KANO, NIGERIA // Nigerian soldiers backed by a regional force have recaptured Damasak, the north-eastern town where Boko Haram killed more than 200 and abducted hundreds of children two years ago, the army said Friday.
“MNJTF [Multinational Joint Task Force] troops have successfully occupied Damasak,” the army said in a statement, indicating it was part of an operation to clear militants out of towns and villages.
The MNJTF comprises troops from Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, Chad and Benin as part of regional efforts to end the seven-year Boko Haram violence in the Lake Chad region.
Damasak, a fishing and irrigation hub which lies close to the border with Niger, some 180 kilometres north of Borno state capital Maiduguri, was taken by Boko Haram in November 2014.
Insurgents there killed some 200 people and kidnapped more than 400 children with the violence forcing around 14,000 to flee across the border to Diffa in Niger.
It was temporarily seized from Boko Haram control by Nigerian and Chadian troops in March last year but fell back into the extremists’ hands after the soldiers withdrew a month later.
In April, Boko Haram fighters attacked Nigerian troops with suicide bombers and mortar fire at a military checkpoint in Kareto village, 38 kilometres from Damasak.
* Agence France-Presse
The specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed PDK
Power: 630bhp
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The Travel Diaries of Albert Einstein The Far East, Palestine, and Spain, 1922 – 1923
Editor Ze’ev Rosenkranz
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Mohamed bin Zayed Majlis
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The Saudi Cup race card
1 The Jockey Club Local Handicap (TB) 1,800m (Dirt) $500,000
2 The Riyadh Dirt Sprint (TB) 1,200m (D) $1.500,000
3 The 1351 Turf Sprint 1,351m (Turf) $1,000,000
4 The Saudi Derby (TB) 1600m (D) $800,000
5 The Neom Turf Cup (TB) 2,100m (T) $1,000,000
6 The Obaiya Arabian Classic (PB) 2,000m (D) $1,900,000
7 The Red Sea Turf Handicap (TB) 3,000m (T) $2,500,000
8 The Saudi Cup (TB) 1,800m (D) $20,000,000
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Basquiat in Abu Dhabi
One of Basquiat’s paintings, the vibrant Cabra (1981–82), now hangs in Louvre Abu Dhabi temporarily, on loan from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
The latter museum is not open physically, but has assembled a collection and puts together a series of events called Talking Art, such as this discussion, moderated by writer Chaedria LaBouvier.
It's something of a Basquiat season in Abu Dhabi at the moment. Last week, The Radiant Child, a documentary on Basquiat was shown at Manarat Al Saadiyat, and tonight (April 18) the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is throwing the re-creation of a party tonight, of the legendary Canal Zone party thrown in 1979, which epitomised the collaborative scene of the time. It was at Canal Zone that Basquiat met prominent members of the art world and moved from unknown graffiti artist into someone in the spotlight.
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Opening Rugby Championship fixtures: Games can be watched on OSN Sports
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
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Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
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The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Joker: Folie a Deux
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Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Borussia Dortmund v Paderborn (11.30pm)
Saturday
Bayer Leverkusen v SC Freiburg (6.30pm)
Werder Bremen v Schalke (6.30pm)
Union Berlin v Borussia Monchengladbach (6.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Wolfsburg (6.30pm)
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Abdul Jabar Qahraman was meeting supporters in his campaign office in the southern Afghan province of Helmand when a bomb hidden under a sofa exploded on Wednesday.
The blast in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah killed the Afghan election candidate and at least another three people, Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak told reporters. Another three were wounded, while three suspects were detained, he said.
The Taliban – which controls much of Helmand and has vowed to disrupt the October 20 parliamentary elections – claimed responsibility for the attack.
Mr Qahraman was at least the 10th candidate killed so far during the campaign season, and the second from Lashkar Gah this month. Another candidate, Saleh Mohammad Asikzai, was among eight people killed in a suicide attack last week. Most of the slain candidates were murdered in targeted assassinations, including Avtar Singh Khalsa, the first Afghan Sikh to run for the lower house of the parliament.
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● Company: Bidzi
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● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
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