Headline

Pilot Reveals Those Behind Super Eagles’ Flight Diversion

Published

10 months ago

October 16, 2024

The Tunisian pilot who flew the Nigerian team to Libya has shed light on the circumstances that led to the unexpected diversion of their flight to a remote airport, Al-Abraq, instead of their intended destination, Benghazi.

The diversion has been a subject of controversy since Sunday when the Nigerian delegation en route to Benghazi for the crucial Tuesday’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Libya were left stranded for over 16 hours after their flight was diverted mid-flight to Al Abraq, a small airport typically reserved for hajj operations.

In a video interview sighted by our correspondent and posted on X by Sports Journalist Pooja Media on Tuesday, the pilot emphasised that the decision was not made at his discretion but came from Libyan authorities.

“The flight plan was to land at Benghazi, Benina, and we had the approval from the Libyan Civil Aviation Authority to do so,” the pilot said.

“However, when we began our descent, they instructed us to divert to Al-Abraq, which is almost 150 miles away, around 300 kilometres east. It wasn’t even (listed as) our alternate airport, something which is not good,” he added.

The pilot described the diversion as potentially risky, citing the fuel calculations made for the initial destination.

“In aviation, we have our flight plan, we calculate the fuel to our destination, so we have to avoid this kind of thing because it may make a breach to safety,” he stated, adding that he repeatedly questioned the directive.

“When I asked to land in Benghazi according to my flight plan and according to my authorisation, they said no, it’s from the highest authority, you have to land in Al-Abraq.”

Refuting claims from the media that the diversion was his decision, he said, “Everything is registered in aviation, we cannot hide anything, so I asked them several times, at least eight times, and I warned them, probably I will be in trouble for fuel; they said it’s from highest authority, you cannot land in Benghazi, you have to divert immediately to Al-Abraq,” he added.

The pilot noted that all relevant communications and authorisations are documented and could be provided as evidence if needed.

He said, “The truth was we were going to Benghazi, and I can show you the evidence of the approval, I have it. But at the last minute, they changed their mind and changed the airport.”

Describing the conditions at Al-Abraq, the pilot highlighted the challenges of landing at what he referred to as a poorly equipped domestic airport.

“There is no ILS (Instrument Landing System), no air navigation approach, no VHR (VHF Omnidirectional Range). We had to make a visual landing, which is particularly difficult by night with marginal weather,” he said, adding that the airport’s lack of facilities left them with “no second chances” if the landing had gone wrong.

The pilot’s familiarity with the region, having worked there for two years with a Tunisian company, was crucial in managing the difficult landing.

“It was not an easy matter at all. When a pilot hears this, he will understand that it was not an easy thing to land under such conditions. Thank God we made it safely,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Football Federation has decided to pull the Super Eagles out of qualifier match against Libya.

“Players have resolved not to play the match any longer, and NFF officials are making plans to fly the team back home,” the statement said.

Headline

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

Published

13 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

13 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

13 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