National Publicity Secretary of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) and Presiding Bishop of the Calabar-based Christian Central Chapel Int’l, Bishop Emmah Isong, has called on the United Nations to stop the bloodbath in Southern Cameroon. Making the call in a chat with Blueprint in Calabar, Bishop Isong, who recently return to Nigeria after a gospel crusade in the Central Read More
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has urged Donald Trump not to walk away from an international deal designed to prevent Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. Speaking to the BBC, Mr Guterres said there was a real risk of war if the 2015 agreement was not preserved. Mr Trump has been a strong critic of the accord, in which Iran agreed to Read More
On this day in 1945, holed up in a bunker under his headquarters in Berlin, Adolf Hitler commits suicide by swallowing a cyanide capsule and shooting himself in the head. Soon after, Germany unconditionally surrendered to the Allied forces, ending Hitler’s dreams of a “1,000-year” Reich. Since at least 1943, it was becoming increasingly clear that Germany would fold under Read More
The man at the centre of a sexual abuse scandal at the Swedish Academy – the body that awards the Nobel Prize in Literature – has been accused of groping the heir to the Swedish throne. French photographer Jean-Claude Arnault denies groping Crown Princess Victoria at an Academy event in 2006. It follows a report in the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper Read More
Miguel Díaz-Canel has been sworn in as Cuba’s new president, replacing Raúl Castro who took over from his ailing brother Fidel in 2006. It is the first time since the revolution in 1959 that a Castro is not at the helm of the government. Mr Díaz-Canel had been serving as fi rst vice-president for the past five years. Even though Read More
South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has decided to prosecute Duduzane Zuma – the son of former president Jacob Zuma – for culpable homicide, local media reports. Duduzane Zuma’s Porsche hit the back of a minibus in Johannesburg in 2014, killing one woman instantly. At an inquest that year, the ex-president’s son said he had lost control of his car Read More
US President Donald Trump says that if his planned talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are not fruitful he will “walk out”. At a joint news conference, he and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe said maximum pressure must be maintained on North Korea over nuclear disarmament. Mr Abe is at the president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida for talks. Earlier, Mr Read More
The Queen has appealed to Commonwealth leaders to appoint her son, Prince Charles, to succeed her as their head. She said it was her “sincere wish” that Prince Charles takes over “one day”, as she opened the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London. The role is not hereditary and will not pass automatically to the Prince of Wales Read More
A trade unionist in Africa, Comrade Issa Aremu, has urged African leaders to immortalise the late Winnie Madikizela Mandela, and sustain the legacies of the antiapartheid freedom fighter. Winnie Mandela, former wife of Nelson Mandela, died recently at the age of 81 in South Africa and was laid to rest at a massively attended funeral last weekend in her hometown Read More
Goalkeepers are a special set of footballers – treated special, protected and almost petted by referees. The game itself allows them to dress distinctly from the rest of their team mates and even handle the ball within specific areas and in certain conditions with the hand. The goalkeeping position was underrated for so long but it is a position which Read More
South Korea’s former President Park Geun-hye has been sentenced to 24 years in jail after she was found guilty of abuse of power and coercion. The verdict was broadcast live and represents the culmination of a scandal which rocked the country, fuelling rage against political and business elites. Park, who was also fined 18bn won (£12m, $17m), faced a string Read More
Liverpool have been charged by UEFA over the disturbances at their Champions League clash with Manchester City on Wednesday. Disciplinary proceedings have been opened by European football’s governing body after a raft incidents, which overshadowed a stunning 3-0 first leg quarter-final win for Jurgen Klopp’s side at Anfield. The club have been charged with four separate breaches of Article 16 Read More
Twelve people were killed and 46 injured in a crash between a bus and a truck in northern Tanzania, traffic police said. The accident happened late on Wednesday evening in Makomero in Tabora province. “A total of 12 people were killed, 10 at the scene and two while being evacuated to hospital,” traffi c police said, adding that 46 people Read More
Brazil’s ex-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will be jailed while he appeals against a graft conviction, the Supreme Court has ruled. He is facing 12 years in jail on charges of accepting a bribe but had asked to remain free during his appeal. Lula claims the charges are politically motivated, and designed to prevent him from running for president Read More
Sierra Leone’s opposition candidate, Julius Maada Bio, has rushed to take his presidential oath in a hotel after winning the run-off election. Mr Maada Bio is a former military ruler who briefly ruled the country in 1996. He narrowly beat ruling party candidate Samura Kamara, who has alleged irregularities and says he will challenge the outcome in court. Mr Maada Read More
International Police Organisation (Interpol), has given possible reasons name of a Nigerian lawmaker, Senator Dino Melaye, has not appeared on its watch list, saying it does not engage in politicallymotivated operations. The Nigerian police, had, on March 28, declared Melaye, an All Progressives Congress lawmaker representing Kogi East Senatorial District, and seven others wanted on allegations of criminal conspiracy. The Read More
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused the UK and Western partners of playing “children’s games” in their response to the poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter. He accused countries of “disregarding all accepted behaviour” and resorting to “open lies and disinformation”. Twenty-nine nations have expelled diplomats over the poisoning, which the UK holds Russia responsible for. Mr Read More
South African anti-apartheid campaigner Winnie Mandela has died aged 81, her personal assistant says. Winnie Madikizela Mandela was the former wife of South Africa’s first black president, Nelson Mandela. The couple – famously pictured hand-in-hand as Mr Mandela walked free from prison after 27 years – were a symbol of the anti-apartheid struggle for nearly three decades. However, in later Read More
Palestinians in Gaza have marched in their thousands to the Israel border at the start of a six-week-long protest. The Palestinian health ministry says at least five people have been killed and 350 wounded, many of them by Israeli gunfire. The Israeli military reported “rioting” at six places and said it was “firing towards main instigators”. Palestinians have pitched five Read More
France has offered to mediate in the conflict in northern Syria, where Turkey launched a military offensive against Kurdish fighters in January. Ankara is battling to drive out the Kurdish YPG militia, which it sees as an extension of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The French offer was swiftly dismissed by a Turkish presidential spokesman. Ibrahim Kalin said countries Read More
Illegal workers have invaded the farm of former Zimbabwean first lady Grace Mugabe to mine for gold. Reporters from the Zimbabwean newspaper Newsday found them uprooting lemon trees, digging shafts and loading gold ore into lorries. After unsuccessfully confronting them on Thursday, Mrs Mugabe reported the matter to the police. The farm is in Mazowe, where she had forcefully evicted Read More
An Indian journalist has been charged with people smuggling after he allegedly helped eight people enter Australia using fake media credentials. The group told officials at Brisbane airport that they had arrived to cover the Commonwealth Games. If convicted of human trafficking, the journalist, who had a valid media pass, faces up to 20 years in jail. The Commonwealth Games Read More
Two people were killed and two injured in a suspected gun attack evening by militant Islamists against an emblematic hotel in Mali’s Dogon region. Papa Napo, the owner of Hotel La Falaise at Bandiagara, told the BBC six gunmen arrived on three motorbikes at about 20:00 local time (21:00 BST) and opened fire. ‘’They shot a national guardsman at the Read More
The leaders of North and South Korea will hold their first summit in more than a decade on 27 April. Talks between the North’s Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon-Jae-in would be held in the border village of Panmunjom, a joint statement said. The date was announced after officials from the two sides met to prepare for the summit. Read More
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