The Vatican
Two Nigerians Among 31 To Be Ordained Priests By Pope Leo
Two Nigerians are among a total of 31 faithful to be ordained priests by Pope Leo XIV in The Vatican.
Two other black Africans, one each from Ghana and Kenya are also part of the potential priests.
The priests are to be named deacons and the event holding today, is the second priestly ordination by the Pope Leo since he was inaugurated Bishop of Rome and Pope of the 4.1 billion strong Catholic Church.
DRC
DRC, Rwandan Officials To Sign Historic Peace Deal
Foreign Ministers of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)are due to sign a peace deal later today.
The deal is expected to end decades- long war between both countries.
Under the deal, the Presidents of both countries are expected to meet soon to put a final seal to it.
The agreement was brokered by the President of America Donald Trump, who has hailed it as a victory for all.
Trump stepped in after the Congolese leader, Tshikedi, sought his support to end the conflict which began after the Rwanda Genocide.
By the terms of the deal, Rwandan troops are to withdraw from DRC.
Gaza
America Donates $30m To GHF
America has donated $30m ( about N4.2 billion) to boost the activities of the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, GHF.
The GHF was founded by the governments of Israel and America to sidestep the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA which had been in charge of the supplies in Gaza and other parts of Palestine for more than 60 years.
The GHF is an initiative run by armed American private contractors , with the Israeli military providing security cover for its operations.
The foundation operates four centres, with three in Rafah, and one near the Netzarim Corridor in Gaza .
But its activities have attracted much controversy following the violence that has characterized its operations.
The United Nations estimates that more than 400 Palestinians have been killed and many more injured at,or near,the food distribution centres run by the GHF.
The Hamas-run ministry of Health put the casualty figures higher.
It said, in a recent release, that 460 persons had been killed by Israeli troops at, or near, the centres, as they made to access food for their starving families.
UNRWA, before the GHF sidestep, operated 400 aid dispensing centers in the enclave of Gaza.
Japan
Japan Carries Out First Execution In 3 Yrs
Japan has executed an unnamed 34 -year old man for multiple murders.
The execution was the first in the Far East country in three years.
Details of the module of execution were unavailable at press time, but his execution followed his conviction for the murder of nine persons, mainly young girls, in his apartment.
He was arrested in 2021 after human body parts were found in his apartment.
America
China,US Sign Traffic Deal
American President Donald Trump, on Tuesday night, signed a document for a trade deal with its military and economic rival, China .
Details of the deal have yet to be made public , but the signing followed talks between officials of both countries in London.
Both countries had engaged in a mutual tariff war , the implementation of which regimes was paused for 90 days by Trump.
America had accused its rival of unnecessary restrictions on access to rare Earth minerals to America.
The minerals are used to build sensors and magnets which are vital in the military and security industry.
China, on its part, had accused Washington of limiting access to Semi- conductors critical in its growing manufacturing sector.
UK
Scientists Claim Breakthrough In Rare Low Immune Disease
Scientists in the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, have claimed a major breakthrough in the search for a cure to a very rare genetic condition.
They said that the drug, a tablet, had proved potent for the treatment of a medical condition called APDS.
The drug is the result of a 12- years long research by the university after the genetic condition was detected in 2013 at one of its laboratories.
The laboratory find followed a research into the deaths of three members of a family in the UK.
Now, a fourth member of the family, Mary Catchpole, already diagnosed with the same disorder, is lucky to have and use the drug, which costs $352,000 ( about N564m)an annual dose for an individual.
Mary, who had lost her mum, at 42, her grandmother and her uncle, to the disease, is however, lucky because organizations have pledged to fund her treatment.
A total of 50 persons in the UK are believed to have the rare genetic condition which destroys the victim’s immune system and predisposes him/ her to blood cancer.
