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8 Dead as Boat Carrying 200 Capsizes on Nigerian River

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An official of the National Emergency Management Agency stands as people gather around a truck carrying bodies of the victims of a boat accident in Kebbi, Nigeria May 27, 2021 NEMA/Handout via REUTERS

A boat carrying approximately 200 market women and farm laborers capsized Thursday along the Dambo-Ebuchi section of the Niger River in Kogi State, Nigeria, with at least eight bodies recovered so far, officials confirmed Friday.

The vessel, owned by Musa Dangana, was transporting passengers to the weekly market in Katcha, Niger State, when the accident occurred, according to the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA). Search and rescue operations continue for remaining passengers.

“It’s true that there was a boat mishap on Thursday involving quite a number of women heading to the market in Niger State. We are still investigating to determine the number of people involved and the cause of the accident,” said Suleman Makama, head of NIWA’s Media Department.

The incident comes days after NIWA Managing Director Bola Oyebanji identified human errors, drug abuse, and safety regulation violations as primary causes of boat accidents over the past three years during a parliamentary oversight meeting in Lokoja.

“Ninety-nine per cent of mishaps on the waterways result from human errors,” Oyebanji told the House of Representatives Committee on NIWA. “Some of these operators rely on drugs, which impair their judgment and lead to fatal errors.” He criticized the common practice of wooden boats carrying far beyond their capacity, often transporting 150 to 200 passengers without providing life jackets.

NIWA officials said a comprehensive statement about the accident would be released pending management clearance.

Notorious Liberian Warlord-Turned-Senator Prince Johnson Dies

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Prince Yormie Johnson, the former Liberian warlord notorious for overseeing the torture and execution of President Samuel Doe in 1990, died Thursday at age 72, officials confirmed.

Johnson, who became an influential senator and evangelical preacher after the civil wars, died at Hope for Women health center, according to Wilfred Bangura, a senior official in Johnson’s Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction party.

“Senator Johnson was the longest-serving senator,” said Siaffa Jallah, deputy director of press at the Senate. The cause of death was not disclosed.

Johnson gained international infamy from video footage showing him sipping beer while his fighters tortured President Doe to death, an event that helped plunge Liberia into two civil wars from 1989 to 2003. The conflicts killed approximately 250,000 people and devastated the country’s economy.

The former warlord from Nimba region later transformed himself into an evangelical preacher with considerable popular support, while actively opposing the establishment of a tribunal to try civil war crimes.

3 Teenagers Among 17 Illegal Miners Arrested at South African Mine

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South African police arrested 17 illegal miners, including three teenagers, who emerged Thursday from an abandoned gold mine in Stilfontein, North West province, where some had been trapped underground since May.

The teenagers, aged between 16 and 19, were among those who surfaced during Operation Vala Umgodi, a December 2024 police initiative that cut off food, water, and medical supplies to force illegal miners, known locally as “zama zamas,” back to the surface.

The young miners, appearing hungry and dehydrated, showed signs of their ordeal with bust lips, grazed skin, blisters on their hands, and torn clothes. They reported taking days to reach the shaft exit and claimed armed BaSotho guards made escape attempts nearly impossible. All 17 miners, including a 14-year-old arrested at a different shaft, face charges of illegal mining, trespassing, and immigration law violations as authorities intensify efforts to crack down on illegal mining across the

Death Toll Rises to 17 as Uganda Landslide Buries Villages

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The death toll from a devastating landslide in eastern Uganda climbed to 17 Friday, with more than 100 people still missing after heavy rains triggered a massive earth movement that buried dozens of homes, a government spokesperson said.

The disaster struck Wednesday in Bulambuli district, about 300 kilometers east of Kampala, where at least 45 households were completely buried, according to the Uganda Red Cross Society. Local television footage showed vast areas of deep mud where homes and schools once stood, as survivors searched for missing family members.

“She was buried with the baby,” said Elgon County lawmaker Ignatius Wamakuyu Mudimi, describing how his niece and her newborn were among the victims.

Charles Odongtho, spokesman for the Office of the Prime Minister, expressed shock at the death toll, noting the government had warned residents about possible landslides at the onset of seasonal rains. The government has directed citizens in landslide-prone areas to relocate as the Red Cross and police conduct search-and-rescue operations.

The disaster follows unusually heavy rainfall across Uganda since October, causing widespread flooding. On Tuesday, the River Nile burst its banks, flooding a highway connecting Kampala to the northwest.

The mountainous region where the landslide occurred has a history of similar disasters, including a 2010 avalanche that killed at least 80 people. Deforestation and vegetation clearing for agriculture on mountain slopes have increased landslide risks in the area.

4 Dead as Rebels Attack Aleppo Student Housing

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Four civilians, including two students, died Friday when insurgent shells struck university dormitories in Aleppo, state news agency SANA reported, as violence escalates in Syria’s northwest.

The attack follows Wednesday’s major offensive by rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, who launched incursions into a dozen towns and villages in Aleppo province, controlled by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces. The offensive marks the largest breach of a March 2020 ceasefire between Russia, backing Assad, and Turkey, supporting the rebels.

Russian and Syrian warplanes responded Thursday with airstrikes on rebel-held areas near the Turkish border, attempting to counter insurgent advances that had captured territory for the first time in years, according to Syrian army and rebel sources.

The 2020 ceasefire had halted years of fighting that displaced millions of Syrians opposing Assad’s rule.

Israeli Tanks Retreat From Gaza Camp After Killing 30

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Israeli tanks pulled back from parts of central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp Friday as Palestinian medics reported at least 30 people killed in overnight strikes, including 19 in the camp itself.

While some Israeli forces withdrew, tanks remained active in the camp’s western sector, preventing Palestinian Civil Emergency Service teams from reaching residents trapped in their homes. The Israeli military, which said Thursday its forces were continuing to “strike terror targets” in Gaza, did not immediately comment on the latest operations.

In a separate incident Friday, medics reported an Israeli drone strike killed Ahmed Al-Kahlout, head of the Intensive Care Unit at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza’s Beit Lahiya. Hospital officials told Reuters Al-Kahlout was struck by a missile while walking through the hospital gate, days after the facility’s director and 12 other medical staff were wounded in similar attacks.

Kamal Adwan Hospital is among three northern Gaza medical facilities barely functioning due to critical shortages. Health officials said Israeli forces had either detained or expelled most of its medical staff.

The United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) chief Philippe Lazzarini reported Thursday that Israel’s seven-week northern Gaza offensive has displaced approximately 130,000 people. Israeli forces operating in Beit Lahiya, Jabalia, and Beit Hanoun since October 5 say they aim to prevent Hamas militants from regrouping, while residents report systematic depopulation of these areas.

Israeli authorities released about 30 Palestinians previously detained during the offensive, with freed detainees arriving at a southern Gaza hospital for medical examinations. Released Palestinians have alleged torture and mistreatment in Israeli detention, claims Israel denies.

The Gaza health ministry reports nearly 44,300 Palestinians killed and most of the territory’s population displaced at least once during Israel’s campaign, launched after Hamas militants killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages in their October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel.

reuters

Russia Conducting ‘Staggeringly Reckless’ European Sabotage Campaign, MI6 Chief Warns

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Russia is conducting a “staggeringly reckless campaign” of sabotage across Europe while using nuclear threats to discourage support for Ukraine, Britain’s foreign intelligence chief revealed Friday.

Richard Moore, head of MI6, said his agency has “recently uncovered a staggeringly reckless campaign of Russian sabotage in Europe,” coinciding with what he called Putin’s “nuclear sabre-rattling to sow fear about the consequences of aiding Ukraine.”

The warning comes as NATO and Western intelligence services report increasing Russian hostile activities across the Euro-Atlantic area, ranging from cyber attacks to Moscow-linked arson, all of which Russia denies. Britain’s domestic spy chief recently accused Russia’s GRU military intelligence service of attempting to cause “mayhem” across Britain and Europe.

Moore warned that Putin would not stop at reducing Ukraine to a “vassal state,” saying British, French, European, and transatlantic security would be jeopardized. “The cost of supporting Ukraine is well known, but the cost of not doing so would be infinitely higher. If Putin succeeds China would weigh the implications, North Korea would be emboldened and Iran would become still more dangerous.”

Sources familiar with U.S. intelligence indicate Russia may expand its sabotage campaign against European targets to increase pressure on Western support for Kyiv. Moore, addressing potential changes in U.S. leadership, noted his successful cooperation with the previous Trump administration on security matters, saying he looks forward to continuing such collaboration.

REUTERS

Bruce Willis Celebrates Thanksgiving with Daughters Amid Health Battle

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Bruce Willis spent Thanksgiving with his family, with daughters Scout and Tallulah Willis sharing rare intimate photos of their time with their father amid his ongoing battle with frontotemporal dementia.

The 69-year-old former actor’s daughters posted images Thursday showing tender moments with their father, including Scout, 33, placing her hand on his chest and Tallulah, 30, holding his ear. Another photo captured Scout and Bruce touching foreheads in an embrace. The sisters captioned their joint Instagram post simply: “Grateful ????.”

The holiday gathering included presentation of a “Best Dad Ever” plaque to the “Die Hard” star, though eldest daughter Rumer Willis, 36, was not pictured in the shared images. All three are Willis’ daughters with ex-wife Demi Moore.

The celebration comes as Willis continues to face health challenges following his March 2022 diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia and aphasia, conditions that led to his retirement from acting. According to the Mayo Clinic, FTD affects the brain’s frontal and temporal lobes, impacting abilities to write, speak and understand language.

Emma Heming Willis, who married the actor in 2009 and shares daughters Mabel, 12, and Evelyn, 10, with him, recently discussed the family’s journey in Town & Country Magazine. “Finally getting to a diagnosis was key so that I could learn what frontotemporal dementia is and I could educate our children,” she said in October, adding that she has been direct with their daughters about their father’s declining health.

“I’ve never tried to sugarcoat anything for them,” the 46-year-old explained. “They’ve grown up with Bruce declining over the years.”

Report: Putin’s Alleged Secret Daughter Living Under New Identity in West

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Vladimir Putin’s alleged secret daughter has adopted a new surname and is living in the West, according to a Ukrainian television investigation that provides fresh details about the 21-year-old’s efforts to distance herself from the Russian president.

The TSN investigation reports that Elizaveta Krivonogikh, also known as Luiza Rozova, now uses the surname Rudnova, taking the name of late Putin ally Oleg Rudnov. The change effectively obscures her patronymic middle name Vladimirovna, which would identify Putin as her father.

Born March 3, 2003, when Putin was Russian president and still married to first lady Lyudmila Putina, Elizaveta vanished from public view shortly before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Previous investigations by independent Russian media noted her striking resemblance to Putin.

The young woman’s mother is Svetlana Krivonogikh, 49, reportedly Putin’s former long-term partner who transformed from a cleaner to a multimillionaire with shares in a major bank and ownership of a prominent St. Petersburg strip club. Mother and daughter reportedly occupy a £3.1 million residence in Monaco.

TSN reports Elizaveta studied at the Paris School of Management and Arts near the Arc de Triomphe during the war, though her current location is unclear. She previously maintained a visible social media presence in Russia, running her own fashion brand and working as a DJ before reportedly being told to maintain a lower profile in October 2021.

Russian journalist Andrei Zakharov, who first revealed her existence, noted her sudden withdrawal from public life: “Something happened in October 2021 because she deleted her Instagram account and she is no longer public. It looks like somebody told her: ‘Stop it.'”

Putin Orders Massive Oreshnik Missile Production, Promises to Obliterate Ukraine

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Vladimir Putin vowed Thursday to massively increase Russia’s arsenal of Oreshnik missiles amid a devastating overnight assault on Ukraine that left nearly one million people without power, directly threatening President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with strikes on Kyiv.

Speaking at a summit in Kazakhstan, the 72-year-old Russian leader announced a 30 percent boost in missile production while praising the devastating capabilities of the new Oreshnik weapon. “Everything that is located in the epicentre of the explosion is divided into fractions, into elementary particles, in fact, into dust,” Putin warned, claiming the missile’s impact would rival nuclear weapons.

Russian forces mounted a 90-missile blitz overnight in what Putin called retaliation for Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles inside Russia. The assault targeted energy infrastructure with cruise missiles and kamikaze drones, forcing civilians into bomb shelters.

“Energy infrastructure is once again targeted by the enemy’s massive strike,” Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko wrote on Facebook. The attacks crippled utilities nationwide, leaving 260,000 Zhytomyr residents without water and cutting power to the Kherson region.

Putin threatened further escalation, warning of strikes on “military facilities, defence and industrial enterprises, or decision-making centres in Kyiv.” He claimed Russia possesses “ten times more” weapons systems than NATO can provide to Ukraine.

Zelenskyy’s chief of staff called the attack evidence of Russia “continuing their tactics of terror,” as officials reported explosions in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Lutsk, Mykolaiv and Rivne. The United Nations warned that Russia’s infrastructure attacks could make this winter the “harshest since the start of the war.”

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