UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has issued an urgent appeal to governments worldwide to take action in light of the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

“Everyone in government needs to wake up to what is happening in Gaza.

“All those with influence must exert maximum pressure on Israel and Hamas, to put an end to this unbearable suffering,” Türk said at the opening of the UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva on Monday.

He said that a lasting peace is only possible through a two-state solution, with Gaza forming part of a future Palestinian state.

Türk had delivered sharp criticism of Israel’s military campaign against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, saying its means and methods of warfare are inflicting horrifying, unconscionable suffering on Palestinians.

He condemned what he described as “disturbing, dehumanising rhetoric” by Israeli officials and criticised the ongoing blockade of UN humanitarian aid deliveries, which has been in place since March.

He also called for an investigation into deaths linked to food distribution efforts coordinated through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a controversial initiative backed by Israel and the United States.

Civilians are often forced to walk miles through active conflict zones to reach the limited number of GHF aid center’s, dozens have been killed in the process. (dpa/NAN)

Rev. Fr. Polycarp Lubo, the Chairman of the Plateau Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), is dead.Lubo, a priest of the Catholic Archdiocese of Jos, died in the early hours of Sunday at the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH).Report says that two weeks ago Lubo was involved an accident, where he sustained a head injury.

Rev. Fr. Daniel Gyang, the Chancellor of the archdiocese, confirmed the incident to newsmen on Sunday in Jos. “On a sad note, but with total submission to the will of God, we announce the passing unto eternal glory of Very Rev. Fr. Polycarp Lubo.“He passed on to eternal glory in the early hours of Sunday, June 15.“The Archbishop condoles with his immediate family, CAN in Plateau, the presbyterium of Jos and the parishioners of St. William’s Parish, Zawan, where he was the Parish Priest.“The archbishop equally commiserates with all the Religious and lay faithful of the archdiocese over this loss,”he Gyang said.The chancellor said that burial arrangements for the deceased would be announced in due course.(NAN)

The Police Command in Anambra say its operatives have arrested two suspects who are parts of a criminal syndicate that defrauded a victim of two trucks load of cement, worth N17 million in the state.The command’s Spokesman, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a statement, issued in Onitsha and made available to newsmen on Sunday.

Ikenga said the incident occured on May 17. According to him, following a complaint, received by police operatives, attached to the 3-3 police station on how one Edwin Emeka of unknown address, defrauded an unsuspecting member of the public. He added that the victim was defrauded of two trucks load of cement, worth N17 million.He revealed that the police arrested one Charles Nnanna and Chukwunonso Okoye in possession of the goods.He explained that the victim met Edwin online, and had been in communication with him.“Immediately the cement was supplied, all attempts to get to Edwin proved abortive, before the police operatives traced the goods to different shops in the state,” he said.The police PRO said the two suspects are currently undergoing interrogations, to provide more information on how to arrest Edwin and other syndicate members.He further stressed that the case highlighted the importance of vigilance, especially those people who meet online for business transactions, and other personal engagements, to prevent harm or loss of life and property.He promised that the suspects would be charged to court on the conclusion of the investigations. (NAN)