WORLD

Two people have been arrested in a raid on the home of the controversial Gupta family in South Africa as part of a government influencing investigation. The wealthy India-born Gupta family have been accused of “state capture” – using their friendship with President Zuma to wield enormous political influence for their business interests. Both Mr Zuma and the Guptas deny ...

At least two Russian fighters were killed in US air strikes in north-eastern Syria last week, their associates have told the BBC. The mercenaries are said to have been hired by private military firms backing Syrian pro-government troops. Russia has not confirmed the deaths that were first reported by US media, saying such reports should not be treated as “primary ...

The United States warned the Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday against using an electronic voting system for a long-delayed presidential election in December this year because it has the potential to undermine the credibility of the poll. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told an informal U.N. Security Council meeting on the Congolese electoral process that deploying ...

Egypt’s president Abdel Fatah al-Sisi affirmed to United States (US) Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that his country’s stance towards the Israeli-Palestine peace process is to ‘establish a Palestinian state on the 1967 border, with Eastern Jerusalem as its capital’. In a statement released by the Egyptian Presidential Spokesperson Bassam Radi, president Sisi also called on the U.S. to revive ...

People in downtown Seoul, South Korea were thrilled to see U.S. president Donald Trump hand in hand with his North Korean leader Kim Jong Un walking together and taking selfies. Well, it was not exactly the two men who have been at the throat of each other in a heated diplomacy around nuclear capabilities. It was two lookalikes taking the ...

The Catholic Church in Nigeria says the continued influx of Cameroon refugees into Nigeria’s Cross River State was worsening the poverty situation in host communities. According to Caritas Nigeria, a wing of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN), poor communities were suffering from the burden of hosting fleeing Cameroonians. Head of Caritas Nigeria, Rev. Fr Evaristus Bassey, in a press ...

MAURICIO POCHETTINO admits he fears for the safety of his star players and has urged the Football Association to intervene over Rochdale’s pitch ahead of their FA Cup clash. The Tottenham manager has voiced his concerns over the sand-covered surface for the fifth-round tie at Spotland on February 18. Millwall manager Neil Harris, who saw his side knocked out this ...

The Commonwealth has confirmed the successful readmission of Gambia into the global bloc. The West African country becomes the 53rd nation but fourth to rejoin. The Gambia referred to as “smiling coast of West Africa” joins the likes of South Africa, Fiji and Pakistan who all left at a point and gained readmission. In 2013, exiled President Yahya Jammeh, pulled ...

MARCO ASENSIO has told Real Madrid he wants to leave. The Spain international is out of favour under Zinedine Zidane and has not started a league fixture since the start of December. According to Diario Gol, he is fed up by his limited opportunities and has alerted a number of clubs about his desire to move. Liverpool have been credited ...

A Gambian activist, Jaha Mapenzi Dukureh, has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in the area of helping combat Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), a Norwegian portal has reported. Jaha was nominated for the award by a Norwegian politician Jette Christenssen who met Jaha during the launch of her film ‘Jaha’s Promise’ in 2017. “Her case is incredibly ...