A state of emergency has been declared in Arad, southern Israel after an Iranian missile strike. Emergency services are treating at least 70 people for injuries, according to Israeli media.
Governor Bassey Otu has described the aftermath of the explosion at a gas station in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, as huge damage.
Otu spoke when he visited the scene of the explosion that occurred on Saturday morning at Edibe Edibe in Calabar South local government area of the state.
During the visit, the governor assessed the extent of the damage and expressed deep concern over the destruction, noting that both lives and property were affected.
“What I’ve seen here is shocking. It’s a huge, huge damage,” Otu said.
He also raised concerns about the location of such facilities within residential areas, emphasizing the need for stricter safety measures to prevent a recurrence.
“I know very well this kind of facility should not be in a residential area, but unfortunately, this one is here. I believe that steps must be taken to prevent this kind of occurrence in the future,” he stated.
The governor disclosed that several victims were currently receiving treatment in hospitals, while numerous homes have been either destroyed or badly damaged.
He assured residents that the state government would respond promptly to the situation.
“We have several casualties in the hospital, and people’s houses have been damaged. Government is going to act quickly,” he said.
Governor Otu further announced that the government would provide free medical treatment for all affected victims and consider compensation for those who suffered losses.
“We will take care of them. We are providing free medical treatment for those affected and will also look into compensation to help them return to their normal lives as quickly as possible,” he assured.
Several residents were injured following the explosion which also triggered panic in the area.
The explosion occurred at a filling station, leaving victims with varying degrees of injuries, while nearby buildings and property were affected by the blast.
The head of US Central Command says forces have struck Iranian coastal missile sites and infrastructure, degrading Tehran’s ability to threaten shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, as Washington vows to continue targeting its regional military capabilities.
Beto struck twice for the Toffees as they surged into contention for a top-five finish, before Iliman Ndiaye rounded off Everton’s best win so far at their new home.
Only two points now separate the sides as Chelsea remain in sixth, while Everton climb to seventh.
A place in the top five will almost certainly guarantee Champions League football next season due to the strong performance of English sides in European competitions this season.
But Chelsea’s chances are fading fast with a tough run-in after the upcoming international break with Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool to come in their remaining seven games.
James Garner celebrated his first ever call-up to the England squad with a brilliant pass that allowed Beto to beat Sanchez for the opening goal on 33 minutes.
Moments later Jordan Pickford proved the value of a top goalkeeper with a stunning save to tip over Enzo Fernandez’s blistering strike.
Worse was to come for Sanchez after the break when he allowed Beto’s fiercely struck shot to slip between his legs just after the hour mark.
Beto even played a part in his side’s third as he bullied the Chelsea defence to head Pickford’s long ball into the path of Ndiaye.
The Senegal international wriggled into the box before blasting into the top corner to this time give Sanchez no chance.
Everton have struggled to settle into their new 53,000 capacity stadium.
But for the first time they have won back-to-back home league games this season to climb within three points of neighbours Liverpool.
The Abdulrahman Mohammed-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Saturday inaugurated over 20 committees for the party’s national convention slated for March 29 and 30.
They include the screening, accreditation, publicity, transport and logistics, medical, and security committees.
The event, which was held in Abuja, was attended by party chieftains, including Mohammed, the party’s National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu; the National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature; former governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom; Senator Natasha Uduaghan-Akpoti, among several others.
The committees are expected to ensure that the planned convention is executed smoothly, and substantive leadership of the party is elected to pilot the affairs of the party into the 2027 general elections and beyond.
According to the Mohammed-led caretaker committee, the party is organising the planned convention on the strength of the latest judgment of the appeal court, which invalidated the Taminu Turaki-led national convention in Ibadan, Oyo State, last year.
READ ALSO: Chaos Rocks Taraba PDP Congress As Two State Chairmen Emerge
PDP has been embroiled in a leadership crisis that has led to the exodus of members from the party.
The party — which held sway in Nigeria from 1999 until 2015 — was factionalised by the struggle shortly after it lost the 2023 presidential election.
While a faction backs the Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, the other faction is loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Already, many PDP members — including some governors — have left the party due to the internal crisis, amid concerns that it could force the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to disqualify the party from presenting candidates in the 2027 elections.
Nine governors have left the party since it lost the 2023 presidential election.
They include the governors of Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Osun, Plateau, Rivers, Taraba, and Zamfara states.
While much of the Middle East celebrated Mother’s Day with flowers and gifts this weekend, in Gaza, the occasion served as a painful reminder of precious lives lost.
Sitting in her tent in Gaza City on Saturday, Em Rami Dawwas remembered the three sons she lost in Israeli attacks, two of whose bodies are still being withheld by the authorities.
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“I miss my sons on Mother’s Day. They used to bring me gifts, flowers, sweets, and ask me about my needs. They were the light of my life,” she said, sitting among boxes filled with their clothes, which she cannot bring herself to throw away.
Palestinian children have borne the brunt of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza that began in October 2023, with UNICEF estimating in October last year that 64,000 children have been killed and wounded in Israeli attacks.
Reporting from among the tents in Gaza City, Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary said Dawwas kept the photos of her sons under her pillow, looking at them every day, “as if holding on will keep their memory alive”.
Many mothers spend the day in graveyards, sitting in the only place they can feel close to their dead children, said Khoudary.
Maram Ahmed faced a second Mother’s Day without her mother, who she lost in an Israeli air attack that killed her entire family. Her mother was her closest friend, said Khoudary.
“On Mother’s Day, even if I didn’t have money, I would buy my mum a gift from my allowance, even if it was for less than a dollar. I just wanted to make her happy,” said the 14-year-old, sitting in her sparse tent.
“I feel so sad when I see other children with their mothers, but I don’t show it,” she said.
A report published by rights group Amnesty International this month highlighted the “brutal price” women and girls have paid during the war, which started in October 2023. Two years later, Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas agreed to a fragile “ceasefire” that the former has repeatedly violated.
“Amid Israel’s deliberate imposition of conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza, Palestinian women face compounded and life-threatening consequences,” said the report.
It cited ongoing mass displacement, the collapse of reproductive, maternal and neonatal healthcare, the interruption of treatment for chronic illness, heightened exposure to disease and unsafe and undignified living conditions faced by women, as well as “profound physical and mental harm”.
Since the October 2025 “ceasefire”, Israeli attacks have killed more than 650 Palestinians, many of them women and children, according to recent figures from the Ministry of Health.
