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Much of the rocket was destroyed as it fell, but some debris landed west of the Maldives, China says.

The debris from a Chinese rocket could hit Abuja this weekend.

Experts say a piece of a rocket launched by China in late April is expected to re-enter the earth’s atmosphere between late Saturday and early Sunday, according to the American news platform, NBC.

“It’s 10-stories tall and twice as heavy as a school bus, and it’s set to crash back to Earth this weekend — but no one is quite sure where or when.”

The section of China’s Long March 5B rocket is described as 98-foot-long and 20-ton and is said to be tumbling through space in an uncontrolled orbit at 18,000 miles per hour.

The rocket blasted off in April, carrying part of China’s new space station, NBC quotes experts and officials.

Apart from Abuja, Beijing, New York, Los Angeles, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro were listed as other places the rocket could land.

In a tweet on Friday, The Aerospace Corporation, a US non-profit research firm, said its prediction for landing was eight hours on either side of 4:19 GMT on Sunday.

Don Pollacco, a physics professor at the England’s University of Warwick, said, “It will hit the atmosphere, bounce around a bit and it’s correct to say most of the planet is covered by water, so that’s where it will likely land. But there’s a chance it won’t.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters on Friday that the debris would burn up on re-entry calling its descent “common international practice.

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The debris from a Chinese rocket could hit Abuja this weekend.

Experts say a piece of a rocket launched by China in late April is expected to re-enter the earth’s atmosphere between late Saturday and early Sunday, according to the American news platform, NBC.

“It’s 10-stories tall and twice as heavy as a school bus, and it’s set to crash back to Earth this weekend — but no one is quite sure where or when.”

The section of China’s Long March 5B rocket is described as 98-foot-long and 20-ton and is said to be tumbling through space in an uncontrolled orbit at 18,000 miles per hour.

The rocket blasted off in April, carrying part of China’s new space station, NBC quotes experts and officials.

Apart from Abuja, Beijing, New York, Los Angeles, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro were listed as other places the rocket could land.

In a tweet on Friday, The Aerospace Corporation, a US non-profit research firm, said its prediction for landing was eight hours on either side of 4:19 GMT on Sunday.

Don Pollacco, a physics professor at the England’s University of Warwick, said, “It will hit the atmosphere, bounce around a bit and it’s correct to say most of the planet is covered by water, so that’s where it will likely land. But there’s a chance it won’t.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters on Friday that the debris would burn up on re-entry calling its descent “common international practice.

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The Governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi, has said that the “madness of herdsmen killings” in the South-East region must stop and herdsmen must conform to the culture of the people in the region.

Umahi, who is also the Chairman of the South-East Governors’ Forum, said herdsmen must stop any further killings of the innocent people of the zone.

He made this known at the weekend while addressing a mammoth crowd of believers, stakeholders and political leaders of the state during the ground finale of the seven days praying and fasting organised by the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Ebonyi State chapter, which took place at the ecumenical centre Abakaliki.

The seven days of praying and fasting, organised by CAN, was organised to seek Gods intervention on the increasing insecurity in Nigeria, particularly Ebonyi state, where lots of police stations razed, officers killed by unknown gunmen.

Umahi further warned that on no account should herders attempt to kill people in the South-East zone, especially in Ebonyi, where some communities were recently attacked by herders killing 15 people.

The governor said, “Those people you think are your friends will become your enemies. No place will be safe. We are at war with ourselves. No herdsmen in the South East will make any attempt to kill anybody again.

“Nobody. Every herder coming to the South-East must conform to the culture of the people. Our people everywhere in South-South, South-West and in the north must conform to the culture of the people.

“Some herdsmen threatened that they would come and do this and do that; I said the last killing is the one that happened in the past. No time again will Ebonyi man or woman be killed. Never again. People have the effrontery to say herders are coming to kill people. Let them try it again. That rubbish must stop.

“This madness in this country must stop. I see videos of Boko Haram ravaging places in the north unchecked. Where is our air fighting powers? We must not be ashamed to borrow fighter jets from other African countries. No nation will allow this kind of thing to be happening.”

Earlier in a remark, the Chairman of CAN Ebonyi State chapter, Rev. Fr. Abraham Nwali, charged the state’s citizens to give way for peace to reign in the state and shun all forms of violence in the state.

He warned people who are in the habit of sponsoring youths to go into war, to desist or face God’s wrath.

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The Governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi, has said that the “madness of herdsmen killings” in the South-East region must stop and herdsmen must conform to the culture of the people in the region.

Umahi, who is also the Chairman of the South-East Governors’ Forum, said herdsmen must stop any further killings of the innocent people of the zone.

He made this known at the weekend while addressing a mammoth crowd of believers, stakeholders and political leaders of the state during the ground finale of the seven days praying and fasting organised by the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Ebonyi State chapter, which took place at the ecumenical centre Abakaliki.

The seven days of praying and fasting, organised by CAN, was organised to seek Gods intervention on the increasing insecurity in Nigeria, particularly Ebonyi state, where lots of police stations razed, officers killed by unknown gunmen.

Umahi further warned that on no account should herders attempt to kill people in the South-East zone, especially in Ebonyi, where some communities were recently attacked by herders killing 15 people.

The governor said, “Those people you think are your friends will become your enemies. No place will be safe. We are at war with ourselves. No herdsmen in the South East will make any attempt to kill anybody again.

“Nobody. Every herder coming to the South-East must conform to the culture of the people. Our people everywhere in South-South, South-West and in the north must conform to the culture of the people.

“Some herdsmen threatened that they would come and do this and do that; I said the last killing is the one that happened in the past. No time again will Ebonyi man or woman be killed. Never again. People have the effrontery to say herders are coming to kill people. Let them try it again. That rubbish must stop.

“This madness in this country must stop. I see videos of Boko Haram ravaging places in the north unchecked. Where is our air fighting powers? We must not be ashamed to borrow fighter jets from other African countries. No nation will allow this kind of thing to be happening.”

Earlier in a remark, the Chairman of CAN Ebonyi State chapter, Rev. Fr. Abraham Nwali, charged the state’s citizens to give way for peace to reign in the state and shun all forms of violence in the state.

He warned people who are in the habit of sponsoring youths to go into war, to desist or face God’s wrath.

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The Enugu-based Spiritual Director of Adoration Ministry, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, was reported recently to have gone 'missing'. He later re-emerged to tell the story of his whereabout. The Enugu Catholic Bishop, Callistus Onaga, had 'arrested' Mbaka and kept him incommunicado reportedly for some days. And that led to some riot by his followers and rumours of kidnapping and sequestration by security forces. When he was 'released' finally by Bishop Onaga Mbaka told the cheering crowd welcoming him back that he had been suspended for a month for blessing IPOB fugitive leader, Nnamdi Kanu.

Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka and the presidency and the (mis)ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) were exchanging verbal grenades recently. Following his controversial declaration that President Muhammadu Buhari should either resign honourably or should be impeached by the dormant federal parliamentarians both the presidency (represented by Garba Shehu) and APC (ably represented by Yekini Nabena) had reacted angrily to the Mbaka bombshell calling him names and questioning his source of inspiration.

SOC Okenwa

For Mallam Shehu 'Garbage' Mbaka was angry that the contractors he brought to Buhari for security contracts were not awarded the contracts sought. And for the APC Fr. Mbaka had crossed the red line and he would be reported to the Vatican for dabbling into politics Nigeriana. Nabena even warned Mbaka about possible exposure of the hiden secrets behind his person and sources of inspiration in a demonstration of subtle blackmail nay, intimidation.

Last Sunday the intrepid priest hit back at his critics. He appeared unruffled during Adoration church service in the coal city. Speaking defiantly from the pulpit overlooking an impressive attendance of the faithful the reverend father stood by his statement. He confirmed that he indeed took three "unknown" men to Buhari for security contracts!

Sounding supremely haughty Mbaka dismissed the presidential spokesman telling him that he had many like him in his employment roll call and asking him if he knew how many poor families he had been feeding or taking care of. He welcomed the idea of papal convocation risibly insinuating that the Pope would clap for him in the event of report coming from the Nigerian government about his political interventions.

But before the papal applause for Fr. Mbaka for his implied political intervention in our national life the Catholic Pontiff in his holiness ought to ask hard questions before reaching any conclusion. Pray, why must a priest who should be apolitical under normal circumstances be actively involved in political prophesy and other mundane engagements outside the catholic doctrine or authority?

Who were the three local or foreign contractors he took all the way from Enugu to the seat of power soliciting for contracts on their behalf? If he claimed he did not know them from Adam how come he took them to the President? What if they turned out to be scammers? What proved that they would deliver if their wish for a contractual engagement with government was granted? What if they were 'terrorists' sent across from abroad to spy the federal government or do damage to the system?

Why would an ordained priest be wining and dining with supreme mundane powers whose policies are making life less bearable for the people? Who controls or supervises Fr. Mbaka's investments and where did he obtain the money to be an investor?

And after his blissful trip to Aso Rock Villa (where he was pictured grinning with both the President and the Vice-President) why did Mbaka suddenly be preaching his sermons in English and having them interpreted or translated in Hausa language? On whose account are the financial resources he is deploying towards providing succour and charity to the needy as he boasted?

The problem lies deeper than the verbal tirades of the Adoration crowd head and the governing minions. As the former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, rightly put it the warring parties were just "blackmailers" who did not deserve the attention of Nigerians. Of course the attention of Nigerians ought to be fixated elsewhere: the battle to survive amidst kidnapping, armed robbery, Fulani herdsmen terrorism and economic crunch.

The Arewa Youths for Progress and Development (AYPD), has joined its voice to calls for President Muhammadu Buhari to resign as his administration had been unable to arrest the "ever increasing insecurity and the dwindling economy". In a recent statement signed by the President, Danjuma Sarki, the northern group said that with the current state of the nation the Buhari government had been incapacitated and could not address the increasing wave of insecurity and downturn of the economy.

The Department of State Services (otherwise known as the DSS) had waded into the Mbaka controversy by declaring that some notable religious and opposition leaders in cahoots with foreign elements were trying to instigate insurrection or disharmony among Nigerians. The DSS by that singular statement had demonstrated that they were not loyal to Nigeria but to the survival of the masked dictatorship in the country. 
Pray, have you ever heard of the American CIA, the British Scotland Yard, the French DGSE, or the Israeli MOSSAD issuing a statement denouncing free speech or warning against dissent? The DSS is beholden to Buharism and that is enough ground for trepidation.

According to the voluminous priest those he brought for security contracts were professionals and experts in the field of security architecture. Who knows if their services were sought or if the presidency had engaged them things would have not degenerated to this irredeemable level they have attained today. 

That, again, tells you the complacency of the presidency towards securing lives and properties if Nigerians, something which ordinarily ought to be the primary purpose of government in any responsible democratic society. Alas, no one cared what they came with or their capacity to discharge the jobs whose detail or presentation never happened.

We could be accused of playing the devil's advocate here but no one was sure about the security package they had in their possession. So no one could tell their real intentions.

Perhaps, if the contractors had succeeded in their mission Fr. Mbaka would have been made richer through the presidential connection he provided. There is no way Mbaka could not have known those he was taking to the President or what he stood to gain in the event of favourable reception. 

And now that everyone is a loser, Mbaka, the contractors and Nigerians, it is hoped that Buharism would heed the call of resignation or be made by legislative fiat to retire to Daura. Buhari needs to go home and retire since his fragile health and old age can no longer permit him to function effectively as President.

Before Pope Francis 'canonizes' Mbaka or claps for his engagements in politics Nigeriana we must warn against any hasty papal approval that lacks analytical depth of the problem and why Fr. Mbaka is a controversial member of the catholic clergy unlike thousands like him in Nigeria and elsewhere.

While we have demonstrated our support for his recent anti-Buhari call we hold that Fr. Mbaka is playing 'politics' for percuniary interests. The sooner he changes his clerical comportment in accordance with the laid-down rules of engagement of Catholicism the better for us all.

 

SOC Okenwa
soco_abj_2006_rci@hotmail.fr
 

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Researchers believe the nine unlucky individuals may have been hunted and killed by hyenas.

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As India struggles with a huge surge, neighbouring countries are also seeing rising cases numbers.

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Germany marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Sophie Scholl, who was killed defying the Nazis.

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After waiting seven decades for freedom, Joe Ligon tells the BBC how he intends to spend the rest of his days.

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President Hernández has been linked to what US prosecutors call "state-sponsored drug trafficking".

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When Zambia's founding president celebrated his 97th birthday, some people had never heard of him.

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More than 80 Palestinians and at least one Israeli police officer are hurt in a second night of violence.

The Police Command in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) said one of its officers, ASP Ezekiel Adama, was on Friday stabbed to death during a violent protest in Abuja. 

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the FCT, ASP Mariam Yusuf, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja. 

File photo used to illustrate story.

Yusuf said that the deceased, deployed to restore calm during a protest by members of the disbanded Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), was stabbed to death by one of the protesters. 

She said that the command had successfully restored calm, after professionally, dispersing the violent protesters at Berger round-about, Abuja. 

The PPRO said that members of the disbanded movement on Friday went on the rampage, destroying public property and attacking innocent citizens including police officers, using dangerous weapons. She said that 49 members of the movement had been arrested and would be arraigned in court upon the conclusion of the investigation. 

According to her, the Commissioner of Police in charge of FCT, Mr Bala Ciroma, wishes to commiserate with the family of the deceased officer who paid the supreme price in service to the nation.

 Yusuf warned that the command would not condone further attacks on its personnel, equipment or other public property by members of the proscribed group. 

She urged residents of the FCT to remain calm and law-abiding and pledged the unwavering commitment of the command to the protection of lives and property within the FCT. 
 

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The Police Command in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) said one of its officers, ASP Ezekiel Adama, was on Friday stabbed to death during a violent protest in Abuja. 

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the FCT, ASP Mariam Yusuf, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja. 

File photo used to illustrate story.

Yusuf said that the deceased, deployed to restore calm during a protest by members of the disbanded Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), was stabbed to death by one of the protesters. 

She said that the command had successfully restored calm, after professionally, dispersing the violent protesters at Berger round-about, Abuja. 

The PPRO said that members of the disbanded movement on Friday went on the rampage, destroying public property and attacking innocent citizens including police officers, using dangerous weapons. She said that 49 members of the movement had been arrested and would be arraigned in court upon the conclusion of the investigation. 

According to her, the Commissioner of Police in charge of FCT, Mr Bala Ciroma, wishes to commiserate with the family of the deceased officer who paid the supreme price in service to the nation.

 Yusuf warned that the command would not condone further attacks on its personnel, equipment or other public property by members of the proscribed group. 

She urged residents of the FCT to remain calm and law-abiding and pledged the unwavering commitment of the command to the protection of lives and property within the FCT. 
 

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India reported 4,187 fatalities on Friday, only the third country after the US and Brazil to report more than 4,000 deaths in a day. 

There have been more than 82,000 recorded Coronavirus deaths in the country since February 14, more than half of all earlier fatalities. 

Google

India has recorded more cases in 82 days of the second covid wave than in over a year prior to that.

On Thursday, India saw record new jumps in Covid-19 cases and deaths, dashing tentative hopes that a catastrophic recent surge that has stretched hospitals to the limit might be easing.

Health ministry numbers showed 3,980 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the national total to 230,168, and 412,262 new cases, taking India’s caseload since the pandemic began over 21 million.

Many experts suspect that with low levels of testing and poor record-keeping for the cause of death — and crematoriums overwhelmed in many places — the real numbers could be much higher.

The rise follows several days of falling case numbers that had raised government hopes that the virus surge may have been easing.

Having hit a high of 402,000 last Friday, the daily number of cases eased to as low as 357,000 before creeping up again on Tuesday.

According to a report by AFP, senior health ministry official Lav Aggarwal had told reporters on Monday that there was a “very early signal of movement in the positive direction”.

The sharp rise in cases since late March has overwhelmed hospitals in many places, with fatal shortages of beds, drugs and oxygen.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has resisted imposing a new lockdown although several regions including the capital New Delhi, Bihar and Maharashtra have imposed local shutdowns.

Until now, the worst-hit areas have been Delhi and Maharashtra, but other states, including West Bengal, Kerala and Karnataka, are now reporting sharp rises.

Kerala’s chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced on Twitter Thursday a week-long lockdown in the southern state of 35 million people, which has one of India’s best health care systems.

West Bengal, which controversially just completed an eight-phase election, on Wednesday announced tighter curbs, including a suspension of local trains. Weddings are still allowed, however, with a maximum of 50 people.

K. Vijay Raghavan, the Indian government’s principal scientific advisor, said Wednesday that the country of 1.3 billion had to be ready for another wave of infections after the current one.

“Phase 3 is inevitable given the high levels of circulating virus. But it is not clear on what timescale this phase 3 will occur. We should prepare for new waves,” Raghavan told a news conference.

With the government facing criticism as patients die outside hospitals, consignments of oxygen and equipment have been arriving from the United States, France, Britain, Russia and other countries in recent days.

But India will need more oxygen from other countries yet to fight the surge until numbers stabilise, another government official said Monday.

“We did not and do not have enough oxygen,” the top government official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “If we could get more oxygen, more lives would be saved.”

Overnight, 11 people died in a hospital near the southern city of Chennai after the pressure dropped in oxygen lines, the Times of India reported, the latest in a string of similar incidents.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies called for “urgent” international action to prevent “a worsening human catastrophe” across South Asia.

It highlighted the case of Nepal, where it said “many hospitals are full and overflowing” with Covid-19 patients, and the daily caseload is 57 times higher than one month ago.

The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said on Wednesday meanwhile that the UK strain of Covid-19 was declining but that the Indian variant known as B.1.617 was being increasingly detected.

It stopped short of saying the Indian variant was to blame for the current rise.

“The current surge in cases over the last one and a half months in some states show a correlation with the rise in the B.1.617 lineage”, local media quoted NCDC chief Sujeet Singh as saying.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said the B.1.617 variant has now been reported in more than a dozen countries.

But it has not said whether the variant is more transmissible, deadlier or able to evade vaccines.
 

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India reported 4,187 fatalities on Friday, only the third country after the US and Brazil to report more than 4,000 deaths in a day. 

There have been more than 82,000 recorded Coronavirus deaths in the country since February 14, more than half of all earlier fatalities. 

Google

India has recorded more cases in 82 days of the second covid wave than in over a year prior to that.

On Thursday, India saw record new jumps in Covid-19 cases and deaths, dashing tentative hopes that a catastrophic recent surge that has stretched hospitals to the limit might be easing.

Health ministry numbers showed 3,980 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the national total to 230,168, and 412,262 new cases, taking India’s caseload since the pandemic began over 21 million.

Many experts suspect that with low levels of testing and poor record-keeping for the cause of death — and crematoriums overwhelmed in many places — the real numbers could be much higher.

The rise follows several days of falling case numbers that had raised government hopes that the virus surge may have been easing.

Having hit a high of 402,000 last Friday, the daily number of cases eased to as low as 357,000 before creeping up again on Tuesday.

According to a report by AFP, senior health ministry official Lav Aggarwal had told reporters on Monday that there was a “very early signal of movement in the positive direction”.

The sharp rise in cases since late March has overwhelmed hospitals in many places, with fatal shortages of beds, drugs and oxygen.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has resisted imposing a new lockdown although several regions including the capital New Delhi, Bihar and Maharashtra have imposed local shutdowns.

Until now, the worst-hit areas have been Delhi and Maharashtra, but other states, including West Bengal, Kerala and Karnataka, are now reporting sharp rises.

Kerala’s chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced on Twitter Thursday a week-long lockdown in the southern state of 35 million people, which has one of India’s best health care systems.

West Bengal, which controversially just completed an eight-phase election, on Wednesday announced tighter curbs, including a suspension of local trains. Weddings are still allowed, however, with a maximum of 50 people.

K. Vijay Raghavan, the Indian government’s principal scientific advisor, said Wednesday that the country of 1.3 billion had to be ready for another wave of infections after the current one.

“Phase 3 is inevitable given the high levels of circulating virus. But it is not clear on what timescale this phase 3 will occur. We should prepare for new waves,” Raghavan told a news conference.

With the government facing criticism as patients die outside hospitals, consignments of oxygen and equipment have been arriving from the United States, France, Britain, Russia and other countries in recent days.

But India will need more oxygen from other countries yet to fight the surge until numbers stabilise, another government official said Monday.

“We did not and do not have enough oxygen,” the top government official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “If we could get more oxygen, more lives would be saved.”

Overnight, 11 people died in a hospital near the southern city of Chennai after the pressure dropped in oxygen lines, the Times of India reported, the latest in a string of similar incidents.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies called for “urgent” international action to prevent “a worsening human catastrophe” across South Asia.

It highlighted the case of Nepal, where it said “many hospitals are full and overflowing” with Covid-19 patients, and the daily caseload is 57 times higher than one month ago.

The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said on Wednesday meanwhile that the UK strain of Covid-19 was declining but that the Indian variant known as B.1.617 was being increasingly detected.

It stopped short of saying the Indian variant was to blame for the current rise.

“The current surge in cases over the last one and a half months in some states show a correlation with the rise in the B.1.617 lineage”, local media quoted NCDC chief Sujeet Singh as saying.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said the B.1.617 variant has now been reported in more than a dozen countries.

But it has not said whether the variant is more transmissible, deadlier or able to evade vaccines.
 

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Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus defend their plans for a European Super League in the face of "threats" from Uefa.

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Demonstrators from around Mexico City demand justice after 26 people died when an overpass collapsed.

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A health official warns the country is facing a "critical period" as it battles a third wave.