Headlines
Hezbollah Fires Drones at IDF, Kills Four Soldiers, Injures Many
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Four Israeli soldiers have been killed and more than 60 people injured in a Hezbollah drone attack on an army base in central-northern Israel, according to first responders and the Israeli military.
The incident late Sunday local time is one of the bloodiest attacks on Israel since the beginning of the war last October.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said an unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV, launched by Hezbollah hit an army base adjacent to Binyamina, a town north of Tel Aviv that lies some 40 miles from the Lebanese border.
The four killed soldiers were all 19 years old and in infantry training at the base, the IDF said, adding that eight other soldiers were severely injured.
According to Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service, a total of 61 people were wounded in the attack, with dozens still hospitalized.
The news comes after Hezbollah said Sunday it had fired a swarm of attack drones on an Israeli infantry training camp in Binyamina.
The Lebanon-based militant group said the attack was in response to deadly Israeli strikes in Lebanon Thursday.
Hezbollah said it had targeted the Golani Brigade, an infantry unit of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) that has been deployed in southern Lebanon. The claim of responsibility for the attack came shortly after the militant group released an audio message from its slain leader Hassan Nasrallah calling on its members to “defend your people, your family, your nation, your values and your dignity.”
Earlier on Sunday, the IDF said it had intercepted a Lebanon-launched UAV without specifying where. It was not immediately clear whether this was the same incident that led to the injuries.
Israeli air defence systems tend to be very reliable, but on Sunday, there were no reports of alerts in the Binyamina area at the time of the attack, raising questions of how the drone was able to penetrate so deep into the Israeli territory without being spotted.
Hezbollah said it had fired dozens of rockets toward the northern Israeli towns of Nahariya and Acre to engage Israel’s air defense systems, while simultaneously launching the drone swarm.
“These drones broke through the Israel defense radars without detection and reached its target at the training camp of the elite Golani Brigade in Binyamina,” Hezbollah said.
The IDF’s top spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the military would investigate how the drone got through without raising an alarm at the base.
“We will learn from and investigate the incident,” he said in a video statement from the base. “The threat of UAVs is a threat we are dealing with since the beginning of the war. We need an improvement to our defense,” he added.
Source: CNN
A United States-based policy advisory and lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, has alleged that Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, spent millions of dollars to prevent the release of records of his alleged drug trafficking case.
Von Batten-Montague-York made this allegation in a post on its verified X handle late Tuesday.
According to the firm, Tinubu’s claim that he was not attempting to block the release of the records is contradictory to the action of his own legal team in the ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case.
It accused Tinubu of having petitioned the court and consulted with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA, as part of efforts to prevent the records from being released.
“Despite claiming innocence, Tinubu has spent millions of dollars to ensure that his drug trafficking records are never released.
“The description of the underlying matter is merely a civil case. The involvement of US law-enforcement agencies in the records dispute demonstrated that the matter involved sensitive investigative material,” the firm said.
The latest allegation from the firm came against the backdrop of the ongoing legal battle over the release of records held by the US Department of Justice, DOJ, FBI and DEA, concerning historical investigations involving Tinubu.
United States District judge, Beryl Howell, had granted Donald Trump-appointed attorney, Jeanine Pirro, additional days to release the alleged drug-trafficking records.
Tinubu had joined the request of the US Department of Justice for a 10-day extension to respond to a motion seeking the release of records relating to allegations of drug trafficking.
Born on December 24, 1971, in the Mbeya Region, Dr Emmanuel John Nchimbi grew up in a family rooted in public service. His father, Mzee John Nchimbi, hailing from Songea District, served as an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) and Regional Police Commander for Mtwara.
Beyond his law enforcement career, the elder Nchimbi was actively involved in politics, serving two terms as a National Executive Committee (NEC) member for Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) through the armed forces wing and later as a CCM regional secretary.
Dr Nchimbi began his primary education at Oysterbay Primary School in Dar es Salaam from 1980 to 1986. He pursued his O-Level studies at Uru Secondary School (Form I to III) from 1987 to 1989 before transferring to Sangu Secondary School, where he completed Form IV in 1990.
He then moved to Forest Hill Secondary School in Mbeya for his A-Level education between 1991 and 1993.
Advancing to higher education, Dr Nchimbi earned an Advanced Diploma in Administration from the Institute of Development Management (IDM) Mzumbe in Morogoro between 1994 and 1997.
Upon graduating, his political trajectory accelerated rapidly: he was elected as a member of CCM’s National Executive Committee (NEC), and by 1998, he was elected Chairman of the CCM Youth Wing (Umoja wa Vijana wa Chama cha Mapinduzi – UVCCM).
Alongside his rising political responsibilities, Dr Nchimbi built a professional background in public service and academia. He worked at the National Environment Management Council (NEMC) from 1998 to 2003.
During this period, he pursued further studies, obtaining a Master of Business Administration (MBA) specialising in Banking and Finance from Mzumbe University between 2001 and 2003. He was later appointed District Commissioner for Bunda (2003–2005) and went on to complete a Doctorate (PhD) at Mzumbe University between 2008 and 2011.
He served in that capacity until October 2006, when he was reshuffled to serve as Deputy Minister for Labour, Employment, and Youth Development until February 2008. He subsequently served as Deputy Minister for Defence and National Service until November 2010.
Source: The Star
Headlines
Tinubu Orders Arrest, Suspension of Three Perm Secs As ICPC Uncovers Another Fake Govt Agency
President Bola Tinubu on Friday ordered the immediate arrest and suspension of three federal Permanent Secretaries over their alleged involvement in the operation of another fake agency uncovered by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
ICPC Chairman, Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu, who disclosed this to newsmen after briefing President Tinubu on the latest findings from the commission’s ongoing investigation into fictitious agencies and weaknesses in public sector processes named the affected Permanent Secretaries to include M S Danjuma, Engr Nadungu Gagare, and Richard Pheelangwah.
The Commision’s latest discovery is coming barely few weeks after exposing the fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).
According to Aliyu, the newly uncovered entity, operating as National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office, had allegedly secured office accommodation within the premises of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) without authorisation from the President.
The discovery, he said, was made during the broader investigation into the PFIPC, which President Tinubu had directed the ICPC to undertake.
The fake agency, according to ICPC boss, was promoted by Prince George Buchi Nwabueze, who allegedly operated under several variations of his name, including George Nathan Nwabueze, Honourable George Buchi Nwabueze, Prince George Buchi Nwabueze and George Buchi Nwabueze.
Aliyu disclosed that the commission was engaging relevant officials in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to establish how the purported agency came to operate from government premises and to obtain other vital information required for the investigation.
“I have briefed Mr President comprehensively on these new developments. ICPC will continue with its investigation,” he said.
Following the fresh findings, Aliyu said President Tinubu had directed the immediate arrest of Prince George Buchi Nwabueze, as well as the immediate suspension of the three named permanent secretaries.
The commission is expected to establish the roles played by the suspended officials and other individuals in the emergence and operation of the purported agency.
Aliyu said the latest discovery underscored the need for tighter controls and greater scrutiny of government institutions and internal administrative processes.
He commended President Tinubu for ordering a wider policy audit of federal agencies and government processes, describing the initiative as a proactive measure to strengthen the governance system.
His said: “President Bola Tinubu must be commended for the proactive step of directing the policy audit of MDAs and internal government processes towards strengthening government governance system.”
The latest development has widened the scope of the ICPC’s investigation into the proliferation of fictitious government entities and alleged exploitation of official structures by individuals seeking to create the impression of government authority.
The commission’s investigation into the PFIPC was initiated after the purported agency came under scrutiny, with the President subsequently directing the ICPC to unravel those behind its operations and determine whether public officials facilitated its activities.
With the discovery of another purported agency operating from government premises, the ICPC probe is now expected to examine broader institutional weaknesses that may have enabled unauthorised entities to gain access to federal government facilities and present themselves as legitimate government bodies.
