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ARAB leaders have urged the international community to fund their plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip after United States President Donald Trump reiterated a proposal to take over the Palestinian territory. An Arab League summit held on Saturday in Baghdad said in its final statement that it urged “countries and international and regional financial institutions to provide prompt financial support” to back its Gaza reconstruction plan. “This genocide [in Gaza] has reached a level of ugliness unparalleled in all conflicts in history,” Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said in his opening speech at the 34th Arab Summit, which was…

BRITISH Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Russian President Vladimir Putin “must pay the price for avoiding peace” ahead of a European Political Community meeting in Albania on Friday. “Putin’s tactics to dither and delay, while continuing to kill and cause bloodshed across Ukraine, (are) intolerable,” Starmer said in a statement ahead of the summit, taking place the same day talks are expected between Ukraine and Russia in Turkey. The European Political Community (EPC), which brings together the members of the European Union and 20 other countries, is meeting in the Albanian capital Tirana on Friday. Russian President Vladimir Putin and…

TURKEY evacuated 82 of its nationals from the Libyan capital Tripoli after several days of fatal clashes between armed groups, foreign ministry sources said late Friday. “Eighty-two citizens who wanted to return to Turkey were assisted in their departure from Libya and allowed to return home,” the source said, referring to “the conflict and insecurity” that has gripped the North African nation in recent days. The move came a day after the Turkish embassy said in a post on Facebook that it was preparing to evacuate its nationals via a Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul from the Libyan port city…

THE Gambian government has announced an investigation into the sale of assets seized from former President Yahya Jammeh, following widespread public concern. Some of the assets, including livestock and luxury vehicles, were sold off while a panel was still investigating the wealth Jammeh amassed during his 22-year rule. A newspaper investigation exposed alleged irregularities and an apparent lack of transparency in the sale of the assets, sparking protests organised by young people. In a televised address on Wednesday night, President Adama Barrow pledged “full transparency” in the probe, saying assets recovered “belong to the people”. Jammeh, who seized power in…

CHELSEA ensured that qualification for the Champions League remains in their own hands as Marc Cucurella’s winner beat Manchester United 1-0 to climb to fourth in the Premier League. United are gearing up for next week’s Europa League final against Tottenham but ran the Blues close as Ruben Amorim named a stronger line-up than expected. However, the Red Devils ultimately slipped to an 18th league defeat of the season and remain 16th in the table. Chelsea and Aston Villa, who beat Spurs 2-0 in Friday’s other Premier League match, both leapfrog Manchester City into the top five. City have a…

THE Israeli military says extensive attacks have been launched over the past 24 hours in the “opening moves” of operation “Gideon’s Chariots”, which will see troops “seize controlled areas in the Gaza Strip”. Thousands of Palestinians have been ordered by Israeli forces to flee parts of northern Gaza as indiscriminate air strikes killed at least 115 people in the territory since dawn on Friday. Meanwhile, Israel says it has launched strikes on the Yemeni ports of Hodeidah and as-Salif in response to the Houthi rebels firing missiles towards Israel, days after the Yemeni group agreed a truce with the United…

THE first direct talks between Ukraine and Russia on ending their war in more than three years started on Friday in Istanbul, with expectations low that the two sides would agree to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II. Kyiv is seeking an “unconditional ceasefire” to the fighting, which has killed tens of thousands, destroyed large swathes of Ukraine and displaced millions of people. Moscow says it wants to address the “root causes” of the conflict and revive failed 2022 negotiations in which it made sweeping territorial and political demands of Ukraine. Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan opened the…

GABON’s former leader Ali Bongo Ondimba, who was detained after being ousted in a 2023 coup, has been released and has arrived in Luanda with his family, Angola’s presidency said Friday. Bongo, whose family ruled Gabon for 55 years, had been under house arrest in the capital Libreville since being overthrown in August 2023. His wife and son had also been in detention, accused of embezzling public funds. A statement on the Angolan presidency’s Facebook page announcing the arrival of the Bongo family in Luanda was accompanied by photographs showing the former leader being welcomed at an airport. The “Bongo…

CHAD’s former prime minister and opposition leader, Succès Masra, has been arrested over alleged links to a clash which took place on Wednesday in the south west of the country, a public prosecutor has said. He is suspected of spreading hateful messages on social media linked to the violence in which at least 42 people died, Oumar Mahamat Kedelaye said. Masra’s Transformers party said he had been “kidnapped” by military officers in the early hours of the morning” and denounced his detention, which it says was “carried out outside of any known judicial procedure”. Masra is a fierce critic of…

BARCELONA clinched the La Liga title as wonderkid Lamine Yamal scored another stunning goal in their derby win at Espanyol. The 17-year-old curled a fantastic shot into the top corner from the edge of the box to confirm his side as champions with two games to go and a seven-point advantage over Real Madrid. Fermin Lopez added a second goal deep into injury time from Yamal’s pass. The game, though, was paused for a short time in the first half as news broke of an incident outside. A car drove into fans, with 13 people injured and four taken to…

AT least 115 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in a wave of Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip, as indirect ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas continue. At least 61 people were killed overnight and early on Thursday in a barrage of attacks on the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, according to local health officials. In Jabalia in northern Gaza, an Israeli strike on al-Tawbah medical clinic killed at least 15 people and wounded several others, the health ministry said. Israel’s army also attacked three hospitals in north and south Gaza: al-Awda hospital in Jabalia, the…

RUSSIA and Ukraine traded insults on Thursday as negotiators were due to meet in Turkey for the first direct peace talks in more than three years. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky slammed Russia for sending a “dummy” delegation, as he touched down in Ankara for a meeting with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Russian officials, for their part, called Zelensky “pathetic” and a “clown”. The exchange of personal barbs undermines the chances of any breakthrough at the talks. Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be attending, despite days of international pressure. Instead Russia’s negotiating team, which touched down in Istanbul on…

SOUTH Sudan’s government on Thursday denied that President Salva Kiir had died, following online speculation. The long-serving 73-year-old leader has long been dogged by rumours of ill-health. But he has been pictured in recent months meeting visiting dignitaries and ordering a series of dramatic government reshuffles. He has also moved decisively against his long-time rival, and the current first vice-president, Riek Machar, placing him under house arrest and detaining several of his allies. Late Wednesday, reports began emerging on social media claiming that Kiir had, in the words of one Kenyan personality, “kicked the bucket”. South Sudan’s foreign ministry issued…

AN al-Qaeda affiliate has claimed it killed 200 soldiers in an attack on a Burkina Faso army base this week, according to an NGO that tracks armed groups’ online activity. The base in the northern town of Djibo came under attack on Sunday morning, and a police station and market were also targeted, security sources told the news agency Reuters. Although there was no official toll, three Djibo residents told Reuters that dozens of soldiers and civilians were killed. Al Jazeera was not able to independently verify the death toll. A Burkina Faso military source told Al Jazeera that the…

SUPER Eagles and Nottingham Forest forward Taiwo Awoniyi has woken from an induced coma after having surgery to repair a serious abdominal injury. Awoniyi was taken to hospital on Monday, having collided with a goalpost in the closing stages of the 2-2 draw against Leicester City on Sunday. BBC Sport understands Awoniyi sustained a ruptured intestine in the incident. Having had the first part of the surgery on Monday, the striker spent Tuesday in an induced coma as medical staff monitored his progress as part of the procedure. Awoniyi had the second stage of the operation, including closing the wound,…

MANCHESTER United United manager Ruben Amorim says he has no intention of walking out on the club. In the immediate aftermath of Sunday’s Premier League defeat by West Ham, Amorim said if he could not sort the club’s problems out heading into next season United should find someone who could. That has been interpreted as the former Sporting boss beginning to realise he has taken on a job that might be beyond him. However, in a Uefa briefing at Old Trafford arranged to preview the Europa League final against Tottenham on 21 May, he said that was not the case.…

ISRAELI attacks on Gaza have killed at least 84 people, medical sources told Al Jazeera, as indirect ceasefire talks continue in Qatar. At least 50 people were killed in Israeli attacks on northern Gaza, including in Jabalia refugee camp, since the early hours of Wednesday, according to medical sources. Gaza’s Ministry of Health said almost 50 people were killed around Jabalia and 10 others in the southern city of Khan Younis. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. In Jabalia, rescue workers smashed through collapsed concrete slabs using hand tools, lit only by the light of cellphone cameras,…

THOUSANDS of Uruguayans lined the streets of Montevideo Wednesday to bid farewell to deceased former leader Jose “Pepe” Mujica, famed for his humility and once known as the “world’s poorest president.” The 89-year-old erstwhile leftist guerrilla, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost a year-long battle against cancer on Tuesday. He passed away at his humble home on a small farm on the outskirts of the Uruguayan capital with his wife, fellow revolutionary fighter Lucia Topolansky, by his side. Topolansky, 80, and President Yamandu Orsi, Mujica’s political heir, on Wednesday led a funeral procession with the…

JUNTA-RULED Guinea is doing “everything” to ensure presidential and parliamentary elections are held in December, Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah told AFP on Tuesday. The west African country’s junta leader General Mamady Doumbouya has promised that 2025 would be “a crucial electoral year” and has announced a constitutional referendum in September. But no date had yet been given for parliamentary or presidential elections, while his government is regularly accused of cracking down on freedom of expression and silencing critics. “We haven’t set a date, but everything is being done to make sure it happens at the end of the year,…

PARAMILITARY fighters appear to have opened a new phase in Sudan’s civil war after being driven from the capital, in a move which some experts have described as a “shock and awe campaign”. Just weeks after the army celebrated the recapture of Khartoum, its foe the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a series of unprecedented drone strikes on Port Sudan in the east of the country. The attacks have led to worsening power blackouts, as well as city residents facing water shortages. “It’s a level of power projection within this region that we haven’t seen yet,” says Alan Boswell, the…