July 13, 2024

 Balochistan Home Minister Meer Zia ullah Langau on Friday said the internet and cellphone services would remain suspended in Quetta on Muharram 7 and 10 from 6am to 12am midnight.  Additionally, the provincial government has imposed Section 144 in seven districts as it ramps up security measures in Muharram. Muharram began on July 8 with the sighting of the lunar month’s crescent in Pakistan. Faithful hold processions and majalis across the country in Muharram, while religious scholars address huge gatherings amid tight security, with thousands of law enforcers deployed to ensure security. During his visit to review security arrangements in various areas of the metropolis, Langov said 8,000 security personnel would be deployed in Quetta on the day of Ashura, 10th Muharram. Meanwhile, five Quick Response Force platoons of Pakistan Army would remain on standby. Whereas, the home minister said that the cellphone services would be suspended in Jhal Magsi, Jaffarabad and Usta Muhammad districts on Muharram 9 and 10. The provincial government has also banned pillion riding and imposed Section 144 from Muharram 1 till 10 in seven districts. It was the government’s responsibility to maintain law and order situation in the city, stated Langov, apprising media that security arrangements regarding Muharram had been completed. On the other hand, the federal government on July 8 approved the deployment of the Pakistan Army and Civil Armed Forces (CAF) across the country as a security measure during Muharram. According to a notification issued by the interior ministry, the government has sought the deployment of the military to maintain law and order. The notification states that the details of troop deployment, which will be enforced for an indefinite period, will be finalised with the authorities concerned. Additionally, the notification stated: “The date of de-requisitioning of said deployment will be decided subsequently after mutual consultation among all stakeholders.” Source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1209264-quetta-to-suspend-internet-cellphone-services-on-muharram-7-10

At least 22 people, including students, have been confirmed dead after a two-storey school building collapsed in central Nigeria, according to the authorities, sending rescuers on a frantic search for more than 100 people trapped in the rubble. The Saint Academy building in Plateau state’s Busa Buji community collapsed on Friday shortly after students, many of whom were 15 or younger, arrived for classes, the authorities said on Saturday. A total of 154 students were initially trapped in the rubble, but police spokesman Alfred Alabo later said 132 of them had been rescued and were being treated for injuries in various hospitals. The Associated Press news agency quoted Alabo as saying that 22 students were confirmed dead. An earlier report by Nigerian media had said at least 12 people were killed. Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said in a Facebook post that 30 people remain in hospital. The rescue operation had ended and the site cleared, it said. Rescue workers had tried to reach the victims using heavy machinery, and images from the scene showed crowds gathering around a caved-in concrete building and piles of rubble.Play Video Dozens of villagers gathered near the school, some weeping and others offering to help, as excavators combed through the debris from the part of the building that had caved in. One woman was seen wailing and attempting to go closer to the rubble as others held her back. NEMA said rescue and health workers as well as security forces had been deployed at the scene immediately after the collapse, launching a search for the trapped students. “To ensure prompt medical attention, the government has instructed hospitals to prioritize treatment without documentation or payment,” Plateau state’s commissioner for information, Musa Ashoms, said in a statement. The state government of Plateau blamed the tragedy on the school’s “weak structure and location near a riverbank”. It urged schools facing similar issues to shut down. Building collapses are becoming common in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, with more than a dozen such incidents recorded in the last two years. Authorities often blame such disasters on a failure to enforce building safety regulations, the use of substandard construction materials and poor maintenance. Source: https://aljazeera.com/news/2024/7/12/several-children-killed-after-school-collapse-in-nigeria

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/7/13/israel-war-on-gaza-live-dozens-of-bodies-recovered-after-massacre