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.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC Ltd) and two Chinese companies, Sanjiang Chemical Company Limited and Xinganchen (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co Ltd have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to use a Technical Equity Partnership (TEP) for the completion and operation of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.
The NNPC Ltd made the disclosure on Monday, in a statement signed by its Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Andy Odeh.
According to the statement, the MoU was signed by the Group CEO, NNPC Ltd, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari; Chairman, Sanjiang Chemical Company, Guan Jianzhong and Chairman of Xinganchen (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co. Ltd, Bill Bi, in Jiaxing City, China, on Thursday, April 30, 2026.
“The potential framework would cover completion of outstanding work at the two refineries, together with operating and maintaining both facilities to achieve best-in-class, sustainable performance. Planned expansion and upgrades would elevate both facilities to cleaner, more profitable product standards.
“The potential collaboration also contemplates expanding the refineries’ petrochemical capacities and harnessing gas and downstream opportunities through the development of co-located, gas-based industrial hubs.
“Speaking shortly after signing the dotted lines, the GCEO NNPC Ltd, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, described the MoU execution as a significant milestone, following more than six months of concerted engagement between the technical and management teams of NNPC and the two Chinese partners.
“All parties recognise mutually beneficial opportunities for the development and long-term sustainable profitability of NNPC’s refining assets in Nigeria, and the collective weight required for success,” Ojulari noted.
“The GCEO further stated that the MoU is a significant step on the journey towards identifying potential technical equity partner(s) to restart and expand NNPC’s refineries, and to explore opportunities in co-located petrochemicals and gas-based industries.
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“The MoU reflects the parties’ shared intent to progress discussions in good faith, with any definitive arrangements to follow in due course and subject to customary approvals,” the statement noted.
The Dangote Group has dismissed as false and malicious a publication alleging that its President, Aliko Dangote, distanced himself from Tony Elumelu, describing the report as entirely baseless.
This was detailed in a statement issued by its Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer, Anthony Chiejina, the company said neither Dangote nor the Group made the claims attributed to them, stressing that the publication misrepresents both personal and corporate positions.
The Group also rejected assertions that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery was financed through personal borrowing from friends, describing the claims as inaccurate and a deliberate misrepresentation of facts.
“As a matter of principle, Aliko Dangote neither finances his projects through personal borrowing from friends nor engages in lending arrangements of that nature,” the statement said, adding that any such claims must be supported by verifiable evidence.
The Dangote Group further clarified that there is no rift between Dangote and Elumelu, noting that both business leaders maintain a longstanding and cordial relationship.
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The company also raised concern over a growing pattern of fabricated statements and the unauthorised use of Dangote’s name, likeness and image in AI generated advertisements and other misleading content, warning that such actions pose reputational risks and may constitute fraud.
It cautioned individuals and platforms involved in the creation and dissemination of false information to desist immediately, adding that it would pursue appropriate legal action where necessary to protect its reputation and that of its leadership.
The Dangote Group reaffirmed its commitment to the highest standards of integrity while continuing to drive industrialisation, economic self sufficiency, and sustainable development across Africa.
Panic has spread through Monatan community in Lagelu Local Government Area of Oyo State following the abduction of a 60-year-old building materials trader by suspected armed men.
The incident occurred on Saturday night along the Jinarere axis of Alakia Road in Ibadan when the victim was intercepted by four masked gunmen while returning home at about 8:47 pm.
The attackers reportedly operated in an unregistered ash-coloured Toyota Corolla before forcefully whisking the victim away to an unknown destination.
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Confirming the incident, the spokesperson for the state police command, Olayinka Ayanlade, said the matter was reported on May 2, 2026, and that security operatives had already begun rescue efforts.
He stated: “I can confirm that there was a case of abduction reported on May 2, 2026, at about 2047hrs from the Monatan area of Ibadan. Preliminary information reveals that the victim, a 60-year-old male building materials trader, was accosted while returning home along the Jinarere axis of Alakia Road by four masked armed men, who forcefully whisked him away in an unregistered ash-coloured Toyota Corolla vehicle. Upon receipt of the report, police operatives swiftly visited the scene and activated necessary operational measures aimed at rescuing the victim and apprehending the perpetrators.”
Residents of the area have expressed fear over rising insecurity, urging authorities to intensify surveillance and prevent further attacks.
Security agencies assured that efforts are ongoing to rescue the victim and arrest those responsible.
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