International
Four dead in Alabama ‘Sweet 16’ birthday party shooting
At least four people were killed and 28 wounded in a shooting that erupted during a late-night “Sweet 16” birthday celebration at a dance studio in the small town of Dadeville, Alabama, state police and local news media said on Sunday.
Some of the injured were critically wounded during the shooting in east-central Alabama, about 60 miles (100 km) northeast of the state capital of Montgomery, authorities said. There was no official word on what led to the gun violence.
Authorities said the shooting started shortly after 10:30 p.m. CT on Saturday but they declined to answer questions or provide further details during two Sunday news conferences.
Officials said there was no longer any threat to the community but did not say whether a suspect has been killed or arrested.
READ ALSO:
- Tension as irate youths kill one, set 64 houses ablaze in Bauchi
- Gunmen abduct Ogun traffic official on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway
- Subsidies benefit the rich, says IMF, promises to Nigeria decide
“We’re going to continue to work in a very methodical way to go through this scene, to look at the facts, and ensure that justice is brought to bear for the families,” said Jeremy Burkett, a sergeant with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.
The Montgomery Advertiser newspaper reported that one of the four people killed during the violence was a high school football player who was among those attending his sister’s “Sweet 16” birthday party when a gunman opened fire.
The newspaper, quoting the victim’s grandmother, identified the slain teenager as Phil Dowdell, whom she said was set to graduate in a matter of weeks and planned to attend Jacksonville State University on a football scholarship.
Reuters could not independently confirm the information or learn the identities of the other three victims.
The party was being held inside the Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio, converted from an old bank building located about half a block from city hall in Dadeville, a town of about 3,200 residents. The scene was cordoned off with yellow crime-scene tape on Sunday.
Hundreds of community members gathered early on Sunday evening in a parking lot a few blocks from the shooting scene for an outdoor prayer vigil.
Reuters
International
US state bans medical treatment for transgender children
US state bans medical treatment for transgender children
The Texas Supreme Court has backed a law that stops doctors from giving medical treatment to children who feel their gender is different from the one they were born with.
This treatment includes puberty blockers, hormones and other medicines that help transgender children feel more comfortable in their bodies, Reuters reported on Friday.
The Texas law took effect on September 1, 2023, after Republican Governor Greg Abbott signed it in June 2023.
The law prohibits doctors from performing gender transition procedures or treating gender dysphoria in individuals under 18 years old.
Opponents of the law, including parents, doctors, and advocacy groups, took legal action to stop it from being enforced. A judge agreed with them, issuing an injunction and ruling that the law likely went against the Texas Constitution.
READ ALSO:
- Olubadan: Makinde to present staff of office to Olakulehin, July 12
- BREAKING: Tinubu okays appointment of eight permanent secretaries
- 103 Nigerians deported from Turkey arrive Abuja, share ugly experiences
On Friday, the Texas Supreme Court overturned the earlier decision, declaring the law constitutional and allowing it to stand
In the majority opinion, Justice Rebeca Huddle stated that although parents have a significant right to make decisions about their children’s healthcare without government intrusion, this right is not absolute.
She stated that the legislature has the authority to regulate medical practices, including in cases where parents’ decisions may conflict with the state’s interests.
She said the legislature made a “permissible, rational policy choice to limit the types of available medical procedures for children, particularly in light of the relative nascency of both gender dysphoria and its various modes of treatment.”
This means that doctors in Texas are no longer allowed to give medical treatment to transgender children.
The US Supreme Court has agreed to review a similar law in Tennessee, which bans gender-affirming care for minors.
This move comes as Republican-led states increasingly focus on passing laws related to transgender rights, making this a highly watched and significant case.
US state bans medical treatment for transgender children
International
Minister arrested over alleged witchcraft
Minister arrested over alleged witchcraft
A high-ranking politician in the Maldives has been arrested and detained, reportedly on suspicion of casting spells against the country’s president.
Fathimath Shamnaz Ali Saleem, State Secretary for Environment, Climate Change, and Energy, was taken into custody along with her ex-husband and two other accomplices.
The group has been ordered to remain in jail for a week pending an investigation.
The arrests have sent shockwaves through the political landscape of the Maldives, a nation known more for its idyllic beaches and tourism than for allegations of sorcery at the highest levels of government.
READ ALSO:
- Tenure of FCT council chairmen expires in 2026, INEC clarifies
- I lost over N10m to Abuja market fire, trader laments
- Tale of woes in Abuja market after fire outbreak
The Maldives police have not officially stated the reasons behind the arrest of the minister. However, they have declined to confirm or deny media reports suggesting that the charges involve ‘black magic’ directed at President Mohamed Muizzu.
The accusations have sparked widespread speculation and concern among the public and within political circles.
Fathimath Shamnaz Ali Saleem has been a prominent figure in the government, actively involved in shaping policies related to climate change and sustainable development.
Her sudden arrest on such unusual charges has raised many questions about the underlying political dynamics at play.
Minister arrested over alleged witchcraft
International
Israeli forces arrest 28 Palestinians in raids in occupied West Bank
Israeli forces arrest 28 Palestinians in raids in occupied West Bank
The Israeli military has arrested 28 Palestinians in a series of raids across the occupied West Bank, according to a Palestinian rights group.
The overnight raids, part of Israel’s increasingly violent assault on the occupied territories, targeted the governorates of Jenin, Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramallah and el-Bireh, Nablus and Jerusalem, said the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society on Thursday.
Israeli forces had doled out “severe beatings” and made threats against detainees’ families, said the group, which keeps a daily tally of arrests.
Violence in the West Bank, already on the rise before Israel’s current war on Gaza erupted in October, has since escalated with frequent army raids on Palestinian groups, rampages by Jewish settlers in Palestinian villages, and deadly Palestinian street attacks.
Reporting from Ramallah, Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh said the Israeli military had “dramatically” increased its operations, conducting about 38 raids a day, with an uptick in detentions. Home demolitions have gone up by 25 percent since last year, displacing more than 1,000 Palestinians.
In Jenin, where nine Palestinians were arrested, armed confrontations broke out in the city and its refugee camp in the early hours of Thursday.
READ ALSO:
- Palestinians in Lebanon ready to fight if Israel starts war with Hezbollah
- Biden struggles during heated debate with Trump ahead the 2024 US presidential election
- President Tinubu exposes Nigeria’s big thieves
Palestinian media said Israeli forces had raided a pharmacy near Jenin Government Hospital, on the outskirts of Jenin refugee camp, transferring detainees to an unknown destination.
A resident said Israeli bulldozers destroyed infrastructure inside the camp and in the city of Jenin.
During the raid, Palestinian fighters attacked Israeli armoured vehicles with explosive devices, killing one soldier and wounding 16.
“There were two explosions. The first one caused injuries. The second, that’s where the death happened,” said Odeh.
“According to preliminary Israeli investigations, the devices were buried or located a metre and a half into the ground, so deeper than the Israeli military vehicles usually dig to be able to find those improvised devices,” she said.
The Israeli military confirmed the death. The soldier “fell during operational activity in the area of Jenin”, it said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Wafa news agency reported that four Palestinians were arrested in an overnight swoop on Hebron.
Israeli forces had stormed the town of Yatta, south of the city of Hebron, arresting three people, including a female university student. Another man was arrested in the town of Dura, southwest of Hebron.
The Israeli military also arrested a man after shooting him in the foot in the Qalandiya refugee camp, while another man was taken into custody in Deir Ghassana village, northwest of Ramallah.
Since October 7, Israel has carried out a total of 9,430 arrests in the West Bank in near daily raids.
The United Nations’ human rights chief Volker Turk warned this month that the situation in the West Bank was “dramatically deteriorating”, saying earlier that people there were being “subjected to day after day of unprecedented bloodshed”.
Israeli forces arrest 28 Palestinians in raids in occupied West Bank
-
metro2 days agoHajj: Chief Imam Ayilara hits back at Soun of Ogbomosho over query
-
News1 day agoSanusi remains Kano emir, Nasarawa palace a distraction – state govt
-
Opinion1 day agoPresident Tinubu exposes Nigeria’s big thieves
-
News1 day agoWike slams Ozekhome for defending election riggers, says Shehu Sani failed as senator
-
metro2 days agoPastor arrested over brutal attack on Muslim family in Iseyin
-
metro2 days agoNSCDC recovers stolen armoured cables, arrests four vandals in Abuja
-
Education2 days agoUniAbuja names 41-year-old law professor Aisha Maikudi acting vice-chancellor
-
metro3 days agoFire outbreak at Dangote Refinery, firm says it’s contained (Video)