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NDLEA seeks Nigerians’ cooperation in fighting drug abuse

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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has solicited the cooperation of Nigerians in its fight against the menace of drug abuse.

Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Buba-Marwa (Retired), NDLEA Chairman, made the call on Wednesday in Abuja at the 20th anniversary of the establishment of Centre for Ethical Rebirth Among Nigerian Youths (CERANY), an NGO.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the anniversary also coincided with the flag-off of a nationwide campaign against drug abuse and insecurity by Maj.-Gen Ibrahim Haruna (retired), Grand Patron, CERANY.

Buba-Marwa, represented by NDLEA’s Director, Prosecution and Legal Services, Mr Joseph Sunday, said the agency alone could not fight against drug abuse without the cooperation of the public.

Road construction caused Ikeja gas pipeline leakage — NNPC

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The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Ltd. says Wednesday’s gas pipeline leakage

around Anifowoshe, Ikeja Underbridge, in Lagos was caused by road construction and rehabilitation activities in the area.

Mr Garba Muhammad, Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division NNPC, made this known in a statement issued in Lagos.

Muhammad said the gas pipeline that was reported leaking in the early hours of the day had been isolated and the general area cordoned off.

He urged residents of the area not to panic as all necessary safety measures had been put in place to avert any further escalation of the incident.

Taurai Zimunya: Questions asked as Zimbabwean boxer dies after fight

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Questions are being asked about safety procedures in Zimbabwean boxing following the death of Taurai Zimunya after he was knocked out in a fight in Harare.

Super bantamweight Zimunya, 24, died on Monday, having collapsed during a professional non-title bout on Saturday.

It is the first time a boxer has died in Zimbabwe from injuries sustained in the ring.

Lawrence Zimbudzana, the general secretary of the Zimbabwe National Boxing and Wrestling Control Board (ZNBWCB), says that plans for an inquiry are yet to be addressed.

A statement from the ZNBWCB said that “all the necessary medical procedures were followed and emergency medical assistance was provided at the venue before he was taken to hospital”.

Zimunya took several blows to the head before being knocked out in the third round of a six-round fight.

Nigeria’s Ikoyi building collapse: Anger and frustration grows

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Anger and frustration is replacing the hope of finding survivors at the site of a collapsed residential building in the wealthy neighbourhood of Ikoyi in Nigeria’s biggest city of Lagos, where at least 20 people died.

The febrile intensity of the rescue operation after the building came down on Monday afternoon has been replaced with the crunching rumble of an excavator digging and lifting concrete slaps without too much care.

Voices of frustrated families and friends who have gathered here occasionally fill the air as they shout at officials who visit the site and disapprove of the rescue crew’s methods.

The Wednesday crowd is smaller compared to the hundreds who gathered here minutes after the building collapsed. They used their bare hands to lift the rubble to try and rescue those trapped.

Meanwhile, the security cordon has grown bigger, along with the number of soldiers and police officers.

A man is overheard telling the workers to wait for a hearse to drive closer to the site instead of carrying the bodies to where the vehicle is parked.

Two bodies were retrieved from the rubble in the morning, but no-one has been found alive since Tuesday morning.

Governor Sanwo Olu told reporters that the search and rescue operation was ongoing.

He added that workers were pumping oxygen and water into the site in case any survivors remained, and that machines were occasionally being stopped to carry out a sound search, where workers call out for survivors and wait to hear a reply.

The governor says the causes of the collapse are not known but there were many irregularities including not having a record of all the people on the site each day. He’s set up an independent panel to investigate and given them a 30-day deadline to reveal their findings.

A desk has now been set up just after the security cordon to take the details of those still missing relatives and support the relatives. But for some, it’s too little too late.

Global Methane Pledge: South Korea To Help Countries Cut Emission

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South Korea is set to sign up to new methane regulations with President Moon Jae-in making the announcement during the Global Methane Pledge on Tuesday, local time.

“We will put together specific plans to make a cut in sectors including energy, agricultural, livestock, fishery, and waste management as well as retrieve methane from landfills and processing facilities to reuse it as energy.”

He added that South Korea will help other developing countries cut methane emissions by sharing policies, experience and technology.

This comes after nearly 90 countries are set to join the U.S. and the European Union to cut the world’s methane emissions by 30 percent by the end of 2030.

In a similar move, U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday also unveiled plans to cut methane emissions.

The new rules proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency are aimed at slashing methane emissions for new and existing oil and gas infrastructure.

The U.S. Methane Emissions Reduction Plan will coincide with the UN climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland.

Methane is the second major cause of climate change, right after carbon dioxide.

Data from the UN Environment Program suggests that methane emissions have been responsible for about 30 percent of global warming since pre-industrial times.

And, the new regulations could have a critical impact on the energy sector as experts say, it’s the fastest and the most economical way to slash methane emissions.

Lockerbie bombing: Libya could work with US on extradition

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Libya’s foreign minister says her country could work with the US on extraditing a man wanted over the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.

Najla El-Mangoush told the BBC that “positive outcomes are coming” in the case of Abu Agila Mohammed Masud.

Mr Masud is alleged to have been a top bomb-maker for former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

The deadly attack on Pan Am Flight 103 from London to New York killed 270 people, including 190 Americans.

It remains the deadliest terrorist incident ever to have taken place in the UK, and the second deadliest air attack in US history.

Of those who died, 35 were study-abroad US students who were returning home for Christmas, while 11 were killed on the ground in the Scottish town.

Facebook deletes Ethiopia PM’s post that urged citizens to ‘bury’ rebels

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Facebook has removed a post from Ethiopia’s prime minister for violating its policies against inciting violence.

On Sunday, Abiy Ahmed called on citizens take up arms to block the advance of the rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

The TPLF has fought a year-long campaign against government forces, capturing key towns in recent days.

Facebook has been criticised for failing to do more to stop its platform being used to incite violence.

In the post, Mr Abiy said that the rebel advance was “pushing the country to its demise,” and he urged citizens to “organise and march through [any] legal manner with every weapon and power… to prevent, reverse and bury the terrorist TPLF”.

South Korea To Invest $1.2b Into Developing Carbon Capture, Storage Technology

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The South Korean government is set to inject some 1.2 billion U.S. dollars by 2030, into developing technology for carbon capture and storage technology.

It said on Thursday that about one-third of the money will go into securing underground storage sites, which will hold up to 9-hundred million tons of CO2.

The rest will mostly be used for developing the technologies required for operating those sites, as well as increasing storage efficiency so that they can store over 1 billion tons of CO2 in total.

That’s equivalent to about 2 years of South Korea’s emissions.

This is part of the country’s efforts to carbon neutrality by 2050.

Unusual Construction Material Found In Babylon

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Archaeologists were stunned on finding bitumen and mortar on a brick commissioned by the ancient Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II – revealing vital clues about the city’s famed Tower of Babel.

The Bible contains several mysterious stories, none more so than the Tower of Babel.

Its existence has eluded researchers for years: while many assert that it is merely metaphorical, others claim the tower was a real, serving structure.

According to the Bible, in Genesis 11:1-9, the tower was built in the land of Shinar — Babylonia — some time after the great flood.

Increased interest and research has offered up a handful of vital clues and evidence for the tower’s existence, including some “unusual construction material” discovered on a brick believed to have once been part of the tower.

The brick was commissioned by King Nebuchadnezzar II — the man who researchers believe ordered the tower’s construction.

In a bid for world supremacy in 586 BC he stormed Jerusalem, a city 500 miles to the west, capturing its most highly-skilled and highly-educated citizens.

Their plight — and how their presence in Babylon may hint at the existence of the tower — was recalled during the Smithsonian Channel’s documentary, ‘Secrets Unlocked: Tower of Babel’.

Volcano: LaPalma Residents Adviced To Remain Indoors

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Authorities on the Spanish island of La Palma are telling people who live near an erupting volcano to stay indoors because of a heavy fall of ash that has forced the cancellation of flights and school classes.

The Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma, which is part of Spain’s Canary Islands off northwest Africa, has been spewing lava, ash and gases for more than six weeks. The eruption has alternately surged and ebbed since Sept. 19.

Local air quality is “extremely unfavorable” because of high levels of small particles in the air, emergency services belonging to the Canary Islands government said in a statement late Tuesday.

All flights to and from the island have been canceled because of the falling ash, according to Spain’s national airport authority.

With flights canceled, some tourists who came on a sightseeing trip to witness the eruption had to wait in long lines for ferries to leave the island Wednesday.

Madrid resident Patricia Privado, 30, described the erupting volcano as “a spectacle of nature.”

“It is worth it,” she said of her trip. “To hear it roar, to see how the lava falls. You have to experience it”.

León Peña, 65, said he came from the nearby island of Fuerteventura to see what he called “something unique”.

Both said they knew flight cancellations were a possibility, but they didn’t let that deter them from traveling to La Palma.

They also saw their trips as a way of supporting the local economy by spending money on the island.

Scientists have said the eruption could last up to three months.

Around 85,000 people live on La Palma. Most of the island is unaffected by the eruption.

More than 7.000 people have been evacuated from their homes due to the threat from the rivers of lava.

The molten rock has covered more than 997 hectares (2,463 acres) and crushed or damaged more than 2.200 buildings.

The volcano’s constant roar and numerous earthquakes have also kept locals on edge.

A magnitude 5 quake was felt in the island Wednesday morning according to the National Geographical Institute.