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Pakistan begins new nationwide polio vaccination campaign after surge in new cases

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Pakistan Polio © Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Pakistan began a nationwide vaccination campaign Monday to protect 45 million children from polio after a surge in new cases that has hampered years of efforts to stop the disease in one of the two countries where it has never been eradicated.

Pakistan regularly launches such campaigns, but violence targeting the health workers and police assigned to escort them is common. Militants falsely claim the vaccination campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilise children.

The campaign is the third this year and will continue until Sunday “in response to the alarming increase in polio cases”, said Ayesha Raza Farooq, the prime minister’s adviser for the polio eradication program. “We are re-energised in our efforts to combat polio,” she said in a statement.

During the door-to-door campaign, children younger than five will be vaccinated and given drops of vitamin A supplements to enhance their immunity.

Prime minister Shehbaz Sharif recently met with front-line health workers, urging them to ensure no child was left unvaccinated by going door-to-door.

Anwarul Haq, who is the coordinator of the National Emergency Operations Centre for PolioEradication, also urged parents to fully cooperate with polio workers. “Polio has no cure, but it can be prevented with this readily available vaccine,” he said.

Pakistan has recorded 41 cases across 71 districts so far this year, Ms Farooq said. Most were reported from southwestern Balochistan and southern Sindh province, following by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and eastern Punjab province.

The surge in cases in new locations is worrying authorities since previous cases were from the unsettled northwest, bordering Afghanistan, where the Taliban government in September suddenly stopped a door-to-door vaccination campaign.

Authorities in Pakistan say the Afghan Taliban’srecent decision to stop the door-to-door anti-polio campaign will have repercussions beyond the Afghan border, as people from both sides frequently travel to each other’s country. The World Health Organization has confirmed 18 polio cases in Afghanistan this year.

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where the spread of polio has never been stopped. It is one of the world’s most infectious diseases, so it continues to spread anywhere people are not fully vaccinated. In severe cases, polio can cause permanent paralysis and death.

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Gunmen k!ll President General of Ogidi community and one other in Anambra.

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Unidentified gunmen, suspected to be cultists, have k!lled a community leader and one other person in Anambra State.

The President-General of Ogidi community in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State, Ikwuka Okoye, popularly known as Anumili (pictured above), was k!lled on Friday, Feb. 6.

The attack was alleged to have been carried out by members of a rival cult group in revenge for the de@th of their leader, who was arrested and k!lled by local security operatives.

During the attack, which took place at the School Field, Ogidi, another man whose identity has yet to be ascertained was also gunned down.

The spokesman for the Anambra State Police Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the incident in a press statement on Saturday.

Ikenga said the incident is allegedly linked to the recent capture and k!lling of a known notorious cultist within the community.

He said, “The Anambra State Police Command regrets the murd£r of the President-General of the Ogidi community and one other person. The incident, which occurred on the evening of February 6, 2026, at the School Field, Ogidi, is allegedly linked to the recent capture and k!lling of a known notorious cultist within the community.

“Following the report, police operatives swiftly took over the scene of the incident and commenced investigations. The command is currently working with eyewitness accounts and other available intelligence to identify and arrest the perpetrators.

“The Anambra State Police Command assures members of the public that all efforts are being intensified to bring those responsible to justice.

“Residents are urged to remain calm and cooperate with the police as investigations continue.

“Further developments will be communicated in due course.”

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Police bust syndicate behind nude photo blackmail in Lagos

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Men of the Police Special Fraud Unit (PSFU), Lagos, have apprehended three suspects who allegedly run a cyber blackmail and extortion scheme in the state.

According to the spokesperson of the unit, DSP Ovie Ewhubare, the suspects get a hold of their victims explicit photos and then threaten to release them if a ransom is not paid.

He said that the suspects, two males and a female, were apprehended after a petition was filed by a complainant who reported being repeatedly threatened by unknown individuals demanding money.

“The complainant received several phone calls in which the callers threatened to release her nude photographs to the public if she failed to pay them. Acting out of fear and emotional distress, she transferred money to the suspects.

The situation escalated when the suspects demanded an additional N10 million, prompting her to formally petition the police,” he said

The police imagemaker state dthat upon receipt of the complaint, the Commissioner of Police, PSFU, Mr Kayode Ojapinwa, ordered the immediate deployment of operatives to investigate the matter.

“The investigation led to the arrest of the three suspects. Investigations revealed that one of the suspects gained unlawful access to the complainant’s mobile device and fraudulently transferred her nude photographs to his own device. Further findings indicated that he conspired with the other suspects and other accomplices currently at large to demand and receive money from the complainant in several tranches,” he said

According to him, the suspects are currently in police custody and are expected to be arraigned before a court of competent jurisdiction.

The image maker said that investigations were ongoing to apprehend other fleeing members of the syndicate and to recover all proceeds of the alleged crime.

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Catholic Priest Collapses And D!es In Front Of Congregation While Walking To Tabernacle To Return Holy Communion

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A Catholic priest has tragically passed away after suddenly collapsing in front of the congregation during Sunday mass.

The tragic incident took place last Sunday, February 1 in Wiesmath in the district of Wiener Neustadt, Austria.

Shortly after administering Holy Communion, 59-year-old priest Raimund Beisteiner was about to return the host to the tabernacle when he “suddenly” collapsed, according to a statement from the Archdiocese of Vienna.

“Despite immediate professional assistance, he di£d in the church,” the statement said.

The mayor of Wiesmath, Erich Rasner, had also attended the Mass with many other believers and witnessed the dramatic scenes.

The shock in Wiesmath at the loss of the popular priest is great. Beisteiner had shaped the spiritual life of the parish for almost two decades and was highly regarded far beyond the community.

Rasner praised him as an “extremely conscientious, sensitive priest” and also emphasized the personal loss of a friendship that had grown over many years.

A prayer service was organized at short notice for the late priest. It was attended by numerous priests from the deanery as well as Archbishop Josef Grünwidl.

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