Page 357 - War Conflict
Def procurement happening speedily but with 'due diligence intact', says Sitharaman
Defence procurement has been simplified and is happening speedily but with "due diligence intact", Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday amid a raging row over the Rafale fighter jet deal with France. Addressing domestic defence equipment manufacturers, Sitharaman said they have to convince the armed forces of the quality, purpose, usefulness and the relevance of their product. The minister said she cannot compel armed forces to buy equipment from them and it was up to the domestic companies to convince the forces that their product was "good enough". "The armed forces who actually use the equipment should be convinced. It is not necessary that the armed forces will have to be bound by me or forced by me or compelled by me to buy it (from an Indian company)... I cannot say that to them. "I have to work to make sure that their operational preparedness is in no way curbed," she said at the 'Indian Defence Conclave 2018' organised by the Defence Innovators and Industry ...
Two held with AKs were militant associates
Police said on Thursday that two persons arrested a day ago in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district were tasked to ferry weapons for militants.
Yemen president backs UN peace talks but vows to 'liberate' key port
Yemen's president has backed UN-proposed talks to end fighting in his war-torn country but vowed to "liberate" the battleground rebel-held port city of Hodeida regardless of the peace process. Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi "has issued directives to back all efforts that guarantee the interests of Yemen in reaching sustainable peace" based on UN resolutions, a spokesman for the president said via the official Saba news agency. "The battle of the Yemeni people to liberate Hodeida is inevitable, whether through peace or war," the statement said. Hadi's comments came hours after the United Arab Emirates, a key ally of the Yemeni government, said it supported UN plans to hold peace talks in Sweden by the end of the year. After nearly four years of conflict between Yemen's Iran-linked Huthis and a pro-government military alliance led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the fight this month reached rebel-held Hodeida, home to Yemen's lifeline port. The offensive sparked an international outcry over the ...
Afghan officials: Taliban kill 30 policemen in west province
Afghan officials say the Taliban have killed 30 policemen in a blistering overnight attack in western Farah province. Provincial council member Dadullah Qani said on Thursday that the onslaught on the police outpost in the province's district of Khaki Safed began late on Wednesday and continued for more than four hours. In Kabul, lawmaker Samiullah Samim said the district police commander, Abdul Jabhar, was among those killed. The Taliban managed to flee with a large amount of weapons and ammunition. Samim says retaliatory airstrikes killed 17 Taliban fighters. The Taliban have in recent months been staging near-daily attacks across Afghanistan, inflicting heavy casualties on Afghan forces. Authorities no longer regularly provide casualty figures but unofficial estimates say about 45 Afghan police or soldiers are killed or wounded daily.
Five injured in J&K cylinder blast
Five people were injured on Thursday in a cylinder blast inside a hydropower project in Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban district, police said.
Rookie officer stopped Australia's largest terror attack: Official
A newly recruited Australian woman intelligence officer had stopped one of the biggest Islamic State inspired terror attacks ahead of Christmas 2016 in Melbourne, a top spy officer said.
IS-aligned groups warn of more attacks after Melbourne rampage
Groups aligned with the Islamic state have warned of further attacks on Australia and other Western nations in online posters featuring the deadly lone wolf stabbing rampage in Melbourne last week. "Australia, don't think you are away from our attacks," read one poster, which showed a photo of a vehicle the Melbourne attacker set alight during his attack last Friday. The SITE Intelligence Group which monitors jihadist threats said the graphic was issued Wednesday by the Sunni Shield Media Foundation, which is aligned with the Islamic State. Another graphic posted online and distributed by SITE showed an image drawn from social media showing the Melbourne attacker, Hassan Khalid Shire Ali, trying to stab a policeman before he was fatally shot. A text overlay on the image says: "Melbourne today - What is the next city tomorrow??!" Shire Ali stabbed and killed one man during the incident and wounded two others before being killed by police. Australian police characterised the attack as ..
'Allies owe each other respect,' Macron says of Trump tweets
President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that "allies owe each other respect", after he was assailed on Twitter by US President Donald Trump after his visit to France for World War I commemorations. "I think he's doing this for American politics," Macron said in a televised interview on board France's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean Sea. "At every crucial moment in our history, we have been allies," he said citing France's role in America's independence fight as well as US participation in two world wars and the joint fight against jihadists after the September 11, 2001 attacks. "And allies owe each other respect, and so I don't want to hear all the rest," he said. "I think that's what the French expect from me, not to respond to tweets but to remain committed to pursuing this important history," he added. Macron apparently drew Trump's ire by starkly rejecting nationalism during the WWI ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe last Sunday, an implicit critique of the ..
Saudi-led airstrike kills 7 in contested Yemen port city
An airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition killed at least seven civilians in Yemen's rebel-held port city of Hodeida, Yemeni security and medical officials said Wednesday. The airstrike, which took place on Tuesday night, targeted a bus carrying civilians who were fleeing clashes, and also wounded four people, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. The strike came a day after an informal agreement had been reached to reduce hostilities following advances by the coalition, which has spent months trying to seize the key Red Sea port from the Shiite rebels, known as Houthis. The coalition made no comment on the strike. The coalition forces are now 5 kilometers (3 miles) away from the port, which has served as a lifeline for goods and aid coming in to Yemeni civilians. Also Wednesday, the United Nations Population Fund warned that the lives of at least 1,500 pregnant women caught in the fighting in Hodeida might be at ...
Jewelery store looted of Rs 2 cr in Ghaziabad
Five masked men laced with arms looted a jewelery store of Rs 2 crore at gunpoint in Shyam Park area, police said on Wednesday. The showroom was located next to the Sahibabad police station, they said. According to the owner of the shop, Rahul, they robbed all gold and diamond ornaments from the store. Police have not received the list of looted ornaments till now, they said. Quoting the statement of the owner, Senior Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Krishna said around four masked men aged around 20 to 24 entered the shop and took Rahul and his employee Suraj on gun point and robbed the jewelery store. The owner tried to oppose their bid but they threatened him to shoot. The fifth member of the gang was keeping vigil on the movement of passersby outside the shop, the police said. After robbing the showroom, they came out in the market and brandished pistols and fired in the air. Suraj said that they fled the spot very smoothly on three bikes. People of the area present on the spot ...
First India-Japan joint military exercise concludes
The first joint military exercise of Indian and Japanese armies concluded in Mizoram on Wednesday, a defence statement said. The two-week exercise 'Dharma Guardian 2018' commenced on November one at Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School, Vairengte with India describing it as a significant step towards fostering military and diplomatic ties between the two countries. Emphasis was laid on enhancing tactical skills to fight against global terrorism and on increasing inter-operability between forces of both countries, the statement said "The primary focus of the exercise was to train and equip the contingents to undertake joint counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist operations in urban and semi urban terrain," the statement said. The contingents honed their tactical and technical skills in a wide spectrum of counter-insurgency operations including joint training on weapons and equipment, field training exercise and handling of improved explosive devices, it said. Commanders at .
SP Peshawar found dead in Afghanistan 18 days after being abducted: authorities
A top police officer of Pakistan's Peshawar city has been found dead in Afghanistan, 18 days after he was abducted to the war-torn country by unidentified militants, authorities said Wednesday. Superintendent of Police (Peshawar) Tahir Khan Dawar left his residence in Islamabad for an evening walk on October 27 but did not return home. His mobile phone's last location was traced somewhere in Jhelum city of Punjab province. After being contacted, he said that he was fine and there was no threat to his life. The Islamabad police had constituted various teams to trace him. Peshawar city police in a statement said that the officer had been on a short leave to Islamabad to meet his family. His abductors released a picture of him along with a letter of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan's Khurasani group claiming responsibility for the kidnapping and the killing. Information Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shaukat Yusafzai said that Dawar was ruthlessly killed by the abductors in Afghanistan. He .
Army porter killed in Pakistan firing in Rajouri
An Army porter was killed on Wednesday when Pakistani troops opened fire violating the ceasefire in Rajouri district, defence sources said.
2 held, Rs 50 lakh lakh looted from bank officials recovered within 4 hrs: Patiala police
Two men were arrested on Wednesday within four hours of looting Rs 50 lakh from bank officials at Nabha in Punjab's Patiala district, police said. The entire looted amount, the weapon and the motorcycle used in the crime have been seized, Inspector General (IG) of Police A S Rai said in Patiala. The accused have been identified as Jagdev Singh (35) and Amanjit Singh (37), both residents of Sangrur. They were arrested from Sangrur district, SSP Mandeep Singh Sidhu said. The two motorcycle-borne men looted the cash from officials of a nationalised bank at Nabha in Patiala district on Wednesday morning by brandishing a gun. A security guard of the bank's Anaj Mandi branch was injured after the miscreants open fired at him. The guard, Prem Chand (52), succumbed to the bullet injuries at a local hospital, the Patiala SSP said. The double barrel gun of the security guard, which was snatched by the accused, has been recovered, police said. Sidhu alleged that the banks have not been following
Mechanism to be worked upon for coordination among army, police, paramilitary forces: Rijiju
Union minister Kiren Rijiju Wednesday said a mechanism will be soon worked out in Arunachal Pradesh so that army, paramilitary forces and police can work in seamless coordination in the state. "Relation between army and police need to be cordial at the highest level for the benefit of the country," the union minister of state for home said. His comments came in the wake of some soldiers vandalising the Bomdila police station and assaulting police personnel and civilians on November 3. "I have already talked to Chief Minister Pema Khandu and Governor B D Mishra on the matter and will definitely work out a mechanism," Rijiju told PTI. He was here to flag off the second edition of Dalmia MTB (Mountain Terrain Bike) Arunachal challenge, which will start on Thursday from Itanagar and culminate at Mechukha in the state's West Siang district. On a report submitted by West Siang Superintendent of Police Raja Bantia to Arunachal Pradesh DGP SBK Singh stating that during the attack two army ...
Japanese, Indian armies complete joint exercise
The armies of India and Japan on Wednesday completed their joint military exercise, Dharma Guardian -- 2018, at Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School (CIJWS) located at Vairengte in Mizoram, officials said.
French Embassy hosts screening of 'The Forgotten Army'
The French Embassy on Tuesday hosted the screening of 'The Forgotten Army', a documentary by Delhi-based journalist Mandakini Gahlot which explores India's historic participation in World War I. Led by military historian Rana Chhina of the United Service Institution of India, the film traverses from rural Punjab, where descendants recall stories of ancestors long gone, to the battlefields of France and Belgium. Speaking on the occasion, Alexandre Ziegler, Ambassador of France to India, said, "In this year marking the centenary of the Armistice of World War I, we all pay tribute to these valiant men who came from all parts of India to fight for our freedom." Envoys from other countries also participated in the screening. Last week, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu was in France to participate in the commemoration and to the Paris Peace Forum. Naidu also inaugurated the Indian Armed Forces Memorial in the town of Villers-Guillain. Over a 100 years ago, nearly 1.5 million men from across .
South Western Command to organise 'Wartech' in Jaipur
Over 40 firms from across the country will showcase their latest defence technology related equipments during an expo at Jaipur military station on November 16. South Western Army commander Lieutenant General Cherish Mathson will be the chief guest at the 'Wartech' which will be attended by senior officers of the Army and paramilitary forces, defence spokesperson Col Sombit Ghosh said on Wednesday. He said the expo was being organised to provide an opportunity to experience developments in the field of defence and security-related technology and interact with firms dealing with these type of equipment. "The day-long event will see over 40 firms from across the country showcasing their latest products to include radars, electro optical and night vision devices, security-related equipment, communication, fire fighting and humanitarian assistance-related equipment," he said. Besides the civil firms, the Army units will also be displaying in house ideas and innovations during the ...
25 separatists killed in Cameroon: security officials
Twenty-five separatists were killed in fighting in a restive English-speaking region of Cameroon, security officials said Wednesday. "Twenty-five 'Amba Boys' were killed in three clashes" on Tuesday in Mbot, a village near the town of Nkambe, a source in the capital Yaounde said, confirming a security source in the troubled Northwest Region. "Amba Boys" refers to separatists who last year launched an armed campaign for the independence of Cameroon's two anglophone regions, which they call Ambazonia. Photos obtained by AFP from a source close to the security services showed about 10 bodies lined up on the ground. Weapons, mainly shotguns, were placed alongside. A source close to the security services said the fighters had set up a base in a school in Mayo Binka, a few kilometres (miles) from Nkambe. Two security officials told AFP that the armed forces did not suffer any losses in the clashes. Eighty percent of Cameroon's population are French speakers while the rest are anglophones, .
Punjab CM deplores attempts to politicise armed forces
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday deplored attempts to politicise the defence forces, asserting that the armed forces were meant to report only to their regimental heads and not work at the behest of the political dispensation. The Chief Minister called for an immediate end to the current cult of political interference in the functioning of defense services, to enable the officers and soldiers in the armed forces to discharge their duties efficaciously."This was necessary in the larger interest of the nation, and to secure its unity, integrity and security," he told a distinguished gathering at the Remembrance Day ceremony here, to pay homage to Commonwealth nations' armed forces members, who sacrificed their lives during World War I. A two-minute silence was also observed in memory of the martyrs.The exemplary valour and indomitable courage of all those great soldiers in preserving the ethos of freedom, liberty and democratic values had remained largely ...