fees,” said Mahamadou Sana, the country’s security minister, following a cabinet meeting chaired by military leader Capt Ibrahim Traoré on Thursday. African visitors will however be required to submit an online visa application, which will be reviewed for approval, the minister clarified. The West African nation joins countries such as Ghana,…

ZAMBIA’s government says it will seek more compensation for communities affected by a toxic spill from a Chinese-owned copper mine, if it is needed following a full assessment. The spill of highly acidic mine-waste laden with toxic heavy metals happened in February when a dam that held waste from the Sino-Metals Leach Zambia copper mine collapsed, polluting a key river that is a major source of drinking water. The firm apologised and pledged to compensate the victims but Zambia’s Vice-President Mutale Nalumango says that “may not be all”, adding that the safety of Zambians was “non-negotiable”. Some embassies have warned…

THE Football Association (FA) has charged Chelsea Football Club with 74 alleged rule breaches relating to agent payments, intermediaries, and third-party involvement in player transfers carried out between 2009 and 2022. The sweeping charges focus on transactions during the Roman Abramovich era, particularly between the 2010-11 and 2015-16 seasons, a period that saw Chelsea sign some of the biggest stars in world football. The FA confirmed that three of the transfers under review involve club legends Eden Hazard, Samuel Eto’o, and Willian, though there is no suggestion of wrongdoing by the players themselves. Roman Abramovich, the Russian oligarch who owned…

ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has officially moved forward with a settlement expansion plan in the occupied West Bank that would make any future Palestinian state virtually impossible. The Israeli leader signed an agreement on Thursday to move ahead with the project, which would bisect the West Bank. “We are going to fulfil our promise that there will be no Palestinian state. This place belongs to us,” Netanyahu said at the event in Maale Adumim, an Israeli settlement just east of Jerusalem. “We are going to double the city’s population.” The settlement, on a 12sq-km (4.6sq-mile) tract of land east…

US authorities investigating the killing of right-wing youth leader Charlie Kirk released pictures Thursday of a man they were hunting, as Donald Trump paid tribute to a “giant of his generation.” Kirk, a 31-year-old superstar on the Republican right who was credited with helping Trump return to the presidency last year, was shot while addressing a large crowd at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. The killing described by the FBI as a “targeted event” shocked a nation already reeling from political tensions half a year into Trump’s second term. Law enforcement officials, including members of an FBI forensics team, investigate…

SOUTH Sudan’s First Vice-President Riek Machar has been charged with murder, treason and crimes against humanity in a move that some fear could reignite the country’s civil war. Justice Minister Joseph Geng Akech said the charges against Machar relate to an attack in March by a militia allegedly linked to the vice-president. The roads leading to his house in the capital, Juba, have been blocked by tanks and soldiers. Forces loyal to Machar fought a five-year civil war against those backing President Salva Kiir until a 2018 peace deal ending the fighting in the world’s newest country. Machar has been…

IN a landmark judgment that strikes a major blow against entrenched patriarchal norms, South Africa’s Constitutional Court has ruled that men must be allowed to take their wives’ surnames — a right previously denied under national law. The court, in a unanimous decision delivered Thursday, declared that the legal provisions barring men from automatically assuming their wives’ surnames upon marriage amounted to unfair gender discrimination and violated the country’s equality clause. In its ruling, the court noted that while the law technically restricted men, it also had a deeper, “far more insidious” impact on women. “It reinforces patriarchal gender norms,…

A FORMER group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, has left the headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after he was interrogated over financial matters during his time in office. News Point Nigeria gathered that Kyari was seen walking into the headquarters of the anti-graft agency in Abuja at about 2:15pm on Wednesday. As he was walked in, the former GMD said, “I have done my part; the EFCC must do theirs. When each of us does our duty without fear or favour, with honour, respect, and commitment, Nigeria moves forward.”…

BOLIVIA kept their 2026 World Cup dream alive by snatching a play-off place with a 1-0 victory over Brazil in El Alto on Tuesday, taking advantage of Venezuela’s home defeat to Colombia. Miguel Terceros’s penalty on the stroke of half-time proved to be the difference for Bolivia against the five-time world champions, in a match played 4,150 metres above sea level. The victory dragged Bolivia above Venezuela into seventh place in the final standings of South American qualifying, earning them a berth in next year’s continental play-offs for the tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Venezuela, who were…

AT least 35 people have been killed after Israel carried out air strikes in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and al-Jawf governorate, a day after targeting Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital, Doha. Yemen’s Ministry of Health said on Wednesday that 131 people were wounded in Israeli aggression on Sanaa and al-Jawf. It described the figures as a preliminary toll, warning the number could rise as rescue teams continue to search for victims. The ministry said the raids struck civilian and residential areas, including homes in Sanaa’s al-Tahrir neighbourhood, a medical facility on 60th Street in the southwest of the city,…

PRINCE Harry arrived at his father King Charles III’s Clarence House residence in London on Wednesday for what is believed to be their first meeting since February 2024, British media reported. The Duke of Sussex, who has been in the UK since Monday for a series of engagements, was seen entering the royal residence in a black car, just over an hour after the king. Charles flew back from Scotland on Wednesday and arrived home in London, sparking speculation in the British press that there would be a long-awaited reunion between the father and son. Harry cut ties with the…

SEVEN Chinese nationals who smuggled Malawians to South Africa and subjected them to forced labour have been handed 20-year prison terms each. The four men and three women were found guilty of human trafficking and kidnapping earlier this year by a South African court. Their sentence comes nearly six years after they were arrested when local authorities raided a factory in Johannesburg and found 91 Malawian nationals, 37 of them children, working in appalling conditions. Human trafficking is a major concern in South Africa, with the country regarded as a “source, transit and destination”, according to the government. The group…

NEARLY 130 people have been “summarily executed” by insurgents in Niger Republic in separate attacks since March, a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) says. The rights group says gunmen carried out a series of brutal attacks, including a mass murder at a mosque in the western Tillabéri region, where more than 70 worshippers were shot dead during prayers. “There were bodies everywhere, one on top of the other,” a local woman, who lost three of her sons in the attack, was quoted by HRW as saying. The spate of attacks is a major blow to the credibility of Niger’s…

NIGERIA’s quest for a place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup suffered a major blow on Tuesday as the Super Eagles were held to a 1-1 draw by South Africa in Bloemfontein, leaving their qualification hopes in serious jeopardy. The Eagles, needing a win to keep pace in Group C, fell behind in the 25th minute when captain William Troost-Ekong inadvertently bundled the ball into his own net under pressure from the relentless Bafana Bafana attack. Nigeria, however, clawed back just before halftime through Calvin Bassey, who rose highest to head home in the 43rd minute, sparking brief celebrations from…

ENGLAND delivered their most emphatic performance under manager Thomas Tuchel, storming to a 5-0 victory over Serbia in Belgrade on Tuesday night to take a major step toward qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Heading into what was billed as their toughest test of the qualifying campaign, Tuchel’s side silenced a hostile Rajko Mitic Stadium with a display full of authority, flair, and clinical finishing. The result leaves England needing just five points from their remaining three fixtures to book their place at next summer’s tournament. After dominating possession for over half an hour, England broke the deadlock in…