Headlines
At least 29 killed in Nepal plane crash
Twenty-nine people were confirmed to have died Sunday when a plane with 72 on board crashed in Nepal, the airline said.
One local official said that some survivors had been taken to hospital — but this was not confirmed by Yeti Airlines, which operated the flight, or by a second official.
“29 bodies have been recovered so far,” Yeti spokesman Sudarshan Bartaula told AFP.
He added that 15 foreigners including five Indians, four Russians and two Koreans, were on board.
The flight from Kathmandu crashed between Pokhara’s domestic and international airports on Sunday shortly before 11:00 am (0515 GMT).
Pokhara’s international airport, which opened on January 1 is meant to gradually replace the old one, established in 1958. The city in central Nepal is a gateway to religious pilgrims and international trekkers.
After the crash, rescue workers were hosing down parts of the wreckage of the ATR 72 twin-engine turboprop while smoke drifted out of a ravine as hundreds of people watched.
The area was strewn with what appeared to be parts of the aircraft, including seats.
Footage shared on social media, which appeared to be shot just after the crash, showed raging flames on the ground and black smoke billowing into the sky from debris strewn across the crash site.
AFP was unable to immediately verify the footage.
Another unverified clip shared online showed a plane flying at a low altitude over a residential area banking sharply to the left, followed by a loud explosion.
The disaster was the latest to blight the Himalayan nation’s poor aviation safety record.
– Poor record –
Nepal’s air industry has boomed in recent years, carrying goods and people between hard-to-reach areas as well as foreign trekkers and climbers.
But it has been plagued by poor safety due to insufficient training and maintenance.
The European Union has banned all Nepali carriers from its airspace over safety concerns.
The Himalayan country also has some of the world’s most remote and tricky runways, flanked by snow-capped peaks with approaches that pose a challenge even for accomplished pilots.
Aircraft operators have said Nepal lacks infrastructure for accurate weather forecasts, especially in remote areas with challenging mountainous terrain where deadly crashes have taken place in the past.
The weather can also change quickly in the mountains, creating treacherous flying conditions.
In May 2022, all 22 people on board a plane operated by Nepali carrier Tara Air — 16 Nepalis, four Indians and two Germans — died when it crashed.
Air traffic control lost contact with the twin-propeller Twin Otter shortly after it took off from Pokhara and headed for Jomsom, a popular trekking destination.
Its wreckage was found a day later, strewn across a mountainside at around 14,500 feet (4,400 metres) above sea level.
After that crash authorities tightened regulations, including that planes would only be cleared to fly only if there was favourable weather forecast throughout the route.
In March 2018, a US-Bangla Airlines plane crash-landed near Kathmandu’s notoriously difficult international airport, killing 51 people.
That accident was Nepal’s deadliest since 1992, when all 167 people aboard a Pakistan International Airlines plane died when it crashed on approach to Kathmandu.
Just two months earlier, a Thai Airways aircraft had crashed near the same airport, killing 113 people.
Twenty-nine people were confirmed to have died Sunday when a plane with 72 on board crashed in Nepal, the airline said.
One local official said that some survivors had been taken to hospital — but this was not confirmed by Yeti Airlines, which operated the flight, or by a second official.
“29 bodies have been recovered so far,” Yeti spokesman Sudarshan Bartaula told AFP.
He added that 15 foreigners including five Indians, four Russians and two Koreans, were on board.
The flight from Kathmandu crashed between Pokhara’s domestic and international airports on Sunday shortly before 11:00 am (0515 GMT).
Pokhara’s international airport, which opened on January 1 is meant to gradually replace the old one, established in 1958. The city in central Nepal is a gateway to religious pilgrims and international trekkers.
After the crash, rescue workers were hosing down parts of the wreckage of the ATR 72 twin-engine turboprop while smoke drifted out of a ravine as hundreds of people watched.
The area was strewn with what appeared to be parts of the aircraft, including seats.
Footage shared on social media, which appeared to be shot just after the crash, showed raging flames on the ground and black smoke billowing into the sky from debris strewn across the crash site.
AFP was unable to immediately verify the footage.
Another unverified clip shared online showed a plane flying at a low altitude over a residential area banking sharply to the left, followed by a loud explosion.
The disaster was the latest to blight the Himalayan nation’s poor aviation safety record.
– Poor record –
Nepal’s air industry has boomed in recent years, carrying goods and people between hard-to-reach areas as well as foreign trekkers and climbers.
But it has been plagued by poor safety due to insufficient training and maintenance.
The European Union has banned all Nepali carriers from its airspace over safety concerns.
The Himalayan country also has some of the world’s most remote and tricky runways, flanked by snow-capped peaks with approaches that pose a challenge even for accomplished pilots.
Aircraft operators have said Nepal lacks infrastructure for accurate weather forecasts, especially in remote areas with challenging mountainous terrain where deadly crashes have taken place in the past.
The weather can also change quickly in the mountains, creating treacherous flying conditions.
In May 2022, all 22 people on board a plane operated by Nepali carrier Tara Air — 16 Nepalis, four Indians and two Germans — died when it crashed.
Air traffic control lost contact with the twin-propeller Twin Otter shortly after it took off from Pokhara and headed for Jomsom, a popular trekking destination.
Its wreckage was found a day later, strewn across a mountainside at around 14,500 feet (4,400 metres) above sea level.
After that crash authorities tightened regulations, including that planes would only be cleared to fly only if there was favourable weather forecast throughout the route.
In March 2018, a US-Bangla Airlines plane crash-landed near Kathmandu’s notoriously difficult international airport, killing 51 people.
That accident was Nepal’s deadliest since 1992, when all 167 people aboard a Pakistan International Airlines plane died when it crashed on approach to Kathmandu.
Just two months earlier, a Thai Airways aircraft had crashed near the same airport, killing 113 people.
In a bid to promote food security and sustainable agricultural practices, the NNPC Foundation has successfully trained more than 3,000 farmers in the South-West geopolitical zone on climate-smart and modern farming techniques.
The training, which concluded on Friday in Ikorodu, Lagos, marked the end of the Southwest phase of the foundation’s pilot programme aimed at empowering local farmers and boosting agro-productivity.
Speaking at the closing ceremony, Managing Director of the NNPC Foundation, Mrs. Emmanuella Arukwe, described the initiative as a milestone in the lives of thousands of farmers.
“Today marks the formal conclusion of the first phase of a national journey that speaks to resilience, food security, and economic empowerment,” Arukwe said.
“What began as a bold decision to support small holder farmers has translated into tangible action across three geopolitical zones (South-East, South-South, and South-West) in Southern Nigeria.”
She disclosed that a total of 3,860 vulnerable farmers across 10 locations in the three regions were trained in sustainable farming practices that improve productivity and market access.
“This achievement is not just a number, but a milestone in the lives of real people and real communities. We were able to strengthen farmers’ capacity to adapt to climate change,” she added.
“Through the training, we were able to improve access to markets, promote inclusive agriculture and especially gender representation. We also trained them on enhancing food production through sustainable techniques.”
Arukwe noted that the programme would now move to the North-West, North-Central, and North-East zones as part of its next phase, saying the foundation is committed to supporting livelihoods nationwide.
“This is only Phase One. We will now turn our focus to the North-West, North-Central, and North-East zones. What we have achieved in the South will inform and strengthen our next steps,” she said.
“The NNPC Foundation will continue this mission, to support livelihoods, build resilience, and empower the hands that feed our families and beyond.
We have decided that most times you get a lot of requests from people asking us to give them palliatives and all kinds of things to help them.
But we think it is much better to teach people to fish than just give them fish so they can continue,” Arukwe explained.
Chairman of Ikorodu Local Government, Mr. Wasiu Adesina, while commending the initiative, urged the beneficiaries to apply the knowledge gained to boost productivity and profitability.
“As we all know, agriculture is the bedrock of any nation. Without agriculture, there will not be a nation, because there will be no food to eat,” Adesina stated.
“It is the farmers that produce our food, and it is important that we train our farmers with new techniques in agriculture, and that is exactly what the NNPC Foundation is doing.
“To the farmers, you have to take advantage of this training and face the farming squarely. In some great countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, farmers are the most richest people in those countries.
“This is because they make a lot of money from farming. We need to inculcate that habit in Nigeria and develop ideas in farming. Even after my tenure, I am going back to farming, so, maybe I will ask the NNPC Foundation to train me so that I also join you to be a farmer.”
He appealed to the foundation to provide further empowerment for the trained farmers to help them kickstart their agricultural ventures.
“If the farmers have land for farming, I believe the foundation will provide financial aid to keep their farms running,” Adesina added.
Also speaking at the event, the Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, Ms. Abisola Olusanya, represented by the Director of Fisheries, Mrs. Osunkoya Daisi, lauded the Foundation’s efforts in bolstering the state’s food security.
“On behalf of the Lagos State Government, we would like to express our sincere appreciation to NNPC Foundation for training our farmers and for training all the farmers all over the country,” she said.
“Definitely, the training will help improve food production. We can see the impact of climate change effects in agriculture. I am sure farmers have been equipped with climate-smart agriculture techniques to improve production.”
The NNPC Foundation Ltd/Gte is the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited. It was incorporated in February 2023 to manage the company’s CSR initiatives and enhance Nigeria’s socio-economic development.
The National Universities Commission, (NUC), has given full accreditation to the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), for her Law programme.
According to the Public Relations Officer of ESUT, Mr Ikechukwu Ani, this is contained in a letter addressed to the institution’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Aloysius Okolie, on Wednesday in Enugu by the NUC.
Ani said that in the letter, the Executive Secretary of NUC, Prof. Abdullahi Ribadu said the report was contained in the result of the October/November 2024 accreditation of academic programmes in Nigerian universities.
Ani disclosed that other programmes in the institution accredited by the NUC include Master of Science in Business Management; Education Computer Science; Education Physics and Agricultural Engineering.
Other accredited programmes he said were Quantity Surveying; Urban and Regional Planning; and Applied Microbiology.
He said that the letter quoted Section 10 (1) of the Education National Minimum Standard and Establishment of Institutions, Act CAP E3, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 as empowering the NUC to lay down minimum academic standards for all academic programmes taught in Nigerian universities.
He said the session also empowers the NUC to accredit such programmes.
An Ikeja Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, on Wednesday, remanded two persons, Olaitan Fasasi and Kehinde Tobiloba in a correctional facility over alleged attempted murder.
Fasasi, 40, and Tobiloba, 26, whose addresses were not provided, are being charged with conspiracy, attempted murder and membership of a secret society.
The Magistrate, Mr L.A Owolabi, did not take the plea of the defendants for want of jurisdiction.
Owolabi directed the police to forward the case file to the Director of Public Prosecution for legal advice.
He thereafter adjourned the case until May 31 for mention.
The Prosecutor, Josephine Ikhayere, told the court that the defendants committed the offences at about 5.02p.m on Feb. 15, at Mushin, Lagos.
She said that Fasasi, Tobiloba and others now at large, attempted to commit murder by shooting at a resident, Alfred Ademola.
“They armed themselves with a locally made gun. They belong to Eiye Confraternity, a group proscribed by law,”, she said.
Ikhayere said that the offences contravened Sections 230(1) and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2012.
He said that the actions of the defendants also contravened Section 2(3)(a)(b)(c)(d) of the unlawful societies and Cultism Law of Lagos State Law.
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