₦airaland Forum

helinues:
You can see from my comments that I passed a message. You could be one of the audience hence your response.

Which truth don't come out from gazette? Tell us

Everything here is true with audacity on something he had no clue about. Indeed a good audience

ANTHONY JOSHUA is visiting war-torn Ukraine alongside Oleksandr Usyk.

The former heavyweight rivals have headed to capital Kyiv, with Usyk keen to show Joshua around.

The reigning world heavyweight champion, 39, posted a video to X of himself meeting up with AJ.

In the short clip, AJ can be seen approaching Usyk at an airport.

Beaming, the Brit says: “Ukraine! For the first time in my life.”

Wearing a Stone Island jacket and beige baseball cap, Usyk replies: “It’s good. I show you, I show you Kyiv.”

To which Joshua adds: “Let’s go! We go to see Kyiv.”

Usyk accompanied the clip with the message: “Going to Kyiv with @anthonyjoshua.

“Already planning a little tour around the city. Excited to show some of my favorite spots!”

Usyk subsequently posted a picture of himself alongside Joshua in the city, captioning it: “Welcome to Ukraine.”

The pair also enjoyed some live music together, with both clapping along as three women sang and two men played instruments.

Usyk proudly captioned this further clip: “Fully immersed in Ukrainian culture.”

The Cat is back in his homeland for a boxing event put on by his promotion.

He wrote in a further Instagram post: “I’m heading back to Ukraine, and not just like that… Tomorrow is the Rising Stars professional boxing night by @usyk17.promotions.

“Of course, I can’t miss an event like this, even with training in full swing and my preparation for the May fight ramping up.

“This is where new names rise and their big journey begins. It’s going to be loud. It’s going to be electric. And definitely unforgettable!”

The card is set to be headlined by home fighter Daniel Lapin, who takes on Kristaps Bulmeistars.

Lapin, 28, was last in action at Wembley Stadium last summer as he beat Englishman Lewis Edmondson on the undercard of Usyk’s rematch win over Daniel Dubois.

Despite Kyiv remaining a warzone, Lapin gets a homecoming fight this Saturday, with Usyk and Joshua likely to be ringside.

Usyk, meanwhile, will next be in the ring in Egypt on May 23 when he takes on kickboxing great Rico Verhoeven.

Kemi Badenoch has said that Britain is making the same mistakes on energy as the Nigeria she grew up in.

In the face of an energy crisis caused by the war in Iran, the Conservative Party leader hit out at Labour for shutting down the North Sea and refusing to issue new oil and gas licenses.

She compared Britain to the Nigeria of her childhood, suggesting that the Government’s focus on net zero risked Britain’s energy security.

Writing for The Telegraph, Mrs Badenoch said: “Energy is growth. I grew up in a country rich with oil – but because Nigeria’s leaders made bad policy choices it never lived up to its full potential, instead it was hampered by unreliable electricity and regular fuel shortages.

“Britain is now making similar mistakes. It astonishes me to see Labour considering subsidies as the first option instead of drilling our own oil and gas and cutting the green taxes deindustrialising the UK.”

Mrs Badenoch also attacked Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, whom she accused of “effectively running the Government” and using his power to push “illogical” and “dangerous” net zero dogma.

She claimed Sir Keir Starmer’s weak leadership on the Iran war meant that the Prime Minister had “no say or seat at the table”, leaving Britain “hostage to forces we cannot control”.

“We can only guarantee our security and prosperity in an unstable world if we produce our own cheap, reliable energy,” Mrs Badenoch added.

“Getting Britain drilling again is an economic double whammy, because it also creates jobs here in the UK. This is the difference between the Conservatives and other parties. Labour always reaches for more borrowing and handouts when the red lights start flashing.

“Reform make noise, but have done no serious work or planning and the Greens presumably think the country can run on vegetable oil. The Conservatives are the only party with a plan to fix Britain’s energy problems.”

A Government spokesman said: “Issuing new licences to explore new fields cannot give us energy security and will not take a penny off bills.

“Regardless of where it comes from, oil and gas is sold on international markets, which set the price for British billpayers – making us a price taker. The only way to truly protect ourselves from these price spikes is to get off the rollercoaster of fossil fuel markets.”

Mrs Badenoch’s comments came as one of the world’s largest airlines began taking fuel-saving measures as managers braced for the possibility that the price of oil could surge 60 per cent higher.

United Airlines said it was scrapping flights on less-profitable routes following a doubling of jet fuel prices since February.

Scott Kirby, the airline’s chief executive, said the moves were part of steps to prepare for a scenario in which oil hits $175 (£131) a barrel and remains above $100 through 2027.

That would push up United’s annual fuel bill by about $11bn – more than twice the company’s best-ever profit, Mr Kirby warned.

In a memo to staff, the chief executive said: “Honestly, I think there’s a good chance it won’t be that bad – but there isn’t much downside for us ⁠to preparing for that outcome.”

Mr Kirby said the moves aimed to ensure that the company was “in a stronger position” to react if oil prices remained elevated.

He added that United did not plan to furlough staff, defer aircraft orders or delay investments. The airline would have to “be smart and nimbly manage our schedule” to cut fuel spending, he said.

Delta Air Lines, United’s rival, has also said it is looking at cutting flights if fuel prices remain high.

Since late February – when the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran – the price of Brent crude has rocketed from $70 to $110 a barrel.

That has followed strikes on regional energy facilities and the Iranian closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a shipping chokepoint. This shutdown has locked huge amounts of oil and gas into the Gulf, and sent markets into a panic.

In response, United has begun trimming flights that are less busy and so have been rendered unprofitable by fuel price increases.

The airline has cut midweek, Saturday and overnight services as well as keeping services to destinations such as Tel Aviv and Dubai suspended. Overall, the cuts amount to about 5 per cent of the company’s total capacity.

American carriers are more exposed to jet fuel cost increases because, unlike many of their European counterparts, they do not tend to hedge. The companies have instead relied on raising fares and trimming capacity to cut costs.

So far, major airlines have said strong demand for flights is giving them room to do that. United said the first 10 weeks of this year were the strongest for bookings in its history.

But Mr Kirby said listening to his rivals at a recent conference had left him convinced that they were being complacent.

“Many said some version of ‘hope is our strategy’,” he said. “It’s possible they’re right and the war ends quickly. But if it doesn’t, this will be our opportunity.”

Angelfrost:
Yes, but he is just one player...!

Arsenal had injuries to key players like Saka, yet kept the flag flying.

Angelfrost:
Every team playing at least 2 competitions should be tired.

Arteta, Flick, Enrique, Arbeloa, Pep, etc, all have the same team fatigue crisis... So, that excuse is just silly.

Arbeloa went into the UCL fixture with most of his experienced players injured.

Kompany had to pull a 16 year old youth Goalkeeper from the U18 to start because he had all his senior keepers injured.


This complain of multiple games is becoming very idiotic.

Enrique won the quadruple last season.

Ferguson, Ancellotti, Hiddink, Mourinho, and Pep have won multiple titles in the same multiple tournaments...!

So, what is new?!!

Angelfrost:
Isn't all the money being tossed around hurting them?!!

Most of the players they signed have been awful.... Including the inexperienced clown managing them.

Ali Larijani, Iran’s top security official, strolled confidently in dark sunglasses and a black coat Friday through a rally of regime loyalists in central Tehran. It was his first public appearance in a war in which he was a known target. “Brave people. Brave officials. Brave leaders. This combination cannot be defeated,” he wrote later on X.

Four days later, he was dead. Early Tuesday morning, Israel’s intelligence services found Larijani gathered with other officials at a hideout on the outskirts of Tehran and killed him with a missile strike.

That same night, Israel got a tip from ordinary Iranians that the leader of the feared Basij militia, Gholamreza Soleimani, was holing up with his deputies in a tent in a wooded area in Tehran. It was the sort of payoff Israel had been hoping for after blowing up Basij headquarters and command posts for more than two weeks, forcing its members to gather out in the open. Soleimani, too, was struck and killed.

Israeli and American leaders said at the outset that the war with Iran would create the conditions for Iranians to topple their regime. The killings early Tuesday——followed by the Israeli announcement a day later that Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib had also been killed—were milestones in that campaign made possible by the fast-accumulating damage from airstrikes and a growing harvest of intelligence about possible targets.

With thousands of regime members killed—from top leaders to street-level grunts—Iranians are reporting that a sense of disorder is starting to take hold. Security forces are under stress and on the run as they threaten protesters to stay off the streets and direct strikes at the U.S., Israel and Arab neighbors across the Persian Gulf.

Detailed target lists and battle-damage reports viewed by The Wall Street Journal give an inside look at the enormous effort being deployed to wear them down.

The documents show the effort began in the early days of the war and continues to ramp up. Israel is chasing security forces from their headquarters to muster points then on to hideouts under bridges in an effort to disrupt their activity and show Iranians that the enforcers are being taken out.

So far Israel says it has dropped 10,000 munitions on thousands of different targets, including more than 2,200 related to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Basij and other internal security forces. It believes thousands have been killed or wounded.

The advanced technology deployed by Israel and the penetration of Iranian society by its agents are combining to create the greatest threat yet to a deeply entrenched regime.

But decades of military experience show it is difficult if not impossible to dislodge a government from the air. And if the Iranian regime survives, it could emerge emboldened and more dangerous. “It will be a clear victory for the regime with both predictable and unforeseen circumstances,” said Farzin Nadimi, an Iran-focused senior fellow with the Washington Institute, a U.S.-based think tank.

Israel began the war with a shot at the regime’s heart, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at his compound in the first salvo, and working with the U.S. quickly destroyed most of Iran’s missile launchers and wiped out its air defenses.

Then they divided responsibilities. The U.S. focused on Iran’s military and industrial power, and Israel went after the structures of internal control in earnest.

By the second day, Israeli warplanes were systematically hitting headquarters and command centers related to the Revolutionary Guard’s domestic security arms, the Basij militia and special police forces.

Documents reviewed by the Journal show the strikes targeted everything from the Tharallah—the Revolutionary Guard unit responsible for protecting the capital—down to neighborhood police stations in Tehran. Israel aimed for sites where Israeli intelligence had determined regime personnel were present.

The targets then broadened. Israeli intelligence learned that Iran had a fallback plan for its internal security forces in the event their facilities were destroyed—mustering at local sports complexes.

Israel watched the sites fill up and then hit them before the end of the first week. Those strikes, according to battle-damage assessments seen by the Journal, were among the deadliest of the war, killing hundreds of members of the security services and military, the vast majority at Azadi Stadium, a large venue for soccer games.

Footage showed security officers lying on the pavement outside another stadium, according to videos verified by Storyful, a social-media intelligence firm owned by News Corp, the parent company of the Journal.

Security personnel pushed into Gandhi hospital in Tehran and forced patients to make room for their wounded, one doctor said.

Iranian officials denounced the strikes as attacks on civilian targets, and Iranian state media published pictures of the aftermath but didn’t mention the presence of security forces.

The Israeli military said it hit a Ministry of Intelligence command center operating out of an Iranian Electricity Co. compound in the heart of Tehran. Iranian state media said the strike killed several employees and engineers, and injured and killed several bystanders.

The attacks hurt rank-and-file morale and drove some security forces to begin sleeping in their vehicles, mosques or other sports facilities, Israel’s assessment said.

Meanwhile, Israeli intelligence officials began placing calls to individual commanders, threatening them and their families by name if they didn’t stand aside in the event of an uprising, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Journal reviewed the contents of one call between a senior Iranian police commander and an agent of the Mossad, Israel’s foreign-intelligence service.

“Can you hear me?” a Mossad agent can be heard, speaking in Farsi. “We know everything about you. You are on our blacklist, and we have all the information about you.”

“OK,” the commander said in the recording.

“I called to warn you in advance that you should stand with your people’s side,” the Mossad agent said. “And if you will not do that, your destiny will be as your leader. Do you hear me?”

“Brother, I swear on the Quran, I’m not your enemy,” the commander said. “I’m a dead man already. Just please come help us.”

On the ground, Israel went after police warehouses, destroying computer equipment, vehicles and police gear, according to target lists seen by the Journal. Another target was motorcycle units, which have been central to efforts to suppress protests.

At one point, Israel struck around 34 different sites related to the internal-security forces in the Ilam Province, an area in western Iran near the Iraqi border with a large Kurdish population, according to a target list seen by the Journal.

The Iranian Kurds have a tense relationship with the central government and have their own armed groups. President Trump expressed support for an armed Kurdish offensive against Iran around the time of the strikes, but later reversed himself.

Last week, while Israeli officials were openly questioning whether air power alone could bring down the regime, the military was expanding its targets.

Israel’s air force began operating fleets of loitering drones above Tehran and other areas of Iran, shifting its focus from command centers to individual Basij checkpoints and roadblocks. The drones hit dozens of targets, killing two to four security personnel at a time.

The attacks were in many cases guided by tips sent by ordinary Iranians, Israeli security officials said. On Thursday, at least three different checkpoints were targeted, including at the Imam Reza Highway and on Shahed Street in northern Tehran.

More followed over the weekend. On Sunday night, Israeli forces conducted a targeted hunt for checkpoints, hitting 11, including in Enghelab and Azadi squares in Tehran and along a number of expressways.

Iranians confirmed that attacks on checkpoints have been taking place.

The success of the Israeli campaign is difficult to assess independently. Iran has taken down the internet and is closely controlling information. People who share videos of damage have been arrested.

Israel has assessed that the air war is creating disruption in command and control and harming morale in the security forces. Iranians said they have seen security forces scramble for safe workspaces while hunted by Israeli jets and drones, taking over schools and sports facilities and civilian buildings.

The doctor in Tehran said police in Vanak, an affluent neighborhood of the capital, moved their checkpoint beneath a highway bridge to avoid being targeted. He said other forces pleaded with him to let them stay the night in his building. Several were sleeping in a nook by the stairs. He said he has also seen security forces set up tents or house themselves inside buses.

Other residents said many security officers are hiding in residential buildings. When they move in, the neighbors evacuate, fearing a strike, one resident said.

Investigations into crimes like theft that happened before the war are in limbo with police forces under attack, some said.

One Tehran resident said a friend hasn’t been able to retrieve a car that was stolen and recovered by police before the war began, because there is no one at the police station to turn it over. Another said police told him and other shop owners to close before dark because they couldn’t guarantee their security.

Whatever fraying of authority, it is clear Iran’s security forces still have control of the streets and are keeping dissent at bay with threats to shoot to kill. Many Iranians said it would be suicide to rise up now and fear Israel and the U.S. will leave the regime intact but angrier.

Israel’s security establishment believes Iran’s crumbling economy and popular anger have put the regime on an irreversible path to collapse whether it happens during the war or down the road. Ultimately, though, it is a job Israel and the U.S. are putting on the Iranian people.

“They are seeing a decaying system before their eyes,” said Nadimi. “But it would take a lot more attacks to turn the tables.”

The Senegalese Football Federation has rejected the decision of the Confederation of African Football Appeal Board awarding the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title to Morocco and confirmed it will challenge the ruling at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Morocco were on Tuesday crowned champions of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after the Confederation of African Football Appeal Board overturned the result of the final against Senegal, ruling that the West African side forfeited the match following a walk-off during the game in Rabat on January 19.

CAF stated that “the Senegal national team is declared to have forfeited the final match of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025, with the result recorded as 3–0 in favour of the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football.”

The decision followed a protest by Morocco after chaotic scenes late in the final, when Senegal players briefly left the pitch after a disallowed goal and a penalty awarded to the hosts, an action the appeal board ruled fell under Articles 82 and 84 of the competition regulations on misconduct and forfeiture.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Fédération Sénégalaise de Football said it had taken note of the decision delivered by CAF’s Appeal Committee in case DC23316, which followed a complaint filed during match 52 of the TotalEnergies AFCON Morocco 2025 final between Senegal and Morocco.

“The Senegalese Football Federation has today taken note of the notification of the decision rendered on March 17, 2026 by the Appeals Committee of the Confederation of African Football, in the context of case DC23316,” the statement read.

The federation said the appeal board declared admissible the protest lodged by the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football and overturned the earlier decision of the CAF Disciplinary Board, citing a procedural flaw in the initial hearing.

“With this decision, the CAF Appeals Board declared the appeal of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation admissible and accepted it.

“In doing so, the board overturned the decision rendered by the CAF Disciplinary Board, on the grounds that the appellant’s right to be heard had not been respected during the initial proceedings,” the FSF said.

According to the statement, the appeal committee ruled that the conduct of the Senegal national team fell under Articles 82 and 84 of the Africa Cup of Nations regulations, leading to the forfeiture decision.

“The Appeals Committee also determined that the conduct of the Senegalese team fell under Articles 82 and 84 of the Africa Cup of Nations Regulations.

“Consequently, CAF declared that the FSF had violated Article 82 and awarded the match by forfeit, with a recorded score of 3–0 in favor of the FRMF, in accordance with Article 84,” the federation stated.

Reacting to the verdict, the Senegalese federation criticised the decision, describing it as damaging to the credibility of African football.

“The Senegalese Football Federation denounces an unfair, unprecedented and unacceptable decision that discredits African football,” the statement added.

The federation confirmed that it would file an appeal before the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.

“To defend its rights and the interests of Senegalese football, the Federation will initiate, as soon as possible, an appeal procedure before the Court of Arbitration for Sport,” the statement said.

The FSF added that it remained committed to due process and would continue to inform the public as the case progresses.

“The FSF reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the values of integrity and sporting justice, and will keep the public informed of the follow-up to this matter,” the statement concluded.

Israel's Defence Minister Israel ​Katz said on ‌Wednesday that Iranian Intelligence Minister ​Esmail Khatib ​was "eliminated" in a strike ⁠overnight.

There has ​been no confirmation ​from Iran regarding Khatib's reported death.

Katz ​said he ​and Israeli Prime Minister ‌Benjamin ⁠Netanyahu had authorized the military to kill any ​other ​senior ⁠Iranian official being targeted ​without the ​need ⁠for additional approval.

Afghanistan Says Pakistan Hit Kabul Rehab Centre Killing 408, Islamabad Rejects Claim

More than 400 people were killed and 265 wounded in an airstrike by Pakistan on ​a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul, a spokesman of the Afghan Taliban government said on Tuesday, a sharp escalation in the conflict between the neighbours.

Pakistan rejected the statement as ‌false and misleading and said it had "precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure" on Monday night.

The airstrike came hours after China said it remained ready to continue efforts to ease tensions between the South Asian Islamic nations and urged both to avoid expanding the war and return to the negotiating table.

The conflict that began last month is the worst between the neighbours, who share a 2,600-km (1,600-mile) border.

DRUG REHAB CENTRE USED TO BE NATO TRAINING BASE

Hamdullah Fitrat, the deputy spokesman for the Taliban, ​said in a post on X the airstrike took place at 9 p.m. (1630 GMT) on Monday and targeted the state-run Omid Hospital, which he said was a 2,000-bed drug rehabilitation centre.

The Pakistani ​information ministry said Omid Hospital was miles away from Camp Phoenix, the "military terrorist ammunition and equipment storage site" that it said was targeted.

"The visible secondary detonations ⁠after the strikes clearly indicate the presence of large ammunition depots," Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said in a post on X.

Kabul residents, including a Reuters journalist, said Camp Phoenix, an abandoned NATO military ​base in the city, was converted into a drug treatment centre about a decade ago, and locals referred to it as Omid Camp, or "camp of hope", although its official name was "Ibn Sina Drug Addiction Treatment Hospital".

It was ​this centre that had been hit, they said, adding that Omid Hospital and Omid Camp were not related.
Fierce fighting between the former close allies erupted last month with Pakistani air strikes in Afghanistan that Islamabad said targeted militant strongholds.

Islamabad says Kabul provides a safe haven to militants launching attacks on Pakistan. The Taliban deny the allegation, saying tackling militancy is Pakistan's internal problem.

'IT WAS LIKE DOOMSDAY', SAYS A SURVIVOR

At the site of the airstrike, a blackened single-storey structure bore the marks ​of flames. In other places, buildings were reduced to heaps of wood and metal, with only a few bunk beds still intact in some, while blankets, personal belongings and bedding were strewn about.

Afghan Interior ​ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qanie said 408 people were killed and 265 wounded. Afghan authorities said the dead and the wounded were taken to hospitals around Kabul but did not give details of how many bodies had been recovered ‌and how ⁠the casualties had been counted.

Those killed were mostly civilians and addicts, added Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.

Reuters could not verify the casualty numbers. Throughout the conflict, both sides have claimed to have inflicted heavy damage on the other but independent verification has not been possible.

The Norwegian Refugee Council, an independent aid group, said its staff had seen large numbers of casualties.
"We visited the hospital treating addicts in Kabul this morning and found hundreds of civilians dead and injured," it said in a statement. "Civilians and civilian infrastructure must never be targeted."

Witnesses said they heard three bombs exploding just as people in the centre were completing evening prayers, and that two ​of them struck rooms and patient areas.

"The whole ​place caught fire. It was like doomsday," said Ahmad, ⁠50, who said he was under treatment at the facility and gave only his first name. "My friends were burning in the fire, and we could not save them all."

Map of Kabul showing Kabul International Airport on the left and a hospital marked with a red explosion icon on the right, indicating the reported air strike location. Roads, rivers, and a 500 m scale bar and north arrow are included.

CHINA APPEALS FOR CALM, INDIA CONDEMNS STRIKE

The spokesman for Pakistan's prime minister called the Afghan reference to drug users being targeted "constant lies" and said Pakistan's "counterterrorism ​operations" would continue for as long as it took to eliminate "terrorists and their infrastructure".

China once again appealed for calm and restraint and also to ensure ​the safety of Chinese personnel, ⁠projects and institutions in the region.
“China … will continue to play a constructive role through its own channels to de-escalate tensions and improve relations between the two countries," said Lin Jian, a foreign ministry spokesman.

Pakistan's arch-rival India, which has recently forged close ties with the Afghan Taliban, said it unequivocally condemned the strike.

"That this attack was carried out during the holy month of Ramzan, a time of peace, reflection, and mercy among Muslim communities across the ⁠world, makes it ​all the more reprehensible,” the Indian foreign ministry spokesperson said in a statement.

The conflict had ebbed amid efforts by friendly countries ​including China to mediate, but flared again just days before the Eid al-Fitr festival that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

Two senior officials in the intelligence branch of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya emergency command were killed in a targeted Israeli Air Force strike in Tehran, the IDF confirmed on Saturday.

The military identified the officials as Abdallah Jalali-Nasab and Amir Shariat, and said the operation was carried out with precise guidance from Israeli Military Intelligence.

According to the IDF, the two men had recently been appointed as acting replacements in the intelligence division after their predecessor, Saleh Asadi, was killed in the opening phase of Operation Roaring Lion. Both were viewed as senior intelligence commanders and key figures within Iran’s intelligence community, with close ties to the upper ranks of the regime.

The Khatam al-Anbiya emergency command is responsible for gathering and analyzing intelligence for senior officials in Iran’s security establishment, according to the report. Those assessments help shape the regime’s military decision-making against Israel.

Walla reported that Asadi, the previous head of the unit’s intelligence branch, had been involved in formulating Iranian strategy toward Israel and the United States. The military also said he had played a significant role in Iran’s plan for Israel’s destruction.

Part of a broader campaign
IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Effie Defrin said that hundreds of Israeli Air Force aircraft had struck hundreds of targets tied to the Iranian regime across Iran since the start of the campaign. He said the operation began with a surprise attack after Military Intelligence identified two gathering points in Tehran where senior Iranian security leaders had assembled.

The killing of replacement intelligence officials inside Tehran would point to continued Israeli pressure on Iran’s command network, only a day after the military said it had completed 20 waves of strikes against more than 150 regime targets.

Emmanuel Macron has drafted a plan to end the war in Lebanon that would require Beirut to recognise Israel.

The French government hopes that a new framework that would also see Lebanon back the disarming of Hezbollah could pave the way for a peace deal, Axios reported.

Citing three people familiar with the matter, the US news website said the plan would see Israel and Lebanon agree to a “political declaration”, to be agreed within one month, which would include Lebanon’s initial recognition of Israel.

It comes as the US-Israeli confrontation with Iran intensifies, with Donald Trump calling for a global flotilla to head to the Gulf and force open the crucial shipping lane of Strait of Hormuz.

Lebanon is one of several Arab nations that have refused to recognise Israel.

Two days after the assassination of Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, Tehran-backed Hezbollah entered the war by launching drones and missiles south of the border.

Israel has responded by launching air strikes at Hezbollah near the border and in the terror group’s stronghold of Beirut’s southern suburbs.

The war between Israel and Hezbollah has intensified since Wednesday when militants fired more than 200 rockets across the border in an apparently coordinated attack with Iran.

The conflict has seen 800,000 people displaced and more than 800 people killed, including 100 children.
The latest intervention by the French president seeks to halt escalation and prevent a major ground offensive by Israel in southern Lebanon to dismantle Hezbollah’s operations.

It comes amid reports Israel planned to seize the entire area south of the Litani river and fears within the Lebanese government the war will devastate the country.

Israel and the US are said to be reviewing the French proposal, which is hoped will secure a historic peace deal and increase pressure to disarm Hezbollah.

The Lebanese government is said to have accepted the plan as a basis for peace talks and under the proposal Israel and Beirut would open negotiations with the support of the US and France.

A “political declaration” would be agreed within one month and the negotiations would begin with senior diplomats before moving to political leaders.

Talks could take place in Paris and the proposed declaration would include Lebanon’s initial recognition of Israel and a commitment to respect the country’s sovereignty.

The two countries would also reaffirm their commitment to the UN resolution which ended the 2006 war as well as the ceasefire agreement following the 2024 conflict.

It would see the Lebanese government commit to preventing attacks on Israel from within its territory and its own plan to disarm Hezbollah.

Haaretz reported that the two countries were expected to hold direct talks in the coming days.

Donald Trump is set to announce that a coalition of countries will escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, according to a report.

The US president is pressuring America’s allies, including Britain, to accompany vessels as Iran’s shutdown of the critical shipping channel threatens to worsen a spiralling economic crisis.

Members of the group, led by the US, are still discussing if operations in the strait would commence before or after the end of hostilities. Mr Trump is set to announce the coalition this week, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The US president said on Sunday his administration was talking to seven countries about helping to secure the strait.

“I’m demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory, because it is their territory,” Mr Trump told reporters on board Air Force One on Sunday evening.

He ‌declined to reveal which governments his administration had contacted. But Mr Trump has previously appealed to China, France, Japan, South Korea and Britain for support with opening the strait.

The UK and other countries have been wary of committing publicly to deploying their forces to the Middle East given the risk of provoking Tehran, which has placed mines throughout the strait and threatened retaliation.

However, Britain and member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council released a joint statement on Sunday condemning the Islamic Republic’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz and affirming their right to “take all necessary measures to defend their security and stability and protect their territories, citizens and residents”.

Reports of the coalition agreement came as Britain resists the US president’s appeal for a “team effort” to reopen the waterway, where traffic has slowed to a trickle since Iran warned it would set fire to any vessel attempting to pass through.

On Sunday, Sir Keir Starmer ruled out sending warships even as he held a call with Mr Trump to discuss the “importance of reopening the Strait of Hormuz”.

Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, said the Government was “intensively looking” at mechanisms to restore the flow of ships through the channel, but did not commit to a firm plan.

The price of crude oil has consistently spiked to more than $100 a barrel, sending worldwide markets into freefall and driving the White House into panic mode over soaring petrol costs.

Prices jumped further on Monday morning after the US struck a key Iranian production facility on Kharg Island at the weekend and Mr Trump hinted at a second attack “just for fun”.

Chris Wright, the US energy secretary, said the Trump administration aims to bring prices down in “a few more weeks”, but cautioned that “there are no guarantees in war”.

Several other countries, including Germany, France and South Korea, have poured cold water on Mr Trump’s coalition.

France refused the US president’s request, with Catherine Vautrin, the armed forces minister, stating that her country’s stance would remain “defensive and protective” and France would not be forced into the war.

Johann Wadephul, Germany’s foreign minister, said he is “sceptical” about an expansion of the EU’s Aspides naval mission – which is currently deployed to prevent Houthi attacks off the coast of Yemen – into the Strait of Hormuz because the operation “hasn’t been effective” at protecting ships in the Red Sea.

“That’s why I’m very sceptical whether an expansion of Aspides into the Strait of Hormuz could provide more security,” Mr Wadephul told ARD.

The 27 EU member states are set to discuss the idea at a foreign affairs meeting on Monday.

The White House declined to comment on reports about the coalition to The Wall Street Journal.

brain54:
Trump's war...


Doesn't even make sense in the first place.


This has to be one of the stupidest wars in history!

Iran’s armed forces are facing acute supply shortages, rising desertions and deepening friction between the regular army (Artesh) and the Revolutionary Guards, according to informed sources who described a military system under growing strain as the war intensifies.

Among the most serious allegations are reports that wounded army personnel have been denied assistance by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), that some frontline units are operating with minimal ammunition, food and drinking water, and that attempts to mobilize reserve forces have faltered.

Tensions between army and Revolutionary Guards

One of the sharpest points of friction appears to involve medical support for wounded soldiers.

Sources said that regular army units are suffering significant casualties but that IRGC personnel have refused to transport injured army soldiers to hospitals despite having access to medical facilities.

According to the sources, Revolutionary Guards officials rejected repeated army requests for assistance, citing shortages of ambulances and blood supplies.

The refusals have deepened anger and resentment between personnel from the two forces, adding to long-standing institutional tensions between the regular army (Artesh) and the IRGC.

Frontline shortages

The reported tensions come alongside severe shortages affecting some frontline and field units of the Iranian army.

Sources described worsening logistical conditions that have left troops struggling with limited ammunition and inadequate basic supplies.

In one example cited by the sources, some units were issued only 20 bullets for every two Artesh soldiers, leaving troops with little capacity to respond to potential attacks.

Field units in several areas are also said to be operating without reliable access to drinking water or sufficient food supplies.

The harsh conditions and what some soldiers perceive as neglect by commanders have contributed to what sources described as group desertions, with soldiers leaving bases and seeking refuge in nearby towns.

Strain extends to IRGC units

The strain is not limited to the regular army, according to the sources.

Even within IRGC missile units – traditionally among the best resourced parts of Iran’s military – there have been reports of communications equipment failures and shortages of food and other basic supplies.

Despite these problems, the sources said the command structure appears to be prioritizing the delivery of technical components needed to keep missile systems operational, rather than sending additional food rations or individual equipment to personnel.

The accounts suggest commanders are focusing on maintaining strategic weapons capabilities while troops face deteriorating living conditions.

Reserve mobilization falters

Efforts to widen the manpower pool appear to have run into resistance as well.

Sources said attempts by the Revolutionary Guards to mobilize reserve forces earlier this week produced limited results.

Many of those summoned for service reportedly did not report to military centers. Instead, some individuals used the situation to leave their areas and assist family members in moving toward border regions in hopes of leaving the country.

1 🔴 Katsina — 7,405
2 🔴 Sokoto — 6,020
3 🔴 Kano — 5,564
4 🟠 Niger — 5,388
5 ⚫ Adamawa — 5,034
6 ⚫ Borno — 4,594
7 🔴 Kaduna — 4,219
8 ⚫ Taraba — 4,096
9 🔴 Jigawa — 3,900
10 ⚫ Gombe — 3,768
11 🔴 Zamfara — 3,192
12 ⚫ Yobe — 2,588

🟠NC⚫NE🔴NW

National Total — 88,367 teachers without teaching qualifications

The North West accounts for 50% of the states on the list, while the North East represents 41.7%, leaving just one state (Niger) from the North Central.

Trump sends military to open Strait of Hormuz by force
President deploys marine unit that could put boots on the ground to secure key route for oil

Donald Trump is sending US marines to the Middle East to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as concerns grow that rising oil prices could cause a global recession.

The president ordered a warship carrying an expeditionary unit that could lead to boots on the ground in Iran.

Mr Trump pledged that US forces would hit the Iranian regime “very hard” over the next week and added that the war with Tehran would end “when I feel it in my bones”.

More tankers came under fire from Iranian forces on Friday after the new supreme leader pledged to keep the strait closed until attacks on Iran stopped.

Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, insisted to reporters that they “don’t need to worry about” the strait. It was “something we are dealing with”, he said.

US officials confirmed on Friday that the USS Tripoli had already departed from Okinawa, Japan, with 5,000 sailors and a Marine Amphibious Ready Group, the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit.

The expeditionary unit is capable of carrying out special air and surface operations and has landing force capabilities, but is unlikely to arrive for another two weeks.

IRCG officers, others to go without pay as Israel targets Iran’s Sepah Bank amid broadening war

Officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, IRCG and other military personnel in Iran could experience a disruption in their salary payments as Israel targets infrastructure linked to Sepah Bank, a major Iranian state owned bank associated with the country’s military.

‎Sepah Bank and another state-run institution Bank Melli, were hit by missiles from Israel on Tuesday, leading to a disruption in operations of both financial institutions.

‎The Sepah Bank is a major financial institution in Iran which has been the most widely used payments and financial transactions channel for Iran’s military institutions, including the IRGC. 


‎According to reports by the Jerusalem Post, the attack occured while the bank was “processing salary payments for the military.”

‎Officials further warned that the disruption could affect financial services for military personnel and other government workers if the bank’s systems remain impaired.

‎The attack on the Iranian bank comes amid intensifying hostilities between Israel and Iran, in which banking infrastructure and systems have increasingly become targets.

‎Bank Sepah, a major financial institution in Iran, serves as one the country’s oldest state banks associated with providing financial services to Iran’s armed forces.

Strike targets Iran's Bank Sepah data center in Tehran, disrupts military, IRGC salary payments

Bank Sepah is a state-run institution, largely responsible for paying the salaries of Iran's military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, suffered a fractured foot and other minor injuries on the first day of the US and Israel’s bombardment campaign, a source familiar with the situation told CNN.

In addition to his injured foot, Khamenei, 56, received a bruise around his left eye, as well as minor lacerations to his face, the source said.

An Israeli source previously told CNN that Khamenei was injured in an assassination attempt last week, and rumors of his injuries have swirled for days.

Iran’s ambassador to Cyprus, Alireza Salarian, told the Guardian newspaper on Wednesday that Khamenei was injured in the same airstrike that killed his father, the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with five other members of the family.

Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen in public nor heard from in the days since the announcement of his appointment to the country’s highest office, a fact explained by his injuries, Salarian said.

“I don’t think he is comfortable (in any condition) to give a speech,” Salarian told the Guardian.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s son Yousef said early Wednesday that he had heard Khamenei was injured, telling the state-affiliated Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) that the new supreme leader is “safe and there are no concerns.”

Iranian state media and propaganda networks have made extensive use of the little archival footage that exists of Mojtaba Khamenei in the meantime, filling in any gaps of footage with AI-generated images.

When Iran’s Assembly of Experts announced that he had been chosen to replace his father, state media released a four-minute documentary clip recounting his life: modest origins, seminary studies in the holy city of Qom, his time fighting in the Iran-Iraq war as a teenager and, finally, his new role as heir to his “martyred” father.

While Mojtaba Khamenei kept a low profile before becoming the most powerful person in Iran, he was nonetheless a central figure in the vast network of influence his that father, Ali Khamenei, cultivated during his decades-long tenure as supreme leader. In 2021, photos were even published on social media showing Iranians passing out posters promoting Mojtaba Khamenei as an heir to his father.

The new supreme leader, while not a high-ranking cleric, is a close associate of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IGRC) and the regime’s economic elite. Observers believe he is just as, if not more, hard-line as his father was.

Before Mojtaba Khamenei’s confirmation as supreme leader, Maha Yahya, director of the Beirut-based Carnegie Middle East Center, told CNN that his new role could be seen as a message from the regime to the United States and Israel that military pressure is “not going to get us to shift position.”

The younger Khamenei was even a focus of protesters’ rage during demonstrations against the outcome of the 2009 Iranian elections, in which the conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was reelected to a second term.

Many in the country believe Khamenei had a hand in the widely disputed final results. Before the uprising was crushed and Iran’s domestic opposition obliterated, protesters chanted in Farsi, “Mojtaba bemiri Rahbari ro Nabini,” or “Mojtaba may you die so you don’t assume the leadership role.”

Though a little-known figure outside Iran until he replaced his father, Khamenei had previously received scrutiny from US officials. In 2019, the US Treasury sanctioned Khamenei for allegedly working closely with the IRGC “to advance his father’s destabilizing regional ambitions and oppressive domestic objectives.”

US President Donald Trump, for his part, has expressed disapproval of Iran’s new supreme leader, calling him an “unacceptable” choice.

The International Energy Agency said on Wednesday its member countries would unlock 400 million barrels of oil from their reserves to ease the impact of the Middle East war, the biggest such release ever.

The coordinated release was the sixth in the history of the organisation, which was created to coordinate responses to major supply disruptions after the 1973 oil crisis.

“IEA countries have unanimously decided to launch the largest-ever release of emergency oil stocks in our agency’s history. IEA countries will be making 400 million barrels of oil available,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol told reporters.

“This is a major action aiming to alleviate the immediate impacts of the disruption in markets,” he added.

“But to be clear, the most important thing for a return to stable flows of oil and gas is the resumption of transit through the Strait of Hormuz.”

The IEA-coordinated release exceeded the 182 million barrels of oil that member countries of the Paris-based global energy body released in 2022 when Russian leader Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine.

The 32-member IEA said that the emergency stocks will be made available “over a timeframe that is appropriate to the national circumstances of each member country and will be supplemented by additional emergency measures by some countries”.

The crude market has been hit by wild volatility since the United States and Israel began striking Iran at the end of last month, with Tehran retaliating by attacking targets across the oil-rich Gulf and effectively shutting down the Strait of Hormuz.

The Strait normally carries about 20 per cent of the world’s oil and gas supplies.

– G7 coordination with Gulf countries –

The IEA announcement came as leaders of the Group of Seven advanced economies discussed the economic fallout from the US-Israeli war with Iran, now into its second week, at a video conference meeting chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Macron, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the G7 advanced economies, urged US President Donald Trump and other G7 leaders to coordinate to open the strait “as soon as possible.”

At the same time, he said that the strait being choked “in no way” justify lifting the sanctions imposed on Russia over the invasion of Ukraine.

“The consensus was that we should not change our position on Russia and should maintain our efforts on Ukraine,” said Macron.

Macron said the G7 would coordinate moves with Gulf countries “in coming days”.

Macron has said France and its allies are preparing a “defensive” mission to reopen the strategically vital strait.

Earlier Wednesday, Japan — whose strategic oil reserves are among the world’s largest — and Germany said they would tap into their oil reserves.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Japan would release reserves as early as Monday, while Germany’s Economy and Energy Minister Katherina Reiche said her country planned to do the same, without specifying a date.

Reiche said a total of 2.4 million tons would be released.

US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the transit problem was “temporary.”

“What we have here is not a shortage of energy in the world. We’ve got a transit problem,” he said.

– ‘Pumping less oil’ –

Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, said 400 million barrels would still be a “meagre” amount compared with the roughly 45 million barrels that IEA countries consume every day.

“It would therefore be a temporary fix,” she said.

“The Middle East is now pumping less oil — around six per cent less — in reaction to the Iran war.”

Countries around the world have been left scrambling in response to the oil price spikes.

Bangladesh has deployed the army to guard oil depots, India has imposed tighter controls over natural and cooking gas, and French officials conducted inspections at petrol stations and fined those found to be inflating prices.

Greece will cap profit margins on gasoline and a range of foodstuffs for three months, the prime minister said.

IEA country members hold over 1.2 billion barrels of public emergency oil stocks, with a further 600 million barrels of industry stocks held under government mandates.

Seun:
We have improved Nairaland's smileys.

We made them neater and smoother and a little bit bigger while preserving the style and animations you're used to.

Please see the attached images to observe the difference.

We make small changes like this from time to time.



I miss the eyeroll smiley. Do you?

tobenuel:
lookin at the picture i can't tell if she is white or black

but this jezebel get mind open fire my babe @badgirlriri house,. let me contact Don Jazzi first

A 35-year-old woman from Orlando, Florida has been charged with attempted murder following a shooting at the home of pop superstar Rihanna, prosecutors said.

Ivanna Lisette Ortiz is accused of firing a semiautomatic rifle at the singer's Los Angeles mansion at 13:15 local time (21:15 GMT) on Sunday.

No one was injured in the shooting. Ortiz is being held on bail set at $1.875m (£1.395m), facing a possible life sentence.

Police are investigating the motive for the attack that took place while Rihanna and her rapper partner A$AP Rocky were at the home, the BBC's US news partner CBS reports.

Ortiz has been accused of driving up to the front of the house and firing the weapon multiple times at it, before fleeing.

Her white Tesla was located about eight miles (12km) from the singer's home at the Sherman Oaks Galleria shopping centre, where the woman was taken into custody.

"Opening fire in any populated neighbourhood is extremely dangerous, puts lives at risk and will be fully prosecuted," Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said.

Prosecutors noted that there were people in Rihanna's home as well as the property adjacent to it at the time of the shooting.

"This careless violence will not be tolerated in our community. Such shooters will find their next destination to be our jails and prisons," Hochman added.

Ortiz faces multiple other charges including ten felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and three felony counts of shooting at an inhabited dwelling or camper.

According to CBS, the LAPD has found a series of posts on her social media mentioning Rihanna.

In one post on X, Ortiz wrote: "Are you there? ... say something to me directly instead of sneaking around like you talking to me where I'm not at."

Video from the singer's address shows suitcases being wheeled away on the day after the shooting.

The Barbados-born celebrity, whose full name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty, rose to prominence in the 2000s with hits like Pon de Replay and Umbrella.

She shares three children with partner A$AP Rocky, who last February was found not guilty of firing a gun at a former friend, in a trial that saw Rihanna bring her two sons to court.

After emerging unscathed from the strike that killed the supreme leader, rumours that Esmail Qaani is an Israeli spy grow.

Gen Esmail Qaani has gained a reputation over the last two years of surviving attacks ‘while everyone around him dies’

The fate of one of Iran’s most powerful military figures remains unknown after he became the focus of rumours that he was an Israeli spy.

Gen Esmail Qaani, a brigadier general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), is said to have aroused suspicion after emerging unscathed from the air strike at the start of the war that killed Ali Khamenei, Iran’s former supreme leader, as well as numerous top aides.

Speculation is rife in the Middle East that he is under house arrest or has been executed.

As head of the Quds Force, one of the five branches of the IRGC, the 68-year-old has been responsible for exporting Iranian terror by training and equipping Islamic revolutionary groups outside Iran since 2020.

He replaced Qasem Soleimani, who was assassinated on Donald Trump’s orders in the last month of his first term in office.

In the past week, articles have pointed to an alleged trend of Gen Qaani escaping incidents that have killed others.

One said the general had “spent the past two years accumulating a reputation for his extraordinary ability to walk away unscathed while everyone around him dies”.

One of the incidents involved the wholesale targeting of IRGC top brass in Israel’s 12-day war against Iran in June, when he was initially thought to have been killed, but then emerged at a public event wearing civilian clothes and a baseball cap. This echoed a similar sequence of events in October 2024.

Heightening the gossip were reports that Israel had published a list of Iranian and Iran-linked officials it wanted to eliminate in the current round of fighting. Over the weekend that marked the start of the war, that list was declared “complete”, but Gen Qaani’s name was not included.

A Persian-language account on X, which is believed to be run by Israel’s spy agency, the Mossad, took the step of denying that Gen Qaani was one of its spies last year.

Since the strike that killed Khamenei nine days ago, numerous social media accounts of dubious provenance have alleged that Gen Qaani was a long-term Israeli asset, some of which have superimposed his head on an IDF uniform.

There are also reports that Gen Qaani is being interrogated by the IRGC’s internal security service.

In a war that figures in the US such as Pete Hegseth seem determined to portray as an action movie, this story bears the genuine hallmarks of an espionage thriller.

One Israeli source with a background in intelligence said: “Ultimately, no one knows.

“Perhaps the truth is that he is what he claims to be, loyal to the Iranian regime, and all this chatter is part of an operation to undermine him and the work he does attacking Israel.”

The speculation takes place against the backdrop of what appears to be a stunning Israeli penetration of Iran’s security state.

Some indication has emerged of how they pulled off the assassination of Khamenei, including by hacking the feed from Tehran’s traffic cameras.

The Mossad was also said to be operating on the ground during the war in June to help take out anti-aircraft defences.

It is not known whether any Israeli agents have been inside Iran in the build-up to the current conflict.

However, former operatives have previously said that the Mossad is now able to extract a large amount of data from Iran digitally, including by persuading Iranians to pass it on to them, unaware that they are dealing with Israeli intelligence.

Gen Qaani is reportedly viewed as a less visionary and transformational figure than Soleimani within IRGC circles.

However, the Iran-Iraq war veteran was seen as loyal to the regime by bringing decades of experience to his role exporting terror to the region.

AntiChristian:
When some people die some more people trek!