Nigeria says 130 more children released nearly a month after being kidnapped from school

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By Mohammed Tawfeeq, CNN

(CNN) — The remaining 130 schoolchildren kidnapped by gunmen from a Catholic school in Nigeria’s north-central Niger State in November have been released, a presidential spokesman said on Sunday, confirming that all abducted pupils are now free.

“Another 130 abducted Niger State pupils released, none left in captivity,” spokesman Sunday Dare said in a post on X, accompanied by a photograph showing the smiling children.

The spokesman did not provide details on the circumstances surrounding their release.

The students were taken in November when armed bandits stormed St. Mary’s Private Catholic School, abducting a total of 303 children and 12 teachers, according to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). The victims included both boys and girls, some as young as 10.

Less than 48 hours after the abduction, 50 students managed to escape and return to their families, CAN said at the time. Earlier this month, the Nigerian government announced that security forces had rescued 100 of the kidnapped victims.

Dare’s post on Sunday put the last students being held at 130 – slightly fewer than were thought to remain in captivity. CNN has reached to the office of Nigerian President for clarification.

The November abduction was the latest in a wave of attacks by armed groups targeting vulnerable civilian populations, particularly schools, and carrying out mass kidnappings for ransom. Violence in the country has repeatedly erupted from communal and ethnic tensions, as well as from disputes between farmers and herders over limited access to land and water resources.

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Flood Watch Issued for Santa Barbara County and Central Coast as Major Atmospheric River Targets Region

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The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a Flood Watch from Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday evening for San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Los Angeles counties, warning that excessive […]

The post Flood Watch Issued for Santa Barbara County and Central Coast as Major Atmospheric River Targets Region appeared first on edhat.

Israeli soldiers shot and killed a West Bank teen they say had hurled a ‘block.’ Video shows them shooting him point blank

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By Ibrahim Dahman, Max Saltman, Thomas Bordeaux, CNN

(CNN) — The Israeli military said it shot dead a Palestinian “suspected of hurling a block” at soldiers on Saturday during an operation in the occupied West Bank town of Qabatiya.

Video reviewed by CNN shows a soldier shooting the teen when he is just feet away. In an earlier statement, the military did not use the word “suspected,” and said the person “hurled a block toward the soldiers.”

The Palestinian was identified as 16-year-old Rayan Muhammad Abdul Qader Abu Mualla by the Ministry of Heath, citing the Palestinian General Authority of Civil Affairs (PGACA), who said his body is still being held by Israel after he was killed in the Al-Sab’aneh neighborhood in Qabatiya.

A 26-second security camera video shared on social media and geolocated by CNN to Al-Sab’aneh, shows what appears to be the moment Israeli troops shot Abu Mualla.

In the video, a person walks down an alley towards two helmeted soldiers crouched partially behind a corner. The person is just about to reach the corner when one soldier raises his rifle and fires at point blank range, causing the person to collapse backwards.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in its initial statement that its soldiers had been attacked by a “terrorist.” The video shows the 18 seconds before the shooting, in which time nothing appears to be thrown from the alley the Palestinian teenager comes from. His left hand, however, is obscured. It was not immediately clear who captured the footage, who initially released it, or what happened before the video begins.

On Saturday, the Israeli news site Ynet published what it says is a photo of Abu Mualla’s left hand clutching a chunk of concrete, taken after his death. CNN could not verify whether the photo is of the same person in the security footage.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said that Israeli troops blocked its emergency workers from reaching the scene of the shooting.

A set of videos geolocated by CNN show an a

US pursuing another tanker ship near Venezuela amid Trump blockade

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By Kevin Liptak, CNN

(CNN) — The US is pursuing a vessel in international waters near Venezuela on Sunday after attempting to intercept it, a US official said, as President Donald Trump’s administration tightens its crackdown on the country’s oil industry.

The tanker, called Bella 1, was sailing toward Venezuela to pick up oil. It is under US sanctions for links to Iranian oil. American officials view it as part of the shadow fleet that transports oil from sanctioned nations, and a warrant had been issued for its seizure.

When US Coast Guard personnel attempted to board the ship, however, the vessel kept sailing, the official said, leading to the pursuit.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing operation.

“The United States Coast Guard is in active pursuit of a sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela’s illegal sanctions evasion,” a second US official said. “It is flying a false flag and under a judicial seizure order.”

It was the second operation in the same number of days meant to interdict tankers tied to Venezuelan oil. On Saturday, the US Coast Guard intercepted the Centuries tanker in international waters off the coast of Venezuela.

A White House spokeswoman, Anna Kelly, said it was carrying sanctioned Venezuelan oil, though the ship itself did not appear on a list of sanctioned vessels.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose agency includes the Coast Guard, posted a seven-minute video to social media Saturday afternoon showing a helicopter hovering over the tanker. She wrote that the tanker was apprehended in “predawn action” by the Coast Guard with support from the Defense Department and that it was last docked in Venezuela.

“The United States will continue to pursue the illicit movement of sanctioned oil that is used to fund narco terrorism in the region,” she said.

The US seized a large oil tanker called the Skipper, which had been under sanctions for its ties to Iran, on December 10.

The interceptions mark an escalation in Washington’s efforts to squeeze Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, who Trump has accused of flooding the US with illicit drugs and migrants.

Last week, Trump ordered a “complete” blockade of sanctioned tankers going in and out of Venezuela as he looks to cut of Caracas’ main economic lifeline.

Venezuela sits on the world’s largest proven oil reserves, but its output is well below capacity due to international sanctions.

Trump has taken a major interest in the country’s oil, and accuses Venezuela of “stealing” American property in its state takeover of the industry in the 1970s.

Before then, American firms were active in oil drilling in Venezuela. Now, only one US f

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