Hundreds hospitalized after breaking Ramadan fast

Food poisoning at a camp for displaced residents of Mosul has made more than 700 people sick, with hundreds hospitalized, Iraqi officials said Tuesday.

The incident at the Hassan Sham U2 camp, about 20 kilometers (13 miles) east of Mosul, has become part of the ongoing dispute between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Saudi media accused a Qatari charity of supplying tainted food to the residents of the desert camp.

Iraqi Health Minister Adila Hamoud told The Associated Press that 752 people in the camp became ill following a Monday night iftar — the meal breaking the dawn-to-dusk fast by Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan. At least 300 people remain in serious condition, he said.

The Health Ministry reported that no one had died from food poisoning. Two deaths cited earlier were from other causes. The provincial governor said there had been one death. The U.N. refugee agency at first reported one death but later said nobody had died. The conflicting reports could not immediately be reconciled.

Amira Abdulhaliq of the UNHCR said it was unclear when the meals had become contaminated, whether it was during its preparation, packaging, transportation or distribution.
"So far, we have received around 800 cases. Around 200 have been transported to the hospitals in Irbil," she said.

Irbil Gov. Nawzad Hadi said the food was prepared in an Irbil restaurant by a local NGO, Ain el Muhtajeen, and funded by a Qatari charity known as RAF. In Saudi Arabia, which has been leading a recent campaign to isolate Qatar, state media quickly seized on the issue with coverage that implied Qatar was poisoning refugees deliberately.

On Twitter, Saudi state television accused RAF of supplying tainted meals and posted images it said showed the camp's children "poisoned by the terrorist Qatari RAF organization."

An Iraqi lawmaker who visited the camp overnight also accused the Qatari charity of providing the tainted food.
At midday Tuesday, medics were treating patients in a large tent at the edge of the camp. About 20-30 patients, mostly children, lay on blankets on the floor as several more serious cases were taken away in ambulances. Most were suffering from stomach cramps and dehydration resulting from vomiting and diarrhea.

Raad al-Dahlaki, chairman of the Iraqi parliament's immigration and displacement committee, visited the camp overnight and said the meal contained rice, a bean sauce, meat, yogurt and water. He put the number of sick at 850.
Al-Dahlaki said the food was distributed by RAF, adding that Iraqi officials were to meet those from the organization later Tuesday. The Doha-based charity did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

At a joint news conference in the camp, Irbil Police Chief Abdulhaleq Talaat said seven people were arrested in connection with the incident.
Since a diplomatic crisis between Qatar and other Arab nations led by Saudi Arabia began June 5, Arab media across the greater Persian Gulf have unleashed a daily barrage of reports highly critical of Qatar. Those reports include stories that alleged Qatar has tried to undermine regional security, often presented without attribution or evidence.
RAF is the acronym for the Qatar-based Thani Bin Abdullah Al Thani Foundation for Humanitarian Services, a charity that collects donations for aid work around the world, including meals for needy families during Ramadan.

RAF is also among 12 organizations and 59 people put on what Saudi, Emirati and Bahraini officials described Friday as a list of terrorist entities and individuals.
On Qatari state television, a repeatedly aired program has discussed how the ongoing diplomatic dispute has stopped it from providing meals to Syrian refugees at a major camp in Jordan.

The Hassan Sham U2 camp houses thousands who have fled their homes in and around Mosul after a U.S.-backed Iraqi offensive was launched in October to dislodge the Islamic State group from Iraq's second-largest city. According to the U.N. refugee agency, it is home to 6,235 people.

Mosul fell to IS in the summer 2014 as the militants swept over much of northern and western Iraq. Weeks later, the head of the Sunni extremist group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, announced the formation of a self-styled caliphate in Iraq and Syria.

Months after the start of the offensive, IS militants control only a handful of neighborhoods in and around the Old City, located west of the Tigris River, which divides Mosul into western and eastern sectors. - AP

Fire engulfs west London tower block

Several people have been killed - and others remain trapped - in a large fire on a west London estate being battled by more than 200 firefighters and 40 fire engines. 

Hundreds of residents in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower have been evacuated from their flats in the burning building, and at least 50 people have been taken to five hospitals in the capital for treatment.

 Witnesses described hearing screams, watching people throw themselves out of the high-rise block and a woman holding a baby out of a window.
Others told of seeing people shouting and waving from the windows for help, and seeing people shining torches from within as the inferno erupted in the dead of night.
Footage on social media showed the building engulfed in fire, with huge flames stretching over a number of floors. 

The fire brigade said the fire had spread throughout the entire building, now covered in plumes of smoke with visible pockets of fire within the charred structure.
Mini explosions could be heard as the blaze shattered windows in the tower, while debris and ash fell to the ground. 
London Fire Brigade commissioner Dany Cotton confirmed there had been "a number of fatalities".

 "I cannot confirm the number at this time due to the size and complexity of this building," she said.
She described it as an "unprecedented incident", something she had not seen in her 29 years of service.
The cause of the blaze is not yet known, but is being investigated, she added.

Reporting from the scene in the immediate aftermath of the blaze, Sky News  producer Dan Cairns said residents had been told that if they received calls for help from people inside, to tell them they needed to try and "self-evacuate".
He said they had been told "to put a cloth over their mouths and try to get out by themselves".

It’s Igbo president 2019 or Biafra 2020, Ohanaeze youth declare

Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council, the youth wing of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, says it is either an Igbo man becomes the country’s next president or there will be a sovereign state of Biafra in 2020.

It made this known in a statement issued after its meeting in Enugu on Tuesday.
The statement was signed by Okwu Nnabuike, the group’s general secretary.

The group, however, said a northerner could be given the slot of the vice-president.
The youth added that their position was as a result of the perceived opposition of the north to call for restructuring and also the quit notice recently issued to the Igbo in the northern region.
“It is Igbo president 2019 or Biafra 2020,” the statement read.

“A situation where no Igbo has been allowed close to the seat of power for decades is sheer injustice and hatred, whereas other geopolitical zones have been taking turns either as military or civilian presidents.

“More annoying is the fact that the north, a major beneficiary in this direction, has bluntly refused to heed the call for restructuring, which has been identified as the panacea to the many socio-political problems plaguing the nation.

“Besides, they have also not only continued to express disdain over the demand for Biafra by IPOB and MASSOB but have also ordered Ndigbo out of the North based on these agitations.”

The Ohanaeze youth wing stated that it’s only a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction that would pacify the gbo especially the Biafran agitators.
“Remember that former President Olusegun Obasanjo have urged Nigerians to beg the Biafra agitators – only a Nigerian President of Igbo extraction will appease Igbos. Otherwise, Biafra agitation will be inevitable,” they added.

“If there is any conspiracy against Igbo presidency, it will bring Biafra into existence.
“Two days ago, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo re-echoed the fact that Nigeria is in a marriage. He was quoted as saying ‘Our nation has been in marriage for a while now. Sometimes there are quarrels within that marriage. Sometimes there is disagreement. What is important is that you must remain together. You must remain united.’

“It does appear from the above that Ndigbo has perpetually remained the sacrificial lamb to keep this forced marriage together. They have remained victims of an abusive marriage, often beaten and cheated by the husband.
“We have resolved today that this grave injustice cannot continue.

“It is Igbo Presidency in 2019 with a vice president from the north or nothing.
“We are not ready to be treated with levity and disdain in this country any longer, and for that we are calling on all Igbo sons and daughters, both at home and in the Diaspora, to key into this project.” - The cable

Reps to govt: give Abiola GCFR

THE House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to posthumously confer the highest national honour – the Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal republic (GCFR)  – on the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale A biola.

According to them, this would be  a measure of recognition for his unprecedented achievements, contributions and sacrifice to the unity, peace, progress and development of Nigeria, Africa and the world.

The resolution of the House followed the adoption of a motion by Sani Zoro (APC, Jigawa).
Zoro said there were several reasons to justify Abiola’s immortalisation.

He said: “We remember him today as always, as a true and great son of Nigeria, who touched lives more than any other person in his life, who contributed to the achievement of religious harmony by building bridges between faith organisations like nobody else, the humane boss, who employed Nigerians from all walks of life and treated them with affection and care as if they were members of his family, the man who championed the good cause of Africans for the exploitation and the heinous crime of slavery meted to them.

“It is sad though that despite these uncommon qualities, capped by his victory at the presidential election of June 12, 1993, but which was denied him by retrogressive forces in conspiracy with agents of destabilisation – that Nigerian authorities had never at any given time conferred a national honour on him, in his eventful life time or posthumously, despite the fact that many Nigerians and non-Nigerians of dubious value had continued to be decorated with such national honours year in, year out.

“There are abundant justifications to immortalise Abiola, to do that going by the event of June 12.
“Abiola and Buhari shared so much in common, even in popularity. While Abiola got eight million out from a total of 14  million votes, President Buhari got 15 million out of 28 million. That’s half of the total votes by the two.

“Justice can still be done, even 24 years after. It’s never too late.”
Anayo Nnebe (PDP, Anambra) said the annulment was an injustice through executive recklessness.

“Whatever reasons Ibrahim Babangida gave for the annulment cannot erase the fact that Abiola won the election
“Abiola is entitled to that award because it will be discouraging if it is such that the system only recognises and remembers criminals,” he noted.
Saying that June 12 transcends a regional issue, Nnnebe noted that the day deserved to be declared a national public holiday to be celebrated by every Nigerian because the entire country voted for Abiola in the ill-fated election.

“It was not a Southwest issue; let every part of the country celebrate the day, justice should start by declaring June 12 a national holiday,” he added.
Olufunke Adedoyin (APC, Kwara), who wondered what had changed about the long-held notion that Abiola should be immortalised, asked why the House as in times past rejected motions calling for the late politician to be officially recognised by the Federal Government.

“Abiola’s immense contributions to the nation should be recognized; he was a philanthropist with an Africa agenda,” she added.
Wale Raji (APC, Lagos) said the greatest honour that can be bestowed on Abiola posthumously is to release the annulled result and declare him winner of the election.

The motion was unanimously adopted after it was put to a voice vote by Speaker Yakubu Dogara. - The Nation

Man Kills Wife, Step Son After S3x In The Bush But Doesn't Feel Sorry

A 35 year-old man from Ikot-Okpora village in Biase Local Government Area of Cross River State, Okon Ubem, has allegedly killed his wife, Eka Imaobong, after having sex with her in the farm.

The suspect, who will soon be charged to court for murder, is also accused of killing his eight year-old stepson identified as Godswill at the same scene of the incident.

The Cross River State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Hafiz Inuwa, stated this in Calabar while addressing journalists.

Inuwa said the suspect was arrested on May 13, 2017 following a tip-off by one John Bassey, adding that he had confessed to the crime and would soon be charged to court.

“On May 13, 2017, at about 1500 hours, one John Bassey (male) of Ikot-Okpora village in Biase LGA reported to the Divisional Police headquarters in Akpet Central that one of his tenants, Okon Ubem, went to farm where he murdered his wife, Eka Imaobong, and her eight year-old son, Godswill.

“The suspect confessed to the crime and will be arraigned in court soon,” he said.

In an interview with Southern City News, Ubem alleged that he killed his wife because she stole his N40,000.

He admitted that he murdered the stepson because the eight year-old boy insulted him.

Ubem, who did not show remorse for the dastardly act, said he murdered the wife after making love to her in the bush.

“She stole my N40,000. So, I went to meet her in the farm and killed her. Yes, I made love to her before killing her. I also killed the stepson because he abused me,” he said. 

The End Of Buhari’s Government Is Near – Femi Fani-Kayode

Chief Femi Fani-Kayode has condemned the raid of the Sun Newspapers headquarters by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday, June 12. The former minister urged Nigerians to endure with President Muhammadu Buhari’s government, adding that the regime will soon be history. Fani Kayode stressed that the raid was barbaric and irresponsible; “nothing but a crude and shameless power-show by a weak, dying, paranoid and nervous government”.

Fani-Kayode in a statement noted:

 “I am not in the least bit surprised by this development because that is the way this government has been behaving for the last two years. If it is not the homes and offices of opposition figures that they are raiding for no just cause it is that of judges, National Assembly members, bloggers, writers and journalists.

They do not know how to run a country and their incompetence is not only self-evident but it also speaks volumes. They are always threatening the most basic freedoms of the Nigerian people attempting to destroy and malign them.

The truth is that they want to turn Nigeria into a police state and to intimidate everyone and anyone that is ready to expose their evil and that speaks truth about their abominable record of performance in office. In this respect they are worst than Hitler’s Nazis.

What they fail to appreciate is that they will not be in power forever and that governments come and governments go. One day they themselves will be subjected to this kind of wickedness and they will be the ones on the receiving end of this type of evil.

I am surprised that Acting President Osinbajo, who I have some respect for, can sit by and allow such things to happen under his watch. The EFCC and any other government security or intelligence agency ought to be encouraged to do their job but they must operate within the confines of decency and the law.

They are not above the law and they should stop breaking it and operating with impunity. They should stop violating the human rights and civil liberties of the Nigerian people in the course of their duty. The Acting President should call them to order and keep them on a tight leash. This government must be made to understand that nobody is intimidated by the antics of these gutless and cowardly bullies or by their gestapo tactics.

The worse they can do is to kill and they can only do that if God permits it. They are heartless, wicked, contemptuous, crooked, full of poison and evil and God will punish them for their lies and the wickedness that they continue to inflict on good and decent innocent men and women all over this country.

Yet whatever they choose to do let it be clearly understood that an attack on the media, the press, free speech and press freedom is an attack on us all and we will resist it with every fibre of our being. We cannot be muscled, muzzled or silenced and they have absolutely no right to behave in this barbaric and unlawful manner.

I condemn this shameless raid and I urge the Sun Newspaper and ALL other media houses, both online and offline, not to allow themselves to be intimidated or cowered into submission. It is only a matter of time before this evil darkness that has gripped our nation and that torments our people passes.”

In a similar vein, the Lagos state chapter of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), has given the EFCC 72 hours to issue an apology to The Sun Publishing Limited or face a lawsuit.

On Monday, operatives from the anti-graft agency, raided the head office of the media outfit, over allegations that the newspaper was publishing pro-Biafra and Boko Haram stories. Chairman of the Lagos NUJ, Deji Elumoye, described the sealing off of the newspaper house as “barbaric”.

“This is a great violation of the freedom of movement and association of the affected Nigerian citizens as entrenched in the 1999 constitution of Nigeria as amended. The council, therefore, gives EFCC a 72-hour ultimatum to publicly apologise to The Sun management and the affected staff for the unwarranted siege, failure which we will not hesitate to ask our team of lawyers to seek redress in court,” he said in a statement

Jungle republic : Deputy Speaker’s Aide dies “over delayed salary”

Legislative Aides to lawmakers on Tuesday stages a wide protest in the National Assembly over delays in payment of their salaries and allowances.

The protesters who carried placards and obituary pictures said they were protesting the death of a legislative aide to the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Rep. Yusuff Lasun.

The protesters said that the aide, Hassan Abiodun died because he was unable to pay the sum of N165,000 as cost for surgery for appendicitis.

Speaking to newsmen during the protest, one of the aides,  Mr Dayo Faduba said that if the salary had not been delayed, the diseased would have afforded to pay the hospital dues.

He added that the late aide died when the appendix ruptured one day after the due date of his surgery and he eventually gave up on Friday June 9.

Reading a press statement signed by Lawson Oviasogie, Faduba said that the delay in salaries had become common since the commencement of the 8th National Assembly.

“We are here today with heavy hearts to mourn the untimely and unfortunate death of one of our colleagues, Hassan Abiodun (ltalo).“Even as we mourn, we see clearly that his death MAY have been averted. He died while waiting for salary to operate his appendicitis.“Hassan is a victim of a flawed and unjust system and the unjust conditions of Aides in the National Assembly,” he said.

The aides berated the management of the National Assembly for moving the payment account of the aides from a known national commercial bank to a “microfinance” bank “masquerading as a commercial bank”.

NAN reports that SunTrust Bank is registered as a Mortgage Bank.

He said that since the management of the National Assembly started operating with Sun Trust Bank, payment of had always been delayed.

He therefore also blamed the bank for the death of their colleage adding that if they had paid on time, Hassan may not have died. - NAN