Nigeria, Solomon Islands, Gaza
Today's three stories you should know
Nigeria
An unspecified number of girls have been kidnapped from a school in Nigeria's northeastern state of Borno, residents told Reuters. Gunmen stormed the Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School at about 9 a.m., according to a local witness – a teacher said they arrived on motorcycles. No group has claimed responsibility but, though organized criminals frequently kidnap schoolchildren for ransom in the north of the country, suspicion is squarely focused on the Boko Haram armed group, partly due to Mussa’s proximity to the Sambisa Forest, which is a stronghold of the insurgents. In 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped more than 270 girls in Chibok in Borno, drawing huge global attention.
More from Reuters here.
Solomon Islands
A very interesting development in the Solomon Islands: the country’s parliament has voted in an opposition leader and longtime critic of China as prime minister, a week after former leader, pro-Beijing Jeremiah Manele, lost a no-confidence vote. Matthew Wale’s stance on China, which has softened considerably over the years, is key given the fierce competition between China and Australia for influence over the strategically important nation. Beijing and the Solomon Islands signed a security pact in 2022, alarming Australia and other Pacific neighbours, who fear China gaining a permanent base in the region.
More from BBC here.
Gaza
Palestinians, including those in Gaza, today marked the 78th anniversary of the Nakba, Arabic for “catastrophe,” during which 750,000 Palestinians were violently driven from their homes during the creation of the state of Israel. Middle East Eye today carried the moving story of 95-year-old Fatema Obaid, who survived the Nakba in 1948 and has now lost 70 of her family members during the last two and a half years of Israel’s war on the Palestinian enclave. In 2023, Obaid was ordered by Israeli forces to leave her home in Gaza City but refused. “There were days when we could not find even a sip of water,” she said. “We counted every sip we drank, could barely find food, and were forced to flee from one place to another each time. It destroyed my health, but I did not want to leave Gaza City. I did not want to be buried outside it at the end of my life. I did not want to relive a catastrophe we have endured for nearly eight decades.”
More from Middle East Eye here.