Page 10 - Violence

PM abandoned responsibility for BJP-manufactured crisis in Manipur: Cong

The Congress on Monday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of abandoning all responsibility for the "BJP-manufactured crisis" in Manipur and asked why is he "protecting" Chief Minister N Biren Singh. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh attacked the BJP ahead of Home Minister Amit Shah's poll campaign engagements in the violence-hit state. "The Prime Minister has abandoned all responsibility for the BJP-manufactured crisis in Manipur. However, his Home Minister has found the time to campaign in the state today, and we hope he takes the initiative to answer a few questions on behalf of the PM," Ramesh said in a post on X. Since May 3, 2023, when large-scale violence broke out in Manipur, the prime minister has not visited the state even once, he said. "He (Modi) has not even given an appointment to, or taken a call from, the Chief Ministers, MLAs, or any other political representatives of the state. In fact, he has barely even acknowledged the crisis, barring a three-minute sp

Six victims die in Sydney stabbing, attacker shot, say police officials

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese extended condolences to those affected via a post on X

India distressed at escalating tensions in West Asia: Randhir Jaiswal

India on Thursday expressed concern over the deadly attack on Iranian diplomatic premises in Syrian capital Damascus three days back and said that it is distressed at the escalating tensions in West Asia and their potential to fuel further instability. Following the April 1 attack, Iran accused Israel for the strike and vowed to respond to it. Iranian media reported that seven Revolutionary Guards personnel, including two generals, were killed in the attack. "We have noted with concern the attack on Iranian diplomatic premises in Syria on April 1. India is distressed at the escalating tensions in West Asia, and their potential to fuel further violence and instability," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. "We urge all parties to avoid actions that go against commonly accepted principles and norms of international law," he said. Jaiswal's remarks came in response to a query on the attack. The strike came amid Israel's continuing military operations in ...

Violence against Christians raised in 'Good Friday' prayers in Kerala

Violence against Christians in Manipur and other parts of India was raised during the special prayers on the occasion of 'Good Friday' at the St Joseph's Metropolitan Cathedral here by Latin Catholic metropolitan Archbishop Thomas J Netto. Netto said that Christians in various parts of the country, especially in Manipur and north India, were being subjected to "cruelty and violence by dark forces" and alleged that there was no effective intervention against it by the authorities. "So, there is a need to take steps against such evil powers," he said. Auxiliary Bishop Mar Thomas Tharayil of the Archeparchy of Changanacherry under the Syro Malabar Catholic Church, as part of his prayers on the occasion, said fear weakens man and it is easier to subjugate a person who is scared. He said that if even one person in a country lives in fear, it should be seen as a failure of the nation. The Christian community in Kerala observed 'Good Friday' in accordance with traditional customs and bel

4 killed, 7 wounded in northern Illinois stabbings, one suspect in custody

Four people were killed and seven hurt in stabbings in northern Illinois on Wednesday, authorities said. A 22-year-old man is in police custody and was being questioned Wednesday afternoon, according to Rockford Police Chief Carla Redd. She said one of the people who was wounded remained in critical condition. "My heart goes out to the families right now that are suffering a loss," Redd told reporters. She said the Rockford Police received a medical call at 1.14 pm, followed by additional calls for police and paramedics. "We don't believe there's any other suspects that are on the run or at large at this particular time," Redd said. "Right now, we don't have a clear motive as to what caused this individual to commit such a heinous crime." Not all of the victims found at multiple addresses in the city had stab wounds and none were shot, according to Redd. Rockford Police initially said five people had been injured. Cori Hilliard, a public information officer with the Winnebago Cou

Gangs launch new attacks on upscale areas in Haiti's capital, dozens killed

Gangs attacked two upscale neighbourhoods in Haiti's capital in a rampage that left at least a dozen people dead in surrounding areas. Gunmen looted homes in the communities of Laboule and Thomassin before sunrise on Monday, forcing residents to flee as some called radio stations pleading for police. The neighbourhoods had remained largely peaceful despite a surge in violent gang attacks across Port-au-Prince that began on February 29. An Associated Press photographer saw the bodies of at least 12 men strewn on the streets of Ptionville, located just below the mountainous communities of Laboule and Thomassin. Crowds began gathering around the victims. One was lying face up on the street surrounded by a scattered deck of cards and another found face down inside a pick-up truck known as a "tap-tap" that operates as a taxi. A woman at one of the scenes collapsed and had to be held by others after learning that a relative of hers was killed. "Abuse! This is abuse!" cried out one Haitia

First charter flight carrying US citizens fleeing Haiti lands in Miami

A charter flight carrying dozens of US citizens fleeing spiralling gang violence in Haiti has landed in Miami, US State Department officials said. More than 30 US citizens were on the government-chartered flight that landed on Sunday, officials said in a statement. It arrived at the Miami International Airport after the US Embassy in Port-au-Prince earlier this month urged US citizens to leave "as soon as possible" as chaos grips Haiti. Passenger Avlot Quessa, who lives in Boston, travelled from the centre of the country to board the charter flight after going to Haiti last month for what was supposed to be a weeklong trip to visit his mother. "It's just terrible ... The suffering, you can only imagine," Quessa told the Miami Herald of the nearby Caribbean nation. "Haiti is my homeland and it's very stressful to see the homeland going through this act of violence, destruction ... and they are our neighbours." Haiti's main airport in Port-au-Prince remains closed following gang atta

Strict action against perpetrators of violence: MEA on Guj Univ incident

India on Sunday said that the Gujarat government is taking strict action against the perpetrators of violence at a university in Ahmedabad in which two foreign students sustained injuries. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said one of the two foreign students injured in the violence has been discharged from hospital. "An incidence of violence took place at Gujarat University in Ahmedabad yesterday. State government is taking strict action against the perpetrators," he said on 'X'. "Two foreign students were injured in the clash. One of them has been discharged from hospital after receiving medical attention," he said. According to Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik, the incident occurred on Saturday night when some 20-25 people entered a hostel premises of Gujarat University in Ahmedabad "and objected to the international students offering namaz there, asking them to do so in a mosque. They argued over the issue, assaulted them and hurled stones". Two stud

Haiti's future being planned on two tracks: political power, gang power

Haiti's future is being planned on two tracks one involving traditional political power, the other focused on the power of gangs. After an intense session of international diplomacy in Jamaica, a group of Caribbean nations and the United States announced Tuesday that Haiti's best hope for calming violence rests with a council of influential figures who would elected an interim leader and could steer the country toward fresh presidential elections. As they spoke to the media, a heavily armed gang leader held an impromptu news conference in Port-au-Prince and rejected any solution led and supported by the international community. Haitian people will choose who will govern them, Jimmy Barbecue Chrizier said Monday. Haitian politics have lived in these two worlds for decades, experts told The Associated Press this week. Politicians and business interests have maintained on-the-books legal interests while employing gangs to enforce their will on the chaotic streets. WHO DECIDES HAITI'

Haiti preparing itself for new leadership; gangs want share in power

Politicians across Haiti are scrambling for power after Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced Tuesday that he would resign once a transitional presidential council is created. But elbowing their way into the race are powerful gangs that control 80% of Haiti's capital and demand a say in the future of the troubled country under siege. No one mentioned the armed groups as Caribbean leaders congratulated themselves late Monday for setting Haiti on a new political path, and experts warned that nothing will change unless gangs become part of the conversation. Gangs have become stronger, and they have the upper hand in terms of security, said Renata Segura of the International Crisis Group. This transition is not influencing the day-to-day security of Haiti. We are very concerned. Gangs have deep ties to Haiti's political and economic elite, but they have become more independent, financing their operations with kidnapping ransoms to buy smuggled weapons, including belt-fed machine guns an

Haiti extends emergency, nighttime curfew to prevent gang attacks

Haiti's government said Thursday that it was extending a state of emergency and nighttime curfew to try and curb violent gang attacks that have paralyzed the capital of Port-au-Prince in a fierce battle for political power. An initial three-day curfew was announced over the weekend, but gangs have continued to attack police stations and other state institutions at night as Haiti's National Police struggles to contain the violence with limited staff and resources. The people with the guns are essentially the current arbiter of Haitian politics, said Robert Fatton, a Haitian politics expert at the University of Virginia. The gangs have won the battle so far. The attacks began a week ago, shortly after embattled Prime Minister Ariel Henry agreed to hold general elections in mid-2025 while attending a meeting of Caribbean leaders in Guyana. He then flew to Kenya to push for the deployment of a U.N.-backed police force from the East African country to help fight gangs in Haiti. But a cou

Haiti declares curfew to restore order after violent weekend jailbreak

Haiti's government declared a state of emergency and nighttime curfew late Sunday in a bid to regain control of the streets after an explosion of violence over the weekend saw armed gang members storm the country's two biggest prisons. The 72-hour state of emergency went into immediate effect as the government said it would set out to find the killers, kidnappers and other violent criminals that it reported escaped from the prison. The police were ordered to use all legal means at their disposal to enforce the curfew and apprehend all offenders, said a statement from Finance Minister Patrick Boivert, who is serving as acting prime minister. Prime Minister Ariel Henry travelled abroad last week to try to salvage support for a bringing in a United Nations-backed security force to stabilise the country in its conflict with increasingly powerful crime groups. The decree capped a deadly weekend that marked a new low in Haiti's downward spiral of violence. At least nine people had been .

LIVE: Council of ministers brainstorms over 'Viksit Bharat 2047' plan

From former Health Minister Harsh Vardhan announcing retirement from politics to CBI filing charge sheet against 7 in Manipur in armoury loot case, catch all the updates here

Criminals calling shots in parts of Bengal, this has to end: Guv Bose

West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Thursday welcomed the arrest of TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh in Sandeshkhali case and asserted that the time has come to put criminals, who are ruling the roost in parts of Bengal, behind bars. Absconding TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh was arrested on the early hours of Thursday from a house in Minakhan, around 30 km away from the island of Sandeshkhali. "This is the beginning of an end. We have to put an end to the cycle of violence in Bengal. In parts of Bengal, the goons are ruling the roost. This must end and the gangsters should be put behind bars", the governor said at a press conference here. Bose maintained that the Sandeshkhali incident is only the tip of an iceberg, suggesting there is much more to it than what meets the eye.

Haldwani violence 'mastermind' arrested from Delhi: Uttarakhand police

The Uttarakhand Police on Saturday arrested the February 8 Haldwani violence alleged mastermind Abdul Malik from Delhi and brought him here, officials said. Nainital Senior Superintendent of Police Prahlad Narayan Meena said six teams were formed to search for Malik and his son Abdul Moid in different states including Gujarat, Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. One of the teams arrested Malik, who is in his 50s, from Delhi but his son is still on the run, Meena told reporters. "We have brought Malik to Haldwani. He is in our custody. He will be produced before a court at the earliest," he said. Apart from Malik, two more rioters were arrested on Saturday which takes the total number of people arrested so far in the case to 81. Malik allegedly built an "illegal" madrasa in the Banbhoolpura area of Haldwani. Its demolition led to the violence in Banbhoolpura area of Haldwani in Nanital district on February 8. Malik had vehemently opposed the administration's action and h

BKS condemns violence by farmers, blames govt for not listening to problems

The BKS is affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological parent of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been in power under Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Manipur sees dip in students appearing for class 12 exams amid violence

Amid ethnic violence, the number of students appearing for Class 12 state board examinations in Manipur this year has dropped by around 5,000 to over 31,000, an official said on Wednesday. Last year, more than 36,000 students appeared for the Council of Higher Secondary School Leaving Certificate Exams (COHSEM) across 120 centres in the state, he said. "The number of students and examination centres has decreased this year as compared to last year due to the prevailing law and order situation," COHSEM Chairman T Ojit Singh said. Around 31,000 students are appearing for the council's examinations from Wednesday across 111 centres, he said. This year's examinations were originally scheduled to be conducted at 114 centres but three schools - one each in Kakching, Imphal East and Chakpikarong - have been removed from the list as a result of the "prevailing situation in outlying areas of hills and valley districts," he said. "Students who were supposed to appear for the exams in the th

SC to hear PIL seeking court-monitored probe into Sandeshkhali case on Mon

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a PIL seeking a court-monitored CBI or SIT probe into the violence in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali village. A bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Augustine George Masih will hear the PIL filed by advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava. On February 16, the top court agreed to hear the plea after it was mentioned for urgent listing by Srivastava. The plea, filed by Srivastava in his personal capacity, also seeks compensation for the victims of the Sandeshkhali violence and action against officials of the West Bengal Police for alleged dereliction of duty. Srivastava, a practising Supreme Court lawyer, has been filing PILs in the top court to raise socio-political issues. The plea also seeks transfer of the probe and subsequent trial outside West Bengal. Besides, it seeks an inquiry by a three-judge committee as done in the Manipur violence case. Sandeshkhali, a village in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, has been witnessing

Oppn stopped from visiting Sandeshkhali, NCSC recommends President's rule

National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) chief said the commission has recommended the imposition of President's rule in West Bengal in its report submitted to President Droupadi Murmu

What's happening in Bengal's Sandeshkhali, and how's state govt responding?

Women in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali village have alleged systemic sexual exploitation by Trinamool Congress (TMC) members