UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday warned against escalation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, calling on all parties to exercise restraint and resolve differences through peaceful dialogue and measures aimed at rebuilding trust. The secretary-general is closely following developments in Tigray, where renewed tensions and reported clashes have contributed to a worsening security environment, his deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said in a statement. Guterres is “deeply concerned about the potential impact on civilians and the risk of a return to a wider conflict in a region still working to rebuild and recover,” said Haq. The UN chief urged the…
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US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Iran was “seriously talking” with the United States. Asked by reporters aboard Air Force One whether he had made a final decision on Iran, Trump said, “Certainly, I can’t tell you that, but we do have very big, powerful ships heading in that direction.” “I hope they negotiate something that’s acceptable,” Trump said, adding, “We could make a negotiated deal that would be satisfactory, with no nuclear weapons, and they should do that, but I don’t know if they will.” The president also told Fox News that the United States could not…
Elon Musk’s AI tool Grok is facing global backlash for generating sexualised deepfakes of women and children, with the European Union joining the condemnation and Britain warning of an investigation. Complaints of abuse flooded the internet after the recent rollout of an “edit image” button on Grok, which enabled users to alter online images with prompts such as “put her in a bikini” or “remove her clothes.” The digital undressing spree, which follows growing concerns among tech campaigners over proliferating AI “nudify” apps, prompted swift probes or calls for remedial action from countries including France, India and Malaysia. The European…
Emirates, the Middle East’s biggest airline, topped up its order of Boeing 777X planes on Monday despite years of delays, delivering a vote of confidence to the US manufacturer at the Dubai Airshow. The order of 65 777-9s, valued at $38 billion (Sh4.94 trillion) including engines, came despite last month’s announcement that delivery was now due in 2027 — seven years behind the original schedule. Emirates, already the biggest customer for the Boeing 777, now has 270 777X, 10 777 freighters and 35 Boeing 787s on order. The 777X deliveries will start in the second quarter of 2027, Emirates Group…
A new chapter in South Africa’s long-running Zuma saga is set to begin with the 43-year-old daughter of the former president due to go on trial this week on terrorism-related charges. In what is believed to be a first for the country, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla is being prosecuted over what she wrote on social media four years ago during deadly protests. Jacob Zuma’s nine-year presidency, littered with controversies, came to a halt in 2018 amid extensive graft allegations – all denied. Then in 2021 he was jailed for failing to show up at a corruption inquiry, triggering protests and the worst…
Tanzania was on lockdown with a communications blackout early Thursday, a day after elections turned into violent chaos with unconfirmed reports of many dead. President Samia Suluhu Hassan had sought to solidify her position and silence criticism within her party in the virtually uncontested polls, with the main challengers either jailed or disqualified. In the run-up, rights groups condemned a “wave of terror” in the east African nation, which has seen a string of high-profile abductions that ramped up in the final days. A heavy security presence on Wednesday failed to deter hundreds protesting in economic hub Dar es Salaam…
The US consulate in Lagos has revoked the visa of Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka, the Nobel laureate has said. “I want to assure the consulate… that I’m very content with the revocation of my visa,” Soyinka, a famed playwright and author who won the 1986 Nobel Prize for Literature, told a news conference. Soyinka previously held permanent residency in the United States, though he destroyed his green card after Donald Trump’s first election in 2016. He has remained critical of the US president, who is now serving his second term, and speculated that his recent comments comparing Trump to former…
Real Madrid finally ended its recent struggles against rival Barcelona in a tense Clasico that saw players confronting each other after the final whistle. Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham scored as Los Blancos beat Barcelona 2-1 in the first Clasico of the season on Sunday, halting a fourgame losing streak against the Catalan giant. The victory increased Madrid’s league lead over Barcelona to five points after 10 rounds. There was a scuffle between the bench players from both teams after Barcelona’s Pedri was sent off just before the final whistle. The altercation continued after the game ended, with Madrid forward…
Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first active football player to reach billionaire status, with an estimated net worth of $1.4 billion, as reported by Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. Most of his fortune comes from career earnings that exceed $1.25 billion, including a $400 million tax-free contract extension with Al-Nassr signed in June 2025. He also earns over $100 million each year through sponsorships with major brands such as Nike and Armani. Even at age 40, Ronaldo remains a dominant force in football, having scored 900 career goals and still playing for Portugal’s national team—setting him apart from retired sports legends like…
France’s Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has resigned, hours after his cabinet was unveiled. The Elysée palace made the announcement after Lecornu met President Emmanuel Macron for an hour on Monday morning. The shock move comes only 26 days Lecornu was appointed prime minister following the collapse of the previous government of Francois Bayrou. Several parties in the National Assembly had fiercely criticised the composition of Lecornu’s cabinet, which was largely unchanged from Bayrou’s, and threatened to vote it down. – BBC News
