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Police Confiscate Over 2000 Logs In Edo

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The Edo State Government’s drive to rid the state off illegal loggers got a boost on Wednesday as the state Police Command confiscated over 2000 logs at the Gelegelegbene river.

At the bank of the river, the state command Spokesperson, SP Bello Kontongs stated that the confiscation was done in line with the directives given to the police by the state government led by Governor Godwin Obaseki.

He said the criminals escaped by jumping into the river on sighting the Marine police who were saddled with the responsibility of checkmating the loggers’ illegal activities.

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Kontongs also stated the the logs were being shipped to Lagos for onward transmission to other parts of the world.

He also said that the logs that were intercepted in Ondo State would be sent back to Edo.

He said: “At the sea port here is the log of woods seized from illegal loggers. The seizure was done after Governor Obaseki gave the order to the Commissioner of Police, Philip Ogbadu to arrest and check the activities of this criminals.

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“The state government has banned the felling of three in the 49 forest reserves in the state. The woods are being taken illegally to all parts of the world which the state government is against. The forest reserves is for the benefit of all Edo People. The level of deforestation is high which is not to the benefit of everyone.

“Also, the illegal activities of the loggers is impacting negatively on wildlife, while the logs recovered will be handed over to the state government by the CP in due course.

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“The seized logs are not just from Gelegele but from all the forests in the state. Some have already crossed to Ondo and we are working with the Marine Police in Ondo to recover the logs,” he stated.

He also warned criminal element to desist from their illegal activities as the state would be too hot for them to operate.

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Welcome Home, Israel Confirms Return Of 20 Hostages From Gaza

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Israel said that the last 20 living hostages released by Hamas on Monday had arrived in the country.

“Welcome home,” the foreign ministry wrote in a series of posts on X, hailing the return of Matan Angrest, Gali Berman, Ziv Berman, Elkana Bohbot, Rom Braslavski, Nimrod Cohen, David Cunio, Ariel Cunio, Evyatar David, Guy Gilboa Dalal, Maxim Herkin, Eitan Horn, Segev Kalfon, Bar Kuperstein, Omri Miran, Eitan Mor, Yosef Haim Ohana, Alon Ohel, Avinatan Or and Matan Zangauker.

READ ALSO:Trump Gives Update On Israel, Hamas Peace Deal

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20 Members Of Gang Blacklisted By US Escape Guatemala Prison

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Twenty members of a gang designated a “foreign terrorist organisation” by the United States have escaped from detention in Guatemala, a prison chief said Sunday.

The members of the Barrio 18 gang “evaded security controls” at the Fraijanes II facility, prison director Ludin Godinez said at a news conference.

He received “an intelligence report” on Friday warning about the “possible escape” from the prison, which is southeast of the capital, Guatemala City.

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Godinez said they were investigating possible acts of corruption.

READ ALSO:China’s Trade Surges Despite US Tariff Threats

Washington last month blacklisted Barrio 18, an El Salvador-based gang which has a reputation for violence and extortion, as part of its crackdown on drug trafficking.

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The US embassy in Guatemala condemned the prison escape as “utterly unacceptable.”

“The United States designated members of this heinous group as the terrorists they are and will hold accountable anyone who has provided, provides, or decides to provide material support to these fugitives or other gang members,” the embassy said on X.

It called on the Guatemalan government to “act immediately and vigorously to recapture these terrorists.”

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READ ALSO:US Threatens To Sanction Countries That Vote For Shipping Carbon Tax

According to Interior Minister Francisco Jimenez, there are about 12,000 gang members and collaborators in Guatemala, while another 3,000 are in prison.

The country’s homicide rate has increased from 16.1 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2024 to 17.65 this year, more than double the world average, according to the Centre for National Economic Research.

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According to the Salvadoran government, the gangs Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha, better known as MS-13, are responsible for the deaths of about 200,000 people over three decades.

The two gangs once controlled an estimated 80 percent of El Salvador, which had one of the highest homicide rates in the world.

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South Africa Bus Crash Kills 40 Including Malawi, Zimbabwe Nationals

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At least 40 people, including nationals of Malawi and Zimbabwe, were killed when a passenger bus rolled down an embankment in South Africa, a provincial transport minister said Monday.

The bus travelling to Zimbabwe crashed around 90 kilometres (55 miles) from the border on Sunday after the driver apparently lost control, Limpopo province transport minister Violet Mathye said.

“They are still working on the scene, but 40 bodies have already been confirmed to date,” Mathye told the Newzroom Afrika channel. The dead included a 10-month-old girl, she said.

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READ ALSO:South African Court Finds Radical Politician Malema Guilty On Gun Charges

Thirty-eight people were in hospital and rescuers were searching for other victims, she told eNCA media.

The bus was travelling from the southern city of Gqeberha, around 1,500 kilometres away, and its passengers included Malawians and Zimbabweans who were working in South Africa. The crash may have been caused by driver fatigue or a mechanical fault, the minister said.

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South Africa has a sophisticated and busy road network with a high rate of road deaths, blamed mostly on speeding, reckless driving and unroadworthy vehicles.

AFP

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