Nigeria president pleads for 'patience' amid tough economy

ABUJA, Nigeria

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has pleaded with his compatriots for "patience" as they continue to grapple with a tough economic situation.

In an Independence Day speech, Tinubu defended his controversial economic reforms, saying they were necessary and were beginning to bear results.

He also insisted Nigeria was "winning the war" on the violence that has killed thousands in the north over recent years - a declaration that will seem far-fetched to some.

Protesters in the capital, Abuja, as well as Lagos are using the 64th anniversary of independence from the UK to denounce what they see as the government's poor handling of the economy.

President Tinubu began his speech on Tuesday by telling Nigerians: "I am deeply aware of the struggles many of you face in these challenging times.

"I plead for your patience as the reforms we are implementing show positive signs, and we are beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel."

After coming to power last year, Tinubu removed a subsidy that kept the price of fuel low for Nigerians.

He also scrapped the policy of pegging the naira to the US dollar, instead allowing the market to determine the price of the currency. This caused the naira to plunge in value - at one point it hit an all-time low.

This - along with the ending of the fuel subsidy - have been factors in the recent rise on the cost of living.

Annual inflation - the average rate at which prices go up - has reached highs not seen for nearly three decades. Last month, inflation was at 32%.

In Tuesday's address, Tinubu said his administration had no choice but to put the economy on a more sustainable path. He also noted that numerous other countries across the world had seen an increased cost of living.

Following the speech, Lagos resident Michael Olaleye told the Reuters news agency: "Personally, me I am doubting if it is something that is going to work out because it has not shown really... majority of what the president is talking about has not shown."

But another city dweller, Victory Azimih, urged Nigerians to be "optimistic" and acknowledged that the government could not "fix everything".

Tinubu also addressed security in his speech, saying: "I am happy to announce to you, my compatriots, that our administration is winning the war on terror and banditry."

He added that the government had eliminated commanders from Boko Haram - a leading Islamist militant group in Nigeria - "faster than ever".

The nation's military has recently stepped up its campaign against armed groups, intensifying air bombardment and land operations.

Troops had "neutralised" almost 2,000 "terrorists" in the third quarter of the year, a military spokesperson said earlier this week.

But last week 24 people were killed when a military airstrike targeted armed gangs in Kaduna state but, according to local residents, hit a mosque and homes instead.

And reports of civilians being attacked by the armed groups the government is fighting still surface frequently.

Just two days ago, local media reported that armed assailants had killed at least two people and kidnapped 44 others in separate attacks in the states of Zamfara and Kaduna.

Protesters launched demonstrations on Tuesday, with the organisers saying they were against "the devastation, hunger, insecurity and the hardship that this government has unleashed on Nigerians".

Similar protests took place in early August. At least 21 people were killed in the demonstrations, while hundreds of others were arrested and charged with treason, looting and vandalism.

Israel promises revenge after Iran fires missiles at Tel Aviv

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia

Israel vowed to retaliate after Iran fired missiles toward Tel Aviv on Tuesday as regional tensions grew a day after Israel said it started a ground invasion in southern Lebanon to counter the threat from Hezbollah.

General Hajizadeh and General Bagheri at the Iran Control and Command Center

Iran said they had fired 200 missiles and that 90 percent of them successfully hit their target. Most of the missiles were shot down, but some landed in central and southern Israel, according to the military.

Explosions were heard in Jerusalem with many Israelis piling into bomb shelters as sirens rang out across the country.

The Revolutionary Guard said it targeted three military bases in the Tel Aviv area and promised a “more crushing and ruinous” response if Israel retaliated.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Tehran had made a “a big mistake” and vowed to make them pay. “Whoever attacks us, we attack them,” he said.

Iran said the attacks targeted security apparatus, including radar bases, which were used in the planning of assassinations of senior Hezbollah and Hamas figures.

The Iranian forces used hypersonic Fattah missiles for the first time, the IRGC said, describing a weapon that could travel at least five times faster than the speed of sound.

US President Joe Biden said the attack had been “defeated and ineffective”. The president, a staunch ally of Israel, said: “Make no mistake, the United States is fully, fully, fully supportive of Israel.”

The White House also promised “severe consequences” for the Iranian action and said it would work with Israel to make that happen.

Two US naval destroyers launched around a dozen interceptors against the Iranian missiles, the defense department said. The UK said that its personnel were also involved in “attempts to prevent further escalation,” without elaborating on what role the forces played.  

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran had used its “legitimate rights” and dealt “a decisive response... to the Zionist regime’s aggression”.

At the UN General Assembly last week, Pezeshkian rebuked Israel for its actions in Gaza and Lebanon. “It is imperative that the international community should immediately ... secure a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and bring an end to the desperate barbarism of Israel in Lebanon, before it engulfs the region and the world,” he said.

Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel, October 1, 2024

The Israeli military published a video late on Tuesday that showed a damaged building in Gadera and said it was caused by an Iranian missile.

Israel continued its attacks in Lebanon throughout the day Tuesday and issued a new call to resident’s in the Lebanese capital to evacuate. “You are located near dangerous Hezbollah facilities, which the IDF (Israeli military) will act against with force in the near future,” military spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X.

Shortly after that message, Israel began striking south Beirut. “At least five Israeli strikes targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs,” a security source told AFP.

Lebanese health officials said that 55 people had been killed and 156 others injured in Israel strikes across the country on Tuesday.

Israel has not provided detailed information of its ground incursion into southern Lebanon and Hezbollah has denied that Israel troops had crossed the border.

The group said images released by Israel of the invasion are “very old and have no relationship to any current military action on the Lebanese border,” adding that the images are part of a “psychological and propaganda war” by their regional foe.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned what he called “escalation after escalation”. And he reiterated that a suspension of hostilities was needed immediately. “This must stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire, ” he said.

Tensions have become inflamed since Israel killed Hezbollah’s longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in a targeted airstrike on Friday.

Two weeks earlier, Israel carried out an unexpected attack involving exploding pagers used by the group, disrupting their command and communications systems. The shocking incident indicated that Israel was preparing for a ground invasion and left the Iran-backed group reeling.

In Lebanon, reactions to the latest escalation are divided. Hezbollah supporters have welcomed the confrontation, while many others oppose being dragged into a war not of their making. For Karine, a 37-year-old mathematics teacher, the country is being held hostage by Hezbollah.

 “I sympathize with the Palestinian cause. I even sympathize with Nasrallah’s supporters. But reason says you cannot drag the whole country into war due to the decisions of a few,” she told Arab News.

“Israel, while I consider it an abomination before God, has demonstrated incredible military might. We have been dealing with crisis after crisis since 2019, and we are not up for this fight. We are too exhausted.”

US Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, said: “I’m clear-eyed Iran is a destabilizing, dangerous force in the Middle East”.

“I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist militias.”

 “I fully support President (Joe) Biden’s order for the US military to shoot down Iranian missiles targeting Israel,” Harris said. “Initial indications are that Israel, with our assistance, was able to defeat this attack.”

Harris is running against Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, for the White House in November elections. Trump has criticized the Biden administration for mishandling the situation and has urged Israel to “finish the problem” in Gaza.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed the UK’s “steadfast commitment” to the security of Israel and condemned the Iranian attack. The prime minister will work “alongside partners and do everything possible to push for de-escalation and push for a diplomatic solution,” a spokesman said.

In a letter late on Tuesday to the UN Security Council, Israel’s UN ambassador, Danny Danon, said the attack “demonstrates that the charm offensive conducted by Iran and its new president is a mirage and the decision-making in Iran lies with the Supreme Leader and the Revolutionary Guards.”

The Iranian president told reporters in New York last month: “We do not wish to be the cause of instability in the Middle East as its consequences would be irreversible”.

Iran’s US Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani, in a letter to Guterres on Tuesday, said the IRGC actions were “in accordance with the inherent right to self-defense” in contrast to Israel consistently considering “civilians and civilian infrastructure as legitimate targets”.

The Security Council is set to hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday in the wake of the escalating situation in the region.

Old tensions in the Middle East exploded last year when Hamas militants surged across the Gaza border and attacked Israeli settlements, killing nearly 1,200 people and capturing around 200 others. Israel has since killed around 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza in an effort to eradicate Hamas and regain its hostages.

Peace negotiations between the sides have not been fruitful with Israel allies blaming Netanyahu and Hamas of being an obstacles to a ceasefire and hostage-return deal.

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 02/10/2024

 

Iran launches salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel

 JERUSALEM, Israel

Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday in retaliation for Israel's campaign against Tehran's Hezbollah allies in Lebanon.

Alarms sounded across Israel and explosions could be heard in Jerusalem and the Jordan River valley after Israelis piled into bomb shelters. Reporters on state television lay flat on the ground during live broadcasts.

Israeli army radio said nearly 200 missiles had been launched into Israel from Iran. 

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Iran had launched tens of missiles at Israel, and that if Israel retaliated Tehran's response would be "more crushing and ruinous".

Israel's military later sounded the all-clear and said Israelis were free to leave their shelters. Military spokesman Daniel Hagari said the military was not aware of any injuries resulting from the Iranian missile attacks.

He described the attack as serious and said it would have consequences.

A senior Iranian official told our reporter the order to launch missiles at Israel had been made by the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 

Khamenei remains in a secure location, the senior official added.

Our journalist saw missiles intercepted in the airspace of neighbouring Jordan.

Oil prices shot up five percent on the news of the Iranian missile strikes, which raise the prospect of a wider war between the two arch enemies.

A previous round of Iranian missiles fired at Israel in April - the first ever - were shot down with the help of the U.S. military and other allies. Israel responded at the time with airstrikes in Iran, but wider escalation was averted.

Iran has vowed to retaliate following Israeli strikes that killed the top leadership of its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon, including that group's leader Hassan Nasrallah, a towering figure in Iran's network of fighters across the region.

Israel said its troops had launched ground raids into Lebanon, though it described the forays as limited.

In Washington, U.S. President Joe Biden said the United States was prepared to help Israel defend itself from Iranian missile attacks.

"We discussed how the United States is prepared to help Israel defend against these attacks, and protect American personnel in the region," Biden said on X about a meeting held with Vice President Kamala Harris and the White House national security team earlier in the day.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, speaking after Iran fired its salvo of missiles at Israel, condemned what he called "escalation after escalation", saying: "This must stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire."

Though so far characterised by Israel as limited, a ground campaign into Lebanon for the first time in 18 years pitting Israeli soldiers against Hezbollah, Iran's best-armed proxy force in the Middle East, would be a major regional escalation.

More than a thousand Lebanese have been killed and a million have fled their homes in weeks of intense Israeli airstrikes.

In the latest announced killing of a senior Hezbollah figure, Israel said on Tuesday it had assassinated a commander named Muhammad Jaafar Qasir, describing him as in charge of weapons transfers from Iran and its affiliates.

Near the city of Sidon along the Mediterranean south of Beirut, mourners wept over coffins containing black-shrouded bodies of people killed in Israeli strikes.

"The building got struck down and I couldn’t protect my daughter or anyone else. Thank God, my son and I got out, but I lost my daughter and wife, I lost my home, I have become homeless. What do you want me to say? My whole life changed in a second," said resident Abdulhamid Ramadan.

Burkina Faso calls out foreign powers “deliberately exacerbating suffering” of Sahelians

UNITED NATIONS,  New York 

Burkina Faso’s Minister of Foreign Affairs addressed Monday the UN General Assembly High-Level Debate in New York.

As his country still fights a terrorist group in the north-east, he said nearly 70% of the territory was now under control from 40% in 2022.

Foreign Minister Traore also called out what he termed as propaganda against Burkinabe Defence forces.

He highlighted “the professionalism and the stellar conduct” of the country’s Defense and Security Forces (FDS), “that is demonstrated through their participation in peacekeeping operations and recognize it time and time again at this very podium, the ongoing training and examination of our defense forces and volunteers in International humanitarian law guarantee that our professional conduct is unimputable in respecting human rights.”

Karamoko Jean Marie Traore said the Alliance of Sahel's states primary aimed to " protect the populations of the Sahel who have suffered from the security and humanitarian crisis. and against whom deadly measures were deliberately enforced to further exacerbate their suffering."

In that regard, he reiterated his country's accusation against Ukraine, as a "sponsor" of terrorists in the Sahel.

“The popular support and enthusiasm sparked by the creation of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) can be partly explained by the failure and incapacity of sub-regional institutions and mechanisms to respond to security concerns of our populations, which are legitimate. The creation of the Alliance has been lifesaving and it will be our salvation. Its primary aim is to protect the populations of the Sahel who have suffered from the security and humanitarian crisis. and against whom deadly measures were deliberately enforced to further exacerbate their suffering.

He said the AES was still waiting for the UN security council which it appealed to last August and from which it expects "strong decisions".

He extended his country's support of a reform of UN Security Council to include Africa.

“That will enable us to establish the universal character of the UN and repair the persistent injustice against Africa,” he concluded.

UN extends Haiti security mission mandate for another year

UNITED NATIONS,  New York 

The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Monday to extend the mandate of the Kenya-led multinational force helping to tackle gang violence in Haiti, after brushing off a call from Haiti to start talks on transforming it into a U.N. peacekeeping mission.

According to the final draft obtained by The Associated Press, China and Russia succeeded in eliminating the paragraph in the resolution that acknowledged the call by the president of Haiti’s transitional presidential council at the U.N. General Assembly “to start a discussion” on moving to a U.N. peacekeeping force.

Last Thursday’s call by Edgard Leblanc Fils was the first public announcement of support by a government official since the United States proposed a UN peacekeeping mission in early September as a way to secure more resources for the Kenya-led mission.

Nearly 400 Kenyan officers are now in Haiti, joined by nearly two dozen police officers and soldiers from Jamaica. The officers fall significantly short of the 2,500 pledged by various countries, including Chad, Benin, Bangladesh and Barbados for the mission. It is also seriously short of funding.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the Security Council that the 15-0 vote “sends a strong message to the people of Haiti: The world is standing with you. And we are unwavering in our efforts to help restore security and stability and put the country on the path to peace and stability.”

She said additional financial contributions are urgently needed for the multinational force and also called on council members to heed Haiti’s call for a U.N.-funded peacekeeping operation.

A senior U.S. official said adoption of the resolution will trigger a U.S. effort to work with Haitian authorities and partners to transform the operation into a peacekeeping force. Those who oppose a U.N. force will have to explain why they're against a call from the Haitian government, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with rules set by the Biden administration.

China’s deputy U.N. ambassador Geng Shuang countered that “The U.N. has sent multiple peacekeeping operations in Haiti, but the results have never been satisfactory, and the lessons learned have been extremely profound.”

He called for the implementation of the mandate of the Kenya-led force, stressing that discussing other options now will only interfere with its operation, and adding that peacekeeping operations are not “a panacea.”

“Haiti does not have the conditions for the deployment of peacekeeping operations right now,” Geng told the council after the vote.

Russia’s deputy U.N. ambassador Dmitry Polyansky echoed his Chinese ally, saying only three months have passed since the deployment of the Kenyan officers and Russia expects the multinational force to expand its presence.

“Until this happens, we believe it is premature to plan any transformation to the international presence or any changes thereof,” he said.

10 reasons why Kenya parliamentarians want Deputy President impeached

By Our Correspondent, NAIROBI Kenya

Kenya’s Deputy President (DP), Rigathi Gachagua, will face his moment of truth on Tuesday afternoon when the impeachment motion will be tabled before Parliament.

In a document seen by our reporter, Kibwezi West Member of Parliament (MP) Eckomas Mwengi has prepared 10 charges to kick the DP out of the office, bringing to a forefront the implosion of the Kenya Kwanza administration after two years in office. 

Charge 1: Making inciteful remarks 

The lawmaker has accused Gachagua of making utterances that divide Kenyans based on ethnic grounds. 

"Besides, the utterances are highly inflammatory and inciteful and significantly undermine national unity and the peaceful co-existence of Kenya's diverse communities," the motion reads in part. 

He made references to the controversial remarks the DP made in Kajiado in 2023, that the "the government of Kenya is a company and there are shareholders."

Charge 2: Undermining the president and the cabinet

According to the motion, the DP has undermined his boss by making statements that are not in line with the government's policies.

The lawmaker claimed that Gachagua opposed the Nairobi River Riparian Evacuation orders which the Cabinet had approved. 

"His Excellency Rigathi Gachagua made contradictory public statements despite being a Member of the Cabinet and being assigned the function of superintending the Nairobi River Riparian Evacuation Order," the MP said. 

Charge 3: Interfering with leadership of Nairobi County government

The legislator also accused the DP of interfering with Nairobi County matters by allegedly inciting citizens against the planned relocation of Wakulima traders to Kangundo market. 

"His Excellency Rigathi Gachagua’s inciteful and demeaning public statements and conduct undermine devolution, they undercut the functional and institutional integrity of county governments and unjustifiably vilify and ridicule the leadership of the Nairobi City County Government," the motion reads in part. 

Charge 4: Attack against Lady Justice Esther Maina of the High Court

According to the lawmaker, Gachagua made scathing attacks against the High Court judge after she determined a case in which the DP was a party.

In the case, Justice Esther Maina ordered the parties to forfeit Ksh.200 million to the State. 

"His Excellency Rigathi Gachagua’s public attacks against the Judge are impeachable offences to the extent that they undermine the functional and decisional independence of judges," the motion read in part. 

Charge 5: Violating the Oath of office

The fifth charge involves violating the oath that he took that requires him to obey, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.

According to MP Mwengi, this violates Article 148 of the Constitution that dictates the DP ought to perform the functions in line with the Constitution. 

Charge 6: Violating the National Cohesion and Integration Act

Section 62 of the Act provides that anyone who stirs up ethnic hostility commits an offence. The motion accuses Gachagua of making inciteful public utterances since taking office. 

Charge 7: Amassing properties worth Ksh.5.2 billion illegally

DP Gachagua is accused of amassing wealth illegally by using his spouse, two sons and other close family members as proxies. The MP claims that Gachagua uses 22 companies to launder money and conceal proceeds of crime.  

"The value of the property and wealth that his Excellency Rigathi Gachagua has acquired over the last two years is incompatible with his known legitimate income (Ksh.12 million per annum or thereabouts)," the motion reads in part. 

Charge 8: Misleading the public

In the motion, the MP alleges that Gachagua has continuously misled the public through divisive remarks.

He referenced Gachagua's remarks over Lady Justice Esther Maina claiming that she had engaged in corruption. 

"He publicly said he would present a petition for the removal of the said judge (which he has not done to date), leading to the inevitable conclusion that he knew his allegations

were false."

Charge 9: Gross Misconduct

The MP referenced the June 26, 2024 press briefing held in Mombasa County where the DP accused National Intelligence Service Director General of failing in his duties to assess public's sentiments that led to the nationwide anti-government protests. 

According to the lawmaker, the remarks reduced the public's confidence in the government's ability to deliver its mandate. 

Gachagua was also accused of colluding with cartels in the agricultural sector to block farmers from reaping hefty returns from their produce. 

"His Excellency Rigathi Gachagua has influenced his family members, allies, associates, and proxies to take control of a local cooperative society (name withheld) in Mathira, which they are financially hemorrhaging."

Charge 10: Bullying

The final reason for grounds of impeachment involves bullying, where the MP claims that the Second in Command constantly humiliated state and public officers who he thinks stand in his way.

The lawmaker also alleges that Gachagua directed Kenya Medical Supplies Agency Officials to award a tender for the supply of mosquito nets to Crystal Limited. 

Another example listed was Gachagua allegedly intimidating public officers and contractor to divert materials meant for the construction of the Kilifi-Malindi Road to tarmac a private road to Vipingo Beach Resort.

The MP claims that the hotel is associated with the Deputy President. 

"The conduct of His Excellency Rigathi Gachagua, as depicted in this Motion is a ticking time bomb to the extent that it has the potential to plunge the country into ethnic hatred and strife." - CitizenTV

Israel launches 'ground raids' against Hezbollah

TEL AVIV, Israel

Israel has launched what it has described as "limited, localised and targeted ground raids" in southern Lebanon, marking an escalation in its continuing offensive against Hezbollah.

Lebanese civilians are being warned not to use vehicles to travel south across the Litani river, which is 20 miles north of the Israel-Lebanon border.

According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the operation is aimed at the Iran-backed group's "infrastructure", which it says poses "an immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel".

Hezbollah's deputy leader said the group was prepared for any Israeli operation inside Lebanon.

The group said it targeted Israeli troops with a “rocket barrage” on the Israeli town of Metula and the Avivim area, close to the Lebanon border.

Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant earlier implied the army was ready for a ground operation, telling troops near the Lebanese border Israel was prepared to use forces "from the air, sea and land" to target Hezbollah.

In a statement posted on X at 02:00 local time on Tuesday morning, the IDF confirmed troops had moved across the border following a build-up of tanks and other armour in northern Israel.

The Lebanese army is pulling back troops stationed on its southern border to at least 5km (3 miles) north, according to Reuters news agency, which cited a Lebanese security source.

On Monday, Gallant told Israeli troops at the border that Israel's military would use all "the means at our disposal" to allow displaced people to return home in the north of the country.

In a short video, he said the "elimination" of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut on Friday "is a very important step, but it is not everything".

He added that "everything that needs to be done - will be done" and that "we will use all the forces from the air, sea and land".

The Israeli government has pledged to make it safe for tens of thousands of its citizens to return to their homes after nearly a year of cross-border fighting, which began with Hezbollah firing rockets at the start of the war in Gaza.

The Lebanese armed group - which is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the US, UK and other countries - is known to have extensive tunnel networks as well as bunkers and other military infrastructure just over the border from Israel.

Hezbollah's deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem said the group - which is thought to have tens of thousands of well-trained fighters - was ready for an Israeli ground offensive. He described their attacks on Israel so far as the "minimum", adding that the battle could be long.

Hezbollah - which is backed by Iran - has experienced mass casualties from exploding pagers and walkie-talkies, a wave of assassinations of its military commanders and devastating air strikes which have killed civilians, as well as the use of bunker-busting bombs in Beirut, which killed the group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, on Friday.

Explosions lit up the night sky on Monday as airstrikes hit Hezbollah’s stronghold of Dahieh, in Beirut's southern suburbs, near the airport.

The attacks came shortly after the Israeli military warned residents to evacuate buildings it said were linked to the group.

In southern Lebanon, there were reports of heavy shelling in the border town of Aita al-Shaab.

And near the city of Sidon, officials say a strike hit a building in a crowded Palestinian refugee camp, the first time it has been attacked in this conflict.

Lebanese officials say more than 1,000 people have been killed in the past two weeks, while up to a million may now be displaced.

On Monday, US President Joe Biden said "we should have a ceasefire now".

"I'm more aware than you might know and I'm comfortable with them stopping," Biden told reporters when asked if he was comfortable with Israeli plans for a cross-border incursion.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy spoke to his US counterpart Antony Blinken on Monday, with the US State Department saying they discussed efforts to resolve the conflict. Both men stressed the need for a ceasefire and that the hostages taken by Hezbollah's Palestinian ally Hamas in the 7 October attack on Israel need to be returned home.

The European Union's member states have called for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said "any further military intervention would dramatically aggravate the situation and it has to be avoided".

Meanwhile, Israel and Hamas have both confirmed the killing of the head of Hamas in Lebanon, Fateh Sherif Abu el-Amin, in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon.

Israel's military said Sherif was "responsible for co-ordinating Hamas's terror activities in Lebanon with Hezbollah operatives".

Another Israeli strike in the central Beirut neighbourhood of Kola early on Monday killed three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Palestinian armed group said in a statement.

The statement named those killed as military security chief Mohammad Abdel-Aal, military commander Imad Odeh and fighter Abdel Rahman Abdel-Aal.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) director of communications for Lebanon, Jinane Saad, told the BBC that “we don’t really know where is safe or not” after the strike on the Kola neighbourhood.

“What is safe today might not be safe in an hour or tomorrow,” she said.

The previously sporadic cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah escalated on 8 October 2023 - the day after the unprecedented attack on Israel by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip - when Hezbollah fired at Israeli positions, in solidarity with the Palestinians.

More than 20 children feared dead in Thailand bus crash

BANGKOK, Thailand

A bus carrying dozens of primary school children has crashed and caught fire just outside the Thai capital Bangkok.

Sixteen children and three teachers are reported to have escaped, but 22 pupils and three teachers are still unaccounted for, according to the country's transport minister.

Officials say they have found ten bodies on the bus.

Photographs show the bus completely destroyed by the fire. Investigators are said to have been unable to enter the vehicle because of the heat, according to local media.

The bus was one of three that were carrying children and teachers returning from a school field trip in the northern province of Uthai Thani.

Transport Minister Suriyahe Juangroongruangkit said the bus was powered by compressed natural gas.

“This is a very tragic incident,” Mr Suriyahe told reporters at the scene.

“The ministry must find a measure… if possible, for passenger vehicles like this to be banned from using this type of fuel because it’s extremely risky,” he added.

Thailand's prime minister, meanwhile, has ordered ministers to visit the scene.

"As a mother, I would like to express my deepest regrets to the families of those killed," Paetongtarn Shinawatra said.

"The government will be responsible for all the medical costs and the compensation for those killed," she added.

The bus was travelling on a highway into Bangkok when a tyre burst, sending it crashing into a barrier, a rescue worker said in footage broadcast on local television.

Video footage from the scene showed flames engulfing the bus as it burned under an overpass, huge clouds of dense black smoke billowing into the sky.

It is not clear what age the children on board were, but the school has pupils between three and 15 years old.

Thailand has one of the worst road safety records in the world, with unsafe vehicles and poor driving contributing to the high annual death toll.

How Kenya's president has fallen out with his deputy

By Anne Soy, NAIROBI Kenya

Kenya's Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has been threatened with impeachment proceedings by lawmakers amid intense speculation that he has had a major fallout with President William Ruto.

The president's allies in parliament have accused Gachagua of undermining the government, promoting ethnically divisive politics, having a role in fuelling the deadly protests that rocked the country in June, and of being involved in corruption.

The power struggle has led to concerns of instability at the heart of government, at a time when Kenya is in the throes of a deep economic and financial crisis.

Ruto chose Gachagua as his running-mate in the 2022 election, when he defeated former Prime Minister Raila Odinga in a bitterly contested election.

Gachagua comes from the vote-rich Mount Kenya region, and helped marshal support for Ruto.

But with members of Odinga's party joining the government after the youth-led protests that forced Ruto to backdown from increasing taxes, the political dynamics have changed - and the deputy president looks increasingly isolated.

Legislators say they are preparing to table a motion in parliament, calling for impeachment proceedings to be instituted against him.

“I have already appended my signature to it,” said majority leader Kimani Ichung’wah.

Allies of the deputy president have launched several attempts in the High Court to prevent the motion from being tabled, but have failed.

Several legislators told local media that the one-third threshold has been passed, with nearly 250 having already backed the move to table the motion for debate.

“I was surprised that I was number 242 to sign it and there was still a queue [waiting to sign],” said legislator Didmus Barasa.

“It’s a foregone conclusion, the DP [deputy president] asked for it,” added another legislator, Rahim Dawood.

Gachagua has, however, struck a defiant tone, saying he has the backing of voters in his native central Kenya region.

“Two-hundred people cannot overturn the will of the people,” he said.

For the motion to pass, it would require the support at least two-thirds of members of the National Assembly and Senate, excluding its nominated members.

Backers of the motion are confident that it will sail through, especially as they can now also rely on the votes of Odinga's party.

But Gachagua has made it clear that he will not go down without a fight.

“The president can ask MPs to stop. So, if it continues, he’s in it,” he told media outlets broadcasting to people in his political base, Mount Kenya.

Ruto has in the past vowed not to subject Gachagua to “political persecution”, similar to what he says he experienced when he was deputy to his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta.

But the rift between Ruto and Gachagua has been apparent in recent months.

The deputy president has been conspicuously absent from seeing off his boss at the airport when he travels abroad, and receiving him when he returns.

Interior Secretary Kithure Kindiki, a law professor who is trusted by the president, appears to be taking on some of the deputy president's responsibilities - something that also happened when Ruto and Kenyatta fell out.

Like Gachagua, Kindiki comes from Mount Kenya - the region which forms the largest voting block in Kenya.

Dozens of legislators have rallied behind Kindiki as the region’s preferred “mouthpiece", intensifying speculation that they are pushing for him to succeed Gachagua.

That has left the deputy president largely isolated with only a handful of elected politicians backing him.

In a further sign that he is in political trouble, the police's Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) recently recommended charges against two MPs, a staff member and other close allies of the deputy president, after accusing them of “planning, mobilising and financing violent protests” that occurred in June.

Gachagua defended the accused, denouncing the charges as an "act of aggression" and an “evil scheme” to “soil” his name and lay the groundwork for his impeachment.

In parliament last week, Kindiki - under whose ministry the DCI falls - pledged to remain neutral, but made it clear that “high-level individuals” will be prosecuted.

"We are dealing with the aftermath of the attempted overthrow of the constitution of Kenya by criminal and dangerous people who almost burnt the parliament of Kenya. We have a job to do," he said.

But many of the young people who were at the forefront of the protests dismiss suggestions that Gachagua's allies were behind it, and see the bid by lawmakers to oust him as an attempt to deflect attention from bad governance.

They say that if the deputy goes, the president must go too.

Ruto, who is expected to host legislators from his party later this week, will be weighing the political risks of moving against Gachagua, but some lawmakers say they do not want him to wade into the debate - a tough ask.

For now, Gachagua's fate rests with legislators, but one man might still extend him a renewed lease of political life - the president.