News
Somali army searching for ‘hostages’ missing from SLAF chopper
Mogadishu (Somalia) AFP: Somalia’s military said Thursday it was searching for a number of people “taken hostage” by the militant group Al-Shabaab after a Sri Lankan air force helicopter operated by the UN made an emergency landing in hostile territory.
The United Nations has confirmed one of its choppers was involved in an “aviation incident” in central Galmudug state on Wednesday but said nothing about the fate of the passengers and crew.
It was not immediately clear if the four-man crew were all Sri Lankans.
Somali military officials said the search was focussing on Hindhere, an area 470 km (290 miles) north of Mogadishu where the chopper is believed to have landed following a technical fault.
Somali National Army Captain Abdusalam Mohamed told AFP the exact location of the helicopter was not known.
“But we have confirmed that Al-Shabaab has taken hostage several of the personnel aboard the aircraft. We believe they are being held in the Hindhere area,” he said from a military base in Galmudug.
“There are already efforts underway to establish their whereabouts, and search operations are ongoing in the area where the aircraft vanished.”
Mohamed Adan, another military commander in Galmudug, said “some of the passengers captured by Al-Shabaab are foreigners” but could not provide further details.
An internal UN memo circulated to staff in Somalia on Wednesday said nine people were aboard the helicopter when it “crash landed” and six were reportedly taken into captivity.
One passenger was believed to have been killed and two had fled, the memo added.
“We have been briefed about the incident and it was confirmed that there is a hostage situation including foreigners but no details are available so far,” a UN staff member in Mogadishu told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Al-Shabaab, a militant group with ties to Al-Qaeda that has been waging a 16-year insurgency against the UN-backed government in Mogadishu, is yet to claim any responsibility.
It controls swathes of central and southern Somalia despite a government counteroffensive, US air strikes and thousands of African Union troops on the ground in the fragile Horn of Africa nation.
Helicopters were seen flying low over the Galmudug town of Wisil on Thursday, Osman Warsame, a traditional elder in the area, told AFP.
“We have been told they are looking for the missing helicopter and its passengers,” he said, adding that the area was under Al-Shabaab control.
The government vowed “total war” on Al-Shabaab in 2022 but the offensive has stalled despite early gains, with the militants still holding ground and launching deadly attacks on civilian and military targets.
News
Cabinet aporives recruitment of Nursing Instructors for Nursing Schools under the Ministry of Health and Mass Media on Contract Basis
There are 17 nursing schools under the Ministry of Health and Mass Media including the postgraduate primary nursing school.
There are 142 vacancies in the posts of Grade I / Special Grade Nursing Officer (Education) as on 31.03.2026 in those schools while 24 officers are to be promoted to the special grade on 31.12.2025 owing to the vacancies existing in the post of Special
Grade Nursing Officer (Education). Therefore, the number of vacancies is to be 166.
In addition, there are 24 vacancies in the post of Special Grade Nursing Officer (Education).
Although at present action has been taken to upgrade the nursing schools to nursing colleges and upgrade the nursing diploma course to nursing degree course, no action has been taken so far to carry out recruitment for the training relevant to the appointment for the post of Grade I / Special Grade Nursing Officer (Education).
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the resolution furnished by the Minister of Health and Mass Media to recruit retired nursing instructors and nursing instructors who served in the nursing schools belonging to the three armed forces and are retired or have resigned legitimately from service to the post of Grade I / Special Grade Nursing Officer (Education) on contract basis.
Latest News
Signing agreement for the establishment of BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility in Sri Lanka
It has been decided to establish a BIMSTEC technology transfer facility in Sri Lanka by entering into a Host Country Agreement at the second leaders’ summit of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal
Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) held in New Delhi, India, in 2008, with the objective of enhancing regional cooperation.
The relevant cooperation agreement was signed by the member countries at the 5th BIMSTEC summit on 30-03-2022 in Colombo.
The prime objective of this technology transfer facility is to provide technology, capacity building, and management of intellectual property for the micro, small, and medium-scale
enterprises of the BIMSTEC member countries.
According to the cooperation agreement, an agreement should be entered into between Sri Lanka, as the host country, and BIMSTEC Secretariat for formalizing the legal status, privileges, and immunities of the technology transfer facility.
The drafted agreement has received the relevant institutional approval and legal clearance.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Science and Technology to sign the proposed agreement.
News
The cabinet approves agreement on mutual legal cooperation in criminal matters between the Republic of Sri Lanka and the Republic of Korea
Approval has been granted at the cabinet meeting held on 11-12-2023 to sign an agreement between the Republic of Korea and the Government of Sri Lanka regarding mutual cooperation
in criminal matters.
However, according to the aforementioned approval, the relevant agreement could not be signed between both parties.
Through this agreement, opportunities will be provided
for mutual assistance to other countries in handing over judicial documents and collecting evidence for the use of criminal case matters.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution provided by the Minister of Justice and National Integration to sign an agreement between the Republic of Korea and the Government of Sri Lanka to cooperate in criminal matters.
Cabinet aporives recruitment of Nursing Instructors for Nursing Schools under the Ministry of Health and Mass Media on Contract Basis
Signing agreement for the establishment of BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility in Sri Lanka
The cabinet approves agreement on mutual legal cooperation in criminal matters between the Republic of Sri Lanka and the Republic of Korea
Misbah-ul-Haq resigns as Pakistan selector after Test squad upheaval
Amendment of the Quarantine and Prevention of Diseases Ordinance No. 3 of 1897
Cabinet approves donation of USD One Million to the Government of Nepal
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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