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Nigeria’s president Bola Tinubu. Nigeria has killed more than 13,000 “terrorists” in the past year, President Bola Tinubu said yesterday, adding that the death toll from the country’s religious militant insurgency is down 81% since he took power in 2023.Africa’s most populous country is fighting the long-running conflict across its northern regions, complicated by inroads made by militants from the Sahel, and non-ideological “bandit” gangs.Tinubu, up for re-election in January, declared a nationwide security emergency last November as his administration scrambled to respond to a wave of mass kidnappings and violence.Tinubu, speaking during a televised address to mark the country’s democracy day celebrations, said: “Over 13,000 terrorists have been neutralised in the past year.”He did not specify if he meant in 2025 or in the previous 12 months.The president also said that over “124,000 fighters and dependents have laid down their arms since 2023 through Operation Safe Corridor”.Tinubu’s first term in office has also overseen the deployment of US troops to the country as major bouts of violence attracted international scrutiny.The insurgency, which has spawned multiple armed groups, has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions since it began in 2009 with an uprising by the religious militant group Boko Haram.The crisis has also been compounded by violent farmer-herder clashes in parts of the northeast and central regions, while secessionist agitation rumbles on in the southeast, and rampant kidnappings for ransom plague the country’s northwest and central regions.The unrest is inching closer to the relatively safer southwest, where more than 40 students and teachers were seized from their schools in the state of Oyo in May.The International Monetary Fund warned on Tuesday that the widespread insecurity from armed groups – especially in the north, where the bulk of the country’s food is grown – is a “risk to people and economic activity”.In one of the latest attempts to tackle the security crisis, the government launched a recruitment drive for 50,000 police personnel and has this year allocated a 5.41tn naira ($4bn) budget to the military – which Tinubu said was the biggest for defence in the country’s history.Military collaborations with the United States, France, and “other European countries” he did not name, have progressed from training to “precision targeting” leading to the degradation of the command centre of the Islamic State (IS)-affiliated Boko Haram in northeastern Borno state.US and Nigerian forces last month killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, an Islamic State commander described as the “most active terrorist” in the world, at a remote village in the northeast of Africa’s most populous country.The US Africa Command this week said its joint operations with Nigeria had killed more than 200 IS-linked fighters. Source link
Palestinian and Israeli civil society groups urged support for a two-state solution, saying “the window of opportunity” was closing, as they met in Paris on yesterday.The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, one of the most right-wing in Israel’s history, vehemently opposes the emergence of a sovereign and fully independent Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, and is working on the ground to undermine the possibility of a two-state solution.The Paris meeting came ahead of a G7 summit in the French town of Evian-les-Bains next week and was attended by the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas as well as ministers from Brazil, Canada, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.In a statement, representatives of Palestinian and Israeli civil society groups called on G7 leaders to urgently take action.”Israelis and Palestinians alike remain trapped in fear, insecurity, and trauma,” they said.”The window for a solution remains open; but it is narrowing. This moment requires urgent diplomacy, grounded in partnership with civil society.”The groups proposed an eight-point action plan, calling in particular for the implementation of a permanent ceasefire, progress on a two-state solution and a halt to settlement expansion.Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot reaffirmed France’s support for the two-state solution, saying “this year could be decisive.”In a break with decades of Western foreign policy, France, Britain, Canada and several other countries last year recognised a Palestinian state.Both Israel and Hamas trade near-daily accusations of ceasefire violations and the Gaza Strip remains gripped by bloodshed as progress on permanently ending the war remains stalled.The Palestinian Authority led by president Mahmud Abbas appears extremely weakened and deeply unpopular. Source link
Portugal’s forward Cristiano Ronaldo reacts during the international friendly against Nigeria at Magalhaes Pessoa Stadium in Leiria, on June 10, 2026. (AFP) Despite not scoring in either of Portugal’s World Cup tune-ups this month, 41-year-old captain Cristiano Ronaldo insists his fitness level is not a concern.”Physically? I’m fine,” the forward told reporters on Friday, per ESPN. “Have you not seen my matches?”Ronaldo scored 28 times for his club this season to help Al Nassr to the Saudi Pro League title in his fourth campaign with the club. But the level of average opponent in the SPL is a considerable step down from Europe, even if the top few teams are concentrated with former European league talent.Ronaldo will be appearing in his sixth World Cup and attempting to add to eight career World Cup goals. Portugal’s Group K opener is on Wednesday against DR Congo in Houston.And despite his age, manager Roberto Martinez has continued to make the five- time Ballon d’Or winner the attacking focus of his side. Ronaldo led Portugal with five goals in qualifying and started five of their six matches, averaging 1.23 goals per 90 minutes in the process.But with Portugal facing eight matches in 33 days if they want to lift the World Cup trophy for the first time, Ronaldo’s durability was always going to come into scrutiny.That includes reactions to his relatively unremarkable performances in pre- tournament friendlies, even if those are generally as useful for predicting tournament performance as preseason NFL games are for forecasting pro football’s regular season.”It has been good but tiring because we’ve worked hard,” Ronaldo said of Portugal’s preparations. “We’ve had the upper hand in our matches, but what matters most is when the ball starts rolling on the 17th, in the first game, and then when the pressure really starts to mount — that’s when we’ll see the true champions.”Ronaldo is far from the only aging star who will be asked to play major minutes for a projected tournament contender.All signs point to the 40-year-old Luka Modric playing as much as possible for a Croatian side that finished second in the 2018 World Cup and third in 2022. Lionel Messi, who turns 39 on June 24, is still integral to Argentina’s World Cup title defense, having led all South American teams with eight goals in World Cup qualifying. Related Story Source…
“There’s no question that this is the most serious disruption in the HIV response since the world came together to fight this disease,” said Winnie Byanyima,…
Sushila Devi sat sobbing on the floor of her house in Deoria, northern India after authorities told her that her husband was one of three sailors killed in a US attack on a ship off Oman.’If he had told us about the dangers, I would have called him back,’ she cried out as women from the family gathered round to console her. ‘The government should not allow people to go there.’India yesterday took the rare step of lodging a second protest with the US over the strike that took place more than three months into the Iran war. Sushila Devi's words echoed calls also building up among Indians for their own government to do more to protect its sailors stuck in the Gulf.CRITICS WANT MORE THAN 'ROUTINE PROTEST'Her husband Shivanand Chaurasia, the sole earner in the family with two young children, was among 24 Indian mariners aboard the Palau-flagged tanker Settebello when it was hit on Wednesday.The US military’s Central Command said an aircraft fired precision munitions into the vessel's engine room after the crew ‘repeatedly failed to comply with directions from American forces’.It said the strike was part of an ongoing blockade targeting oil shipments from Iran launched after Tehran sharply curtailed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which carried a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas before the conflict.India's foreign ministry said it had summoned the US chargé d’affaires to convey ‘its deep concern over the use of lethal and deadly force against civilian shipping’.’Such actions are unacceptable and undermine the safety, security and stability of international maritime commerce in a sensitive region at a difficult time.’ The US embassy in Delhi did not respond to a request for comment.The deaths have prompted calls on India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi to go beyond registering protests.India — the world’s second-largest supplier of seafarers behind the Philippines according to government figures — has had to pay a huge cost for the conflict it played no part in starting, say opposition and other critics.On Thursday, another ship with 20 Indian crew was attacked, with no deaths or injuries reported.’India has responded… with a routine diplomatic protest and apparent efforts to downplay the significance of the attacks,’ said Brahma Chellaney, a strategic affairs analyst in New Delhi.OPPOSITION SAYS MODI SHOULD TALK TO TRUMP’Had the victims been Chinese sailors instead, Beijing would almost certainly have reacted very differently, treating the strikes as a direct and lethal provocation by the US and elevating the incident into a major international crisis.’The opposition Aam Aadmi Party urged Modi to take up the matter with US President Donald Trump. The two leaders are expected to meet on the sidelines of next week's Group of 7 summit.The main opposition Congress party said the government’s policies had ’emboldened external powers to act against Indian interests with impunity’.’India's strategic autonomy and abiding interests must be defended with clarity and resolve,’ it said.Such attacks could deter workers from taking up seafaring jobs, potentially worsening labour shortages in the industry, said Manoj Yadav, general secretary of the Forward Seamen's Union of India.’The repeated incidents demonstrate the alarming deterioration of safety and security in one of the world’s most important maritime corridors,’ he said. Source link
Pele at the 1958 World Cup. Pele’s 1958 World Cup winners’ medal is expected to fetch £500,000 ($670,000) when it is auctioned in England later this month.The medal, won by the Brazilian legend when he was a teenager, is part of a catalogue of 450 World Cup-related items being sold by sporting memorabilia specialists BUDDS, which estimates they will fetch £2 million in total.A Brazil shirt won by Pele in the 1958 final is estimated to sell for more than $6 million in a separate auction at Sotheby’s in New York, which runs June 29 to July 16 – three days before this year’s World Cup final.Pele, then just 17 years old, scored two of Brazil’s five goals in the 1958 final against host nation Sweden.The victory marked the first of Brazil’s record five World Cup titles, three of which were spearheaded by the striker known as “The King”.Pele, born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, died in December 2022 at the age of 82 after being diagnosed with colon cancer.Other lots in the British auction include the shirt worn by England goalkeeper Gordon Banks when he made his famous save from Pele at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico.The auction also features memorabilia from England’s 1966 World Cup triumph, including Banks’ winners’ medal and Alan Ball’s shirt from the final.”This is the largest collection of World Cup memorabilia ever offered at auction, and it is difficult to imagine many sales that could rival it in terms of historical significance,” said David Convery, head of sporting memorabilia at BUDDS.An online auction is running from June 1 to 21 featuring shirts from the nations competing at the 2026 World Cup, before a live sale on June 25 at BUDDS’s auction rooms in Wellingborough, central England. Related Story Source link
Mr. Guterres was speaking at UN Headquarters in New York at the launch of the Muscat Plan of Action – an initiative that highlights the role of traditional and Indigenous leaders in promoting…
Pakistani Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif announced today that a final text of a memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran has been agreed upon. In a post on the X platform, Sharif wrote, “we can confirm that a final, agreed upon text of the peace deal has been reached and Pakistan is now working closely with both sides to finalize the next steps. Peace has never been this close as it is now.” In the same context, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said, “The United States and Iran are closer than ever to reaching an agreement to end the war,” adding that “the media should refrain from speculating on the content of the Islamabad agreement until it is finalized and officially drafted.” The Pakistani Prime Minister announced four days ago that his country was very close to achieving the “ultimate goal” of its diplomatic mediation efforts between the United States and Iran to end the escalating tension in the region, stressing that the intensive diplomatic moves made by Pakistan with both sides throughout the past period have achieved tangible progress, in addition to a mutual desire to prioritize dialogue and avoid sliding towards a comprehensive confrontation. Source link
US President Donald Trump speaks before signing a proclamation in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on June 11, 2026. (AFP) President Donald Trump will not be in attendance when the United States opens its World Cup competition against Paraguay on Friday in Inglewood, California.That was confirmed by Andrew Giuliani, the CEO of the World Cup task force, in an interview with a radio station in the United Kingdom.”He’s not going to end up attending the opening game,” Giuliani told TalkSport on Thursday. “As we’ve said, his scheduling is tight. But I know he’s going to be engaged throughout this World Cup.He needs to be in Washington, D.C., later in the weekend. He is hosting the UFC Freedom 250 at the White House on Sunday, his 80th birthday.While it is uncommon for a head of state from a host country to miss the nation’s World Cup opener, it is not unprecedented. President Claudia Sheinbaum of co-host Mexico was not in attendance on Thursday when her nation defeated South Africa 2-0. The Mexican government held a contest to give away Sheinbaum’s seat.The U.S. delegation will be led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, and Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin. The State Department confirmed their attendance in a news release earlier this week.Giuliani, the son of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, said he wasn’t sure when Trump would make an appearance.”Having known President Trump for now 30 years, what I can tell you is: expect the unexpected. Always expect a cliffhanger with him,” Giuliani said. “Throughout the course of this tournament, it wouldn’t surprise me if we see him engage more and more with the World Cup.”A sports fan, Trump has attended several big events while president, including Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden earlier this week. He was met with a chorus of boos. …
Pakistan’s government presented its annual budget yesterday, including plans to boost tax collection and defence spending, as citizens expressed weariness with surging inflation sparked by the Middle East crisis that Islamabad is mediating to end.Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb unveiled planned spending of 18.77 trillon rupees ($67bn), proposing an increase in defence spending by 16% while development spending remained flat.His government targeted an increase in tax revenues by 18% as it seeks to meet fiscal targets agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).The measures could deepen frustration in a country where many households are already struggling with rising living costs.”The rising inflation caused by the conflict in the region has made our survival very difficult. I don’t expect this budget to bring anything positive,” Moin ud Din Khan, a social organiser at a Karachi NGO, told AFP.Petrol prices in Pakistan have soared more than 40% since US-Iran hostilities began in late February, exacerbated by competing blockades around the Strait of Hormuz maritime oil trade route.Pakistan’s average inflation spiked due to the impacts of the Middle East war, the official annual economic survey released before the budget showed, leaping to a rate of 10% in the three months after the conflict began up from 5.5% in the July-February period.Pakistan has been mediating between Iran and the US in a bid to end their conflict.The war came as Islamabad was trying to consolidate a fragile economic recovery after narrowly avoiding sovereign debt default in 2023 through multi-billion dollar IMF bailout programmes that required tough austerity measures.The economic survey showed GDP growth in the year ending June projected at 3.7%, below the target of 4.2%.The finance minister said growth was expected at four % in the coming financial year with 8.2 % inflation.At markets selling staples like rice, wheat and spices in the city of Rawalpindi this week, shopkeepers complained of poor business as customers said rising costs were leading them to pull back on spending.”People’s purchasing power has disappeared… now markets are deserted,” 46-year-old shopkeeper Khursheed Ahmed told AFP.Others warned a new government scheme aimed at bringing small businesses into the tax net was being introduced at the worst possible time.”Rather than imposing more taxes on the poor and small shopkeepers, the government should reduce its own expenditure,” said 53-year-old Rashid Mahmood Khan, a wholesale trader.The IMF has urged Islamabad to broaden its tax base and increase revenue collection as part of its current three-year $7bn lending package, measures that successive governments have struggled to implement in a country where the majority of workers are employed informally.Outside the parliament in Islamabad on Friday, dozens of government employees staged protests against the budget, chanting anti-government slogans as they demanded salary increases and higher pensions to offset inflation.Inside, lawmakers from jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s opposition party thumped on their desks and threw paper at the finance minister, causing him to pause several times as he outlined the budget, which must now pass through both chambers of Pakistan’s legislature. Source link