ABUJA – West African leaders from the regional group ECOWAS were meeting yesterday for a summit, with security and the departure from the bloc of three military-led governments high on the agenda. Before the Economic Community of West Africa States meeting, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger reaffirmed as “irreversible” their decision to quit the bloc,...
MOGADISHU – Somali troops have retreated from positions in the semi-autonomous southern Jubaland region following clashes with regional forces, Mogadishu said yesterday. Conflict-weary Somalia is a federation of five semi-autonomous member states – Puntland, Jubaland, Galmudug, Hirshabelle and South West – and a central government in the capital. Tensions have been rising between the central...
GAZA STRIP – Gaza’s civil defence agency reported that Israeli air strikes killed at least 33 people yesterday, including 12 guards securing aid trucks in southern parts of the Palestinian territory. The latest bloodshed occurred just hours after the UN General Assembly called for an immediate ceasefire in the devastated territory.Seven guards were killed in...
ACCRA – Ghana’s ruling New Patriotic Party candidate, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, yesterday conceded defeat in the country’s presidential election after failing to shake off widespread frustration over the struggling economy. Defeat in Saturday’s election ended two terms in power for the NPP under President Nana Akufo-Addo, marked by Ghana’s worst economic crisis in years,...
DAMASCUS – Islamist-led rebels took Damascus yesterday after a lightning offensive, sending President Bashar al-Assad fleeing and ending five decades of Baath party rule in Syria. Residents in the capital were seen cheering in the streets as the rebel factions heralded the departure of “tyrant” Assad, saying: “We declare the city of Damascus free.” AFPTV...
MADRID – The number of migrants arriving in Spain’s Canary Islands by boat from West Africa hit a new annual record in 2024 for the second year in a row, official data showed on Tuesday. With controls tightening in the Mediterranean, the Canaries route has become a favourite for people fleeing poverty and conflict in...
LUANDA – US President Joe Biden met his Angolan counterpart Joao Lourenco on Tuesday at the start of a two-day visit to the African country centred on a major infrastructure project that showcases US investment on the continent, where rival China is boosting its own interests. The two presidents were expected to discuss trade, security...
KABUL – Senior employees at several institutions offering nursing and midwifery courses in Afghanistan on Tuesday said women would be barred from classes, following an edict by the Taliban supreme leader. Health officials met directors of education institutes on Monday in the capital Kabul to inform them of the ruling, an official from the public...
CAIRO – Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’ Fatah party have agreed to create a committee to jointly run post-war Gaza, negotiators from both sides said yesterday. Under the plan, which needs Abbas’ approval, the committee would be composed of 10 to 15 non-partisan figures with authority on matters related to the...
CAPE TOWN – South Africa will use its presidency of the G20, the first by an African nation, to put the priorities of the African continent onto the agenda of the powerful global economic forum, president Cyril Ramaphosa said yesterday. South Africa took over the rotating presidency of the grouping of the world’s biggest economies...