Headlines
Iran’s 180 Missiles Killed One Person, Israel Confirms
Israel has confirmed that Iran fired 180 missiles into the country on Tuesday, adding that one person was confirmed dead from the attacks.
An AFP report stated as follows –
Everybody’s phone buzzed at once with an alert at around 19:30 local time.
It read: “You must enter a protected area immediately and remain there until further notice.”
The message was sent by the Israel Defence Forces’s Home Front Command and ended with the phrase “life-saving instructions”.
People began to head for shelter in safe rooms as missiles were launched towards Israel from Iran.
The sirens sounding across the country were heard by millions.
As the wail of the alarm rang outside, we moved to the shelter in the BBC’s Jerusalem Bureau – a secure part of the building with no windows.
We could hear frequent booms as missiles flew overhead and were intercepted by Israel’s defence system.
Videos captured here and elsewhere shared on social media showed streams of light as the missiles flew over Israel – and clouds of smoke as they were intercepted or detonated on impact.
“There’re loads of them,” a contact exclaimed in a video filmed in southern Israel that shows circles of light in the night sky.
At about 20:00, the IDF said its aerial defence array was identifying and intercepting the launches and called on people to “remain in a protected space until further notice”.
It continued: “The explosions you are hearing are from interceptions and fallen projectiles.”
Concern had been mounting across Israel as reports emerged early in the evening that Iran was preparing a strike.
It came hours after Israeli troops invaded Lebanon, in what its military calls a “limited, localised and targeted” ground operation against Hezbollah.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said it launched the missiles in retaliation for recent attacks that killed the leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas, as well as a senior Iranian commander.
As missiles flew overhead, messages streamed in from people in different parts of the country, waiting in their safe rooms.
“There’s a lot of alarms all the time, so we’re in the safe room… But we’re OK for now,” a mother of two in the south of Israel told me by voice note.
“Very, very scary. I still cannot believe this is our life… it was VERY close,” a message from a journalist in Tel Aviv said.
“Usually we stay on our floor and don’t go down to the shelter but this time…we realised we had to go down.”
“It was very loud,” lawyer Efrat Eldan Schechter says by WhatsApp message from Ra’anana in central Israel, adding that she believes “it is not the end for tonight”.
“We need to see how it will evolve. It is very scary indeed… but we are strong and confident that our IDF will protect us. Iran just made a huge mistake.”
About an hour after the first message, phones again vibrated with a new alert from the Home Front Command, telling people they could leave shelters and protected areas.
Following the strikes, the IDF spokesperson said there were some hits in central and southern Israel.
Videos later shared on social media showed damage from the missiles in multiple locations, including a large crater in the ground near Tel Aviv.
The Palestinian civil defence authority in the occupied West Bank city of Jericho said a man there died during the Iranian missile barrage.
According to the AFP, which spoke to city governor Hussein Hamayel, the victim was killed by falling rocket debris.
Israeli officials have not reported any serious injuries as a result of Tuesday’s air attacks.
“At this stage, we don’t identify more launches from Iran. Stay responsible and listen to instructions,” IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a televised address.
Israel says at least 180 missiles were fired, most of them intercepted. It has said there will be “consequences”.
By Eric Elezuo
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has been declared winner of the presidential primary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The declaration was made at the Trascorp Hilton Hotel, where the final collation of results was made.
The former Vice President polled a total of 1, 846, 370 votes to defeat his closest rival, former Governor of Rivers State, Hon Rotimi Amaechi, who scored just over 500 thousand votes. Alhaji Muhammed Hayatu-Deen came third.
Headlines
ADC Presidential Primary: Hayatu-Deen Alleges Rigging, Withdraws from Results Announcement
One of the presidential aspirants of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, says he will not attend the announcement of the party’s presidential primary election results, citing allegations of widespread vote rigging.
In a statement on his X handle on Tuesday, Hayatu-Deen expressed concern over reports of electoral irregularities from across the country.
The ADC aspirant noted that he witnessed some of the incidents.
“I will not be attending the announcement of the ADC Presidential Election Results today. I am concerned by reports from across the country of widespread vote rigging, some of which I myself observed, and will therefore be taking advice on my next steps,” the statement read.
The development comes amid keen competition for the ADC presidential ticket involving former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Minister of Transportation and former Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, and Hayatu-Deen.
The ADC presidential primary election collation exercise will take place in Abuja. Results are expected from across the nation.
Ahead of the nationwide presidential primary held on Monday, the ADC had urged aspirants, party leaders, delegates, and members to conduct themselves peacefully and uphold party unity.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, described the exercise as a defining moment for both the ADC and Nigerians seeking a credible political alternative.
According to him, the party remained committed to internal democracy and a transparent leadership selection process.
“The ADC remains proud to stand today as the only truly democratic party in Nigeria because it is the only political party whose choice of presidential candidate is determined through open primaries,” Abdullahi stated.
The party also stressed that the conduct of aspirants and party members during the exercise would reflect the leadership culture the ADC seeks to promote.
Headlines
You’re Not Different from APC, INEC, Amaechi Slams ADC, Rejects Presidential Primary Results
A former Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has rejected the results of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential primaries, alleging widespread voter disenfranchisement and electoral malpractice.
Amaechi, in a statement posted on his X handle on Tuesday, described the outcome of the exercise as “concocted results.”
He said he had earlier made it clear that he would only accept the outcome of the primaries if the process was free, fair and transparent.
“I will not accept results from a process that does not reflect the values that the ADC had pledged to uphold,” he said.
Amaechi alleged that about 80 percent of party members across the country were prevented from voting during the exercise.
“There’s no way that about eighty percent of members of the party were not allowed to vote, and you expect me to accept such results,” he stated.
The former Governor of Rivers State accused the party of engaging in practices it had previously condemned in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
According to him, the ADC cannot criticize vote buying, rigging and manipulation of election results by others while allegedly engaging in similar acts during its own primary.
Amaechi added that the development was unacceptable and contrary to the ideals upon which the party was founded.
