ZAMBIA on Saturday declared seven days of national mourning in honour of the country’s former president Edgar Lungu, who died in South Africa on Thursday, the government said. Lungu, who died at the age of 68, ruled the large but sparsely populated southern African nation from January 2015 until August 2021, when he lost to current President Hakainde Hichilema. “The government of the republic of Zambia wishes to inform the nation that President Hakainde Hichilema has accorded a state funeral to the sixth president, Edgar Lungu, who died on 5 June,” said the secretary to the cabinet, Patrick Kangwa. The…
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LIBERIA’s former speaker of parliament has been charged with arson over a fire which destroyed the nation’s House of Representatives, local police have said. The huge blaze broke out last December, a day after plans to remove Jonathan Fonati Koffa from his role as speaker sparked protests in the capital, Monrovia. Koffa had been locked in a stand-off with his political opponents, with dozens of lawmakers voting for his impeachment in October over accusations of poor governance, corruption and conflicts of interest. He has previously denied any connection to the fire breaking out. Police said on Friday that there were…
ON 28 June 2005, the Glazer family completed their takeover of Manchester United Football Club. It loaded the club with debt, and over the next 20 years, BBC Verify has found about £1.2bn has been spent on debt interest, debt repayments, dividends and fees to the family. To fund the deal, the Glazers borrowed millions of pounds from hedge funds and left the club with debts of £604m. One year on, the club had already paid £53.2m in debt interest to its lenders and in fees to the Glazer family. On 22 June 2005, the Glazer family paid £790m to…
THE Israeli military will continue to bomb Lebanon if Hezbollah is not disarmed, Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz has warned, saying “there will be no calm in Beirut” and “no order or stability in Lebanon” unless Israel’s security is assured. “Agreements must be honoured, and if you do not do what is required, we will continue to act, and with great force,” the Israeli minister said in a Friday statement. Israel’s military launched a series of strikes targeting Beirut’s southern suburbs on Thursday night, sending huge numbers of residents fleeing their homes on the eve of the Muslim Eid al-Adha…
MYANMAR authorities have arrested 16 people including a six-year-old girl over the assassination of a retired general shot dead in Yangon last month, state media said. Cho Tun Aung, a former ambassador to Cambodia, was gunned down outside his home on May 22 in an attack claimed by an anti-junta group calling itself the “Golden Valley Warriors”. Myanmar’s military seized power in a 2021 coup, plunging the country into a complex, multi-sided civil war involving pro-democracy guerrillas and resurgent ethnic minority armed groups. Most fighting is confined to the countryside and smaller towns but grenade and gun attacks on junta-linked…
THE Wagner Group has announced it is withdrawing from Mali following what it called “the completion of its main mission” in the West African country. The Russian mercenary group has been operating there since 2021, working with the military to challenge Islamist militants. In a message on its Telegram channel, Wagner said it had “fought terrorism side-by-side with the people of Mali”, killing “thousands of militants and their commanders, who terrorised civilians for years”. The withdrawal announcement comes the same day as reports that Malian soldiers had pulled out from a major base in the centre of the country, after…
GHANA’s former finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta has been placed on Interpol’s red notice list for allegedly using public office for personal gain. This comes after Ghanaian prosecutors declared him a wanted person as well as a fugitive from justice, as he was outside the country, over his alleged involvement in several corruption cases when he was in government. A red notice is not an arrest warrant but a request to police worldwide to detain someone pending extradition. Ofori-Atta, who is said to be out of the country for medical reasons, has not commented on the allegations, but he has said…
LAMINE Yamal scored twice as Spain produced a superb display to beat France in a nine-goal thriller and set up a Nations League final with Portugal. The 17-year-old Barcelona forward, one of the contenders to win the Ballon d’Or for the best player in the world this season, helped his side into 4-0 and 5-1 leads in Stuttgart. But they were nearly pegged back as France staged a thrilling fightback, scoring three times in the last 11 minutes in a desperate attempt to take the game into extra time. But Spain held on and they will face Portugal in the…
ISRAEL’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the country is using armed gangs in Gaza to help fight Hamas, his admission coming after a new wave of military strikes on the besieged Gaza Strip that left at least 52 Palestinians dead. Netanyahu said the government had “activated” powerful local clans in the enclave on the advice of “security officials”, his video statement posted to X on Thursday coming hours after former Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman accused him of deploying the tactic. The statement marked the government’s first public acknowledgement that it had backed the armed Palestinian groups based around powerful…
US President Donald Trump threatened to cut off government contracts with billionaire Elon Musk’s companies, and Musk suggested Trump should be impeached, as the bromance between the president and his former adviser disintegrated into a barroom brawl. Trump started the feud in remarks from the Oval Office. Musk quickly responded with posts on his social media site X, and within hours both were trading barbs on their respective social media platforms. “The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social. Their…
THE central African nation of Chad says it is suspending all visas to US citizens as a matter of “reciprocity”, after learning that it is one of a dozen countries whose nationals are banned from travelling to the US. “Chad has neither planes to offer nor billions of dollars to give, but Chad has its dignity and pride,” continued President Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno in a Facebook post (in French) on Thursday. Africa is the continent worst affected by the travel ban announced by US President Donald Trump, with seven of the 12 countries on the list. It is set…
TANZANIA has decided to block access to social media platform X because it allows pornographic content to be shared, the information minister has said. The content was contrary to the East African state’s “laws, culture, customs, and traditions,” Jerry Silaa told a local TV station. Tanzanians have reported that access to X has been restricted in the last two weeks after political tensions rose and the police account was hacked, but there has not yet been a total shutdown of the platform. A Tanzanian rights group posted on X that Silaa’s comments reflected a “troubling pattern of digital repression” ahead…
CHELSEA beat off competition from Premier League rivals to sign English striker Liam Delap from Ipswich on Wednesday for a reported fee of £30 million ($41 million) Delap, 22, scored 12 Premier League goals during his sole season at Portman Road but could not prevent Ipswich making an immediate return to the Championship. Manchester United and Everton were also reportedly willing to meet the buyout clause in the England under-21 international’s contract. But Chelsea have won the race for the former Manchester City forward, bolstering their attacking options ahead of the Club World Cup in the United States, starting later…
THE United Nations Security Council is set to vote on a resolution calling for a ceasefire and humanitarian access to Gaza, a measure expected to be vetoed by the United States. At least 95 Palestinians have been killed and 440 injured in Israeli attacks across Gaza in the past 24 hours, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry. Israel’s military has warned starving Palestinians in Gaza against approaching roads to the US-backed aid distribution sites run by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which will be closed for a whole day for “renovation, reorganisation and efficiency improvement work”. Meanwhile, Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson…
IRANIAN Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has pledged that Tehran will not abandon its uranium enrichment, rejecting a key demand in a United States proposal aimed at resolving a long-running dispute over Iran’s nuclear programme. The comments were delivered in a speech on Wednesday as the US and Iran continue to negotiate the details of a possible new nuclear deal. The issue of uranium enrichment has remained a sticking point in the talks, with the US reportedly demanding a complete halt or low-level enrichment in exchange for the lifting of Western sanctions against Tehran. “The US nuclear proposal contradicts our…
THE United Nations has raised grave concerns following the discovery of dozens of bodies in areas of the Libyan capital Tripoli previously controlled by a powerful militia, the Stabilisation Support Apparatus (SSA), whose leader was slain in clashes last month. United Nations rights chief Volker Turk said on Wednesday that his office was “shocked” by evidence of severe human rights violations at detention sites run by the SSA, a group once led by Abdel-Ghani al-Kikli, who was killed during an eruption of fighting in mid-May in Tripoli. “Our worst-held fears are being confirmed: dozens of bodies have been discovered at…
THE international community must pressure Tanzania to investigate police officers accused of sexually torturing Kenyan and Ugandan activists last month, a rights coalition in Kenya said on Tuesday. Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaire were detained in Tanzania’s business capital Dar es Salaam between May 19 and 23 when they attempted to attend the trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who is charged with treason and faces a potential death penalty. They have both detailed torture and sexual abuse by the police officers who detained them. Ugandan activist, lawyer, and journalist Agather Atuhaire displays bruises and scars on her arms after…
BRUNO Fernandes has reportedly rejected a huge offer to leave Manchester United for the Saudi Pro League, opting to be part of Ruben Amorim’s rebuild at Old Trafford. Reports said Al Hilal were willing to pay United up to £100 million ($135 million) for the 30-year-old Portugal international but had not made an official approach. United endured their worst finish of the Premier League era, finishing 15th. They also lost the Europa League final to Tottenham. United captain Fernandes was one of the few players to emerge with credit from a disastrous season, scoring 19 goals and making 19 assists…
ISRAELI forces have killed at least 27 Palestinians and injured 90 more as they opened fire close to an aid distribution site in Rafah, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza. The latest killings came early on Tuesday at the Flag Roundabout, near an aid hub operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). It was the third such incident around the Rafah hub in as many days. Gaza’s authorities report that more than 100 aid seekers have been killed since the United States- and Israel-backed GHF started operating in the enclave on May 27, with reports of violence, looting…
SAUDI authorities have asked pilgrims performing the hajj to remain in their tents for several hours during the high point of this week’s pilgrimage, citing high temperatures. According to a report in Saudi media, Hajj Minister Tawfiq al-Rabiah has requested that pilgrims refrain from leaving their tents between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm on Thursday. The “Day of Arafat” traditionally marks the high point of the hajj, when pilgrims scale Mount Arafat on the outskirts of Mecca. There, pilgrims assemble on the 70-metre (230-foot) high hill and its surrounding plain for hours of prayer and Koran recital, staying there until…