Hurricane Milton leaves path of destruction across Florida, at least 23 dead

 By CBS News

What to know about Hurricane Milton

Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, Wednesday night as a Category 3 storm.

At least 23 people died from the storm, officials confirmed to CBS News.

Milton moved across the Florida peninsula Thursday and over the Atlantic Ocean.

More than 1.3 million customers were without power in Florida on Saturday, according to utility tracker Find Energy.

Family purchased Siesta Key dream home 2 days before Helene struck, followed by Milton

CBS News flew over Siesta Key, just west of Sarasota, with the Florida National Guard Friday, where Milton made landfall Wednesday night as a Category 3 hurricane. From above the devastation seemed limitless, a vast landscape of twisted metal and debris, marking the heartbreaking toll of back-to-back hurricanes.

Two days before Helene struck, Isabella McGovern's family purchased their dream home in Siesta Key after saving up for years. Now the home is gutted, with mud inside and their new furniture sitting outside.

"This was all from the first hurricane, because anything the water touches, you have to strip because of the mold," McGovern told CBS News.

And down the street, guard troops were handing out lifelines in the form of cleaning supplies, tarps and water, while the McGoverns wonder whether to stay.

"We can't afford to, you know, build a house all over again," McGovern said. "So, we were thinking, if anything, you know, refurnish it, make it look nice. And in the next two to three years, put it back in the market."

Source: CBS NEWS 

Rare flood hits parts of Sahara desert in decades

By CBS News

Palm trees are reflected in a lake caused by heavy rainfall in the desert town of Merzouga, near Rachidia, southeastern Morocco, Oct. 2, 2024.AP Photo

A rare deluge of rainfall left blue lagoons of water amid the palm trees and sand dunes of the Sahara desert, nourishing some of its driest regions with more water than they had seen in decades.

Southeastern Morocco's desert is among the most arid places in the world and rarely experiences rain in late summer.

The Moroccan government said two days of rainfall in September exceeded yearly averages in several areas that see less than 10 inches annually, including Tata, one of the areas hit hardest. In Tagounite, a village about 280 miles south of the capital, Rabat, more than 3.9 inches were recorded in a 24-hour period.

The storms left striking images of water gushing through the Saharan sands amid castles and desert flora. NASA satellites showed water rushing in to fill Lake Iriqui, a famous lake bed between Zagora and Tata that had been dry for 50 years.

According to NASA, such an occurrence is so rare in the region that a lake in Algeria, Sebkha el Melah, had only been filled six times from 2000-2021.

In desert communities frequented by tourists, 4x4s motored through the puddles and residents surveyed the scene in awe.

"It's been 30 to 50 years since we've had this much rain in such a short space of time," said Houssine Youabeb of Morocco's General Directorate of Meteorology.

Such rains, which meteorologists are calling an extratropical storm, may change the course of the region's weather in months and years to come as the air retains more moisture, causing more evaporation and drawing more storms, Youabeb said.

Palm trees are flooded in a lake caused by heavy rainfall in the desert town of Merzouga, near Rachidia, southeastern Morocco, Oct. 2, 2024.AP Photo

Six consecutive years of drought have posed challenges for much of Morocco, forcing farmers to leave fields fallow and cities and villages to ration water.

The bounty of rainfall will likely help refill the large groundwater aquifers beneath the desert that are relied upon to supply water in desert communities. The region's dammed reservoirs reported refilling at record rates throughout September. However, it's unclear how far September's rains will go toward alleviating drought.

Water gushing through the sands and oases left more than 20 dead in Morocco and Algeria and damaged farmers' harvests, forcing the government to allocate emergency relief funds, including in some areas affected by last year's earthquake.

Source: CBS News

Netanyahu calls on U.N. peacekeepers to immediately withdraw from Lebanon

 By CBS News

UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon) armored personnel carrier departs a base to patrol near the Lebanon- Israel border on October 5, 2024 in Marjayoun, Lebanon.Carl Court/Getty Images

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on United Nations peacekeepers to heed the Israeli military's warnings to evacuate Lebanon immediately as the fighting intensifies amid Israel's ground operation.

Israeli forces have repeatedly fired upon locations where first responders and U.N. peacekeepers were present since the start of the ground operation against Hezbollah. The military has accused the Iran-backed militant group of using ambulances to ferry fighters and weapons and says Hezbollah operates in the vicinity of the peacekeepers, without providing evidence.

On Sunday, the Lebanese Red Cross said paramedics were searching for casualties in the wreckage of a house destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon when a second strike left four paramedics with concussions and damaged two ambulances.

It said the rescue operation had been coordinated with U.N. peacekeepers, who informed the Israeli side. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

Jagan Chapagain, who heads the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) called for rescuers to be protected.

"We have said it before and today we say it again: the Red Cross emblem must be respected under International Humanitarian Law," he said in a statement shared on X.

In recent days, Israeli strikes have wounded five peacekeepers.

In a video addressed to the U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who has been banned from entering Israel, Netanyahu called for peacekeepers to heed Israel's warnings to evacuate, accusing them of "providing a human shield" to Hezbollah.

"We regret the injury to the UNIFIL soldiers and we are doing everything in our power to prevent this injury. But the simple and obvious way to ensure this is simply to get them out of the danger zone," he said 

He added: "Mr. Secretary-General, get the UNIFIL forces out of harm's way. It should be done right now, immediately."

Hezbollah rescue workers stand on the rubble of destroyed buildings at commercial street that was hit Saturday night by Israeli airstrikes, in NAbatiyeh town, south Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024.Mohammad Zaatari / AP

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has refused to leave its positions in southern Lebanon.

"There was a unanimous decision to stay because it's important for the UN flag to still fly high in this region, and to be able to report to the Security Council," UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti told AFP in an interview on Saturday.

Lebanon's Hezbollah, which is allied with Hamas, began firing rockets into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023 - a day after Hamas attacked Israel, starting the war in Gaza. The conflict dramatically escalated in September with a wave of Israeli strikes that killed Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and most of his senior commanders. Israel launched a ground operation into southern Lebanon earlier this month.

At least 2,255 people have been killed in Lebanon since the start of the conflict, including more than 1,400 people since September, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry, which does not say how many were Hezbollah fighters. At least 54 people have been killed in the rocket attacks on Israel, nearly half of them soldiers.

Source: CBS NEWS 

American soldiers to operate THAAD missile defense system in Israel - report

 By JERUSALEM POST

A U.S. Army soldier with Task Force Talon, 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command looks inside his tool bag during a routine maintenance inspection of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) weapon system on Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, October 26, 2017.(photo credit: U.S. Army/Capt. Adan Cazarez/Handout via REUTERS)

The decision would be implemented in an attempt to prepare for an Iranian response to an Israel strike.

American soldiers will reportedly send the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) air defense system to Israel in order to prepare for intercepting ballistic missiles, N12 reported on Saturday night.

According to the report, such a decision would prompt the US to station American soldiers in Israel to operate the THAAD system. 

The decision to operate the THAAD US air defence system on Israeli soil would come in preparation for an expected Iranian response to Israel's anticipated retaliation strike on Iran, the N12 report noted.

Following the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin also directed the deployment of the THAAD system to Israel, according to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). 

At the time, Austin also called for additional Patriot battalions to be deployed throughout the Middle East to increase force protection for US forces, the FDD added.

A U.S. Army Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) weapon system is seen on Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, October 26, 2017. (credit: U.S. Army/Capt. Adan Cazarez/Handout via REUTERS)

What is the THAAD system?

The THAAD system is considered the middle tier of the US ballistic missile defense and is a mobile system that "fires a hit-to-kill interceptor capable of defeating ballistic missiles inside and outside of the atmosphere," the FDD noted.

In 2019, the US sent additional capabilities to Saudi Arabia, which included the THAAD system, following an Iranian attack on Saudi Arabian oil facilities, the US Department of Defense said in an issued statement at the time.

In the statement, former defense secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper said that the decision was the "latest show of support" and that it involved some 3,000 US personnel. He also added that ongoing Iranian provocations at the time were the cause of an even larger support effort in the region.

Back in 2012, the United Arab Emirates attempted to acquire the THAAD system, as it requested the possible sale of the missiles for the estimated cost of $1.135 billion, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said. 

The proposed sale was expected to strengthen the "UAE’s capability to counter current and future threats in the region and reduce dependence on US forces," the Defense Security Cooperation Agency added. 

Israel has had a strict policy of keeping American soldiers from fighting Israel’s war on the ground and in the air. This would be a serious breach of that commitment.

Source: JERUSALEM POST

Mortuary tax not meant to generate revenue – Enugu Govt

 Vanguard News

             Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah

The Enugu State Government says the Enugu Mortuary Tax is not meant to generate revenue but to discourage people from taking their dead ones to the mortuary.

The Executive Chairman, Enugu State Internal Revenue Service (ESIRS), Mr Emmanuel Nnamani, said this while reacting to the Mortuary Tax circular addressed to all the Mortuary Attendants in the state trending online.

According to the circular, ESIRS in line with the provisions of section 34 of the Birth, Deaths and Burials Law Cap 15, Revised Laws of Enugu State 2004, hereby approves the implementation of Mortuary tax.

“The sum of N40.00 only is to be paid by owners of a corpse once it was not buried within twenty-four hours. The amount continues to count on a daily basis.

“Kindly ensure that owners of corpses make the payments before collection of the corpses for burial and then remit same to the ESIRS in any commercial bank under the mortuary tax in Enugu State IGR Account,” the circular said.

Reacting to concerns raised Nnamani explained that the tax was not new to the state, adding that it was within the Enugu State Mortuary Tax Law which had been in existence for years.

He also alleged that some social media users changed the date on the circular to make it look like a new thing, clarifying that the amount to pay was only N40, not N40,000.

“It is an indirect tax paid by mortuary owners, not deceased family and it is just N40, not N40,000. Since its introduction, nobody has been denied burying their dead ones.

“It means that if corpse stays in the mortuary for 100 days the mortuary is expected to pay to state a sum of N4000.

“The tax is not meant to generate revenue but to discourage people from taking their dead ones to the mortuary all the time,” Nnamani stressed. 

Source: Vanguard

My Take 

I support the Enugu State Government on the mortuary tax. 

It is unfortunate that in Igboland, the burial of dead relatives has turned into elaborate and wasteful ceremonies even when the dead might have died because of deliberate neglect.

In addition, the terrible stories coming from many of these substandard mortuaries where they use only chemicals to preserve dead bodies are worrying.

Stories like selling of body parts, abuse of dead bodies by ritualists collaborating with the untrained mortuary attendants, selling of water used to bath dead bodies to witch doctors and ritualists are so disturbing and lend credence to this bold move by the Enugu State Government to stop such nonsense.

Kudos! To Governor Mbah.

Shocker! Zimbabwean Woman Gives Birth to Baby Boy But Wakes Up with Baby Girl

Chipinge Hospital baby swap (Image Credit: First Walkers)

Police Launch Investigation After Woman Gives Birth to a Baby Boy But Wakes Up with a Baby Girl Instead

In a shocking baby swap incident at Chipinge District Hospital, a new mother gave birth to a baby boy, only to discover the following morning that her child had been switched with a baby girl.

This unexpected hospital mix-up, which has stunned the Chipinge community, is now under investigation, with both the police and hospital authorities seeking answers.

Mother Discovers Baby Swap

According to Manica Post, Cynthia Masocha delivered a baby boy on September 21, 2024, at Chipinge District Hospital with the assistance of midwife Blessing Mutimbu.

According to hospital procedures, Mutimbu raised the newborn to confirm its sex, which Masocha verified as male.

Afterwards, the mother breastfed her son and rested for the night. However, to her disbelief, she discovered the next morning that the baby’s nappies revealed a girl instead of the boy she had given birth to.

“I couldn’t believe my eyes when I checked the nappies. I was sure I had a son, and the hospital records confirmed it,” Cynthia Masocha reportedly told authorities, stunned by the discovery.

Apparently, three women had given birth at the hospital that day, but only Ms. Masocha had delivered a male child. Authorities are now conducting DNA tests to determine the paternity and investigate how the swap occurred.

Source: iHarare 

My Take 

This is sheer wickedness. The culprits must be brought to book. 

Nigerian General Nursing Exam: Igbo Nurse, Emerges Overall Best Student (Photos)

By PUO Reports 

Abia State Born Nurse Onochie Kingsley Kelechi from Ohaanze, in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State has emerged as the Overall Best Graduating Student in General Nursing in the whole of Nigeria during November Council examination by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria.

“I was privileged to be the best among al the Nursing students that sat for the exams in the whole 36 state including FCT Abuja “ Nurse Onochie said while thanking God for the feat.

The Deputy Governor Of Nasarawa State His His Excellency, Dr. Emmanuel Agbadu Akabe presented the award on behalf of the Heads of Nursing Institutions of Nigeria.

 

Source: PUO Reports