Page 358 - War Conflict

Women World C'ship: Somalia boxer who fought against all odds

Boxer Ramla Ali is the sole representative of Somalia in the upcoming International Boxing Association (AIBA) Women's World Championship, starting November 15.Her journey, as she said, "has been a lot longer than anyone else in Somalia."Born during the time of civil war in the country, Ali had fled to England along with her family following the death of her elder brother in a grenade attack."My journey started off in Somalia. I was born when the civil war in the country was at highest. My mother decided to flee with the whole family because my oldest brother had died in a grenade attack. From Somalia, we went to Kenya. Then it was like a ten-day boat trip. My mom spent many months saving money to bring us to England. Now I am here," Ali told ANI.Being a Muslim, it was not easy for the boxer to make a career in the ring. Her own family was not supportive in the matter."When I got into boxing, I knew that my family would not support it purely because I am a Muslim. So I hid it from them

Army chief counsels 'radicalised' Kashmiri youths against becoming cannon fodder of terror outfits

Army Chief General Bipin Rawat Monday sought to counsel Kashmiri youths having the propensity to veer off to radical paths to see through the designs of terror outfits, which use them up as "cannon feeders" even before training them to fight. Terming those hindering the security forces' anti-terror operations as "supporters of terrorists", and warning them of "stern actions", the Chief of Army Staff said the security forces are also acting against those involved in terror funding and aiding and abetting terrorism. Talking of situation on borders, Gen Rawat said the infiltration was under control and the cease fire violations by Pakistan army are being replied to befittingly. Terming the situation along the border and hinterland as "totally under control", the Army chief, however, noted that attempts are being made to revive terrorism in Jammu region. Holding "misinformation and disinformation" campaigns responsible for the radicalisation of the youths in the Valley, the COAS called ...

At least six killed in Kabul suicide attack

Six people were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up in Kabul Monday, close to where scores of Afghans had been protesting against Taliban attacks on the minority Hazara ethnic group. The attack is the latest in a wave of violence across war-torn Afghanistan as the Taliban intensify pressure on beleaguered government security forces, which are suffering record high casualties. Interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said 20 were wounded in the blast, which struck in front of a high school in the downtown area of the Afghan capital. Initial reports indicated most of the victims were members of the security forces, but Danish said civilians, including several women, had borne the brunt of the carnage. A photo shared on WhatsApp showed several bodies lying on the ground. "The suicide attacker on foot wanted to target protesters, but he was stopped at a security checkpoint some 200 metres (yards) from the site," interior ministry deputy spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said. A police ...

Pakistan reporter held for having 'provocative literature' Pakistan reporter held

A defense lawyer says a journalist who was taken away by unidentified security forces over the weekend has been charged with possessing "provocative literature." Nasrullah Khan, a subeditor for a local daily in Karachi, was taken from his home early Saturday by uniformed and plainclothes men and held incommunicado for two days. On Monday, after protests by local journalists, he appeared in an anti-terrorism court. Defense lawyer Haider Imam Rizvi says the "so-called charge" stems from a jihadi magazine found in his client's apartment. He says Khan was confined illegally and only handed over to police after the protests. Several journalists and bloggers say they have been detained or threatened in recent months after writing critically about Pakistan's powerful security agencies.

World has moved from world war 1 for territories to modern battles for markets: Naidu

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu Monday said he raised the issue of multilateralism, black money and economic offences before global leaders who had come together at the centenary of the armistice of World War I in Paris. Naidu, who represented India at the just concluded meeting, said the world has moved from World War 1 for territories to the modern battles for markets' and effective integration of global markets through multilateralism is the battle of the present times. He also highlighted the issue of terrorism and climate change as major challenges faced by humanity and the need for collective efforts to address these issues. The Vice-President called for addressing the present asymmetries and the need for reform of United Nations Security Council, which he said currently does not represent 70 per cent of the world population, and stressed on making it a multilateral forum. "The wars of the kind of the World War I may be a remote possibility but we have the battles of a new kind .

Manipur fake encounters: SC dismisses police plea on judges' recusal

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea by several Manipur Police personnel seeking recusal of judges of a bench hearing extra-judicial killings in the state.

Chhattisgarh: Two Naxals killed in Sukma

An hour after the first phase of polling in Chhattisgarh ended, two Naxals were killed in an encounter with security forces here on Monday.Two rifles were also recovered from their possession.At around 6 pm, the gunfight started between District Reserve Guards (DRG) Sukma and Naxals near Mudwal. Initial reports indicated that the Naxals of military platoon formation were planning to attack the security forces returning from area domination. However, alertness of the security forces averted a major incident.Earlier in the day, three CoBRA personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) suffered bullet wounds in a gun battle with the Naxals in Chhattisgarh's Majiguda village.The first phase of Assembly elections began today for 18 seats, out of which 12 are Scheduled Tribe seats while one is a Scheduled Caste-reserved seat.The remaining 72 constituencies in the state will go to polls on November 20. The result of the assembly polls will be announced on December 11.

Two Naxals gunned down in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district

Two Naxals were gunned down Monday evening in an encounter with security forces in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh, police said. Two other rebels were caught from the encounter site, an official said. The gunfight took place in forests near a village under Pushpal police station limits when a team of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) was returning after discharging election-related duty, Sukma Superintendent of Police Abhishek Meena told PTI. A group of ultras opened fire on the DRG team near Mudwal village, located 500 km from state capital Raipur, triggering the gun-battle, he said. After the guns fell silent, the bodies of two Naxals were recovered from the site, Meena said, adding that two firearms were also seized. Two others Naxals were caught alive from the spot, the police officer said. Sukma is one of the eight Naxal-affected districts where polling was held Monday in the first phase of elections covering 18 assembly seats.

SC dismisses pleas for recusal of bench hearing Manipur fake encounter cases

The Supreme Court Monday dismissed the pleas filed by some Manipur Police personnel seeking recusal of judges of the bench hearing the case of alleged fake encounters in Manipur in which CBI's Special Investigation Team (SIT) is conducting a probe. The applications claimed that on July 30, the court had allegedly termed the accused, charge sheeted by the SIT in some of the encounter cases, as "murderers". A bench comprising Justices Madan B Lokur and U U Lalit said that arguments raised before it that the Indian Army, paramilitary forces and Manipur Police have been "demoralised" by the oral observations made by the top court on July 30 was a "rather over-broad submission". "In any event, in our opinion, it should be clear to everyone that officers and personnel of the Indian Army, paramilitary forces and the state police are made of much sterner stuff than is sought to be projected and they can hardly be demoralised by observations said to have been made by anybody," the bench said .

Gunmen loot Rs 16.2 lakh from petrol pump in Bihar

Three bike-borne gunmen looted more than Rs 16 lakh from a manager of a petrol pump in Bhagalpur district on Monday, police said. The incident occurred at Majrohi village under the jurisdiction of Pirpainty police station when the manager of the petrol pump was about to go to a bank to deposit the money, the police said. The robbers held Vikas Kumar Singh, the manager of the petrol pump, at gunpoint and looted Rs 16.2 lakh from him, the Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) of Kahalgaon, Dilnawaz Ahmad said. Vibhuti Goswami, the ruling JD(U)'s Bhagalpur district president is the owner of the pump, Ahmad said. Efforts are on to ascertain the identities of the miscreants the SDPO said, adding, raids are on to nab the culprits.

Suicide blast near Hazara protests in Kabul kills 6

At least six people were killed and 20 others were wounded in a suicide blast here on Monday near a protest site where hundreds of people, mostly members of the persecuted Shia minority Hazara, were demanding more security in the Hazara-dominated central and eastern districts of Afghanistan.

Separatists win vote in Ukraine rebel regions by big margins

Separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine have secured their hold on power in weekend local elections that have been denounced by Ukrainian authorities and the West as illegitimate. Local election officials in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics said Monday that acting leaders Denis Pushilin and Leonid Pasechnik won the votes with 61 and 68 percent respectively. Voters also cast ballots for local legislatures in the provinces, where Russian-backed separatists have fought Ukrainian forces since 2014 in a conflict that has killed more than 10,000 people. Although a 2015 peace deal called for local elections in Donetsk and Luhansk, critics, including Ukraine's president, the U.S. and the European Union say the vote is illegitimate because it was conducted in areas where Ukraine has no control. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko discussed the elections with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron during ceremonies in Paris on Sunday ...

At least six killed in Kabul suicide attack: officials

Six people were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up in Kabul Monday, close to where scores of Afghans had been protesting against Taliban attacks on the minority Hazara ethnic group. The attack is the latest in a wave of violence across war-torn Afghanistan as the Taliban intensify pressure on beleaguered government security forces, which are suffering record high casualties. Interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said 20 were wounded in the blast, which struck in front of a high school in the downtown area of the Afghan capital. Initial reports indicated most of the victims were members of the security forces, but Danish said civilians, including several women, had borne the brunt of the carnage. A photo shared on WhatsApp showed several bodies lying on the ground. "The suicide attacker on foot wanted to target protesters, but he was stopped at a security checkpoint some 200 metres (660 feet) from the site," interior ministry deputy spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said. A police .

Guilty will be punished: Gen. Rawat on Bomdila army-police clash

Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Monday said they were inquiring into the Bomdila incident in Arunachal Pradesh and would take action against the guilty. On November 2, a group of soldiers allegedly misbehaved with civilians and police personnel at the Buddha Mahotsav celebrations in Bomdila area of West Kameng district, officials had said. The local station house officer went to the spot and two soldiers were brought to the police station. After that, some soldiers vandalised the Bomdila police station, assaulted police personnel and civilians, they had said. "We are inquiring into it. If any jawans are found guilty, we will take action against them," Rawat said here, while replying to a question about action being taken against the jawans. Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Kiren Rijiju had on Wednesday took stock of the situation. On Sunday, Rijiju had said the Army and the police should respect each other.

3 killed in explosion near Hazara protests in Kabul

At least three people were killed and eight others wounded in an explosion here on Monday near a protest site where hundreds of people, mostly members of the persecuted Shia minority Hazara, were demanding more security in the Hazara-dominated central and eastern districts of Afghanistan.

Tea estate employee abducted by armed militants

The supervisor-cum-store keeper of Sati Tea Estate at Namsai district in Arunachal Pradesh has been abducted by armed militants, police said Monday. The tea estate belongs to former MLA Nang Sati Mein and the abductors have demanded a ransom of Rs three crore, the police said. The victim, identified as Debabrata Deb works at Sati Tea Estate was abducted from his temporary residence at around 7.15 pm on Saturday evening. The kidnappers were carrying sophisticated weapons and had reportedly introduced themselves as members of Udoy Asom group of the outlawed ULFA-Independent faction, the police said. Security forces have swung into action to ensure safe release of the person, the police added.

Bahrain sentences four to death for police killing

Bahrain's top criminal court on Monday sentenced four Shiite Muslims to death for a 2017 bombing that killed a policeman, a judicial official and the public prosecutor said. A statement by the prosecutor's office said the four were found guilty on charges of premeditated murder and possession of unlicensed arms "with terrorist aims" over a June 18, 2017 bombing. A police officer was killed in the blast in Diraz, a flashpoint village outside the capital Manama. Bahrain, a tiny Sunni-ruled kingdom located between regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, has been hit by waves of unrest since 2011, when security forces crushed protests led by majority Shiites demanding an elected prime minister. Authorities have since jailed hundreds of dissidents and stripped many of citizenship, banning all opposition groups under court orders. Diraz in particular has been rocked by protests, police raids, riots and sporadic bombings. The village is home to Sheikh Isa Qassim, Bahrain's highest Shiite ...

New border crossings open in divided Cyprus, first in 8 years

Cypriot officials opened two new border crossings Monday for the first time in eight years, the latest push for peace by the two sides after UN-backed talks collapsed last year. Dozens of people from the island's Greek Cypriot south streamed across the eastern Dherynia border post, walking past United Nations peacekeepers into the breakaway Turkish-backed north. At the same time, the Lefka or Aplici crossing opened in the northwest of the eastern Mediterranean island. Ahead of the Dherynia crossing reopening, soldiers removed barriers wrapped in rusty barbed wire and a small group of riot police stood by. But despite arguments breaking out among onlookers in the run-up to the midday (1000 GMT) opening, the crowd passed peacefully through the border. The latest move was welcomed by Elizabeth Spehar, UN special representative and head of the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus. "Today is good day for Cyprus," she said in a statement. "These crossing points will play an important role in ...

At least three killed in Kabul suicide attack: officials

At least three people were killed when a suicide attacker blew himself up in Kabul Monday, close to where scores of Afghans had been protesting against Taliban attacks on the minority Hazara ethnic group. Health ministry spokesman Wahid Majroh said another eight people were wounded in the blast, which struck in front of a high school in the downtown area of the Afghan capital. A photo shared on WhatsApp showed several bodies laying on the ground. "The suicide attacker on foot wanted to target protesters, but he was stopped at a security checkpoint some 200 metres from the site," interior ministry deputy spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said. "There have been casualties and I can say most of them are security forces." A police officer at the scene said he could see 10 to 15 casualties on the ground, as well as body parts. He said most of the victims were members of Afghanistan's intelligence agency and police, which had been deployed to secure the city during the protest. "It was a huge blast ..

Nigeria appoints new commander against Boko Haram

The Nigerian Army has appointed a new commander to lead the fight against Boko Haram jihadists in the country's restive northeast, where attacks on military targets have spiked in recent months. Major General Benson Akinroluyo has replaced Major General Abba Dikko as head of Operation Lafiya Dole, according to an army statement released at the weekend. Akinroluyo becomes the fifth commander in two years to head the fight against the Islamist insurgents, who have staged a series of attacks on military bases, killing dozens. Dikko was only appointed in July. Since then there have been at least nine attacks on military bases, most of them in the northern part of Borno state near the shores of Lake Chad. Most have been blamed on or claimed by the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), an IS-backed faction of Boko Haram whose recent activities have prompted speculation the group has been taken over by hardliners. The conflict has claimed more than 27,000 lives since 2009 and nearly ...