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Author: Cecilia Odey

  • Indonesia denounces Israel for labelling refugee agency as terrorist organisation

    Indonesia denounces Israel for labelling refugee agency as terrorist organisation

    Refugee

    Jakarta, June 5, 2024 (Xinhua/NAN) Indonesia has strongly denounced Israel’s decision to label the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) as a terrorist organisation through a bill approved by the country’s parliament.

    Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said on Wednesday.

    “Israel is trying to systematically weaken UNRWA by this labelling,’’ Marsudi said.

    Marsudi emphasised that Israel’s earlier charge, which was later found to be unfounded after an investigation, alleged that the UNRWA employees were involved in the attack on Oct. 7, 2023.

    Donor countries temporarily stopped providing funding to the agency as a result of this charge.

    According to Marsudi, Israel’s systematic weakening of the agency aim to erase the issue of Palestinian refugees, forcing them to remain in host countries without hope of returning to their homeland.

    Marsudi added that this weakening was consistent with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attempts to undermine the idea of a two-state solution and continue his attacks on Palestine. (Xinhua/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Cecilia Odey and Abiemwense Moru

     

     

  • China-Russia forum focuses on AI application in libraries

    China-Russia forum focuses on AI application in libraries

    Library

    Beijing, June 5, 2024 (Xinhua/NAN) The second China-Russia Library Forum, themed on the application of artificial intelligence in libraries, concluded in Beijing on Wednesday.

    In-depth exchanges and discussions on “professional libraries, document preservation and protection, social public service and smart libraries’’ were conducted during the two-day forum.

    The forum was co-hosted by the National Library of China and the Russian State Library.

    Digital transformation in the library sector is not a fad, but a necessary condition for success, said Vadim Duda, director general of the Russian State Library.

    Libraries are faced with more diversified and complex user information needs and reading service scenarios, which required us to think more deeply about how to use modern advanced technology.

    Chen Ying, deputy librarian of the National Library of China has said.

    The first China-Russia Library Forum was held in Moscow in July 2023. (Xinhua/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu

     

  • U.S. President Biden lands in France for state visit

    U.S. President Biden lands in France for state visit

    Arrival

    Paris, June 5, 2024 (dpa/NAN) U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday landed in France for a visit to meet European leaders and mark the D-Day landings.

    French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal received Biden at Paris Orly Airport.

    Biden is set to attend ceremonies in Normandy on Thursday to mark the Allied landings in Normandy 80 years ago during World War II.

    The arrival of the troops marked the start of the successful campaign to liberate Europe from Nazi Germany.

    On Friday, Biden is scheduled to give a speech in Normandy in defence of freedom and democracy.

    While on Saturday, the president will be welcomed by French President Emmanuel Macron as a state guest at the Élysée Palace in Paris.

    During his visit to France, Biden is also due to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Halima Sheji

     

     

     

  • Over 62 dead in Israeli attacks on central Gaza

    Over 62 dead in Israeli attacks on central Gaza

    Death

    Tel Aviv/Gaza, June 5, 2024 (dpa/NAN) Israeli attacked on central Gaza killed at least 62 people including women and children, according to medical sources in the Palestinian territory.

    The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said they were investigating.

    Earlier, the IDF said it began targeted operations al-Bureij in central Gaza and areas in the east of Deir al-Balah on Tuesday.

    The IDF carried out airstrikes targeting military compounds and Hamas weapons depots, as well as underground infrastructure belonging to Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

    “Several Hamas terrorists were eliminated in the attacks,’’ the IDF said.

    Israeli soldiers had previously been deployed in al-Bureij at the beginning of the year, but later withdrew from the area.

    However, Hamas is still present in the densely populated area, the IDF said.

    Residents of the two neighbouring refugee camps of al-Bureij and al-Maghazi said on Wednesday that they had been uninterrupted attacks in the area.

    They said the attacks had been throughout the night and that thousands of people had fled to the Nuseirat refugee camp nearby.

    The IDF also continued operations in Rafah in the south of the coastal region, saying armed men who posed a threat to Israeli soldiers were killed. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Tayo Ikujuni

  • Rain-triggered flooding maroons half a million in Bangladesh

    Rain-triggered flooding maroons thousands in Bangladesh

    Flooding

    Dhaka, June 5, 2024 (dpa/NAN) More than half a million people have been marooned after vast swathes of land were inundated in north-eastern Bangladesh.

    A district of Sylhet by sudden flooding triggered by heavy rain upstream, officials said on Friday.

    The government opened nearly 550 temporary shelters as the flooding affected some 533,202 residents in remote villages and townships in the district, according to the local administration.

    “We are trying to move the flood-affected people to safety,” said Sheikh Rasel Hasan, chief administrator of the district.

    He added that some 4,802 villagers were shifted to the shelters in the last couple of days.

    The Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) said the major rivers, Surma and Kushiyara were breaking their banks because of heavy rainfall in the hills across the border.

    “The major rivers in the north-eastern region of the country are in a rising trend, which may remain steady in the next 24 hours,” the BWDB said in its morning bulletin Friday.

    If there is no further rain and an onrush of waters from across the border, the situation may improve in seven days, Dipok Ranjan Das, a hydrologist in the district, said.

    He said there was no rain reported in Sylhet for Friday.

    A 10-day forecast for the overall nationwide situation by the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre said that water in the major Brahmanputra-Jamuna and Ganges-Padma river systems would continue to decrease.

    Natural calamities like flooding and cyclones are common in Bangladesh. A month-long flooding affected an estimated 7.2 million people in nine north-eastern districts in the monsoon of 2022.

    A tropical cyclone lashed the Bangladeshi coastline earlier this week, killing at least 13 people and damaging thousands of thatched houses alongside other infrastructure. (dpa/NAN) (www.nan.ng)
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    (Edited by Cecilia Odey/Emmanuel Yashim)

  • Flood situation in southern Germany remains tense

    Flood situation in southern Germany remains tense

    Food

    Nuremberg, June 5, 2024 (dpa/NAN) The flood situation in the southern German state of Bavaria remains tense.

    Even though the situation seems to be slowly easing in many places, there are fears that there could be more deaths due to several missing persons in addition to the five confirmed flood victims.

    The search for a missing fire-fighter in western Bavaria continues on Wednesday, the police said.

    The 22-year-old has not yet been found, said a police spokesman in Kempten.

    Police were to search for the missing man on land and with drones.

    The young man’s rescue boat had capsised in a water in Offingen on Saturday night.

    The police also said other four rescued workers on board were able to save themselves and remained unharmed.

    The the police spokesman said there was still hope that he would be found alive.

    “But the chances are getting a little slimmer by the day,” he said.

    Elsewhere in Bavaria, the water level is falling very slowly at a high level, a spokeswoman for the city of Regensburg said on Wednesday morning.

    The Flood Information Service (HND) said the level of the River Danube in the area was still over 6 metres, normally it is around 3 metres.

    On Tuesday evening, the emergency services evacuated around 30 houses along a road by the river because the subsoil was continuing to soften due to the high groundwater level.

    “The stabilisation of the protective walls would continue to be the focus of disaster control on Wednesday. That is our weak point,” the spokeswoman said.

    In Passau near the border with Austria and the Czech Republic, the water levels on the Danube and the River Inn slowly fell on Wednesday. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Salif Atojoko

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  • Bomb threat on Air Canada Delhi-Toronto flight turns out hoax

    Bomb threat on Air Canada Delhi-Toronto flight turns out hoax

    Threat

    New Delhi, June 5, 2024 (Xinhua/NAN) A bomb threat to Air Canada’s Toronto-bound flight turned out to be a hoax, local media reported on Wednesday.

    The international flight scheduled to take off Tuesday night from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport was taken to the isolation bay immediately after an email stating that a bomb had been planted on it.

    A thorough inspection was conducted and nothing suspicious was found, according to police.

    The incident was the latest among a series of hoax bomb threats that have been sent to schools, airports and hospitals in the national capital.

    Last week, a domestic flight was taken to an isolation bay under similar circumstances at the airport in the Indian capital but the scare turned out to be a hoax.

    Besides in Delhi, schools in Jaipur, Lucknow, Kanpur, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru have received similar threats. (Xinhua/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Sadiya Hamza

  • U.S. president tightens asylum rules for border with Mexico

    U.S. president tightens asylum rules for border with Mexico

    Asylum

    Washington, June 5, 2024 (dpa/NAN) U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday issued an executive order to ramp up measures to prevent asylum seekers from entering via the country’s border with Mexico.

    “I’m announcing actions to ban migrants who cross our southern border unlawfully from receiving asylum.

    “Migrants will be restricted from receiving asylum at our southern border unless they seek it after entering through an established lawful process,’’ Biden said in Washington.

    The U.S. president went on to say that asylum would still be available to those who try to enter the U.S. legally.

    “But if an individual chooses not to use our legal pathways, if they choose to come without permission and against the law, they’ll be restricted from receiving asylum and staying in the U.S

    “This ban will remain in place until the number of people trying to enter illegally is reduced to a level that our system can effectively manage,’’ Biden continued.

    The White House earlier in the day published a presidential decree according to which migrants could be denied the chance to claim asylum in certain circumstances.

    This was criticised by both human rights activists and Republicans.

    Those affected by the decree were to be deported at short notice if they do not explicitly request asylum.

    Those who did so would be subjected to stricter checks by border officials.

    Previously, most asylum seekers were generally allowed to stay in the country until their court date which is often years in the future due to overburdened authorities.

    Exceptions to Biden’s decree are to apply to unaccompanied children and people who were seriously ill, as well as victims of human trafficking, among others.

    The new regulation is set to apply as soon as the average number of illegal border crossings in a week exceeds 2,500 per day.

    The measures would then be dropped once the number falls below 1,500 again.

    As the number of daily entries is currently above the new threshold, the measures are set to come into force on Wednesday.

    Mexico is a transit country on the route taken by many Latin Americans fleeing from violence, poverty and political chaos at home trying to reach the U.S. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Halima Sheji

     

     

  • Australia drops court case against ‘X’ over church stabbing videos

    Australia drops court case against ‘X’ over church stabbing videos

    Court

    Sydney, June 5, 2024 (dpa/NAN) Australia’s internet watchdog has dropped a court case against Elon Musk’s social media platform ‘X’, eSafety commissioner Julie Inman-Grant said on Wednesday.

    Australia wanted to force ‘X’ to remove footage of a Sydney church stabbing from the platform.

    ‘X’ blocked the posts in Australia pending a legal challenge, before the Federal Court ordered the platform to temporarily hide the video for all users globally.

    Inman-Grant said in a statement a Federal Court case had now been abandoned.

    “Our sole goal and focus in issuing our removal notice was to prevent this extremely violent footage from going viral, potentially inciting further violence and inflicting more harm on the Australian community.

    “I stand by my investigators and the decisions eSafety made.

    “Most Australians accept this kind of graphic material should not be on broadcast television, which begs an obvious question.

    “The question of why it should be allowed to be distributed freely and accessible online 24/7 to anyone, including children,’’ she said.

    The case was seen as a test of Australia’s ability to have social media platforms comply with the country’s laws.

    ESafety remained committed to holding companies to account without fear or favour, ensuring they complied with the laws of Australia and prioritise the safety and wellbeing of all Australians, Inman-Grant said.

    “We will not waver from this commitment.’’

    A 16-year-old boy was charged with a terrorism offence after two people were injured in the alleged stabbing at the “Christ The Good Shepherd Church’’ in western Sydney on April 15.

    The church attack came days after six people were killed and dozens injured in a stabbing at a Sydney shopping centre. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Sadiya Hamza

  • German far-right AfD politician attacked with a knife in Mannheim

    German far-right AfD politician attacked with a knife in Mannheim

    Attack

    Mannheim (Germany), June 5, 2024 (dpa/NAN) A politician with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) was attacked with a knife in the western German city Mannheim late Tuesday evening, dpa has learned from security sources.

    The man was injured, as dpa learned on Wednesday, and the perpetrator was detained.

    The Mannheim police only confirmed that there had been a police operation, but said they would provide information in the morning.

    According to the AfD district association, the incident took place near the market square.

    The AfD candidate was stabbed after confronting someone who was stealing an electoral poster. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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    (Edited by Cecilia Odey/Emmanuel Yashim)