NEWS
Independence Day attack on Ukraine train station kills at least 22
Russian shelling of the Chaplyne train station in Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region killed at least 22 people on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Five of the dead were recovered from a car on the railway track and search and rescue operations are ongoing, Zelensky said in an evening video address.
More than 50 people were injured in the shelling, according to earlier information. It is not possible to independently verify the details.
“Chaplyne is our pain today,” Zelensky said.
The attack came on the same day Ukraine marked 31 years of independence and the six-month mark since Russia began its invasion.
“It’s almost night, our main day, Independence Day of Ukraine, is coming to an end. But our independence does not end and will never end,” he said.
Train stations and rail infrastructure have been repeatedly hit during the war. In April, at least 57 died in an attack on the Kramatorsk station in the eastern Donbass region.
Russia attacked neighbouring Ukraine on Feb. 24 but after failing to make advances on the capital Kiev, Moscow pulled back to concentrate on taking the separatist-dominated areas in the east and the south of the country.
The war is not leaving any part of Ukraine untouched. Elsewhere in Dnipropetrovsk, an 11-year-old child was killed by Russian shelling on Wednesday, according to local officials.
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On the day Ukrainians celebrate breaking free of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukrainian authorities reported attacks in several locations across the country, including the Khmelnytskyi region in the west and Zhytomyr region in the north.
While air raid sirens wailed throughout the day in Ukraine, leaders around the world demanded Russia halt the war and reiterated calls for a monitoring mission to be allowed to access a major nuclear plant.
UN Secretary General António Guterres said he had little hope for an early end to the war.
“Despite progress on the humanitarian front, fighting in Ukraine shows no signs of ending – with new potential areas of dangerous escalation appearing,” he told the UN Security Council in New York.
“Today marks a sad and tragic milestone,” he said. “Thousands of civilians have been killed and injured, including hundreds of children.”
“The world has seen grave violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law committed with little to no accountability,” he said.
He also warned of the potential for catastrophe at the embattled Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant and urged an expert mission to the site, led by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Russian forces have occupied the Zaporizhzhya plant, the largest nuclear site in Europe, since March, but attacks near the facility have escalated in recent weeks.
Several others echoed these concerns at the UN meeting.
“The past months we have seen an emerging risk of nuclear calamity in Europe.
“It is deplorable that we even need to say that a nuclear power plant should never be used as a military base,” the European Union’s UN ambassador Silvio Gonzato said.
Gonzato called on Moscow to allow an international team of experts onto the site.
An IAEA mission to check on the sprawling plant’s critical safety and control systems is supported in principle by all sides but it has not yet received the final approval from the warring parties amid disagreement over its details, including the route the experts would take.
Zelensky proposed that Russia transfer control of the Zaporizhzhya plant to the IAEA, in his address to the UN Security Council via video link.
Russia must unconditionally cease its “nuclear blackmail” and completely withdraw from the plant in southern Ukraine, he added, as he also stressed the importance of fighting off Russia’s invasion in a global context.
If Russia is not stopped now, Zelensky said, “Russian killers will probably end up in other countries – in Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America.”
He added: “Russia must be held accountable for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.”
In Washington, U.S. President Joe Biden announced it would provide 2.98 billion dollars of weapons and equipment.
The U.S. has now committed more than 13.5 billion billion in security assistance to Ukraine since Biden took office.
Washington’s representative at the UN meanwhile expressed the U.S. determination to maintain Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
“Let’s be clear: the international community will never recognize Russia’s attempts to change Ukraine’s borders by force,” U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the Security Council.
In line with the recommendations of the Osun State Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy, Governor Ademola Adeleke has extended mercy to 53 convicts serving various terms within the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS).
According to Spokesperson to the State Governor, Olawale Rasheed, this was contained in a letter of commutation dated December 24th, 2024 and which has since been received and acknowledged by the relevant prison authorities read as follows:
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“WHEREAS: the inmates whose names are set out in the schedule to this order have been convicted to various terms of imprisonment to wit.
(i) Simple offences and have served substantial portions of the sentences,
(ii) Convicts sentenced to death” (having spent a minimum of 10 years in custody.)
“AND WHEREAS: following the recommendation made to me by the state advisory council on the prerogative of mercy that I should exercise my power in relation to the said inmates in order to mark the 2024 Christmas celebration.
“AND WHEREAS: in the case of the 30 (thirty) inmates convicted of simple offences, I have decided in accordance with the said recommendation to remit and forgive the remainder of the said sentences in whole.
“AND WHEREAS: I have decided in accordance with the said recommendation to grant outright pardon to 12 (Twelve) inmates convicted of simple offences.
“4 (Four) Convicts have their sentences commuted from death to outright pardon. AND WHEREAS: I have decided in accordance with the said recommendation to commute the sentences as follows;
“1 (One) convict has his sentence commuted from death to 15 (Fifteen) years imprisonment.
“6 (Six) Convicts have their sentences commuted from death to outright release.
“Now know ye therefore that, I Senator Ademola Jackson Adeleke, the Governor of Osun State of Nigeria, in exercise of the power conferred on me by paragraph (a), (c) and (d) of subsection (i) of section 212 of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as Amended), I am pleased to extend my grace and mercy unto the said inmates.
“My will and pleasure thereof, is that you commute the death, life and years of imprisonment as indicated herewith in the schedule”
Those in the schedule are as follows:
CONVICTS RECOMMENDED FOR OUTRIGHT PARDON (SIMPLE OFFENCES)
- OLABOMIJI NURUDEEN
- MUSTAPHA ISAH
- OLALEKAN ABDULLAHI
- AYOMIDE OLOJEDE
- AKEEM RAPHAEL
- ADEYEMI ABIODUN
- OLADIPUPO SEGUN
- OMISAKIN SUNDAY
- ADEMOLA ADIO
- TUNDE OLAPADE
- LATE CHIEF WOLE OLA RUFUS OJO
- OMOLOYE OLAJIDE OLAYEMI
CONVICTS RECOMMENDED FOR OUTRIGHT RELEASE (SIMPLE OFFENCES)
- OLUBO SUNDAY
- ISAH UMAR BIODUN
- FAWAS KAREEM
- OMIRIN TEMITAYO
- OLARENWAJU AYOMIDE
- DARE SUNDAY
- OLADAPO TUNDE
- GANIYU SAHEED
- ADEWUMI SODIQ
- ADEBAYO ADEOYE KEHINDE
- LASIS KAZEEM
- DAUDA OJO (59 YEARS)
- ISMAILA RAJI
- OSENI MICHEAL
- AJAYI KOREDE
- ABIONA NURUDEEN
- OSHI SAMUEL
- SHEU YUSUF OLATUNJI
- OJO AANU
- MUSTAPHA KEHINDE
- LASIS ABEEB
- ALEXANDRA IORLAHA
- OJO TAIWO
- AZEEZ MUJEEB
- AKINYEMI DAVID
- ADEOSUN ADEKUNLE
- OLAOBAJU SAMUEL
- ADURA ADEFEMI
- PAUL BASIL
- KUNLE DAVID
CONVICT RECOMMENDED FOR OUTRIGHT PARDON FOR GOOD CONDUCT (CAPITAL OFFENCES) – 4 (FOUR)
- SUNDAY MORAKINYO
- SEGUN OLOWOOKERE
- TUNDE OLAPADE
- DEMOLA ODEYEMI
CONVICT RECOMMENDED FOR OUTRIGHT RELEASE ON HEALTH GROUND, (CAPITAL OFFENCES) –
1 OLUWAFEMI FAGBEMI
2 BEWAJI SUNDAY
- AMEHIN GEORGE
- AYOMIDE ARULOGUN
- TAIWO OLUWATOBI STEPHEN
- ABUBAKAR ABDULAZEEZ
CONVICT RECOMMENDED TO BE COMMUTED FROM DEATH TO 15 YEARS IMPRISONMENT HAVING SPENT AT LEAST 10 YEARS IN CUSTODY
- OJEKUNLE TIMOTHY
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has approved a new policy allowing visa-free entry to Ghana for all African nationals, fulfilling a promise he made earlier this year.
The initiative is expected to be implemented before the end of his term on January 6, 2025.
With this move, Ghana will join Rwanda, Seychelles, The Gambia, and Benin as one of the few African nations offering unrestricted visa-free access to all African passport holders.
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The policy is seen as a significant step toward promoting free movement across the continent, enhancing trade, and deepening economic integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
President Akufo-Addo announced the policy during his keynote address at the 2024 Africa Prosperity Dialogues (APD) held in Accra.
Speaking under the theme “Developing Prosperity in Africa: Produce, Add Value, and Trade,” he highlighted the challenges Africans face when traveling within the continent.
“Many of you had to acquire a visa to attend this event,” he said, emphasizing the barriers to intra-African mobility.
He described the visa-free policy as a solution to these challenges and a critical step toward achieving the goals of the AfCFTA.
“The free movement of people is essential for stimulating intra-African trade and fostering collaboration across borders,” Akufo-Addo added, noting that the policy aligns with Ghana’s broader vision of promoting economic growth through integration.
The visa-free initiative is expected to enhance Ghana’s standing in the region, making it easier for African nationals to travel, trade, and collaborate.
By eliminating visa requirements, Ghana aims to position itself as a leader in continental integration, creating opportunities for deeper economic ties with other African nations.
The policy also underscores Ghana’s commitment to the AfCFTA, which seeks to establish a unified market for goods and services across Africa.
Officials believe this move will attract businesses and encourage cross-border trade, ultimately boosting the continent’s economy.
The Ghanaian government has begun taking steps to implement the policy, with full rollout expected before the end of Akufo-Addo’s presidency.
Officials are updating immigration procedures to accommodate the new framework and ensure a smooth transition.
President Akufo-Addo reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to the initiative during his address.
“We are taking concrete steps to ensure that this policy becomes a reality this year,” he stated, signaling that the groundwork for implementation is already underway.
Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima has assured Nigerians of the federal government’s dedication to national security, economic transformation, and welfare of the citizens.
This was detailed in a Christmas message on Wednesday afternoon in Abuja under the signature of the Senior Special Assistant to The President on Media & Communications (Office of The Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha.
According to the Vice President, the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu remains unwavering in its focus on these critical areas, as the country looks forward to the dawn of a new year.
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He said, “In these times of economic transformation, I want to assure you that the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration remains steadfast in its commitment to improving the lives of all Nigerians.”
Vice President Shettima particularly urged the citizens to imbibe the virtues of national unity during the yuletide season.
“Nigeria’s diversity remains our greatest strength. Let us avail ourselves of the time provided by the holiday season to strengthen the bonds of brotherhood that unite us across all faiths and regions,” he said.
Senator Shettima assured Nigerians of the continued vigilance of the nation’s security forces, noting that “our brave security personnel will continue to work round the clock during this festive period to keep us safe.”
He said enhanced security measures have been put in place to protect the citizens during the holiday period.
“The relevant agencies have been mobilized to ensure your safety and comfort on all major routes,” he stated, urging travelers to remain vigilant.
VP Shettima expressed optimism about the nation’s trajectory in the coming year, saying, “I am filled with hope and optimism about Nigeria’s future. Together, we will build a more prosperous and united nation.
“To our young people, you are the backbone of our nation. The Renewed Hope administration is implementing various initiatives to create opportunities for you to thrive and contribute to Nigeria’s development,” he added.
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