Residents of Kabul’s District 6 were awakened abruptly on Thursday night by the sound of an explosion that shook their homes. They rushed out in the street and heard jets flying overhead. It was a night that saw a serious escalation in violence between Afghanistan and Pakistan, with Pakistan launching airstrikes in Afghanistan – including its capital city, Kabul. Other places struck were in Paktia and Kandahar provinces, the latter a stronghold and the birthplace of the Taliban movement. Hostilities between the two sides have been ongoing for months, yet the answer to who started the aggression depends on who…
Author: Oki Bin Oki
The US embassy in Israel has authorized non-essential personnel to leave the country amid the possibility of a strike on Iran. The US embassy announced on its website on Friday that the State Department had authorized non-emergency staff and family members to leave “due to safety risks.” The embassy went on to say, “Persons may wish to consider leaving Israel while commercial flights are available.” The announcement comes the day the USS Gerald Ford carrier strike groupis expected to arrive in northern Israel as part of the buildup of US forces in the Middle East ahead of a potential strike…
Chelsea will play holders Paris St-Germain in the Champions League round of 16 while Manchester City will face Real Madrid in the knockout stages for a fifth straight season. Although six Premier League clubs have qualified for the last 16 there will be no all-English ties, with leaders Arsenal to face Bayer Leverkusen. Newcastle United will meet Barcelona, Liverpool take on Galatasaray and Tottenham have been drawn against Atletico Madrid. The first legs will be played on 10 and 11 March, with the second legs to take place on 17 and 18 March. Newcastle are at home for their first…
Deputy President Kithure Kindiki expressed confidence that the broad-based government will secure another term in 2027, citing massive development projects and programmes that have consolidated its national support. The DP said those pushing one-term politics are focused on a fruitless theoretical engagement that will result in defeat in next year’s elections. “This broad-based government has brought real and tangible benefits to all the people across the country. No one should issue threats about one-term politics. One-term is theory; broad based is practice and serving all Kenyans,” DP noted. The Deputy President spoke on Friday when he graced the Resource Mobilization…
At least 55 Ghanaians have been killed fighting in the war in Ukraine, with two others currently held as prisoners of war, Ghana’s foreign affairs minister says. On a trip to Kyiv, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said that about 272 Ghanaians are believed to have been lured into the conflict since 2022, citing Ukrainian authorities. Ablakwa described the figures as “depressing and frightening,” saying Ghana “cannot turn a blind eye to these heartbreaking statistics”. He did not say whose side the Ghanaians had been fighting on but Ukraine’s foreign minister said on Wednesday that more than 1,700 people from 36 countries…
Pakistan’s defence minister has said the country is in “open war” with Afghanistan, after Islamabad launched airstrikes on Kabul as part of a wave of attacks across the country. “Our patience has now run out,” said Khawaja Muhammad Asif following the attacks. The strikes came after the Afghan Taliban announced a major offensive against Pakistani military posts near the border on Thursday night. The latest attacks follow months of clashes between the two neighbouring nations, despite agreeing to a fragile ceasefire in October. Last year’s negotiations failed to reach a broader agreement for a complete end to hostilities, with both…
Whether you’re exhibiting at a trade show for the first time or you’ve done it before and feel like something didn’t quite work, you might be making common booth mistakes that are costing you an arm and a leg. The good news is that you’re ready to fix them. You already know it’s not just about showing up and distributing business cards. Well, a trade show is a real investment in your business. You’re competing for attention in a busy, crowded space where every little detail counts. According to the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CIER), in-person exhibitions remain one…
Modern houses are more complex than ever before, with multi-story construction, open floor plans, and numerous sophisticated appliances. Plumbing systems are now required to meet much higher requirements than the old ones, ensuring a reliable supply of water to showers, dishwashers, laundry machines, irrigation systems, and other vital fixtures. Although plumbing is an essential need in our daily life, it is something people think about only when something goes wrong, which might result in inconvenience, damage, and expensive repairs. Modern plumbing solutions deal with these issues by ensuring steady water pressure, eliminating leaks, enhancing energy efficiency, and ensuring water quality…
Homa Bay Deputy Governor Joseph Oyugi Magwanga resigned from office in a surprise move. He cited sustained frustration and what he termed deliberate obstruction by the county leadership that rendered his office inoperative. In a statement addressed to residents of Homa Bay County on Thursday, Magwanga said his decision followed “deep reflection and consultations with leaders, supporters, and my family”. He added that he had resolved to step down with immediate effect. Magwanga, who was elected in 2022 alongside Governor Gladys Wanga after consultations presided over by the late longtime ODM party leader Raila Odinga, said he had taken office…
Newly unsealed court filings have revealed that US singer D4vd – real name David Anthony Burke – is the target of a grand jury investigation into the apparent murder of a 14-year-old girl, whose remains were found in his car in September. The filings were released after D4vd’s family were summoned by a California court to testify before the grand jury. Dawud Burke, D4vd’s father, fought against the summons in a Texas court, and in doing so included portions of material from the California case that had not been previously available to the public. The filings confirm that D4vd has…
Four people were found guilty and given jail terms by a Greek court after a wiretapping scandal shook the country in 2022. In what became known as “Greece’s Watergate”, surveillance software called Predator was used to target 87 people – among them government ministers, senior military officials and journalists. The four who had marketed the software were found guilty by an Athens court of misdemeanours of violating the confidentiality of telephone communications and illegally accessing personal data and conversations. The court sentenced the four defendants to lengthy jail sentences, suspended pending appeal. Although they each face 126 years, only eight…
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has announced early elections – hailing the next four years as “decisive” for her country. “We as Danes and as Europeans will really have to stand on our own feet,” Frederiksen told parliament. “We need to define our relationship with the United States,” she added. The past few months of Danish politics have been dominated by US President Donald Trump’s threats to annex Greenland – a semi-autonomous Danish territory. Last month, Trump dropped threats to use force against the fellow Nato ally to seize the Arctic island he argues is necessary to defend against possible…
The top Democrat on the congressional committee investigating Jeffrey Epstein has accused the US justice department of withholding files containing allegations of sexual abuse of a minor made against President Donald Trump. Robert Garcia, who sits on the House Oversight Committee, said he had personally viewed documents containing the allegation that had not been made public. In response, the justice department said “NOTHING has been deleted”, adding that documents were withheld only if they were “duplicates, privileged, or part of an ongoing federal investigation”. Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in relation to the Epstein case and has recently said…
An inquest into the death of Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s 21-month-old son will formally begin on 14 April. The date was set during a preliminary hearing at the Yaba Magistrate Court in Lagos, roughly seven weeks after Nkanu Nnamdi Esege died at a Euracare hospital. Adiche and her family have accused Euracare of negligence, saying medics denied Nkanu oxygen and gave him too much sedation, causing a cardiac arrest. The hospital expressed its “deepest sympathies” over the death but denied wrongdoing, saying its care had been in line with international standards. During the preliminary hearing on Wednesday, Magistrate Atinuke…
An editor for the YouTube streamer MrBeast and a former California governor candidate are the first two people revealed by prediction market Kalshi to face disciplinary actions for insider trading. Kalshi said it had suspended and fined YouTuber Artem Kaptur and former political hopeful Kyle Langford. The company said it had opened 200 investigations into potential violations of its trading rules over the past year – over a dozen of which have become “active cases”. Prediction markets have surged in popularity in the US, with companies like Kalshi and Polymarket letting users bet on everything from sports to politics. But…