International
Anambra Attack: US Set To Work With Enforcement Agencies To Bring Culprits To Justice
The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken has assured that the country will work with Nigeria Enforcement agencies to bring culprits of Tuesday’s attack on US Mission employees in Anambra State to book.
In a statement on Wednesday, Blinken noted that unknown assailants attacked a convoy of two US government vehicles in the Ogbaru Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.
The convoy was said to have been carrying nine Nigerian nationals, including five employees of the US Mission to Nigeria and four members of the Nigeria Police Force.
The American government official noted that the Nigerians were travelling in advance of a planned visit by US Mission personnel to a U.S.-funded flood response project in Anambra.
“We do not yet know the motive for the attack, but we have no indications at this time that it was targeted against our Mission,” Blinken stated.
According to him, the assailants killed at least four members of the convoy.
“The US Mission personnel are working urgently with Nigerian counterparts to ascertain the location and condition of the members of the convoy who are unaccounted for,” he said.
“We condemn in the strongest terms this attack. We will work closely with our Nigerian law enforcement colleagues in seeking to bring those responsible to justice.”
The United States has no greater priority than the safety and security of its personnel, the secretary of state maintained.
Expressing “heartfelt condolences” to the families of those killed in the attack, the US pledged to do everything possible to safely recover those who remained missing.
“We deeply value our relationship with our Locally Employed Staff and our partnership with Nigeria. The United States reaffirms its commitment to the people of Nigeria to assist in the fight against violence and insecurity,” he said.
Buhari Saddened About The Attack
President Muhammadu Buhari expressed sympathy over the loss of lives of the two US Mission workers and policemen.
In a condolence message Wednesday, he said he was “very sad” to have heard about the killing of the embassy staff members and the officers accompanying them.
“In this difficult time for the families of those killed, the American Embassy and the Nigeria Police Force, NPF, I extend the nation’s condolences over the very sad incident,” the President stated.
Reward For Intel
On behalf of the state and its people, Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State “strongly” condemned the attack which he described as heinous and unprovoked.
According to a statement Wednesday by his Press Secretary, Christian Aburime, he promised that the state government would actively work with the security agencies to smoke out the criminals and bring them to justice.
“We call on anyone with information on the identity or whereabouts of the criminals to offer same on our secured security phone numbers or to any of the security agencies and such informant will be handsomely rewarded. Investigations are underway,” he said.
All seven people on board a tourist helicopter were killed when the aircraft crashed in a remote area of northern Kenya on Wednesday morning, authorities confirmed.
The Eurocopter EC130 B4 was flying on a safari route from the Loisaba Conservancy to the Ewaso Nyiro area in Samburu County when it went down at approximately 9:13 a.m. local time near Mount Ololokwe. The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority said the helicopter was carrying six passengers and one pilot. Police later confirmed there were no survivors.
Five of the victims were American citizens, according to the U.S. State Department. Among those killed were José Alberto Suárez, a senior executive with Telemundo (NBCUniversal), and Michele Sensi-Contugi, director of Ecuador’s National Intelligence Center, who was travelling with his wife, Stephany Hollihan. Both she and her husband died in the crash.
The aircraft was operated by Lady Lori Helicopters and was carrying guests of the luxury safari company &Beyond. Rescue teams, including the Kenya Red Cross, faced difficult terrain and a fire at the crash site during recovery operations.
An official investigation into the cause of the accident is underway. The U.S. Embassy in Nairobi said it is providing consular assistance to the families of the American victims.
International
Trump Annex Strait of Hormuz “New US Territory”
The development follows Trump’s recent comments that he would declare the Strait of Hormuz US territory after defeating Iran.
US President Donald Trump has declared the Strait of Hormuz a “new US territory.”
Trump on Tuesday shared a map graphic on Truth Social, a social media platform he owns, labelling the Strait of Hormuz a “NEW U.S. Territory”.
The same graphic was also posted by the official White House account on X.
The image shows a blue-highlighted map of the strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, with a circle around the narrow passage and the words “NEW U.S. Territory” displayed prominently.
The development follows Trump’s recent comments that he would declare the Strait of Hormuz US territory after defeating Iran.
Speaking at a political rally in New York State on Friday, Trump said,
“After we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated — pretty soon I’ll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States.”
International
Zambia’s Hichilema leads presidential vote count
Hichilema had 54.82% or 1,056,812 of the declared votes, figures showed, putting him on track for re-election without a second-round runoff if he keeps the overall majority.
Photo: Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema greets United Party for National Development (UPND) supporters during their election campaign launch in Lusaka, Zambia, June 28, 2026. Credit : REUTERS
Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema was well ahead in counting for national elections on Sunday with nearly half the constituencies declared, the electoral commission said.
Reuters reported that Hichilema had 54.82% or 1,056,812 of the declared votes, figures showed, putting him on track for re-election without a second-round runoff if he keeps the overall majority.
His main challenger, Brian Mundubile, was in second place with 43% or 830,841 of the declared votes, with 105 out of 226 constituencies announced by around 1500 GMT.
The presidential vote — held alongside parliamentary and local elections on Thursday — is seen as a test of whether Hichilema’s economic gains since a pandemic-era debt crisis are enough to win him a second term in Africa’s second-largest copper producer after the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Electoral Commission of Zambia temporarily halted vote counting on Friday, citing violence against officials and the theft of ballot papers.
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