Page 309 - War Conflict
US Sentences announces 40 years imprisonment for terror attacks plotting
The United States has sentenced Canadian citizen Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy to 40 years in prison for plotting terrorist attacks in New York City in support of the Islamic State terror group, the US Department of Justice has said."Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy, 20, of Mississauga, Canada, was sentenced to 40 years in prison, and a lifetime of supervised release, for plotting to carry out terrorist attacks in New York City during the summer of 2016 in support of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization," the release said on Wednesday.The Justice Department explained that El Bahnasawy cooperated with US citizen Talha Haroon, who currently resides in Pakistan, and Philippine citizen Russell Salic in plotting the terrorist attacks.The three men used encrypted messages to conduct bombings and shootings in heavily populated areas of New York City during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in 2016, the Justice Department said.El Bahnasawy and Haroon ...
'Bhumi pujan' performed for new Darbar Hall, Guv's secretariat
Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Thursday performed the 'bhumi pujan' of new Darbar Hall and Governor's secretariat at Raj Bhavan here. The new Darbar Hall will have a seating capacity of 900, which was 250 earlier. Both these works will be completed by January 31, 2020. Rao and Fadnavis also visited the British-era bunkers found below Raj Bhavan. State Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, PWD Minister Chandrakant Patil, Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil were present on the occasion.
Myanmar forces conduct 'clearance operations' after two killed in Rakhine state
Myanmar forces are conducting new rounds of "clearance operations" in conflict-hit Rakhine state after four local Buddhists were attacked and two killed, the commander-in-chief's office said Thursday, with one of the incidents blamed on Rohingya Muslims. The violence occurred around the evening of December 17 along Pyu Ma creek in northern Rakhine state's Maungdaw township, the same area where forces waged a bloody crackdown against the Rohingya last year. More than 720,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh after Myanmar launched clearance operations in August 2017, and UN investigators want the country's top brass prosecuted for genocide for alleged abuses carried out during the expulsion. Myanmar said it was defending itself against Rohingya militants who attacked police posts and has denied almost all claims of atrocities. But the commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing's office said in the statement posted to his official website Thursday that security forces were active again and had been .
US imposes new sanctions hitting Russians, Skripal poisoners
The Donald Trump administration has imposed a new set of sanctions on Russian entities and individuals including two men who allegedly carried out an assassination attempt on former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the UK last year.
Bomb blast at village chief's residence in Manipur
A powerful bomb exploded at the residence of a village pradhan (chief) in Manipur's Imphal East district, causing panic among local people, a police officer said. No one was injured in the incident, he maintained. The blast, triggered by suspected militants of proscribed outfit PREPAK (PRO), caused damages to the village chief's residence and property at Nongpok Awang Leikai village in Lamlai police station area, 15 km from the capital town, the officer told PTI. The reason behind attack was yet to be ascertained, he added.
Book recalls India's contribution to First World War
A new book looks into the experience of combatants, non-combatants and civilians from undivided India in the First World War and their sociocultural, visual and literary worlds. Around 1.5 million Indians were recruited of whom over a million served abroad. In India, Empire, and First World War Culture: Writings, Images, and Songs, Santanu Das draws on a variety of fresh, unusual sources - objects, images, rumours, street pamphlets, letters, diaries, sound-recordings, folksongs, testimonies, poetry, essays and fiction - to produce a cultural and literary history, moving from recruitment tactics in villages through sepoy traces and feelings in battlefields, hospitals and POW camps to post-war reflections on Europe and empire. Combining archival excavation in different countries across several continents with investigative readings of Mahatma Gandhi, Rudyard Kipling, Muhammad Iqbal, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Rabindranath Tagore and others in this imaginative study opens up the worlds of sepoys
N Korea says it won't denuclearize unless US removes threat
North Korea said Thursday it will never unilaterally give up its nuclear weapons unless the United States removes its nuclear threat first, a statement that raises further doubts on whether leader Kim Jong Un will ever relinquish an arsenal he may see as his greatest guarantee of survival. The statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency came amid a deadlock in nuclear negotiations between the United States and North Korea over the sequencing of the denuclearization process and removal of international sanctions. Kim and President Donald Trump met June 12 in Singapore where they issued a vague goal for the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula without describing when and how it would occur. But North Korea for decades has been pushing a concept of denuclearization that bears no resemblance to the American definition, vowing to pursue nuclear development until the United States removes its troops and the nuclear umbrella defending South Korea and Japan. In
Miseries of global wars should be lesson for next gen: Mamata
Remembering the day when Kolkata was bombed by the Japanese Air Force during World War II, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday said that sufferings of two global wars should be a lesson for the next generations. Bombers of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF) on December 20, 1942 had bombed the city and damaged its infrastructure. "On this day in 1942, during World War II, the Japanese Air Force bombed #Kolkata. Let the great suffering during the two World Wars be a lesson for the generations to come. Peace leads to prosperity," Banerjee tweeted. During the World War II several cities around the globe were bombed and destroyed by the IJAAF.
Israeli leader calls on UN to condemn Hezbollah over tunnels
Israel's prime minister Wednesday called on the UN Security Council to condemn "wanton acts of aggression" by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, designate it a terrorist organisation and heighten sanctions on it over tunnels it has dug into Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu said the council should "stand up for the truth" when it meets to discuss the tunnels Israel recently uncovered on the Lebanon border during "Operation Northern Shield." The Israeli military is engaged in the open-ended operation to identify and destroy the cross-border passageways, of which four have already been uncovered. Israel says they were built by Hezbollah militants to carry out attacks on Israeli civilians and try to conquer its northern tip. "This is not merely an act of aggression. This is an act of war," Netanyahu said. "The people of Lebanon have to understand that Hezbollah is putting them in jeopardy and we expect Lebanon to take action against this." Hezbollah, which has used such tunnels inside ...
ED seizes property of Naxalite in Bihar's Aurangabad
The Bihar Police on the directions of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized the property of a Naxalite, Vinay Yadav on Wednesday.The confiscated property includes one construction vehicle, two cars, and three buses.Yadav is an infamous Naxalite of Bihar and Jharkhand with more than 50 cases registered against him in both the states.The Jharkhand government has declared a reward of Rs 15 lakh while Bihar government has declared Rs 3 lakh on Yadav.
Sri Sri meets Lebanese Prez Michel Aoun, PM Saad Hariri
Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has met Lebanese President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri and discussed about the ongoing civil war in Lebanon, his organisation said here Wednesday. The spiritual leader, who was visiting the Middle East country after 15 years, also met Labanese scholars, policymakers and the general public, an AOL statement said. The AOL founder had in the past visited Jordan and Lebanon as part of his peace mission, it added. The foundation had been operational in refugee camps in Tripoli since last 2 years, it said. Aoun lauded Ravi Shankar's efforts in conflict resolution in the region, the AOL said. International Association For Human Values, founded by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, has been working with the locals and the refugee communities, including Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan to provide rehabilitation and trauma relief with a vision to help them rebuild their lives more meaningfully, it said.
People should be proud of the armed forces, remember their sacrifices: JK Guv
Jammu and Kashmir Governor SatyaPal Malik said Wednesday that people should be proud of the country's armed forces and their sacrifices, and support families of those killed in the line of duty. People, besides visiting shrines, should also go and meet the families of "martyrs" in villages and contribute for their well being, he said at a function of the state Sainik Welfare department here. The department had organised the event to mark the 2018 armed forces flag day celebration. "If we have be most proud of anything in this country, it is our armed forces and their martyrdom. If you cannot participate in their martyrdom, at least you should come forward to remember them", Malik said. There are several organisations and institutions that support widows, parents and children of "martyrs" and "if you (the people) support them even with just a penny, it is big thing", the governor said The sacrifices made by the country's armed forces has no match in the world, he said. "Instead of ...
UN food program announces service cuts to Palestinians
The United Nations' World Food Program says it will be cutting services to nearly 200,000 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip due to a lack of funding. The WFP said in a statement Wednesday it needs another USD 57 million to continue providing for 360,000 impoverished Palestinians in 2019. Of those affected by the budget shortages, 27,000 Palestinians in the West Bank will lose food service, and another 166,000 in the West Bank and Gaza Strip will receive reduced services. Raphael du Boispean, a WFP spokesman, attributed the crisis to the "recurrent problem" of declining donations. The Palestinians have faced major budget cuts this year after the United States slashed funding for the UN's Palestinian refugee program UNRWA and for USAID programs in the Palestinian territories.
Taliban to hold peace talks only after foreign troops leave Afghanistan: Russian official
The Taliban will engage in peace talks with the Afghan government only if foreign troops are withdrawn from the country, Alexander Venediktov, an aide to the Russian Security Council secretary, said in an interview with Sputnik."The Taliban movement, which, according to our estimates, has exceeded 60,000 members, refuses to negotiate directly with the leadership of Afghanistan, declaring it a protege of the United States that does not enjoy the real support of the people .... Their leaders say it will be possible to hold negotiations, but only after the issue of the withdrawal of 16,000 foreign troops is resolved," Venediktov said.According to the official, Taliban militants consider their fight to be a forced response to the presence of US and NATO troops. On Monday, a delegation of US officials launched talks with the Taliban movement in the United Arab Emirates.Following the talks, media reported, citing Taliban officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, that the US delegation
11 naxals held from two districts in Chhattisgarh
As many as 11 Naxals were arrested from two districts in Bastar division of Chhattisgrh on Wednesday, police said. While seven Naxals were apprehended from Bijapur district, four others held in Narayanpur district, a senior police official told PTI. "In Bijapur, a joint team of CRPF's 168th battalion, District Reserve Guard (DRG) and local police had launched a search operation in the forest of Basaguda police station area to trace some Naxals wanted in separate cases, following inputs about their movements," he said. During the search, seven ultras, identified as Oyam Masa (26), Oyam Budhru (38), Punem Dulla (36), Dodi Chhotu (25), Punema Somlu (30), Oyam Mangu (26) and Korsa Dinecch (18) were held, he said. Of them, Masa was active as a member of militia section commander of Maoists, while the remaining ones were lower-rung cadres, he said. Masa, Budhru and Dulla were allegedly involved in an attack on a police team on January 1 this year in Basaguda area, in which ...
3 injured in stabbing at London health centre
Three people were stabbed in a machete attack at a health centre in east London on Wednesday, the police said.
Taliban say talks focus on US withdrawal from Afghanistan
The Taliban say their latest talks with the US envoy focused on the withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan, the release of prisoners and halting attacks on civilians by pro-government forces. US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad met with the Taliban this week in the United Arab Emirates, with Saudi, Pakistani and Emirati officials also participating. The Afghan government sent a delegation to the UAE but it did not take part in the talks. Khalilzad tweeted Wednesday that the talks were "productive," without mentioning the Taliban by name. Since being appointed in September, Khalilzad has met with all sides to try to restart peace talks aimed at ending America's longest war. The Taliban control nearly half of Afghanistan, and are more powerful than at any time since the 2001 US-led invasion.
Protest in AMU over firing in Kashmir
Students of the Aligarh Muslim University took out a peace march on the varsity campus on Wednesday to condemn the killing of seven persons on December 15 in Kashmir.
2nd batch of Afghan women officers undergo training at OTA
Head scarf-clad Zuhra Nabizada showed no traces of emotion as she handled the machine gun with the ease of a professional during a training session at the shooting range of the Officers Training Academy here. She is part of a group of 19 women from the Afghanistan Armed forces honing their skills at the Academy. Wiping the sweat off her sunburnt face, Afghan Air Force's Second Lieutenant Nabizada said this is her second visit to India. "The first visit was in 2014 to Dehradun to part in a Taekwondo match," she said. India's only academy to impart training to women cadets and officers, OTA is hosting women officers from the Afghanistan Armed Forces for the second time, the first being last year with 20 women. Afghanistan Army's Liaison Officer Captain Sirajulhaq Safi told PTI that this time officers from the country's Air Force have also joined the programme. "Compared to last year, the team this year comprises many young officers," Safi said, adding that his country sees
China warns US against 'weaponising' space
China said Wednesday it opposed the "weaponisation" of space as it criticised US President Donald Trump's orders to create a new command centre for controlling military space operations. "China has consistently proposed the peaceful usage of space, and opposes the weaponisation of space and a space arms race," said Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying at a press briefing. "We oppose even further turning space into the new battleground," she added. On Tuesday, Trump ordered the creation of "Space Command", a new organisational structure within the Pentagon that will have overall control of military space operations. SpaceCom, as it will inevitably come to be known, will be on equal footing with other US military commands, such as Central Command in the Middle East or Indo-Pacific Command in Asia, and will require a new headquarters as well as a commander and deputy commander who will need Senate approval. It is not the first military space entity proposed by the US ...