Headline

FRSC Displays Readiness For Hitch-free Xmas

Published

4 years ago

December 14, 2021

FRSC Personnel doing some exercises as readiness for hitch-free xmas

Our Correspondent

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Bauchi State on Tuesday conducted a simulation exercise to show its readiness for a hitch-free Christmas and new year celebrations in the state.

Speaking during the exercise, Asst. Corp Marshal Rotimi Adeleye, the Zonal Commanding Officer, Zone 12, FRSC Bauchi, said the exercise was a way of showing FRSC’s preparedness to operation zero, the Corps’ special operations towards the end of the year.

Adeleye, who is in charge of Bauchi, Yobe and Borno states, also said that the exercise was a way to let the motoring public know that FRSC, in partnership with other sister agencies, were effectively ready in preparation for the festive period.

“All the logistics which include trucks, ambulances, patrol vehicles and personnel would be deployed across the state to ensure that we have a free traffic flow and zero crashes on our highways,” he said.

The Zonal Commanding Officer who expressed worry over the level of road crashes in the state, said “it is getting clear to us that the better the roads, the more crashes we have due to over speeding”.

He added that the FRSC would continue to embark on massive public enlightenment in every nook and cranny of the state, adding that the corps would also extend its closing hours so as to respond to emergencies.

He, however, appealed to the motoring public to always make use of the corps’ toll free number 122 whenever there were crashes.

“Our rescue team is always ready to get to the scene any time we are called,” Adeleye said.

Earlier, Yusuf Abdullahi, the Sector Commander, FRSC said that the simulation exercise was a means to test run all the available equipment put in place by FRSC in preparation for Christmas and new year festivals.

He said the command is fully prepared to embark on its annual special operations which he said cut across traffic control, rescue operations, clearing of obstructions as well as massive public enlightenment among others.

He explained that some of the markets that are located along highways in the state would be taken off the roads, adding that the corps had been working closely with stakeholders in those markets to ensure total compliance.

Abdullahi also said that the command was in collaboration with the Federal Road Maintenance Agency in taking care of potholes on the highways in the state.

“With what we have put in place, we are not going to have a problem, we will have a free and safe yuletide period,” he said.

Some of the activities conducted during the simulation exercise included demonstration of rescue operations, display of ambulances, patrol vans, personnel as well as stop and search operations by Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

Headline

42 Killed In Israeli Attacks, Says Gaza’s Civil Defense

Published

4 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Gaza’s civil defence agency reported at least 42 people killed in Israeli attacks on Sunday, as the Israeli army prepared for a new assault on the Palestinian territory’s largest city.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said there had been several air strikes around Gaza City — which the military is gearing up to capture — including one in the Al-Sabra neighbourhood that killed eight people.

Attacks were also reported elsewhere across the territory, he said, with the “total tally currently rising to 42 dead”.

The army did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the figure.

“The situation is extremely dangerous… Each day, each minute, there are bombings, martyrs, death and blood — we can’t take it anymore,” Al-Sabra resident Ibrahim Al-Shurafa told AFP, explaining strikes and shelling were ongoing.

“We don’t know where to go. Death follows us everywhere,” he added.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.

The October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel’s offensive has killed at least 62,686 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.

AFP

Headline

Venezuela Frees Eight Opposition Leaders

Published

4 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Venezuelan authorities released eight opposition leaders from jail early Sunday, including a former congressman and two Italian citizens, and granted house arrest to five others, an opposition politician said.

Most of those released had been charged with corruption in opposition-run mayoral offices.

Also set free was Congressman, Amirico de Grazia, detained amid protests that erupted during President Nicolas Maduro’s reelection in 2024.

“Today, several families are once again embracing their loved ones. We know there are many left, and we have not forgotten them; we continue to fight for everyone,” two-time former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles said on X.

Opposition leaders Victor Jurado, Simon Vargas, Arelis Ojeda Escalante, Mayra Castro, Diana Berrio, Gorka Carnevalli, as well as Italian nationals Margarita Assenzo and de Grazia were released, Capriles said.

Nabil Maalouf, Valentin Gutierrez Pineda, Rafael Ramirez, Pedro Guanipa, and David Barroso were placed under house arrest.

The Italian government confirmed the release of de Grazia and Assenzo, who must appear in court to clarify the conditions of their release. It also vowed to continue working on securing the release of other detained Italians.

“We have always said, and we maintain it: we will talk to whomever we need to talk to so that there is not a single political prisoner in our Venezuela!” Capriles added.

AFP

Headline

Russia, Ukraine Exchange Prisoners Of War, Civilians

Published

4 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Russia and Ukraine each sent back more prisoners of war on Sunday in the latest in a series of exchanges that have seen hundreds of POWs released this year, the two sides said.

Large-scale prisoner exchanges were the only tangible result of three rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul between May and July.

They remain one of the few areas of cooperation between the two countries since Russia’s offensive began in 2022.

“On August 24, 146 Russian servicemen were returned from the territory controlled” by Kyiv, the Russian defence ministry said on Telegram.

“In exchange, 146 prisoners of war of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were transferred” to Ukraine, it added. Ukraine did not confirm any figures for the release.

Russia also said that “eight citizens of the Russian Federation—residents of the Kursk region, illegally detained” by Kyiv were also returned.

Ukrainian forces launched a surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region in August last year, seizing hundreds of square kilometres (miles) of territory in a major setback for the Kremlin.

Russia deployed thousands of troops from its ally North Korea as part of a counterattack but did not fully reclaim the region until April.

Among the Ukrainians released on Sunday was journalist Dmytro Khyliuk, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Khyliuk was kidnapped in the Kyiv region in March 2022. He is finally home in Ukraine,” Zelensky said on social media.

Also freed was former Kherson mayor Volodymyr Mykolayenko, “who spent more than three years in captivity,” Zelensky’s aide Andriy Yermak wrote on X.

“In 2022, he was on the list for return, but Volodymyr voluntarily refused to be exchanged in favour of a seriously ill prisoner with whom he was sharing a cell in a Russian prison,” Yermak said.

AFP