kill

Nigerian lawmaker reports ‘at least 50 people dead’ after attack as list of missing is still being compiled.

Gunmen killed at least 50 people and abducted women and children in an overnight assault on a village in northwestern Nigeria’s Zamfara State, authorities and residents said.

The attack started late on Thursday night and continued into Friday morning in Tungan Dutse village in the Bukkuyum area of Zamfara when armed men arrived on motorcycles and began setting fire to buildings and abducting residents.

“They have been moving from one village to another … leaving at least 50 people dead,” said Hamisu A Faru, a lawmaker representing Bukkuyum South.

Faru, speaking to the Reuters news agency by phone on Friday, said the number of people abducted remained unclear as local officials were still compiling lists of the missing.

Residents say warning signs were visible before the attack.

Abdullahi Sani, 41, said villagers alerted security forces after spotting more than 150 motorcycles carrying armed men a day earlier, but no action was taken.

“No one slept yesterday; we are all in pain,” Sani said, adding that three members of his family were killed in the attack.

Areas of Nigeria’s north and west continue to grapple with overlapping security threats, including armed criminal gangs and rebel fighters.

Just last week, at least 46 people were killed in raids in the Borgu area of northwest Niger State. The deadliest assault occurred in the village of Konkoso, where at least 38 residents were shot or had their throats cut, according to reports.

The crisis has drawn increased international involvement.

Nigeria recently expanded security cooperation with the United States after President Donald Trump accused the country of failing to halt the killing of Christians and threatened military intervention.

On December 25, the US launched air strikes on the northern state of Sokoto, conducted in coordination with Nigerian authorities.

Earlier this week, Nigeria’s military confirmed the arrival of 100 US soldiers tasked with training local forces.

Samaila Uba, spokesperson for Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters, said the US troops would offer “technical support” and “intelligence sharing” to help combat “terrorist organisations”, along with “associated equipment”.

He stressed the US personnel would not engage directly in combat and would share technical expertise under Nigerian command.

Reporting from Sacramento — For all of the unprecedented elements of President Trump’s federal budget plans, there’s an item buried in the list of detailed spending cuts that has a familiar, contentious political legacy in California.

Trump has proposed canceling federal government subsidies to states that house prisoners and inmates who are in the U.S. illegally. He’s not the first president to try it, and undoubtedly will get an earful from states like California.

For sheer bravado, the award for defending that subsidy probably goes to former Gov. Pete Wilson. In a letter sent to federal officials in 1995, two days after Christmas, Wilson threatened to drop off one of the state’s undocumented prisoners — in shackles, no less — on the doorstep of a federal jail. (He never actually did it.)

“The intent of federal law is unequivocal,” Wilson wrote about the subsidy program. “The federal government must either reimburse the state at a fair rate for the incarceration of any undocumented inmate which it identifies or… take the burden of incarceration off the state’s hands.”

Wilson had won a second term the year before, with a blistering campaign attacking illegal immigration. His time in office was also marked by persistent state budget problems, and the money mattered. The state never got as much as it wanted, though, and years of squabbles followed over the fate of the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, established as part of the sweeping immigration reforms of 1986.

Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger did his fair share of complaining about skimpy SCAAP funding. In 2005, he and a bipartisan group of western U.S. governors demanded a boost in the program to a total of $850 million. That didn’t happen.

The past two presidents, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, offered their own proposals to cancel the program. Trump’s budget scores the possible savings at $210 million. His budget blueprint lampoons SCAAP as “poorly targeted,” and describes it as a program “in which two-thirds of the funding primarily reimburses four states” for housing felons who lack legal immigration status.

Want to take a guess which state gets the most? OK, that’s an easy one.

California’s state government received $44.1 million in the 2015 federal budget year, according to Justice Department data. Add to that another $12.8 million that was paid directly to California counties, with the largest local subsidy being the $3 million paid to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

More than one-third of the entire program went to California. No other state’s share was even close. A win on this issue for the president would be particularly bitter for the state, where political animosity toward Trump is widespread.

Political Road Map: There’s a $368 billion reason that California depends on Washington »

In Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget unveiled last month, he assumed $50.6 million in federal help for prison costs related to felons in the U.S. illegally. A budget spokesman for Brown said the governor will ask for help from the state’s congressional delegation in saving the program. Still, it’s safe to say the estimate is now in doubt.

Roll back the clock, though, and take a look at how this political debate has changed. Wilson’s legacy on illegal immigration cast a long shadow as candidate Trump promised to go after “bad hombres” who are illegally in the country. The president’s official plan, by most estimates, would go even further.

When President Obama tried to nix the subsidy, conservatives warned it would endanger public safety. So far, few are making the same case now that it’s coming from Trump — a curious development, given California’s most famous illegal immigration critic once insisted the program was essential.

john.myers@latimes.com

Follow @johnmyers on Twitter, sign up for our daily Essential Politics newsletter and listen to the weekly California Politics Podcast

ALSO:

Los Angeles County sheriff opposes legislation to create a ‘sanctuary state’ in California

Gov. Jerry Brown projects a $1.6 billion deficit by the summer of 2018

Updates on California politics and state government

Medical sources say Israeli forces killed five Palestinians in southern Khan Younis and four in northern al-Faluja.

Israeli forces have killed at least nine Palestinians in new attacks across Gaza, in yet another violation of the United States-brokered “ceasefire” in October, according to medical sources.

The attacks on Sunday came as the Israeli military launched several attacks on southern Lebanon, targeting what it called warehouses used by the Hezbollah armed group.

In Gaza, a source at the Nasser Hospital told Al Jazeera Israeli forces killed at least five Palestinians in the southern city of Khan Younis.

The attack took place beyond the so-called “yellow line”, where Israeli troops are stationed in Gaza, the source added.

The other four Palestinians were killed when Israeli forces attacked a tent for displaced people in the al-Faluja area of northern Gaza, a source at al-Shifa Hospital said.

There was no immediate comment from Israel.

The Israeli military, however, said in a statement early on Sunday that it struck a building in an unspecified part of northern Gaza shortly after several armed fighters entered the structure.

At least two of the fighters were killed, it said.

The Israeli military also said it killed another person in Gaza on Sunday who allegedly crossed the yellow line and posed “an immediate threat” to its forces there.

It did not provide evidence for its claims.

In Lebanon, the Israeli military said it struck warehouses used by Hezbollah for storing weapons and launchers in the southern parts of the country.

The Israeli military and Hezbollah, which began attacks on northern Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza in 2023, agreed to a ceasefire in November 2024.

There was no immediate comment from Lebanon on Sunday’s attacks.

According to authorities in Gaza and Lebanon, the Israeli military continues to launch near-daily attacks despite agreeing to halt the fighting.

In Gaza, Israel has violated the US-brokered “ceasefire” more than 1,500 times since it came into effect on October 10. At least 591 people have been killed and 1,590 wounded since then.

In addition to the near-daily killing of Palestinians, Israel also severely restricts quantities of food, medicine, medical supplies, shelter materials and prefabricated houses from entering Gaza, where some 2 million Palestinians – including 1.5 million displaced – live in catastrophic conditions.

Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza on October 8, 2023, with support from the US, killing 72,032 people, wounding some 171,661, and destroying 90 percent of the territory’s infrastructure.

The United Nations estimates it could cost more than $70bn to rebuild Gaza.

In Lebanon, the Israeli military launched more than 10,000 air and ground attacks in the year since it agreed to halt hostilities, according to the UN.

The organisation’s rights office said in November last year that it verified at least 108 civilian casualties from Israeli attacks since the ceasefire, including at least 21 women and 16 children.

At least 11 Lebanese civilians were also abducted by Israeli forces during that time period, the office said.

Witnesses say the motorcycle riding gunmen attacked three communities in northern Nigeria, killing and abducting dozens.

Gunmen on motorcycles have rampaged through three villages in northern Nigeria, killing at least 32 people and abducting several more, according to witnesses and local police.

The raids on Saturday in the Borgu area of Niger State came amid a complex security crisis in northern Nigeria, featuring armed groups affiliated with ISIL (ISIS) as well as gangs that abduct people for ransom money.

Wasiu Abiodun, ‌the Niger State police spokesperson, confirmed the attack in one of the villages.

“Suspected bandits invaded Tunga-Makeri village,” he said. “Six persons lost their lives, some houses were also set ablaze, and a yet-to-be ascertained number of persons were abducted.”

He added that the assailants had moved on to Konkoso village, while details of other attacks remained unclear.

Jeremiah Timothy, a resident of Konkoso, told the Reuters news agency that the attack on ⁠his village began in the early hours with sporadic gunfire.

“At least 26 people were killed so far in the village after they set the police station ablaze,” said Timothy, adding that the ⁠attackers entered Konkoso around 6am (05:00 GMT), shooting indiscriminately.

He said residents heard military jets flying overhead.

Abdullahi Adamu, another resident of Konkoso, said 26 people were killed. “They were operating freely without the presence of any security,” he told The Associated Press news agency.

The AFP news agency, citing an unnamed humanitarian source, put the death toll in Konkoso at 38. The source said the victims were shot dead or had their throats slit.

Most of the homes in the village were burned down, and apart from those already counted as dead, “other bodies are being recovered”, the source told AFP.

The agency cited a Konkoso resident as saying that the gunmen had killed his nephew and abducted four women.

“After Konkoso, they went to Pissa, where they set a police station on fire and killed one person.”

“At the moment, many people are missing,” he said.

The AP also reported an attack in Pissa, without providing details.

The attacks in Niger State followed a deadly attack by armed fighters earlier this month in neighbouring Kwara and Katsina states that killed nearly 200 people.

The border between Niger and Kwara states is home to the Kainji Forest, a known haven for bandits and fighters, including from the armed group Boko Haram. Last October, the al-Qaeda affiliated Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) also claimed responsibility for its first attack on Nigerian soil, near Woro, in Kwara State.

Religious and community leaders from the Borgu area in Niger State last week called on President Bola Tinubu to establish a military base in the area to put an end to the recurring attacks, Nigerian media reported.

Nigeria is also under pressure to restore security since United States President Donald Trump accused ‌it last year of failing to protect Christians.

Authorities, however, denied that there is systematic persecution of Christians, while independent experts say Nigeria’s security crises kill both Christians and Muslims, often without distinction.

Nigeria’s government, meanwhile, has stepped up cooperation with Washington to improve security, and in December, the US military carried out air strikes in Sokoto State, targeting what Washington said were armed fighters.

AFTER five long years, the dark truth behind Jesy Nelson’s feud with Little Mix has been laid bare for the first time – as the singer reveals she made a secret suicide attempt days before quitting the group.

Jesy — whose abrupt exit from the girl band has been shrouded in mystery until now — claimed her cry for help in the lead-up to her overdose was ignored by bandmates Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Perrie Edwards and Jade Thirlwall.

Thankfully, she was saved by her quick-thinking mum Jan, who raised the alarm after Jesy fell unconscious while on the phone to her.

Speaking about her daughter’s near-death experience for the first time,

Jan said: “For a few days before, she had just been really down and not talking much. She wanted to be on her own quite a lot.

“I got a gut feeling that something wasn’t right. I kept ringing and ­ringing, but there was no answer.

PROUD MUM

Jesy Nelson shares unseen snap of baby twins holding hands after SMA diagnosis

SUPER CUTE

Jesy Nelson reveals unseen pics of twin babies after SMA diagnosis

“She eventually answered the phone and the way she talking was really slurry.

“I heard the phone drop and didn’t hear anything else — I knew she’d done something.”

It was the second time Jesy had tried to take her own life following an overdose in 2013, which she ­previously opened up about in her NTA-winning BBC documentary Jesy Nelson: Odd One Out.

She later said that online abuse over her appearance left her unable to “tolerate the pain any more”.

‘You’ve got to stop’

Her boyfriend at the time, Diversity dancer Jordan Banjo, called an ambulance and she was taken to ­hospital, but one week later was told to “pull it together” to film a video for Little Mix’s single Salute.

Jesy, 34, admits: “It all just got too much for me. My manager was like, ‘Come on Jesy, you need to pull ­yourself together.’

“So it just got swept under the rug and everything went back to normal.”

Reflecting on her second attempt seven years later — just days before she quit Little Mix — Jesy said: “I was so sad. I was so down.”

The star was rushed to hospital by ambulance and missed the final of Little Mix’s BBC talent show The Search, with host Chris Ramsey ­telling fans she had fallen ill.

The singer recalled: “I knew after coming out of hospital that I ­mentally couldn’t do it [be in the band] any more.”

Jesy had sunk into a deep depression after returning to work following the 2020 pandemic.

Recalling the painful breakdown of Little Mix’s friendship days before her overdose, Jesy said: “I sat ­everyone down to explain how I was feeling and I remember one of the responses being, ‘Are you done now? Is that it?’

“She [one of the girls] was like, ‘Can I go now?’”

Fighting back tears, Jesy added: “That made me feel really alone. I felt like there was no point. That no one cared.”

Hidden turmoil within the group led to Jesy trying to take her own life, with her mum Jan insisting: “I can see why they [the other Little Mix members] did get angry at times.

“It’s hard to work with someone who is always down when you are always happy.

“But I personally believe that at Jesy’s lowest of low times, the girls were not really there for her and I think that’s why she’s so sad now.”

In her new Prime Video docuseries Jesy Nelson: Life After Little Mix, Jesy also makes the bombshell claim that another bandmate tried to quit a year before her shock exit.

Unbeknown to fans, the girls had agreed their next tour would be their last, but a two-year delay pushed their “sisterhood” to the brink.

After Jesy’s second suicide attempt, her mum said: “I kept cuddling her and said, ‘Right, that’s it now. No more.

I didn’t get my opportunity to explain why I couldn’t do this any more. I feel mad that that was taken away from me

Jesy Nelson

“You’ve got to stop doing what makes you unhappy’.”

While in hospital recovering, Jesy made the difficult decision to quit.

But after seeking legal advice, she felt betrayed when her lawyer ­delivered the news to the rest of ­Little Mix without her consent.

Jesy said: “I think they felt really hurt about that and it should never have played out like that.

“I didn’t get my opportunity to explain why I couldn’t do this any more. I feel mad that that was taken away from me.”

When Jesy later attempted to meet up with the girls, she claims her manager said that Leigh-Anne, Perrie and Jade “would only feel comfortable if there was a therapist present”.

Jesy tearfully said of Little Mix: “I didn’t feel like they were my sisters [any more]. I’d just come out of the hospital. This is the time I need you the most.”

Despite what she’d been through with her mental health battle, Jesy never saw the girls again.

Leigh-Anne went on to say the girls were left so “traumatised” by their bandmate’s exit they needed counselling.

Jesy explained: “Eventually there was a phone call.

“It was really awkward and so weird. It was like talking to strangers.

“It was the most uncomfortable phone call of my life. No one knew what to say.

“And that’s the last time I ever spoke to them as a group. It’s been five years now and every time I think about it, I think, was it them or was it the management? I’ll never know.”

‘Me and Jade cried’

Speaking for the first time about the end of Little Mix being planned a year before her exit when one of the other girls announced they wanted to walk away, Jesy said: “I thought everyone was in a really good place, but I was wrong.

“We got called in for a meeting and I just had this gut feeling that it wasn’t going to be good.

“One of the girls had decided they didn’t want to be in the band any more. I remember feeling my whole world had fallen apart.

“It was a really sad day — me and Jade really cried. I was devastated.”

When pushed to reveal the name of singer who wanted to quit at the beginning of 2020, Jesy added: “I don’t think that’s for me to say because they still haven’t said.

“It’s been really hard to not speak out about this.

“I thought we’d be together ­forever. It was never my decision to leave first.”

When Covid hit, the band’s end date was pushed back by two years.

“That’s when everything got messy,” Jesy said.

“I knew the band was coming to an end because one of the girls had made the decision to leave and I felt like I was being fake.

“I got this very quick realisation that I wasn’t happy.”

Jesy felt “swarmed with insecurities” after returning to the limelight following lockdown.

She began to feel fearful of performing — with panic attacks leading her to pull out of live performances including a BBC Radio One Live Lounge and as a judge on The Search.

Her vocals are also missing from tracks on Little Mix’s final album.

Jesy continued: “I had mentally checked out. It was like my body was telling me, ‘Stop now’.

“That was the moment I thought, I can’t do this any more.

“I just remember thinking, I ­cannot last another two years.

“I felt like it [the relationship with the girls] had shifted.

“There would be days I would cry and be a miserable bitch.

“All those little things build up and build up and they do get to a boiling point.”

Explaining why she is speaking out now, Jesy insists she wants to draw a line under the speculation.

She said: “I really f*ing hate that there were nine and a bit really beautiful years that I had with the girls and I really didn’t want for us to be known for that one sh***y part.

‘Sad and hurt’

“It overrode every amazing thing that we ever did and what we stood for.

“We were genuinely like sisters and I think that is what’s so sad about this whole thing.

“As the years have gone on I see both sides. I see why they would be sad and hurt.”

Little Mix became the first group to win X Factor in 2011 before making UK singles chart history with five No1s and selling more than 75million records worldwide.

Jesy walked out of the girl band in November 2020 and two years later released her debut single Boyz with rapper Nicki Minaj.

On the track Mine, she paired up with Zion Foster — who later became the father of her two children before they split in January.

Little Mix went on an extended hiatus in 2022 to pursue solo careers and start families.

Despite never reconnecting in person again, in May last year Jesy’s former bandmates got back in touch after she became pregnant with identical twins.

Nine-month-old girls Ocean and Story have since been diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 1 — the most severe form of a rare disease affecting muscle strength and movement.

Jesy recently told The Sun there was hope of reconciliation between her and the girls after the five- year feud was “healed” by her children arriving.

In the docuseries, Jesy said: “They reached out to me when I was pregnant.

“It was lovely because I never thought that would happen. It made me really emotional.

“We’re grown women. We’ve got kids. I just think there are so many more important things in life.

“It’s just one of those things that needs to be put to bed now.”

• Jesy Nelson: Life After Little Mix is available on Prime Video from today.

Feb. 11 (UPI) — Local officials said a Russian drone strike on Ukraine‘s northeastern Kharkiv region killed three toddlers and their father, and injured their pregnant mother Wednesday.

The family was spending its first night in their new home in Bohodukhiv when it was struck during a drone and missile attack, regional leader Oleh Synegubov announced, the BBC reported.

The attack killed 2-year-old twins Ivan and Vladislav, their 1-year-old sister, Myroslava, and their father, Gryhoriy, 34.

The family’s 35-year-old injured mother, Olha, was 35 weeks pregnant and sustained burns and head injuries as the home was completely destroyed, local officials said.

Bohodukhiv Mayor Volodymyr Belyi called the aerial attack a “crime that is beyond human comprehension,” as reported by CNN.

“We lost the most precious thing we had — our future,” Belyi added.

The family recently evacuated the town of Zolochiv, which is located near the Russian border, due to ongoing shelling and sought refuge in Bohodukhiv, which is located 38 miles west of Kharkiv.

The attack shows that Russia has no intention of ending the war that it started by invading Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

“Each Russian strike undermines confidence in everything that is being done diplomatically to end this war,” Zelensky said in a statement.

He said Russia deployed 129 attack drones during the overnight hours that struck Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava and Zaporizhzhia.

The aerial attacks carried into the daytime hours on Wednesday and included a strike on a medical vehicle that was carrying five healthcare professionals and civilians. One woman died in that attack.

Russian forces also launched two ballistic missiles that targeted the area near Lviv on Wednesday afternoon, but Ukrainian aerial defenses intercepted and destroyed them.

Russia had paused the aerial attacks for a week amid extremely cold weather, but Monday’s resumption killed a 10-year-old boy and a 41-year-old woman in Bohodukhiv.

The town has been targeted every day so far this week as Russian forces seek to damage energy and transport infrastructure with drones and ballistic missiles.

The strikes caused Ukrainian officials to declare a state of emergency due to the effect on local energy sources.

Tens of thousands of Ukrainians are without power and lack heat and running water during the frigid winter weather.

Russia’s resumption of attacks comes as Ukrainian and Russian officials are considering meeting in Washington, D.C., to further discuss a potential cease-fire and plan for peace.

Spain and Portugal are bracing for a new storm, just days after Storm Leonardo’s deadly floods killed at least two people — one in Portugal and one in Spain — and forced more than 11,000 residents to evacuate their homes.

On Saturday, authorities in Portugal mobilised more than 26,500 rescuers as Storm Marta approached, forcing three municipalities to postpone Sunday’s presidential vote until next week due to severe weather.

Both countries issued warnings of further flooding after previous heavy rains had submerged roads, disrupted train services, and displaced thousands. Portuguese forecasts warned of heavy rain, strong winds, and rough seas, with alerts active across the country.

In Spain, much of the south, particularly Andalusia, and the northwest were placed on orange alert for heavy rain and violent storms, the national meteorological agency Aemet said.

Other regions, including Castilla‑La Leon, Galicia, Murcia, and the Valencian Community, also received warnings. While rainfall was expected to be less “exceptional” than during Storm Leonardo, authorities cautioned that saturated ground increased the risk of flooding and landslides.

New downpours in Andalusia added to earlier rain that had already caused widespread flooding, landslides, and forced more than 10,000 people from their homes.

Many roads remained closed, and rail services were largely suspended, with officials urging residents to limit travel wherever possible.

Mario Silvestre, commander at Portugal’s civil protection agency, described the forecast as “extremely worrying”.

Juan Manuel Moreno, president of the Andalusia region, wrote on X that the “rivers have hit their limit,” warning of gusts of wind reaching 110 kilometres per hour (68 miles per hour), landslides, and flash floods.

“All the furniture is completely destroyed, the water broke the window, forced the doors open and then burst through the window from the other side,” Francisco Marques, a municipal employee in the central village of Constancia, told the AFP news agency.

After flying over flood-hit areas in southern Spain near Cadiz on Friday, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned that “difficult days” lay ahead for the region as a result of the “very dangerous” weather forecast. Sanchez added he was “bowled over at seeing the endless rain”.

Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said the damage exceeded four billion euros ($4.7bn).

Portugal was already reeling from the effects of Storm Kristin, which led to five deaths, hundreds of injuries, and tens of thousands without power, when Leonardo struck earlier this week.

Portugal’s National Meteorological Institute (IPMA) has placed the entire coastline on orange alert due to heavy seas, with waves reaching up to 13 metres (43 feet) high. Eight of the 18 districts on the mainland, mainly in the centre and south, are also on orange alert.

“All river basins remain under severe pressure,” particularly the Tagus River in the Lisbon region and the Sado River further south, a spokesperson for the National Civil Protection Authority told AFP.

One person died during Storm Leonardo in Portugal, and 1,100 people were evacuated across the country. A succession of atmospheric depressions forced Portugal’s dams to release “a volume of water equivalent to the country’s annual consumption” in just three days, Jose Pimenta Machado, president of the Portuguese Environment Agency, said on Friday.

Armed men burned homes and shops in Woro, a remote village in north-central Kwara State bordering Niger State, authorities say.

Armed men have killed at least 35 people and burned homes and shops in Woro, a remote village in Nigeria’s north-central Kwara State, authorities said.

“This morning, I was told that 35 to 40 dead bodies were counted,” Sa’idu Baba Ahmed, a local lawmaker in the Kaiama region, told the AFP news agency on Wednesday.

“Many others escaped into the bush with gunshots,” Ahmed said, adding that more bodies could be found.

It was the deadliest assault ‍this ⁠year in the district bordering Niger State, which armed gangs have attacked increasingly.

Villagers fled into the surrounding bushland as the armed men attacked Woro, Ahmed told ‌the Reuters news agency by phone. Several people were still missing, he said.

The attack was confirmed by police, who did not provide casualty figures. The state government blamed the attack on “terrorist cells”.

Banditry and armed ‌attacks on rural communities have surged across ‌northwest and north-central ⁠Nigeria in recent years as gangs raid villages, kidnap residents and loot livestock.

The attack comes amid fears of a return to conflict following clashes between government troops and Tigrayan forces.

One person has been killed and another injured in drone strikes in Ethiopia’s ‍northern Tigray ‍region, a senior Tigrayan official and a humanitarian worker said, in another sign of renewed conflict between regional and federal forces.

The Tigrayan official on Saturday said the drone strikes hit two Isuzu trucks near Enticho and Gendebta, two places in Tigray about 20km (12 miles) apart.

The official said the Ethiopian National Defence Force launched the strikes, but ​did not provide evidence.

A local humanitarian worker confirmed the strikes had happened. Both asked not to be named, the Reuters news agency reported.

It was not immediately clear what the trucks were carrying.

TPLF-affiliated news outlet Dimtsi Weyane posted pictures on Facebook that ‌it said showed the trucks damaged in the strikes. It said the trucks were transporting food ‌and cooking items.

Pro-government activists posting on ⁠social media said the trucks were carrying weapons.

Ethiopia’s national army fought fighters from the Tigray People’s ⁠Liberation Front (TPLF) for two years until late 2022, in a war ​researchers say killed hundreds of thousands through direct violence, the ‍collapse of healthcare and famine.

Fighting broke out between regional and national forces in Tsemlet in the disputed territory of western Tigray earlier this week, an area claimed by forces from the neighbouring Amhara region.

Tension has been brewing over the presence of troops from Amhara and the neighbouring country of Eritrea in Tigray, violating a peace deal in November 2022 that ended the war.

Last year, the head of Tigray’s interim administration established by Addis Ababa was forced to flee Mekele, the regional capital, amid growing divisions within the TPLF, which controlled all of Ethiopia before being displaced by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

Addis Ababa accuses the group of forging ties with neighbouring Eritrea and “actively preparing to wage war against Ethiopia”.

Earlier this week, national carrier Ethiopian Airlines cancelled flights to Tigray, where residents rushed to try to withdraw cash from banks.

The Tigray ‌war ended in 2022, but disagreements have continued over a range of issues, including contested territories in western ‍Tigray, and the delayed disarmament of Tigray forces.

The province is also suffering the effects of United States President Donald Trump’s funding cuts to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) last year, which was once Ethiopia’s largest source of humanitarian aid.

Humanitarian organisations say up to 80 percent of the population is in need of emergency support, and funding shortfalls are placing a strain on the health system.

The African Union’s chairperson, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, on Friday urged all parties to “exercise maximum restraint” and “resolve all outstanding issues through constructive dialogue”.

He emphasised the importance of preserving the “hard-won gains achieved under the AU-led Permanent Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA)” signed in Pretoria in 2022.

Fiery-tempered and fierce-tongued Jose Mourinho softens his tone as former club Real Madrid face crunch game in Benfica.

Benfica coach Jose Mourinho said his Real Madrid counterpart, Alvaro Arbeloa, was like a child to him, in the run-up to their Champions League meeting in the final round of league phase matches.

The veteran Portuguese manager, known for his fiery temper and fierce tongue, coached Arbeloa at Madrid during his time at the helm of Los Blancos between 2010-2013, and had a strong relationship with the former defender in a dressing room that was splintering.

After a comment from Mourinho last week about being “surprised” when inexperienced managers lead big European clubs was viewed as a dig at new Madrid coach Arbeloa, he said he would never try to make life hard for his former charge.

Former Inter Milan coach Mourinho said in Italy that his words were also being taken as criticism of the appointment of Cristian Chivu at the Serie A side last year.

“There is one problem – both Chivu and Arbeloa are my children, they are not just ex-players of mine, but they are special,” Mourinho told a news conference on Tuesday.

“Speaking about Alvaro, I would say that he is one of the players – from a human point of view, from a personal point of view, and personal empathy – he is one of my favourites of them all.

“Obviously, he is not the best player who has played for Real Madrid, but he is certainly one of the best men who has played for me at Real Madrid.”

Mourinho said he was surprised when he himself was offered the chance to lead Benfica at the beginning of his coaching career in 2000, so his words could not be taken as an insult.

“The last thing I would do would be to put pressure on him,” explained the 63-year-old. “I want everything to go well for him, and for him to have a fantastic career as a coach.”

Mourinho said he had not spoken to Arbeloa since the 43-year-old replaced Xabi Alonso at the helm, but that there was no need to.

“My telephone number is very complicated, because there’s only the club’s number, and after that, only my family has it, and then my other phone is always changing, changing, changing,” explained Mourinho.

“People lose my contact, and I lose theirs too, and with Alvaro, it’s not necessary to have a call to say ‘good luck’, he knows it.

“In the same way that I [want Real Madrid to win games], Alvaro wants to beat Benfica, but then after that, he hopes Benfica always win, that’s for sure — no call is necessary.”

Mourinho admitted he could not speak for Arbeloa’s quality as a coach yet because he had not watched Madrid’s reserves or youth teams play.

“I cannot analyse him as a coach because I do not know him,” said Mourinho.

“I’ve only seen results, not followed with my own eyes the trajectory of the youngsters at Madrid.

“I have no advice to give him. The only thing that is important for me is that he is happy, that he likes it, because coaching these days is a very difficult mission.”

Madrid will seal their spot in the last 16 with a victory, while Benfica need to win and hope other results go their way to reach the playoff round.

TWO years ago, Take That’s Howard Donald delivered 52 tapes to Netflix in an enormous Ikea bag.

He had spent the past 35 years quietly filming the band as they transformed from working-class lads into bona fide global stars.

“Are you sure it wasn’t a Prada bag?” Howard teases as I interview the group to celebrate the release of a three-part Netflix docuseries based on that footage.

Jokes aside, Howard, Gary Barlow, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams handed full editorial control to director David Soutar to tell their story with zero interference.

It was a bold move given the much-publicised trials and tribulations of one of Britain’s biggest bands, who have landed 12 No1 singles in their 35-year career.

The series features candid new interviews with current members Gary, 55, Howard, 57, and Mark, 54, alongside never-before-seen footage and photographs.

GARY’S LOW

Gary Barlow shares never seen before pics from bulimia battle after hitting 17st

BACK IN TOWN

Gary Barlow reveals secrets behind Take That’s new tour & Robbie’s new record

Robbie, 51, and Jason, 55, allowed archive chats with them to be used to narrate their part in the story.

In one emotionally-charged interview, Gary talks about his struggle with bulimia, which started following Take That’s split in 1996 and his rivalry with Robbie.

Taunts from Robbie are replayed during the documentary, with footage showing him saying: “My problem always was with Gary, I wanted to crush him. “I wanted to crush the memory of the band and I didn’t let go. Even when he was down I didn’t let go.”

Speaking at the premiere of the documentary at Battersea Power Station in South London on Monday night, Gary admits it was tough to watch.

‘Butt of the joke’’

He said: “It’s a narrative that I haven’t thought about for years and years. When we had our reunion we spent a lot of time talking about it and I remember leaving on one particular day and we’d discussed everything. And I remember leaving and my shoulders were light.

“And I’d not thought about it since because I’d not needed to. And it brought it all back. Tricky times they were.”

In the documentary, Gary shares previously unseen photographs of him as he struggled to find his purpose and says: “You’re the butt of the joke. It was so excruciating you just want to crawl into a hole.

“There was a period of 13 months where I didn’t leave the house once. I’d also started to put weight on.

“The more weight I put on the less people would recognise me and I thought, ‘This is good. This is what I have been waiting for. This is a normal life’.

“So I went on this mission then, if the food passed me I would just eat it. And I’d killed the pop star.

“I would have these nights and I would eat and eat and eat but however I felt about myself, I felt ten times worse the day after.”

At his heaviest, Gary, who has three children with his wife Dawn, weighed just over 17 stone.

He explained: “One day I thought, I have been out, it’s 10 o’clock, I have eaten too much, I need to get rid of this food.

It only took a few years to get that low, but it took me years to get back to who I wanted to be. Ten years probably.

Gary Barlow

“You just go off to a dark corner of the house and you make yourself sick. You think it’s only once and all of a sudden you’re walking down that corridor again and again.

“Is this it? Is this what I am going to be doing forever?”

By 2003, Gary turned his life around, and he said: “I just went, ‘No, I’m not having this any more, I’m going to change. I want to change and I’m determined that this is not who I’ve become’.

“It only took a few years to get that low, but it took me years to get back to who I wanted to be. Ten years probably.”

Discussing his recovery with The Sun in 2021, he explained: “I’ve been very strong-minded about how I live and what I eat.

“In general, I work on a 90/10 — 90 per cent sensible-choice food and ten per cent fun choices.

“Buy a nice little writing book, one you’ll feel good about holding and keeping on you at all times. Do a food diary every day, and look down and you’ll see what you’re doing wrong.

“A food diary will also show you what you’re missing in your diet. If you want to get serious and go to a dietician or to a friend and seek help, you can show them the diary.”

Howard is also painfully honest about how hard life was following the end of Take That.

In the documentary, Howard recalls returning home and says: “I felt like I was the only one who didn’t grow up, even though I was the eldest.

“I was a nobody in school, I didn’t go to university, I didn’t think I’d do anything but I felt like a superhero up on that stage.

“It was going towards a depressive state. I decided to go to the Thames.

“I was seriously thinking I was going to kill myself but I was too much of a s**tbag to do it.”

Speaking backstage at the premiere, Howard explains that the band did not want to hide the painful parts of their journey.

He said: “I think it is such a true documentary. You can easily do a documentary and take out all the bits that you feel uncomfortable with — and there are quite a lot of uncomfortable bits in there.

“But it’s true of the last 35 years of Take That. There is a lot of footage people have never seen. It’s good for people to see.”

Mark is also seen struggling to cope with life after the band, who landed their first Top Ten hit with a cover of Tavares’ It Only Takes A Minute in 1992.

He said backstage: “We were working hard, playing all these gigs and things got very hard — but then we got back together. Maybe miss out on the middle bit.”

‘I got a lot of stick’

Like Robbie and Gary, Mark attempted to launch a solo career, but was dropped by his label in 1997, a year after Take That split.

He added: “You start to feel very negative about yourself.”

Robbie and Jason’s clashes with the band’s former manager, Nigel Martin-Smith, are also discussed in the doc.

Robbie says: “Nigel as a manager, he never managed me, he managed Gary Barlow. I wanted him to love me but he never did.”

Jason adds: “When I was in Take That the first time around I was the dancer and I accepted that at the time.

“I don’t know if this is the time or place to say, I was told not to bother singing, ever.”

After the group came back as a four-piece without Robbie in 2005, they ceased working with Nigel and found new representation.

Of the change, Jason says: “Robbie and I got a lot of stick from Nigel. He made us all feel insecure.

“I could feel worthless in the band and I didn’t deserve to feel that. I didn’t want to feel that any more.

“We had chosen our own management, we had chosen our own people, we were in control.”

Director David admits there was some trepidation when it came to showing the three episodes for the first time.

In about 25 minutes we’d put things to bed that had haunted us for years.

Gary on Robbie feud

Speaking backstage alongside producer Gabe Turner, David said: “We talked long and hard about how to do it.

“There is some really hard stuff in there for them, it was a tricky thing for them to watch and it was nervy for us to watch it with them.

“They allowed us to push them to that place. We asked them to lay down their story and they allowed us to take them to that place.”

Gabe added: “Episode two is punchy. With a lot of documentaries you are building that relationship for the first time, you’re working on the fly, but these guys know us and know what we want to do.

“I felt really positive about how little they wanted to see it. They handed us the keys and said, ‘Do you thing’.”

As well as the tough times, Take That fans get a front seat to the inner workings of the group’s comeback with Robbie in 2011.

‘Haunted us for years’

Opening up about healing their old wounds, Robbie says: “I needed Gary to listen to my truth.”

Gary continues: “There were things around people not being supportive of his songwriting and his weight. I’d called him Blobby rather than Robbie one day, which I shouldn’t have done.

“Then I hit him with things he had done to me that I didn’t like

“In about 25 minutes we’d put things to bed that had haunted us for years.”

As well as hearing original demos on the series, fans also get treated to a new single, You’re A Superstar, at the end of the third episode.

The track, taken from their tenth album, is expected to be released later this year.

We’ve got the first steps, we’ve got the Netflix documentary, then we’ve got the Circus tour, then there will be new music.

Gary

Backstage at the screening in London, Howard said the trio have spent months working on the material, adding: “It’s going really well.

“We’ve all been writing separately, writing together and I think we’ve got a really good choice of really good songs.

“We are really proud of them and we just can’t wait for people to hear them.

“We’ve got the first steps, we’ve got the Netflix documentary, then we’ve got the Circus tour, then there will be new music.”

Mark continued: “The tenth album feels quite special. I am really excited about what I am hearing.

“It’s given us a boost, the songs that are coming through and the fact it’s our tenth record, it’s like ‘Go on guys!’.”

Ahead of their 17-date Circus Tour, which kicks off at St Mary’s Stadium in Southampton on May 29, fans will be wondering now if history will repeat itself — and Robbie will rejoin again.

And Gary for one is hopeful, saying yesterday: “At some point it’s going to happen.

“And that’s one of the wonderful things about our band — you never know what’s around the corner.”

• Netflix’s Take That is available to stream now.