World Briefs

Venezuela to continue accepting deported migrants

caracas: US-operated flights returning deported migrants to Venezuela will continue despite President Donald Trump’s suggestion that the airspace of the South American country should be viewed as closed. The government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Tuesday announced that the twice weekly flights will go on following a request from the Trump administration. That reverses a Venezuelan government Saturday announcement indicating that US immigration authorities had unilaterally suspended the flights.

Nigeria’s president nominates ex-military chief for defence minister

lagos: Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday nominated the former military chief as defence minister just weeks after he was made to step down. There was no immediate explanation for why Gen. Christopher Musa, who led the military from 2023 to October, was returning, pending parliamentary confirmation. Musa had been made to retire during a reshuffle of the military. The previous defence minister, Badaru Abubakar, resigned Monday, citing health reasons. The United States has been pressuring Nigeria to do more to combat deadly unrest and mass abductions by bandits and militants in the country’s north. Tinubu has rejected US claims that the violence overwhelmingly targets Christians, and he recently sent a diplomatic team to Washington.