Israeli troops killed a Lebanese municipal worker on Thursday during a raid on a border village in the south, state media reported.

Despite a November 2024 ceasefire with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, Israel maintains troops in five areas in southern Lebanon and has continued regular air strikes, which have recently intensified.

“In a grave and unprecedented attack, an Israeli enemy force penetrated the village of Blida at nearly 1:30 a.m. (1130 GMT), more than one kilometre (0.6 miles) from the border, supported by a number of vehicles,” Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported.

“The force stormed the Blida municipality building, where employee Ibrahim Salameh was sleeping, and enemy soldiers proceeded to kill him,” it added.

Village residents cited by the NNA said the raid lasted several hours, and that Israeli forces withdrew at dawn.

In the nearby border village of Adaisseh, the NNA reported that Israeli forces blew up a hall used for religious ceremonies at dawn.

In recent days, Israel has stepped up its strikes on Lebanon, often claiming to target Hezbollah positions.

On Tuesday, the spokesman for the UN rights commission, Jeremy Laurence, said Israeli forces had killed 111 civilians in Lebanon since the ceasefire took effect.

Hezbollah was badly weakened during more than a year of conflict with Israel, and the United States has intensified pressure on Lebanese authorities to disarm the Iran-backed group.

On Wednesday, during a meeting of ceasefire monitors in the Lebanese border city of Naqoura, US envoy Morgan Ortagus said Washington welcomed the “decision to bring all weapons under state control by the end of the year.”

“The Lebanese army must now fully implement its plan,” she added.

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A fire incident occurred at the Jabi Lake Mall, Abuja in the early hours of Thursday.

The cause of the fire, which started around 3am, could not be ascertained as of the time of filing this report.

Our correspondent gathered that only the Adidas Sports shop was affected.

It was further gathered that firefighters from the Federal Fire Service, the Berger Fire Department, and the FCT Fire Service, as well as police officers, were deployed to the scene.

A resident of Jabi, Saliu, who informed our correspondent of the incident, said the fire had been contained.

He said, “Around 3am., this morning, there was a fire incident at the Jabi Lake Mall in Abuja. No loss of life or injury was recorded. Only the Adidas Sports shop was affected by the fire.”

The FCT police spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, confirmed the incident to our correspondent.

Adeh said police officers were deployed to the location to secure the area and prevent looting.

“We received a distress call at about 3:40 a.m. We immediately deployed our men there to secure the place and prevent any breach of public order,” she said.

PUNCH Online earlier reported the fire incident that rocked the Old Karu market in the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja.

The fire, which destroyed goods worth millions of naira, was put to an end by officials of the Federal Capital Territory Fire Service, Federal Fire Service and Julius Berger Fire Service.

The Kano State Government has faulted a recent report by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism which listed Kano among the top three states violating press freedom in Nigeria, describing the claim as “misleading, unfounded, and malicious.”

The Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Ibrahim Waiya, disclosed this in a statement he signed and made available to The PUNCH on Thursday.

The report, titled “Shrinking Freedoms: 2024 Journalism and Civic Space Report,” was unveiled on Tuesday in Lagos by the WSCIJ, in partnership with the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development, with support from the Netherlands Embassy.

It identified Lagos, the Federal Capital Territory, and Kano as the top three states that recorded the highest number of violations against journalists and civic actors in 2024.

According to the report, Nigeria witnessed 103 cases of infractions against journalists and civil society actors last year, including arrests, intimidation, and assaults — many of which occurred during protests and political coverage.

The Executive Director of WSCIJ, Motunrayo Alaka, described the civic space as “fragile, repressive, and under sustained attack,” warning that “no democracy can thrive when voices of accountability are silenced.”

However, Waiya said the report did not reflect the realities of media practice in Kano, insisting that the state remains one of the most open and media-friendly in the country.

“The report can best be described as a mere figment of imagination by some armchair analysts masquerading under the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism,” the Commissioner said.

He noted that under Governor Abba Yusuf’s administration, Kano has maintained a strong record of promoting press freedom, responsible journalism, and civic engagement, pointing out that the governor has received several national and continental awards as Nigeria’s most media-friendly leader.

According to him, Yusuf’s recognitions include honours from Vanguard, Blueprint, Leadership, and New Telegraph newspapers, as well as African Leadership and African Heritage magazines.

The Nigeria Union of Journalists also honoured him during its 70th anniversary as the “Most Media-Friendly Governor in Nigeria.”

Waiya further said the government had demonstrated practical support for the media by hosting the NUJ National Executive Council meeting in Kano, establishing the Online Journalists’ Chapel, and sponsoring the registration and training of 52 state and local government information officers with the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations.

He added that the government is working to domesticate the Freedom of Information Act in Kano as part of efforts to enhance access to information, accountability, and transparency.

The commissioner also cited the recent Civil Society Conference hosted by the state government, as well as the governor’s tolerance during a “Bad Governance” protest — where he personally received and listened to demonstrators at the Government House — as proof of Kano’s respect for free expression and civic rights.

“It is, therefore, clear that Kano cannot, by any credible standard, be classified among states that violate press freedom. On the contrary, the state remains a model of open governance, transparency, and mutual respect between government and the media,” Waiya said.

He urged the WSCIJ and similar organisations to verify their claims before releasing reports that could misrepresent states “genuinely promoting and supporting press freedom.”

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