The two-day presidential election in the Czech Republic comes to an end on Saturday. Citizens of the EU and NATO member state can still cast their votes until 2 pm (1300 GMT). Three favourites are fighting for entry into the probable run-off: ex-NATO general Petr Pavel, billionaire and populist...
WORLD
By GRACE AUDU, Abuja – Even in the face of Russian attack, the Government of Ukraine has announced a donation of about 25,000 tonnes of grains to Nigeria as part of efforts aimed at boosting bilateral ties between the two countries. In addition, the Ukrainian government has pledged its...
President Muhammadu Buhari says Nigeria is working closely with ECOWAS to deal with insecurity in the West African region as well as implementing strategies to contain the spate of unconstitutional changes in government. The president spoke while receiving Letters of Credence from Ambassadors of Switzerland, Sweden, Republic of Ireland,...
Human Rights Watch on Thursday urged Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr to publicly order police to end their war on drugs. This, has led to the killings of thousands of suspects since the previous administration launched it in 2016. The New York-based rights group noted that Marcos Jnr vowed...
A bomb blast that rocked Afghanistan’s capital Kabul on Wednesday inflicted casualties, Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran said. “A blast took place on the road leading to the foreign ministry at around 04:00 p.m. local time but unfortunately caused casualties,” Zadran said. The official said details would be shared...
Thirty-nine people were killed and more than 100 others injured when two buses crashed in a head-on collision overnight on an arterial road in Senegal’s central Kaffrine region, President Macky Sall told reporters Sunday. Images of the incident showed the completely mangled front end of a white bus, with...
A 5.3-magnitude earthquake jolted the province of Al Hoceima in northern Morocco at 9:12 a.m. (0812 GMT) Saturday, the Moroccan Institute of Geophysics said in a statement. The epicenter of the tremor was initially determined to be at the town of Nekkour, at a depth of 21 km, it...
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) says plans by the Biden administration to expand restrictions on people seeking refuge in the United States are “not in line with refugee law standards”. According to reports, the reforms will deny migrants the chance to seek asylum in the U.S. if they crossed...
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine on Orthodox Christmas, celebrated this week by both countries, according to the Kremlin. This is the first time Russia introduced a full ceasefire in Ukraine since the launch of the offensive in February last year. The announcement...
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday announced that the new Zircon hypersonic missile has been put into service as the country’s war effort flounders in Ukraine. Putin in a televised video link from the Kremlin to mark the commissioning of the missiles on the Admiral Gorshkov frigate said: “I...
Taiwan Premier, Su Tseng-chang has announced that the Taiwan government is planning to give cash payouts of nearly $200 to every citizen this year. He said the island’s economic growth will be shared by everyone. Reuters reports that the export-reliant economy, a global tech powerhouse for products including semiconductor...
A total of 1,057 natural disasters hit Vietnam in 2022, leaving 175 persons dead and missing, local media cited the Vietnam Disaster Management Authority as reported on Wednesday. The disasters caused economic losses of some 19.5 trillion Vietnamese dong (825.85 million U.S. dollars) last year, the local newspaper Vietnam...
Egypt announced on Monday that a significant ancient cover of a coffin known as the “Green Coffin” was returned from the United States. The artifact belongs to a priest named Ankh In Maat, which dates from the Late Period (664-332 BC), Egypt’s Tourism and Antiquities Ministry said in a...
Former German archdiocese of Munich and Freising has planned to bid farewell to the late Pope emeritus Benedict XVI with a requiem on Tuesday evening. As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, he was Archbishop of Munich and Freising from 1977 to 1982. The current incumbent, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, is expected to...
Local authorities said they discovered 25 torture camps in the area surrounding the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv since its liberation from Russian occupation. In the camps, Russian troops had detained and tortured civilians under inhumane conditions, among other things, regional police chief, Volodymyr Timoshko, has said in a...
The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, on Monday expressed his deep sadness over the reported death of at least 34 people in South Africa fuel tanker explosion. The blast in Boksburg, a suburb of the capital, Johannesburg, on Christmas Eve severely damaged the roof of the emergency department at the...
Former Pope Benedict XVI has died at his Vatican residence, aged 95, almost a decade after he stood down because of ailing health. He led the Catholic Church for less than eight years until, in 2013, he became the first Pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415. Benedict...
Israel’s hawkish veteran, Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn in as prime minister Thursday after a stint in opposition, heading what analysts call the most right-wing government in the country’s history. Netanyahu, 73, who is fighting corruption charges in court, had already served as premier longer than anyone in Israeli history,...
M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are holding civilians hostage for suspected collaboration with enemy militias as fighting erupted despite recent peace efforts, local sources told AFP on Monday. The group — one of scores in the volatile region — has conquered swathes of territory from the army and...
Three people have been confirmed dead after a Nigerien military helicopter crashed on return from a routine training flight. The country’s defence ministry said the helicopter crashed while landing at an airport in the capital Niamey on Monday, December 26, killing three people on board including an expatriate instructor. The wreckage burst...