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South-South Governors’ Resolution Critical To Safety, Wellbeing Of People Of Region – PANDEF

Published

4 years ago

October 6, 2021

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The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) says decisions taken by the South-South governors at their meeting held in Port Harcourt on Monday were critical to the security, safety and wellbeing of the people of the region.

Senator Emmanuel Ibok Essien, National Chairman of PANDEF who made the assertion late Tuesday commended the South-South Governors’ Forum over the far-reaching resolutions at the meeting.

He said the resolution reached shows the governors demonstrated that they were in tune with the feelings and aspirations of the people.

“PANDEF is particularly delighted at the governors’ decision to establish South-South Security Architecture, like other zones in the country, to complement the nation’s security agencies in the zone.

“The fact is that given the degenerating security situation in the country, the whole of the Niger Delta region, particularly, the South-South zone is under existential threat.

“PANDEF also lauds the governors’ resolve to join the VAT lawsuit at the Supreme Court, in solidarity with Rivers State on the position that Value Added Tax (VAT) should be collected by states.

“PANDEF similarly heralds the governors’ positions on the Petroleum Industry Act, the NDDC forensic audit report, and their call on the President to uphold the law establishing the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by appropriately constituting its board,” the statement read.

The South-South apex socio-cultural group also expressed pleasure over the governors’ re-echoing the call for the relocation of headquarters of International Oil Companies, and even NNPC subsidiaries, to the Niger Delta.

“It is baffling that the Federal Government has remained indifferent to this just demand of the Niger Delta people, thus denying the region plausible benefits, while the paradoxical realities, arising from the industry, remain glaring in the region.

“PANDEF is happy with the cohesion and cordiality amongst governors but notes that similar cooperation is needed with other political leaders of the zone, irrespective of party differences, in the overall interest of the zone.

“PANDEF further calls on the governors to strengthen the BRACED Commission to fast track the economic integration and development of the geopolitical zone,” the statement further read.

Headline

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

Published

7 hours ago

August 24, 2025

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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

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Venezuela Frees Eight Opposition Leaders

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7 hours ago

August 24, 2025

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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

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Russia, Ukraine Exchange Prisoners Of War, Civilians

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7 hours ago

August 24, 2025

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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