Gunmen on Monday night attacked a community in Ora-Igbomina, Ifedayo Local Government Area of Osun State, kidnapping a former Nigerian customs officer and killing one person.
Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Inurin of Ora-Igbomina, High Chief Sunday Fadipe, said the gunmen stormed the town at about 7pm and headed straight to the residence of the former customs officer.
Mr Fadipe said the victim was returning home when the gunmen, who had laid an ambush at his house, abducted him.
According to him, the assailants, while escaping through farmlands in the Akisa area, encountered a man working on his farm with a headlamp and allegedly shot him dead.
He said it was the deceased’s 10-year-old son, who was with him at the time of the incident, that ran into the town to report the killing.
Fadipe said the police had been informed and were already on the trail of the gunmen.
He called on the government to strengthen security in the area, noting that Ora-Igbomina shares boundaries with Ekiti and Kwara states.
When contacted, the Osun State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, confirmed that the command had received a report of the incident.
Ojelabi said the Divisional Police Officer in the town had visited the residence of the kidnapped former customs officer to gather more information.
He described the incident as a case of kidnapping, adding that the report of a killing had not yet been confirmed.
“Immediately we heard about the incident, our tactical teams were deployed and they have been on the trail of the suspects.
”We have a tactical team on the ground in the town, and with support from forest guards, vigilantes and local security personnel, they are combing the bushes to rescue the victim.
“The Commissioner of Police in the state, Ibrahim Gotan, has deployed more tactical teams to the area, and the investigation is ongoing as the police are on the trail of the kidnappers,” he said.
Elon Musk has become the first person in history to surpass a net worth of $600 billion, with his wealth now estimated at $677 billion, according to Forbes.
The sharp rise in Musk’s fortune was driven mainly by the soaring value of his private space company, SpaceX.
Earlier this month, SpaceX carried out a tender offer that valued the company at $800 billion, up from $400 billion in August, according to investors cited by Forbes.
Musk owns about 42 per cent of SpaceX, and the new valuation alone added roughly $168 billion to his personal wealth.
The tender offer comes ahead of a possible SpaceX initial public offering (IPO) in 2026, which could value the company at around $1.5 trillion, according to one investor. Such a move could make Musk the world’s first trillionaire, even without gains from his other businesses.
Forbes estimates that Musk’s $336 billion stake in SpaceX is now his most valuable asset, ahead of his 12 per cent stake in Tesla, valued at about $197 billion.
His Tesla stock options from the 2018 CEO performance award, which were voided by a Delaware judge in January 2024, are currently valued at $69 billion, pending the outcome of his appeal.
Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, also plays a major role in his growing fortune. The company is reportedly raising funds at a valuation of $230 billion, more than double the $113 billion valuation Musk mentioned when xAI was formed earlier this year through a merger with social media platform X.
Musk owns 53 per cent of xAI, a stake valued at about $60 billion.
With an estimated $425 billion gap between him and the world’s second-richest person, Google co-founder Larry Page, Forbes notes that Musk is now closer to $700 billion than to losing his position as the world’s richest individual.
A video circulating online has sparked outrage among Nigerians after showing a group of Muslims, including children and adults, raising the flag of Palestine while chanting Arabic prayers.
The clip, shared by Nnesome Wike’s aide, Leye Olayinka, claimed the incident took place in Iwo, Osun State. In his post, Olayinka wrote: “Na like this Maitatsine take start in Kano then. Boko Haram also started like this in Maiduguri.”
In the video, the group could be seen chanting “Free Palestine”, with a person resembling their cleric leading the prayers.
The clip has triggered strong reactions online. One user, @RegalJr_hi_sho, wrote: “They can support Palestinian people, but raising their flag and forming a parade is bad! Na like this Boko Haram and ISIS start.”
Another, @EmmanuelAkind17, said: “If it was during the active days of @OfficialDSSNG, that man would have been arrested, including his enablers and funders. The sad thing is he’s indoctrinating young children and recruiting them as potential terrorists.”
@iyanuiyanuiyanu added: “The slow radicalization begins, right before our eyes. If Jackson does not act against that Iwo king, it’s only a matter of time before we see terror attacks in the South West.”
Other Nigerians also criticized the use of minors. @waleshabie730 wrote: “Using children for a mission they don’t understand is barbaric. These kids need to learn to pay allegiance to Nigeria, not other countries. This is brainwashing. Our Senate should introduce stringent laws to deal with this.”
Some commentators compared the incident to similar international situations. One wrote: “It’s like telling the West that Nigeria is Boko Haram because a white man raised the Nigerian flag in the UK.”
The governments of Israel and Iran have condemned a shooting in Sydney targeting a Hanukkah celebration that killed 11 people on Sunday, with various government officials suggesting Australia had failed to combat hatred of Jews.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Canberra of having fuelled antisemitism in the period leading up to the shooting.
“A few months ago, I wrote to the Australian prime minister that your policy is pouring oil on the fire of antisemitism,” he said, referring to a letter he sent to Anthony Albanese in August following Canberra’s announcement that it would recognise Palestinian statehood.
“Antisemitism is a cancer that spreads when leaders are silent,” Netanyahu added during a televised public address at an event in southern Israel.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar urged Canberra to act against the “surge” in antisemitism during a phone call with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong.
In a post on X, Saar said he told Wong “that since Oct 7 there has been a surge in antisemitism in Australia, including violent incitement against Israel and Jews”.
“The Australian government must take strong action against the use of these antisemitic calls,” he added, referring to slogans sometimes heard at pro-Palestinian protests, such as “Globalise the Intifada”, “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will be Free”, and “Death to the IDF (Israeli army)”.
Iran denounces a “violent attack”
Also, the Iranian foreign ministry on Sunday denounced the attack.
“We condemn the violent attack in Sydney, Australia. Terror and killing of human beings, wherever committed, is rejected and condemned,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on X.
Relations between Iran and Australia have significantly deteriorated this year.
In August, Canberra blamed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for two 2024 arson attacks targeting its Jewish community.
The arson attacks targeted a kosher restaurant in Sydney and a synagogue in Melbourne but caused no casualties.
Following the attacks, Canberra declared the Iranian ambassador persona non grata and gave him and three other Iranian diplomats a week to leave the country.
It also recalled its own ambassador and suspended the activities of its embassy in Tehran.
Iran condemned the move and vowed “reciprocal action”.
In November, the Australian government designated Iran’s Revolutionary Guards a terror-sponsoring group.
Iran’s foreign ministry called the move “an insulting and unjustified act” and a “violation of international legal rules and norms related to the national sovereignty of states.”
In June, arch foes Iran and Israel engaged in a direct war after a year of tit-for-tat strikes in the aftermath of the Gaza war.
That war, which lasted 12 days, saw Israel attacking Iranian military and nuclear sites, as well as residential areas, killing over a thousand people.
Iran responded with drone and missile attacks on Israel that killed dozens.
The United States briefly joined the conflict with strikes on Iranian nuclear sites before a ceasefire was reached.
2. Who is killing Christians in Southern Kaduna and the Middle Belt?
3. What will happen to Christians in the South when the killings which started in the North and which have gradually been spreading South-wards, eventually get to the South West, South East and South South?
helinues: The killings in North for decades now, Muslims have been the one affected most. The killings in Southern regions are random.
No religion denomination faith members have been killed than the Shiite group in Nigeria.
In General, Muslims have been the most killed, most displaced and most affected with the killings across the country.
Should we now say there is a Muslim persecution in Nigeria?
A Battery That Could Power the Future — for 50 Years.
China has begun mass production of nuclear batteries and they’re smaller than a coin.
They need no charging, no sunlight, no wires, and no maintenance. Just pure, continuous energy for up to five decades.
Built by Betavolt, this battery converts nuclear decay into electricity. It’s completely sealed, emits zero external radiation, and is safe for daily environments.
💡 What’s new:
The current version produces 100 microwatts, enough for sensors, medical implants, or trackers. But a 1-watt version is already in development, capable of powering drones, industrial systems, and even smartphones.
⚡ Why it matters:
Almost every innovation we build is limited by energy — by batteries that drain, by downtime, by recharging cycles.
This technology could rewrite that equation entirely.
A world where devices never turn off. Where drones never land. Where your smartwatch runs for half a century.
In my opinion, this could be one of the biggest steps toward truly autonomous technology.
But it also raises a deeper question — If our machines no longer need rest, will we?
Nobel winner escapes Venezuela disguised in wig to accept peace prize
Maria Corina Machado, a pro-democracy activist, stepped onto the balcony of Oslo’s Grand Hotel shortly before 2.30am on Thursday after spending more than a year in hiding in Caracas.
The 58-year-old was smuggled out of Venezuela with help from the US in defiance of a decade-long travel ban imposed by authorities in her home country, and after spending more than a year in hiding.
Wearing a wig and disguise, Ms Machado evaded 10 military checkpoints before boarding a small fishing boat across the Caribbean to the neighbouring island of Curaçao in a 10-hour operation, the Wall Street Journal reported.
She departed Curaçao on a private plane for Norway, stopping to refuel in Bangor, Maine, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Her escape had been meticulously planned over two months and her team reached out to the White House to ensure that the boat in which she was travelling was not targeted by US air strikes. Some 20 vessels leaving Venezuela have been hit in the last three months, killing 80 people.
“We co-ordinated that she was going to leave by a specific area so that they would not blow up the boat,” said the person close to the operation.
At the time of Ms Machado’s crossing in Curaçao, two US Navy F-18s flew into the Gulf of Venezuela, where they spent 40 minutes flying in tight circles near her route, flight tracking data show. It was the closest incursion by US planes in Venezuelan airspace since tensions rose in September.
Speaking in Oslo, Ms Machado described the joy of reuniting with her children – who live in exile – for the first time in two years.
“For over 16 months I haven’t been able to hug or touch anyone,” she told the BBC. “Suddenly, in the matter of a few hours, I’ve been able to see the people I love the most, and touch them and cry and pray together.”
Her escape was so guarded that the Nobel Institute said it did not know where she was when the prize ceremony began in Oslo on Wednesday.
Ms Machado greeted dozens of people from the balcony of the hotel where Nobel laureates traditionally stay. She waved and sang the national anthem along with the crowd, who flew Venezuelan flags and filmed her with their mobile phones.
Later, Ms Machado came down to the street and climbed over crowd barriers to hug and shake hands with people who had gathered in the cold for a chance to see her.
Diana Luna, a Mexican-German woman in the said, said: “After all these months hiding, with her life in danger, seeing her safe among the Venezuelan diaspora is both reassuring and energising.
“It is also a way for the Venezuelan cause to stay alive and to put more pressure on the regime.”
Ms Machado arrived in Oslo just a few hours too late to collect the Nobel Prize herself.
Instead, Ana Corina Sosa Machado, her daughter, accepted the award in her name and delivered a speech written by her mother in which she said democracies must be prepared to fight for freedom in order to survive.
In her speech, Ms Machado said that the prize held profound significance, not only for her country but for the world.
“It reminds the world that democracy is essential to peace,” she said via her daughter. “And more than anything, what we Venezuelans can offer the world is the lesson forged through this long and difficult journey: that to have a democracy, we must be willing to fight for freedom.”
A source, who had been briefed by Ms Machado’s camp, said her escape from the Venezuelan coast was handled by her security staff.
When she arrived in Curaçao at 3pm on Tuesday, she was met by a private contractor, who was supplied by the Trump administration and specialises in extractions, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Ms Machado’s travel to Curaçao.
Speaking at her hotel early on Thursday, Ms Machado said she planned to return to Venezuela despite the risks she faced.
“Of course I’m going back,” she told the BBC.
Ms Machado later said she did not know when she would return but said she would do so to “end with this tyranny very soon and have a free Venezuela”.
“I came to receive the prize on behalf of the Venezuelan people and I will take it back to Venezuela at the correct moment,” the main opponent to Nicolas Maduro told reporters as she left the Norwegian parliament on Thursday morning.
A large portrait of a smiling Ms Machado hung in the Oslo City Hall to represent her at the ceremony. The audience cheered and clapped when Jorgen Watne Frydnes, the head of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said during his speech that Ms Machado would be coming to Oslo.
She will address the Norwegian parliament later on Thursday.
Evoking previous laureates Nelson Mandela and Lech Walesa, Mr Frydnes said fighters for democracy were expected “to pursue their aims with a moral purity their opponents never display”.
“This is unrealistic. It is unfair,” he said.
“No democracy operates in ideal circumstances. Activist leaders must confront and resolve dilemmas that we onlookers are free to ignore. People living under the dictatorship often have to choose between the difficult and the impossible.”
In 2024, Ms Machado was barred from running in the presidential election, despite having won the opposition’s primary by a landslide. She went into hiding in August 2024 after authorities expanded arrests of opposition figures following the disputed vote.
The electoral authority and top court declared Nicolas Maduro the winner, but international observers and the opposition say their candidate won and the opposition has published ballot box-level tallies as evidence of its victory.
“Freedom is a choice that must be renewed each day, measured by our willingness and our courage to defend it. For this reason, the cause of Venezuela transcends our borders,” Ms Machado said in her prepared speech.
“A people who choose freedom contribute not only to themselves, but to humanity.”
Mr Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, has said Donald Trump, the US president, is trying to overthrow him to gain access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves and that Venezuelan citizens and armed forces will resist any such attempt.
When the announcement was made in October that Ms Machado had won the Nobel Peace Prize, she dedicated it in part to Mr Trump, who has said he deserved the honour. She has aligned herself with hawks close to Mr Trump who argue that Mr Maduro has links to criminal gangs that pose a direct threat to US national security, despite doubts raised by the US intelligence community.
The Trump administration has ordered more than 20 military strikes in recent months against alleged drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and off Latin America’s Pacific coast.
Human rights groups, some Democrats and several Latin American countries have condemned the attacks as unlawful extrajudicial killings of civilians.
More than fifty children were raped by Sudan’s paramilitary forces as they fled the fallen city of El Fasher, aid workers have said.
Six weeks after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) overran the city in North Darfur, experts estimate at least 60,000 people have been killed – making it by far the worst single atrocity in Sudan’s nearly three-year civil war.
Medical workers told local media that 54 children were raped or sexually assaulted while escaping towards Tawila, some 25 miles west of El Fasher. They didn’t provide further details.
Another group, the Sudanese Doctor’s Network, said at least 19 women were raped as they fled north towards al-Dabba. Two victims are now pregnant and receiving medical care at a nearby displacement camp, they said.
RSF fighters reportedly stalked families along the road, with many victims gang-raped by multiple soldiers for hours or days, often in front of relatives.
Doctors described survivors arriving in Tawila as “severely traumatised”, with children suffering acute malnutrition and immune deficiencies, and pregnant women collapsing from exhaustion, anaemia, and miscarriages.
The network condemned the “mass rape” of women as a weapon of war.
As many as 150,000 residents of El Fasher remain unaccounted for. Some are believed to be held in RSF detention centres inside the city, but the fate of tens of thousands remains unknown amid communication blackouts.
New satellite images suggest El Fasher is “beginning to look a lot like a slaughterhouse”, according to the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL), which has been tracking the war in Sudan from space.
Piles of bodies, mass graves, and large cremation pits are visible across the city. British MPs were briefed that at least 60,000 people have been killed in the weeks since the RSF seized the city on 26 October.
That is more than the number killed in the entire Bosnian war, where around 40,000 died, and more than seven times the number killed in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, where over 8,000 Bosnian men and boys were killed.
The satellite imagery from Yale HRL suggests the RSF is masking the scale of atrocities by digging mass graves in what it calls “body disposal operations.”
Severe hunger is also affecting those who escaped El Fasher. The aid group Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported “staggering” levels of malnutrition following the RSF’s 18-month starvation siege on the city.
The atrocities followed an earlier RSF assault on the nearby Zamzam displacement camp in April, where Amnesty International documented killings, hostage-taking and the destruction of schools and mosques.
Sudan has been embroiled in a ruinous civil war since April 2023, when fighting broke out between two formerly allied generals. The violence has displaced 14 million people from their homes and killed as many as 400,000 people. The UN has called it “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis”.
Elsewhere, clashes in the North, South and West Kordofan states – home to almost eight million people in the southernmost part of the country – are intensifying, shifting the frontline of the war eastwards from Darfur.
Last week, at least 114 people, including 63 children, were killed when an RSF drone struck a primary school and a hospital in Kalogi, where the injured were being treated.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, chief of the World Health Organisation (WHO) said the hospital had been targeted at least three times.
“Disturbingly, paramedics and responders came under attack as they tried to move the injured from the kindergarten to the hospital,” Mr Tedros wrote on X.
Days earlier, a Sudanese army “double-tap” drone strike killed at least 48 people, mostly children and students, in Kumo, a village in South Kordofan state.
The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), a rebel-group that has been fighting the government on and off since 1983, said the strike “deliberately targeted non-combatants”.
Last month, a famine was confirmed in Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan state, which is under siege by the SAF, cutting off food, water and medical supplies to hundreds of thousands of people.
As fighting intensifies, the UN’s chief spokesperson warned that the “horrific human rights violations and abuses reported in El Fasher…must not be repeated in the Kordofan region.”
After storming El Fasher, the Sudanese army’s last foothold in the western Darfur region, the RSF now control half of the country, analysts say.
On Monday, the group announced the capture of Heglig oilfield, Sudan’s largest oilfield, cementing its hold over West Kordofan and gaining both strategic and economic leverage.
Experts warn the advance could open a direct corridor toward Khartoum, the former heart of Sudan’s government, which the RSF briefly seized in 2023 before being ousted by army forces earlier this year.
Fulani Militias Attacked Taraba Community, Killed My Father, Four Relatives — Grieving NYSC Member Cries Out, Says Herdsmen Chased All Residents, Settled Down
A serving member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Orkeghen Philip Aondofa, has cried out for help, saying armed Fulani herders launched a deadly attack on his village — New-Gboko (Nyugoko) in Peva–Chanchanji Ward, Takum Local Government Area of Taraba State.
They reportedly killed his father and four other members of his family.
Philip, who is currently serving in Enugu State, recounted the horror in an emotional interview with SaharaReporters, saying the Taraba State government has remained silent while killings continue across communities in Chanchanji ward.
According to him, the attackers, whom he repeatedly referred to as “herders ”, invaded the community on November 27, 2025, unleashing violence that forced all surviving residents to flee.
He said the assailants are still occupying the village, preventing him from retrieving his father’s corpse for burial.
“Right now, as I speak to you, the killing is all over Chanchanji ward in Takum LGA of Taraba State. The Taraba State Government is silent about it,” he said.
The corps member said one of the attackers used his late father’s phone to call him after the massacre — only to confess to killing him.
“After the attack, one of them took my father's phone and called me. When I asked where the owner of the phone was, he told me, he killed my father directly. I broke down and ended the call,” he said.
Philip said the inability to recover his father’s remains has left him in deeper anguish.
“What pains me the most now is how I will get my father’s corpse to bury. Those herders are still there in the village. There is nobody left in my village.”
The corps member said he is nearing the end of his service year but now feels completely stranded and without hope.
“After my service, I don’t know where to go. I don’t know where to start. I am calling on the Federal Government and those concerned to come to my aid. I am broke, I am hopeless. I don’t have anywhere to go; everything is gone. I have lost hope.”
As of the time of filing this report, the Taraba State government had not issued any statement regarding the attack.
Communities in Takum and neighbouring council areas have suffered repeated violent attacks over the years, with residents consistently accusing authorities of leaving them at the mercy of armed groups.
She was arrested for a misdemeanor. Or didn't you read the article? A misdemeanor is a minor offence unlike a felony which carries very serious penalties.
Orlandoo: All these young girls nowadays should watch their steps. You can't tell me she was just passing by and they arrested her and put her in jail. She committed something even while pregnant. Kudos to the lawyer for being a God sent to her.
She gave birth in prison and needed divine intervention to gain freedom
I wasn’t even supposed to be in court today.
Three minutes before I arrived, I was informed that my matter wasn’t listed in the cause list, the registrar had given me a wrong date. Ordinarily, I would have turned back to the office, but something in me insisted on going into the courtroom.
Nothing prepared me for what I saw just ten minutes later.
A young girl in her early 20s walked in, holding her one month old baby, dressed in prison uniform.
I gently asked her what had happened. She told me she had put to bed inside the prison barely a month ago. She had been arrested in April for a misdemeanor, while pregnant and had remained in custody since then. She was also standing trial without a lawyer.
When her case was called, I immediately rose and announced appearance for her.
The complainant was not in court. The prosecutor was present today, but not ready to proceed.
They had not been attending court for several adjournments.
So I urged the court to strike out the matter and acquit the defendant, relying on the relevant provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) of Lagos State and the applicable case law.
Your Honour, Mrs. A. K. Dosunmu Uthman, struck out the charge, discharged and acquitted her and the entire courtroom erupted in applause.
John Mary, young mother who walked in wearing prison clothes walked out a free woman.
I left the courtroom smiling, deeply convinced that God directed my steps today.
How on earth did this irresponsible creature become a mother? Imagine smoking in the presence of a young child when it is well established that there is a strong chance of contracting second hand cancer from inhaling tobacco smoked by someone else!
If you don't care about your own health, why endanger the young lad's health?
This is looking more like a kidnapper and hostage relationship than a mother and child one.
Even look at how rough and un-lady like her language and mannerisms are. Her so called son is even more feminine than she is and that should tell us how much emotional damage she has inflicted on him.
Only DJ Khaled is a heavyweight amongst those 3. If you know, you know 😏
SpencerForbes: Tems is a premium target. Wizkid tried and failed, Drake tried his luck and couldn't land her, and even DJ Khaled couldn't succeed. If those heavyweights couldn't handle the mission, then who exactly am I to try? I’ll just admire from afar. 😅
A former art teacher is accused of having an unlawful sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student she befriended years earlier, according to an affidavit filed in the case.
Nicole Hernandez, also known as Nikki Baird, 30, was arrested May 22 and is charged with four felony counts of unlawful sexual relations with a student.
According to The Wichita Eagle, investigators say Baird met the student when he was in middle school, and the two later moved to Wichita North High School, where the relationship allegedly progressed.
The affidavit says Baird groomed and isolated the student, initially through communication and physical contact such as touching his back and shoulders.
She "messaged him about how her marriage was struggling," according to the affidavit.
The document alleges the relationship escalated in early 2024 to sexual encounters, including multiple instances in the backseat of her Jeep. Baird is also accused of sending nude photos and love letters, and investigators allege the relationship continued after the student graduated.
“One letter said, ‘I hope and pray one day I get the chance to be with you’ and ‘I know that I love you,’” according to the affidavit and reported by The Wichita Eagle.
Per The Wichita Eagle, administrators at the high school were made aware of concerns about the relationship at least a year before she was arrested and charged. The teacher was initially placed on paid administration leave after the arrest, but The Wichita Eagle reported she was no longer employed by the district.
Baird was released on a $50,000 bond. Her arraignment is scheduled for Dec. 19.
Russian forces rape, behead and gouge out victims’ organs in Mali
Russian soldiers are raping and beheading civilians and gouging out their organs in a supposed fight against extremism in Mali.
Moscow’s Africa Corps appears to have taken over from the disbanded Wagner Group mercenary organisation, which was also accused of war crimes in Africa.
Witnesses say the unit has shot civilians on sight and harvested their organs, an investigation by the Associated Press has found.
“It’s a scorched earth policy,” said a Malian village chief who fled the Russian forces. “The soldiers speak to no one. Anyone they see, they shoot. No questions, no warning. People don’t even know why they are being killed.”
West Africa’s Sahel has become the world’s deadliest hotspot for extremist violence, with thousands of people killed in recent years.
The military rulers of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have abandoned Western partners and turned to Russia for help against al-Qaeda and Islamic State-linked fighters.
Two refugees showed videos of burned villages to the Associated Press. Two others said they had found their loved ones’ bodies with their liver and kidneys missing.
“Only the name was changed [from Wagner to Africa Corps],” one local told AP. “The clothes, the vehicles, the people stayed the same. The methods stayed the same, and even became worse.”
Russia’s foreign ministry confirmed that the Africa Corps was operating in Mali “at the request of the Malian authorities”. Malian officials have not publicly acknowledged the Russian presence.
The Telegraph reported last month that Russia has become Mali’s main security partner in the fight against al-Qaeda for control of the west African nation.
The Africa Corps formed after Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner founder, died in a suspicious plane crash in 2023 following his armed rebellion against Vladimir Putin. Analysts estimate 2,000 of its fighters operate in Mali.
One refugee, Mougaloa, said masked “white men” killed her 20-year-old son three months ago after Malian soldiers questioned him about militants.
In October, the men returned and abducted her daughter Fatma. The family has not heard from her.
“We were so scared,” the woman said. “We are hoping she will get here at some point.” She added that the men repeatedly used the word “pes”, a Russian slang term for dog
Another woman, Fatma, said forces had looted her village of Kurmare last month, killing men and taking jewellery.
She found her son shot dead at his shop, and her daughter died from seizures while fleeing to Mauritania.
Civilian deaths blamed on Russians dropped to 447 this year from 911 last year, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project. But Heni Nsaibia, an analyst, said actual numbers may be higher because “people are more scared to report”.
A UN peacekeeping mission withdrew from Mali in 2023, and the country left the International Criminal Court this year.
Eduardo Gonzalez Cueva, a UN independent expert, said Mali’s junta, which took power in a 2021 coup, ignored his visit requests and questionnaires this year.
Mistress nearly plunges from 10th floor while escaping from lover’s wife
CLINGING for dear life, this is the shocking moment an alleged mistress nearly plunges to her death trying to hide from her lover’s wife.
Neighbours spotted the woman dangling from a 10th floor balcony as she appears to almost lose her grip.
The heart-stopping moment was captured in China, as onlookers watched on in horror at the woman attempting shimmy herself to a safer location.
A shirtless man can be seen talking to the woman through the window before he disappears from view.
Holding her phone, she then starts her descent to the floor below, climbing down drain pipes and windowsills.
The woman appears to slide down a water pipe to a neighbour’s window, when she bangs on for help.
Fortunately, the person inside opens up and helps the woman to safety.
Local reports claim a cheating husband panicked when his wife returned home early and pushed his mistress out onto the balcony to prevent her from being discovered.
The footage spread rapidly across Chinese social platforms, attracting widespread attention and prompting intense speculation about events inside.
Online commenters said the pair had been left “socially dead” after the video was shared repeatedly, with many predicting they would face considerable embarrassment.
Others warned that climbing outside a high-rise posed extreme danger and could easily have led to tragedy, especially given the narrow ledges and lack of protective barriers.
It comes after a 29-year-old man died after falling from a balcony at a popular holiday park.
Bartosz Urbaniak, 29, suffered trauma to the brain after he lost his footing at the Big Weekender event at Butlin’s, Skegness.
Witnesses claim the dad-of-one attempted to climb from one balcony to another before plunging to his death.
It’s understood he had been drinking at the time.
A trainee nurse who was also at the event rushed to give him CPR until the air ambulance arrived.
He was rushed to Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham but despite medics’ best efforts, tragically died two days later.
A former medical director at the Optimal Cancer Care Foundation in Lagos, Dr Olufemi Olaleye, has been remanded in custody in the United Kingdom over allegations of sexual offences.
He was brought before the Medway Magistrates’ Court on Friday, which ordered his remand till January 2, 2026.
Saturday PUNCH gathered that the 57-year-old was arrested at the Gatwick Airport, London, on Thursday, November 27, upon arriving in the UK from Nigeria.
He was immediately taken into custody by the North Kent Police Station for questioning.
Olaleye, a British citizen, worked in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Darent Valley Hospital under the Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust from January 2005 to September 2008.
It was around this time that the alleged sexual incidents involving several women happened.
Kent Police, which confirmed his arrest to our correspondent on Tuesday, said three charges of voyeurism were filed against the suspect.
The Police Press Officer, Charles Harman, while responding to enquiries from Saturday PUNCH via email, said, “Kent Police was made aware of a man suspected of offences returning to the UK from Nigeria via Gatwick airport on Thursday, 27 November 2025. Officers attended the terminal and a man was arrested. Francis Olaleye, 57, from Plumstead Common Road, Plumstead, London, was later charged with three counts of voyeurism. He denied all charges at Medway Magistrates’ Court on Saturday, November 29, and has been remanded in custody until his next hearing on Friday, December 5.”
Francis Olaleye?
After the police identified the suspect with the name “Francis”, Saturday PUNCH dug into Olaleye’s social media profiles to avoid a case of mistaken identity.
Findings by our correspondent showed that the medical doctor may have changed his name a few times.
On Company House, he was identified as “Frank Olufemi Olaleye”.
But when he registered as a director at Wish for Africa, a charity organisation he formed in October 2007 and dissolved in 2010, he identified as “Frank Olaleye”.
In his certificate of incorporation, he claimed “Olufemi” was his previous surname.
On LinkedIn and Instagram, however, he identified as “Dr Femi Olaleye”.
In cover photos of books he authored, which he shared on Instagram, he identified as “Olufemi Olaleye”.
It is not clear when he added “Francis” to his name.
However, Saturday PUNCH can confirm that Frank, Femi, Olufemi, Francis are all the same person who worked as a medical doctor in Dartford and was director at Wish for Africa.
There also appears to be a discrepancy in his age.
While his record with Company House showed he was born August 1968 (57), on Instagram, Olaleye in August 2025 told his followers he was ready to give 58 of his books out to mark his 58th birthday.
Voyeurism
A support officer from the Courts and Tribunals Service Centre, Matt J, while responding to Saturday PUNCH via email, gave more details of the charges against Olaleye — three counts of voyeurism—recording a private act—punishable under the Sexual Offences Act of 2003.
The charges state, “Between 01/05/2004 and 31/07/2007 at Dartford in the county of Kent recorded another person doing a private act with the intention that you would, for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification, look at an image of that other person doing the act, knowing that the other person did not consent to your recording the act with that intention.”
Voyeurism, according to the Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, is the practice of getting pleasure by secretly watching people who are wearing no clothes or having sex.
In the UK, it is illegal to secretly watch, film, or photograph someone expecting privacy—such as when naked, using the toilet, or having sex—without their consent.
Findings by our correspondent showed that while the defendant was in the UK at the time, he allegedly filmed sexual acts with some women.
Saturday PUNCH gathered that among them was a married woman whose explicit video was seen by her husband, leading to the dissolution of her marriage.
The victim is among the three police witnesses.
Morademu S.O., of the Courts and Tribunals Service Centre, said when the matter came up for hearing on Friday, Olaleye was ordered to be remanded till January 2, 2026 when the remand would be reviewed.
In an email exchange with Saturday PUNCH, she said the court heard that the defendant could re-offend, posed a flight risk and could abscond.
The matter was adjourned for hearing till January 21 at 10am in Courtroom 01, Maidstone Magistrates’ Court.
Olaleye’s legal troubles in Nigeria
Olaleye’s arrest in the UK in November 2025 follows a high-profile sexual offence case in Lagos.
He was arraigned on November 30, 2022, before the Lagos State Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court on two counts of defilement of a child and sexual assault by penetration involving his wife’s niece.
The allegations spanned March 2020 to November 2021, when the survivor was reported to be 15 to 16.
His estranged wife, Aderemi Olaleye, testified as the first prosecution witness.
She told the court that the survivor lived with them from November 2019 and confessed in November 2021 that Olaleye had been sexually abusing her.
Aderemi recounted that the abuse began with introducing the girl to pornography, progressing to fingering, MouthAction, and penetration, often in areas of the home without CCTV cameras, typically around 2am.
She alleged Olaleye drugged her with substances like junior aspirin and Phenergan on nights he wanted to abuse the niece, and that the family driver once saw the girl vomiting sperm.
Aderemi reported the matter to the police in March 2022 after the survivor confided in a relative.
Medical evidence from the Mirabel Centre showed the girl had bruises and cuts in her private parts.
On October 24, 2023, Justice Rahman Oshodi convicted Olaleye on both counts and sentenced him to life imprisonment, describing him as a “dangerous offender” with no remorse.
However, Olaleye appealed the conviction.
On November 29, 2024, the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal nullified the conviction, discharged, and acquitted him.
The appellate court, led by Justice Olukayode Bada, overturned Oshodi’s judgement, citing tainted testimony, lack of credible evidence, and critical errors in the trial court’s proceedings.
It ruled that the prosecution evidence was unreliable, particularly describing Aderemi as a “tainted witness” motivated by greed to seize Olaleye’s assets.
The court cited instances where she allegedly changed car ownership, manipulated bank signatures, and pressured him to transfer house ownership while he was in custody.
It also noted inconsistencies in testimonies and that the trial judge improperly interfered by descending into the arena.
The Lagos State Government appealed to the Supreme Court on December 27, 2024, seeking to reverse the acquittal and restore the conviction.
But after the appeal court ruling, Olaleye left Nigeria.
Posts on his social media showed he visited different countries, including the United States, United Arab Emirates, Italy and authored four books on his trial, where he claimed to be a survivor.
He also granted press interviews published in many national newspapers, which he posted on his Instagram.
He was going to London when he was arrested at the Gatwick Airport.
Water rationing has begun in some areas, with the flow from taps reduced or even stopped altogether overnight.
President Masoud Pezeshkian has urged people to use water sparingly - or the city, or at least parts of it, may even have to evacuate.
Ahmback: But water consumption has risen even faster, quadrupling from 346 million cubic metres in 1976 to 1.2 billion cubic metres now. Increasing wealth has allowed more people to buy washing machines and dishwashers.
Iran's capital is counting down to "day zero" - the day the water runs out and the taps run dry.
Reservoirs that supply Tehran's 15 million residents are almost empty.
The Karaj dam, which supplies a quarter of the city's drinking water, is just 8% full.
Water rationing has begun in some areas, with the flow from taps reduced or even stopped altogether overnight.
President Masoud Pezeshkian has urged people to use water sparingly - or the city, or at least parts of it, may even have to evacuate.
So what's going on?
Rain should start falling in the autumn after Iran's hot dry summer.
But according to the country's National Weather Forecasting Centre, this has been the driest September to November period in half a century, with rainfall 89% below the long-term average.
The combination of low rainfall and high heat has lasted for more than five years, leaving the country parched.
But the weather - and the shadow of climate change - aren't the only factors in Tehran's water crisis.
According to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, the population of the metropolitan area of the city has almost doubled from 4.9 million in 1979 to 9.7 million today.
But water consumption has risen even faster, quadrupling from 346 million cubic metres in 1976 to 1.2 billion cubic metres now. Increasing wealth has allowed more people to buy washing machines and dishwashers.
To supplement supplies from reservoirs, Tehran has had to turn to natural aquifers underground, which provide between 30% and 60% of its tap water in recent years.
But that puts the city in direct competition with farmers who draw on the water to irrigate crops.
Levels are falling by 101 million cubic metres a year around Tehran, according to analysis in the journal Science Advances. That's water that has accumulated from many decades of rain - and will take at least as long to replenish.
Professor Kaveh Madani, the former deputy head of Iran's environment department and now director of the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, said chronic mismanagement of natural resources has led to what he calls water bankruptcy.
He told Sky News: "These things were not created overnight.
"They're the product of decades of bad management, lack of foresight, overreliance and false confidence in how much infrastructure and engineering projects can do in a country that is relatively water short."
Government ministers blame the water shortage on climate change, water leaks from pipes and the 12-day war with Israel.
Whatever the reason, it underlines the threat of water scarcity to global cities. Tehran is not alone.
Cape Town in South Africa narrowly avoided taps running dry eight years ago after a city-wide effort to save water.
Even London, known for its rain, is at risk of drought. Supplies haven't kept up with population growth and booming demand.
As Tehran has found, droughts that are being made more likely and more severe with climate change can expose the fragility of water supply.
Nigeria's civil service unveils plan for merit-based reforms
The 44th Annual National Council of Civil Service Commissions of the Federation concluded in Umuahia with extensive deliberations on the 2026-2030 strategic plan, which prioritises merit-based recruitment, digital transformation, and institutional independence, in line with global best practices.
The Council, in a communique issued Thursday in Umuahia and endorsed by an eight-member drafting committee, and read by the Chairman of the committee, Mr. Balarabe Abubakar, stated that the resolution would facilitate strategic repositioning and professionalisation of the civil service.
It urged the Federal Civil Service Commission to develop critical success factors for pilot states with political support, using Abia State as a model for domesticating the strategic plan.
The Council further urged state civil service commissions to adopt and implement a human resource management information system promptly, and called on all states to review or develop strategic plans within 12 months, taking cues from the federal plan and sourcing robust funding from government budgets, development partners, and NGOs.
It also advised states to establish strategy implementation coordination units to oversee execution, monitoring, and reporting of their strategic plans.
The Council recommended a zero-tolerance policy against any public servant found falsifying age, credentials, or other vital records, while charging Civil Service Commissions across the federation to restore merit as the principal consideration in recruitment and promotion, and to institute objective formulas to ensure inclusivity and diversity management.
The Commission noted that the theme of the meeting, “Repositioning Civil Service Commissions in Nigeria as a Hub of Professionalism in Public Service Human Resource Management,” aligns with national reforms, including the Renewed Hope Agenda, the Federal Civil Service Strategy Implementation Plan, and Nigeria’s aspiration to build a $1 trillion economy by 2030.
“There is the need to address staff retention in the face of the JAPA syndrome, improve remunerations, and provide conducive work environment, the need to prioritise and standardize training for all cadres to engender merit-based promotion and career development of civil servants in the face of paucity of training funds, and the need for the state governments to give the state civil service commissions free hand to exercise their constitutional duties,” the Chairman of the committee, Mr. Balarabe Abubakar, read.
The five-day annual council, which was declared open by Governor Alex Otti and who was represented by the SSG Professor Kenneth Kalu, had in attendance the Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission, Professor Tunji Alaopa; chairmen of civil service commissions of the 36 states of the federation; commissioners of the Federal Civil Service Commission; and other stakeholders in the federal and state civil service commissions, including the Chairman of Abia State Civil Service Commission, Pst. Mrs. Enoh Jerry-Eze.
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