WASHINGTON – Donald Trump warned that he is not ready to seek a deal to end the war with Iran, as US ally Israel launched a new wave of strikes yesterday and Tehran’s Revolutionary Guards threatened to hunt down and kill the Israeli leader. The US president, in an interview with NBC News, said he...
FRANKFURT – German defence giant Rheinmetall on Wednesday forecast even faster growth this year after record earnings in 2025, with Europe racing to re-arm as it contends with a hostile Russia and turmoil in transatlantic ties. Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine spurred a drive on the continent to rebuild long-neglected militaries, with the trend picking...
TOKYO – A Japanese zoo caring for a baby monkey who has become an internet sensation was forced to issue a statement denying he was being bullied, following an outpouring of concern online. Punch, a seven-month-old baby macaque, was abandoned by his mother and shot to stardom after he began clinging to a plush orangutan...
ACCRA – Tightly holding her citizenship certificate against her chest, Patrice Ann Robertson wiped away a tear; she’s now officially Ghanaian, nearly a decade after she started living in the West African country. “This is home,” the now Ghanaian-American, who lives in Ghana’s southeastern Volta region, told AFP at a ceremony in the oceanside capital...
BRAZZAVILLE – At the age of 82 and after more than 40 years in power, Denis Sassou Nguesso is the clear favourite to win Sunday’s presidential election in Congo- Brazzaville. With the opposition divided, sidelined and largely absent, observers say voter turnout could slump to a record low in the oil-rich but impoverished central African...
LAGOS – Nigeria’s Dangote mega-refinery pledged on Monday to prioritise the domestic market to help prevent fuel shortages and limit the impact on prices of the war in the Middle East. It warned, however, that this hinged on government support and Dangote could not rule out further price hikes. Fuel prices in the West African...
MEKELLE – Deep into the night in Mekelle, the capital of Ethiopia’s Tigray region, dozens of young men with backpacks and suitcases are looking for a bus to Addis Ababa. Abel (23), fought for the Tigrayan Defence Forces during the civil war against the federal government of 2020 to 22022 that killed at least 600...
MANAMA – Iran launched fresh strikes on energy installations in the Gulf on yesterday including a petroleum complex in Bahrain, as oil prices soared on fears over supply disruptions due to the Middle East war. Bahrain’s sprawling Al Ma’ameer oil facility was hit, causing a fire and damage, with the country’s state-owned energy firm Bapco...
TEHRAN – Huge fireballs and clouds of thick smoke erupted over Tehran on Sunday after US-Israeli air strikes hit fuel depots in the city, as Iran’s Revolutionary Guards vowed to fight on for months to come. Israel’s deadly campaign also reached into the heart of downtown Beirut with a strike aimed at killing “key commanders”...
TEHRAN – The clerical body tasked with selecting Iran’s new supreme leader has reached a decision, members said yesterday, although the name has yet to be announced. “The vote to appoint the leader has taken place and the leader has been chosen,” said Ahmad Alamolhoda, a member of the Assembly of Experts, as quoted by...