World News
Man-eating tiger killed by search party after devouring nine people, including mother and child
Man-eating tiger, responsible for nine deaths in Indian’s Champaran, Bihar State, have been traced and killed after being hunted down by about 200 armed, men to prevent it from causing more harm, police have said.
BBC reports that the beast, dubbed the “man-eater of Champaran,” was killed after a hunt by around 200 police officers and district officials, some of whom patrolled on the back of elephants to find the male tiger, said to have been terrorising communities around the Valmiki Tiger Reserve in India, home to more than 70 per cent of the world’s wild tigers.
India’s tiger reserves – protected areas where the animals could live – have not expanded at the same rate as its tiger population, the report says, adding that the situation had forced some big cats to turn to human-dominated landscapes for survival, thus leading to livestock, and sometimes people being killed.
The operation was led by Bihar police, who surrounded a sugarcane field near the village of Sitaltola Baluwa to kill the three-year-old tiger known as T-104, the report, said, quoting Kumar Gupta, Chief Wildlife Warden for the region, as telling The Times of India that the tiger had been identified as “dangerous to human lives.”
Valmiki Tiger Reserve’s director, Nesamani K, who was reported to have said the final hunt to find T-104 had begun on Saturday, shortly after news emerged that a mother and her child had been killed in a tiger attack, was reported to have told Hindustan Times: “It was a sleepless night for the whole village. While some of us kept banging stones against each other, others kept beating tin containers to shoo away the tiger.”
Attempts to tranquilise the animal were unsuccessful and the tiger showed a “complete lack of fear,” when surrounded by teams, Gupta, was reported to have said by the report, which added that two teams, on two elephants, went into the forest, and a third one was on stand-by where authorities thought the tiger would exit from T-104 was shot at 15:15 local time on Saturday.
Bihar’s wildlife warden said there was no information available to suggest the killings of people had been carried out by another tiger, the report further said, quoting government data published in 2019, to have indicated that between 40 and 50 people are killed by tigers each year.
Posted by Editor | 10 October 2022, 12:37pm
Journalists and other guests, were forced to dock under their tables, fended by security operatives after sounds of gunshots were heard within the precinct of the venue where Donald Trump, President of the United States was hosting media personalities to a dinner on Saturday.
The POTUS and his wife Melania, were declared unhurt after the incident, in which one person was arrested and taken away and is said to be currently in custordy, as a result.
The incident took place at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, D.C., on Saturday night, with the United States Secret Service confirming that a suspect was been taken into custody, adding that investigations were ongoing in collaboration with local law enforcement.
The shooting occurred near the main security screening area at the event venue, the Washington Hilton, where hundreds of journalists, politicians, and guests had gathered, reports say, quoting the statement as saying: “The President and first lady are safe along with all protectees.”
The report maintained that the condition of those involved in the incident was still being assessed, while witnesses said they heard what sounded like gunshots shortly after 8:30 p.m., triggering panic as attendees fled the ballroom.
Security operatives were seen swiftly evacuating top officials, including Vice President J.D. Vance and members of the cabinet with a video footage from the scene showing Secret Service agents clearing the stage and ushering the President and other dignitaries to safety, while voices were heard urging people to “stay down.”
Trump, who spoke shortly after the incident, praised security agencies for their swift response, saying via a post on social media: “Secret Service and law enforcement did a fantastic job. They acted quickly and bravely. The shooter has been apprehended.”
He added that while he initially suggested the event continue, final decisions would be made by security authorities, noting that the evening’s programme had been significantly disrupted.
Organisers later confirmed that the president would address the press, with plans to possibly reschedule the event within 30 days.
The White House Correspondents’ Dinner is an annual gathering that brings together journalists, political leaders, and public figures, and is often seen as a key moment celebrating press freedom in the United States.
With the announcement of a $10million bounty on the head of Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new Supreme Leader, The United States, appears to be showing no let in its campaign in the Middle East country, where it had already killed scores of its previous leaders.
“These individuals command and direct various elements of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which plans, organizes and executes terrorism around the world,” the State Department said, to indicate Washington’s preparedness to pay $10 million reward for information about the whereabouts of Khamenei, whose father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed at the start of the campaign a fortnight ago.
The department’s Rewards for Justice Programme (RFJP) placed a bounty on 10 of Iran’s most senior remaining leaders, including Khamenei and Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and the country’s top security official, said to lead the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, accused of planning, organising and executing terrorism around the world.
The RFJP has previously offered bounties for terrorists like former al-Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, as well as Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who was the subject of a $10 million reward under the programme until he was removed in 2024.
Five of the people designated on Friday are listed by their titles with no name or photograph, including “secretary of the defense council” and “the IRGC commander.”
The United States and Israel have killed many of Iran’s top leaders, including former IRGC commander Mohammad Pakpour and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the former supreme leader and Mojtaba’s father.
Ali Larijani, the secretary of the country’s Supreme National Security Council, who had also appeared in a live interview with Iranian media during the march, had posted a video of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian walking in Tehran on Friday for the country’s annual Quds Day demonstrations against Israel.
Taunting U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s claim that Iranian leaders were hiding undergroundm, he wrote: “Mr. Hegseth, our leaders have been, and still are, among the people. But your leaders? On Epstein’s island!”
Earlier Donald Trump, U.S. President Donald Trump told Fox News in an interview that aired Friday morning to underscore his belief that Khamenei, who has not appeared in public since he was elevated to supreme leader, was wounded, said: “I think he’s damaged, but I think he’s probably alive in some form,”
“Rest assured that my determination to serve you is matched to the severity of the challenges before us. Together there are no challenges we cannot overcome. The best is still to come,” were the words with which Paul Biya, President of Cameroun, gave an indication to extend his reign in the country, for a record, eight time.
This would take the 92-year old leader, who came into power in November 1982, replacing Ahmaduo Ahidjo, his predecessor to 51 years and a year short of 100 years in age by the time his seven-year term would end, should he succeed in the current bid.
Though the oldest President in the world by age, Biya, who is the second longest President in the only to Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, who has been in power since he came in through a coup in 1979, confirmed that he would be on the ballot on Sunday, saying he had accepted his party’s nomination.
In the announcement made on his official X handle, and Facebook account in French and English, he wrote: “I’m running for the presidential election on October 12, 2025.”
As the nonagenarian battles with both age and ill-health, giving rise to frequent speculations, one of which came with his disappearance from public view for 42 days, last year, was replaced by another speculation of a coup, last month, which turned out to be a ruse.
Members of the governing Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) and other supporters have since last year publicly called for Biya to seek another term.
But opposition parties and some civil society groups argue his long rule has stifled economic and democratic development, with two former allies quiting the governing coalition and announcing plans to separately run in the election.
“President Biya’s announcement to run again is a clear sign of Cameroon’s stalled political transition. After over 40 years in power, what the country needs is renewal – not repetition. Cameroonians deserve democratic change and accountable leadership,” Nkongho Felix Agbor, a human rights advocate and lawyer, told The Associated Press news agency.
Sunday’s announcement is sure to revive debate over Biya’s fitness for office. He seldom makes public appearances, often delegating responsibilities to the powerful chief of staff of the president’s office.
To underscore the situation in the Central African country, the government during his disappearance last year, had banned any comments on his whereabouts and state of health, which they claimed was a security matter and arrested those who flouted the order.
His long reign continued after he scrapped term limits in 2008, clearing the way for him to run indefinitely, winning his latest election in 2018 with 71.28 percent of the vote, though opposition parties alleged widespread irregularities.
The cocoa- and oil-producing Central African nation, which has had just two presidents since independence from France and the United Kingdom in the early 1960s, is likely to face a messy succession crisis if Biya were to become too ill to remain in office or die.
Besides Biya, several opposition figures have also declared their intention to run, including 2018 runner-up Maurice Kamto of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement, Joshua Osih of the Social Democratic Front, lawyer Akere Muna and Cabral Libii of the Cameroon Party for National Reconciliation.
Under Biya, Cameroon has faced economic challenges and insecurity on several fronts, including a drawn-out separatist conflict in its English-speaking regions and ongoing incursions from the Boko Haram armed group in the north.
-
Columns2 weeks agoAbike Dabiri: Did Obi raise a monster or you’re drunk on Tinubu’s poisoned chalice?
-
Columns4 weeks agoSeun Okinbaloye saga: How does Tinubu survive if Wike resigns?
-
News2 weeks agoJandor: Tinubu didn’t endorses Hamzat *I’ve briefed President on my ambition
-
News3 weeks agoStop using Latin phrases, make clear, unambiguous orders – NBA tells courts
-
Columns2 weeks agoBe the hero that saved Nigeria! Open letter to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar
-
News4 weeks agoNafiu Gombe: Yes, I have sponsors! *I can’t fight ADC big men alone!
-
Columns3 weeks agoCentus Nweze (JSC): Death of legal purist, irony of Nigerian judiciary
-
Columns2 weeks agoNow VDM has become Sowore’s nemesis, does Peter Obi need anther advocate?