Tag: World

Lebanon has warned Israel of ‘uncontrollable escalation’ as protests broke out across several Muslim countries after Hezbollah called for a ‘day of rage’ after a hospital was bombed in Gaza on Tuesday night, October 17. 

 

 

The Gaza hospital strike which killed at least 500 people, trigged protest as tens of thousands took to the streets to express their displeasure in several countries. 

 

 

Israel’s military said that it is responding to shots fired at military posts across the Lebanon border and said posts are being attacked in the Zar’it area.

 

 

Sirens sounded in northern Israel near the Lebanon border, including in the city of Kiryat Shmona, warning of possible incoming rocket attacks, the Israeli military said.

 

 

Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said today that continued aggression against Gaza could ignite a ‘fire that could consume the whole region’.

 

 

Bou Habib speaking at a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, warned against sparking tensions ‘that could lead to an uncontainable escalation’. 

 

 

Angry rallies took place in Jordan, Libya, Yemen, Tunisia, Turkey, Morocco, Iran, and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, as Lebanon-based Hezbollah called for a ‘day of rage’ across the region.

 

Protesters held up a doll with red paint on its face, along with a sign which said: ‘Crime against humanity,’ and Palestinian flags. 

 

 

Hundreds rallied at the US and French embassies overnight, where they scuffled with security forces. 

 

 

Demonstrators also made their voices heard outside the Israeli embassy in Amman, Jordan, today as security were deployed to keep the peace. 

 

 

Yesterday evening, protesters in Rabat, Morocco were snapped holding up placards which said: ‘You just need to be humane to support Gaza,’ and waving the Palestinian flag as they took to the streets. 

 

 

Thousands of people across Egypt also demonstrated today, according to Egyptian media.

Morakinyo Ogele, a prominent human rights lawyer in Ondo, has declared that Governor Rotimi Akeredolu can govern the state from any part of the country amid his ill-health condition.

Mr Ogele, who spoke late Wednesday night in Akure, the state capital, wondered why people, especially the main opposition parties, are raising concerns over Mr Akeredolu’s continued absence in the state.

“The constitution has failed to address the question of whether a governor can operate from outside the state,” the human rights lawyer said in an interview. “There is nowhere in the constitution that states the governor can only operate in Ondo state.”

Mr Ogele’s position is coming amid calls for Mr Akeredolu’s whereabouts in the state since his return from a medical vacation abroad.

In September, Mr Akeredolu returned to Nigeria from his three-month medical vacation in Germany after falling sick with an undisclosed ailment.

But since his return, the governor has been staying at his private residence in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, receiving briefings from cabinet members and other government functionaries.

The development has forced residents and critics to question Mr Akeredolu’s whereabouts, with many demanding that he either resume or resign from office.

Speaking further, Mr Ogele argued that the governor has the legal right to direct or govern the affairs of the state as outlined by the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended.

He wondered why there were concerns about the governor, especially when his absence had no adverse effect on the governance of the state.

According to the legal practitioner, the Nigerian Constitution is silent and not specific about where the governor must reside or stay as an elected governor.

He added that once Mr Akeredolu fulfils his responsibilities as governor, there’s no need to raise concerns about his continued absence.

“The constitution is very clear on this issue. Now that the governor is around, nobody has accused him of not performing his constitutional role. Section 189 of the Constitution is as clear as the summer sky. As of now, no one is complaining that the governor has not been performing.

“The moment he arrived, he signed the LCDAs bill into law, and the salary of workers is going on smoothly. It is one thing not to perform his constitutional roles; it is another thing that he is performing. If he cannot perform as governor, that is where the constitution comes in.

“There are lots of gaps in our constitution. The constitution has not indicted any governor who is not within his state to perform his constitutional roles. That is why we need to amend our constitution,” Mr Ogele said.

While noting that the issues relating to the whereabouts of Mr Akeredolu were political, Mr Ogele said that the governor was also sick and receiving treatment for an ailment that could require him to be absent from the state.

“No one is praying to God for the grace to be sick. But the moment you are sick, you just have to take care of yourself, either here in Nigeria or in other countries. So, as a governor, he is subject to sickness.”

Amid the questions about Mr Akeredolu’s whereabouts, the youth wing of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had given him a three-day ultimatum to either address the people of the state or tender his resignation. 

OAP Dotun has seemingly responded to the court order his former in-law, singer DBanj, secured against him. DBanj had approached a district court in ABuja where he secured an order trestraining Dotun from defamining him. He also got an order from the court mandating the police to investigate criminal complaints he leveled against Dotun.

 

In an apparent response to the court order, Dotun in a post shared on his social media handle said if people had obeyed court order, no one would be here. He went on to say that all that is happening now does not concern him as the goal is to see his children. He went on to say over his dead body will anyone make his life dark even while theirs is ‘yellow’

 

‘’Just give me my kids and let me leave my life in peace’ he wrote

 

Read his post below

The Palestinian Ambassador in Nigeria, Abu Shawesh, has called on the United Nations and African Union to set up an independent commission of inquiry on Tuesday’s attack on a hospital in Gaza.

The envoy made the call on Wednesday in Abuja while addressing journalists on the attack.

He said that women and children were mostly killed when Israeli Air Force jets allegedly struck the Baptist Hospital in Gaza.

Mr Shawesh said that the hospital, which was located side by side with the Baptist Church, had served as a safe haven for families displaced by the ongoing war.

He also said that calls by the Israeli authorities for people to evacuate the hospital were rejected by medical personnel of the hospital, who said doing so would amount to slow killing of sick and injured patients receiving health services.

He allegedly said that “before the end of Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. (Jerusalem time), Israeli occupation war aircrafts bombed the Baptist Hospital in Gaza.

“The displaced families believed that this hospital was completely immune from military attacks, in accordance with international law.

“The death toll of the Palestinians in this massacre has so far reached about 900 people; the majority of them are women and children, in addition to several hundred wounded.

“Since Oct. 7, the death toll on the Palestinian side is more than 3000, of which two to three are children and women and more than a thousand are still missing under the rubbles.

“I call for a humanitarian court to be set up by an independent body such as the United Nations and African Union aside from the West.

“Many Western media outlets are waging a dirty war against the Palestinian people by broadcasting and distributing dozens of false and fake news,” he added.

(NAN)