Author: Editor

THE UBA Foundation, the Corporate Social Responsibility arm of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Group, has reinforced its commitment to environmental sustainability through a tree-planting exercise at two of Lagos’ most historic educational institutions—King’s College Lagos and CMS Grammar School—to commemorate World Environment Day 2026. The exercise marks the commencement of the Foundation’s 2026 Tree Planting for Sustainability Initiative, a programme being implemented across selected schools in Nigeria to promote environmental consciousness among young people and encourage climate-positive action. Observed annually on June 5 and coordinated by the United Nations, World Environment Day remains the world’s leading platform for…

US President Donald Trump claimed that Iran’s military has been “totally destroyed” and only has around 21% of its missile capacity left after US-Israeli strikes, during an interview with NBC News’s Kristen Welker on Friday. “We know where their drones are, and we know where their drone factories are. Most of the drone factories have been knocked out… and most of the missile manufacturing areas have been knocked out,” Trump asserted. When asked if he knew exactly how many missiles and drones Iran still holds, Trump said he did not want to tell Welker but that he knows “almost to…

HIGH-RANKING Lebanese army officers are among at least 12 people killed in Israeli attacks across southern Lebanon, days after the countries agreed to a conditional ceasefire during United States-mediated talks. Lebanon’s army said a brigadier general, a captain and a soldier, died in an Israeli strike on a military vehicle on the Khardali-Nabatieh road. The Israeli army said Saturday’s attack was in an “active combat zone”, and that “movement in a combat zone requires coordination” with the Israeli army. It added that “the incident remains under investigation”. The Lebanese army said that “the continuation of the deliberate and repeated brutal…

NEARLY 500 Ebola cases have now been confirmed in the deadly outbreak raging in central Africa, a WHO overview showed Saturday, amid mounting concern over the swelling scale of the epidemic. In its daily update on the situation, the World Health Organization tallied 452 confirmed cases, including 82 deaths, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the outbreak was declared three weeks ago. In neighbouring Uganda, meanwhile, it counted 19 confirmed cases, including two deaths. The total of 471 cases and 84 deaths, based on numbers reported by the DRC and Ugandan governments, marked a hike of 100 cases and…

A DRONE strike on a market in central Sudan has killed at least 11 people and injured dozens more, according to a local rights group, as escalating aerial attacks further increase the death toll of one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. The attack on Saturday targeted the main market in Abu Zaeima, a paramilitary-controlled town in North Kordofan state, according to Emergency Lawyers, which has documented abuses since fighting erupted in April 2023 between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The group said the casualty figures could rise, but did not specify who carried out the…

FORMER Brazil striker Bebeto has expressed strong support for rising star Endrick to recreate one of football’s most iconic celebrations at the FIFA World Cup 2026, drawing a direct line between Brazil’s 1994 glory and its next-generation ambitions. Three decades after his famous “baby-rocking” gesture lit up the 1994 FIFA World Cup USA, Bebeto says he would welcome Endrick repeating the moment in North America this summer—especially as the young forward prepares for fatherhood. The 1994 World Cup winner, who played a key role in Brazil’s fourth world title, believes the emotional parallel between the two players adds deeper meaning…

IRAN’s crude oil exports fell to their lowest level in at least six years in May, as a United States naval blockade squeezes Tehran’s most important source of income amid a fragile ceasefire between the two nations. The blockade on Iran’s ports, which Washington commenced on April 13, is part of President Donald Trump’s effort to pressure Iran to agree to its terms for a peace deal. Tehran has condemned the move as illegal and described the US seizure of ships around its ports as an act of “piracy”. The US action came after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz…

HAMAS says it will not hand over its weapons right now, resisting ongoing disarmament demands and stating that the ultimate fate of its military arsenal will be decided following comprehensive discussions with other Palestinian factions. In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera, Husam Badran, a member of the Hamas political bureau, offered an inside look into the group’s proposed solutions to the stalled negotiations, introducing the concept of a long-term hudna (truce). “When this Palestinian committee [the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG)] comes to take over the Gaza Strip, there will be no visible weapons in the…

AT least 49 people have died of thirst in a remote part of the Sahara desert in northern Niger after the truck carrying them broke down, the authorities say. The group were returning from Mali, where they had attended celebrations for the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha, when they ran out of water, stranded more than 80km (50 miles) west of Assamaka, a major border crossing point between Niger and Algeria. “The travellers found themselves trapped in the heart of a hostile environment where extreme temperatures and lack of supply points make survival extremely difficult,” said the governor of Agadez.…

GHANA has recorded 14 arrests linked to false news and offensive speech in less than 16 months, nearly double the number documented during the previous administration’s entire eight-year tenure, according to the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA). The rise has triggered a sharp debate in one of West Africa’s most stable democracies over whether authorities are simply enforcing long-standing laws in a new digital environment, or edging into a more restrictive approach to public speech. The controversy carries added political weight because President John Mahama, while in opposition in 2022, warned that using state power to intimidate dissent was…

LIVERPOOL named Andoni Iraola as their new manager on Thursday after sacking Arne Slot following a calamitous Premier League title defence. Iraola quickly emerged as Liverpool’s top target to replace Slot, whose two-year reign came to a shock end when he was dismissed last Saturday. Liverpool gave no indication as to the length of the 43-year-old Spaniard’s contract, but British media have reported that he has signed a two-year deal. “Really excited, really excited, because obviously you know about Liverpool, you know that it’s a big club, a massive club, one of the biggest in the world,” Iraola, who called…

PRESIDENT Donald Trump on Thursday slammed a vote in the US House seeking to order the withdrawal of American troops from the Iran war, suggesting the “unpatriotic” move disrupted negotiations with Tehran. The largely symbolic vote came “right in the middle of my final negotiations to end the War with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. “Who would do such an unpatriotic thing. They know where the negotiations stand.” In a notable rebuke of Trump, four members of his majority Republicans joined Democrats on Wednesday in backing the measure, which passed…

UKRAINE’s Volodymyr Zelensky proposed a face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin in a rare open letter to the Russian leader Thursday, shortly after the Kremlin chief had conceded Moscow needed to strengthen its air defences following a spate of Ukrainian attacks. US President Donald Trump, who has pushed both sides to end the conflict and boasted he could end the war within a day of taking office, said a face-to-face Putin-Zelensky meeting would be “great”, but pushed both sides to compromise. The Kremlin said Putin had not yet been shown the letter, but that Zelensky could meet Putin in Moscow “any…

GOVERNMENT forces and opposition fighters have exchanged heavy gunfire in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, as a row over delays to elections has escalated. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s term in office ended on 15 May but was extended by a year. The opposition said this was unconstitutional and called for protests on Thursday. Gunfire was reported in several neighbourhoods of the capital and persisted throughout the night, according to accounts by residents. Police said they were conducting a “large-scale security operation” against “heavily armed militias who launched mortar attacks” in some areas. Somalia last held a one-person, one-vote election in 1969 and…

BENIN’s new leader on Tuesday visited neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso, in a sign of easing tensions between his country and the military-led west African states. Niger’s military leaders, who broke off ties with traditional ally France after coming to power in a July 2023 coup, closed the border with Benin after accusing the country of harbouring “French bases” bent on destabilising Niger. But junta chief Abdourahamane Tiani and Benin President Romuald Wadagni, who took office on May 24, issued a joint statement following their meeting on Tuesday signalling a shift in relations. The leaders were “committed to working to…

IN a country where public service is often measured by noise, publicity, and political theatrics, Ahmed Gambo Saleh has built an extraordinary legacy through silence, substance, and service. As the highly respected judicial administrator turns 57, tributes continue to pour in from across the legal community, celebrating a man many now describe as one of the silent architects of modern judicial reform in Nigeria. From the ancient town of Hadejia in Jigawa State to the pinnacle of judicial administration in Nigeria, the story of Ahmed Gambo Saleh is one defined by discipline, competence, humility, and transformational leadership. Born on June…

POLAND fought back to earn a dramatic draw against Nigeria in an international friendly on Wednesday, scoring with virtually the last kick of the game to deny the Super Eagles victory at the PGE Narodowy Stadium in Warsaw. News Point Nigeria Sport reports that the Super Eagles appeared destined for a hard-fought win over the Polish side before Przemysław Wiśniewski struck deep into stoppage time to force a 2-2 draw and ensure both teams shared the spoils in a thrilling encounter. Eric Chelle’s men made a bright start and were rewarded in the 23rd minute when they took the lead…

THE Democratic Republic of Congo are willing to play their pre-World Cup friendly with Chile behind closed doors, their head coach Sebastien Desabre has said. The 49-year-old Frenchman made the offer after the mayor of the Spanish town due to host the match had on Tuesday cancelled it over health concerns regarding the Ebola outbreak in the African country. “I have signed the decree banning the holding of the June 9 match between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Chile,” said Juan Franco, mayor of La Linea de la Concepcion, which is close to the border with Gibraltar in the…

ISRAEL was supposed to fully withdraw its troops from Gaza as part of the ceasefire signed in October. Instead of pulling back, Israeli forces are quietly cementing permanent, heavily fortified military posts across the besieged enclave, according to satellite imagery analysed by Al Jazeera. An investigation by Al Jazeera’s Open Source Unit, analysing satellite data up to May 2026, has identified 40 distinct Israeli military outposts entrenched within Gaza. Crucially, the analysis proves that eight of these bases were constructed entirely from scratch after the October 2025 truce went into effect, with one site still undergoing active construction. This physical…

UKRAINIAN drones hit energy and military sites in Saint Petersburg early Wednesday morning as officials gathered for a flagship economic forum in the city, Russian and Ukrainian authorities said. Some 20,000 guests from 130 countries are set to attend the three-day annual Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) — an event once dubbed “Russia’s Davos” — which starts Wednesday. The Kremlin vowed to respond to the strikes, which came a day after a barrage of Russian missiles and drones killed 23 people across Ukraine. Saint Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov said “several” infrastructure facilities were damaged but no one was killed…