At least 32 people have been killed in a fire that tore through a drug rehabilitation centre in northern Iran, authorities have said.

The blaze erupted early on Friday in Langarud, a city in the Caspian Sea province of Gilan north of Tehran.

Esmail Sadeghi, a provincial chief justice, told local media that 16 others were taken to hospital.

Iran imposes a death penalty on repeat drug smugglers and dealers but runs a series of rehab programmes for addicts.

The cause of the fire was not immediately clear but Mr Sadeghi said an investigation “was under way”, according to local reports. The centre accommodated up to 40 people.

Isna, a semi-official Iranian news agency, shared footage of the fire which lit up the sky and sent huge plumes of smoke into the air.

Other images showed the heavily damaged site after the fire was contained.Iran is estimated to have the world’s highest per-capita number of opioid addicts and sits on a major smuggling route for opium grown in Afghanistan.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime’s world drug report this year said that Iran made 47% of the global heroin and morphine seizures originating from Afghanistan during 2020.

Amnesty International said in a June report that Iran had executed at least 173 people convicted of drug-related offences this year after “systematically unfair trials”.

The figure was nearly three times more than this time last year, the rights group added.

A Bollywood actress is set to receive an honorary doctorate in recognition of her contribution to the industry.

Preity G Zinta will be presented with the degree from Birmingham City University (BCU) in India next year.

The 48-year-old is also set to join West Midlands mayor Andy Street in the city on 4 and 5 November as part of Diwali celebrations.

Mr Street said he was “excited” she would lead celebrations, in her first UK appearance in more than a decade.

Her visit to Birmingham coincided with the city’s India Film Festival which closes on Friday.Ms Zinta’s forthcoming doctorate was a testament to her “remarkable contributions” to “Bollywood and her philanthropic endeavours”, Mr Street said.

“I am absolutely delighted to welcome Preity G Zinta to Birmingham and our vibrant region.

“Professor David Mba, vice chancellor of BCU, said he was “thrilled” and hoped to work with Ms Zinta to explore “exciting opportunities” spanning from Indian cinema to entrepreneurship.

“This is an exceptional moment for our dedicated staff, aspiring students, and for the dynamic city of Birmingham and the wider West Midlands region,” he said.

Ms Zinta, known for her work in Hindi films such as Veer Zara, made her acting debut in 1998 and is a former UNAIDS ambassador.

She said: “It’s a tremendous privilege to be receiving this honorary doctorate from BCU, especially given its strengths in business and media that chime so well with my own career.

“I’m very excited to be part of the Diwali celebrations in Birmingham and look forward to meeting all the wonderful people there, marking the Festival of Lights together.”

The Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Umo Eno, says the church has a huge role to play in nation-building and must, therefore, not stay aloof. Umo made the call recently in the Ago Area of Lagos State during the official dedication of the Sure Word Assembly Church’s new auditorium ‘The Megalife Cathedral’.

The ceremony also marked the 60th birthday anniversary of the church’s founder, Dr Dennis Inyang, and the presentation of his autobiography titled ‘Keep Moving’.

While speaking at the event, Eno said, “The church has the responsibility to model lives and be the vanguard of the society. I’m one of those who believe that the church must do more than we are doing now. People are contented when we are within the four walls of the church and we don’t get involved. I want the church to start getting involved.”

The governor added that the dedication of the cathedral was symbolic because it had become a place for molding lives.

Earlier, the celebrant, Inyang, said, “I am so excited because this is a celebration of the grace of God. That I have lived long enough to celebrate 60 years is an achievement. Some were born around the same time as me that are not alive today. I remember that six different times I have survived death. I could have died in any of those times but God is merciful to me and I am still alive. As I look at this beautiful edifice, I see it as the expression of the grace of God and our faith in God. We are so happy that friends came from far and near to rejoice with us,” he said.

Over seven communities in Delta State are living in fear as a result of a yawning gully erosion that has widened over the years.

At the moment, the residents of the Alibuba community in Agbor, Ika South Local Government Area of Delta State are apprehensive that more than 10 houses may cave in at the end of this year’s round of rains if the erosion issue is not tackled.

The Secretary of the community, Mr Clement Ihiale, told South South Punch that the situation is now worse and many houses may cave in.

He said, “We have been crying to the government over eight years when the gully erosion was not as big as it is now, but dem play a deaf ear.

“A few days before the governorship election, they brought caterpillar as if they wanted to commence work and deceived us to vote for them, few days immediately after the election, they carried the equipment out of the site, till now we have not seen them.

“We are begging the Federal Government and the state government to come to our aid, very soon, many of us will be relocating now that mostly night rain is at its worst.”

He said that many lives have been lost to the gully erosion, including two siblings of the Allibuba Primary School, aged 15 and 11 years respectively, who were swept away by flood in 2019.

Ashama and Ubulu-Uku communities in Aniocha South Local Government Area of the state and Okpanam in Oshimili North Local Government Area are also facing ecological challenges, with attendant losses of lives and property like houses or farmlands to gully erosion.

Speaking on the life-threatening erosion site, the state Commissioner for Environment, Mr Jamani Ejiro, said that the state is gradually intervening in some erosion sites.

Ejiro said, “As a state, we are collaborating with the World Bank through NEWMAP to intervene in some erosion sites in the state.

“You are aware that the state had intervened in Ukwu-Nzu, Obonkpa in Aniocha North area of the state and Owa-nta in Ika North-East.

“We are preparing to intervene in the Amacha erosion site in Okpanam, Vanguard area in Asaba and Jesse site in Ethiope West Local Government Area of the state.

“Last week, I was at the National Project Office, Abuja and I reported to Governor Sheriff Oborevweri the outcome of the meeting.

“I will visit the Alibuba erosion site on a spot assessment to see for myself before I brief the governor. He is a listening governor who means well for Delta State.

On ecological funds, the commissioner said that the state has not received any ecological funds from the Federal Government.

He explained that efforts are ongoing with his counterpart in other states to meet the Minister of Environment on the issue of ecological funds.

Reports have surfaced alleging that actor Amaechi Muonagor is paralysed.

The veteran Nollywood actor, in a video that surfaced on social media Friday, could be seen struggling to speak as he introduced himself with a brief explanation of his condition.

He said, “By the grace of God, a Nollywood actor. You are correct; I am sick.

“This thing that is called stroke. I was working, not driving. I was rushed to the hospital.

“I was first taken to a hospital in Nnewi, where I spent some two months before I was referred to a teaching hospital, and here I am now.”

I was on set with Patience Ozokwor, Pete Edochie, and Emeka Ani for seven months. It was when I was about to leave that I was struck with this, and since then, it’s been getting worse.

“Right now, I can not walk on my own.”

Real Madrid forward Rodrygo Goes has signed a new contract until 2028, the Spanish club said Thursday.

The Brazilian winger has agreed to extend his deal in the same week his compatriot Vinicius Junior also signed on at the Santiago Bernabeu until 2027.

“Real Madrid and Rodrygo have agreed the extension of the player’s contract, keeping him at the club until June 30, 2028,” said Madrid in a statement.

Rodrygo, 22, has struggled to hit top form this season but is a key player for Madrid, scoring a brace against Osasuna in May to win Los Blancos their first Copa del Rey trophy since 2014.

The attacker agreed to join Madrid in 2018 for 45 million euros ($48 million) from Santos in Brazil, arriving in the Spanish capital in the summer of 2019, a year after Vinicius.

Rodrygo has scored 39 goals in 179 appearances for Marid across all competitions, winning two La Liga titles and the Champions League in 2022 among other silverware.

Saudi Arabia is making another $13 million available to aid civilians in Gaza, King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) said on Thursday.

Saudi King Salman and Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman are donating the money themselves.

KSRelief, founded in 2015, works with UN organisations and says it has recipients in almost 100 countries.

Since the war broke out between Israel and Hamas, the UN emergency relief office OCHA has appealed for urgent financial aid amounting to $300 million.

The Senate has halted the proposed purchase of the N5.095 billion presidential yacht which was part of the expenditures in the 2023 supplementary budget submitted to the National Assembly for approval.

This followed condemnation from the public about the insensitivity of such a purchase amidst the unprecedented level of poverty and hardships among citizens as well as the country’s worsening economy.

The yacht, which accessories and other components had already been delivered to Nigeria, had not been fully paid after then-President Muhammadu Buhari approved its purchase.

It was among the committed obligations submitted by the office of the Chief of Naval Staff to the Ministry of Defence.

The total of the submitted naval requests was in excess of N200 billion, out of which not more than N62 billion was approved by Mr Tinubu.

The Senate Committee on Navy chaired by Gbenga Daniel, at a meeting with the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, on Thursday, re-evaluated the budget of the navy in the supplementary proposal by the president, and advised that the proposed purchase of the presidential yacht be expunged.

Instead, the committee proposed the replacement of the now expunged yacht proposal with critical equipment to support operational efforts against oil theft, bunkering and pipeline vandalisation, and thereafter, passed the revised supplementary budget.

The Nigerian Senate has passed the N2.17 trillion 2023 Supplementary Appropriation Bill, recently sent to it by President Bola Tinubu.

The passage followed the adoption of the report of the harmonised sittings of both chambers on the bill as submitted by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (APC Ogun West).

Recall that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration submitted an N2.1 trillion budget to the National Assembly after the Federal Executive Council approval on Monday.

Key components of the budget include N210bn for Wage Award for Civil Servants, N605 billion for National Security and Defence, N300 billion for maintenance of bridges, especially the Eko bridge, and N400 billion for cash transfer to vulnerable households, N200 billion for seed and agricultural inputs and equipment and N18 billion for Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct off-season elections.

Schitt’s Creek actress Emily Hampshire has apologised for dressing up as Johnny Depp and Amber Heard with a friend for Halloween.

Hampshire, 42, told her Instagram followers she was “sorry and ashamed”.

In a now-deleted post, Hampshire was seen styled as Depp, with drawn-on facial hair and tattoos, while her friend screwed up her face in mock distress as the actor’s ex-wife.

Former couple Depp and Heard both accused each other of domestic abuse.

Hampshire, who played Stevie Budd in sitcom Schitt’s Creek, described the costume as “one of the most thoughtless, insensitive, and ignorant things” she had ever done.

In the original post, the Canadian actress was seen wearing a pin-striped suit, with her hair slicked back. She was also holding a wine bottle – an apparent reference to details from the couple’s televised court case last year.

Hampshire went on to write that she was ashamed at having put “something that awful out into the universe” and said “domestic abuse is never, ever funny”.

Last year, Depp and Heard’s relationship was in the spotlight due to a US court case in which Depp accused his ex-wife of defamation over an article she wrote for the Washington Post.

In the 2018 opinion piece, Heard said she had lost work and received death threats after accusing her ex-husband of domestic abuse, and had “felt the full force of our culture’s wrath for women who speak out”.

Depp said the article implied he was violent towards Heard, and won the seven-week case against her.

Two years previously, Depp lost a similar case in the UK against the Sun newspaper, after the High Court said the content of an article which called him a “wife-beater” was “substantially true”.

Australian police arrested a woman early on Thursday in connection with the deaths of three people in August in a suspected mushroom poisoning.

Four people were taken to hospital on July 30 when they became ill after eating a meal at a home near Melbourne, in the state of Victoria.

Two women, aged 66 and 70, died in hospital on August 4, while a 70-year-old man died on August 5.

A second man was taken to hospital in critical condition and was only released on September 23.

Police said the 49-year-old woman was arrested at her home in Leongatha, near Melbourne and would be interviewed in relation to the incident.

“The investigation remains ongoing,” Victoria Police said in a statement.

In April, Victoria’s Department of Health released an advisory warning people that poisonous mushrooms, including Death Cap mushrooms and Yellow-staining mushrooms, were growing in the state.

“Unless you are an expert, do not pick and eat wild mushrooms in Victoria,” the department warned.

Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP-Kogi) on Thursday took the oath of office and allegiance as senator representing Kogi Central at the National Assembly.

The clerk of the Senate, Chinedu Akubueze, administered the oath to Ms Akpoti-Uduaghan.

This followed the judgement of the Appeal Court, which declared her as the winner of the February 25 parliamentary election.

The three-member panel, in a judgment, upheld the judgment of the state’s election petitions tribunal and dismissed the appeal filed by Abubakar Ohere of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Indians in Lagos have celebrated the ancient Dussehra Festival, which symbolises the victory of good over evil and the return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya.

Sanjay Srivastava, the president of the Overseas Friends of Bhartiya Janata Party, in a statement, said the festival was a celebration of the goddess Durga’s victory over demons.

According to Mr Srivastava, the event organised by OFBJP Nigeria had over 1,000 Indians participating on Tuesday.

He said the celebration did not only showcase Indians’ rich cultural heritage but also conveyed a powerful message about the importance of practising cultural values and leaving a lasting impression on the younger generation.

Mr Srivastava highlighted the commendable efforts of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in extending its outreach to the non-resident-Indian community.

He underscored the government’s dedication to restoring the spiritual glory of Bharat.

“As the festivities of Dussehra fade away, the OFBJP Nigeria extends warm greetings for the upcoming festival of lights, Diwali, to the Indian diaspora and the host community,” Mr Srivastava explained.

“May the light of Diwali bring happiness, prosperity and vanquish the devils from everyone’s lives. We appreciate the Geeta Ashram Trust Nigeria as they have proven to be perfect hosts, providing an ideal venue for this cultural extravaganza.”

Chandramauli Kern, the consul general of India in Lagos, addressed the audience and ceremoniously burnt the effigy of Ravana while also commending the festival’s organisers.

Pravin Kumar, the general secretary of OFBJP, thanked participants, parents, choreographers and sponsors, including Speciality, Daraju Group, Deekay and Omnic groups, Green Fuel, MM Tours, GBMT, Enjoy Food, Nature and Pepsi.

Kannyood actress, Hadiza Aliyu, known as Hadiza Gabon, on Wednesday dragged one Bala Musa, a civil servant, to a Magistrates’ court sitting at Daura road, Kaduna over alleged defamation of character.

The actress, who spoke through her counsel, Mr Mubarak Sani, said she had suffered negative reactions and comments from the public due to the defendant’s false allegations against her.

He added that people, especially on social media, called Aliyu a cheat who had refused to marry Musa after collecting his money, an allegation “which was proved to be false.”

The complainant’s counsel had presented a copy of the bank statement to the Shari’a court and told the court that some four persons were the recipients of the money claimed to have been sent to the defendant.

Two out of the four, Fatima Abdullahi and Abdullahi Yusuf claimed to be the defendant’s friend and personal assistant.

They pleaded guilty for impersonating the actress and receiving money in her name, praying the court to forgive them.

After a series of prayers by Murtala, to transfer the case to an Upper Sharia Court, the Judge then, Isiyaku Abdulrahman, on October 31, dismissed the case and discharged Aliyu.

He ordered the defendant counsel and his client to pay N500,000 to the actress for wasting her time.

About 7,000 foreign passport holders from 60 countries have left the Gaza Strip, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

The ministry invited representatives of foreign embassies to a meeting in Cairo to provide information about the documents required to be allowed into Egypt from the war-torn Palestinian territory.

It was unclear whether the 7,000 were only foreign nationals or also Palestinians with a second passport.

It is also unclear whether there are other foreigners in Gaza who do not want to leave.

Earlier on Wednesday, hundreds of foreign nationals and Palestinians with dual nationality left Gaza and entered Egypt for the first time since the war broke out between Israel and Hamas.

Some critically injured Palestinians were also transferred to Egypt through the Rafah crossing for treatment.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said on Wednesday night that they had received 55 more trucks of humanitarian aid, bringing the total to 272, yet still a trickle of what relief workers say is needed.

Israel sealed off the Gaza Strip and began pounding the densely populated area with airstrikes. They carried out a terrorist attack on Israeli communities on October 7 that left more than 1,400 people dead.

Some 240 others were taken hostage and held in Gaza.

The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza has said that 8,796 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began and 22,219 have been injured.

The British International Investment, the UK’s development finance institution, has announced a $26.5m commitment to AFEX, to address food security in Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda.

Addressing journalists in Lagos on Wednesday, the Chief Executive Officer of BII, Nick O’Donohoe, said that the investment would support structural improvement in Africa’s agricultural industry, which would significantly benefit smallholder farmers and lead to improvement in security.

According to O’Donohoe, AFEX currently has over 200 warehouses in Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda and serves over 450, 000 farmers.

“BII investment will be used to build 20 warehouses in strategic locations in Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda. Its capital will also scale warehouse technology and next-generation software that capture post-harvest pricing,” he added.

He maintained that smart storage solutions had the potential to preserve the lifespan of harvest crops and increase the volume of food available.

Donohoe claimed that additional warehouses would provide 230, 000 metric tonnes of storage capacity, enabling up to 200,000 more farmers to access low-cost storage and maximise sales from crop harvests.

He added that the move would help to increase farmer incomes by more than 200 percent.

“Supporting smallholder farmers to achieve a fair wage is vital to ensure they remain in operation, producing more and higher quality crops for local consumption.

“Agriculture in Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda accounts for a quarter of gross domestic product and employs 70 percent of their populations 80 percent of whom are smallholder and subsistence farmers.

Currently, farmers face a difficult financial outlook due to macroeconomic uncertainty, limited market access, and poor reliability of sales from crop harvests.

Yields have fallen, and farmers’ incomes are increasingly affected by price hikes of agricultural inputs and extreme weather events,” he declared .

He said that the capital would also be used to develop a soybean processing plant in Ibadan and a drying facility in Uganda.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has reviewed its guidelines on arrest, bail and processing of suspects.

The review premised on the need to adhere to the rule of law and international best practices in the treatment of suspects, was rolled out on Monday, October 31, 2023, across all its Commands.

The Commission disclosed this in a tweet posted on its X handle on Wednesday.The tweet read, “In the new guideline, premium attention is focused on the rights of suspects, especially where arrest, detention and bail issues are concerned.

“Operational activities are to be tailored towards relevant provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2011 and the EFCC’s Standard Operating Procedures, SOP.

“Specifically, operatives of the Commission are not allowed to demand professional certificates of sureties as a bail condition.

“Also, every demand for international passports of suspects would henceforth be exercised with discretion, depending on the nature of the case, personality and country of residence of the suspect.

Director, Legal and Prosecution Department of the EFCC, Commander of the EFCC, CE Sylvanus Tahir, SAN, cautioned that “bail conditions served on suspects must be reasonable and practicable to be fulfilled by suspects and their sureties.

“Detention of suspects without a Remand Warrant for unreasonable length of time beyond the constitutionally allowed period must henceforth stop forthwith”.

Officers of the Commission are also warned against unwarranted violations of the rights of suspects.

“Tahir called for professionalism in all operational activities, stressing that “it is time to have a paradigm shift and change the narrative. Henceforth, professionalism shall be the watchword. Let’s follow the best international standards worth our identity as a flagship law enforcement agency”.

Manchester United legend Sir Bobby Charlton died after suffering broken ribs during a fall at a care home, an inquest has heard.

Cheshire Coroners Court heard that the 86-year-old lost his balance as he stood up from a chair and struck a window sill and “possibly a radiator.”

Charlton was checked at the time and there were no visible injuries detected.But the staff later noticed swelling on his back.

Paramedics were invited to The Willows in Knutsford, Cheshire, where he had been receiving respite care since July.

A chest X-ray and CT scan revealed Charlton had fractured his ribs and was likely to develop pneumonia.

Doctors agreed that he should be put on end-of-life care at the hospital, the inquest heard.

He passed away on October 21, five days after his fall, at the age of 86.

Former Paris Saint-Germain winger, Jerome Rothen has claimed that Manchester City’s Erling Haaland deserved to win the 2023 Ballon d’Or over Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi.

Rothen insisted that it was shameful that Messi won the 2023 Ballon d’Or over Haaland.

Recall that Messi was announced the winner of this year’s Ballon d’Or in France earlier this week.

The Argentina captain beat Haaland and Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe to take home the prize.

Speaking on RMC Sport, Rothen believes the Ballon d’Or lacks credibility after Messi won it over Haaland.

“That is shameful. Of course, that is shameful. For me, it was Haaland who should have had it. From August 2022 to June 2023, what are the criteria that lead us to say that Leo Messi is above the others? There is almost no criterion where he comes number 1. If you tell me about the record, he’s inferior to Haaland even though he won the World Cup,” Rothen said.

“Haaland won everything with Manchester City. The guy wins everything and puts in more than 60 goals in the year.

“When Messi and Ronaldo did it, it was quite normal that they were number one or two. Messi scored about 20 goals for the club last year while the other scored 60. And I am told that this Golden Ball must be given credibility? But there is no longer any credibility.”