Paradise News

Tag: General News

  • We Need Home-Grown Solution To Tackle Oil & Gas Industry Challenges -Lokpobiri

    Heineken-Lokpobiri

    The Minister of State Petroleum (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri has tasked stakeholders in the Nigerian oil and gas industry to develop home-grown solutions to the low oil output, and crude oil theft among other issues confronting the industry.

    Lokpobiri said this on Monday at the 2023 3rd Biennial International Conference on Hydrocarbon Science & Technology (ICHST).

    The Minister said Nigeria has been a big player in the oil and gas industry both in Africa and globally, adding that for Nigeria to sustain its place as a major player in the oil and gas sector, industrial players need to update their knowledge and keep up with trends.

    Lokpobiri said, “My expectation is for us to come up with our home-grown solution to address our problem in the petroleum industry. You will agree with me that in Nigeria today, we have so many problems developing the oil industry beginning with pipeline vandalization, oil theft, low productivity and we can’t even meet our OPEC quota.

    “As a ministry, our expectation is that all the agencies in the ministry, beginning with PTI to PTDF to NNPCL, to NUPRC to NMDPRA and all parastatals will be able to collaborate going forward to be able to evolve relevant technology that we need to be able to address our local oil production problems; our local gas production problems. Nobody will come here and find solutions to our own problem.”

    He charged industry experts to develop solutions to tackle oil theft, and low crude production among others, and not to “copy other people’s work and ideas that are not relevant to solving our problems in the country.”

    The Minister of State Gas, Ekperikpe Ekpo, while delivering his address said it is important for Nigeria to focus on tackling the issues of energy transition, sustainability and energy security.

    Ekpo believes that Nigeria was inadequately prepared and did not fully utilise the opportunity to cover the shortfalls created by the increase in demand for alternative sources of gas supply as a result of the Russia/Ukraine war.

    He said Nigeria is famous for its gas reserves with a proven reserve of 208trn cubic feet of gas.

    But he decried local issues in the industry which include inadequate infrastructure, the unclear regulatory environment for gas, sabotage of pipelines and the inability to optimise value for our abundant gas reserves.

    He said, “It is well known that our NLNG plant currently operates below capacity due to gas supply which is ironical given our proven gas reserves. In fact, the ongoing NLNG Train 7 project should increase the NLNG capacity by approximately 35 per cent which further expands our opportunities for gas producers.”

    The Minister said that from his investigation, infrastructural and pricing issues has remained the major challenge for gas.

    Ekpo said, “The Ministry under my watch has identified these areas and is working with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Oil, to ensure the security of supply to the NLNG plants, increasing gas penetration and utilisation by local users for power, transportation, industrial and domestic purposes. “

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  • Fact Check: Can the U.S. keep aid to Gaza out of Hamas’ hands?

    After President Joe Biden announced the U.S. will send $100 million in humanitarian aid to Gaza and the West Bank, critics countered the plan would ultimately help the Hamas leaders who, on Oct. 7, launched surprise attacks in Israel that killed 1,400 people.

    Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., called the idea of giving aid to Gaza “crazy” while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis predicted that Hamas would commandeer the money and use it for terrorism. “I say no U.S. tax dollars to the Gaza Strip,” DeSantis said. 

    The U.S. effort seeks to distinguish between helping the people who live in Gaza and helping Hamas, the political and military organization that governs Gaza — a group that the U.S. State Department in 1997 labeled a terrorist organization.

    How feasible is it to get aid to civilians without helping Hamas? 

    Experts on humanitarian aid told PolitiFact that it is achievable but challenging.

    “The consideration right now has to balance the dire needs of civilians and the chance that the terrorist group controlling the territory will also gain some benefit,” said Matthew Levitt, a senior fellow with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a think tank. “In a crisis like this, it cannot be a zero sum game in either direction.”

    Many of the more than 2 million people who live in Gaza are facing shortages of food, water and basic supplies. As it planned counterattacks, Israel warned residents of north Gaza to evacuate. The United Nations has said 5,000 have been killed in Gaza, citing “reports from de facto authorities there.”

    Biden’s Oct. 18 announcement said that the U.S. funding would provide water, food, medicine and other essential needs, focusing especially on the 1 million Palestinians who have been told to leave northern Gaza.

    The $100 million will come from previously approved funds, so implementing the plan won’t require further action by Congress. The administration has proposed a separate $9.15 billion humanitarian aid package for civilians in Gaza, Israel and Ukraine, without specifying how much will go to Gaza. This aid would require approval from Congress.

    Many questions remain about the aid for Gaza, including when the House — which for now lacks a speaker — will be in a position to vote on the funding package. 

    Here’s what we know about U.S. aid to Gaza.

    The U.S. has given aid to Palestinians since 1950

    After the 1948 war that solidified Israel’s independence, the United Nations formed the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA. The agency’s services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, refugee camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance, and emergency assistance.

    The agency is funded by UN members, including the United States, which has given money since 1950. This includes aid to both Gaza and the West Bank.

    Over the past two decades, the only gap in funding came during the Donald Trump administration, which eliminated funding for UNRWA. 

    The Biden administration renewed funding in 2021. The U.S. also provides aid through the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID.

    U.S. assistance to the West Bank and Gaza improves the quality of life for the Palestinian people, the State Department said in 2023. Past administrations have used similar arguments to justify U.S. aid to the Palestinians. 

    In the 1990s and early 2000s, before Hamas took control of Gaza, “major construction projects were implemented in Gaza, including a major reservoir and water management effort,” Larry Garber, who was USAID’s mission director from 1999 to 2004, told PolitiFact. 

    After the takeover by Hamas in 2007, the U.S. government “has been unable to engage directly” with the government of Gaza “but has continued to implement programs there through contractors and non-governmental organizations, while ensuring that no assistance benefits Hamas.”

    The goal is to get aid to civilians

    For now, aid can only arrive through the Rafah crossing at Gaza’s border with Egypt, because Israel has sealed its border as it pursues its military response to the Oct. 7 attacks. 

    Topher McDougal, professor of economic development and peacebuilding at the University of San Diego, predicted in The Conversation that the aid to Gaza would likely be delivered through a network of UNRWA-supported hospitals and schools, which are now serving as shelters for people displaced by Israeli airstrikes.

    Biden and Republicans agree that no U.S. aid should benefit Hamas.

    Matthew Miller, a State Department spokesperson, said in an Oct. 19 press briefing that the U.S. and Israel share “a legitimate concern” that Hamas will divert the aid and added that the U.S. is “going to be watching very carefully how it’s delivered.”

    Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Oct. 11 on CBS “Face the Nation,” “We want to make sure we’re not sending money to Hamas.” He added, “There are genuine humanitarian needs of the people in Gaza who are not Hamas, who’ve been thrown under the bus by what Hamas did.”

    Some Republican senators took a more aggressive stance, introducing a bill to cut off funding for the U.N. to aid Gaza. Some Republicans have cited part of a 2021 State Department memo that says there is “high risk Hamas could potentially derive indirect, unintentional benefit from U.S. assistance to Gaza.” The memo was obtained by the Washington Free Beacon, a conservative outlet, through a records request.

    However, the memo also cites the West Bank and Gaza mission of the USAID in saying that “there have been no known cases of U.S. government or other donor supplies or equipment being stolen or destroyed” and that the State Department believes it is in the U.S. national security interest to provide the aid. 

    Biden hinted that the U.S. could cut off aid if Hamas seized it, saying on Oct. 20, “If Hamas does not divert or steal these shipments, we’re going to provide an opening for sustained delivery of lifesaving humanitarian assistance for the Palestinians.”

    How challenging is the goal of keeping aid away from Hamas?

    U.S. restrictions on aid and Hamas are tough, but not perfect, experts said.

    Like the European Union and other nations that have counterterrorism laws, the U.S. takes measures to verify that funds and materials are provided to non-terrorist entities and are not diverted to support terrorist organizations, said Chen Reis, director of the humanitarian assistance program at the University of Denver.

    These rules are “very stringent,” said Nathan Brown, a George Washington University professor who studies Middle Eastern law and politics.

    One way to minimize “leakage” to Hamas is for representatives of the humanitarian groups to be present as the goods are distributed, said Michael Barnett, a professor of international affairs and political science at George Washington University. Another is to deliver aid to refugee camps that have been demilitarized, he said.

    In addition, third-party organizations “watch very carefully,” with pro-Israel groups ready to file lawsuits against aid organizations if they violate counterterrorism laws, Barnett said.

    Still, with Hamas exercising pervasive control in Gaza, any aid transaction inevitably faces some interaction with Hamas.

    Garber, the former USAID official, said he feels confident that U.S. assistance funds have not directly benefited Hamas over the years, but said it is hard to police “incidental benefits.” For example, U.S. dollars have supported roads and other infrastructure that Hamas has been able to use, too.

    McDougal said humanitarian aid workers inevitably need to contend with tradeoffs as they balance working with local authorities to gain access to help civilians. “Hamas has repeatedly flouted international norms and laws,” McDougal wrote in The Conversation essay. “So the question of if and how the aid convoy will be protected looms large.”

    Because helping the people of Gaza inevitably means going through the tight control of Hamas, “you can try all you want to hermetically seal that aid so Hamas’ fingerprints are not on it, but there will always be limitations,” Barnett said. “The hope is that it’s always limited.”

    RELATED: U.S. aid to Israel: What to know

    RELATED: All of our fact-checks about Israel and Gaza



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  • 49ers’ vaunted defense shredded by Kirk Cousins, Vikings

    It was third-and-3 at the 49ers’ 49-yard line late in the fourth quarter when No. 97 finally leapt off the television screen. Nick Bosa drove his blocker straight toward Minnesota quarterback Kirk Cousins, who sidestepped the traffic and threw a 13-yard pass to Jordan Addison for a first down.

    Bosa looked to the heavens — or in this case the roof of U.S. Bank Stadium — his arms outstretched. It was as if he couldn’t believe Cousins wasn’t in a crumpled heap on the ground.

    As it turned out, Isaiah Oliver was called for defensive holding (which was declined), so it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. But it was representative of a shockingly futile effort by the 49ers’ defense Monday night in a 22-17 loss to the Vikings.

    A national television audience had to be wondering what all the fuss was about when it came to the 49ers’ defense. Minnesota’s point total in no way represented the way it took apart a defense that believes it is among the NFL’s elite and up until a couple of weeks ago had looked the part.

    Don’t be deceived by the Vikings’ relatively modest point total. Cousins had the 49ers’ defense on its heels all night, going 35-of-45 for 378 yards and two touchdowns. A defense that played three entire games of 239 yards or fewer gave up 275 in the first half alone and 452 yards in all.

    All those pass attempts, yet Cousins was never sacked and never looked particularly bothered as Bosa and Co. failed to generate the pressure that was supposed to make them famous.

    “We have a lot of really good players on the D-line and a lot invested in it,” Bosa said. “And you have to make the plays when they’re there.”

    Bosa, Clelin Ferrell and Randy Gregory didn’t make much of an impact from the outside, nor did the highly paid and previously productive Javon Hargrave and Arik Armstead from the interior.

    And make no mistake, this wasn’t the Kansas City Chiefs or some other offensive juggernaut. Minnesota, 3-4, beat the lowly Chicago Bears 19-13 last week and needed a defensive touchdown to get it done as the offense produced all of 12 points.

    Not only that, but Cousins was without the services of injured wideout Justin Jefferson, who is either No. 1 or 1A on any list you care to name.

    With the 49ers shorn of wide receiver Deebo Samuel and left tackle Trent Williams and running back Christian McCaffrey playing with an injured oblique and struggling on the ground for the third straight game, the defense needed to step up and play to its reputation.

    Instead, the 49ers forced exactly one Minnesota punt. And it wasn’t until the fourth quarter.

    Cousins used the 49ers’ defense for target practice on third down, going 9-for-12 for 183 yards and both of his touchdowns to Addison on the money down.

    “I was really disappointed we couldn’t get them off the field,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said.

    One play just before halftime stood out, and it came on a defensive call that coordinator Steve Wilks will have to answer for with Shanahan if he hasn’t already.

    After Brock Purdy engineered a 12-play, 75-yard drive that resulted in a 3-yard run by McCaffrey for the touchdown, the 49ers were within 10-7 despite the Vikings dictating the pace and controlling the tempo with occasional runs and a bevy of crossing routes and screens to wide open receivers.

    The 49ers gave the momentum right back and never regained it again courtesy of a 60-yard Cousins-to-Addison touchdown that Charvarius Ward appeared to have intercepted, only to have Addison wind up with the ball and complete a stunning touchdown play.

    When Addison crossed the goal line, there were seven seconds left in the half and the Vikings led 16-7 after Greg Joseph missed the extra point attempt.

    It came against an all-out blitz, which meant there was no deep help once Addison got the ball away from Ward. It was a gamble for a defense that has used the blitz more often under Wilks than it did with DeMeco Ryans and Robert Saleh but still wouldn’t be described as a blitzing defense.

    “(Cousins) has got to get rid of it right away and he threw it up, got a chance for a pick, didn’t come up with it, and they got a touchdown,” Shanahan said. “It was a real bad play by us.”

    Asked about the call of a blitz with Minnesota so far from the goal line in the final minute, Shanahan said evenly, “That’s stuff we’ll discuss throughout this week. Obviously, I didn’t like the result.”

    Both Shanahan and Bosa maintained the play could have been and probably should have been over had Ward held on to the ball. In the first half, he and Addison jointly came up with a pass on Minnesota’s first drive, except that time Ward made the interception.

    Middle linebacker Fred Warner also declined to point the finger at the decision made by Wilks and resisted the idea that the 49ers’ blitzing ways go against their previous identity as a team that primarily rushes with four.

    Either way, it was much too risky a call in that situation.

    It capped a first half where it seemed Kevin O’Connell, the Vikings’ play-calling head coach, was a step ahead of what Wilks was dialing up for the entire half.

    It didn’t help the 49ers, as they did in last week’s 19-17 loss to Cleveland, missed more than their share of tackles and as a result were on the field for 10 more minutes than the offense.

    “We couldn’t get off the field, plain and simple,” Warner said. “We started slow, and any time the quarterback is throwing for almost 400 yards, and I’m not sure what the third down percentage was (8-for-13), but too much leaky yardage. They scored on almost every drive that they were out there. Can’t let that happen.”



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  • Court To Commence Trial Of Ex-Company Director Arraigned For Stealing N251.6m

    The Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan, presided by Justice Ladiran Akintola, has adjourned till November 4, for commencement of trial of Obakin Emmanuel Ajibola for fraud.

    Recall on 12th September, THE WHISTLER reported that the suspect was arraigned by the Ibadan Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on four-count charges bordering on stealing to the tune of N251, 685, 000 from Lee Fakino Nigeria Limited.

    According to the EFCC, the defendant was one of the two directors of the firm and signatory to the firm’s account that allegedly withdrew the sum from the firm without authorization from the Managing Director and Chief Executive officer, Akindele Fajemiyo.

    Investigations by the Commission revealed that he allegedly removed the telephone numbers and email address of the MD/CEO of the firm from the banking details of Lee Fakino Nigeria Limited.

    It was further alleged that he removed these contacts in order to stop notification alerts of transactions from going to the CEO before withdrawing from the account.

    He allegedly withdrew the said sum from the account of the firm, which was money paid for works executed by Lee Fakino Nigeria Limited for the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture between December 22, 2022, and March 9, 2023, without any notification received by the managing director.

    Meanwhile, upon arraignment, he pleaded “not guilty” to the charges preferred against him by the EFCC.

    At the resumption of the case on Monday, parties to the matter, including the victim of the crime, Fajemiyo, who is the first prosecution witness, were informed of an adjournment arrangement till November 4.

    One of the charges read against the Ajibola says: “That you Obakin Emmanuel Ajibola, adult, male sometime in December, 2022 at Ibadan within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did fraudulently steal the sum of N120, 500, 000.00 (One Hundred and Twenty Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira) belonging to Lee Fakino Nigeria Limited, an offence of stealing contrary to Section 390(9) Criminal Code Law.”

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  • Fact Check: Unfounded claims about crisis actors amid Israel-Hamas war spread online

    CNN published an interview with the children of a couple who the news outlet said were killed in Israel by Hamas militants. 

    But some social media users are parsing the interview for evidence that the children are actors peddling a false story about their parents dying. 

    “CNN interviews kids who apparently lose parents by Hamas but their bad acting and laughing exposes the fake footage,” reads text over a clip from the interview shared in an Oct. 17 TikTok post. 

    “While they hire actors and photoshop grief we see actual women children and civilians being abliterated!! Shame on you who defend Isread,” the post’s caption says, misspelling “obliterated” and “Israel.”

    TikTok identified this video as part of its efforts to counter inauthentic, misleading or false content. (Read more about PolitiFact’s partnership with TikTok.)

    This claim is unfounded. Although the interview, which CNN published on its website Oct. 12, shows the children crying and, at times, smiling — emotional responses to trauma vary widely and can include laughing and smiling —  there’s no evidence to suggest they’re crisis actors recounting a fabricated story. 

    Rather, other news organizations such as The Associated Press and an ABC News affiliate in Northwest Arkansas, near where the children’s mother was from in Missouri, have reported on the family’s ordeal. The Associated Press shared time-stamped text messages between the family members.

    We rate claims this interview shows crisis actors False.

     



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  • Warriors, Thompson not near contract extension: report

    The Warriors and Klay Thompson are reportedly not close to an agreement on a contract extension as the former All-NBA guard prepares to open his 13th season with Golden State on Tuesday night.

    Thompson’s camp and the front office are at a “dead point” in negotiations, according to a Monday report from The Athletic, with issues both on the length of the deal and the money involved.

    There is no deadline for Thompson, 33, and the Warriors to agree to a deal, but with the season opener as a deadline for extensions to many rookie contracts, it’s a time when other agreements come together, too.

    The Warriors are reportedly aiming to stay under the second level of the luxury tax (expected to be around $190 million), which may be difficult with almost $115 million already committed to the other members of the Warriors’ starting five.

    Thompson signed a five-year, $190 million contract in 2019 just after tearing his ACL in the NBA Finals. He missed the 2019-20 season, then tore his Achilles before the 2020-21 season and returned in January 2022. After helping the Warriors win their fourth title in the last decade, he played no pick-up ball in the offseason over injury concerns, and skipped the preseason last year.

    This preseason, he played in all five games, averaging 20.4 minutes on the court.

    “I loved it,” he said Sunday of his preseason. “I was playing basketball. I haven’t played preseason basketball since I can’t even remember, 2019? So I loved it.”

    Thompson did not discuss his contract status Sunday with media, but general manager Mike Dunleavy said on a Monday appearance on 95.7 The Game that the Warriors want Thompson to return and he expects the five-time All-Star to have another strong season.

    “Our intended plan all along is to make sure Klay’s here as a Warrior forever,” Dunleavy said. “We really want that to happen, and you gotta work through it.”

    The situation is not foreign to the Warriors: Just last year, they had a similar scenario with Draymond Green. The sides never extended his contract, but within moments of his unrestricted free agency opening June 30, Green agreed to a four-year, $100 million contract.

    Thompson had one of his best statistical seasons ever last season, leading the NBA with 301 made 3-pointers and shooting 41.2% from distance. He struggled in the Western Conference semifinals against the Lakers, though, making just 14 of 56 shot attempts (25%) over the final four games.

    On media day Oct. 3, Thompson said he thought it was possible that he’d reach a deal with the Warriors before the season opener, but signaled he was at peace entering the season without anything signed.

    “Whatever the future has in store, I’ve done so many great things in this uniform. There are many more memories to create,” he said. “Whatever happens, life is great. I can’t really complain. I’ve had an incredible run here.”

    As for the challenge ahead of the Warriors in a Western Conference that features those Lakers, the champion Nuggets and the star-studded Suns, Thompson said Sunday that it’s nothing new to him.

    “It’s been deep my whole career. I see a bunch of great teams from top to bottom,” he said. “There probably will not be any nights off going forward, so it’s going to be a fun challenge to accept.”



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  • Abuja Tenants Denounce Landlords Over Outrageous House Rents

    housing

    Residents of Abuja have appealed to the Federal Government to intervene in the arbitrary increase of house rents by landlords in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    Some residents said paying rent in Abuja was burdensome as landlords increase rents at will.

    They lamented that such indiscriminate hikes in rent had caused ill-treatment and harassment from landlords.

    Mr Dauda Abusali, an artist, said that his rent was increased without prompt notice, adding that he was currently putting up with a friend.

    “My landlord asked everyone to pack if they are unable to pay the rent he is demanding; my experience is tough.

    “I have sent my family home to see how I can survive the situation,’’ Abusali told NAN

    Abusali said that there were many houses in the city with no one occupying them because of high rents.

    “The government should make policies that will stop this trend; houses should not be empty when many people do not have houses,’’ he said.

    Mr Kolade Tayo, an event planner, said that it was inhuman to increase the rent on a house that was built many years ago because of the economic situation today.

    “As a tenant, I have received terrible treatment from my landlord who does whatever he likes.

    “The government should be able to regulate the arbitrary increase in house rents; if the government can put a benchmark on rents, it will greatly help the residents,” he said.

    Mr Ajibola Olushola, a fashion designer, said that the reoccurring increase in house rent had affected his household.

    According to him, after paying rent, he does not have enough money to sort out other family needs.

    He pleaded that the government should come to the rescue of the citizens.

    “Government should support schemes that manage house rent issues before all of us die in this country,” he said.

    Miss Esther Mamudu, a corps member, said the outrageous house rent by landlords was a type of injustice tenants faced in the hands of landlords.

    “My sister resumed school only to realise that her rent had been increased with no prior notice.

    “She was asked to either pay immediately or vacate the house,’’ she said.

    Mamudu added that there was need for a body that would serve as a watch dog to regulate house rents and activities of landlords in Abuja and Nigeria at large.

    She said regulating rents in Nigeria as a country would go a long way to easing the suffering of the masses.

    Mr Nex Peter, a printer, said that everything in the country was very expensive, adding that house owners were also trying to survive the hard times.

    “I decided to live with my friends so we can and join hands together to pay the rent of N400, 000 every year.

    “This is the only way I can survive in Abuja; I appeal to government at all level to look into the hardship people are facing and address it; it is becoming unbearable,” he said.

    Mr Agogo Stephen, a corps member, expressed dissatisfaction with the situation in the country, adding that no average Nigerian was having it ease.

    “The situation is very bad and has rendered many people homeless because they cannot afford to pay rent in the city,” he said.

    Stephen said the government needed to intervene in reducing the price of building materials to help the low income earners afford a roof on their head.

    However, a landlord, Mr Banji Oluwaseyeri, attributed the increase in rent in Abuja to the high cost of living in the country.

    “Transportation and feeding are on the increase; as landlords, we have to increase our rent to be able to survive the current economic situation,’’ he said.

    Oluwaseyeri appealed to the government to support the citizens with tokens and reduce the cost of transportation.

    NAN reports that the 9th Senate passed into second reading, a bill seeking to stop landlords in the FCT from demanding advance payment of one-year rent from their tenants.

    The legislation was titled, “A Bill for an Act to regulate the mode of Payment of Rent on Residential Apartments, Office Spaces, in the FCT and for Other Matters Connected Therewith.’’

    The bill, sponsored by Sen. Smart Adeyemi (APC Kogi-West), was aimed at ending the practice whereby landlords demanded a yearly advance payment of rents from their tenants.

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  • Fact Check: No, this video doesn’t show Russia attacking Israel in October 2023

    A recent TikTok post purports to show Russia attacking Israel in mid-October with a video of a pilot flying.

    “Today Russia attack on Israel,” reads the text in the video, which was posted mid-October on TikTok.

    But this video has been online for more than a year.

    TikTok identified this video as part of its efforts to counter inauthentic, misleading or false content. (Read more about PolitiFact’s partnership with TikTok.)

    We found the same video shared on the social media platform on Oct. 1, 2022, but this post didn’t suggest there was any connection to Israel or Russia. It used hashtags that included #airforce but didn’t include an explanation for what was happening in the video.

    We don’t know precisely what’s happening in this video, but we can confirm that it doesn’t show Russia attacking Israel after Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault on Israel, which led to an ongoing war. 

    English — not Russian or Hebrew — can be heard in both versions of the video, including the word “altitude.” 

    And the pilot’s badge suggests he’s American. It’s an Air Combat Command Shield from the U.S. Air Force.

    Moscow has maintained close relations with Hamas, Foreign Policy reported Oct. 19, and the Kremlin has never declared it to be a terrorist group, unlike the U.S. “But so far, there is no clear evidence that Russia supported Hamas in planning or executing its surprise attack on Israel,” the story said. 

    China and Russia, meanwhile, plan to work together to reach a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians, according to The Associated Press.

    We found no news reports or other credible evidence that Russia has attacked Israel, much less that this video shows such an invasion. 

    We rate this claim False.

     



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  • Posts Use Fabricated Audio to Misrepresent CNN Report During Rocket Attack in Israel

    Quick Take

    A CNN report on Oct. 9 showed a news crew in Israel taking shelter in a roadside ditch during a rocket attack. But social media posts used fabricated audio of the news coverage to falsely claim the reporters were “faking an attack.” The audio was altered by a conservative commentary organization that acknowledged “the voice over isn’t real.”

    Full Story

    The Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, launching rockets from Gaza and infiltrating the Israeli border by air, ground and sea to target civilians and soldiers and take hostages. Israel responded by declaring war on Hamas, mobilizing its military reservists and starting airstrikes on Gaza.

    More than 5,000 Palestinians and 1,400 Israelis have been killed in the war, as of Oct. 23, the United Nations said, citing the Gaza Ministry of Health and Israeli official sources, respectively.

    Meanwhile, the conflict has been a source for widespread misinformation online.

    Journalists in the region have been at risk due to their proximity to ground assaults and fired missiles. At least 23 journalists covering the conflict have been confirmed dead, with 11 others injured, missing or detained, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, a nonprofit that “defend[s] the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal.”

    One news crew caught up near ongoing attacks was a CNN team led by chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward on Oct. 9. While Ward’s team was preparing to cover the route that Hamas militants took during its Oct. 7 attack, Israel’s Iron Dome defense system intercepted rockets overhead, forcing the team to shelter in a roadside ditch.

    In the days following Ward’s coverage, social media posts shared an altered version of the news coverage, which added audio of a fake phone call between a CNN producer and Ward’s team, directing them to “look nice and scared” and purportedly adding explosion sound effects — giving the impression that the news coverage was faked.

    An Oct. 16 Instagram post read, “CNN Get Caught Faking an Attack From Hamas in Israel,” on screen, as well as a caption claiming, “in order to EXAGGERATE the narrative CNN is FAKING CONTENT!”

    Another Instagram post, which has received over 2,700 likes, has the words “Leaked Footage … Directors Edition” added on screen, with a caption that claims, “CNN is done after this. Bye bye fake news.”

    But the audio was added to the news report “satirically” by The Quartering, a conservative commentary organization. While the organization clarified that one of its editors added the voiceover as a parody, the social media posts lack this context — leading many social media users to believe the audio is real.

    A CNN spokesperson told us in an email, “The audio in the video posted and shared on X is fabricated, inaccurate and irresponsibly distorts the reality of the moment that was covered live on CNN, which people should watch in full for themselves on a trusted platform.”

    We should note that while The Quartering acknowledged that the audio was not real, the organization continues to claim the CNN team was “acting” to exaggerate the danger of the situation.

    “Yes of course the voice over isn’t real but the fake acting IS real,” posted The Quartering on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Oct. 10. In a video posted to YouTube on Oct. 13, the organization’s host continued, “the intent of that video was never to convince people that [the audio] was real. It was to point out those actors, those CNN news actors, were very clearly acting.”

    False claims that news reports are being fabricated are popular during ongoing wars, as we’ve written before.

    Sources

    Associated Press. “Live updates: What’s happening on Day 13 of the Israel-Hamas war.” PBS NewsHour. 19 Oct 2023.

    “CNN BLASTS The Quartering For REVEALING Their FAKE Over The Top Reporting On The Conflict.” Video. YouTube. 13 Oct 2023.

    CNN. “CNN team ducks from ‘massive barrage of rockets’ near Israel-Gaza border.” Video. Accessed 19 Oct 2023.

    Committee to Protect Journalists. “Journalist casualties in the Israel-Gaza conflict.” Accessed 23 Oct 2023.

    Committee to Protect Journalists. “What We Do.” Accessed 20 Oct 2023.

    Farley, Robert. “Post Paints Misleading Picture of Biden’s Financial Support for Israel and Palestinians.” FactCheck.org. 11 Oct 2023.

    Hancock, Tess. “CNN Video Shows Canadian Fire Gear Donated to Ukraine, Not ‘Fake Footage.’” FactCheck.org. 30 Mar 2022.

    Jones, Brea. “Video Shows Climate Protest in Austria, Not ‘Crisis Actors’ in Ukraine.” FactCheck.org. 22 Mar 2022.

    Jones, Tom and Ren LaForme. “Journalists rush into danger to cover the Israel-Hamas war.” Poynter. 10 Oct 2023.

    López Restrepo, Manuela. “Here’s how Israel’s ‘Iron Dome’ stops rockets — and why Ukraine doesn’t have it.” NPR. 12 Oct 2023.

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  • Why Bob Melvin does, or doesn’t, make sense

    When the San Francisco Giants made the decision to fire manager Gabe Kapler with three games left in the season, Farhan Zaidi said they planned to “cast a wide net” and look beyond candidates with ties to him, the organization or the Bay Area.

    They have looked as far as Boston and a candidate who has spent his baseball life there, on the opposite coast, in a different league. They have widened their search to groundbreaking parameters, the first club in MLB history to formally interview a woman for their managerial post. One candidate finished his 36th season in the organization; another celebrates his 39th birthday next week.

    All roads, it turns out, lead back to the most obvious candidate all along, the one who was in the opposite dugout for Kapler’s 543rd and, it would be announced almost 48 hours later, final game as Giants manager.

    With the Padres granting the Giants’ request to interview Bob Melvin, as The Athletic first reported, the three-time manager of the year immediately became the front runner to succeed Kapler in San Francisco. In addition to the eight playoff appearances and more than 1,500 wins he has accumulated in a 20-year managing career, Melvin’s Bay Area ties run deep, as does his relationship with Zaidi.

    Melvin, who turns 62 this week, was born in Palo Alto and raised in Menlo Park. When Menlo-Atherton High School opened its Hall of Fame in 1994, Melvin, for his two-sport accolades, was the first inductee. He took those talents across the Bay to Cal, where he played for a season before he turned pro. Over the course of a 10-year playing career, Melvin crossed paths with Roger Craig and Mike Krukow in San Francisco before spending more than half his managerial career in Oakland.

    Coming off their fourth playoff miss in five seasons under Zaidi, the Giants are in need of stability and credibility. Zaidi confirmed he is entering the final year of his contract, and after firing his hand-picked manager may not get a third crack at it.

    “Some of our candidates may be people I’ve had past relationships with and maybe that helps provide some reassurance there,” Zaidi said of the appearance of instability while interviewing prospective managers as a lame-duck president of baseball operations.

    Melvin spent 11 years in Oakland, making six playoff appearances, and overlapped with Zaidi for parts of four seasons.

    While Melvin’s relationship with Padres general manager A.J. Preller has been described as “unfixable,” he developed a reputation with the A’s for deftly handling Billy Beane’s analytically inclined front office. Zaidi, at the time, was one of Beane’s top deputies until he departed after the 2014 season.

    Zaidi acknowledged that whoever the next manager is, it might be beneficial to have more autonomy than Kapler, who moved in lockstep with the front office. Melvin has shown the capability to balance analytics with instinct, and would come with the credibility to push back when he felt necessary.

    As the Giants look to replenish their roster and reverse course from their repeated failures on the free-agent market, Zaidi also said they were seeking an “effective recruiter.” Few available managers would come with as sterling of a reputation around the game as Melvin, whose laid-back style has proven popular and successful between stints in Seattle, Arizona, Oakland and San Diego.

    The Giants are expected to be active in the international market this winter, and Melvin could potentially be an asset there, too.

    With 25-year-old Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the two-time reigning winner of Nippon Pro Baseball’s equivalent to the Cy Young Award, and 25-year-old Korean outfielder Lee Jung-Hoo, the reigning KBO MVP, expected to be posted by their respective clubs, it’s worth remembering where Melvin’s managerial career began — with Ichiro Suzuki, whom The Athletic reported he is close with to this day.

    While the star-studded Padres were a huge disappointment this season while missing the playoffs despite opening the season with the league’s third-largest payroll, one bright spot was Korean infielder Ha-Seong Kim, who blossomed into a 5.8-WAR player once Melvin put him into a full-time role. Another prominent member of that team, Juan Soto, is set to hit free agency after this season having not yet worked out an extension in San Diego.

    If there’s a knock on Melvin, it’s a lack of postseason success. While his teams have made the tournament eight times, only two have reached the league championship series, and his last trip to the World Series was as the Diamondbacks’ bench coach in 2001. And then there’s what to make of his time in San Diego: After Melvin led them to the NLCS in his first year, how much of their step back in 2023 can be blamed on the simmering dysfunction beneath the surface?

    It’s not unprecedented for a manager to change teams, even while still under contract as Melvin is, for one more year at $4 million.

    Sometimes in these situations clubs work out some kind of compensation. In fact, it’s how Melvin’s managerial career began. The Tampa Bay Rays traded outfielder (and future Giant) Randy Winn to the Seattle Mariners for the opportunity to hire Lou Piniella, opening up the position for Melvin.

    Then again, that’s not always the case. When Melvin was hired in San Diego, he had a year remaining on his contract in Oakland, but the A’s demanded no compensation, satisfied to free themselves of the salary. The Padres were also happy to let Bruce Bochy abscond to San Francisco after 12 seasons.

    If the Melvin-Preller dynamic in San Diego really is untenable, then perhaps this is the easiest solution for all sides. Melvin is let out of the last year of his contract and allowed to return home. The Padres get out from their financial commitment. Preller gets out of firing a fourth manager in 10 years. And the Giants get the guy they wanted all along.

    Also …

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