ELVIS Sitshela remains deeply unsettled by the sudden departure of his brother, Dumisani, to Russia in early 2026. Dumisani left in complete secrecy, without telling the family, until a shocking text arrived from an international number. “Hi, brother, I am in Russia now. It’s me, Dumisani,” recalled Elvis, who requested his real name be withheld for safety. “He was unemployed for a long time and tried to settle in South Africa, but it didn’t work out; he returned home last December. By January, he was gone,” Elvis said. Weeks later, the family received more troubling news: A neighbour who had…
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MANCHESTER City comfortably beat Crystal Palace to move back to within two points of Premier League leaders Arsenal and ensure a tense title tussle continues into the final week of the season. Pep Guardiola’s side knew failure to win on Wednesday would have handed the Gunners an opportunity to clinch the title by beating Burnley on Monday, but this fascinating fight for the trophy looks like it’s going to the wire. With Saturday’s FA Cup final against Chelsea in mind, manager Guardiola gambled with his City team selection by making six changes and leaving out the attacking trio of Erling…
THE United Arab Emirates has denied that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made what his office described as a “secret visit” to the Gulf country during the US-Israel war on Iran. In a statement carried on Wednesday night by the state news agency, WAM, the UAE said “its relations with Israel are public and were established within the framework of the well-known and publicly declared Abraham Accords. These relations are not based on secrecy or clandestine arrangements”. “Therefore, any claims regarding undisclosed visits or arrangements are baseless unless issued by the relevant official authorities in the UAE,” the report said.…
RUSSIA has placed British former Defence Minister Ben Wallace on a wanted list in connection with an unspecified criminal investigation, according to the Russian Interior Ministry’s database cited by state media. State-run news agency TASS quoted an unnamed source in law enforcement as saying that the investigation was linked to “terrorism-related charges”. Wallace served as the UK’s defence minister from 2019 – before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 – until August 2023. He has continued to advocate boosting military support for Kyiv and condemned Russian aggression. In October last year, a regional Russian lawmaker called for…
GHANA says it will evacuate 300 citizens from South Africa following a recent wave of protests against foreign nationals. Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said in a post on X on Tuesday that the Ghanaian president had granted approval for their “immediate evacuation”. He said the “distressed” Ghanaians had registered at the country’s embassy in Pretoria to be rescued in response to an advisory by the foreign ministry “following the latest wave of xenophobic attacks”. Last week, South African authorities denied that anyone had been attacked, saying the widely circulated videos were fake. On Monday, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa…
SOUTH African President Cyril Ramaphosa says he will legally challenge a report that has paved the way for parliament to consider impeachment proceedings against him over the theft of large sums of cash from his private farm. A Constitutional Court ruling last week found that parliament acted unconstitutionally when it voted against establishing an impeachment inquiry against Ramaphosa regarding the Phala Phala report in 2022. “I remain here and am not resigning,” Ramaphosa said on Monday, ending days of speculation over whether he would step down. The controversy stems from the so-called Phala Phala scandal, in which thousands of dollars…
JOSE Mourinho is in final negotiations to become Real Madrid’s next head coach, 13 years after his first spell at the Bernabeu. The 63-year-old is the clear favourite – and currently the only candidate Real are in talks with over the role. He would replace current head coach Alvaro Arbeloa, who only took charge in January following Xabi Alonso’s departure. Real Madrid president Florentino Perez first considered the possibility of Mourinho’s return two days after Xabi Alonso left the club, during initial conversations with the Portuguese coach’s representatives. Mourinho has been manager of Benfica, in his native Portugal, since joining…
US diplomat Mike Huckabee has revealed that Israel deployed Iron Dome batteries and “personnel to help operate them” to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to help fend off Iranian attacks. The United States ambassador to Israel heaped praise on the UAE during an event in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, saying that Abu Dhabi serves as an “example” of strong ties between Israel and Gulf states. “They were the first Abraham Accord member,” he said, referring to the agreements that established formal relations between Israel and several Arab countries in 2020. “But look at the benefits that they have had as…
UKRAINE has struck gas facilities in southwest Russia’s Orenburg region, more than 1,500km (932 miles) from the Ukrainian border, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy said in his daily video address on Tuesday evening that the attack was a retaliation for Russia’s overnight attacks on Ukraine. “Ukraine has said that we will act symmetrically in response to Russia,” he said. Evgeny Solntsev, the governor of Orenburg – home to one of the world’s largest gasfields and containing industrial infrastructure considered vital to Russia’s military and economy – claimed that nine Ukrainian drones were repelled over the region. The fragments of…
UGANDA’s President Yoweri Museveni, 81, has been sworn in for a record seventh consecutive term following his landslide victory in disputed elections in January, extending his tenure as one of Africa’s longest-serving rulers. Heavy security, including armoured tanks, were deployed in the capital, Kampala, ahead of the inauguration in what police said were measures intended to maintain public order. Museveni told the crowd that his new term should be regarded as a time for “no more sleep for all Ugandans”. He added that people should focus on creating more wealth and jobs – and build on the progress made over…
SOUTH Africa’s highest court has ruled that foreign nationals cannot reapply for asylum once their application has been rejected. The Constitutional Court said that allowing unlimited repeat applications without proper legislation in place could create a “never-ending cycle”, preventing deportations and causing administrative chaos. Leon Schreiber, the minister of home affairs in South Africa’s coalition government, welcomed the ruling as a “major victory” against the “abuse” of the refugee system. The ruling ends a long-running case that was brought by two nationals from Burundi, who reapplied for asylum in 2018 after their applications were rejected in 2014. The two argued…
TOTTENHAM Hotspur squandered the opportunity to take a significant step towards Premier League safety as they were held to a draw at home by Leeds United. Mathys Tel put Spurs in position to extend their lead over West Ham to four points with a spectacular 20-yard strike five minutes after the break. Spurs’ goal hero then turned villain 16 minutes from time with a reckless bicycle kick inside the area that caught Ethan Ampadu in the head. Dominic Calvert-Lewin equalised from the resulting penalty after a video assistant referee (VAR) review as Spurs failed to make it three league wins…
DONALD Trump says the ceasefire with Iran is “on life support,” after dismissing Tehran’s response to a US peace proposal as “stupid.” The US president’s swift rejection of Iran’s response on Sunday has fuelled concerns that the 10-week-old conflict will drag on, and continue to paralyse shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Referring to the latest proposal, Trump said the ceasefire is “the weakest right now after reading that piece of garbage they sent us.” “I didn’t even finish reading it,” he said. “It’s on life support.” Days after Washington floated a proposal aimed at reopening negotiations, Iran on Sunday…
THE Israeli military said on Monday it had sentenced two of its soldiers to imprisonment after one of them was photographed placing a cigarette in the mouth of a statue of the Virgin Mary in southern Lebanon. An image widely shared online last week showed an Israeli soldier with his arm around the statue of the mother of Christ while holding a cigarette up to her mouth. According to the military, the incident took place several weeks ago in southern Lebanon and was investigated by commanders on the ground. “At the conclusion of the investigation, the soldier documented carrying out…
SOUTH Africa’s parliament is set to establish an impeachment committee to probe allegations against President Cyril Ramaphosa in the “Farmgate” scandal. The lower house of parliament said on Monday that its speaker will set up the body to investigate. The move was ordered by the country’s highest court last week as it revived impeachment proceedings against Ramaphosa. The constitutional court on Friday said that parliament’s decision to block an inquiry four years ago into the scandal was inconsistent with the constitution. The impeachment committee will review the evidence against Ramaphosa regarding the scandal, which centres on a large sum in…
THE body of one of two US soldiers who went missing last week during a training exercise in Morocco has been recovered, the US Army announced. The army identified him as 27-year-old 1st Lt Kendrick Lamont Key Jr, a platoon leader and air defence artillery officer from Richmond, Virginia. A Moroccan military search team found Key’s body in the water along the shoreline within about a mile of the cliffs where both soldiers went missing on 2 May. US and Moroccan forces are using ground, air and maritime assets to continue their search for the other missing soldier. Brig Gen…
BARCELONA secured their 29th Spanish league title after beating Real Madrid 2-0 in the Clasico on Sunday. Marcus Rashford and Ferran Torres struck in the first half to help Hansi Flick’s side clinch La Liga in consecutive years, while consigning Madrid to a trophyless season. Barca moved an unassailable 14 points clear of second-place Los Blancos with three matches remaining. This was only the second time the outcome of La Liga has been decided directly by the result of a Clasico, with record 36-time champions Real Madrid winning their first title in 1932 after a draw with Barca. Madrid arrived…
THE Lebanese Health Ministry says Israeli attacks in the past 24 hours have killed 51 people, including two medical workers. “The Israeli enemy continues to violate international laws and humanitarian norms, adding more crimes against paramedics, as it directly targeted two points of the Health Authority in Qalawiya and Tibnin, Bint Jbeil district, in two raids,” the ministry said. A ceasefire, brokered by the United States, is into its third week. The ministry said 2,846 people have been killed across the country since March 2, when Israeli forces began a new military operation. SInce then, the United Nations says at…
DONALD Trump is set to arrive in Beijing on Wednesday evening to discuss the Iran war and other issues with his Chinese counterpart President Xi Jinping. White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said an opening ceremony and meeting will be on Thursday morning, and the trip will conclude on Friday. The US plans to host the Chinese leader during a reciprocal visit later this year. Kelly said that this week’s trip would be of “tremendous symbolic significance” and focus on “rebalancing the relationship with China and prioritising reciprocity and fairness to restore American economic independence”. Trump’s visit, initially…
THE Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has hosted some officials of Sierra Leone’s ministry of education to understudy Nigeria’s centralised admission system. The visiting officials are learning to understand and establish a body similar to JAMB, which would streamline Sierra Leone’s admission process. An X post on Sunday by Fabian Benjamin, JAMB’s spokesperson, said the delegation includes Sarjoh Aziz Kamara, Sierra Leone’s deputy minister of education, Edwin Momoh, vice-chancellor of Ernest Bai Koroma university of science and technology, and Bashiru Koroma, vice-chancellor of Njala university. Benjamin said that the delegation was taken through the examination and admission processes at…