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Italian journalist Cecilia Sala freed from Iran with Elon Musk’s help, reports claim

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Cecilia Sala, an Italian journalist who was detained on Dec. 19 as she was reporting in Iran walks on the tarmac as she landed at Rome' Ciampino airport after being released, © Filippo Attili/AP

Tesla and X owner Elon Musk played a key role in securing the release of Cecilia Sala, the Italian journalist who was arrested in Iran last month, according to reports.

Musk used a personal connection to Iran’s ambassador to the UN to facilitate the release of Sala, 29, who was arrested last month while reporting in Tehran and held in solitary confinement in Evin prison, the New York Times (NYT) reported on Thursday.

Just four days after Sala’s release, Italy released an Iranian citizen who had been detained in Milan last month on a US extradition request. Mohammad Abedini, a businessman and engineer, is wanted by the US over accusations of having procured drone technology for Iran for an attack in Jordan that killed three Americans a year ago.

The fact that Abedini’s release followed Sala’s freedom so swiftly led many observers to believe that a prisoner exchange was carried out between the two countries.

A member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and the two Iranian officials told the NYT that Sala had been arrested in a calculated move to pressure Italy for Abedini’s release.

Musk helped secure Sala’s release by contacting Amir Saeid Iravani — Iran’s ambassador to the UN — with whom he had held a secret meeting in November, two Iranian officials told the NYT on condition of anonymity.

The two Iranian officials told the NYT that when Musk spoke with the ambassador, he requested that Iran release Sala and reassured him that the US would not pressure Italy to extradite Abedini, the Iranian engineer.

The tech mogul reportedly decided to intervene after receiving a message at the end of December from Sala’s boyfriend, Daniele Raineri, through an intermediary.

Raineri told the NYT he had thought of Musk because he had read that the billionaire had a channel of communication with Iranian diplomats, and because he works closely with US President-elect Donald Trump.

Musk helped to set up a meeting between Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence on 4 January. Four days later, Sala was freed.

Meloni said last week that the journalist’s release was the result of a “complex work of diplomatic triangulation with Iran, and obviously also with the United States of America”. She told a news conference she did not know what role Musk had played in the release.

Biden administration officials said they had not been involved in the negotiations, and disapproved of the agreement.

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Chaos As Military Officers Exchange Blows During Tinubu’s Visit To Bayelsa (Videos)

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Personnel of the Nigerian military were seen engaging in a fight during the visit of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to Bayelsa on Friday.

In a video spotted on social media, the driver of a Hilux vehicle marked “Naval Police” was seen stepping down from his vehicle and exchanging words with another driver.

After returning to his vehicle, another driver with a rifle approached him and threw a punch at the Naval Police driver, triggering a brawl.

The incident quickly escalated into a free-for-all, with personnel attached to both vehicles exchanging blows, while stunned civilians watched in disbelief.

The cause of the altercation could not be immediately ascertained as of press time.

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HRH Ekwueme of Ochia Kingdom Iynched & kiIIed in Imo.

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Gunmen on Friday night killed the traditional ruler of Ochia, Barr Paulinus Ekwueme, alongside security operatives in the Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State. The attackers ambushed the monarch at the boundary of Assa and Ochia communities after he returned from a trip abroad earlier in the week.

Some security operatives in his convoy were also shot dead. Eyewitness said the monarch and the security operatives were set ablaze after the killing, adding that the Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area had been thrown into mourning.

Hrm lives in America, but some in his town accuse him of acquiring lots of wealth coming from the oil in their land and yet they have no nepa (light) and other amenities, and that this angered the youths of his community to take this step. One said Ms Duruaku wrote, “he ate the youth empowerment meant given to him by shell oil company and ran abroad for years”


#Ekwutosblog

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Abuja hotel collapse: Wike orders arrest of owner, to convert land to public use

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The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has ordered the immediate arrest of the owner of a multi-story hotel that collapsed in Jikwoyi, Abuja last Friday, April 4 and announced that the land would be seized for public use.

LIB had reported that the building crumbled while workers were on site, triggering an emergency response from relevant authorities.

Visiting the site today April 7, Wike said the building was constructed without approval from the FCT Department of Development Control and that all the stop-work notices sent to the builders were ignored by the developer.

Wike confirmed that while there were no fatalities, several people sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. He warned that the outcome could have been far worse.

Announcing the government’s plans for the land, Wike said the FCT Administration will take over the land for public use, noting that those responsible for the illegal construction will face prosecution in accordance with the law.

He added that the local community would be consulted to determine a suitable public-purpose project for the reclaimed site.

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