Rachel Reeves ‘to give go-ahead’ for £1bn military helicopter deal

Rachel Reeves ‘to give go-ahead’ for £1bn military helicopter deal

Report says chancellor to sign contract with Italy’s Leonardo, saving 3,000 manufacturing jobs at Yeovil plant Rachel Reeves is to approve a £1bn deal to build military helicopters in Yeovil, effectively saving about 3,000 manufacturing jobs, according to reports. The chancellor is expected to sign a contract with Leonardo – the Italian owner of the former Westland factory in Yeovil, Somerset – to build the new battlefield helicopters, after months of speculation as to whether the historic site would survive. Continue reading...

'We exercised our right to self-defence' - Pakistan claims 274 Afghani killed during strike on 22 locations amid 'Ghazab-ul-Haq' operation

'We exercised our right to self-defence' - Pakistan claims 274 Afghani killed during strike on 22 locations amid 'Ghazab-ul-Haq' operation

"Pakistan's military announced on Friday that it had carried out airstrikes on 22 locations inside Afghanistan, launching 'Operation Ghazab-ul-Haq' following cross-border strikes on Thursday and into Friday. General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry confirmed the strikes targeted '22 locations in Kabul, Kandahar, Paktia, Nangarhar, Khost, and Paktika,' stating they were 'very carefully selected based on intelligence' and claiming they were 'military targets'. "The operation that Pakistan carried out last night, named 'Ghazab-ul-Haq' was in self-defence and for the protection of its people," he said. Regarding the Afghan attack, the spokesperson said Pakistani forces 'responded immediately and effectively,' monitoring the attack across all 53 locations and repelling it, claiming that the attackers 'did not make any success' at any location. The military official also spoke about casualties, saying 'this brave army's 12 sons have embraced martyrdom, while 27 are injured, and one soldier is missing in action'. He also claimed 274 Taliban members had been killed and more than 400 injured. Afghanistan’s defence ministry said that 55 Pakistani soldiers had been killed, along with eight Afghan soldiers. Afghanistan launched what it called a 'major offensive' on Pakistan military posts near the border on Thursday, which the Taliban government said was a response to deadly airstrikes earlier this month. Pakistan, which said those earlier attacks were on 'militants' who were being 'suicide attacks', carried out airstrikes on the capital Kabul and two other provinces over Thursday night and into Friday. Pakistan also claims that Kabul harbours Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants, which the Taliban government strongly denies."