NEWS
Russia claims responsibility for Ukrainian train station strike
Russia’s Defence Ministry has confirmed that its forces were behind Wednesday’s missile strike on a railway station in central Ukraine that Kiev said left at least 25 people dead, including civilians.
However, Russian Defence Ministry spokesperson, Igor Konashenkov, claimed that more than 200 Ukrainian soldiers on their way to fight in the Donbass region had been killed in the attack in the central Dnipropetrovsk region town of Chaplyne.
No evidence was produced to support the claim that so many soldiers died, however. Konashenkov added that the rocket hit a part of the station used by the Ukrainian military and that military equipment had also been destroyed.
The Ukrainian authorities said that 25 people, including two children, had died in the attack, while at least 30 others were injured.
The deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said that both residential areas and railway infrastructure in Chaplyne had been targeted by Russian forces.
Tymoshenko said that an 11-year-old who was crushed under rubble and a 6-year-old killed in a car fire near the train station had been among the victims.
Neither the Russian nor the Ukrainian claims could be independently verified.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack, which was carried out on Ukraine’s Independence Day, which fell six months to the day after the Russian invasion began.
US President Joe Biden called Zelensky on Thursday to offer him his moral support and to promise Washington’s continuing backing for Kiev as the war entered its seventh month.
Ukrainian train stations and rail infrastructure have repeatedly been targeted during the war.
In April, at least 57 people died in an attack on a train station in the city of Kramatorsk in the eastern Donbass region.
Another recurring feature has been Russian efforts to take control of Ukrainian nuclear plants, which has led to worries that a miscalculation could result in a nuclear catastrophe.
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Kiev said on Thursday that Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, which is occupied by Russian forces, had been disconnected from the Ukrainian electricity grid, though Ukrainian nuclear agency Enerhoatom stressed that the plant’s power supply, which is vital for its safetly, was being maintained.
In his Thursday night video address, Zelensky called on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to act with greater urgency over the contested plant:
“Every minute that the Russian military remains at the nuclear power plant means the risk of a global radiation disaster,” he stressed.
Moscow said that the last two last operational reactors at the plant had been forced to temporarily shut down due to Ukrainian shelling, though the Russian-installed governor of the Zaporizhzhya region, Yevgeny Balitsky, said on Telegram that one of the reactors had subsequently been restarted.
Kiev and Moscow have repeatedly blamed each other for the shelling of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.
According to Enerhoatom, all four of the power plant’s supply lines have now been damaged by Russian shelling.
Washington blasted Russia’s attempts to claim the plant and the energy it produced on Thursday.
“No country should turn a nuclear power plant into an active war zone,” said deputy State Department spokesperson Verdant Patel, adding that it was very clear that the energy produced at Zaporizhzhya belonged to Ukraine.
Also on Thursday, the Cluster Munitions Coalition (CMC) cited observers as saying that internationally-banned cluster munitions have been used in by Russian forces in Ukraine.
Calling the reports “shocking,” the CMC said that the munitions had caused hundreds of casualties since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine began in February.
“Preliminary data indicates at least 689 casualties reported during cluster munition attacks in Ukraine for the first half of 2022.
Many casualties may have gone unrecorded,” it added.
An 2008 international treaty bans cluster munitions, though many key countries, including the United States and Russia, are not signatories to the agreement.
In another hint that the war could still escalate, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered a 137,000-person expansion of the Russian army, growing its entire personnel to over 2 million, including some 1.15 million troops.
No official reason was given for the increase.
The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe was on Wednesday inducted into the Fellowship of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE).
Biztellers reports that the investiture was performed by the President/Chair-in-Council of the NSE, Engr. Margaret Aina Oguntala, FNSE at a ceremony in Abuja.
Oguntala congratulated the 63 new inductees and urged them to uphold the values of their new position in their field of engineering. She highlighted that engineers have been at the forefront of driving progress and development across various sectors of the economy, notably in the oil and gas industry.
She particularly lauded the ES of NCDMB for his excellent leadership and expertise through the strategic development of local content and in-country value retention, which is a testament to his brilliance in the field of engineering.
Oguntala also applauded the strategic partnership between the NSE, the NCDMB and other stakeholders in the oil and gas industry.
Similarly, the chairman Board of Fellows/College of Fellows, Engr. Kamila Maliki, FNSE, commended the new inductees for their resilience, dedication, and contribution to the field of engineering.
He added that it was not a small feat to be chosen for the investiture due to the rigorous and thorough nature of the selection process.
The ES later was joined by the Managing Director of Setraco Nigeria Limited, Engr. Ziad Mouannes and Senator Patrick Ndubueze for the unveiling of the very first edition of the 2024 NSE Quarterly Magazine.
Some senior officials of the Board who accompanied the ES to the event included the Director, Monitoring and Evaluation, Abdulmalik Halilu, Director, Project Certification and Authorization, Engr. Abayomi Bamidele, and the General Manager, Corporate Communications and Zonal Coordination, Esueme Dan Kikile, Esq.
Before he was appointed the ES of NCDMB, Engr. Ogbe had nearly 30 years top-level career in the field of engineering in the employment of Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), before retiring voluntarily to set up his private firm.
His last position at Chevron Nigeria was Construction Services Group Superintendent, and he oversaw 200 personnel, including Nigerian nationals and expatriates.
Other notable positions he held at the company included Offshore Projects Manager, Construction Manager (Lagos, Escravos -Warri), Construction Engineer (San Ramon) in California, United States of America.
On Saturday evening, armed soldiers shut down the popular Banex Plaza in the Wuse 2 district of Abuja after a clash between traders and three soldiers over a phone sale dispute.
According to eyewitness Okechukwu Daniel, the incident began on Saturday afternoon when a young military man returned to a phone shop, claiming a phone he bought about a month ago was faulty.
Daniel, also a trader at Banex Plaza, stated that the seller refused to accept the phone back due to the lengthy period that had passed since the sale.
He said “When the phone seller refused to collect the phone back, the young guy threatened him that he will shut down his shop for refusing to collect the phone, and the seller told him to do his worse.
“That was when he got angry and went to one of the barracks close by and brought two soldiers to come and harass the phone seller for him to collect the phone back.
“When the two soldiers got to the phone shop to threaten the seller, he still refused to collect the phone. The soldiers got angry and wanted to use force on him, that was when other traders came to the rescue of the phone seller and beat up the two soldiers.”
Daniel added that after the soldiers were assaulted, they went back to the barracks to gather reinforcements.
When they returned to Banex Plaza to confront the phone seller and other traders, the traders had already fled from their shops.
He added “When over 50 soldiers who were visibly angry got to the plaza, they could not find the traders that beat up their colleagues, so they decided to shut down the plaza by asking everyone to leave. Anyone found around the plaza was asked to do frog jump and other punishment,”
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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has confirmed the transfer of $22,000, recovered from a convicted internet fraudster, Hakeem Olanrewaju, to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).
Dele Oyewale, the commission’s spokesperson disclosed on Saturday that the handover took place in Lagos State on Friday.
Acting Director of EFCC Lagos Zonal Command, Michael Wetkas, expressed appreciation for the collaboration and assured of EFCC’s continued efforts in combating financial crimes.
During the event, FBI’s Legal Attaché Charles Smith praised the EFCC for its action.
He said “The EFCC and FBI work collaboratively together, and it is thanks to the EFCC that we can recover funds of this nature, especially from Business email Compromise, BEC.
“This type of crime cripples businesses in the US, and for them to recover the money within one to two years gives hope to the affected companies and brings some level of justice, even if not all subjects have been identified.
“We hope our relationship continues and fosters a more cohesive partnership between the two agencies. If there’s anything the FBI can do to support this investigation, we will do so. We appreciate this on behalf of the FBI and thank the EFCC.”
On August 15, 2023, Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, mandated that the funds retrieved from Olanrewaju, serving a two-year prison term for identity theft and impersonation, be returned to his victim in the US.
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