GEORGETOWN – A Joint inter-agency operation conducted by CANU and GDF Special Forces resulted in the seizure of several thousand kilos of cocaine at an illegal airstrip in Region 1.

This operation is based on intelligence focusing on illegal flights into Guyana and sharing of information with the US DEA and other international partners. This seizure is another example of Government’s strong commitment in fighting the narcotics trade and working with our local agencies and international partners.

The Government has spent millions of dollars in ensuring the Joint Services have all the equipment at their disposal as well as developing partnerships with various international law enforcement agencies to ensure that Guyana does not become a haven for drug trafficking organizations who are bent on using Guyana as a transshipment point . The recent investments in the GDF Coast Guard , Air Corps as well as the Guyana Police in ensuring the border regions are monitored serves as testimony of this commitment.

This seizure is another example of the confidence the government and other international agencies have in CANU and the joint services of Guyana . CANU has been at the forefront of Guyana’s anti-narcotics fight which has resulted in past seizures of aircraft , semi-submersible and arrests of high profile drug traffickers. Investigations are ongoing. (Inewsguyana)…[+]

NIAMEY –  Torrential rains in Niger have killed at least 15 more people, regional authorities said on Sunday, the latest casualties of the downpours lashing the African nation.

Heavy rains have been drenching Africa’s Sahel region since June and the latest victims in Niger come on top of at least 217 people who have died across the country in that time, according to authorities. More than 350,000 people have been affected and last week rising floodwaters nearly cut off the capital Niamey from the rest of the country before retreating.

The latest deaths occurred on Friday in the city of Maradi, the country’s economic capital whose eponymous region that has been one of the areas most affected by the rains. “We have registered 15 human lives lost, we have also registered injured and heavy material damage,” Regional Governor Issoufou Mamane told public television. Friday saw 150 millimetres (six inches) of water fall on the city in the space of 90 minutes, local television said.

Images broadcast on television showed water racing through the streets, touching off landslides and collapsing homes as it carried off cars, motorcycles and trees. Drinking water and electricity supplies have been affected in some areas, according to broadcasters. The downpours have also disturbed traffic on the main route linking Maradi to the city of Zinder. Niger’s rainy season normally lasts from June to September and consistently brings a heavy death toll. In 2022 there were 195 deaths and 400,000 people affected. (Jamaicaoberver)…[+]

TEL AVIV –  A bitter dispute about the conditions for a hostage and ceasefire deal in Gaza erupted between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant at a meeting of the Israeli security cabinet on Thursday night, according to multiple reports in Israeli media. The two men argued furiously over whether, as part of any deal, the Israeli military should leave the Philadelphi Corridor, a 14-kilometer 8.7-mile that runs along the border between Gaza and Egypt, according to CNN affiliate Channel 12, the Times of Israel and other outlets.

The Philadelphi corridor is currently controlled by the IDF. The deployment of Israeli troops along the corridor during the first phase of a ceasefire agreement has been a major point of contention between Israel and Hamas, with Hamas saying Israeli troops must withdraw from the border zone.According to multiple accounts, Netanyahu produced maps showing how the IDF should remain in the corridor during the first phase of the deal – in which hostages are also meant to be released so as to prevent Hamas from resuming arms smuggling through tunnels under the corridor.“I would like to bring the decision on the IDF troops remaining in the Philadelphi Corridor for the Cabinet’s approval,” Netanyahu is reported to have said.

Gallant interjected, according to the accounts of the meeting, saying The significance of this is that Hamas won’t agree to it, so there won’t be an agreement and there won’t be any hostages released.”He also alleged that Netanyahu had drawn up different maps to those preferred by Israeli negotiators in Cairo, adding: You imposed these maps on them. Netanyahu angrily rejected the claim, but Gallant persisted. Of course you forced You’re running the negotiations on your own. Since you disbanded the War Cabinet, we hear everything after the fact.”

Gallant appeared to receive support from the Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi, who was at the meeting. He is reported to have said that the IDF could withdraw from the corridor and return “at the end of six weeks of ceasefire. There are enough constraints for negotiations, there’s no need to add another one.

According to published accounts, Gallant said at one point that “the prime minister can indeed make all the decisions, and he can also decide to kill all the hostages,” provoking rebukes from other ministers. He added that “30 lives are at stake Gallant added that “in the end Sinwar will dictate to you and you’ll retract,” a reference to the Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who is thought to be in hiding in Gaza. Netanyahu in response reportedly insisted that no one dictated to him, saying that “only determined negotiation will make him Sinwar fold. The cabinet proceeded to vote on the maps that Netanyahu presented, approving them by eight to one, the only dissenter being Gallant. The right-wing National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir abstained from the vote. Israeli media cited sources close to him as saying he opposed any gradual decrease in the number of soldiers in the corridor. An Israeli official told CNN on Saturday that they were unable to comment on the maps presented to the meeting but confirmed Netanyahu asked the cabinet to hold a vote on forces remaining in the Philadelphi corridor. (CNN)…[+]