Author: Opalim Lifted

Gunmen have abducted three people, including a seminarian, during a morning service at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Inoyi, in the Affa community of Udi Local Government Area, Enugu State. The attackers reportedly stormed the church at about 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, initially abducting three worshippers. In a statement, Daniel Ndukwe, the police spokesperson in Enugu State, said a joint security team comprising police operatives, forest guards, and members of the neighbourhood watch group had launched an operation to rescue the victims and apprehend the attackers. Ndukwe said the operatives, while pursuing the fleeing gunmen, forced them to abandon one of…

A Lagos-based law firm, Brown & Cooper Solicitors, has given Qatar Airways 14 days to recover and return a passenger’s allegedly missing luggage or pay N11.812 million in compensation. The demand was contained in a letter dated July 25, 2026, addressed to the airline on behalf of their client, Mr Peter Omopariola Fowoyo, who alleged that one of his three checked-in bags went missing after he travelled from Doha, Qatar, to Lagos aboard Flight QR1407 on June 27, 2026. According to the solicitors, Fowoyo, a journalist, checked in three bags bearing tag numbers 0157264140, 0157264141 and 0157264142 before boarding the…

A two-man firefighting helicopter crew has died after their aircraft collided mid-air with another helicopter while battling a major wildfire near Athens, Greek authorities have confirmed. The fatal crash occurred on Sunday as both helicopters were deployed to tackle a fast-moving blaze near the coastal village of Porto Germeno, about 70 kilometres northwest of the Greek capital. According to the Greek Fire Department, the pilots were rescued from the wreckage and taken to hospital unconscious, where doctors later confirmed their deaths. Earlier, state broadcaster ERT had reported that one crew member had been found alive while search efforts continued for…

A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Egypt on Monday, sending tremors across parts of southern and central Israel, according to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ). GFZ said the earthquake occurred at a depth of 10 kilometres (about six miles). The Egyptian Red Crescent said it activated its emergency response plan in the governorates where the tremor was felt but had not received any reports of casualties or property damage. In a statement, the humanitarian organisation urged residents to avoid buildings showing signs of structural damage and to rely on official updates while authorities continue to…

A tourist plane carrying foreign visitors to view Peru’s famous Nazca Lines crashed shortly after take-off on Saturday, killing all 13 people on board. According to AFP, the Cessna 208 Caravan aircraft departed from Pisco Airport, about 240 kilometres south of Lima, at around 1:00 pm local time before crashing near Vista Alegre in the Nazca region. Police confirmed that the crash claimed the lives of 11 passengers and two crew members, with no survivors. The victims included seven Italians, two Germans and two Spaniards, alongside the two Peruvian crew members. Authorities said those on board ranged in age from…

Iran has rejected United States President Donald Trump’s claim that Tehran asked Washington to suspend planned military strikes, describing the assertion as false. According to Iran’s Mehr news agency, which cited military officials on Sunday, the allegation was “nothing but a new lie”. The officials added that Iran’s armed forces remained “on high alert and ready for any eventuality.” The response came after Trump announced that he had cancelled a planned military strike on Iran following what he described as a request from Tehran and other Middle Eastern countries to allow more time for diplomatic negotiations. In a post on…

United States President Donald Trump has announced the cancellation of a planned military strike on Iran, saying the decision followed a request tied to ongoing diplomatic negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz and Tehran’s nuclear programme. In a post on Truth Social on Sunday, Trump said the United States was fully prepared to launch military action but agreed to suspend the operation after Iran and other Middle Eastern countries requested more time to finalise a proposed agreement. According to Trump, the deal would provide for the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and include measures to eliminate Iran’s nuclear…

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has challenged President Bola Tinubu to apply the same security commitment that led to the rescue of abducted pupils and teachers in Oriire, Oyo State, to free other Nigerians still in captivity in Kwara, Borno, and other parts of the country. Reacting to the president’s remarks on Friday, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said the Oriire operation should not be treated as an isolated case but should become the standard response to kidnapping across Nigeria, irrespective of the location or language of the victims. The ADC questioned why the authorities had not…

The death toll from the mass migrant rush into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta has risen to 72, after authorities recovered five more bodies following one of Europe’s deadliest border tragedies in recent years. Spanish officials said the latest discoveries were made on Sunday, days after tens of thousands of migrants attempted to enter Ceuta from neighbouring Morocco by land and sea. The unprecedented surge began on Thursday, when more than 50,000 people crossed or tried to cross into the North African enclave amid worsening economic conditions and false information circulating on social media. Many migrants drowned during the dangerous…

A convicted murderer on death row allegedly operated multiple TikTok accounts, hosted livestreams, received monetary gifts and ran business activities from inside the Ibara Maximum Security Custodial Centre in Abeokuta, exposing serious security concerns within Nigeria’s prison system. Elijah Oyebode, who was sentenced to death by hanging in 2019 for the murder of Osun State University student Rofiat Adebisi, maintained an active online presence despite being incarcerated in a maximum-security facility. Court records cited by the publication show Oyebode was convicted over the ritual killing of the final-year student in 2019 after the court rejected his varying accounts of the…