International
Deadly Mississippi tornado brings devastation to US state
At least 26 people have died in Mississippi and Alabama after a tornado tore through the southern US states.
Search and rescue efforts are continuing, and the Mississippi state government has declared a state of emergency.
In Rolling Fork, crushed cars, bricks and glass litter the streets – the town has been almost entirely wiped out.
One resident told the BBC he was lucky to survive after seeking shelter in his bath tub.
The lush farmland that surrounds it is completely untouched, the trees aren’t even bent out of shape by wind.
They have been totally obliterated.
In this rural town of only 2,000 people, where one fifth of residents live below the poverty line, dozens of buildings have been flattened by the fury of the tornado.
Homes where family and friends had gathered less than 24 hours before, ready for the weekend, have been reduced to rubble.
Timber frames have been snapped into pieces. There are upturned washing machines, but it is impossible to identify anything that might have been a kitchen.
Amongst the rubble, there are vehicles that have been tossed around. There is the occasional children’s toy and other signs of the lives that were lived here just hours earlier.
The tornado hit in the middle of the night – people had been sleeping and had not heard the alerts. For many the first indication that something terrible was happening was the noise.
Francisco McKnight told the BBC it was a miracle that he is alive. The only warning he had was the sound, he said – he had never heard anything like the noise of the wind on Friday night and never wants to again.
He took one look outside and then ran into his bathroom and got into the bath tub. He said that was what saved him.
The only part of his home that is still standing are parts of two of the bathroom walls.
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The tornado lasted just five to 10 minutes he said, and he sat in the tub as the rest of his home was ripped away. For now, he is staying in one of the shelters that have been set up in the area.
He does not know what he will do next, but he says somehow he will rebuild his life.
Mississippi state governor Tate Reeves visited Silver City and Winona on Saturday to meet affected residents who had been hit by the tornado’s fury.
Sharing an update on Twitter, Mr Reeves described the situation as a “tragedy”, writing: “We are blessed with brave, capable responders and loving neighbours. Please continue to pray.”
Mr Reeves requested an expedited disaster declaration for the region and said: “We’re going to fight like hell to make sure that we get as many resources to this area as possible.”
The search and rescue efforts will continue in Mississippi as more storms are predicted to hit parts of Alabama and Georgia early on Sunday and potentially bring large hail.
US President Joe Biden also offered his support for the affected region. He described the images coming out of Mississippi as “heartbreaking”.
On Sunday, the White House stated that President Biden ordered federal aid to support local recovery efforts in areas affected by the tornadoes, including grants for temporary housing, home repairs and low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses.
BBC News
International
Ukraine receives bodies of 140 fallen soldiers from Russia
Ukraine receives bodies of 140 fallen soldiers from Russia
Ukraine has received the bodies of 140 soldiers killed while trying to defend the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson from Russian attacks.
The authority responsible for prisoner-of-war matters said on Telegram on Friday that five bodies were from the Sumy section in northern Ukraine.
Russia has no Ukrainian territories under its control in this area; however, at the beginning of March, units of allegedly Russian volunteers fighting on the side of Ukraine made advances from the Sumy region into Russian territory.
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Once the identities of the dead have been established, they will be handed over to their relatives, the authority said.
The authority, known as the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, thanked the International Committee of the Red Cross for arranging the return.
Ukraine has been fending off a Russian invasion for over two years.
Despite the ongoing fighting, both sides regularly exchange the bodies of fallen soldiers and prisoners of war.
It is not yet known whether and how many dead soldiers Russia has received in return.
Ukraine receives bodies of 140 fallen soldiers from Russia
International
Weeks after Iran’s attack, Israel discovers another massive surface-to-surface missile
Weeks after Iran’s attack, Israel discovers another massive surface-to-surface missile
Weeks after missiles sent by Iran on April 14 rocked several parts of Israel, another debris of a surface-to-surface missile has been found in the southern part of the country.
According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the debris that was found by hikers in southern Israel, has been successfully evacuated.
“The effects of Iran’s attack on Israel can still be seen weeks after it occurred.
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“Earlier today, our troops removed the debris of a surface-to-surface missile intercepted during the Iranian attack. At the beginning of the week, the debris was found by hikers in southern Israel.
A complex removal, the process was made possible through advanced preparation by the Home Front Command and assistance from the IAF. During the process, the missile debris was cleared of hazardous materials, ” the IDF said in a post on Friday.
This is not the first missile discovered in the south since the attack. Similar missiles were discovered nearby in the Dead Sea area immediately after the major attack that Tehran launched against Israel, which included more than 300 suicide drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles.
Weeks after Iran’s attack, Israel discovers another massive surface-to-surface missile
International
Nigerian man kills wife months after relocating to UK
Olubunmi Abodunde, a Nigerian living in the United Kingdom, reportedly beat his wife, Taiwo, to death with their son’s skateboard, according to the Daily Mail.
The couple, who had three children, arrived in the UK from Nigeria in 2022 and frequently feuded over reported relationships and financial disagreements.
According to the news outlet, 48-year-old Abodunde had been investigated by Suffolk Police several times for domestic abuse and was scheduled to stand trial for murder, but changed his plea to guilty on Wednesday after the jury was sworn in.
During the abuse, officers heard ‘a number of fringes’ inside the house, which Abodunde had entered despite bail restrictions imposed the day before that barred him from the residence due to another violent incident.
When they arrived 25 minutes later, they discovered Taiwo, 41, with her’skull bashed in’.
However, Judge Martyn Levett, sitting at Ipswich Crown Court, cautioned him that the only conceivable penalty was life imprisonment.
Suffolk Constabulary submitted itself to the Independent Office of Police Conduct, which confirmed that three officers were being investigated.
An IOPC spokesman said, “We advised two Suffolk officers that they are under investigation for potential breaches of the police standards of professional behaviour at the level of gross misconduct.
“We advised another officer that they are under investigation at the level of misconduct.”
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Abodunde has a history of mistrust and distrust towards his wife, accusing her of having affairs. He had been probed by police several times for alleged domestic abuse episodes prior to his wife’s murder.
He was detained on April 27 of last year, when police came to the couple’s house in Newmarket, Suffolk, and discovered Mrs. Abodunde with a split lip.
Later that day, he was released on police bail with the condition that he stay away from the marital residence and avoid approaching his wife.
However, after completing a night shift at Tesco, he returned home shortly after 9 a.m. to reportedly pick up his mobile phone.
At 9.20 a.m., two cops arrived to take Mrs. Abodunde’s testimony regarding the previous night’s incident, and they heard persistent banging inside.
But it wasn’t until 9.55 a.m. that they pushed their way in with permission from senior officers and discovered Mrs. Abodunde ‘clearly dead’ near the front entrance.
A post-mortem examination revealed that she had been throttled until unconscious, then stamped on until her ribs were fractured, before her husband used the skateboard to kill her off. The hits were so hard that the skateboard was ruined.
Prosecutor Simon Spence KC told the court that the hammering officers heard was most likely caused by Abodunde continuing to assault his wife after she was unconscious or dead.
Mrs. Abodunde worked as a care home assistant in Cambridge, but her husband, a civil engineer by training, was unable to find work and took shifts at Tesco and Wickes.
Following his arrest for the murder, Abodunde was taken to the hospital “because he appeared to have some sort of mental episode.”.
He later argued in a police statement that he had acted in self-defence, saying, “My wife has subjected me to physical abuse for a number of years.
“On November 28, we got into an argument. She ran at me with a knife. I grabbed the knife and cut my hand. I was defending myself.”
However, the court heard that, while he had a hand injury, no knife was found near his wife’s body.
Nneka Akudolu KC, defending, said the amount of violence was ‘completely out of character’ for her client and could have been influenced by the medicine he was on. However, she stated that no medical evidence would be supplied to back her assertion.
Following the court, Suffolk Police Detective Inspector Dan Connick stated, “This was an awful attack on a woman that has had a long-term impact on the community and, most importantly, on the victim’s family.”
“We are pleased that Taiwo’s family will no longer have to go through the pain of a trial.
“Our thoughts remain with Taiwo’s family and friends, and we hope this result will bring some small comfort to them.”
Nigerian man kills wife months after relocating to UK
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