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…
Author: Agency
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
Dame Sarah Mullally has been named as the new Archbishop of Canterbury designate – the first woman to be chosen for the role. A former NHS chief nurse, the 63-year-old became a priest in 2006 and was appointed as the first female Bishop of London in 2018 – the third most senior member of clergy in the Church of England. It is the first time in nearly 500 years of history that the Church nominated a woman to lead it. The Church has been without someone in the top job for almost a year after Justin Welby resigned over a…
China kicked off Wednesday a new visa programme aimed at attracting foreign talent in science and technology, part of ongoing efforts to position itself as a world leader in those sectors ahead of the United States. The Chinese measure, announced in August, stands in stark contrast to recent US policy, with the Trump administration suddenly introducing new and expensive changes to its own skilled worker visas last month. China’s new K visa significantly simplifies the immigration process for those eligible, according to state media. “Against the backdrop of some countries retracting, turning inward, and sidelining international talent, China has keenly…
Police in Madagascar have fired tear gas as hundreds of young protesters returned to the streets of the capital, despite the president agreeing to dissolve his government. The so-called Gen-Z protests have seen thousands demonstrate in cities across Madagascar since Thursday, demanding an end to repeated water and power cuts. President Andry Rajoelina sacked his government on Monday, but protesters responded to calls on social media for a fresh rally on Tuesday. A message on the protest movement’s Facebook page expressed disappointment with the president’s speech, calling for him to apologise and take responsibility after protesters were killed by the…
The University of Oxford says it has become the first UK institution of its kind to offer access to the education version of artificial intelligence (AI) tool ChatGPT to all of its students and staff. ChatGPT Edu, which has been specifically developed for educational use by OpenAI, will be made widely available to Oxford students following a successful trial over the past year. The rollout is part of an ongoing five-year partnership between the institution and OpenAI, which was announced in March. Prof Anne Trefethen, the university’s pro-vice-chancellor for digital, said the rollout marked an “exciting step in our ongoing…
Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera conceded defeat Wednesday in last week’s election, saying in an address to the nation that it was clear his rival Peter Mutharika had an “insurmountable lead”. The former pastor took power in 2020 elections when he defeated the then-president Mutharika, a constitutional law expert from the Democratic Progressive Party. “A few minutes ago, I called Professor Mutharika to wish him well,” Chakwera said just hours before the election authority was due to announce the final results of the September 16 election. Ahead of the announcement, “it was clear that my rival Peter Mutharika has an insurmountable…
