Author: Editor

THE life of Uganda’s veteran opposition figure Kizza Besigye is in danger, his wife has said after visiting him in prison. ”He is extremely weak,” said Winnie Byanyima in a statement posted on X. The 69-year-old politician had been taken overnight to a medical facility, the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) party said, without specifying what he was suffering from. A prison service spokesperson denied that Besigye’s health was dire, describing his visit to a doctor as a “general check-up”. Besigye, a former personal doctor to President Yoweri Museveni and one of his longest-standing political rivals, has been in detention…

MANCHESTER City suffered a humiliating 3-1 defeat against Bodo/Glimt on Tuesday as the Norwegian minnows caused one of the biggest shocks in Champions League history. Pep Guardiola’s side were blown away by Kasper Hogh’s first half brace and a second half strike from Jens Petter Hauge at the ecstatic Aspmyra Stadion.Rayan Cherki got one back moments after Hauge’s goal, but Rodri’s dismissal for two bookings left City in tatters as Bodo/Glimt celebrated their first ever win in the Champions League group phase. In a fishing town situated 200km north of the Arctic Circle, the 2023 European champions were caught cold…

ISRAEL has begun bulldozing buildings inside the headquarters of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in occupied East Jerusalem, as the far-right government clamps down heavily on humanitarian groups that provide desperately needed aid to Palestinians in Gaza. UNRWA said in a statement on Tuesday that Israeli forces had confiscated staff devices and forced them out of their headquarters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood. “This is an unprecedented attack not only against UNRWA and its premises. It constitutes a serious violation of international law and the privileges and immunities of the United Nations,” it said. The Ramallah-based Palestinian…

THE gunman who killed Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe has been sentenced to life in prison, more than three years after the politician’s assassination in broad daylight shocked the world. Judge Shinichi Tanaka handed down the sentence against Tetsuya Yamagami on Wednesday at a court in the city of Nara. Yamagami, 45, had admitted to fatally shooting Abe in 2022 in a crime that convulsed Japan, where gun violence is extremely rare. In Japan, a sentence of life imprisonment leaves open the possibility of parole, though experts say that many of those who receive the penalty die while incarcerated.…

TOGO has arrested and extradited Burkina Faso’s former leader to his home country, after authorities in Ouagadougou accused him of plotting to kill his successor. Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba – who came to power in a coup in 2022 before himself being overthrown by Ibrahim Traoré eight months later – is accused by the current regime of masterminding an assassination attempt against Traoré. According to the Togolese justice ministry, Damiba was handed over to the Burkinabè authorities on Saturday. It says as part of the deal, Burkina Faso promised to ensure “physical integrity, dignity and fair‑trial rights of Mr Paul‑Henri Sandaogo…

MALAWI’s energy regulator has hiked petrol and diesel prices by more than 40%, marking the second time fuel costs gone up in four months. In a statement on Tuesday, the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera) said the fixed pricing system of the previous government was “unsustainable” and had led to “significant” losses. President Peter Mutharika, who returned to power last year, has been trying to revive Malawi’s ailing economy. However, local commentators said Tuesday’s fuel increase could harm the president’s efforts and worsen the cost-of-living crisis for many Malawians. “Fuel is not a luxury commodity. Any increase has a cascading…

THE Moroccan Football Federation said Monday it has formally referred to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA incidents involving Senegalese players and supporters protesting a penalty to Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations final. Senegal’s protest in added time of normal play during Sunday night’s clash in Rabat led to the match being paused for nearly 20 minutes as the players walked off the pitch in anger. Some Senegalese fans at the opposite end of the stadium threw chairs and other objects and attempted to get onto the field of play. The AFCON hosts’ football federation said…

THE Israeli military has launched a “large-scale” operation in Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank, deploying hundreds of soldiers and heavy machinery in a move that has paralysed the city’s southern districts. In a joint statement issued on Monday, the Israeli army and the internal security service, Shin Bet, confirmed the offensive, stating it aims to “thwart terror infrastructure” and confiscate weapons in the Jebel Johar area. The army warned the operation would continue for “several days”. Reporting from the scene, Al Jazeera Arabic’s correspondent Montaser Nassar described a state of total lockdown. “We are in the so-called southern…

YEMEN, one of the world’s most impoverished nations, is entering a perilous new phase of food shortages with more than half the population – about 18 million people expected to face worsening hunger in early 2026, according to the International Rescue Committee (IRC). The warning follows new projections under the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification hunger-monitoring system that were released on Monday and show an additional one million people at risk of life-threatening hunger. It also comes as Yemen is experiencing its latest internal conflict with external regional actors involved in fighting in the nation’s south. The assessment also forecasts…

A MINIBUS carrying students to school collided with a truck south of Johannesburg on Monday, killing 13 pupils, South African police said. It was the latest in a string of deadly crashes in a country whose modern road network is undermined by rampant speeding, reckless driving and poorly maintained vehicles. The crash happened near the industrial city of Vanderbijlpark, about 60 kilometres (40 miles) south of Johannesburg. Police said the driver of the minibus appeared to have lost control while attempting to overtake other vehicles. The toll rose to 13 after an injured child died of their injuries, the provincial…

MOROCCO’s King Mohammed VI has accepted US President Donald Trump’s invitation to join his “Board of Peace” as a founding member, the Moroccan foreign ministry said on Monday. “Welcoming President Donald Trump’s commitment and vision to promoting peace,” the monarch “has graciously accepted this invitation”, the ministry said in a statement published by MAP news agency, adding the country would “ratify the charter establishing this board”. The US-led initiative aims to “contribute to peace efforts in the Middle East and adopt a new approach to resolving conflicts around the world”, it said. The board was originally conceived to oversee the…

SENEGAL stunned Morocco in Sunday’s Africa Cup of Nations final as Pape Gueye’s goal gave them a 1-0 extra-time win over the hosts at the end of a match marred by disgraceful scenes following a controversial penalty award. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco when he stepped up to take the spot-kick in the 24th added minute at the end of normal time. But Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay of almost 20 minutes that followed the penalty award. Congolese…

ARSENAL may have left Nottingham Forest on Saturday night regretting a missed opportunity. The reality is they will actually never have a better chance of ending a Premier League title drought stretching back to ‘The Invincibles’ of 2004. Mikel Arteta’s side have emerged from the weekend with an advantage stretched to seven points as the chasing pack aiming to put them under pressure stumbled badly. Arsenal and Arteta will rightly urge caution, but the Gunners will never forgive themselves if they do not claim the crown that has proved so elusive, faced with the domination of Manchester City and the…

ISRAELI forces have wounded several Palestinians across the Gaza Strip, firing on civilians and launching air and artillery attacks in the latest near-daily violations of the ceasefire in place since October, as its genocidal war on the besieged enclave continues unabated. Medical sources told the Palestinian news agency Wafa that Israeli drone fire on Sunday injured civilians in the Zeitoun neighbourhood in southern Gaza City. In southern Gaza, two people, including a girl, were wounded by Israeli gunfire in al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis. Additional injuries were reported in areas from which Israeli forces were meant to have withdrawn under…

AT least 21 people have been killed after two high-speed trains collided in southern Spain, authorities say. Spain’s ADIF rail body said in a post on X that a train travelling on Sunday from coastal Malaga to the capital, Madrid, derailed near Adamuz, crossing onto the other track. It crashed into an oncoming train, which also derailed. Spain’s Interior Ministry said that at least 21 people were confirmed dead. Andalusia’s emergency services had earlier said that 25 people were “seriously” injured. Five mobile intensive care units, four emergency critical care units and numerous ambulances were deployed to the site of…

THE Federal Government has commiserated with the governments and peoples of South Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe following the loss of lives in the recent floods ravaging the countries. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement issued on Sunday, sympathised with the affected countries over the human and material losses caused by the floods. “Nigeria also notes with concern the secondary humanitarian impacts, including food insecurity, disease outbreaks, and the heightened vulnerability of women, children, and other at-risk populations. “The Government of Nigeria expresses solidarity with the ongoing rescue, evacuation, and relief efforts being undertaken by national authorities, regional institutions,…

UGANDA said Sunday it would maintain a ban on social media platforms, while lifting a nationwide internet block hours after longtime ruler Yoweri Museveni was declared the winner of national elections. The internet was blocked two days before the polls opened on Thursday. While the government said that it was necessary to curb “misinformation”, the United Nations labelled the decision “deeply worrying”. Although much of the country remained calm after the vote, there were reports of small-scale protests late Saturday after the results, with AFP journalists hearing tear gas in parts of the capital, Kampala. As of Sunday morning, the…

MICHAEL Carrick enjoyed the perfect start to his second spell as Manchester United caretaker boss as second-half goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu inflicted massive damage on Manchester City’s Premier League title hopes. After so much recent discontent, this was a day when Old Trafford came alive, leaving Sir Alex Ferguson celebrating in the stands and United fans sarcastically waving off City spearhead Erling Haaland when he was replaced 10 minutes from time. City had goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to thank for keeping his side in the game, with the Italian making a string of superb saves to deny Dorgu,…

ISRAELI attacks killed at least seven people in Gaza on Saturday, including four children, Palestinian civil defence officials said, underscoring the fragility of a ceasefire that has largely paused full-scale fighting but failed to halt deadly strikes. According to Gaza’s civil defence agency, a drone strike hit a tent sheltering displaced families in southern Gaza, killing four people, three of them children. In the north, an 11-year-old girl was killed near the Jabalia refugee camp, while another person died in a strike on a school. A separate drone attack near Khan Yunis in the south killed a man. Israeli military…

INDONESIAN authorities are searching for a plane carrying three government workers and at least eight crew members after contact with the aircraft was lost, officials said. The fisheries surveillance aircraft had been heading to ‍Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi, after departing from Yogyakarta Province, before contact was lost, Andi Sultan, operations chief at the Makassar search and rescue agency, told the news agency Reuters. He said that air traffic control lost contact with the ATR ‍42-500 aircraft, operated by Indonesia Air Transport, at about 1:30pm (0530 GMT) on Saturday, around the Maros region ⁠in South Sulawesi province. He declined…