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Israeli planes bomb southern Lebanon after radio blasts

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By Walid Saleh and James Mackenzie

BEIRUT/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel bombed southern Lebanon on Thursday and said it had thwarted an Iranian-led assassination plot, a day after explosions of Hezbollah radios that came on the heels of blasts in booby trapped pagers, setting the foes hurtling towards war.

The sophisticated attacks on armed group Hezbollah’s communications equipment, which killed 37 people and wounded around 3,000 over two days, sowed disarray in Lebanon, with panicked residents abandoning their mobile phones.

“This isn’t a small matter, it’s war. Who can even secure their phone now? When I heard about what happened yesterday, I left my phone on my motorcycle and walked away,” said Mustafa Sibal on a street near central Beirut.

A distant roar in the skies could be heard in Beirut from what Lebanese state media said was Israeli jets breaking the sound barrier – a sound that has grown increasingly common in recent months.

Israel said its warplanes struck villages in southern Lebanon overnight, and a security source and Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV reported airstrikes near the border resumed on Thursday just after midday.

Hand-held radios used by Hezbollah detonated on Wednesday across Lebanon’s south. The Lebanese health minister raised the death toll, saying 25 people had been killed and 608 injured in the country’s deadliest day since cross-border fighting erupted between the militants and Israel in parallel with the Gaza war last year.

The previous day, hundreds of pagers – used by Hezbollah to evade mobile phone surveillance – exploded at once, killing 12 people including two children, and injuring more than 2,300.

In a post on X, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati called on the United Nations Security Council to take a firm stand to stop Israel’s “aggression” and “technological war” against his country.

Israel has not commented directly on the booby-trapped walkie-talkies and pagers, but multiple security sources have said the attacks were carried out by its spy agency Mossad.

Israel says its conflict with Hezbollah, like its war in Gaza against Palestinian militant group Hamas, is part of a wider regional confrontation with Iran, which sponsors both groups as well as armed movements in Syria, Yemen and Iraq.

On Thursday Israeli security forces announced that an Israeli businessman had been arrested last month after attending at least two meetings in Iran, where he discussed assassinating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the defence minister or the head of the Shin Bet spy agency.

Last week, Shin Bet uncovered what it said was a plot by Hezbollah to assassinate former Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon.

Israel has been accused of assassinations including a blast in Tehran that killed the leader of Hamas and another in a Beirut suburb that killed a senior Hezbollah commander within hours of each other in July.

Despite the events of the past few days, a spokesperson for the U.N. peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon said the situation along the frontier had “not changed much in terms of exchanges of fire between the parties”.

“There was an intensification last week. This week it is more or less the same. There are still exchanges of fire. It is still worrying, still concerning, and the rhetoric is high,” the spokesperson, Andrea Tenenti, told Reuters.

Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire across the Israeli-Lebanon border in parallel with the war Israel has waged in Gaza against Hamas, the Palestinian militant group whose fighters attacked Israel on Oct. 7.

Tens of thousands of people have had to flee the Israel-Lebanon border area on both sides. Netanyahu vowed on Wednesday to return the evacuated Israelis “securely to their homes”.

SHIFTING FOCUS

The Israeli military said its overnight air strikes hit Hezbollah targets in Chihine, Tayibe, Blida, Meiss El Jabal, Aitaroun and Kfarkela in southern Lebanon, as well as a Hezbollah weapons storage facility in the area of Khiam.

Israeli media reported that a number of Israeli civilians had been wounded by anti-tank missile fire from Lebanon, but there was no official confirmation.

On Wednesday, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said the war was moving into a new phase, with more resources and military units now being shifted to the northern border.

According to Israeli officials, the forces being deployed there include the 98th Division, an elite formation including commando and paratroop elements that has been fighting in Gaza.

Hezbollah launched missile barrages on Israel on the day after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, and since then there has been a constant exchange of fire that neither side has allowed to escalate into a full-scale war.

However, tens of thousands have been evacuated on both sides of the border, and there has been mounting pressure in Israel for the government to get the evacuees back home.

(Additional reporting by Tom Perry and Walid Saleh in BeirutWriting by Michael GeorgyEditing by Peter Graff)

Business

AEDC gives reason as darkness hits parts of Abuja

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Some parts of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, are currently experiencing electricity disruption.

Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, AEDC, confirmed the outage in a statement on its X account on Thursday.

According to the disco, the areas affected by the outage are Kajah estate, Navy estate, Mararaba Loko, Pyanko, Karshi, Gishiri, Lingu Crescent, Agape Hotel, Zenith Bank, FCDA Quarters, Polaris Bank, and Glov Regional Office.

The company said the power disruption was due to a technical fault on its feeder serving the affected locations.

AEDC said, “We regret to inform you that the power outage is due to a technical fault on the feeder serving these areas.

“Our dedicated technical team is working tirelessly to restore power as quickly aspossible.”

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Afenifere youths write Tinubu over alleged plot to stop crude supply to local refineries

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The Afenifere Youth Renewal Group (AYRG) has written President Bola Tibubu, expressing concern over an alleged plot to frustrate domestic refineries, including the Dangote Refinery, from meeting Nigeria’s PMS consumption demand.

The alleged plot, said to be masterminded by a cabal comprising petroleum importers and officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), involves a plan to obstructing the supply of crude oil to local refineries.

In a letter co-signed by Chief Semiu Oriade and Otunba Opeoluwa Ayeola, the President and Secretary General, respectively, AYRG warned that the planned obstruction could have severe economic implications for Nigeria.

According to the Afenifere youths, possible consequences of the plot include artificial scarcity of petroleum products, further astronomical hike in pump prices, and economic hardship for millions of Nigerians.

The group further warned that it would erode economic gains recorded under President Bola Tinubu’s leadership.

Praising the President for his reforms, including removal of subsidy, which it said has liberated the economy from the stranglehold of corrupt oil cartels, AYRG warned that economic saboteurs can derail the progress made by the administration.

Parts of the letter read, “We write not only as concerned citizens, but more as stakeholders who are deeply invested in the development, stability, and prosperity of our dear country. It is now abundantly evident that certain vested interests within the NNPC are actively and deliberately trying to thwart the excellent advancements of your administration by obstructing the supply of crude oil to local refineries,” the letter said.

“This insidious plot, if not urgently curtailed, has the potential to erode the significant economic gains recorded under your leadership and plunge Nigeria back into the dark era of crippling fuel importation.

“Since its inception, it is believed that your administration has demonstrated a strong commitment to breaking the chains of economic enslavement that have long held our dear country hostage.

“The audacious removal of the fuel subsidy; a long-standing albatross on the neck of our nation’s economy as for decades lined the pockets of a privileged few at the expense of national progress, is undoubtedly a landmark decision that signaled the dawn of economic liberation for Nigeria.

“Your efforts in dismantling this fraudulent subsidy regime has liberated our economy from the stranglehold of corrupt oil cartels who, under the guise of serving the nation, have siphoned trillions of naira into private coffers while keeping Nigeria dependent on imported petroleum products.

“However, it has come to our attention, through credible sources and observable patterns, that certain elements within the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), whose nefarious schemes were disrupted by your administration’s bold policies, are actively working to undermine the progress of your administration.

“These individuals, driven by selfish interests and a desire to maintain their stranglehold on the nation’s resources, are orchestrating a dangerous plot to halt the supply of crude oil to local refineries.

“Their ultimate goal is to force Nigeria back into the era of fuel importation, thereby paving the way for a return to exorbitant petrol prices, hyperinflation, and economic hardship for millions of Nigerians.

“We believe that the deliberate strangulation of crude supply to our local refineries is not just an economic crime; it is a direct assault on the sovereignty of Nigeria as a self-sustaining oil-producing nation.

“This country is abundantly blessed with crude oil reserves that should place us among the leading self-reliant petroleum producers in the world. Yet, due to years of systemic sabotage, corruption, and vested interests, Nigeria was forced to endure the humiliation of exporting crude oil only to buy it back at exorbitant prices as refined fuel.

“Your Excellency, we are heartened that your administration’s economic vision has come a long way in putting an end to this absurdity by reviving our refineries, ensuring local refining capacity is maximized, and cutting off the parasitic network of fuel importers who have, for decades, profited at the detriment of national prosperity.

“But rather than embrace the future of a self-sufficient Nigeria you are creating, these saboteurs, threatened by their loss of illicit profits, are hell-bent on reversing your policies by crippling local refining operations.

“Moreover, these individuals, who have long profited from the opaque and corrupt fuel subsidy regime, feel threatened by the removal of the subsidy. For decades, they have enriched themselves at the expense of the Nigerian people, siphoning billions of dollars meant for the development of our nation.”

The Afenifere Youth Renewal Group urged the President Tinubu to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the activities of the NNPC, and mandate uninterrupted supply of crude to local refineries.

It will be recalled that recently, there were reports that the NNPCL intends to adjust its crude allocation to Dangote Refinery following the coming onstream of the Warri and Port Harcourt refineries. The Port Harcourt and Warri refineries currently operate at a combined capacity of about 135,000 barrels per day.

Under the Federal Government’s naira-for-crude initiative, the NNPCL currently allocates 300,000 barrels of crude per day to Dangote Refinery.

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You won’t be free if forensic shows human blood in ‘Okite’ – Soludo to Anambra native doctors

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Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State, has disclosed that all confiscated ‘Okite’ boxes used by native doctors in the state would be subjected to forensic analysis.

Soludo said the owners of these Okite boxes would be free if no human blood is found in them after forensic analysis.

Speaking in Awka, Soludo warned of consequences if human blood is found in the boxes.

Over 30 suspected native doctors and pastors are under investigation as part of the state government’s efforts to restore law and order.

However, Soludo accused the native doctors of misleading young people with promises of supernatural protection for illegal activities, including drug trafficking, cyber fraud (Yahoo Yahoo), and kidnapping.

He said: “Many Okite are now in our custody, and the only thing that can save their owners is if forensic tests show no traces of human blood.

“They made Okite for these youths, assuring them they could pass security checkpoints undetected with hard drugs.

“But once caught, they end up in jail worldwide. When that failed, they turned to cyber fraud, and when that too failed, they became kidnappers in search of easy money.”

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