Foreign News
Tears, Laughter on Gaza Beach as Children Get Break from War
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Children played on a Gaza beach as displaced families left their cramped shelters for a short break during the truce between Israel and Hamas.
However, amid the laughter their parents could not forget the hardships of war and homelessness.
As children splashed in the shallow water, jumping over small waves, adults in bare feet watched from the shore.
Asmaa al-Sultan, a displaced woman from northern Gaza, sat on the sand with her arm around her mother.
The older woman was crying quietly.More than 30 members of the al-Sultan family are sheltering in a UN school in the town of Deir Al-Balah with hundreds of other displaced people.
“We came to the beach to take a breather, to escape from the feeling of the crowded schools and from the depressing and polluted environment we are in,” said Asmaa.
“People come to the beach to relax, to swim, for their children to have fun, they take food with them. But we are so depressed. We are on the beach but we want to cry,” she added.
Hundreds of thousands of people have left their homes in northern Gaza, which has borne the brunt of Israel’s military assault, to seek refuge in tents, schools, or the homes of friends and relatives in the southern part of the strip.
The gruelling conditions in the tent camps and schools, with overcrowding, a dearth of toilets and showers, and long daily queues for small rations of food and water, have been compounded by the psychological impact of bombardment and displacement.
The beach at Deir Al-Balah has a row of fishermen’s huts at the back, towards the bottom of a slope strewn with rubbish.
Some displaced people had taken up residence in the flimsy huts, clothes hanging on strings outside.
Waleed al-Sultan, one of Asmaa’s younger relatives, was trying to untangle a net near the huts as he prepared to go out fishing in a small boat, hoping the truce would mean he could do so without danger.
“I brought nothing with me when I was displaced, so I thought I would make a living from fishing, but the (Israeli) guards stopped me and started shooting at us,” he said.
The war began when Hamas militants burst out of Gaza on Oct. 7 and rampaged through southern Israel, killing 1,200 people, including babies and children, and seizing 240 hostages.
Israel responded with an all-out assault on Gaza which has killed 14,800 Palestinians, four in ten of them children under 18, according to health officials in the Hamas-controlled territory.
While some displaced people have seized the opportunity of the four-day truce, which began on Friday, to check on their homes, others have been too fearful to return to the north, much of which has been reduced to a wasteland.
“We are afraid about the end of these four days. We don’t know what will happen to us next,” said Hazem al-Sultan, Asmaa’s husband.
He said they and their relatives had not dared to head north for fear of being shot at by Israeli soldiers and had no idea what state their homes might be in.
“We are afraid for our children, for ourselves, and we don’t know what to do,” he said. (Reuters/NAN)
Foreign News
At Least 5 Dead in Fresh Russian Attacks on Ukraine
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Russia has attacked Ukraine for the second consecutive night with heavy airstrikes involving various weapon types, initial reports from Ukrainian authorities said on Monday morning.At least five people were killed, two due to a rocket strike on a hotel in Kryvyi Rih and three others due to drone attacks on Zaporizhzhya, they said.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, the Russian army once again used long-range bombers, launching cruise missiles. Hypersonic missiles of the Kinzhal (Dagger) type were also fired.The attacks were primarily aimed at Ukraine’s energy system, analysts observed.On Monday, Russia launched an attack on Ukraine involving 127 missiles and cruise missiles, along with over 100 combat drones.This was the highest number reported by the Ukrainian military in two and a half years of conflict. (dpa/NAN)Foreign News
Electricity Consumers Laud Jos Disco for Exceptional Service in Benue
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From Attah Ede, Makurdi
A broad spectrum of electricity customers in Benue State yesterday, commended Jos Electricity Distribution Plc for delivering consistent, stable and reliable services in the region.They gave the commendation during a radio interactive program on Brothers FM and monitored by our correspondent, heralding the launch of a customer consultative forum in Gboko, the traditional capital of the Tiv nation.
His Royal Highness, Ikpa Ahua, representing the paramount ruler of Gboko, led the commendations. He praised the company’s significant improvement in electricity supply over the past few months, noting its positive impact on local businesses.Ahua also appreciated the company’s metering policy, which has increased access to prepaid meters for customers.He however lamented the frequent cases of vandalism of electricity installations and pledged to intensify efforts to safeguard these facilities.Other dignitaries, including Prince Makir Zakpe, Kindred head of Gboko South, Zaki Amachi Terkimbi and Zaki Linus, also commended the company’s efficient service.In his opening remarks, Pastor Emma Ameh who represented the Managing Director, Engr Abdu Bello Mohammed, urged customers to settle their energy bills promptly, given the improvements in service delivery.He emphasized the need for customers to fulfill their obligations to enable the company to continue meeting its energy delivery mandate.Presentations by Lucky Akpobi, Head of Customer Complaints and Relationship Management, and Comrade Ojochide Matthew Agbata, Regional Manager of Makurdi, highlighted the benefits of prepaid meters in resolving billing disputes.Head, Corporate Communications, Dr. Friday Adakole Elijah, emphasized the importance of vigilance in combating energy theft and vandalism, urging customers to report suspicious activities to the company or law enforcement agencies.Foreign News
2 Pilots Killed in France as Military Jets Crash Mid-flight
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Two French pilots died when their military jets collided mid-flight in eastern France, the nation’s Air Force said in a post on X.
The two Rafale fighter jets were returning from a mission in Germany when they collided near Colombey-les-Belles, close to the city of Nancy, Wednesday’s post said.
A third pilot ejected safely and was quickly found, unharmed, the post said.
French President, Emmanuel Macron, expressed the country’s condolences to the families of the two pilots.
The aircraft were stationed in Saint-Dizier, in eastern France.
No details were initially provided regarding the cause of the accident. (dpa/NAN)