Page 327 - War Conflict
PSG-Montpellier match postponed over France yellow vests protests
Paris Saint Germain on Tuesday announced that the Montpellier clash was postponed by the Paris Police Prefecture, until further notice, due to ongoing protests against rising fuel prices and the cost of living in France.
4 Maoists arrested in Jharkhand, arms and ammunition recovered
Security forces Tuesday arrested four Maoists from a jungle in Latehar district and recovered arms and ammunition from their possession, a police officer said. The Maoists belong to the Peoples Liberation Front of India (PLFI), the police officer said. On the basis of a tip-off that four Maoists had gathered in Titir Mahua jungle, the security forces carried out raids and caught them, the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Latehar district, Prashant Anand, said. Two foreign-made rifles, 379 bullets and Naxal literature were recovered from them, the SP said. The Maoists were identified as Gulab Yadav, Rakesh Paswan, Ravi Yadav and Pawan Yadav, the SP said.
International Gita Mahotsav in Kurukshetra
The International Gita Mahotsav-2018 will be held in Kurukshetra in Haryana from December 7 to 23 with participation by artists and artisans of national and international repute.
Yemen's Houthi delegation leaves for Stockholm peace talks
Yemen's Houthi rebel negotiators accompanied by visiting UN Special Envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, left rebel-held capital Sana'a for Stockholm on Tuesday on a Kuwaiti plane to attend upcoming peace talks.
Rs 40 lakh looted in Jharkhand
Criminals looted Rs 40 lakh from a Punjab National Bank situated in Jharkhand's Dumka district on Tuesday evening, police said.
France halts fuel tax hikes in bid to calm fiery protests
The French government announced Tuesday that it would suspend planned increases in fuel taxes for six months in a bid to quell fierce protests that have ballooned into the deepest crisis of Emmanuel Macron's presidency. The concession was one of several made by Prime Minister Edouard Philippe in a rare televised address, after the country was rocked by intense street clashes and vandalism in Paris over the weekend. "This anger, you would have to be deaf and blind not to see it, nor hear it," Philippe said after more than a fortnight of demonstrations by so-called "yellow vest" protesters. "No tax merits putting the unity of the nation in danger," he added. Increases in regulated electricity and gas prices will also be frozen during the winter, while stricter vehicle emission controls set to take effect from January 1 will be suspended for six months, he said. "The French people who have put on yellow vests love their country, they want lower taxes and for their work to pay: That's ...
Somali journalist wounded hurt in car bomb blast, police say
A Somali police officer says a journalist has been seriously wounded in a car bomb blast in Mogadishu. Capt. Mohamed Hussein says Ismail Sheikh Khalif, also a media rights activist, was hurt Tuesday when the bomb concealed in his car was detonated remotely in Waberi district. A former radio colleague says Khalif has substantial blood loss and is being treated at a local hospital. The colleague spoke on condition of anonymity for safety concerns. There is no immediate claim of responsibility. Somalia is one of the world's most dangerous countries for journalists. The Committee to Protect Journalists says 59 have been killed since 1992, soon after civil war erupted in the Horn of Africa nation. Somali journalists frequently receive threats but police rarely investigate them or adequately protect reporters.
TN transgender cop attempts sucide alleging harassment by
A 22-year old trans woman police constable here has been hospitalised after she attempted suicide alleging harassment by three of her superiors, police said Tuesday. R Nasriya, who joined the police force in August this year, shot a selfie video of her drinking rat poison and posted it on WhatsApp Monday night, saying she was taking the extreme step as the three superiors "misbehaved indecently" and 'teased' her. After seeing the video, police rushed to her room here and admitted her to the local government hospital. After a stomach wash, her condition was now okay, they said. District Superintendent of Police Om Prakash Meena ordered adepartmental inquiry by a DSP rank official into the trans woman constable's complaint. In the video, she named the three police personnel and said "I am taking this extreme step becausethe three behaved indecently and made me suffer a lot by teasing and torturing. They are solely reponsible for my death. Friends please share this ...
Crisis-hit Sri Lanka suffers credit rating cuts
Two international credit rating agencies downgraded Sri Lanka by one notch on Tuesday following almost six weeks of political crisis. Fitch said it believed Sri Lanka's political upheaval, which began with the sacking of its prime minister in October and has disrupted the functioning of parliament, exacerbates the Indian Ocean nation's external financing risks. Along with Standard and Poor's, it warned that Sri Lanka was heading for tougher times with politics complicating the effects of a challenging external environment. "Investor confidence has been undermined, as evident from large outflows from the local bond market and a depreciating exchange rate," Fitch said. Fitch downgraded Sri Lanka from B plus to B, while Standard and Poor's also cut its rating from B plus to B. The crisis began on October 26 when President Maithripala Sirisena removed Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister and replaced him with the flamboyant but controversial Mahinda Rajapakse. However with ...
US special envoy arrives in Pak for talks on Afghanistan
America's special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad arrived in Islamabad on Tuesday to hold meetings with Pakistan's political and military leadership to coordinate closely on the US efforts to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table to end the 17-year-long war in Afghanistan. Khalilzad arrived here a day after Pakistan announced that US President Donald Trump has written a letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan, seeking Islamabad's "assistance and facilitation in achieving a negotiated settlement of the Afghan war". Khan told the media on Monday that resolution of conflict in Afghanistan was also in the best interest of Pakistan, which always made serious efforts to bring peace in the neighbouring country. Diplomatic sources said that Khalilzad would hold talks with foreign ministry and security officials about the situation in Afghanistan. Khalilzad will also travel to other regional countries including Afghanistan, Russia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to seek ..
France suspends fuel tax hike after protests
French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe on Tuesday announced a six-month suspension of a plan to introduce a fuel tax hike which has led to weeks of violent protests.
Death toll rises in Boko Haram base attack in NE Nigeria
The number of soldiers killed in a Boko Haram attack on a military base in northeast Nigeria's Yobe state has risen to eight, security sources said Tuesday. Gunmen from Boko Haram faction the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) attacked the base on Saturday in Buni Gari village, 60 kilometres (37 miles) from Damaturu, the state capital. Two soldiers and six insurgents were initially said to have been killed in the attack. But sources on Tuesday said eight soldiers were killed. "The death toll is now eight. Six more bodies of soldiers were later recovered and moved to Damaturu," a military officer, who did not want to be named told AFP. A civilian militia fighting jihadists in the area confirmed the recovery of six more bodies of soldiers. "All the eight dead soldiers are now in the morgue at the specialist hospital in Damaturu," said a spokesperson for the militia, who asked not to be identified for fear of sanction. Military authorities were not immediately available to ...
Bangla court records testimony of 1st witness in 2016 terror attack trial
An anti-terrorism special tribunal in Bangladesh has recorded the statement of the first witness in the 2016 terror attack case, three years after the country's deadliest attack killed 22 people, mostly foreigners, including an Indian national. Militants of the banned Neo-Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (Neo-JMB) attacked the posh Holey Artisan restaurant in the Gulshan diplomatic enclave on July 1, 2016 in the Bangladesh capital. Twenty-two people -- an Indian girl, nine Italians, seven Japanese and five Bangladeshis, including two police officers -- were killed in the attack. "Police sub-inspector Ripon Kumar Das testified before the court as the first prosecution witness, being the complainant in the case," a court official said. Six of the eight accused, who had earlier confessed to their involvement in the attack, appeared before the court on Monday amid heavy police security to face the trial. The other two accused are on the run, but were being tried in absentia. All the accused
1984 anti-Sikh riots: SC approves two-member SIT to probe 186 cases
The Supreme Court on Tuesday accepted the suggestion made by the Central Government to let the two-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to continue with the probe into 186 cases related to Delhi's 1984 anti-Sikh riots.The apex court passed this order modifying its January 11 order and accepted the recommendation made by the Centre.On January 11, the top court had constituted a three-member SIT headed to supervise further probe into the registered cases, in which closure reports had been filed earlier.More than 100 people were arrested in November 1984 for allegedly rioting, burning houses and violating curfew imposed in Trilokpuri area of Delhi.Massive riots had erupted across the country after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her bodyguards. As per the official records, around 2,800 Sikhs were killed across India, including 2,100 in Delhi, during the clashes.
More than 150 women, girls raped in South Sudan: UN
More than 150 women and girls have come forward in the past 12 days to seek help in South Sudan after they were raped or suffered other forms of sexual violence, the heads of three UN agencies said Monday. Armed men, many in uniform, carried out the attacks near the northern city of Bentiu, according to a joint statement from Henrietta Fore, who heads the UN children's agency UNICEF, UN aid chief Mark Lowcock and the director of the UN Population Fund, Natalia Kanem. The three agencies condemned "these abhorrent attacks" and called on South Sudan authorities to ensure the perpetrators face justice. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) last week said 125 women and girls had been raped while walking to emergency food distribution centers set up by international aid agencies. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned the attacks. "These horrific acts are a distressing reminder of how, despite recent recommitments by South Sudan's leaders to a cessation of hostilities and a revitalised ...
France to suspend fuel tax hike after protests
The French government will suspend its plan to introduce a fuel tax hike which has led to violent protests, the media reported on Tuesday.
Turkey detains dozens nationwide over alleged Gulen links
Turkish police on Tuesday detained nearly 140 people in nationwide raids over alleged links to the group blamed for the 2016 failed coup, state media reported. Prosecutors across the country, including in Istanbul and Ankara, issued 267 arrest warrants, according to state news agency Anadolu, as part of different investigations into followers of US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen. Police launched operations in 24 provinces including Izmir and Mugla on the Aegean coast and Ordu and Zonguldak on the Black Sea. By late Tuesday morning, 137 suspects had been detained including 55 in Istanbul as raids continued to capture others, Anadolu reported. Ankara accuses Gulen of ordering the attempted overthrow of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July 15, 2016 but he strongly denies the claims. Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, and his followers stress that their movement is peaceful, promoting Islam and education. The probes include one led by the Istanbul public ...
Afghan official: Taliban storm checkpoint, kill police chief
An Afghan official says the Taliban stormed a police checkpoint in northern Sari Pul province, killing a district police chief and another officer. Zabi Amani, the governor's spokesman, says the attack on Monday night in Sayyad district also wounded four policemen. Amani says the attack triggered an hours-long gun battle and that there are also casualties among the Taliban. He didn't elaborate. Meanwhile, a shootout that broke out overnight between Kabul police and a man who was being evicted under a court order from his house in the Afghan capital left one policeman dead and six people, including a reporter, wounded. Basir Mujahid, spokesman for the Kabul police, says roads around the area have been blocked off and sporadic shooting is still taking place at the site on Tuesday.
S&P cuts Sri Lanka's credit rating to 'B' from 'B+', maintains stable outlook
(Reuters) - S&P Global Ratings said on Tuesday it lowered Sri Lanka's sovereign credit rating to 'B' from 'B+', but maintained its outlook at 'stable'.
Indonesian police say 31 dead, 1 missing in Papua attacks
Security forces are trying to recover the bodies of 31 construction workers who were killed in one of the worst separatist attacks in Indonesia's restive province of Papua, police said Tuesday. Papua police spokesman Suryadi Diaz said 24 workers were killed Sunday when gunmen stormed a government bridge construction project in a remote mountainous village in Nduga district. Eight other workers fled to the nearby house of a local parliament member, but an armed group came a day later and killed seven of them, Diaz said, citing reports from several witnesses. The eighth managed to escape and remains missing. "This is the worst attack launched by the armed criminal group recently amid intensified development by the government," Diaz told The Associated Press. He said security forces were trying to recover all 31 bodies but they were scattered and guarded by gunmen in the district, a stronghold of separatists who have battled Indonesian rule in the impoverished region for nearly 50 ...