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Britain’s navy on Thursday named its only serving woman commando as among three people killed in a helicopter accident.
Lily-Mae Fisher, who died when a Merlin Mk4 helicopter crashed during routine training in southwest England, was “Britain’s only serving female Royal Navy Commando”, the navy said.
The 31-year-old passed an arduous training course including a 30-mile (50-kilometre) march to become a green-beret-wearing commando in 2022.
The BBC reported last year that seven women had successfully completed the All Arms Commando Course since 2001, including Fisher, while 17 had attempted it.
The lieutenant was killed on her final flight training assessment and was due to qualify as a helicopter pilot this month.
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She died along with two other Royal Navy service personnel.
Fisher had an Instagram account with more than 45,000 followers where she talked about issues faced by women in the military, including dealing with menstruation while in the field.
“She has been an inspiration to countless people, particularly young women, encouraging them to achieve their dreams,” the defence ministry said.
Mali’s military government on Thursday offered a $3.5 million reward for information leading to the arrest or killing of the leader of Al-Qaeda’s Sahel branch.
Iyad Ag Ghaly, head of the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), is the region’s most wanted man as the leader of the biggest jihadist force battling the juntas ruling many of the Sahel states.
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Ghaly, a former Malian diplomat and Tuareg rebel, is also on the US terrorist list and the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant. Since its creation in 2017, his JNIM has been blamed for a number of daring attacks on the military authorities.
In a statement read on national television, the military-run security ministry offered a two billion CFA francs ($3.5 million) bounty for information helping the “capture or neutralisation” of Ghaly and $2.5 million for one of his deputies, Amadou Kouffa. It also offered cash for intelligence on two Tuareg rebel leaders.
“These individuals are actively sought by the authorities for their alleged involvement in the planning, organisation and execution of terrorist acts that have threatened the safety of people and their property within the national territory,” the statement said.
Mali has been confronted by nearly a decade and a half of unrest led by the JNIM and fighters associated with the Islamic State group, as well as by criminal gangs. The country has been ruled by the military since a 2020 coup.
The United States Congress has asked the country’s Secretary of State to engage the Nigerian government on the trial, conviction and imprisonment of leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu.
The development followed a resolution passed by the Congress on May 22, 2026. A copy of the resolution was obtained by The Eastern Updates on Tuesday.
The resolution, numbered H.Res. 1321, followed a motion by Congressman John James. James, in the motion, asked the Congress to call on the Government of Nigeria to ensure that all legal proceedings involving Kanu are conducted in full accordance with Nigeria’s constitutional obligations and international human rights commitments.
