NIAMEY, Nigeria: Niger said Wednesday it had killed 33 Boko Haram “terrorists” and seized vehicles and weapons in an operation in the Lake Chad region in the country’s southeast.
“Offensive actions carried out on Tuesday inflicted heavy losses on the enemy,” a defense ministry statement read on state television said.
“Thirty-three terrorists (were) killed” while there were no losses on the army’s side, it said.
An “armored vehicle” was destroyed, while two other vehicles, two motorcycles, a 120-millimeter mortar, 10 AK-47 assault rifles, two 60mm shells and 3,736 rounds of all calibres were seized, it said.
The operation began on Saturday, it said — a day after seven police and 38 militants were killed near Gueskerou in the southeastern region of Diffa, according to a government toll.
Diffa borders the birthplace of Boko Haram in northeastern Nigeria and has suffered a string of cross-border raids and population displacement.
An estimated 27,000 people have been killed and two million others displaced since Boko Haram launched its insurgency in 2009.
Lake Chad, which straddles parts of Niger, Nigeria and Chad, has borne the brunt of the militants’ hit-and-run attacks.
In November, around a dozen girls were taken in raids on several border villages, while seven local employees of a French drilling firm and a government official were killed after suspected Boko Haram gunmen stormed their compound.
On February 16, seven Nigerien soldiers were killed in an attack on the border village of Chetima Wangou.
A year-end government offensive, combining land and air forces, killed more than 280 militants, Niger’s armed forces maintained on January 3.
Niger says it killed 33 Boko Haram ‘terrorists’
Niger says it killed 33 Boko Haram ‘terrorists’
- An estimated 27,000 people have been killed and two million others displaced since Boko Haram launched its insurgency in 2009
- Lake Chad, which straddles parts of Niger, Nigeria and Chad, has borne the brunt of the militants’ hit-and-run attacks
Philippines launches national halal office to boost global market presence
- New office will be a central coordinating body for nationwide halal development efforts
- It will also lead ‘Halal-Friendly Philippines’ campaign to attract non-Muslims
MANILA: The Philippine government launched on Tuesday the National Halal Industry and Development Office to coordinate the country’s efforts to become a top player in the global halal market by next year.
The predominantly Catholic Philippines — where Muslims constitute about 10 percent of the almost 120 million population — has been working to tap into the global halal market, which is estimated to be worth more than $7 trillion.
The Department of Trade and Industry is establishing NHIDO “to propel the Philippines to the forefront of the global halal industry by 2025,” it said in a statement.
“This strategic move aligns with the country’s goal to boost the domestic halal market and expand the export potential of Filipino products and services.”
In the Philippines, efforts are underway to double the number of its halal-certified products and services, raise 230 billion pesos ($3.9 billion) in investments and generate around 120,000 jobs by 2028.
Manila has also been promoting its domestic halal industry at international exhibitions, including in Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, where the strength of the Filipino halal market — its agricultural products, such as coconut oil, baked goods and wellness items — were showcased.
With the establishment of the NHIDO, the office will act as a central coordinating body for all halal development efforts in the Philippines, said Dimnatang M. Radia, DTI’s halal industry and trade office program manager.
It will also lead the nationwide “Halal-Friendly Philippines” campaign, which is aimed at raising awareness of the economic potential of halal products and also attracting non-Muslims.
“The establishment of NHIDO marks a turning point for the Philippine halal industry,” Radia said.
“It will serve as a unifying force to transform our goals into reality, unlocking opportunities for businesses, creating jobs, and elevating the Philippines as a halal-friendly destination globally.”
Bomb kills chief of Russian nuclear protection forces in Moscow — media
- Russian media said Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov had been killed on Ryazansky Prospekt
- TASS state news agency said two killed in explosion on Moscow’s Ryazansky Prospekt
MOSCOW: A bomb killed a senior Russian general in charge of nuclear protection forces and another man in Moscow on Tuesday, the RT state media group said on Tuesday, citing an unidentified law enforcement source.
Russian media said that Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, who is chief of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops, had been killed on Ryazansky Prospekt.
Russian news Telegram channels also reported that Kirillov had been killed but there was no official confirmation of the killing.
TASS state news agency said two people were killed in an explosion on Moscow’s Ryazansky Prospekt.
A criminal investigation was opened in connection with the death of two men on Ryazansky Prospekt, Russia’s RIA state news agency reported, citing Moscow investigators.
Ryazansky Prospekt is a road that starts some 7 km (4.35 miles) southeast of the Kremlin.
Investigators and forensic experts were working at the scene together with employees of other emergency services, TASS agency reported.
South Korean president’s defense team denies insurrection charges: Yonhap
SEOUL: South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol did not commit insurrection but will cooperate with the investigation into his martial law declaration, his defense team said Tuesday, Yonhap news agency reported.
“While we do not consider the insurrection charges to be legally valid, we will comply with the investigation,” his lawyers said, according to Yonhap.
Bomb kills chief of Russian nuclear protection forces in Moscow, media reports say
MOSCOW: A bomb killed a senior Russian general in charge of nuclear protection forces and another man in Moscow on Tuesday, the RT state media group said on Tuesday, citing an unidentified law enforcement source.
Russian media said the that Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, who is chief of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops, had been killed on Ryazansky Prospekt.
Russian news Telegram channels also reported that Kirillov had been killed but there was no official confirmation of the killing.
TASS state news agency said two people were killed in an explosion on Moscow’s Ryazansky Prospekt.
A criminal investigation was opened in connection with the death of two men on Ryazansky Prospekt, Russia’s RIA state news agency reported, citing Moscow investigators.
Ryazansky Prospekt is a road that starts some 7 km (4.35 miles) southeast of the Kremlin.
Investigators and forensic experts were working at the scene together with employees of other emergency services, TASS agency reported.
US national security adviser Sullivan says Trump should like ‘burden sharing’ AUKUS deal
SYDNEY: The AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine partnership with Australia will benefit the United States and is the kind of “burden sharing” deal that President-elect Donald Trump has talked about, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.
In an interview with Australia’s Lowy Institute think tank published on Tuesday, Sullivan said he had confidence AUKUS would endure under the Trump presidency, as it enhances US deterrent capability in the Indo-Pacific and has Australia contributing to the US industrial base.
The trilateral AUKUS deal struck in 2021 is Australia’s biggest defense project, with a cost of A$368 billion ($245 billion) by 2055, as Australia buys several Virginia-class submarines from the United States while also building a new class of nuclear-powered submarine in Britain and Australia.
“The United States is benefiting from burden sharing — exactly the kind of thing that Mr.Trump has talked a lot about,” Sullivan said of the AUKUS agreement.
Australia has agreed to invest $3 billion in US shipyards that build the Virginia-class nuclear submarines it will be sold early next decade amid concerns that a backlog of orders could jeopardize the deal.
Australia having conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines enhances America’s deterrent capability in the Indo-Pacific, Sullivan said.
“Australia is directly contributing to the US submarine industrial base so that we can build out this submarine capability, supply Australia in the nearer term with Virginia class submarines and then in the longer term with the AUKUS class submarine,” he added.
Australia’s defense and foreign ministers, meanwhile, met their counterparts in London on Monday to discuss progress on AUKUS for the first time since a change of government in Britain, and ahead of Trump’s inauguration as US president in January.
Britain’s Defense Secretary John Healey said they discussed “the challenge of maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, the challenge of China — increasingly active, increasingly assertive in the region — and the vital importance of maintaining both deterrence and freedom of navigation.”
Australia’s Defense Minister Richard Marles said they discussed accelerating the process of bringing Australian companies into the supply chain in Britain for building submarines.
