News
Hiker Missing For Over A Month Found Alive In Canadian Wilderness

A hiker, who went missing in the backwoods of British Columbia for more than a month, has been found alive.
Sam Benastick, 20, was reported missing on 19 October after he failed to return from a 10-day fishing and hiking trip in Redfern-Keily Park in the northern Rocky Mountains.
Authorities had called off search and rescue efforts for the avid hiker in late October. Temperatures in the region had at times dropped to around -20C (-4F).
Mr Benastick was found on Tuesday by two people headed to the Redfern Lake trail for work, who recognised him as the missing hiker as he walked towards them.
Corporal Madonna Saunderson, of the British Columbia RCMP communications team, said: “Finding Sam alive is the absolute best outcome.
“After all the time he was missing, it was feared that this would not be the outcome.”
Mr Benastick told police that he stayed in his car for a couple of days and then walked to a creek where he camped for 10 to15 days. At the time he went missing, he was equipped with a tarp, a backpack and some camping supplies.
He then moved down the valley and built a camp and shelter in a dried-out creek bed. Winter conditions ramped up, with some snowfall.
Eventually, Mr Benastick made his way to the area where he flagged down his rescuers.
“Those are very difficult conditions for really anyone to survive in, especially [with] limited supplies and equipment and food,” Prince George Search and Rescue search manager Adam Hawkins said.
“Even someone with quite a bit of experience would find that challenging.”
More than 120 volunteers from across British Columbia were reportedly involved in the search effort, alongside the RCMP and Canadian Rangers, as well as Fort Nelson and North Peace search and rescue teams.
Little is known about Mr Benastick’s condition or how he survived in the backwoods as he is currently in hospital.
Local inn owner Mike Reid, who got to know Mr Benastick’s family while they stayed at his establishment during search efforts, told broadcaster CBC that the hiker had cut his sleeping bag and wrapped it around his legs to stay warm.
He said he was told the young man nearly collapsed as he was placed into the ambulance and was in “rough shape”.
Before he was found, Mr Benastick’s last known location was at a trailhead in the region of Redfern Lake – the park’s largest lake – where he was seen using his red dirt bike, according to the RCMP.
Mr Hawkins, the search manager, said he is “intensely curious” to learn more about the area where Mr Benastick was found and what he was doing while missing to help inform future search and rescue operations.
Those visiting the park are warned it is an “isolated area and weather can change rapidly” – and to be wary of possible encounters with grizzly and black bears.
News
Just in: Finally, opposition leaders adopt ADA as coalition platform

Opposition leaders under the aegis of Coalition Movement have adopted the All Democratic Alliance (ADA), and applied to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register as a party ahead of the 2027 election.
The coalition’s application letter addressed to INEC chairman and dated June 19 was co-signed by the National Chairman of ADA, Chief Akin Ricketts and Protem National Secretary, Abdullahi Musa Elayo.
The letter which was stamped received by the office of the INEC chairman on June 20, 2025, was titled: “Application for registration as a political party” with ADA name and flag.
“We respectfully write to the Independent National Electoral Commission requesting the registration of our association, the All Democratic Alliance as a political party.
This is sequel to the decision taken by the Nigerian National Coalition Group to sponsor our association for full registration,” the letter read.
Details shortly…
News
England goalie, Keating gets clean bill over nitrous oxide charges

A court case against England goalkeeper Khiara Keating has been dropped nearly a year after she pleaded not guilty to possessing canisters of nitrous oxide.
The 20-year-old Manchester City goalkeeper was charged with possession of a Class C drug on 18 June last year after an investigation by Greater Manchester Police.
In July, Keating appeared at Manchester and Salford Magistrates Court alongside her mother Nicola Keating, 48, who also denied the same offence, and both were granted unconditional bail.
Greater Manchester Police has confirmed the case has been discontinued.
In a statement given exclusively to BBC Sport, Keating said: “I’m relieved the charges have been dropped. As I’ve always said, I did nothing wrong.
“It’s been a difficult time, but I’ve always known the truth. Now I’m just looking forward to focusing fully on the Euros and spending time with my family.”
Nitrous oxide was made a Class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act in November 2023.
Possession with the intention of wrongfully inhaling it for a psychoactive effect became an offence, but it is still possible to use the gas for legitimate reasons, such as in catering or pain relief during labour.
Keating has not made an appearance for England’s senior team yet but is part of the 23-player squad selected to compete at Euro 2025 next month.
She became the youngest player to win the Women’s Super League Golden Glove award last year, after keeping nine clean sheets in 22 league games.
News
Appeal Court throws out APC’s case, affirms PDP’s victories in Osun council polls

The Court of Appeal sitting in Akure, Ondo State, has dismissed the appeal filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC), affirming the legitimacy of the February 2025 local government elections in Osun State.
The judgement, delivered on Friday, 13 June 2025, upheld the victory of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its elected Chairmen and Councillors.
The panel of justices — Oyebisi Folayemi Omoleye, Peter Chudi Obiorah, and Hadiza Rabiu Shagari — held that the appeal lacked merit, had been overtaken by events, and constituted a mere academic exercise.
The suit, numbered CA/AK/15/2025, was filed by the Allied People’s Movement (APM), Babatunde Nurudeen Idowu, and the APC against the Action Peoples Party (APP), INEC, OSSIEC, APGA, and Prince Adegboye Famodun.
Justice Omoleye ruled, “Critically, this Court had earlier delivered judgment on 10th February 2025 in Appeal No. CA/AK/270/2022, involving basically the same parties and addressing substantially the same issues.
“The said appeal has been dismissed. What is more, the fresh Local Government elections conducted on 22nd February 2025 and the swearing-in of new Chairmen and Councillors have overtaken the substratum of this dispute. Relisting the appeal at this stage would serve no practical purpose.”
She added, “In sum, this application is not only procedurally incompetent and factually unsupported, it is also one rendered otiose by subsequent events. There is no longer any live controversy.
“The matter is, in every material sense, a fait accompli, “I therefore also dismiss the application.”
Justice Obiorah, in a concurring judgement, declared, “Of course, the dismissal of the appeal means that there being no existing appeal against the judgment of the lower court, the said judgment stands as the authority defining the state of affairs as it regards the status of the officers of the various Local Government Councils in Osun State.”
He also addressed the issue of contempt, saying, “However, the issue of violation of the orders of the lower court and the alleged contempt is the 3a Respondent/Applicant’s interpretation of the action of the 3d Appellant/Respondent with respect to their treatment of the judgment of the lower court, particularly after the dismissal of their appeal by this Court on 13/1/2025.
“The said contempt is ex-facie curiae. In INEC & ANOR v. OGUEBEGO & ORS (2017) LPELR-42609(SC) (Pp. 10-12 paras. F), the highly revered and cerebral, Chima Centus Nweze, JSC (of blessed memory) stated.”
Reacting to the judgment in an X post, PDP welcomed the ruling, describing it as a confirmation of the people’s mandate and a defeat for political desperation.
The party said the Certified True Copy of the ruling had “affirmed that the Court has dismissed APC’s appeal and affirmed Chairmen and Councillors elected in the 2025 Local Government Election as the duly elected council officials in Osun State.”
“The Presiding Judge, Oyebisi Folayemi Omoleye in her ruling stated that since a fresh election has been conducted and new Chairmen and Councillors have been sworn in, there is no controversy anymore,” PDP added.
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