Author: Opalim Lifted

Colombia has declared a state of emergency after a powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake killed at least 111 people, injured 87 and damaged more than 1,000 buildings. The earthquake struck western Colombia at 7:34 am local time on Monday, triggering frantic rescue operations as emergency teams searched for survivors trapped beneath collapsed buildings. President Abelardo de la Espriella, who was appointed just three days earlier, said the government had deployed all available resources to protect lives and assist affected communities. “The national government is maintaining all its capacities deployed to protect lives, assist affected communities and deliver aid to every area that…

At least 13 people have died in floods, landslides and rain-related accidents in the northern Philippines after nine days of torrential rainfall, rescuers said on Monday. The downpour, fuelled by tropical storms, has caused widespread flooding across Luzon, the country’s main island, forcing schools and government offices to close. Streets in the capital, Manila, were also inundated. Four of the deaths occurred in the mountain resort city of Baguio, where a rain-soaked mountainside collapsed onto several houses, killing four residents, according to city disaster official Charles Carame. Rescuers were digging through the rubble on Monday in search of at least…

At least 13 people have been killed and 75 others injured after a Ukrainian drone strike hit Russia’s Tatarstan region, in one of the deadliest attacks carried out by Kyiv since the war began more than four years ago. The strike targeted an oil refinery in the industrial city of Nizhnekamsk, more than 1,000 kilometres from Ukraine’s border. “At this moment, 13 people have been killed,” Tatarstan’s regional press service said on Monday, adding that 21 of the 75 wounded had been hospitalised. Ukraine’s General Staff said it had struck the Taneco refinery, operated by oil giant Tatneft, as part…

A consortium including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is close to agreeing a deal to acquire a stake of about one-third in Premier League club Liverpool, multiple media outlets reported on Monday. The investor group also includes Eduardo Saverin, the Facebook co-founder, the reports said. Sky News reported that the consortium is being led by Amit Bhatia, the son-in-law of steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal and a former shareholder in English Championship club Queens Park Rangers. Liverpool owner Fenway Sports Group could announce a deal as early as this week, the report said. “An investment consortium led, managed and represented by Amit…

A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake has struck Colombia, killing at least 18 people and leaving buildings collapsed across parts of the country. The early-morning Colombia earthquake struck on Monday, with the epicentre located in Chocó province in western Colombia at a depth of about 100 kilometres. At least 18 people were confirmed dead in the city of Pereira, Mayor Mauricio Salazar told Caracol Radio, describing the situation as “critical”. Emergency teams were deployed to search for survivors and assist victims trapped in collapsed buildings, while officials assessed the scale of the destruction. The governor of Chocó said there was serious damage…

UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and CONCACAF, which governs football in the Caribbean, North America and Central America, issued an open letter on Monday attacking FIFA President Gianni Infantino over his conduct during the proposed sale of a stake in the commercial rights to the World Cup. The statement, which stopped short of openly calling for new leadership, said Infantino had broken trust “through deception” with the now-abandoned proposal, had “placed himself above the collective”, and that the three confederations called for a fully independent review of what had happened. “Football’s strength has always been its unity,” their open…

Nigeria’s Ambassador-designate to South Africa, Femi Fani-Kayode, has described comments by Islamic cleric Sheikh Yahya Jingir in support of a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket in 2027 as “highly provocative”, warning that such rhetoric could deepen religious divisions in the country. Jingir had, in a video circulating on social media, called on Muslims to support the continued adoption of Muslim-Muslim presidential tickets ahead of the 2027 general elections. The cleric made the remarks at an event attended by some All Progressives Congress (APC) governors, including Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf and Jigawa State Governor Umar Namadi. Jingir praised President Bola Tinubu for…

The long-awaited trial over the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur begins Monday in Las Vegas, nearly 30 years after the hip-hop icon was killed in a drive-by shooting. Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips, is accused of ordering the killing and providing the gun used in the attack. He faces life in prison without parole if convicted. Shakur, widely known as 2Pac, was shot on September 7, 1996, while travelling through Las Vegas after attending a Mike Tyson boxing match at the MGM Grand casino. He died six days later at…

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has urged Americans to prepare for the August 12 total solar eclipse, one of the major astronomical events expected in 2026. While the path of totality will cross Greenland, Iceland, northern Russia, the Atlantic Ocean, Spain and a small part of Portugal, millions of people across parts of the United States will be able to see a partial eclipse. According to NASA, the partial eclipse will be visible across parts of northern US states, from Alaska to North Carolina, as well as much of Canada, Europe and north-western Africa. Partial eclipse visible across…

Islamic cleric Sheikh Yahya Jingir has urged Muslims in Kano State to support Muslim-Muslim political tickets and obtain their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) ahead of future elections. Jingir spoke at a campaign event for Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf tagged “Abba Go Again”. Governor Yusuf was also present at the event. In a speech delivered in Hausa, the cleric praised President Bola Tinubu for promoting a Muslim-Muslim ticket, saying he remained a strong advocate of the arrangement. “Special thanks to my (political) hero, Bola Tinubu who raised the flag of this political ideology, describing it as a purely Muslim-Muslim coalition,”…