Noted

I don't understand, come again!!!

An official has confirmed that an estimated 300 people died in the attack.

Petr Andryuschenko, advisor to deputy mayor of Mariupol, in an interview with Newshour on the BBC World Service, said nearly 600 people were inside the theatre before the attack. Three hundred were in a shelter under the theatre.

The authorities had not been able to start the rescue operation because there was street fighting near the theatre, and the Russians were continuing to shell the area.

Andryuschenko is confident about the figures because they had a record of who was in the theatre before the missile strike, they've spoken to survivors, and they have checked how many survived.

He also confirmed that there is fighting in the middle of the city, but insisted that the Russians had not yet manage to take control.

Source: https://www.obeyafriday.com/2022/03/25/mariupol-official-confirms-some-300-died-in-theatre-bombing/
Image Credit: Reuters

Audio please

In addition to the doubling of lethal aid to Ukraine, Johnson says the UK must support Ukraine against its "bullying neighbour" in the long term.

"This is just the beginning," he says.

The UK has sanctioned more than 1,000 Russian individuals and entities so far in the toughest sanctions the UK has ever imposed, Johnson says.

"The message Putin can take is: Ukraine is not alone. We stand with the people of Kyiv, Mariupol, Lviv and Donetsk," he says.

"As President Zelensky himself has said, the people of Ukraine must prevail and Putin must fail - and he will."

SOURCE: https://www.obeyafriday.com/2022/03/24/ukraine-is-not-alone-johnson/
Image Credit: OFOB Media

Welcome to OFOB Media early morning update from Russia-Ukraine War Front. Here's the latest:

Russian troops are growing increasingly demoralised, according to Western intelligence agencies, and risk becoming encircled in the Kyiv suburbs.

Almost all of Irpin, which has seen fierce fighting in recent weeks, is back in Ukrainian hands, says Kyiv's mayor.

Russian forces are continuing to bombard and blockade the southern port city of Mariupol, where residents have run out of water and food and an estimated 90% of the city's buildings have been damaged or destroyed.

Bombs continue to fall in cities around the country, including Kyiv, Chernihiv and Kharkiv.

After speaking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, UK PM Boris Johnson will pledge on Thursday to give Ukraine 6,000 missiles.

Earlier, Sweden announced that it was providing 5,000 anti-tank missiles to Ukraine.

Putin told ministers that gas sales to "unfriendly" nations will go forward in roubles, unsettling the energy markets.

Tributes have poured in for Oksana Baulina, a Russian opposition activist and journalist who was killed by Russian fire in Kyiv.

SOURCE: https://www.obeyafriday.com/2022/03/24/latest-update-from-russia-ukraine-war-this-thursday-morning/

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he's spoken with UK PM Boris Johnson and "received assurances of his support" ahead of tomorrow's emergency Nato summit in Brussels.

Zelensky tweeted they "discussed the course of hostilities and defence assistance to Ukraine".

As OFOB Media reported earlier, Johnson told his Cabinet colleagues "the West should not hesitate to go further in strengthening sanctions and providing further defensive military aid to Ukraine".

Thursday's Nato summit in Brussels is expected to unlock additional aid for Kyiv, including equipment to help Ukraine protect against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats.

SOURCE: https://www.obeyafriday.com/2022/03/23/zelensky-receives-assurances-of-support-f
Image Credit: EPA

The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said the people of Ukraine are enduring a living hell, and warned that the situation was becoming more destructive and unpredictable by the hour.

"The war is going nowhere, fast," he told reporters in New York, describing it as unwinnable.

"Continuing the war in Ukraine is morally unacceptable, politically indefensible, and militarily nonsensical... It is time to stop the fighting now and give peace a chance."

SOURCE: https://www.obeyafriday.com/2022/03/22/ukrainians-are-enduring-a-living-hell-guterres/
Image Credit: Reuters

Russia is conducting state terrorism in Ukraine and will go on to attack other countries, Ukraine's Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov has said.

Speaking alongside UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace during a visit to London, Reznikov said 150 Ukrainian children had been killed since Russia invaded. He said more than 400 schools and kindergartens and more than 110 hospitals had been destroyed.

"Thousands and thousands of civilians" had also been killed, he added, saying it was not known exactly how many as many were still trapped under the rubble of destroyed houses.

"This is a state terrorism. That is why [the] Kremlin must be stopped, because it will go further. It will attack other countries," Reznikov said.

He did not cite any evidence to support his assertion. Russia denies targeting civilians.

Since the Russian invasion began, Ukrainian soldiers have destroyed almost 500 Russian tanks, and more than 1,500 armoured combat vehicles, he said. Weapons provided by Britain were used in some of these cases, he said.

"We greatly appreciate that this year, Britain was the first to provide us with serious weapons that have increased our defence capabilities. Your role is special, and your courage and your spirit are in stark contrast with the passivity of some other countries."

SOURCE: https://www.obeyafriday.com/2022/03/21/ukraibe-accuses-russia-of-state-terrorism/
Image Credit: Reuters

Ukrainian resilience is causing Russia to "more adequately assess the situation" of the war, a Ukrainian negotiator says.

Mykhaylo Podolyak, an aide to President Zelensky, says the change has helped encourage a dialogue between the two sides.

But any decision on a peace agreement will be made between the Ukrainian and Russian leaders, he tells our correspondent.

In Kyiv, eight people are reported dead in shelling on a residential area and shopping centre.

The mayor of Kyiv announces a curfew in the city from this evening until 07:00 local time on Wednesday.

Russian naval forces shell some residential buildings on the edge of Odesa, Ukrainian authorities say.

Ukraine ignores Russia's demand it gives up the city of Mariupol, saying there is "no question of any surrender".

Ukraine's president has accused Russia of war crimes in Mariupol, where heavy fighting has now reached the city centre.

SOURCE: https://www.obeyafriday.com/2022/03/21/latest-update-from-russia-ukraine-war-front-this-monday-night/

Russian officials have confirmed that the deputy commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, Captain 1st Rank Andrei Paly, died in combat in Mariupol.

Earlier we reported that Ukraine claimed to have killed him. Heavy fighting continues in Mariupol, a port city battered by Russian shelling.

Paly’s death was initially confirmed by the secretary of the Nakhimov naval college, Konstantin Tsarenko, on social network Vkontakte (VK).

Later, a Russian senator from Sevastopol – the Black Sea Fleet’s base in Russian-annexed Crimea – said in a VK post that “Sevastopol has suffered a heavy, irreparable loss… Paly died in the battles for the liberation of Mariupol from the Nazis”. President Vladimir Putin has spoken of Russia’s campaign to rid Ukraine of “Nazis”.

Sevastopol governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said in a Telegram post that “Andrei Nikolaevich chose to defend the Motherland as his life’s work and died for our peaceful future”.

Ukrainian sources have reported the deaths of five Russian generals in the fighting which erupted with Russia’s invasion on 24 February. Russia has only officially confirmed one of these casualties – Gen Andrei Sukhovetsky.

SOURCE: https://www.obeyafriday.com/2022/03/20/russia-confirms-senior-naval-officer-killed-in-mariupol/

Image Credit: Getty image

Epic Games has announced that, between 20 March and 3 April, it will give all proceeds from its popular Fortnite online game to humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.

In a statement, the gaming giant said Xbox-owner Microsoft would also be doing the same, and proceeds would be going to charity Direct Relief, as well as three UN agencies, including the World Food Programme.

The scheme includes all real-money Fortnite purchases, including V-Buck packs and gifted Battle Passes.

Ukraine has long been one of Europe's largest game development hubs, and many firms in the industry have announced their support of the country.

Activision Blizzard - best known for developing Call of Duty, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft - has halted its sales in Russia. Meanwhile Elden Ring publisher Bandai Namco has announced that it is donating nearly $848,000 (£643,000) to Save the Children, in support of Ukraine.

SOURCE: https://www.obeyafriday.com/2022/03/20/fortnite-developer-to-give-proceeds-in-support-of-ukraine/

Image Credit: Epic Games

Ukraine’s president says children and other people are buried under rubble after the Russian air strike ‘atrocity’.

Ukraine has accused Russia of bombing a children’s hospital and maternity ward in the besieged port city of Mariupol, wounding 17 people and trapping children and others under the rubble in what it called “a war crime without justification”.

Russia had said it would hold fire to let thousands of civilians flee Mariupol and other besieged cities on Wednesday, but Mariupol’s city council said the hospital had been hit several times by an air strike.

The ground shook more than a mile away when the Mariupol complex was hit by the series of blasts that blew out windows and ripped away much of the front of one building.

Footage from the scene showed police and soldiers rushing to the scene to evacuate victims, carrying out a heavily pregnant and bleeding woman on a stretcher as light snow drifted down on burning and mangled cars and trees shattered by the blast.

Another woman wailed as she clutched her child. In the courtyard, a blast crater extended at least two stories deep.

“Today Russia committed a huge crime,” said Volodymir Nikulin, a top regional police official, standing in the ruins. “It is a war crime without any justification.”

‘Close the sky right now’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also shared footage on Twitter from the scene of the alleged attack, which appeared to show several wrecked rooms along a corridor in a building that had blown-out windows. Outside of the building, a square carpeted with rubble and debris could be seen.

“How much longer will the world be an accomplice ignoring terror? Close the sky right now! Stop the killings! You have power but you seem to be losing humanity,” Zelenskyy said.

OFOB was unable to independently verify the footage.

When asked by Reuters news agency for comment, a spokesman for the Kremlin said: “Russian forces do not fire on civilian targets.”

SOURCE: https://www.obeyafriday.com/2022/03/10/ukraine-war-ukraine-accuses-russia-of-bombing-childrens-hospital-in-mariupol/

Let him face the law

Annoying development all through. War not good

That's a good one

Stay in a safe, not BUHARI Number dat will save you na

Corrupt nation!

Good development

Nice one

Congratulations guys

Ok

What's the meaning of this nonsense?

What are we not seeing in this corrupt country!

Get rich quick scheme is a problem, but most people do not know this, either they know but Desperation leads them to BITTER end. Good for them.

Abomination! My eyes have seen my ears today.

A viral photo on social media have got uncomfortable and mixed reactions as it is an abomination for a ten years old girl to be pregnant in this whole worldwide.

According to OFOB report earlier this afternoon, the girl in question is from Seweto, in South Africa. Much details are still yet to be fetched regarding the root cause of this mess.

The cursed man who have done this huge damage to the little girl was yet to be identified as at the time of this filing, OFOB reports.

To apprehend and prosecute the man who is responsible for this omen, OFOB has taken the fight to all their social media pages to ensure the culprit is brought to book; and must be severely punished for the damage he has caused the little girl.

ADMIN, take this to the front page please. This report needs serious thoughts. Thanks.

Here is the news:

A mob has lynched a man in a remote region of Pakistan’s Punjab province after he was accused of burning pages of the Quran, the Muslim holy book, the police and officials said.

Dozens of people have been detained and arrested over the lynching, which happened on Saturday evening in Khanewal district of Punjab province, according to Tahir Ashrafi, the prime minister’s special representative on religious harmony. Law enforcement agencies are also monitoring hundreds of other suspects, he said.

Police in Punjab province said at least 15 primary suspects have been arrested in connection with the case. They added that 85 other accused had been detained and raids were being conducted to arrest more suspects.

Prime Minister Imran Khan ordered action on Sunday against the mob and any police who acted as onlookers to the killing.

“The lynching will be dealt with full severity of the law. We have zero tolerance for anyone taking the law into their own hands,” he said in a statement.

Khan said on Twitter he had asked Punjab officials for a “report on action taken against perpetrators of the lynching… & against the police who failed in their duty”.

The killing came just over two months after a Sri Lankan factory manager was beaten to death and set ablaze by a mob over blasphemy in Sialkot city, also in Punjab.

The mob gathered at a mosque on Saturday night after the son of its prayer leader announced that he had spotted the man burning pages of the holy book, police official Munawar Hussain told Reuters.

Police arrived to find the man unconscious and tied to a tree, Hussain said, adding that the mob also attacked the police.

“The villagers armed with batons, axes and iron rods killed him and hanged his body from a tree,” Hussain said.

He said that evidence so far gathered by police suggested the dead man, identified as Muhammad Mushtaq, was in his 50s and appeared to have had mental disabilities.

“Who could possibly justify the barbaric act of stoning to death a mentally ill person?” Ashrafi, the prime minister’s special representative, told a televised press conference in Khanewal district.

“The man’s family say that he was mentally ill and his mental health wasn’t right for the past 10 to 15 years.

“This is not the religion of my Prophet, to kill people under your own interpretation of religion,” he said.

The country’s human rights minister Shireen Mazari condemned the lynching.

“Punjab government must immediately take action against the police that watched it happen and the perpetrators. Laws exist – the police must enforce these laws and not allow mobs to rule the day,” she tweeted.

Mob killings over accusations of blasphemy – a crime that can carry the death sentence – are fairly frequent in Pakistan, home to 200 million people, mostly Muslims.

Rights groups say accusations of blasphemy can often be wielded to settle personal vendettas, with minorities largely the target.

Prime Minister Khan, who has condemned vigilante crimes in the past, had said that lynching the Sri Lankan man brought shame on the country. Dozens of people have been arrested in connection with the case that caused global outrage.

In April 2017 an angry mob killed university student Mashal Khan when he was accused of posting blasphemous content online.

A Christian couple were lynched then burned in a kiln in Punjab in 2014, after being falsely accused of desecrating the Quran.

A 43-year-old man, Ademola Oladimeji, has been remanded by an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court for allegedly defiling his three daughters, OFOB reports.

OFOB learnt that police arraigned Oladimeji, a resident of Fadeyi, Lagos State, on a two-count charge of defilement and assault.

The Prosecution Counsel, DSP Kehinde Ajayi, told the court that Oladimeji committed the offence sometime in 2021, in his residence at Fadeyi.

She said that the mother of the girls had reported that the accused had been defiling their daughters aged nine, seven, and five by allegedly inserting his finger into their private part, OFOB reports.

She mentioned that when the girls’ mother found out, she confronted her husband and was angry, leading to beatings and injuries inflicted on her body.

According to Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2005, defilement attracts life imprisonment.

In the ruling, the Magistrate, A.O. Ajibade, who refused to take Oladimeji's plea, directed the police to send the case file to the state Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for advice.

She adjourned the case until March 2 for the DPP's advice and directed the suspect be remanded in Kirikiri Correctional Centre.

A former media aide to ex-President, Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri, has urged the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Tinubu, not to sack his aide for covering his nose.

Omokri stated this while reacting to video clips showing Tinubu looking wet after he stood up to address some of his loyalists at the palace of the Awujale of Ijebuland in Ijebu Ode.

In the video, a man in a suit, believed to be Tinubu’s security personnel, was seen staring at the wet part of the dress while closing his nostrils.

Reacting, Omokri, in a tweet via his Twitter handle on Sunday night, called on journalists to help identify the Tinubu’s aide who covered his nose.

He also promised to help him secure another job if he was fired.

Omokri tweeted: “I call on investigative journalists to help identify Tinubu’s aide who covered his nose.

“I pledge to help him secure another job if he has been fired. Nobody deserves to be fired for covering his nose when the air has been polluted by the release of special perfume.”

Tinubu: Don’t block your nose – Shehu Sani reacts to viral video ‘showing Asiwaju’s wet cloth.

Pharmacy I think.

I don't even like Tinubu, Osinbajo or the third man of APC, I prefer Atiku, I swear.

Well-done baba