The United States said Monday it was revoking visas for the British punk-rap group Bob Vylan, which led a chant at the Glastonbury festival calling for death to the Israeli military. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said that the United States has “revoked the US visas for the members of the Bob Vylan band in light of their hateful tirade at Glastonbury, including leading the crowd in death chants.” “Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country,” he posted on X. President Donald Trump’s administration has aggressively revoked visas, mostly of students, over anti-Israel activism. Bob Vylan, a London-based duo combining punk riffs and hip-hop delivery whose lyricism often tackles racism, led a chant of “Death to the IDF,” the initials of the Israel Defense Forces, at the celebrated music festival. Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the group’s “appalling hate speech” and the BBC apologized for not pulling a livestream. The controversy ...

Alumni and students of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, Oyo State, on Friday announced a rejection of the renaming of the institution by the State Governor, Seyi Makinde, after the late former Governor Omololu Olunloyo. It was reported that Makinde had, on Thursday, announced the renaming of the institution in honour of late Olunloyo, who was the first Rector of the institution. A statement released by the President of the Students Union Government, Oladipupo Olamide, in Ibadan, the state capital, expressed disappointment over the decision. Olamide said, “We strongly believe that this decision is unjustifiable and disregards the rich heritage and history of our beloved school. “For over 50 years, The Polytechnic, Ibadan has been a beacon of academic excellence, producing outstanding graduates who have made significant contributions to society. The name “The Polytechnic, Ibadan” is synonymous with quality education and has earned respect and recognition nationwide. “Renaming the institution wou...

Liberia on Friday held a state funeral for former President Samuel Doe, 35 years after his brutal assassination, as part of efforts to promote national reconciliation. The ceremony, attended by President Joseph Boakai, took place in Doe’s hometown of Zwedru, alongside the burial of his wife, Nancy, who died in May. Doe, who ruled from 1980 to 1990 after leading a violent coup, was tortured and killed during the country’s civil war—a key turning point in Liberia’s bloody conflict. His legacy remains divisive, seen by some as a brutal dictator and by others as a leader with positive reforms. In 1980, Doe, then an army sergeant in his late 20s, led a coup assassinating president William Tolbert, the last in a line of leaders from the Americo-Liberian ruling class comprised of the descendants of former US slaves. Doe established a regime of terror, he had 13 members of the previous government  publicly executed on a beach and  subsequently jailed or persecuted many of its opponent...

The Nigerian Federal Government has fulfilled a 31-year-old promise by allocating houses to the members of the 1994 Super Eagles squad who won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Tunisia. The amenities, which was approved by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2022, aims to honor the team's historic achievement. Former striker Efan Ekoku received his allocation letter in Abuja, represented by his niece. The announcement was made by the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, with the allocation of houses taking place in various states across Nigeria. Pemi Temitope, Director of Public Building and Housing Development, stated: "The government is committed to ensuring the fulfilment of the pledge and rewarding members of the team for their patriotic service that brought honour to the nation". The fulfillment of this promise has been met with appreciation from the players and their representatives, with some acknowledging the long wait but also expressing gratitu...

  The Colombian military has freed 57 soldiers who had been held captive by local residents in the southern Cauca region since the weekend.  Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez announced on Tuesday, said the operation, dubbed Operation Justice, was carried out without a single shot being fired. He confirmed that 20 persons were arrested during the mission.  It was reported that the soldiers had been subdued and confined by groups of civilians allegedly acting under orders from the EMC (Estado Mayor Central), a powerful breakaway faction of the former FARC guerrilla group. The EMC is heavily involved in cocaine production and trafficking and maintains strong influence in the rural, mountainous regions of Cauca. Sánchez denounced the soldiers’ seizure as a “kidnapping” orchestrated by the EMC, saying the group had instructed locals to prevent the military from removing a suspected rebel arrested on Saturday. According to General Erick Rodríguez of the Colombian Army, the initial...

  President Trump vented on the Israelis and the Iranians on Tuesday, expressing his unhappiness at continued fighting between the two the countries. “We basically — we have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f‑‑‑ they’re doing,” Trump told reporters at the White House before taking off for a trip to The Hague for the NATO SummitIn a Truth Social post around the same time, Trump singled out Israel, in a remarkable move for the U.S. president, telling the longtime American ally: “ISRAEL. DO NOT DROP THOSE BOMBS. IF YOU DO IT IS A MAJOR VIOLATION. BRING YOUR PILOTS HOME, NOW!” Trump told reporters at the White House he was going to see if he could “stop it” when asked about the continued attacks lobbed by both sides overnight after parts of the ceasefire were to be put in place. “They [Iran] violated it, but Israel violated it too,” Trump said. “Israel, as soon as we made the deal, they came out and they dropped a load of...

U.S. President Donald Trump said on social media Monday that Israel and Iran have agreed to a “complete and total ceasefire” to be adapted  within a short period of time. The Israeli military declined to comment on Trump’s statement. Iranian state media had no word on what response Tehran had to the ceasefire. Iran carried out a missile attack on the United States’ Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar on Monday, according to a U.S. official, two days after the U.S. struck three nuclear sites in Iran. There are no reports of casualties at the base, according to a U.S. official. “On the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will, I would like to congratulate both Countries, Israel and Iran, on having the Stamina, Courage, and Intelligence to end, what should be called, ‘THE 12 DAY WAR,'” Trump said in a social media post. “This is a War that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn’t, and never will! God bless Israel, God bless Iran, God...

The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, on Sunday echoed claims by President Donald Trump that US strikes had completely destroyed Iran’s nuclear facilities and its ability to acquire nuclear weapons even as the Pentagon acknowledged it was too early to provide a full damage assessment. At a news conference, Hegseth and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Gen Dan Caine, said the strikes, codenamed Operation Midnight Hammer, devastated the Iranian nuclear program. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Sunday that “Iran’s nuclear ambitions have been obliterated,” hours after the United States attacked three major nuclear nuclear enrichment facilities. Hegseth, who praised President Donald Trump’s order as “focused, it was powerful, and it was clear,” said that the late-night mission was “not and has not been about regime change” in Iran. But the full extent of the damage to Iran’s nuclear capabilities was not immediately clear. TRANSCRIPT Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Cha...