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Drought: Avert Famine In Somalia, President Begs Global Community

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Somalia’s newly elected President Hassan Mohamud used his inauguration speech on Thursday to appeal for international help to avert a famine that posed threats to his drought-stricken country.

Aid agencies had warned of an approaching famine as cases of severe malnutrition among children shot up in the troubled nation of the Horn of Africa, which was battling a record drought following four failed rainy seasons.

“There are fears that starvation may strike in some areas,” Mohamud said, urging “the diaspora and the world to play a role in saving our people who were affected by the drought.”

“These conditions were caused by accumulated problems including climate change, destruction of our economic resources, and the weakness of our government institutions. Therefore, my government will establish an agency for environmental matters,” he said.

Multiple appeals for aid had gone largely unnoticed so far, with nearly half the country’s population going hungry and more than 200,000 people on the brink of starvation, the United Nations said Monday.

The drought crisis has also hit Somalia’s neighbours, Ethiopia and Kenya, whose presidents were among the foreign leaders attending Thursday’s ceremony, held under heavy security in the Mogadishu airport complex.

READ ALSO: Acute Hunger To Set In Nigeria, 20 Other Countries, UN Warns

In addition to tackling the looming famine, Mohamud, who previously served as president between 2012 and 2017, faces a grinding Islamist insurgency in parts of the country, making humanitarian access a challenge.

In a sign of the lingering threat, militants fired several rounds of mortar shells in neighbourhoods near the airport in an overnight attack.

He vowed Thursday to foster “political stability through consultation, mutual endorsement, and unity among the Federal Government and Federal member states,” striking a contrasting tone to his confrontational predecessor Mohamed Mohamed, better known as Farmajo.

Somalia’s international partners had welcomed the election of Mohamud, with many hoping that it would draw a line under a long-running political crisis that had distracted the government from tackling the Al-Shabaab insurgency and the devastating drought.

The United Nations mission in Somalia issued a statement on Twitter saying it “congratulates President Hassan Mohamud on his inauguration today, and looks forward to working with his administration in support of achieving national priorities.”

READ ALSO: Militants Threat: Nigerians React

Meanwhile, calls for international aid had raised less than 20 percent of the money needed to avert a repeat of the 2011 famine in Somalia that killed 260,000 people — half of them children under the age of six.

AFP

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[UPDATED] London Sword Attack: Suspect Under Police Custody After Hospital Recovery

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The 36-year-old suspect in the deadly London sword attack is currently under police custody after recuperating in a hospital, BBC reports.

The suspect, wielding a sword, was arrested after a dramatic pursuit by law enforcement officers.

The Metropolitan Police clarified that the incident was not terror-related, allaying fears of broader security concerns.

Authorities also confirmed that no other suspects are being pursued in connection with the attack.

READ ALSO: Updated: 14-year-old British-Nigerian Boy Killed By Sword-wielding Man In London

According to police reports, the suspect was subdued by officers using a taser after attempting to evade capture.

According to a previous report by The Associated Press, the suspect was transported to a nearby hospital for medical treatment after the van he was driving collided with a building.

Due to the injuries he sustained, officers were unable to conduct an interview with him on Tuesday.

BBC has confirmed that the suspect, 36, is out of hospital and is now in police custody

A 14-year-old British-Nigerian boy, Daniel Anjorin, was confirmed as one of the victims of the attack.

READ ALSO: Man Wielding Sword In London Arrested After Attacking, Injuring 5 [VIDEO]

Daniel, along with two police officers and two other individuals, were the victims of the violent incident that occurred on the streets of east London.

According to an official statement, the Metropolitan Police said the van crashed into a property on Laing Close, causing injuries to a 33-year-old man.

Afterwards, the suspect violently attacked the individual, resulting in an injury to the neck.

Additionally, the suspect injured a 35-year-old man who sustained lacerations to his arm.

READ ALSO: Outrage As Masquerades Brutally Flog Nurse Until She Falls In Gutter In Enugu [PHOTOS]

The suspect then proceeded to attack Anjorin.

Ade Caxton-Cole, a family friend, while speaking with the BBC, described the Anjorin family as a tightly-knit unit, emphasising the strong support they are receiving from the community.

When asked about the well-being of Daniel’s siblings, she revealed that they are struggling to come to terms with the shocking reality of what has transpired.

“Having a brother one moment and then gone the next moment. It is a shock to them. They will need time. Right now it is too soon, it’s too close,” she said.

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Updated: 14-year-old British-Nigerian Boy Killed By Sword-wielding Man In London

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A teenage boy who was killed during a sword rampage in Hainault, east London has been named as Daniel Anjorin.

The 14-year-old boy died in hospital after the Tuesday, April 30, 2024 attack, in which four other people, including two police officers, were injured.

The victim’s mother was a teacher at Holy Family Catholic School in Waltham Forest.

The suspect is now in police custody, the Met has said.

The 36-year-old man, pictured with a beard and wearing a yellow hooded jumper, was arrested on suspicion of murder.

Immediately after his arrest he was taken to hospital due to the injuries from when he crashed his van into a fence.

The force said they had “so far” found no previous police contact with the suspect.

The Metropolitan Police on Wednesday, released the first image of Daniel, a student at Bancroft’s School in Woodford Green.

It shows him wearing a school uniform with a striped blue tie, and travelling on public transport. student at Bancroft’s School in Woodford Green

His family are being supported by specialist officers as detectives continue their investigation at pace.

Detective Chief Inspector Larry Smith, leading the investigation into the attack, said: “This is an incredibly tragic incident that has resulted in a young boy losing his life and his family devastated. On behalf of the family, I would ask that their privacy is respected.”

READ ALSO: Mother Of Four Hacked To Death By Neighbour, Son In Edo

The headteacher of the school attended by Daniel Anjorin has said in a message to parents the boy was a “much-loved” pupil.

Simon Marshall, who took over Bancroft’s School in 2016, told parents it is “scarcely believable” that the school is facing “fresh sorrow”, less than a year after the former pupil Grace O’Malley-Kumar was killed in the Nottingham attacks.

In a note seen by the BBC, he said: “I had been intending to write to you once the news has become public, but I understand that many within our community may already be aware of events yesterday.

“It is therefore with great sadness and shock that I am writing to inform you of the tragic death of Daniel Anjorin, one of our pupils. Our thoughts and prayers at this moment are with Daniel’s family and friends.”

It added that “it seems scarcely believable that less than a year on from the terrible death of Grace O’Malley-Kumar in the Nottingham attacks we are facing fresh sorrow”

A woman tried to warn Daniel Anjorin about the man wielding a sword before he was fatally stabbed but he did not hear because he had headphones on.

Aiste Dabasinskaaite told ITV she was confronted by the man but managed to run away despite him putting his foot on hers so she couldn’t back off.

READ ALSO: Man Wielding Sword In London Arrested After Attacking, Injuring 5 [VIDEO]

She said the man asked her for the address of the area they were in.

“Once I told the address, he sort of moved closer towards me, he put his foot on my foot so I couldn’t back off and then that’s when he like drew out the sword. It was arm’s length. It was honestly petrifying. I just ran down the road, I didn’t even look back to see if he was chasing me,” he said.

She then tried to warn Daniel: “My instinct was to shout and wave at him, which is what me and another neighbour did but because he had just his headphones on I don’t think he heard either of us

“It was sort of a moment where we just went from shouting to just blankness, just felt empty. You wouldn’t think that would happen on your doorstep.”

A friend said Daniel was a “very good person” who loved maths and Arsenal FC.

Cyan Thompson, 19, told the Independent that people “couldn’t help but smile” whenever Daniel walked into the room.

He was a very good person on his way to school and then some random person did that. For what purpose? My friend was supposed to go with him to school but forgot something at home and had to go back. He expected to see him in class. His mum won’t let him out of the house now.”

He added: “I’m way older but Daniel was better than me at maths. I was planning on playing football with him later today. But that’s not going to happen.

READ ALSO: Delta Police Kill Suspected Kidnapper, Rescue Victims, Arrest Armed Robber Cultist

He was like a prime Messi, he could get past me very easily. He was small but very jinky. He was a very determined guy. I support Man City, he supports Arsenal, it was a good rivalry. You couldn’t help but smile when he walked into the room.”

In a statement, the Met Police said the suspect struck a 33-year-old m when he crashed his van into a property on Laing Close around 07:00 BST on Tuesday. He then attacked the man, leaving him with a wound to the neck.

Another man, 35, suffered lacerations to his arm when he was attacked inside a nearby house.

Their conditions are not considered to be life-threatening, police said.

The suspect then went on to attack Daniel.

The Met said police arrived within 12 minutes of the first call where officers used incapacitant spray and a Taser on the suspect, which had “limited impact”.

Two officers were then attacked as well, suffering serious injuries and needing long-term treatment to recover, the force said.

The suspect fled before eventually being surrounded by other officers in Thurlow Gardens where he was overpowered with a Taser.

He was arrested and taken to hospital due to injuries from the crash. He is now in police custody.

 

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Man Wielding Sword In London Arrested After Attacking, Injuring 5 [VIDEO]

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A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and two police officers on Tuesday, April 30, in the east London community of Hainault before being arrested, police said.

The London Ambulance Service said emergency workers treated five people and took them to the hospital.

The Metropolitan Police said they were called early Tuesday to reports of a vehicle being driven into a house in a residential street and people being stabbed close to the Hainault underground station.

READ ALSO: FG Raises Salaries Of Military, Police, Others

A 36-year-old man was arrested at the scene, police said.

Video on British media showed a man in a yellow hoodie holding a long sword or knife walking near houses in the area.

Witnesses say they heard police shouting at the suspect, urging him to put down the weapon as they chased after him.

“This must have been a terrifying incident for those concerned,” Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said.

“I know the wider community will be feeling shock and alarm. People will want to know what has happened and we will provide more information as soon as we can.”

READ ALSO: Travellers Beat Rivers Policewoman To Death

He added that police do not believe there is a threat to the wider community.

“We are not looking for more suspects,’’ he said.

This incident does not appear to be terror-related.”

Transport for London said Hainault underground station was closed due to a police investigation in the area.

Watch a video from the scene below:

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