International
Civil Society Coalition Condemns Attacks on Gaza, Calls for Global Intervention in Hamas-Israeli Conflict

The Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CCSO) in Nigeria yesterday condemned what it described as “the ongoing genocidal attacks by the Israeli army against defenseless civilians in Gaza among them women and children with number of casualties continues to rise.”
The group at a World Press Conference held in Ikeja, Lagos, vowed to stand with the people and freedom of Palestine.
While speaking with THISDAY on the sideline, one of the leaders of the groups and the General Secretary of United Action for Democracy, Mr. Kunle Wizeman-Ajayi, insinuated that the Hamas-Israeli war might have a dimension in Nigeria.
According to him, “Any war can affect the world in one way of another, and that’s why we are in support of the freedom of Palestine. The battle between Hamas and Israel has a global effect, and you can see it today that it is even a debate in Nigeria already because the Israeli apartheid is pseudo-attached to Christianity, and there are several Christians in Nigeria, and many Muslims in Nigeria don’t understand the battle Palestine is fighting, because if they support the freedom of Palestine, they should also support the freedom of Biafra in Nigeria.
“Also, if Christians in Nigeria, especially those in the Southeast, support the freedom of Biafra, they should also support the freedom of Palestine. So freedom does not have any religious connotation. So freedom is freedom because we are all human. This can become a global war, and once that happens, just like in the Second World War, soldiers would be taken away from Nigeria to fight. Many would become soldiers by force just like our grandparents did during the Second World War. So we must nip any war in the bud before it becomes global just like we did in Niger Republic.
“American President, Joe Biden, wanted to force ECOWAS to start a war in that country, but because Nigerians rose against it, by now, we would have been in war. So because we stop the French occupation of Niger Republic, we, Nigeria, Africa, and the world should also rise against the occupation of Palestine by Israel.”
The other civil society coalition leaders, including Omotaje Olawale Saint of Work Bond International Network (WIN); Ahmed Balogun of Frontline Socio-Economic Research Centre (FSERC); Alex Omotehinse of Centre for Human and Socio-Economic Rights, among many others, while addressing journalists, declared that the death of over 500 Palestinians “in a single Israeli strike at the Al-Ahli Arab hospital south of Gaza on October 17, 2023, is a case of crimes against humanity that the ICC must investigate and hold Israel accountable.
“It was the Israeli army that asked Palestinians in Gaza to flee to a safe corridor. It is therefore reprehensible and callous for Israel to carpet-bomb the same place it chose as a safe haven for people fleeing its destruction in one part of Gaza. The bombing clearly attests to deliberate and well-coordinated crime against humanity.”
They added that the attempt by the duo of Israeli Prime Minister,Benjamin Netanyahu, and US President Biden “to exonerate Israel of the bombing in hospital is shameful and condemnable. The argument that the bombing at the hospital was due to self-explosion is deceptive and a conspiracy in genocidal mission.
“President Biden cannot walk back his talk. His promise to provide everything Netanyahu needed to prosecute this genocide is on record. The president shall answer to crime against humanity at the appropriate time. His refusal to call for a ceasefire and his open green-lighting of Israel’s premeditated genocidal mission are now well-documented.”
The coalition further affirmed that “as an occupied people Palestinians have the right to resistance which they continue to muster despite their backs being against the wall. Palestinians are not fighting just Israel, they have been fighting a rogue superpower which is America. We salute their courage and their refusal to be bullied into silence
“The world must rise to help Palestinians reclaim their rights, their dignity, their humanity; they must be free to determine their own destiny; create their own political institutions; establish a viable and sovereign state; and live in peace.
“Our prayer is that the United Nations must prevail on Israel to halt its war crimes by calling for a ceasefire. It should as a matter of urgency reclaim the peace process and take it away from the monopoly of the United States and European Union
“Other nations of the world, from the Arab World to Turkey and China, must invest in the peace process to end US monopoly.
“Governments of the world must begin to isolate Israel as the pariah that it has become. In this vein, all justice-loving countries and peoples of the world must patronise the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) and take appropriate action.”
Crime
Chinese national apprehended in Anambra for involvement in illegal mining.

A 45-year-old Chinese national, Mr. Mu Hua Qiang, has been arrested in Aguleri, Anambra State, for alleged involvement in illegal mining. He was apprehended by operatives of the Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra (OCHA) Brigade during a surveillance operation and handed over to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Awka.
Police spokesperson Tochukwu Ikenga confirmed the arrest, stating that the suspect’s statement was taken and he is in custody pending further investigation. Authorities say illegal mining remains a serious concern in Anambra due to its environmental and security risks.
International
Education: Denmark permitting use of AI for English exams from 2026
We are launching pilot schemes to try to find the right balance,” Education Minister Mattias Tesfaye said in a statement, emphasising the need to encourage digital learning while upholding teaching standards.

Image credit: Shutterstock
The Danish education ministry announced on Friday students in some high schools in Denmark will be allowed to use artificial intelligence to write English language exams from next year.
The move comes as education authorities around the world debate whether AI is a useful learning tool for those entering an increasingly digital economy, or a slippery slope to producing dumbed-down graduates.
The Danish government said the permitted use of AI in the English curriculum from 2026 would be experimental, and apply only to the oral component of the English exam for the high school diploma.
In that test, once a student is handed their topic, they would have one hour to prepare, during which they would be “permitted to use all available tools, including generative AI”, the ministry said.
The students would then have to give their oral presentation in person in front of an examiner.
“We are launching pilot schemes to try to find the right balance,” Education Minister Mattias Tesfaye said in a statement, emphasising the need to encourage digital learning while upholding teaching standards.
“With students growing up in both analogue and digital worlds, we need to ready them in the best way possible for the reality they will encounter after their schooling.
”When it comes to the written part of the English test, the ministry said students would have to do part of it handwritten to ensure no reliance on computers.
International
Trump pledges to maintain federal forces in Washington amid mounting criticism.

President Donald Trump on Thursday visited police and troops he has deployed in the US capital in what he calls a crackdown on crime, saying they were going to “stay here for a while.”
Trump ordered hundreds of members of the Guard, a reserve force, to deploy in Washington last week vowing to “take our capital back,” despite protests by some residents and statistics showing violent offenses falling.
“We’re going to make it safe, and we’re going to then go on to other places, but we’re going to stay here for a while. We want to make this absolutely perfect,” he said outside a US Park Police facility in Washington.
The 79-year-old Republican was surrounded by law enforcement from various local and federal agencies as well as National Guard troops.
Earlier Thursday he suggested he would go on patrol with police and the military, but instead he made a short speech and gave out pizzas and hamburgers.
“Everybody feels safe,” Trump said, adding that he plans to get the capital “fixed up physically.”
“One of the things we’re going to be redoing is your parks. I’m very good at grass, because I have a lot of golf courses all over the place. I know more about grass than any human being,” he added.
Trump wrote on social media early Friday that “there were no murders this week for the first time in memory” in Washington.
He said Mayor Muriel Bowser “must immediately stop giving false and highly inaccurate crime figures, or bad things will happen, including a complete and total Federal takeover of the City!”
Bowser has said that violent crime in the capital has been its lowest level in three decades.
Trump’s visit came a day after his vice president, JD Vance, was greeted by boos and shouts of “Free DC” — referring to Washington’s formal name, the District of Columbia — on his own meet-and-greet with troops.
Vance dismissed the hecklers as “a bunch of crazy protesters.”
The DC National Guard has mobilized 800 troops, while Republican states Ohio, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia are sending a total of around 1,200.
They have been spotted in tourist areas such as the National Mall and its monuments, the Nationals Park baseball stadium and others.
The overwhelmingly Democratic US capital faces allegations from Republican politicians that it is overrun by crime, plagued by homelessness and financially mismanaged.
But data from Washington police showed significant drops in violent crime between 2023 and 2024, though that was coming off the back of a post-pandemic surge.
Some residents have welcomed the crackdown, pointing to crime in their areas — but others have complained the show of force is unnecessary, or has not been seen in parts of Washington where violence is concentrated.
– Sandwich guy –
Several incidents involving the surge of law enforcement have gone viral as residents voice their discontent, including the arrest of one man who was caught on camera throwing a sandwich at an agent.
Banksy-style posters honoring the so-called “sandwich guy” have popped up around the city.
The National Guard troops have provided “critical support such as crowd management, presence patrols and perimeter control in support of law enforcement,” according to social media statements.
In addition to sending troops into the streets, Trump has also sought to take full control of the Washington police department, attempting at one point to sideline its leadership.
The deployment of troops in Washington comes after Trump dispatched the National Guard and Marines to quell unrest in Los Angeles, California, that was sparked by immigration enforcement raids
AFP
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