Page 239 - War Conflict
Over 3,000 TN fishermen chased away by SL Navy; fishing nets cut
Over 3,000 Tamil Nadu fishermen were allegedly chased away and nets of many boats snapped by the Sri Lankan Navy while they were fishing off Katchatheevu Tuesday, a fishermen association leader said. The personnel also sank a mechanised boat mid-sea, he alleged. The fishermen from this island town had ventured into the sea Monday in 594 boats and were fishing near Katchatheevu when the Sri Lankan naval personnel arrived and drove them away, Tamil Nadu Mechanised Boat Association president P Sesuraja said. The naval personnel cut fishing nets of 50 boats and rammed their vessel into one of the boats carrying four fishermen and sank it. The four fishermen on board were left to struggle in the sea till fellow fishermen rescued them, he added. Noting that the livelihood of the state's fishermen was at stake, Sesuraja said the Centre should hold talks with the island-nation and find a permanent solution to the long-standing problem of fishing in the Palk Strait, an inlet of the Bay of ...
2 soldiers, militant killed in J&K gunfight
Two Indian Army soldiers and a militant were killed on Tuesday during a gun battle in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district during a conrdon and search operation, police said.
US wants to ensure Afghanistan is not used as safe heaven for terrorists: Shanahan tells Prez Ghani
The Trump administration wants to ensure that Afghanistan is never used as a safe haven for terrorists, Acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan has told President Ashraf Ghani during his surprise visit to the war-torn country to lead a push for peace talks with the Taliban. Shanahan held talks with Ghani at the Presidential Palace on Monday to reaffirm his commitment to Afghanistan through implementation of President Trump's South Asia strategy. "The leaders discussed a broad range of defence issues, including the importance of the US-Afghanistan security relationship and of achieving a political settlement to the war that ensures Afghanistan is never again used as a safe haven from which terrorists can plan and launch terrorist attacks against the United States, our interests, and our allies," said Pentagon Spokesperson Cmdr Sean Robertson. During the meeting, Shanahan praised the sacrifices made by Afghan and Coalition troops, and reaffirmed America's continued support to ...
Militant, soldier killed in J&K's Pulwama; encounter underway
A militant and an army jawan were killed while another soldier was injured in an encounter in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir Tuesday, police sources said. "One militant has been killed in an ongoing operation in Ratnipora area of Pulwama," the sources said. They said an armyman also lost his life in the encounter, while another soldier was injured. The injured soldier has been taken to a hospital for treatment, the sources said. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Ratnipora area in south Kashmir during the night following specific information about the presence of militants there. The search operation turned into an encounter after militants fired on the forces who retaliated. The operation is on and further details were awaited.
Anti-communist guerrilla who became Afghan president dies
Sibghatullah Mujadidi, who was Afghanistan's first president following the withdrawal of invading Soviet troops from Afghanistan and the collapse in 1992 of Kabul's pro-communist government, has died. He was 93. His former spokesman Sharif Yusufi says Mujadidi died overnight Tuesday in the Afghan capital. During the 10-year invasion by the former Soviet Union that ended in 1989, Mujadedi led perhaps the smallest and most moderate of the guerrilla groups, backed by the United States. Its members included former President Hamid Karzai. Following the collapse of the communist government, Mujadidi served for two months as Afghanistan's president. His successor Burhanuddin Rabbani was to serve for four months, but stayed for four years overseeing a brutal war between rival mujahedeen groups that ended with the Taliban taking power in 1996.
Encounter underway between militants, security forces in J&K's Pulwama
An encounter broke out between militants and security forces in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, police said. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Ratnipora area of Pulwama in south Kashmir during the night following specific information about the presence of militants there, a police official said. He said the search operation turned into an encounter after militants fired on the forces who retaliated. The exchange of fire was on, the official said, adding the area has been cordoned off and further details were awaited.
India calls for special measures to protect peacekeepers from IED hazards
India has asked the UN to take special measures to protect peacekeepers from improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that are a major hazard for the Blue Helmets.
Iraq captures 186 Islamic State militants
Iraq has dismantled the biggest Islamic State (IS) cell in Iraq's western province of Anbar and captured 186 militants, who committed terrorist attacks in the country, Iraqi Ministry of Interior said.
Acting Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan meets Afghan president in Kabul
Acting Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan Monday, where he met with President Ashraf Ghani as the United States leads a push for peace talks with the Taliban. The visit comes after Washington held major talks with Taliban officials in Qatar last month that negotiators hope could herald a breakthrough in the grinding 17-year conflict. US President Donald Trump is pushing to end US involvement in Afghanistan, where 14,000 American troops are still deployed -- raising Afghan fears that Washington could exit before securing a lasting peace between the Taliban and the Kabul government. Shanahan told reporters earlier that he had no instructions from Washington to begin a withdrawal, however. "I have not been directed to step down our forces in Afghanistan," Shanahan said. "I think the presence we want in Afghanistan is what assures our homeland defence and supports regional stability." He said it was crucial Kabul, whose representatives were not at the
Irani takes jibe at Rahul, asks how those who "looted poor"
Taking a jibe at Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Union Minister Smriti Irani on Monday sought to know how those who "looted the poor" could criticise Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She also asked how those who indulged in "corruption" and "filled the coffers of Congress" target the "pradhan sevak"?. Irani's comments came in the backdrop of Gandhi's attack on Modi over the Rafale deal. In a veiled reference to Gandhi's brother-in-law Robert Vadra's alleged acquisition of properties in London, she said, "Those who lived amidst the rich and looted the poor for years.. whose brother-in-law purchases assets in London, have the temerity to cast aspersions on the Prime Minister." Irani was addressing a party meeting at Mahabubnagar, in Hindi. The meeting was organised as part of BJP's preparations for the coming Lok Sabha elections. Modi had announced the procurement of a batch of 36 Rafale jets after holding talks with then French president Francois Hollande on April 10, 2015 ..
Russia jails IS pair for 15 years over planned attacks
A Russian court on Monday jailed two members of the Islamic State group for 15 years for planning attacks on a mall and public transport in Moscow, news agencies reported. Bakhtiyor Makhmudov and Zafarkhon Rakhmatov from Muslim-majority Tajikistan will serve their sentences in a "strict regime camp", a court statement said. Russia's FSB security service arrested the duo in December 2017, accusing them of planning suicide bombings over the New Year and during a forthcoming presidential election campaign. The pair pleaded guilty, the RIA Novosti news agency said. Almost 2,900 Russian jihadists, mainly from Muslim-majority republics in the south of the federation, have fought in Iraq and Syria, according the FSB. Several thousand others from ex-Soviet Central Asian countries are also believed to have fought in conflicts there. In 2017, Russia was hit by several terrorist attacks, the most serious of which left 15 dead and many injured in the metro of second city Saint Petersburg.
4 killed as hospital torched in Cameroon's anglophone west
Four people died when gunmen raided a hospital and burnt it to the ground in western Cameroon where anglophone separatists have been fighting troops, witnesses and a local official said Monday. The incident occurred in Kumba, a town which serves as the commercial hub for the anglophone region and which has been badly hit by the violence between separatists and Cameroon troops that began in October 2017. "Attackers killed four people and burnt down the hospital," said an administrative official in the Kumba region, confirming information from a witness. It was not immediately clear whether the victims were shot or died in the fire, nor whether they were patients at the facility. Another local source said it appeared separatists were behind the attack. The incident occurred on National Youth Day, the anniversary of the 1961 referendum which saw Cameroon's western English-speaking areas joined onto the francophone areas which had just won independence from France. Kumba lies about 70 ...
Army troops evacuate pregnant woman stuck in snow, woman delivers twins later
The incident took place in Bandipora sector of Kashmir which has been receiving heavy snowfall for the last many days now crippling road traffic and other means of transport."Troops of Rashtriya Rifles in Bandipora evacuated Ghulshana Begum a full-term pregnant lady who was stuck in snow-bound Panar Village. Troops carried the woman for two and a half kilometers in deep snow and low temperature to the hospital," Army sources said.The woman gave birth to twin girls in the hospital. The gesture was appreciated by locals who thanked the Army troops for their assistance.
UK calls for closer post-Brexit defence ties with India
Britain's Defence Minister Gavin Williamson on Monday called for closer ties with India as the UK prepares to leave the European Union (EU) next month. In a speech on modernising the UK's armed forces at the Royal United Service Institute (RUSI) in London, Williamson said plans for a "Global Britain" involve using the country's capabilities to strengthen its global presence and taking action to shore up the worldwide system of rules and standards. "Brexit has brought us to a moment. A great moment in our history. A moment when we must strengthen our global presence, enhance our lethality, and increase our mass," said Williamson. "So, as well as our relationships with Europe, we need to build on our established relationship with the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Canada as part of the Five EyesWith other ASEAN nations, with Japan, the Republic of Korea and India," he said. The enhanced global engagement is not a "reflex reaction" to leaving the EU but about building a ...
UK must bolster armed forces or face risk of being seen as a "paper tiger": Defence Minister
The UK needs a bolder and stronger armed forces prepared to use "hard power" or risk being seen as a "paper tiger", Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson warned on Monday, amidst China flexing its muscles in the Indo-Pacific region. Speaking at the Royal United Services Institute, he said Britain must stand up to those who "flout international law". He also said the country's planned exit from the European Union on March 29 had brought the UK its "greatest opportunity" to strengthen its global presence. Williamson detailed plans to modernise the armed forces, and said it must increase its "mass and lethality". He revealed plans for two military ships that could be deployed for crisis support as well as military operations, the BBC reported. He said they would be able to respond "at a moment's notice" to support the Royal Marines. He also confirmed the Royal Navy's new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth is being deployed to the Pacific region, where China has been involved in a dispute .
Britain investigates new Skripal suspect with Bulgaria
Britain and Bulgaria are investigating a third suspect in the Salisbury chemical attack who has also been linked to a 2015 poisoning in Bulgaria, the British ambassador to Sofia said Monday. Britain's ambassador Emma Hopkins made the comments after talks with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and Chief Prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov. "We are continuing a close partnership together with a joint team looking into the factual underpinning of these allegations," Hopkins said at a televised news conference. A report published last week by the investigative website Bellingcat identified a hitherto unknown third suspect in last year's attack in the English city of Salisbury on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter. Both had to be hospitalised after being exposed to the highly toxic nerve agent Novichok in an attack the British government says was "almost certainly" approved by the Russian state. According to Bellingcat, the third suspect is a Russian military intelligence ...
No troop cut planned, says acting US Defence Secretary during Afghanistan visit
There have been no orders from the Donald Trump administration to reduce the US military presence in Afghanistan, acting US Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan said on Monday as he arrived in the war-torn South Asian country on an unannounced visit.
Pakistan violates ceasefire, targets forward posts, villages along LoC in J-K's Poonch
Pakistani troops Monday targeted forward posts and villages along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, prompting "strong and effective" retaliation by the Indian Army, officials said. The exchange of fire between the two sides continued for nearly seven hours, causing panic among the locals, the officials said. They said Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire by resorting to unprovoked firing from light and heavy weapons in Kerni sector around 8.15 am. Indian troops guarding the LoC, retaliated effectively and the cross-border firing between the two sides continued till 3 pm, the officials said, adding there was no immediate report of any casualty on this side.
Durban offers faint hope for beleaguered Sri Lanka
The odds appear to be stacked against Sri Lanka in a two-Test series against South Africa, which starts at Kingsmead on Wednesday, but the tourists can take heart from their previous record in Durban. The away team head into the series following heavy defeats in New Zealand and Australia, and having unceremoniously dumped captain Dinesh Chandimal. Sri Lanka have lost 11 of 13 Test matches in South Africa. The exceptions occurred at Kingsmead in the only two Tests Sri Lanka have played at the ground. In 2000/01 a rain-hit match was drawn -- with South Africa in a strong position -- and in 2011/12 Rangana Herath spun Sri Lanka to their only win in South Africa. The hosts have been beaten in six of their eight Test matches at Kingsmead since the start of the 2008/09 season, against a single win. By contrast, at other home venues they have won 32 of their 44 Tests, with only six defeats. Pitches in Durban have tended to negate outright pace, while offering help to spin bowlers. Herath ...
Security forces spot suspicious movement near Uri Army camp, open fire
The security forces on Sunday night launched an operation after detecting suspicious movement around the Army camp along the Line of Control in Uri town of Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district.No casualties have been reported so far.Talking to ANI, Commanding Officer 53 Battalion CRPF Vinay Kumar said: "Suspicious movement was detected around the camp of Army Artillery unit in Uri last night following which security personnel opened fire."The operation is underway. The number of terrorists is still unknown. "I will tell you the exact situation after assessing things on the ground," said the officer.Further details are awaited.