Pakistan has announced its willingness to stretch the stay of 1.45 million Afghan refugees by one more year.

The government said Wednesday it will extend the registration cards of the nearly 1.5 million Afghan refugees after a senior UN official appealed to the country to pause its deportation plan.

“The federal cabinet approved a one-year extension of the validity of POR (Proof of Registration) cards of 1.45 million Afghan refugees,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement at the end of a cabinet meeting on Wednesday

The office said the affected refugees’ PoR cards expired over a week ago, on June 30, but that extension has now been granted until June 30, 2025.

Afghans cherish their stay in Pakistan and are hurt when pushed out by their host country.

Quite a number of those asked to go are defiant, insisting they are not returning to Afghanistan.

The new lease of life for the Afghans in Pakistan is a product of a discussion on the status of the refugees between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the chief of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Filippo Grandi, who visited Pakistan days ago.

Pakistan has been a major host country for Afghan refugees since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.

There was a lull after a while, but a further influx started when the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan in August 2021, when an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 Afghans sought refuge in neighbouring Pakistan.

Troubled by the large number of refugees, Pakistan last year launched a repatriation programme to return millions of Afghans.

Government sources have it that Pakistan currently hosts nearly three million Afghans, out of whom almost 1.5 million hold a UNHCR Proof of Residence card and another 800,000 possess an Afghan Citizenship Card.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, will on Thursday, July 11, arraign a former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, before Justice J. K. Omotosho for alleged N33 billion money laundering offences.

According to an insider at the commission, Mamman would be arraigned on a 12-count charge bordering on conspiracy to commit money laundering and possession and use of known proceeds of criminal conduct.

The charge documents signed by the prosecution counsel, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, SAN, and others, read that counts 1-2 border on conspiracy to commit money laundering; counts 3-4 border on money laundering by cash payment in excess of the lawful limit;

count 5 borders on purchase of landed property with cash payment; while counts 6–12 border on possession and use of known proceeds of criminal conduct.

The investigation spanned from 2019 to 2022 when he was a minister under former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Yobe State Police Command has arrested Mallam Auwalu Haruna, a self-proclaimed marabout, for alleged abduction and impregnation of a 20-year-old lady.

According to the Command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Dungus Abdulkarim, the police recorded 34 cases of gender-based violence (GBV) and related crimes between January and June 2024, with 85% currently undergoing trial and a few convictions secured.

He stated that the latest incident came to light when the Tarmuwa Divisional Police Headquarters received a complaint from Alhaji Mohammed Kellu that his daughter had been abducted by Mallam Auwalu Haruna on June 6, 2024.

Following a thorough search, the victim was found in the suspect’s custody in Anguwan Arewa, Gaya LGA, Kano State.

A medical examination revealed that she was two months pregnant.

The victim disclosed that she was coerced into drinking a medicinal concoction, which rendered her unconscious and vulnerable to the perpetrator’s actions.

He added that the State CID has launched an investigation into the incident.

Members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU, and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities, NASU, Federal University Lokoja, FUL, staged a peaceful protest on Tuesday to demand the payment of their withheld four-month salaries by the Federal Government.

The two unions, while expressing their displeasure over the inability of the present administration to pay their outstanding salaries, vowed that they would not have any other option than to go on total strike if the Federal Government refused to meet their demands.

The protest, which was held at the main campus of the university in the Felele area of Lokoja, witnessed a large turnout of members of the two unions.

The protesting workers marched through the campus with placards bearing various inscriptions, calling on the Federal Government to release their withheld salaries and implement their other outstanding demands.

Addressing members, the chairman of SSANU, FUL branch, Comrade Adedeji Kazeem Suarau, called on the Federal Government to hasten the implementation of their demands to avoid a total breakdown of university education.

He said the withheld salaries were due to the implementation of the ‘No Work, No Pay’ policy of the government under former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Suarau said: “All the university unions went on strike in 2022 because the then President Muhammadu Buhari invoked the no-work, no-pay rule.”

He said when President Tinubu came on board, he pardoned and gave approval that the withheld salaries be paid, but to their dismay, their sister union, ASUU, members were paid while the other non-teaching staff were left out.

He said that after inquiries, SSANU and NASU were told that approval was still being expected but up until now, the Federal Government has refused to pay.

He said the promotion arrears of members of the two unions have also been lingering since 2018, saying some members were paid while many were left out.

“The economy is biting on our members as even the wage awards to cushion the effect of the removal of subsidy was not being paid, running into four months,” he said.

He urged the Federal Government to wake up to its responsibility by paying all their outstanding salaries and allowances.

An Ekiti State High Court sitting in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, has sentenced one Olukayode Dayo, a former officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to life imprisonment over an offence of rape.

The 39- year-old convict was arraigned before Justice Lekan Olatawura on May 13, 2022 on one count charge bordering on rape.

The charge reads that Olukayode Dayo on December 25, 2021 at Ado-Ekiti within the jurisdiction of Ado-Ekiti court did rape a 13-year-old girl names withheld.

According to the charge, the offence is contrary to section 31(2) of the Child’s Rights Law, Cap. C7, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012.

In his statement to the police, the victim said, “I lived with my grandmother. I was sent home to bring bananas and kolanut, on my way home, one man called Olukay (the defendant) crossed me with his motorcycle. He dropped the banana and kolanut on my head and carried me to a fenced uncompleted building.

“I shouted but he did not listen to me. He removed my pants and started having s*x with me. A passerby who heard my voice entered the compound. He then took to his heels on sighting the man. The man chased him but he was unable to catch him. He returned and took me to my grandmother and explained what happened to her.”

To prove his case, the prosecutor, Julius Ajibare called six witnesses and tendered the defendant’s statement, photographs of the victim and medical report as exhibits.

The defendant, who spoke in his own defence through his counsel, Oluwaseun Oyebanji, denied committing the offence.

But he pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy and he called no witness.

Delivering his judgment, Justice Lekan Olatawura said, in the event, the victim consistently, unequivocally and unshakingly stated that the defendant who was well known to her was the person who raped her.

“In all, I find proof beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant raped the 13- year-old girl on December 25, 2021 and consequent thereupon, I find him guilty as charged. Consequent upon the foregoing, the defendant is sentenced to life imprisonment,” the judge ruled.

Russia has strongly rejected claims of the country’s alleged attack on a children’s hospital in Kyiv, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

Mr Peskov said Russian strikes were carried out against critical infrastructure and military targets related to Ukraine’s military potential.

He denied any attacks on civilian targets and said a falling Ukrainian anti-missile struck the hospital.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that “many eyewitnesses and other sources ”have confirmed the hospital had been hit by a Western-made surface-to-air missile from the Ukrainian air defence system that went off course.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Telegram said the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv was hit by a Russian missile on Monday, adding that the strikes had killed 38 people and injured 190, according to preliminary information.

A Palestinian activist known for organising anti-Hamas protests in Gaza has been taken to hospital after an attack by a group of masked men.

Amin Abed, 35, was admitted in critical condition after being kidnapped near his home by five assailants on Monday afternoon.

A well-known activist, Mr Abed told the BBC: “I will not stop using my right to express my rejection of the 7 October attack.”

Public dissent against Hamas has grown in recent months as residents of Gaza grow angry at the huge toll inflicted on the enclave since the start of the war.

More than 38,240 people have been killed, including 50 in the past day, in Gaza, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry, since Israel began its offensive following Hamas’s unprecedented 7 October attack.
‘Armed with machetes’
Mr Abed described being kidnapped near his house by a group of five men who were armed with guns and machetes.

He was taken to a semi-demolished house, beaten, and called “an agent for Israel” and “a traitor”.

The leader of the group told Mr Abed’s assailants to break his fingers so he could not again write criticism of Hamas or “the heroic events of 7 October”.

After a group of passers-by attempted to intervene, the attackers fired shots into the air and told them to stay away, claiming they were from Hamas security forces.

Eventually, the assailants left and bystanders were able to take Mr Abed to a hospital.

Mr Abed is considered a popular figure. Before the war, had been arrested multiple times for speaking out against Hamas rule.

On Monday morning, Mr Abed wrote a long criticism of Hamas on Facebook, accusing the group of “dividing the Palestinian people” and “quashing their dream of a state”.

“We are tired, world,” he wrote, “we are really tired.”

Last week, in an interview with the BBC, he said: “[Hamas] has a lot of support among those outside Gaza’s border, who are sitting under air conditioners in their comfortable homes, who have not lost a child, a home, a future, a leg.”

Days earlier, he criticised Hamas in an interview with Saudi TV channel Al Arabiya. A clip from the interview was picked up on TikTok.

In 2019, Mr Abed helped organise protests over the state of Gaza’s economy.

Fatah, the ruling party in the West Bank and political rival of Hamas, released a statement on Monday condemning “the blatant assault on activist Amin Abed in Gaza”.

It did not name Hamas, but said the “de facto authorities in Gaza” had allowed “criminality” to spread in the enclave and held them fully responsible for Abed’s well-being.

Hamas violently ousted Fatah from the Gaza Strip in 2007, a year after winning national elections, reinforcing its power there and deepening a schism between the two dominant Palestinian groups.

Gaza’s Hamas-run police force has largely disappeared from the streets since the start of the war because of being targeted in Israeli air strikes, though the group remains the official authority in the territory.

The Osun State Police Command has intervened to resolve the recent masquerade crisis that erupted between Apomu and Ikoyi communities.

This was disclosed by the Command’s spokesperson, Yemisi Opalola in a statement made available to journalists on Tuesday in Osogbo.

The statement revealed that during the peace and security meeting which brought together leaders and representatives from both communities Monday, the Osun Commissioner of Police, CP Mohammed Umar Abba, urged both parties to settle their differences and work towards harmonious coexistence.

Those present at the peace meeting include Special Adviser to Governor Ademola Adeleke on Rural Water and Environmental Sanitation Agency, Lanre Odelade, chairmen of the two local government councils in the area, High Chiefs and leaders of the OPC from both communities.

CP Umar Abba also admonished both communities to shun violence in resolving their grievances, noting that communication and dialogue were keys to resolving conflict and building harmonious relationship.

“I want you to address your differences and work towards a harmonious coexistence.

“The two communities should shun any act of violence in resolving their grievance. Communication and dialogue are keys to resolving conflict and building harmonious relationship.”

One person died and houses were razed after the Egungun masquerade festival led to a clash between two communities – Ikoyi and Apomu in Isokan LGA of the state.

It was learnt that on Sunday, June 23, 2024, the masquerade festival which began the previous Thursday, June 20, in the two neighbouring communities on a very good note went awry and led to a brawl.

Also, it was learnt that some masqueraders who are also members of the Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, from Ikoyi, invaded Oja Oba area of Apomu during the Egungun festival.

Meanwhile, in their separate responses, the representatives from both communities appreciated CP Umar Abba and the Police officers serving in their communities for their prompt response in resolving the crisis.

They also promised to allow peace to reign and to continue to live in harmony.

The statement revealed that representatives of both communities were made to sign a peace accord after the meeting.

A Spanish tourist was trampled to death by an elephant after stepping out of his vehicle to take photos of a small herd at a renowned South African park, authorities said on Tuesday.

The 43-year-old man was attacked on Sunday morning at the Pilanesberg National Park, a tourist magnet about 200 kilometres (130 miles) northwest of Johannesburg, according to park officials.

The man, his fiancee and two women were driving their own vehicle within the reserve when they spotted three elephants and three calves, police said.

“Reports suggest that the man stopped the vehicle, alighted and went closer to the elephants to take pictures,” police spokesman Sabata Mokgwabone said.

“The elephants allegedly attacked and killed him.”

Pieter Nel, chief conservation officer at the North West province’s Parks and Tourism Board, said the matriarch of the herd attacked upon becoming “agitated” after seeing the tourist approach.

It is “normal behaviour” for elephants to try to “defend the young ones”, he added.

“Lots of tourists are oblivious to the dangers and do not realise how dangerous these animals can be,” he told AFP.

Nel and Mokgwabone said the man was from Spain.

His companions, all from Johannesburg, were unharmed, the police said, adding they had opened an investigation.

Elephant attacks are not uncommon in the region. In 2021 a suspected poacher was killed by elephants in South Africa’s world famous Kruger National Park.

And last year 50 people were killed and 85 injured by wild animals — mostly elephants — in neighbouring Zimbabwe, according to local authorities.

Pilanesberg and other South African parks tell visitors driving through the reserves to keep the windows closed and not to disembark from their vehicles.

No fewer than 121 suspects were arrested during police clampdown on suspected cultists planning to celebrate a cult programme tagged 7/7 Day Celebration in Benue and Plateau states.

The 7/7-Day Celebration is a cult-related activity where suspected members of the Aiye confraternity often initiate new members and which is often marred by violence and killings.

PUNCH Metro gathered from separate statements from the Benue and Plateau Police commands that the suspects were arrested at different locations in the states.

Parading some of the suspects at the Plateau State Police Headquarters in Jos on Monday, the Commissioner of Police, Emmanuel Adesina, noted that 118 suspects were arrested on July 7 for cult activities, being their day of celebration and initiation of new members.

He added that credible intelligence and collaboration with other security agencies led to the arrests made at different locations in the state.

The CP said, “The arrested cultists wanted to hold their engagements yesterday (Sunday, 7/7/2024) but the police were very proactive with other security agencies raiding their hideouts. Yesterday alone, a total number of 118 suspects were apprehended.

“From yesterday till today, the command did not allow them to operate anywhere. That is why there is no story of the cultists operating anywhere in Plateau State. They were picked up from different locations.”

Adesina concluded that the suspects would be paraded upon the conclusion of an ongoing investigation.

In Benue State, some youths were reported to have lined up a programme to mark what they described as the ‘AYIE Cultism Day celebration on Sunday, July 7, 2024, in the ancient town of Gboko.

Part of the activities lined up to celebrate the occasion, according to an intelligence report leaked to security men, was the initiation of new members.

It was gathered that some youths in collaboration with security men who worked on intelligence reports went from street to street to round up the suspects

A source, simply identified as Jiji Jack based in Gboko, told our correspondent that some volunteer youths collaborated with policemen to fish out the suspects who had gathered for the celebration.

Jack said, “Some volunteer youths based in the traditional seat of the Tiv nation, Gboko, joined forces with the security Joint Task Force to stop the planned celebrations of the worldwide cultism day, being 7/7/2024.

“The youths moved from one street to another to disperse a suspicious gathering of youths suspected to be celebrating the cultism day.

A youth leader in Gboko who did not want to be mentioned told PUNCH Metro that the reason they mobilised their members to comb the streets of Gboko and fish out suspected cultists was to avert anything that could disrupt the peace in the ancient town.

“It came to our notice that a group of criminally-minded individuals, particularly cultists who are members of a particular confraternity had concluded plans to celebrate the Cultism Day on July 7, the day popularly known as 7/7.

“And new members would be inducted, covenants would be renewed, and supremacy battles would occur, usually characterised by violence and bloodshed, a reason we are out to assist the security to fight against it.

“So, we passed the information to security men and joined hands with them and moved from street to street. Anywhere we found a gathering of youths, we dispersed them.”

He added, “We want our youths to be law-abiding and shun negative tendencies as well as violence to make Gboko peaceful. Security is everywhere and we, as youth groups are helping the security to see that nothing of such activities take place in Gboko.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer for the Benue State Command, Catherine Anene, said three suspects were nabbed.

“Three suspects were arrested in Gboko and investigation is ongoing,” Anene said in a terse statement.

There was a global outrage on Monday after Russian missiles killed at least 33 persons and injured 136 others in Ukraine.

Britain’s foreign minister David Lammy condemned the strike on a children’s hospital in Kyiv blamed on Russia as “an appalling attack on Ukrainian civilians.”

Lammy, appointed Britain’s top diplomat last Friday after Labour’s general election victory, added that “The United Kingdom’s support to Ukraine is iron-clad. We must hold those responsible for Putin’s illegal war to account.”

Russia struck cities across Ukraine with a missile barrage that killed three dozen people and ripped open the children’s hospital in Kyiv.

Dozens of volunteers including hospital staff and rescue workers dug through debris from the Okhmatdyt paediatric hospital in a desperate search for survivors after the rare day-time bombardment, AFP journalists on the scene saw.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia launched dozens of missiles toward five towns and cities in southern and eastern Ukraine as well as the capital.

Ukrainian officials said 33 people were killed and another 136 wounded in the wave of 38 missiles. Three more were killed by Russian fire in Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine.

The air force said air defence systems had downed 30 projectiles.

UN rights chief Volker Turk condemned the “abominable” Russian strikes, while the body’s chief Antonio Guterres said attacking medical facilities was “particularly shocking,” according to his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric.

The United States denounced “another savage missile attack on civilians,” while the European Union slammed Moscow for its “ruthless” actions.

France’s foreign ministry called the bombardment of a children’s hospital “barbaric” and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described the attack as “abhorrent.”

Kyiv said the children’s hospital had been struck by a Russian cruise missile with components produced in NATO member countries and announced a day of mourning in the capital.

AFP reports that Russia hit back claiming the extensive missile damage in Kyiv was caused by Ukrainian air defence systems.

Moscow said its forces had struck their “intended targets,” which it added were only defence industry and military installations.

Medical staff acted quickly to move patients and personnel to the facility’s basement after air raid sirens rang out over Kyiv on Monday.

“For some reason, we always thought that Okhmatdyt was protected,” said a 68-year-old hospital employee, identified simply as Nina.

“We were 100 percent sure that they would not hit here,” she told AFP, describing the frantic rush as staff moved children with IV drips to the bunker.

Officials said the attack had also damaged several residential buildings and an office block in Kyiv where AFP reporters saw cars on fire and shredded trees in charred courtyards.

Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, said three of its electrical substations had been destroyed or damaged in Kyiv. Russian strikes on electricity infrastructure have already halved Ukrainian generation capacity in recent weeks compared to one year ago.

Russian forces have repeatedly targeted the capital with massive barrages since invading Ukraine in February 2022, and the last major attack on Kyiv with drones and missiles was last month.

Kwara State University, Malete, has expelled 175 students of the institution for various offenses.

A statement by the Acting Director, University Relations, Dr Saeedat Aliyu, said the approval of the expulsion followed the recommendations of the Students’ Disciplinary Committee, SDC, which held sittings between October 2021 and March 2024.

The expelled students were penalized for offences ranging from examination malpractice, theft, using fake results to gain admission, assault, fraud, belonging to unregistered associations and possession of firearms.

The management reiterated its zero-tolerance for all acts of indiscipline, stating that the institution stands firm on producing graduates who are excellent both in character and in learning.

The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, has said the legislative arm is considering passing a law to curb the begging of alms on streets in the state.

Obasa said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on the sidelines of the launch of the Ibile Muslim Community Zakat and Sadaqah Foundation in Lagos.

The foundation was launched at an event sponsored by Lotus Bank in Lagos.

It aims to empower underprivileged Muslims and alleviate poverty by promoting Zakat, Sadaqah, and Waqf.

Obasa explained that the proposed law would empower the state government and foundations like the Ibile Muslim Community Zakat and Sadaqah Foundation to regulate aid soliciting.

According to him, the law will also ensure that donations reach the needy without them having to beg on the streets.

He noted that the rising number of beggars in Lagos necessitated the regulation.

“We are looking at how we can manage such situations to stop beggars from parading the streets of Lagos begging for alms.

“Following such legislation, anyone caught begging on the streets or aiding such, particularly among children, would also be sanctioned according to the law,” Obasa said.

Speaking on the foundation’s launch, Obasa highlighted the benefits of Zakat, which helps both payers and beneficiaries by eradicating poverty.

“It is important for anyone blessed by God to reach out to the underprivileged. This should start from the immediate family and extend to every other member of society.

“The essence is to make everyone equal, or at least to move people from poverty and make them feel comfortable,” he added.

The Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the foundation, Sheikh Sulayman Nolla, emphasised the foundation’s goal of unifying all Muslims in Lagos.

Nigerian football star, Kayode Olanrewaju, has slammed a ₦1 billion lawsuit on controversial UK-based Pastor, Tobi Adegboyega for emotional trauma, financial loss and loss of goodwill occasioned by his alleged adulterous affair with his wife Dora Ezinne Kayode, and asking the court for an official divorce.

The cross-petition marked Suit Number PET/304/2024, citing several allegations involving infidelity, financial misconduct, and a dramatic family fallout, was filed at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja.

Olanrewaju further alleged that Ezinne diverted significant funds and rental proceeds from properties he purchased, stressing that she is using them to sustain her extravagant lifestyle and her alleged relationship with Pastor Adegboyega.

According to the lawsuit, the plot included collusion with Ezinne’s alleged ex-lover, Ugochukwu Igboanugo, who helped her misappropriate property documents.

The footballer further accused Ezinne of abusing alcohol and living a life filled with late-night parties, which contributed to the deterioration of their marriage.

Olanrewaju, in his cross-petition, claimed that since their marriage in 2013, Ezinne has repeatedly committed adultery, including his earlier claim of an ongoing affair with Pastor Adegboyega.

He alleged that his wife’s relationship with Adegboyega has not been secret, with the pair seen openly attending parties and sharing intimate moments in public.

The footballer also alleged that Ezinne has had similar relations with other men, which has made it intolerable for him to continue living with her as husband.

Olanrewaju accused his estranged wife of undermining their joint business ventures. He stated how he incorporated DE-J-S Concept Ltd., intending it to be a vehicle for their investments. However, he alleged that Ezinne exploited this opportunity to siphon funds and benefit from the company’s assets, facilitated by her alleged ties with Ugochukwu Igboanugo.

The footballer mentioned emotional and financial tolls, trauma and losses incurred due to the alleged infidelity, financial misappropriation and misconduct, including the abrupt termination of his international football contract, driven by his need to address the crisis for seeking N1 billion in damages.

While seeking an official divorce, Olanrewaju said he was shocked when he got a credit alert from his father-in-law sometime in May 2024, indicating a refund of the Bride Price paid during their wedding.

He said Dora Ezinne later took to social media to declare herself traditionally free as her bride price was refunded.

Olanrewaju asked the court to dissolve his marriage with Ezinne and grant him custody of their children because his estranged wife could not be a good role model for the children of the marriage.

The suit has been adjourned to 24th September 2024 for a hearing.

The Nigerian Navy Ship, NNS, Delta has discovered two illegal refining sites with 45,000 litres of products suspected to be stolen crude oil in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta.

Navy Commander Patrick Ali, the Base Operations Officer (BOO), representing Commodore Abba Muhsin, Commander, NNS Delta, on Monday led naval personnel to the sites in the coastal communities of Ajasolor and Ogbukoko.

Addressing newsmen, Ali said that five metallic storage tanks, four ovens and five dugout pits were uncovered, adding that a suspect was apprehended with a wooden boat.

“Based on credible intelligence, the NNS Delta Gunboat team discovered illegal refining sites in Warri South Local Government Area.

“This is in line with the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS)’s mandate of the Operation Delta Sanity to end crude oil theft, illegal bunkering, pipeline vandalism and securing critical maritime assets.

“This is one of the series of actions in keeping Delta safe and secured,” he said.

Speaking on the uncovered illegal refining sites, he said that due process would be followed noting that the Nigerian Navy was environmentally friendly.

“You can see that the hoodlums set one of the dugout pits on fire and ran away thus causing environmental degradation. The Navy is environmentally friendly, we will follow due process,” he said.

Ali warned oil thieves and other criminals operating in the maritime space to desist or face the full wrath of the law.

He also said that the NNS Delta was determined to rid-off its areas of operations of crude oil theft and other forms of illegalities.

He, however, thanked all the agencies and individuals that had supported the efforts of the NNS Delta in achieving the feats.

Workers at South Korean tech giant Samsung began a three-day general strike over pay and benefits on Monday, the head of a union representing tens of thousands of employees told AFP, warning the action could impact memory chip production.

Samsung Electronics is the world’s largest memory chip maker and accounts for a significant chunk of the global output of high-end chips.

Wearing rain jackets and ribbons saying “fight with solidarity”, thousands of workers gathered outside the company’s foundry and semiconductor factory in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, an hour south of Seoul.

Samsung management has been locked in negotiations with the union since January, with the two sides failing to narrow differences on benefits and a rejected 5.1 per cent pay raise offer from the firm.

“The strike has started from today,” Son Woo-mok, head of the National Samsung Electronics Union, told AFP.

“Today’s general strike is just the beginning,” he added.

“Recalling why we are here, please do not come to work until July 10th and do not receive any business calls,” he told the crowd of workers.

The union said about 5,200 people from factory facilities, manufacturing and development had joined the protest.

“Do they still not think this will affect their production line?” said Lee Hyun-kuk, vice president of the union.

The union, which has more than 30,000 members, or more than a fifth of the company’s total workforce, announced the three-day general strike last week, saying it was a last resort after talks broke down.

The move follows a one-day walkout in June, the first such collective action at the company, which went decades without unionisation.

“We are now at a critical crossroads,” the union said in an appeal sent out to members last week, urging them to support the strike.

“This strike is the last card we can use,” it said, saying that workers at the company needed to “act as one”.

“I’m really excited,” one union member and protester told AFP. “We’re making history.”

Workers rejected the offer of a 5.1 per cent pay hike in March, with the union having previously outlined demands including improvements to annual leave and transparent performance-based bonuses.

Samsung declined a request for comment.

“While the ongoing strike is only scheduled for three days, the participating members include those working in chip assembly lines,” business professor Kim Dae-jong at Sejong University told AFP.

“Given that the union could carry out additional strikes in case the gridlock continues, it could pose a great risk to Samsung management amid its race for dominance in the competitive chips market.”

Five people, including two children, were killed when their vehicle hit a Russian mine in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region, the governor said on Monday.

“A car hit an enemy mine, killing a 53-year-old man, a 64-year-old woman, a 25-year-old woman, a five-year-old boy, and a three-month-old baby,” Governor Oleg Synyegubov wrote on social media.

The city of Kharkiv has been regularly targeted by Russian troops, who launched a major ground offensive in the region on May 10.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the offensive in Ukraine’s northeast was intended to create a “buffer zone” to protect Russia’s border Belgorod region from shelling.

Russian forces made their most significant territorial gains in 18 months during the first days of the major ground assault in the area, capturing several Ukrainian border villages and forcing thousands from their homes.

However, officials have said the thrust has since stalled in recent weeks, after Washington partially lifted restrictions on using US-donated weapons to strike inside Russia.

The Kaduna State Police Command has confirmed the kidnapping of two journalists and their families in Kaduna, at the Danhonu community in Millennium City, Kaduna on Saturday night

ASP Mansir Hassan, the state command spokesman, assured journalists that police had deployed operatives to the bush where the kidnappers were suspected to be hiding with the hostages, stressing that the operatives were trying their best to secure their release.

He confirmed the names of the victims are Abdulgafar Alabelewe, Chairman, Correspondents’ Chapel, Kaduna State, Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Council, and three of his family members, who were kidnapped at Danhono 2, Millennium City, Kaduna. Alabelewe is also the Correspondent of the Nation Newspaper.

Also taken hostage was the Correspondent of Blueprint Newspaper, Abdulraheem Aodo and his wife. However, wife of Aodu was released, yesterday morning due to ill health.

The President, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Chris Isiguzo, while reacting to the unfortunate incident, described the kidnap of the two journalists in such a barbaric manner is sad, unfortunate, totally condemnable and unacceptable.

He added, ” I have called on the security agencies, DSS, police, military to do all in their power to ensure that those journalists are rescued unharmed. Whether that is possible, I don’t know. I mean the aspect of not hurting them.”

He stated that from the story of the briefing he received, one of the journalists was beaten to stupor, saying that all they are praying is that they would be released to rejoin their families.

“You can imagine the trauma, the psychological effect on those little children, 10-year-old and eight-year-old,” he added.

He called on the government to do all that is necessary to get them out from the bandits, pointing out that one cannot leave sane people in the hands of such a level of insane characters.

The leader of a Kenyan doomsday cult, Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, has been sent to trial on charges of terrorism and deaths of more than 400 of his followers.

The self-proclaimed pastor appeared in court in the Indian Ocean port city of Mombasa along with 94 co-defendants on Monday.

Mackenzie was arrested in April 2023 for allegedly inciting his followers to starve to death in order to “meet Jesus”.

He and his co-accused also face charges of murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, and child torture and cruelty in separate cases.

It was reported that the remains of more than 440 people have been unearthed in a remote wilderness from the Indian Ocean coastal town of Malindi.

According to autopsies carried out on some of the bodies, it was revealed that while starvation appeared to be the main cause of death, some of the victims including children were strangled, beaten, or suffocated.

Previous court documents also said that some of the bodies had had their organs removed.

Reverend Father Mikah Suleiman, who was abducted from his rectory at Damba area of Gusau in Zamfara State on Saturday, has been released by his abductors.

The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Mathew Kukah, disclosed this in a video when he said: “surprise, surprise, I have with me a friend of mine, which I wish to introduce to you”.

Suleiman, in the video, thanked the people for their prayers and support towards his rescue and said by the grace of God, he is out of the hands of bandits and now in the Office of the National Special Adviser, NSA, with his brother Father Chike.

Mikah was abducted in the early hours of Saturday, June 22, in the Father’s Rectory in the Damba area of Gusau, the Zamfara State capital.

The cleric works under the Sokoto Catholic Diocese and is the Parish Priest of St. Raymond Catholic Church Damba, Gusau, Zamfara State, North-West Nigeria.