Headline

Rotary Club Conducts Medical Outreach In Bauchi Community

Published

3 years ago

February 26, 2022

Editor

Rotary Club International, Bauchi Central chapter, on Saturday, carried out a one-day medical outreach for the people of Birshi Fulani community in Bauchi metropolis.

Speaking at the medical outreach, Alhaji Isa Chiroma, the Ward Head of Birshi Fulani, said that the intervention for the people of the community was aimed at addressing the health needs of the community.

He called on all residents of the area to take advantage of the intervention by coming out to receive medical treatment, as it was free.

“Whoever comes to give you free medical services like this, I think that’s somebody you open your arms and welcome. We are so glad and we appreciate the Rotary Club of Bauchi Central for this intervention,” he said.

Earlier, the President of the club, Mr Chukwunonso Nwobi, said the club carried out medical outreaches in places where they felt the people were indigent and could hardly afford to pay for medical treatments.

He added that one of the areas of focus of the club was on maternal and child healthcare, adding that the club was also in the forefront of polio and COVID-19 vaccinations.

Nwobi cited free eye test and provision of eyeglasses, blood pressure test, blood sugar test, COVID-19 tests and vaccination, deworming of Children as some of the activities it would carry out.

Others, he said, included immunisation for children, distribution of hand sanitizers as well as distribution of mosquito treated nets, among others.

The president, who explained that the outreach was open to over 500 members of the community, stated that any other ailment that was beyond their focus would be referred to a more competent hospital for treatment.

“We are Rotarians and we are all over the world. We go about carrying out humanitarian services and I want to use this medium to encourage people in Bauchi, who have humanitarian service at heart to join the club,” said Nwobi.

Speaking to the Newsmen, Malam Ado Jibrin, one of the beneficiaries, appreciated the club for giving him reading glasses and drugs, adding that he could now read tiny letters he couldn’t read before.

In their separate remarks, Hajiya Jumai Ladan and Rakiya Rabiu also lauded Rotary club for the kind gesture, saying that they could now read with ease with the glasses provided for them.

The Rotary Club International is an international service organization which brings together business, professional, and community leaders.

This was so that they could provide service to others, promote integrity, advance goodwill, peace and understanding in the world.

It is a non-political and non-religious organization. There are over 46,000 member clubs worldwide, with a membership of 1.4 million individuals, known as Rotarians.

Headline

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

Published

9 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

9 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

9 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