Israel destroys Gaza tower housing AP and Al Jazeera offices

Israel destroyed a 12-storey tower block in Gaza housing the offices of the U.S.-based Associated Press and other news media on Saturday, saying the building was also used by the Islamist militant group Hamas.

The al-Jalaa building in Gaza City, which also houses the offices of Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera as well as other offices and apartments, had been evacuated after the owner received advanced warning of the impending strike.

A Palestinian journalist was wounded in the strike, Palestinian media reported, and debris and shrapnel flew dozens of yards away.

The Israeli military said its "fighter jets struck a multi-story building which contained military assets belonging to the intelligence offices of the Hamas terror organization".

It said it had provided advance warning to civilians in the building, allowing them to get out.

AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt called the strike "an incredibly disturbing development". He said a dozen AP journalists and freelancers had been in the building and had been evacuated in time.

"We are shocked and horrified that the Israeli military would target and destroy the building housing AP’s bureau and other news organizations in Gaza," he said in a statement."The world will know less about what is happening in Gaza because of what happened today."

“The aim of this heinous crime is to silence the media and to hide the untold carnage and suffering of the people of Gaza," he said in a statement.

Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus rejected the notion that Israel was seeking to silence the media. "That is totally false, the media is not the target," he told Reuters.

Conricus called the building a legitimate military target, saying it contained Hamas military intelligence. He said Hamas might have calculated that by placing their "assets" inside a building with news media offices in it "they probably hoped that would keep them safe from Israeli attack".

The Israeli military has said during nearly a week of intense conflict that its strikes on buildings in Gaza are aimed at hitting targets used by Hamas, the Islamist group that runs the enclave.

Hamas militants have fired more than 2,000 rockets at Israel during the latest violence. Palestinians medics say at least 139 people, including 39 children, have been killed in Gaza. Israel has reported nine dead, including two children.

U.S. ENVOY IN ISRAEL

The destruction of the building came the day after U.S. President Joe Biden's envoy Hady Amr arrived in Israel amid diplomatic efforts to restore calm and ahead of a U.N. Security Council meeting on Sunday.

Asked why entire building was destroyed, Conricus said: "There was no way of taking down only the Hamas facilities that were in the building. They occupied several floors in the building and it was impossible only to take down those floors. It was deemed necessary to take down the whole building."

Rashida Tlaib, a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives and the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, accused Israel on Twitter of targeting media so that "the world can’t see Palestinians being massacred".

An Al Jazeera report on the strike on its English-language website quoted journalist Safwat al-Kahlout as saying: “I have been working here for 11 years. I have been covering many events from this building, we have lived personal professional experiences. Now everything, in two seconds, just vanished.”

Israel pounds Gaza to curb Palestinian militants but rockets still fly

As the war between Israel and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip lit up the skies and sent civilians running for cover for a fifth night running on Friday, diplomats stepped up efforts to try and end the violence.

As Gazans marked a grim Eid al-Fitr feast marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan and Israel began a holiday weekend with no sign of an end to fighting, casualties spread further afield, with Palestinians reporting 11 killed in the West Bank amid clashes between protesters and Israeli security forces.

The Israeli military said more than 2,000 rockets had been fired from Gaza into Israel since the start of the conflict, around half of which were intercepted by missile defence systems and 350 fell into the Gaza Strip.

At least 126 people have been killed in Gaza since Monday, including 31 children and 20 women, and 950 others wounded, Palestinian medical officials said.

Among eight dead in Israel were a soldier patrolling the Gaza border and six Israeli civilians, including two children, Israeli authorities said.

Ahead of a session of the U.N. Security Council on Sunday to discuss the situation, Biden administration envoy Hady Amr, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Israel and Palestinian Affairs, flew in on Friday.

The U.S. Embassy in Israel said the aim of his trip was "to reinforce the need to work toward a sustainable calm."

Israel launched day-long attacks to destroy what it said were several km (miles) of tunnels, launch sites and weapon manufacturing warehouses used by the militants in an effort to halt the rocket attacks.

The Israeli operation included 160 aircraft as well as tanks and artillery firing from outside the Gaza Strip, Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus said. It included a bank that, Israel said, handled the day-to-day cash flow of Hamas and its armed wing.

There have also been clashes between Jews and Israel's minority Arab community in mixed cities across Israel. The Israeli police said they had arrested at least 23 people over the unrest.

The Israeli army said late on Friday three rockets had been fired from Syria at the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights but there were no reports of any damage.

DIPLOMATIC FLURRY

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Washington was focused on leveraging U.S. relationships in the region to end the crisis diplomatically, adding that Israel had a right to self-defence.

Egypt was leading regional efforts to secure a ceasefire. Cairo was pushing for both sides to cease fire from midnight on Friday pending further negotiations, two Egyptian security sources said, with Egypt leaning on Hamas and others, including the United States, trying to reach an agreement with Israel.

The foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan discussed efforts to end the Gaza confrontation and to prevent "provocations" in Jerusalem, Egypt's foreign ministry said.

"The talks have taken a real and serious path on Friday," a Palestinian official said. "The mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations are stepping up their contacts with all sides in a bid to restore calm, but a deal hasn't yet been reached."

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also appealed for an immediate ceasefire.

"Fighting has the potential to unleash an uncontainable security and humanitarian crisis and to further foster extremism...," U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

Hamas, the Islamist group that rules Gaza, launched the rocket attacks on Monday, in retaliation for Israeli police clashes with Palestinians near al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third holiest site, in East Jerusalem.

Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, who led Friday prayers at al-Aqsa Mosque, decried its treatment by Israeli forces. He said its "sanctity has been violated several times during the holy month of Ramadan" in what he called violations "unprecedented" since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Israel says it makes every effort to preserve civilian life, including warning in advance of attacks. read more

"What we were targeting is an elaborate system of tunnels that spans underneath Gaza, mostly in the north but not limited to, and is a network that the operatives of Hamas use in order to move, in order to hide, for cover," Conricus told foreign reporters, adding that the network was known as "the Metro".

The Israeli military has put the number of militants killed so far in the Israeli attacks at between 80 and 90.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said there were reports of more than 200 housing units destroyed or severely damaged in Gaza and hundreds of people seeking shelter in schools in the north of the coastal enclave.

Major airlines have suspended flights to Israel and at least two owners of tankers delivering crude oil asked to divert from Ashkelon to the port of Haifa, farther north of Gaza, because of the conflict, shipping sources said on Friday.

There were pro-Palestinian protests in Jordan,Bangladesh and elsewhere, but the broader picture across the Islamic world, where Muslims are marking the Eid al-Fitr holiday and where restrictions on movement due to COVID-19 are in place in some countries, was noticeably muted.

Airlines Suspend Flights To Israel

Israel’s escalating conflict with the Palestinians saw several airlines on Thursday suspend services to the Jewish state amid global alarm and diplomatic efforts to halt the spiralling violence.

– KLM –

Dutch airline KLM has halted flights to Israel for the time being, Dutch public broadcaster NOS said. A flight from Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport that was postponed earlier in the week due to the violence has been cancelled for good and KLM is deciding whether a flight due on Sunday can go ahead, NOS said.

– BA, Virgin –

British Airways cancelled its service to and from Tel Aviv on Thursday and Virgin Atlantic also did the same for Thursday and Friday.

Both airlines said they are monitoring the situation closely.

– Lufthansa –

Germany’s flag carrier cancelled flights for Thursday and Friday, adding: “Lufthansa expects to resume its flight operations to Israel beginning Saturday, May 15.”

– Aeroflot –

Aeroflot cancelled its Moscow-Tel Aviv flight for Friday but did not specify if others would be cancelled in the coming days.

– Iberia –

The Spanish airline cancelled its flight Madrid to Tel Aviv for Thursday and Friday-Saturday’s return leg.

An Iberia spokeswoman told AFP: “We will take further decisions based on the evolution of the situation.”

– US airlines –

United, which operates 18 flight weekly to Israel, said it was suspending operations.

Delta and American Airlines also confirmed they have suspended services between New York and Tel Aviv.

– LOT –

The Polish airline said it had “suspended flights to Israel for the moment”. Spokesman Krzysztof Moczulski added: “I suppose that we will not be flying there in the coming days”.

AFP

Ondo university student commits suicide

The management of the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Ondo State says it will investigate the reason behind the death of one its students identified as Feranmi Fasunle.

Fasunle reportedly died as a result of the sniper she allegedly drank on Wednesday night.

It was gathered that the 200-level student of the Department of Political Science at the varsity drank the insecticide on Wednesday night in her room and was later rushed to the school’s health centre but was later referred to the Federal Medical Centre, Owo where she gave up the ghost early Thursday.

The reason for taking the action against herself was yet unknown. It was insinuated in some quarters that the deceased had relationship issue but some of her friends refuted this as they said she had no boyfriend.

The Head of Media and Protocols of institution, Victor Akinpelumi, speaking on the incident, described the student’s death as unfortunate, saying there was indication that Fasunle committed suicide for another reason and not on relationship matter.

Akinpelumi said, “It is true that she committed suicide. We have not been officially briefed but the only details we have is that she took sniper and she was later rushed to the state health centre and from there she was referred to the Federal Medical Centre in Owo.

“The bad incident happened on Wednesday and we have not carried out our findings to ascertain if she committed suicide over relationship issues but from what we gathered she had no boyfriend.

“The doctor, who spoke with me, said those who brought her said they were close to her and that she was not involved in any relationship. So, why she did that to herself is what we are yet to know.

“We will further react if we later know why she took that decision to take her own life.”

Go with water, food, prepare for worst situation in Egypt, Azeez advises Enyimba

Former Enyimba of Aba striker, Abu Azeez, believes the Peoples Elephant will beat Pyramids of Egypt in the CAF Confederation Cup if they plan their travels and other logistics well.

Azeez, who advised the Aba team to prepare for rough times in the hands of Pyramids on March 16, said the Egyptians could use every foul mean available to get the advantage in the quarterfinal clash.

Azeez predicted that Pyramids would create an unpleasant atmosphere to put Enyimba under pressure and get the advantage in their home leg of the tie.

To counter whatever Pyramids throw at them, Azeez advised Enyimba’s management to travel with food, water and other sensitive materials to Egypt, saying the move would help to keep the players safe ahead of the game.

“North African teams are aggressive in CAF organised championships, especially at the knock out stage of the tournament.

“To avoid unpleasant experience, Enyimba should travel with their water, food and other personal materials needed for the trip to Egypt.

“The club management should also organise special transportation from the airport to the hotel immediately they arrive in Egypt to avoid unnecessary delay by the host.

“The hotel the players and officials will lodge must be okay and safe for the team,” he said.

Narrating the team’s ordeal when he was still playing for the Aba side, Azeez said, “I remember when Enyimba played against a Tunisian team in a CAF Champions League and a substance that would make players weak was sprayed inside the dressing room.

“We had to change outside the dressing room at the stadium. When we escaped that incident, as the team was entering the stadium some spectators started throwing objects, which even injured one of our officials.

“The intimidation and frustration put the team under pressure in the encounter, which made Enyimba lose 0-3. But thank God, we had already won 3-0 in Nigeria, so, the game ended in a penalty shoot out which Enyimba won.”

The first leg of the quarterfinals will hold on May 16, while the return leg holds May 23.

FG debunks reports of new COVID-19 restrictions

The Federal Government on Tuesday denied media reports that it has “introduced or re-introduced’’ new restrictions on COVID-19.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed made the rebuttal at a meeting with Online Publishers in Lagos.

Mohammed said there were no new restrictions, adding that the Presidential Steering Committee on Covid-19 only reiterated existing regulations to control the spread of the disease.

The minister, a member of the steering committee, said the committee’s national incident manager Mukhtar Mohammed was quoted out of context during the briefing of the committee on Monday in Abuja.

He said the only thing that was newly introduced was that anyone, including Nigerians travelling from Brazil, Turkey or India, must go through compulsory quarantine.

“What we did was the need to remind people of the existing extant regulations on Covid-19.

“Government has not introduced anything new. You can still travel by air or road or any other means but ensure you wear your face mask.

“We have not opened night clubs, the regulations on social distancing, social and religious gatherings, use of face mask are still in place.

“The curfew between 12 a.m. and 4 a.m. is still on and we are saying people must obey the existing protocols,’’ he said.

The minister said the emphasis became imperative because Nigerians were taking things for granted and behaving as if COVID-19 had gone.

He said India made the same mistake and they were paying dearly for it at the moment

“This is the mistake that India made when they actually boasted they had conquered Covid-19.

“They were holding political campaigns and religious festivals when a new variant of COVID -19 surfaced.

“Today, they are recording more than 400,000 case per day and about 4,000 lives lost daily.

“This is why every citizen must know where we are going,’’ he said.

Mohammed said Nigeria had been fortunate not to record a high rate of infection that it would not have the health infrastructure to handle.

FG To Prosecute 400 Suspects For Funding Terrorism – Lai Mohammed

The Federal Government is set to prosecute 400 suspects arrested for allegedly funding terrorism in the country.

This is according to the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who stated this on Tuesday during a press conference in Lagos.

He also reiterated the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in tackling the menace of insurgency, banditry and other security threats across the country.

“The Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice has announced that the Federal Government is set to prosecute 400 suspects arrested for allegedly funding terrorism,” he said.

“This is unprecedented and its a testament to the government’s determination to decisively tackle terrorism and other violent crimes.”

The Minister also appealed to Nigerians to support security agencies, who face the added task of having to watch their backs while working to protect others.

Mohammed also described attacks on security formations as a declaration of war against the country, condemning the assault on security operatives.

He added, “While the government continues with these efforts to restore peace and security continues, I want to appeal to all of us to play our part in lowering the palpable tension in the polity as a result of the security challenges. The first step is to tone down the rhetoric.

“Now, there is a growing dangerous trend which I will like to comment on. It is the practice of launching deadly attacks against the nation’s security personnel. Soldiers as well as police, customs, and other security agents have been killed and maimed in some parts of the country in this growing trend of targeting security forces.

“I want to say, unequivocally, that any attack on our security men and women is an attack on the state and a declaration of war against the nation. It follows, therefore, that this will be countered with overwhelming force.”

Nigeria has been experiencing a series of security threats ranging from terrorism, banditry, militancy, cultism among others in several parts of the country.

The country has been battling terrorism for more than a decade which has killed 36,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands in the northeast.

Police Arrest Suspected Armed Robbers, Recover Ammunition In Imo

The Police have arrested suspected armed robbers and recovered ammunition in Imo State.

The suspects were said to be a part of the robbery gang that has been terrorising Nekede and its environs.

In a statement by the spokesman of the command, SP Ikeokwu Orlando, the suspects, Godwin Danladi and Bamaiyi Gada were arrested at Eziobodo in Owerri West LGA of Imo State.

“At the point of arrest, one AK47 rifle, two magazines, two live ammunition, one Military Camouflage, and some other Military Accouterments were recovered from them”.

Read Full Statement Below

On 11/05/21, operatives of the Divisional Police Hqrs, Nekede/Ihiagwa, acting on a report of Armed robbery stormed a criminal hideout at Eziobodo, Owerri West LGA, and arrested the following:-

– GODWIN DANLADI “M” 20 yrs old

– BAMAIYI GADA “M” yrs old

At the point of arrest, one AK47 rifle, two magazines, two live ammunition, one Military Camouflage, and some other Military Accouterments were recovered from them.

They confessed to being part of the Armed Robbery gang that has been terrorising Nekede and the environs.

They are strongly believed to be part of the prison inmates that escaped from the Correctional Service on 5/04/21. Efforts are ongoing to arrest other members of the gang.

SP IKEOKWU GODSON ORLANDO
POLICE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER
FOR: COMMISSIONER OF POLICE
IMO STATE

Culled from Channels TV.

Queen Elizabeth returns to public stage detailing UK govt’s new agenda

Queen Elizabeth II opened a new session of parliament on Tuesday, in her first public appearance since the funeral of her late husband Prince Philip, as she revealed the Conservative government’s post-pandemic legislative agenda.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, buoyant after his party’s triumph in local and regional elections in England last week, is vowing to deliver on his mantra to “build back better” with a wide-ranging raft of policies.

But he faces renewed questions over the UK’s cohesion after pro-independence forces won a majority in elections to the Scottish parliament with pledges to hold another referendum on breaking away from the centuries-old union.

Johnson’s government, after rolling out a successful coronavirus vaccination drive, is intent on reopening the economy and refocusing on long-term promises to “level up” prosperity across Britain.

“My government’s priority is to deliver a national recovery from the pandemic that makes the United Kingdom stronger, healthier and more prosperous than before,” the 95-year-old monarch said in a speech from a gilded throne in the upper House of Lords.

Borders focus
The Queen said the government would introduce an environment bill to set legally binding emissions targets as Britain prepares to host the UN’s COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in November.

A “counter-state threats bill”, meanwhile, will provide the security services with tools to tackle hostile activity by foreign states and foreign actors.

New measures will also aim to strengthen Britain’s borders and deter “criminals who facilitate dangerous and illegal journeys”, after rising numbers of asylum-seekers coming on boats across the Channel from France.

Tightening immigration rules and securing borders were vote-winning promises of Johnson’s campaign for leaving the European Union in Britain’s 2016 Brexit referendum, as well as in securing his thumping 2019 election win.

But by differentiating between asylum-seekers who enter by legal channels and those who enter Britain from “safe” destinations like France, the government has provoked anger among refugee groups.

The UN refugee agency UNHCR has said the proposals could breach international law and be “expensive and hard to implement”.

But Johnson’s spokesman has insisted the plans comply with all laws.

Meanwhile, ministers will legislate to address racial and ethnic disparities, ban gay conversion therapy, enhance animal rights and help more people to own their own home.

The government will also implement the fastest-ever increase in public funding for research and development and establish an advanced research agency.

‘Historic opportunity’
Normally an annual event replete with five centuries of tradition and pageantry, which last occurred in late 2019 amid political acrimony over Brexit, the monarch’s state opening of parliament was scaled back this year due to the pandemic.

This meant far fewer attendees and the Queen travelled to Westminster by car instead of in a horse-drawn carriage. She also wore a powder-blue day dress and feathered hat instead of robes and a crown.

Only a select few from parliament’s two chambers were allowed to attend to maintain social distancing, and those present needed to have tested negative for Covid.

The Queen — Britain’s longest-serving monarch — was accompanied by her 72-year-old son and heir, Prince Charles, as she returned to public duties three weeks after the Duke of Edinburgh was laid to rest. He died last month, aged 99.

Johnson said separately that countering coronavirus remained the “number one priority” but insisted the recovery provided a “historic opportunity to change things for the better”.

“As the United Kingdom gets back on its feet, we will turbo-charge our economic recovery in every part of our country, increasing and spreading opportunity,” he added.

Union future
In her speech, written by the government, the Queen also detailed plans to “strengthen the economic ties across the union”, in part by improving national infrastructure.

The monarch’s role is to stay above the political fray but the future of her kingdom could be at stake after the election results north of the border gave new impetus to the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP).

When Scots last voted on the question of quitting the UK in 2014, Queen Elizabeth issued a guarded remark for voters to “think very carefully about the future”.

They opted against independence then, and Johnson’s flat rejection of SNP demands for a fresh referendum threatens to open a new constitutional crisis in the queen’s post-Brexit realm.

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said on Sunday that it would be “absurd and completely outrageous” for the UK Supreme Court to have to step in and adjudicate on any referendum’s legality.

Okorocha urges FG to reduce hunger, says Nigerians are angry

Former Imo State governor, Senator Rochas Okorocha, has urged the Nigerian government to change its approach in the fight against insecurity and economic problems.

Okorocha identified injustice and poverty as the main factors responsible for the current level of insecurity in Nigeria.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Senator said if the government hopes to lower the level of anger in the land, it must begin to tackle every sense of injustice and do all that is possible to make the people happy.

Okorocha made this statement when he joined the Ona of Abaji and hundreds of other Muslim faithful especially the needy and less privileged in the breaking of their Ramadan fast on Monday in Abuja.

The former Imo State governor said over 75% of Nigerian citizens are angry at the turn of events in the country, adding that nothing useful can come out of a country with so much bitterness and anger.

“You can’t solve a problem unless you know the causative. The cause of our Nigerian problem lies in injustice and poverty and the quicker the government moves to address the issue of injustice, the better it is for our nation to reduce the level of anger on the nation,” Okorocha said.

“Yes, things are not okay with our nation. Yes, we have big challenges but we must never give up on this nation called Nigeria and I believe a new Nigeria will soon be born.”

He said what the country needs to find is a new approach to the situation that will replace anger with love.

“If abuses and anger could have helped this nation; I’m sure by now we would have solved this problem,” Okorocha said. “So we must change our style as a nation, imbibe the spirit of brotherhood, prayers and love.”

Okorocha advised the government to apply more dialogue than the use of deadly weapons against insurgents and bandits in the country.

“I appeal that the Nigerian government must change our style. It appears the old style of force and use of modern equipment to fight our insurgents have not helped us. It is increasing rather in geometric proportion despite the efforts of government,” Okorocha said.