ISRAEL/GAZA

 

THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL HAS CALLED FOR AN “IMMEDIATE AND UNCONDITIONAL HUMANITARIAN CEASEFIRE” IN GAZA.

 

AN EMERGENCY SESSION BACKED A STATEMENT CALLING FOR A TRUCE OVER THE MUSLIM HOLIDAY OF EID AL-FITR “AND BEYOND”.

 

BOTH THE PALESTINIAN AND ISRAELI ENVOYS TO THE UN CRITICISED THE STATEMENT, FOR DIFFERENT REASONS.

 

GAZA HAD ITS QUIETEST NIGHT IN WEEKS AFTER A WEEKEND PUNCTUATED BY BRIEF TRUCE INITIATIVES OFFERED BY BOTH ISRAEL AND HAMAS.

 

MORE THAN 1,030 PALESTINIANS, MOSTLY CIVILIANS, AND 43 ISRAELI SOLDIERS AND TWO ISRAELI CIVILIANS HAVE BEEN KILLED.

 

 

LIBYA

 

AT LEAST THIRTY-EIGHT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KILLED IN CLASHES BETWEEN TROOPS LOYAL TO THE LIBYAN GOVERNMENT AND ISLAMIST FIGHTERS IN THE CITY OF BENGHAZI.

 

REPORTS SAY THE MILITANTS ATTACKED TROOPS IN THE CENTRE OF THE CITY, IN EASTERN LIBYA.

 

A WEEK OF FIGHTING IN THE CAPITAL TRIPOLI, NEAR THE AIRPORT, HAS LEFT 97 PEOPLE DEAD AND 404 INJURED.

 

LATER IT WAS REPORTED THAT A FUEL STORAGE SITE IN THE AREA HAD BEEN HIT BY A ROCKET AND FIRES THERE COULD CAUSE A DISASTER IF NOT KEPT UNDER CONTROL.

 

A STATEMENT BY THE PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE SAID THE GOVERNMENT WAS ASKING FOR INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE IN PUTTING OUT THE FLAMES.

 

JAPAN

 

A HIGH SCHOOL GIRL HAS BEEN ARRESTED ON SUSPICION OF KILLING AND DISMEMBERING A CLASSMATE.

 

JAPANESE POLICE SAY THE 15-YEAR-OLD WAS ARRESTED IN SASEBO CITY IN JAPAN’S SOUTHERN NAGASAKI DISTRICT.

 

THE GIRL WAS REPORTED TO HAVE BEATEN HER FRIEND, THEN STRANGLED HER AND SEVERED THE VICTIM’S HEAD.

 

INFORMATION HAS IT THAT HER BODY WAS FOUND IN THE APARTMENT OF THE SUSPECT, WHO WAS LIVING APART FROM HER PARENTS.

 

 

USA/FIRE

 

TWO FAST-MOVING WILDFIRES IN CALIFORNIA HAVE DESTROYED TEN HOMES AND HAVE FORCED THE EVACUATION OF HUNDREDS MORE.

 

IN THE SACRAMENTO REGION, A FIRE HAS SPREAD TO COVER AN AREA OF ABOUT 4,000 ACRES, WHILE ANOTHER BLAZE THREATENS HOMES AROUND YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK.

 

SEPARATELY A MAN IN HIS 20S DIED AND OTHERS WERE HURT IN A LIGHTNING STRIKE IN A RARE SUMMER STORM IN LOS ANGELES.

 

MOST OF THE VICTIMS WERE HIT ON A BEACH IN LOS ANGELES, HOWEVER ONE GOLFER WAS ALSO STRUCK ON NEARBY CATALINA ISLAND.

 

SOUTH KOREA

 

STUDENTS WHO SURVIVED SOUTH KOREA’S FERRY DISASTER HAVE BEGUN TESTIFYING AT THE TRIAL OF THE SHIP’S CREW.

 

THE STUDENTS ARE GIVING EVIDENCE AT A DISTRICT COURT NEAR THEIR HOMES, RATHER THAN AT THE ACTUAL TRIAL IN THE SOUTHERN CITY OF GWANGJU.

 

THE SEWOL FERRY SANK IN APRIL, KILLING 304 PEOPLE – MOSTLY TEENAGERS.

 

INVESTIGATORS SAY THE FERRY HAD BEEN ILLEGALLY MODIFIED TO CARRY MORE PASSENGERS AND CARGO, AND WAS OVERLOADED.

 

BUT PROSECUTORS SAY THE ACTIONS OF THE CAPTAIN AND CREW – INCLUDING INSTRUCTING PASSENGERS TO STAY IN THEIR CABINS AS THE SHIP LISTED – LED TO MORE DEATHS.

 

ARUBA

 

TOP VENEZUELAN OFFICIAL GENERAL HUGO CARVAJAL HAS BEEN RELEASED BY THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN ISLAND OF ARUBA, AFTER BEING DETAINED OVER US ACCUSATIONS OF DRUG-TRAFFICKING ACTIVITIES.

 

THE US TREASURY SAID HE HAD BEEN PROTECTING DRUG SHIPMENTS BY COLOMBIAN FARC REBELS.

 

BUT A JUDGE ON THE ISLAND SAID GENERAL CARVAJAL HAD A DIPLOMATIC PASSPORT AND THAT HIS ARREST WAS ILLEGAL.

 

 

GEN CARVAJAL WHO WAS HEAD OF VENEZUELA’S MILITARY INTELLIGENCE BETWEEN 2004 AND 2009 HAD BEEN APPOINTED BY THE COUNTRY AS ITS CONSUL IN ARUBA.

 

CAMEROON

 

THE CAMEROONIAN MILITARY SAYS MEMBERS OF THE MILITANT GROUP BOKO HARAM HAVE ABDUCTED THE WIFE OF THE COUNTRY’S DEPUTY DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AMADOU ALI IN THE NORTHERN CAMEROONIAN TOWN OF KOLOFATA.

 

MR ALI, WHO WAS BREAKING HIS FAST FOR THE ISLAMIC HOLY MONTH OF RAMADAN AT THE TIME OF THE ATTACK, MANAGED TO ESCAPE TO A NEIGHBOURING TOWN.

 

A LOCAL RELIGIOUS LEADER AND MAYOR WAS ALSO ABDUCTED FROM THE SAME TOWN.

 

BOKO HARAM HAS STEPPED UP CROSS-BORDER ATTACKS INTO CAMEROON IN RECENT WEEKS, AS THE ARMY WAS DEPLOYED TO THE REGION.

 

RUSSIA

 

A COURT BASED IN THE HAGUE HAS ORDERED RUSSIA TO PAY FIFTY BILLION IN DAMAGES TO FORMER SHAREHOLDERS IN THE DEFUNCT OIL PRODUCER YUKOS.

 

THE COURT OF ARBITRATION SAID RUSSIA MUST PAY THE COMPENSATION AFTER FINDING THAT IT FORCED THE COMPANY INTO BANKRUPTCY.

 

RUSSIA’S FOREIGN MINISTER SAID RUSSIA WOULD USE ALL AVAILABLE LEGAL POSSIBILITIES TO DEFEND ITS POSITION.

 

THE COMPANY WAS FORMERLY CONTROLLED BY MIKHAIL KHODORKOVSKY, WHO WAS AT ONE POINT RUSSIA’S RICHEST MAN.

 

 

 

MALAYSIA

 

UN HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF NAVI PILLAY SAYS THE DOWNING OF MALAYSIA AIRLINES JET MH17 IN EASTERN UKRAINE MAY CONSTITUTE A “WAR CRIME”.

 

UKRAINE AND WESTERN GOVERNMENTS BELIEVE PRO-RUSSIAN REBELS SHOT DOWN MH17, USING A MISSILE SYSTEM SUPPLIED BY RUSSIA.

 

MOSCOW AND THE REBELS HAVE BLAMED UKRAINIAN FORCES FOR THE PLANE CRASH.

 

MEANWHILE, THE UKRAINIAN ARMY IS TRYING TO TAKE CONTROL OF TWO MAIN ROADS, WHICH THE GOVERNMENT IN KIEV BELIEVES TO BE VITAL SUPPLY LINES FROM RUSSIA FOR REBEL FORCES IN DONETSK.

 

IN THE PAST 24 HOURS THERE HAS BEEN HEAVY SHELLING IN THE CITY OF HORLIVKA, WHERE SEVERAL CIVILIANS WERE KILLED.

 

ADAMAWA

AS ADAMAWA STATE ELECTORATE AWAITS THE YET-TO-BE ANNOUNCED DATE OF THE GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION BY THE INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION (INEC), A GROUP, DEMOCRATIC YOUNG PATRIOTS (DYP), IS ROOTING FOR THE FORMER MILITARY ADMINISTRATOR OF LAGOS STATE GENERAL BUBA MARWA, TO SUCCEED THE IMPEACHED GOVERNOR, MURTALA NYAKO AS THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE.

 

A STATEMENT BY THE ACTING NATIONAL COORDINATOR OF DYP, ARIYO-DARE ATOYE SAYS MARWA HAS WHAT IT TAKES TO REBUILD ADAMAWA STATE, AS WELL AS RESTORING PEACE IN THE NORTH-EAST.

 

THE STATEMENT ADDED THAT ADAMAWA HAD BEEN DENIED GOOD GOVERNANCE FOR SEVERAL YEARS AND IS CURRENTLY GROANING UNDER HEAVY FINANCIAL BURDEN INFLICTED ON IT BY THE IMMEDIATE PAST ADMINISTRATION OF NYAKO.

 

IT SAID THE STATE HAD BEEN IN THE NEWS FOR THE WRONG REASONS UNDER NYAKO AND THERE WAS AN URGENT NEED TO REDEEM IT.

THE STATEMENT NOTED THAT WITH MARWA, COMES AN ASTUTE ADMINISTRATIVE SKILL, POLISHED EXPERIENCED, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL CONNECTION  REQUIRED TO TURN AROUND THE FORTUNE OF THE STATE.

 

SPORTS

LIVERPOOL HAS MADE SOUTHAMPTON DEFENDER, DEJAN LOVREN THEIR FIFTH SUMMER SIGNING IN A DEAL WORTH TWENTY MILLION POUNDS.

 

THE TWENTY FIVE-YEAR-OLD CROATIA CENTRE-BACK JOINED THE CLUB ON A FOUR-YEAR CONTRACT AND IS THE THIRD SAINTS PLAYER TO MOVE TO ANFIELD DURING THIS TRANSFER WINDOW.

 

LOVREN HAD SPOKEN PUBLICLY ABOUT HIS WISH TO MAKE THE SWITCH AND FOLLOWS FORMER TEAM-MATES RICKIE LAMBERT AND ADAM LALLANA.

 

MEANWHILE, REDS BOSS, BRENDAN RODGERS HAS DISCLOSED THAT THE SIGNING IS A VERY IMPORTANT ONE FOR THE CLUB AS LOVREN WILL JOIN UP WITH THE SQUAD ON THEIR US TOUR.

 

 

MIMIKO/RAMADDAN
ONDO STATE GOVERNOR, DR OLUSEGUN MIMIKO HAS  URGED THE PEOPLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE  OPPORTUNITY OF A NEW BEGINNING BEING OFFERED BY THE CONCLUSION OF THE RAMADAN  FAST ,TO USHER IN A NEW ERA OF PEACE AND PROGRESS IN THE COUNTRY TO  ENABLE THE NATION BE THE BEST FOR ITS NUMEROUS DEPOSIT OF POTENTIALS.

 
 
DR MIMIKO IN HIS EID AL-FITR MESSAGE TO THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE CALLED FOR MORE DEDICATION TO THE NIGERIA PROJECT AND URGED ITS CITIZENS TO TAKE  ADVANTAGE OF THE JUST CONCLUDED HOLY MONTH OF RAMADAN TO USHER IN A NEW ERA INTO THE COUNTRY DEVOID OF CONFLICT, BLOOD LETTING AND EVERY TRACES OF EVIL.  

 

HE SAID THE LONG PERIOD OF SELF RESTRAINT AND SELF PURIFICATION WAS A GREAT SPIRITUAL EXERCISE THAT SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO COME AND GO IN VAIN.

WHILE CONGRATULATING MUSLIMS FOR THE SALLAH FESTIVITIES, MIMIKO CALLED ON NIGERIANS AS A WHOLE IRRESPECTIVE OF THEIR RELIGIOUS LEANING TO IMBIBE THE SPIRIT OF TOLERANCE, LOVE AND GOOD NEIGHBORLINESS AMONG THEMSELVES AS ENSHRINED IN THE HOLY BOOKS.

 

 

 

UNESCO

THE UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANISATION (UNESCO) HAS EMPHASIZED THE NEED FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO ADDRESS THE ISSUES OF OUT-OF-SCHOOL CHILDREN, YOUTH AND ADULT ILLITERACY.

 

UNESCO REGIONAL DIRECTOR, PROF. HASSANA ALIDOU WHO MADE THE STATEMENT NOTED THAT THE ISSUES, IF NOT PROPERLY ADDRESSED, HAD A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON INVESTMENTS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAD MADE IN LINE WITH ACHIEVING THE EDUCATION FOR ALL (EFA) GOALS 2015.

 

 ACCORDING TO THE ELEVENTH EFA GLOBAL MONITORING REPORT NIGERIA HAS THE WORLD’S LARGEST NUMBER OF 10.5 MILLION CHILDREN OUT OF SCHOOL AND WILL LIKELY BE OFF TRACK BY 2015.

 

THE REPORT ALSO NOTED THAT A KEY REASON LEVELS OF YOUTH LITERACY HAD REMAINED LOW WAS DUE TO PEOPLE’S LACK OF ACCESS TO QUALITY EDUCATION AND THE SLOW PACE IN THE EXPANSION OF SCHOOL SYSTEMS.

 

THE UNESCO REPRESENTATIVE, HOWEVER SAID THERE WAS A NEED FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO ENHANCE CAPACITY BUILDING AT THE STATE LEVELS TO TACKLE THE CHALLENGES TO QUALITY EDUCATION.

 

Prof. Hassana Alidou, the Regional Director, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), said on Sunday that fostering cultural diplomacy among countries would help Nigeria’s recovery of its stolen artifacts.

 

 

Alidou said this while speaking at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) forum in Abuja.

 

 

She said the role of the organisation in safeguarding cultural heritage and promoting the cultural and creative industries gave it the comparative advantage of providing platforms for dialogue.