The Ogun House of Assembly has passed a resolution calling on the state government to reposition the state’s Amotekun Corps for greater effectiveness in securing residents’ lives and property.

Babatunde Tella (APC-Abeokuta North) opened the debate on the motion during Thursday’s plenary, which was presided over by the speaker, Oludaisi Elemide (APC-Odeda).

In his submission, Mr Tella reported the Amotekun Corps’ ineffectiveness following the demise of the state commander, David Akinremi.

He noted that it was important to immediately appoint a new state commander to oversee the agency’s activities and the need to recruit more capable personnel to strengthen the corps’ operations.

The lawmaker noted that this would help to tackle the incessant security breaches, especially kidnappings and armed robberies in some parts of the state.

Mr Tella said there had been reports that insufficient funds were hampering the agency’s operation.

He said the corps needed more personnel, who should be localised in the communities, as well as ammunition and vehicles.

Other members who contributed to the debate recounted incidents of insecurity, especially kidnappings in their respective constituencies, which needed to be addressed headlong.

The resolution also sought to equip the Amotekun Corps with modern ammunition, up-to-date communication gadgets, and other security apparatus and procure additional vehicles.

The debate later led to the motion for the resolution, moved by the majority leader, Yusuf Sheriff (APC-Ado Odo Ota 1), seconded by the minority leader, Adeleye Lukman (PDP -Odogbolu), and supported by the whole House.

The Ado Ekiti Division of the Ekiti High Court on Thursday sentenced 28-year-old Ayodeji Alomoge to death by hanging for killing his wife’s lover.

The convict was arraigned before Justice Jubril Aladejana in April 2023 on one count charge of murder.

Delivering judgment, Mr Aladejana said, ”To me, rivalry between men over the affection of a woman should not be grounds to justify provocation.

“I consequently find the defendant guilty of the murder charge against him and therefore convicted as charged.”

The judgment of this court upon you is that you, Ayodeji Alomoge, shall be hanged by the neck until you die.

“According to the charge, Mr Alomoge, on June 21, 2022, at Ikere-Ekiti within the court’s jurisdiction, did murder Ayomide Ogunleye for having an affair with his wife.

The police said the offence contravenes section 234 of the Criminal Law of Ekiti State, 2021.

In his statement to the police, the father of the deceased, Ige, said, ” My wife called me on the phone around 12:30 a.m. crying profusely.”

She told me that my son was attacked and beaten by Alomoge and his gang; I rushed down to the place where I met my son in a pool of blood.

I saw Alomoge and asked him the reason for his action; he said Ayomide has been having an affair with his wife, and he told me that he warned my son to stop or else he would kill him.

“I took him to a nearby hospital and later to the University Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Kwara, where he later died.”

To prove his case, the prosecutor, Kunle-Shina Adeyemo, called five witnesses and tendered the defendant’s statements, pictures of the deceased and medical report of the cause of death as exhibits.

The defendant spoke in his defence through his lawyer, Adeyinka Opaleke, who pleaded to the court to temper justice with mercy. He called no witness.

Kano State Fire Service says a fire has razed 37 shops at Zawaciki in Kumbotso LGA.

The spokesman for the service, Saminu Abdullahi, said the fire occurred about 1:37 a.m. on Wednesday.

Mr Abdullahi said, “We received a distress call at about 1:37 a.m. from one Malam Baba that there was a fire outbreak at Zawaciki.

“We quickly mobilised our personnel to the scene at about 1:47 a.m. and put out the fire so as not to spread to other shops.”

Mr Abdullahi said the 37 shops were on the ground floor of a multi-purpose building.

He added that the fire slightly damaged three other shops.

He said no life was lost, and the cause of the fire was being investigated.

An early morning fire on Monday razed some shops in the Nnamdi Azikwe and Docemo section of the Idumota Market in Lagos State, destroying goods worth millions of Naira.

The fire affected three buildings, including two two-storey structures and one three-storey building in the market popular for clothes, bags and shoes.

The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, LSFS, confirmed the incident on its X handle and said firefighters have been deployed to the scene to salvage the situation.

A statement by the Director, LSFRS, Margaret Adeseye, read: “The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service has been alerted to a fire emergency at the intersection of Nnamdi Azikiwe and Docemo in Idumota, Lagos. At 07:41 hours, the call was received, and emergency services swiftly mobilized.

“Upon arrival at 07:58 hours, it was discovered that the fire encompasses three buildings, including two 2-storey structures and one three-storey building.

“Currently, firefighting efforts are underway at the scene.

“The fire stations at Ebute Elefun, Ilupeju, and Alausa have deployed resources to mitigate the situation effectively as the firefighting operation is ongoing.”

Adeseye further stated that the cause of the fire is yet to be known, and no casualties have been recorded.

“The cause of the fire is yet to be determined, and investigations are ongoing. Casualties have not been confirmed at this time. We urge residents to cooperate with emergency personnel and avoid the area for their safety,” she said.

The Directorate of Road Traffic Services, DRTS, in the Federal Capital Terrritory, FCT, says its Special Task Team impounded 1,408 motor vehicles, 3,712 commercial motorcycles and 1,112 tricycles between January and December 2023.

DRTS Head of Public Relations and Enlightenment, Kalu Emetu, said the 3,712 commercial motorcycles impounded have been crushed while some of the vehicles were released to their owners after payment of fines and effecting necessary repairs.

He said that the agency generated more than N127.541 million in 2023 from fines paid into government coffers by owners of impounded vehicles and tricycles.

Emetu explained that motor vehicles impounded that were no longer road worthy were usually unbundled into scrap and handed over to their owners, to prevent them from being put back on the road.

He explained that destruction of the motorcycles and vehicles was in line with the FCT regulation on the ban on commercial motorcycles and unworthy vehicles within the city.

The spokesman added that by law, all the motorcycles impounded for violating traffic rules were automatically forfeited to the government.

A breakdown of the figures showed that 217 vehicles, 836 commercial motorcycles, and 298 tricycles were impounded between January and March 2023 across the FCT.

The DRTS also impounded 270 vehicles, 964 motorcycles, and 268 tricycles in the second quarter of the year under review, while 482 vehicles, 931 motorcycles, and 353 tricycles were impounded from July to September.

In the last quarter of the year, the DRTS data indicated that 425 vehicles, 832 commercial motorcycles and 186 tricycles were intercepted in the territory for various offenses.

Pelumi Nubi, a Nigerian lady, who embarked on a solo trip from London, the United Kingdom, to Lagos Nigeria, has been denied entry at the Sierra Leonean border.

Pelumi had on January 30, 2024, commenced the two month solo trip in a car.

However, updating her over 40,000 followers via her Instagram page on Tuesday, Pelumi explained that the country’s officials denied her entry, noting that “right-handed drives” are not allowed in Sierra Leone.

“Access was denied so close to the finish line and I’m facing a tide of challenges that feels relentless. Each border crossing, a battle against multiple red tapes. This time Sierra Leone, they don’t want my ‘right-hand’ drive car to come into their country.

“This is a call to all my virtual family, to send words of encouragement because your support truly means so much to me, and I hope they let me in. For now we are here waiting for some good news.”

After driving for nearly two months, Pelumi is scheduled to arrive in Lagos on March 23.

Nigeria’s Faith Usoro has won a gold medal in the women’s triple jump at the African Games 2023 in Accra, Ghana.

Usoro clinched the medal with a mark of 13.80m.

It was the elegant athlete first-ever African title.

She will also compete in the women’s long jump event.

In the shot put event, Chukwuebuka Enekwechi successfully defended his title.

Enekwechi won the gold medal with a throw of 21.06m.

In the men’s 100m, Usheoritse Itsekiri won silver after coming through in a time of 10.23s.

Olayinka Olajide clinched the bronze medal in the women’s 100m.

The quartet of Emmanuel Ojeli, Patience Okon-George, Sikiru Adeyemi and Omolara Ogunmakinju won gold in the mixed 4x400m relay.

The Minister of State, Federal Capital Territory, Dr Mariya Mahmoud, and the Mandate Secretary, Women Affairs Secretariat, FCT Administration, Dr Adedayo Benjamin-Laniyi, have promised women in the FCT accelerated economic progress.

They made the promise at a virtual side event during the celebration of the UN Commission on the Status of Women@68 in New York, U.S.A on Tuesday.

The side event tagged, “The Abuja Accelerator” with the theme, “Unifying Women for Global Impact,” was organised by the Office of the Mandate Secretary, Women Affairs Secretariat in collaboration with the UN Women.

The duo said that FCT women’s economic progress and full potential would be achieved under the Abuja Accelerator Programme, designed to invest in women to accelerate their progress through collaboration and partnership.

Mr Mahmoud reiterated the commitment of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, to advance women’s economic growth and unify their potential for national and global impact.

She described the theme as a powerful concept that underscored the potential for collaboration and solidarity among women worldwide.

The minister of state said that the Abuja Accelerator programme would serve as a beacon of ‘renewed hope,’ offering a platform for women to come together, share their experiences and amplify their voices for meaningful change.

She added that the programme embodied the spirit of empowerment and progress for FCT women from all walks of life.

She said, “It will provide a space where women from various backgrounds can converge, exchange ideas and strategise on how to address pressing issues facing women globally.

“The strength of the Abuja accelerator lies in its ability to foster collaboration among women, by bringing together individuals with different perspectives and expertise.

“The accelerator creates a fertile ground for innovation and collective action, through workshops, seminars and networking. Under the programme, participants will be equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to carry out positive change in their communities and beyond.’’

Mr Mahmoud added that the initiative equally served as a catalyst for advocacy and awareness creation that highlighted the achievements and challenges faced by women.

She expressed optimism that the programme would help to elevate the status of women in society and push for policies that promoted gender equality.

According to her, the Abuja Accelerator programme is a shining example of how women can come together to make a difference in the world.

She stated, “By preparing women for global impact, the accelerator is not only changing the lives of individual women, but also shaping a more inclusive and profitable future for all.”

On her part, Benjamin-Laniyi said that women in the FCT would be empowered through innovation, inspiration, collaboration and cooperation under the Abuja Accelerator Programme.

She said that the convergence in New York was to mobilise all and sundry to join ongoing efforts towards amplifying the voices of FCT women and to champion their cause.

She said that the programme was designed by her office, in line with the vision of the FCT Minister, Wike, and President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

According to her, the goal is to create a future where every woman will realise her full potential, because no one was left behind.

“The programme represents a platform for proffering solutions to global challenges – from climate change to sustainable development – solutions born out of our unique perspective and gender experiences.

“The Abuja Accelerator is our offering for collaboration. Invest your pilot project in Abuja, whatever it is, we are ready,” the mandate secretary said.

Also speaking, the UN Women Representative to Nigeria, Beatrice Eyong, described the FCTA’s efforts towards unifying women from all walks of life as a laudable initiative.

She commended the minister of state and the mandate secretary for always building partnerships and bringing women together to uplift their lives.

The United Nations Children’s Fund Staff Association, Kano Field Office on Tuesday donated medical equipment to Chiranchi Primary Health Care in the Kumbotso Local Government Area.

The chairperson of the staff association, Dr Saudat Basheer, said the gesture was to demonstrate their work for children as UNICEF staff.

Ms Basheer said, “The charity initiative is to show our love and concern for the well-being of women and children in Kano State. Chiranchi Primary Healthcare was selected, being the largest hospital providing medical services to the Kumbotso Community.’’

The chairperson added that the Chiranchi Primary Healthcare required equipment to improve the health of women and children, hence the need for the donation.

“As we hand over these equipment to you, we hope it will be utilised judiciously to meet the yearnings and aspirations of women and children,” she said.

Earlier, the Executive Secretary, Kano State Primary Health Care Management Board, Dr Nasir Mahmoud, had commended the UNICEF Staff Association for its gesture.

Mr Mahmoud, who described the intervention as timely, said that the equipment would go a long way in strengthening primary health care in the state.

He said that the PHC would commence 24-hour service to ensure quality healthcare delivery.

The Chairman, Ward Development Committee, Chiranchi PHC, Mr Sabi’u Ado, said the corporate social responsibility by the Kano field office staff association would uplift health care delivery.

He reiterated the committee’s dedication to ensure proper utilisation of the donated items, and urged residents of the community to contribute their quota by visiting the hospital for treatment.

He appealed to other organisations, companies and wealthy individuals to emulate the association.

The reports that items donated include paediatric weighing scale, tables, chairs, laboratory centrifuge, microscopy machine and hematocrit.

Others include extension of the laboratory slab (construction), nine delivery beds, 10 manual suction machines, 11 baby beds and 12 delivery kits.

A man has been given a two-year jail sentence for phoning in a false bomb threat at the home of Ireland’s minister for justice.

Michael Murray, 54, is already serving a prison term for rape, harassment and making death threats.

He will have the two-year sentence added to his current term.

Murray phoned in the bomb threat against Minister Helen McEntee from his cell in the Midlands Prison, Portlaoise.

Formerly of Seafield Road, Killiney, Dublin, he was found guilty of knowingly making a false report giving rise to an apprehension for the safety of someone else.

Murray had denied the charge.

His trial heard that on 7 March 2021 a call was made to the Samaritans by an anonymous male asking if they could take a message.

The caller then said it was the INLA and that explosives had been planted at the home of the minister for justice.

Gardaí (Irish police) attended Fine Gael politician Ms McEntee’s home but found no evidence of explosives.

The trail in Dublin heard that the call placed to the Samaritans had been traced to Murray’s prison cell.

A garda (Irish police) sergeant has been charged with the false imprisonment of a woman, perverting the course of justice and burglary.

Ciaran Whelan, with an address in Nenagh, County Tipperary, is accused of the false imprisonment of a woman at a property on Saint John’s Road West, Dublin, on 7 September 2021.

He appeared before Dublin District Court on Tuesday.

The Garda Anti-Corruption Unit has been carrying out an investigation into the activities of a particular Garda unit based in the Dublin region.

Since the start of this investigation four members of An Garda Síochána have been suspended from duty.

As this is an ongoing criminal investigation, An Garda Síochána said it will be making no further comment.

As part of the investigation, Ciaran Whelan is charged with seven offences alleged to have been committed between June and September 2021.

He was arrested at Irishtown Garda Station just before 10:00 local time on 11 March.

He is also charged with perverting the course of justice by making a false report to a superior on a date between 25 August 2021 and 15 September 2021 regarding a search carried out at a flat on Kenilworth Road in Dublin on 19 June 2021.

He also faces charges of theft at a flat on Kenilsworth Road on 19 June and at a flat on Mountjoy Square in Dublin on 7 September 2021.

Another charge states an alleged intent to pervert the course of justice by amending data on the Garda Pulse system on 27 September 2021.

Mr Whelan will now be sent forward for trial, after being remanded on bail to appear in court again on 17 May when a book of evidence will be served.

A second garda, Mark Duffy, with an address in Dublin, is accused of perverting the course of justice and burglary.

Luis Boa Morte will leave his role as Fulham first-team coach at the end of the season to take charge of Guinea-Bissau.

The 46-year-old Portuguese joined the Cottagers in 2021 when Marco Silva was appointed as the London club’s head coach.

The pair had previously worked together at Sporting Lisbon and Everton, while Boa Morte also played more than 150 games for Fulham between 2001 and 2007.

“Everyone at Fulham would like to thank Boa for his efforts since his return to the club, and wishes him the best of luck in this next chapter when he departs following our season finale away to Luton Town,” Fulham said in a statement, external.

Boa Morte’s role with the West African nation will be his first coaching position in international football and sees him take charge of a side ranked 118th in the world.

Nicknamed the African Wild Dogs, Guinea-Bissau have never qualified for the World Cup or progressed beyond the group stage of the Africa Cup of Nations in four previous attempts.

At this year’s Nations Cup in Ivory Coast, they lost all three of their games as they finished bottom of Group A.

Boa Morte’s only previous experience as a manager came at Portuguese fourth-tier side Sintrense between 2017 and 2018.

A forward with a strong left foot, he won the Premier League title with Arsenal in 1998 and also played for West Ham and Southampton, as well as having short spells in Greece and South Africa.

Boa Morte made 28 appearances for Portugal, scoring one goal.

The protest by tricycle and motorcycle riders in the Asaba and Okpanam areas of Delta State has taken a fatal dimension.

As at Tuesday morning, deaths recorded as a result of the protest has risen to four.

The chairman of the Building Material Market, Okpanam, and one of the okada riders, who were said to have been hit by police stray bullets during the protest on Monday, died early on Tuesday.

The commercial motorcyclists, during their protest on Monday, had said they were protesting the untimely death of their colleagues who were allegedly killed by the State Task Force on Sunday night.

Director-General of the Delta State Capital Territory Development Agency, Chief Patrick Ukah, while addressing the protesters, called for calm and appealed to residents for patience and cooperation to enable the state government deal with the issues that led to the rampage.

While sympathizing with the traders and riders over the deaths, he however condemned the action of the protesters, especially the wanton destruction and vandalisation of property at the Motorcycle and Tricycle Operators Association, COMTOA, Secretariat.

He said the agency was in touch with the Office of the SSG, the leadership of COMTOA, and representatives of the Arewa community, with a view to resolving issues that led to the protest.

The State Task Force was enforcing the ban on late-hour operations of tricycles and motorcycles in the capital territory.

The news of their death sparked another round of protest by the traders at the building material market.

The traders protested the death of their chairman, while the okada riders also joined to protest the death of their colleagues.

During the protest, commercial activities were grounded, shops closed and roads deserted, while some tricycles and motorcycles seen on the road were seized and set ablaze.

However, operatives of the Police Anti-Riot Squad were drafted to take control of Okpanam town.

Meanwhile, Delta State Police Command has arrested eight male suspects while 53 motorcycles were impounded during the riders protest.

Staff of the Defence Industries of Nigeria, DICON, in Kaduna State, have threatened to protest over the failure of the President Bola Tinubu-led government to pay the N35,000 wage award promised to them for six months.

The aggrieved workers expressed dismay at the government’s failure to fulfill its own promise despite the hardship currently being faced by Nigerians following the removal of the fuel subsidy.

Recall that Tinubu had announced in his October 2023 Independence Day speech that his administration would pay the sum of N35,000 to active workers and N25,000 to pensioners as wage awards pending the conclusion of negotiations on a new minimum wage.

Although the government commenced payment to active workers, the scheme was suspended before it resumed in December 2023 after pressure from organised labour.

Some staff of DICON, however, revealed that they had not received payment for any month since the program began in September 2023, while all other civil servants had been paid for all six months.

They called on the Federal Government to quickly resolve the issues causing delays in receiving their entitlements, stating that they are exhausted by the financial procedures at DICON, and they may soon express their frustration through protest.

One of the staff said, “We are aggrieved and may soon protest again over the several meetings between the Federal Government and the Nigerian Labour Congress, where the Federal Government stated that it has started and completed payment of the N35,000 wage award promised for six months.

“Till now, the staff of DICON have not received payment for any month since the program began in September 2023, while all other civil servants have been paid for all six months.

“We are also worried about the disappearance of our 2019 minimum wage arrears that have been cleared by the federal government. We believe that our management is presently seeking to gain time so that they can overlap the 2024 minimum wage arrears with the 2019 arrears, thereby completely misappropriating the staff’s allowance.

“We believe in the principles of justice and fairness that this administration stands for, with unwavering faith in Mr President’s anti-corruption crusade and the integrity of his government. We humbly employ you to lend us your assistance in this dire situation.

“We are hopeful that your intervention would make a world of difference in helping us retrieve our embezzled money from DICON management and restore a sense of financial security to the staff of DICON.

“We call on the Federal Government to swiftly resolve the issues causing delays in receiving our entitlements.

“We are exhausted by the financial procedures at DICON and also proffer a lasting solution to the common delay and day-to-day robbery of DICON staff by ensuring that DICON staff are enrolled in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), which most civil servants are on and which also helps the government ensure that the financial welfare of staff is not diverted.”

Lagos State Police Command has arraigned one Umaru Abdul before Magistrate Patrick Nwaka of the Yaba Chief Magistrates’ Court for pretending to be a military personnel.

The defendant was arraigned on three counts of conspiracy to impersonate, forgery of an official identification card, and impersonation by pretending to be a military personnel.

On January 11, 2024, Abdul pretended to be a member of the Nigerian Army by unlawfully wearing a Nigerian Army camouflage uniform.

Abdul was found with an identity card bearing the distinctive emblem of the Nigerian Army.

The ID card had the name tag “Abdul Umar” with the corporal rank.

He was arrested by the police in the Ijegun area of Lagos State and was arraigned at Yaba Chief Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

The prosecutor, DSP Thomas Nurudeen, informed the court that the defendant committed the alleged offences on January 11, 2024, adding that the alleged offences contravene Sections 411, 79(1)(a) and (b), and 78(a) and (b) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

The defendant’s uniform and fake identification card were admitted into evidence.

He pleaded guilty to the three charges levelled against him.

Magistrate Nwaka ordered that the defendant be remanded in police custody until April 17, 2024, for sentencing.

Two children have been burnt to death in Bauchi following a fire incident in their residence, the police said in a statement on Monday.

A statement by spokesperson for the Bauchi State Police Command, SP Ahmed Wakil, also said a suspected motorcycle thief was set ablaze by a mob at Magamar Gumau market, Toro Local Government Area of the state.

Mr Wakil said that the fire that claimed the lives of the siblings occurred on Sunday in the Madina area of Bauchi.

He said, “Upon receiving the distress call, a team of policemen attached to ‘C’ Divisional Police Headquarters rushed to the scene alongside the Federal Fire Service team.

After the incident, two girls, Zainab Bashir Mohammed, 8, and Ummu Salma Bashir Mohammed, 5, were trapped in the fire. As a result, the two siblings were burnt beyond recognition.’’

On the mob that killed the suspected motorcycle thief, he said that investigation had commenced with a view to arrest the perpetrators.

He warned that the command would not tolerate any act of jungle justice whereby people take the law into their hands.

“Anyone caught in such an act will not be spared,” he added.

According to him, by the time operatives attached to Toro Division arrived at the market, the suspect had been surrounded, beaten and set ablaze by the mob.

Mr Wakil added, “The body of the suspect was rushed to Toro General Hospital where it was certified dead by a medical doctor.’’

According to him, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Auwal Musa, has ordered discreet investigation into the matter and arrest of the culprits.

“The CP frowned at the action of the irate youths, who instead of taking the suspect to the nearest police station for proper investigation and prosecution, beat him to death without any recourse to the law. The CP described the act as barbaric and inimical to the laws governing the country. Nobody has the right to treat a suspect in such a barbaric manner, and it is wrong for anyone to assume the position of a law enforcement agency,” he added.

He therefore advised that henceforth suspects apprehended in connection with any crime be immediately handed over to the police or any law enforcement agency for investigation and prosecution.

Police in India have arrested five people after some international students were assaulted in a university hostel while offering Ramadan prayers.

Officials say a heated argument about the location of the prayers led to the physical attack in Gujarat University in western India on Saturday.

Police sources said five students were treated for injuries.

India’s foreign ministry said that the Gujarat government was taking “strict action” against the perpetrators.

GS Malik, the police commissioner of Ahmedabad city, told reporters that around two dozen people entered the hostel on Saturday night and objected to the students offering prayers, asking them to do so in a mosque.

“They argued over the issue, assaulting them and hurling stones. They also vandalised their rooms,” he said, adding that a team had been formed to investigate the case.

Another senior police official, Tarun Duggal, told BBC Gujarati that the names of the five arrested men are Hitesh Mewada, Bharat Patel, Shitij Pandey, Jitendra Patel and Sunil Dudhirua. They have not made any public statement while in police custody. He added that more people may be arrested soon.

Police have not confirmed whether the men are connected to any political or religious organisations.

Reporters from BBC Gujarati who visited the spot on Saturday said that they saw stones and broken vehicles at the scene.

Videos circulating online showed a mob raising Hindu religious slogans as they attacked the students, vandalised vehicles and pelted stones.

Three of the injured students have been discharged from hospital while two others are in a stable condition.

Navid Siddique, a student from Afghanistan who was injured in the attack, told the Times of India newspaper that he and other students were offering Taraweeh, a special nightly prayer occurring during Ramadan, when three people entered the hostel and began questioning them.

“An argument ensued and they returned with a larger mob armed with stones, iron pipes and attacked us. They went on a rampage in the hostel assaulting students in their rooms and damaging property and vehicles,” he told the newspaper.

Noman, another student from Afghanistan, told BBC Gujarati that similar incidents had happened before. “There is a lot of risk here for students from other countries,” he alleged.

Police say around 300 foreign students – many from Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and African countries – study at the university. Reports say the injured students were in India with scholarships from the federal government-backed Indian Council for Cultural Relations.

The BBC has emailed university officials for comment.

Dr Neerja A Gupta, vice-chancellor of Gujarat University, told reporters over the weekend that there had been tensions between the foreign students and the attackers for some time.

“As per the information available with me, this (prayers) is not the main issue,” she told reporters.

Dr Gupta said the foreign students would be shifted to new hostels with better security and facilities.

This is not the first time that tensions have played out over Muslims offering prayers in India. In 2021, Muslims offering namaz in public places in Gurgaon faced regular interruptions and protests from members of Hindu hard-line groups.

Earlier this month, a policeman in Delhi was suspended after he was caught on camera kicking Muslim men offering namaz on the side of a road.

Israeli forces have launched an overnight raid on al-Shifa hospital in Gaza, with reports of tanks and heavy gunfire at the facility.

An Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said the IDF was carrying out a “high precision operation in limited areas” of the hospital.

The IDF said “senior Hamas terrorists have regrouped” inside the hospital and are using it to launch attacks.

Eyewitnesses described a state of panic inside the complex in Gaza City.

“Tanks are surrounding us. We are hiding inside the tent. We hear tank fire in the vicinity of the compound,” one man said in a recorded call with his brother posted on a WhatsApp group and heard by the BBC.

Heavy gunfire could be heard around the hospital in unverified footage posted on social media.

In another voice message sent to journalists from inside the hospital Muhammad Al-Sayyid said: “The soldiers here inside the complex. There are dead and wounded, and the soldiers arrested some young men. The situation here is catastrophic.

“The IDF had not publicly signalled in advance that it was planning to launch a new operation at al-Shifa.

In a video message posted in the early hours, IDF chief spokesperson Rear Adm Daniel Hagari said the Israeli military was responding to “concrete intelligence which demanded immediate action”.

He said the hospital would be able to continue functioning during the raid and told patients and staff they did not have to evacuate.

Displaced people sheltering at the complex will be able to leave the hospital via an evacuation route, he said, before calling on Hamas to “surrender immediately”.

A statement from the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry called the operation a “flagrant violation of international humanitarian law”.

Hundreds of displaced Palestinians are sheltering at the hospital, which was raided by Israeli forces earlier in the conflict.

Al-Shifa hospital was Gaza’s main medical facility prior to the conflict, but its operations have been severely disrupted after months of fighting.

Hospitals have protected status during times of war under international humanitarian law – but they can lose that protection in limited circumstances if they are being used to commit an “act harmful to the enemy”.

Israel has long accused Hamas of using medical facilities as cover for its operations, which the Iranian-backed armed group denies.

The IDF said it found a network of tunnels under the hospital used by Hamas when it raided al-Shifa in November 2023, as well as weapons.

Israeli troops also carried out a major military operation on the grounds of Nasser Hospital – Gaza’s second biggest medical facility – in February.

Doctors told the BBC they were detained, blindfolded and beaten during the raid, reports which prompted the UK Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron to call for “answers from the Israelis”.

The IDF said it found weapons and evidence hostages had been held at the facility during its raid into Nasser Hospital.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza after Hamas gunmen killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel on 7 October and took 253 other people hostage.

Gaza’s health ministry says more than 31,300 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since then.

Authorities in the northern Chinese city of Handan have detained three teenage boys over the brutal death of their classmate, local media report.

The case of the 13-year-old boy, identified only by his surname Wang, has sparked anger and furious debate on juvenile crime.

Authorities found his remains buried in an abandoned vegetable garden.

The boy was bullied in school, according to his father.

Police are investigating the case as an intentional homicide, state-run Global Times said.

All three detained teens are under 14. Under Chinese law, those above 12 years of age but under 14 can face criminal prosecution only when allowed by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the country’s highest public prosecutor.

The victim and his classmates are “left-behind children”, a term used to describe kids in China who live with their grandparents in rural areas while their parents work in the cities.

The case has triggered an outpouring of grief on social media, with tens of thousands of posts on Weibo and Douyin over the weekend.

“The whole country is watching this case, hope the police can be fair and give the victim’s family a satisfying answer,” one user said in a comment on a post by the victim’s father, which got 50,000 likes.

Many in the comments said that the suspects should be punished harshly despite their age.

The victim went missing in the afternoon of 10 March, his father said in a video on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok.

The local government said the boy likely died on the same day.

“My child was still alive and kicking around 15:00 on 10 March… All his money was transferred from his phone at 16:10 and his phone was turned off,” the father said.

Before his death, the boy transferred 191 yuan ($17; £13) to one of his three classmates, the father told The Beijing News.

He had been “bullied by (his) three classmates for a long time”, said the family’s lawyer, Zang Fanqing, in a Weibo post on Monday.

Under questioning by authorities, the three led police to the boy’s body, after initially denying that they knew where it was buried.

Police are still investigating the motive for the killing, The Beijing News reported.

The Taliban has accused Pakistan of killing eight women and children in two overnight air strikes in Afghanistan.

Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesperson for the Taliban government, said the “reckless” strikes had hit homes near the border with Pakistan at about 03:00 local time (22:30 GMT).

Pakistan has yet to comment.But it comes after President Asif Ali Zardari vowed to “respond strongly” to the deaths of seven troops killed by unknown militants on Saturday.

Speaking at the funeral of two of the troops on Sunday, President Zardari added that retaliation would come “regardless of who it is or from which country” the group came from.

Saturday’s attack on the military post took place close to the Afghan border in north Waziristan. Pakistan says they were launched from Afghanistan – one of a rising number of attacks in recent months, according to its government.

A local government official – who asked to remain anonymous – told news agency AFP that Monday morning’s attacks on Khost and Paktika provinces were in retaliation for Saturday’s deaths.

But Mr Mujahid warned Pakistan not to “blame Afghanistan for the lack of control and problems in its own territory” in a statement released on X (formerly Twitter).

“Such incidents can have very bad consequences which will not be in Pakistan’s control,” he added.

He said the strikes had hit “civilian homes”, killing five women and three children.

Tensions have risen between Afghanistan and Pakistan since the Taliban retook control of the country in 2021.

Late last year, Pakistan forced hundreds of thousands of Afghans to leave Pakistan, saying they did not have the correct paperwork to stay. Human Rights groups criticised the policy, saying it resulted in many refugees and asylum seekers being coerced into leaving.

Caretaker ministers at the time suggested that this was done because of security concerns. Some analysts have suggested groups have taken advantage of the Taliban’s return, but the Taliban have denied hosting militant groups, AFP reports.