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Spain dreads more flood deaths as more rain expected

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Spanish rescuers plunged into inundated garages to find bodies on Monday, a day after furious crowds heckled and hurled mud at the king and the prime minister following devastating floods.

The toll stands at 217 dead — almost all in the eastern Valencia region — and Spain dreaded the discovery of more corpses in its worst such disaster in decades.

National weather service AEMET announced the end of the emergency for Valencia but placed part of the northeastern Catalonia region on the highest red alert for torrential rain on Monday.

Catalan trains were suspended until further notice, Transport Minister Oscar Puente announced on X, while flights were delayed and diverted at Barcelona’s El Prat airport.

The country grappled with the aftermath of an extraordinary outburst of popular anger directed at King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

The Civil Guard has opened an investigation into the chaos in the ground-zero town of Paiporta that cut short their visit on Sunday, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told public broadcaster TVE.

He blamed “marginal groups” for instigating the violence where mud spattered the monarchs’ face and clothes and broke a window of Sanchez’s car.

Organising the visit was “a collective mistake” as fringe groups hijacked raw emotions to endanger the royals, Sanchez and Valencia region leader Carlos Mazon, Puente told television channel La Sexta on Sunday.

The incident underscored growing anger at the authorities’ preparation for and response to the catastrophe.

Experts have questioned the warning systems that failed to alert the population in time and the speed of the response.

– ‘We were abandoned’ –

Thousands of soldiers, police officers, civil guards and firefighters spent a sixth day distributing aid and clearing mud and debris to find bodies.

But relief works only reached some towns days after the disaster and in many cases volunteers were the first to provide food, water, sanitation and cleaning equipment.

“We shouldn’t romanticise it: the people saved the people because we were abandoned,” said Jorge, a resident of the town of Chiva where the royals cancelled their visit on Sunday.

The applause should be for the volunteers, not “those who come just to take a picture and show off”, the 25-year-old told AFP.

Divers on Monday concentrated their search for missing bodies in garages and a multi-storey car park in the town of Aldaia capable of holding thousands of vehicles.

The storm caught many victims in their vehicles on roads and in underground spaces such as car parks, tunnels and garages where rescue operations are particularly difficult.

Local authorities extended travel restrictions for another two days to facilitate the work of the emergency services, cancelled classes in Valencia and urged citizens to work from home.

Storms coming off the Mediterranean are common for the season. But scientists have warned human-induced climate change is increasing the ferocity, length and frequency of extreme weather events.

“Politicians haven’t acted on climate change, and now we’re paying the consequences of their inaction,” environmental activist Emi, 21, told AFP in Chiva.

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Man confesses to po!soning his mother, grandmother, sister and niece to d3ath for money ritual@l in Enugu

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Man confesses to po!soning his mother, grandmother, sister and niece to d3ath for money ritual@l in Enugu
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A young man identified as Anaegbuachara, has allegedly confessed to k!lling his mother, grandmother, sister and niece for money ritu@l purpose in Amaeze village, Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State.

The suspect, who made the confession on Monday, November 25, 2024, said he k!lled the victims with poison-laced food.

Ekwutosblog had reported that that the incident occurred on Sunday, September 1, 2024.

The victims had shared a meal the previous night before going to bed.

The woman identified as Mama Chijioke Amaeze, had brought her ailing mother to her home and had been caring for her before the incident.

Enugu media personality, who reported the earlier case, said the suspect confessed to committing the crime as instructed by a native doctor that lives in Agbani area of Nsukka but hails from Kogi State.

He claimed that his friend identified simply as ‘Morroco, connected him to the native doctor, who prepared the poison for him.

According to the suspect, the native doctor instructed him to sacrifice his mother in exchange for wealth.

However, his sister and her too children visited their mother and also ate the poisoned food.

“He was instructed to poison and kîll his mother only and that same day he was instructed to carry out the devlîsh act the grandma, sister and 2 sister’s child visited and they all ate the food he poisoned together that’s how they all d!ed,” Chijinkem Ugwuanyi wrote.

“The only surviving one among them is a kid of around 9yrs and he was taken to hospital but since then he is mentally unstable and indirectly running mâd at the moment.

“He confessed to the crime yesterday and asked for forgiveness.”

A video he posted shows the suspected being paraded around the community before he was taken to his mother’s tomb where he knelt to beg for her forgiveness.

It was gathered that the native doctor has been arrested.

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Ukraine braces for the worse

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Ukraine is bracing for the worst ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January.

The billionaire, who has promised to end the conflict between Ukraine and Russia “within 24 hours,” has threatened to halt U.S. military support to Kyiv if Ukraine refuses to negotiate peace with its adversary.

“We’re getting ready for the worst-case scenario, when [Trump] stops all the supplies,” Lieutenant General Ihor Romanenko, former deputy head of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, told Al Jazeera.

Trump’s peace plan remains vague for now, but some experts speculate it could involve allowing Russia to keep the Ukrainian territories it has occupied, which amount to 19% of Ukraine’s land.

If Kyiv refuses to engage in peace talks, Donald Trump has vowed to cut military aid. However, he has also suggested he might supply Ukraine with better weapons if Moscow rejects peace negotiations.

Despite these threats, Ukraine anticipates that Trump’s stance may shift depending on how the conflict evolves.

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Yahaya Bello Pleads Not Guilty on 16-Count Charge Before FCT High Court.

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Yahaya Bello Pleads Not Guilty on 16-Count Charge Before FCT High Court.
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Yahaya Bello Pleads Not Guilty on 16-Count Charge Before FCT High Court.

Former Governor of Kogi state Yahaya Bello has entered a plea of not guilty to a 16 count charge preferred against him by the Economic and Financial crimes commission when he was arraigned before the FCT High Court in Abuja.

Judiciary correspondent Austin Anyebe reports that the Alleged charges include misappropriation and misuse of public funds including acquiring multiple high value properties in Maitama and Asokoro districts of Abuja, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.

The funds allegedly misused amount to billions of naira.

Bello and two others are accused of breaching public trust and engaged in dishonest and financial recklessness during his days in office.

EFCC operatives have been on the trail of the Former Governor since he left office in 2023 before he submitted himself to the Anti-graft agency on Monday.

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