Page 365 - War Conflict
Afghan leaders, Taliban attend peace talks in Moscow; India participates at "non-official level"
Russia on Friday said no one should play "geopolitical games" in Afghanistan as Moscow hosted a major conference to create "favourable conditions" for the start of direct peace talks with the Taliban whose representatives were present at the meeting which was attended by India for the first time. Opening the second Moscow meeting on Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia and the countries of the region will continue to do everything possible to launch dialogue between Afghanistan's government and the Taliban, which is banned in Russia. "We are determined to make every possible effort to facilitate the opening of a new page in the history of Afghanistan," was quoted as saying by the state-run Tass news agency. Addressing the gathering, Lavrov said the conference was "aimed at building an inclusive intra-Afghan dialogue in order to advance the national reconciliation process." The US Embassy in Moscow has sent a diplomat to observe Friday's discussions at the meeting ...
Russia hosts Af meeting to create 'favourable conditions for direct talks' with Taliban
Russia on Friday hosted a conference on Afghanistan to create "favourable conditions for the start of direct talks" with the Taliban whose representatives were present at the high-profile meeting which was attended by India for the first time. "We are determined to make every possible effort to facilitate the opening of a new page in the history of Afghanistan," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, opening the second Moscow meeting on Afghanistan. He said Russia and the countries of the region will continue to do everything possible to launch dialogue between Afghanistan's government and the Taliban (banned in Russia), the state-run Itar Tass news agency reported. Addressing the gathering, Lavrov said the conference was "aimed at building an inclusive intra-Afghan dialogue in order to advance the national reconciliation process." "All countries of the region and the entire international community would like to see Afghanistan as a peaceful, independent and prospering country, .
Militant killed, policeman injured in Kashmir
A militant was killed and a policeman injured on Friday in a gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district.
Austria says retired colonel suspected of spying for Russia
A retired colonel in the Austrian army is suspected of having spied for Russia for several decades, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Friday. Kurz told a press conference that the colonel is suspected to have begun working with Russian intelligence in the 1990s and carried on until 2018. Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl has summoned the Russian ambassador over the matter and cancelled an upcoming trip to Russia, Kurz added. "Of course if such cases are confirmed, whether it be in the Netherlands or in Austria, it can't improve the relationship between the EU and Russia," Kurz said. He was referring to the expulsion of four Russian agents by the Netherlands in April for allegedly planning a cyber-attack on the world's chemical weapons watchdog in The Hague. "Russian spying in Europe is unacceptable and to be condemned," Kurz added. Austrian Defence Minister Mario Kunasek told the press conference that the case came to light "a few weeks ago" as a result of information from another ...
Anil Parihar killing case: Police detains some suspects
Police have detained some persons in connection with the killing of senior BJP leader Anil Parihar and his brother by militants in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district. While tension has eased out in the district, night curfew continues to remain in force as a precautionary measure. A senior official told PTI Friday that the detained persons are being interrogated in connection with the killing on November 1. The government on November 2 constituted a specialinvestigation team (SIT) to probe the killing and directed itto expedite the investigation. An indefinite curfew was imposed in parts of Kishtwarand Doda districts on Thursday last following the killing of Parihar, 52, and his brother, AjeetParihar, 55. The Chief of Army's Northern Command, Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, Thursday reviewed the security situation in Kishtwar and called for effectively meeting the emerging security challenges.
No snap election, no referendum to end political crisis in Lanka: President's aide
President Maithripala Sirisena has decided that there will be no snap elections or a national referendum to end the current political and constitutional crisis in Sri Lanka, according to his close aide. "No, no there won't be a dissolution of parliament or a referendum," Rohana Lakshman Piyadasa, the general secretary of President Sirisena's Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), told the party's central committee meeting Thursday night. Piyadasa was scotching rumours that Sirisena may opt for a snap poll with a dissolution of parliament well ahead of its August 2020 term expiry. The island was plunged into a political crisis after Sirisena sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replaced him with his former rival Mahinda Rajapaksa. Wickremesinghe, however, claims he is still the legally appointed prime minister. His request for a floor test to prove his majority in the House has been turned down and Sirisena has suspended parliament till November 14 - a move believed to allow ...
Police shoots man after stabbing spree in Melbourne
Police on Friday shot a knife-wielding man who is believed to have stabbed three people in Melbourne, killing one of them.
Gunfight in Kashmir
Militants and security forces traded gunfire on Friday in a village in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, police said.
Encounter breaks out in J&K's Pulwama
An encounter broke out Friday between militants and security forces in Tral area of Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir, police said. No casualties have been reported so far, they said. "There has been an exchange of fire between security forces and terrorists at Tral in Pulwama district," a police spokesman said. Cordon and search operations are being carried out in the area, he added.
Syria regime attack kills 22 rebels in truce zone: monitor
Syrian government forces killed 22 rebels overnight near Idlib province, in the deadliest such attack in an area where a recent truce is to be enforced, a monitor said Friday. Fighting erupted when government troops seized a position in a rural area in the north of neighbouring Hama province that had been held by the Jaish al-Izza group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Idlib and some surrounding areas are the last major rebel bastion in Syria, where the Russian-backed government has in recent months retaken much of the territory it had lost since the civil war erupted in 2011. It had threatened an assault on rebel territory, home to around three million people, but a deal for a de-militarised buffer zone around it was reached in September between Moscow and rebel backer Ankara. Several deadly skirmishes have occurred since the deal but 22 is the highest number of known fatalities in a single incident inside the planned buffer zone, the Observatory said. "This is the ...
Afghan official: Taliban attacks kill 10 troops, 7 policemen
Afghan officials say Taliban attacks have killed at least 10 soldiers and seven policemen. In northern Takhar province, provincial police chief Abdul Rashid Bashir says the Taliban targeted an army outpost in Khwaja Ghar district early on Friday, triggering an hours-long gunbattle before they were repulsed. Bashir says at least 10 soldiers were killed and 12 were wounded. He says the Taliban suffered "heavy casualties" but didn't elaborate. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for that attack. In western Farah province, the Taliban targeted police forces in the provincial capital, Farah city, late on Thursday. Provincial council member, Abdul Samad Salehi, says seven policemen died and three were wounded there. The Taliban have been staging near-daily attacks on Afghan security forces and now hold nearly half of the country.
Need for dedicated counter-IED resources for peacekeeping missions facing threats: India
With UN peacekeeping missions suffering casualties due to use of improvised explosive devices, India has said there is a need for dedicated counter-IED resources for missions facing such threats and for upgrading the security infrastructure of camps. Military Adviser in India's Permanent Mission to the UN Colonel Sandeep Kapoor said that an analysis of the fatal casualties among peacekeeping personnel in the last four years indicate that at least a quarter of them were due to improvised explosive devices (IED) attacks. "While a number of initiatives have been taken to incorporate Improvised Explosive Device Disposal (IEDD) measures in the field, we feel that there is a requirement of dedicated counter-IED resources for missions facing such threats. There should also be concerted efforts to upgrade the security infrastructure of camps as a number of casualties have been related to direct attacks on the security camps," he said while speaking at a Security Council Working Group on ...
2,714 people killed in 409 US drone attacks in Pakistan since January 2004: Report
The US has carried out a total of 409 drone attacks in Pakistan since January 2004, killing 2,714 people and injuring 728 others, a media report said on Friday. The attacks over the years have targeted the areas of Bajaur, Bannu, Hangu, Khyber, Kurram, Mohmand, North Waziristan, Nushki, Orakzai, and South Waziristan, Dawn reported. Majority of the drone strikes were carried out during the government of the Pakistan Peoples Party between 2008 and 2012. Citing sources within the National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta), the paper said the period saw 336 aerial attacks, in which 2,282 people lost their lives and 658 received injuries. The officials said that 2010 alone saw 117 attacks that killed 775 people and injured 193 others. Between 2013 and 2018 -- during the government of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz -- 65 drone attacks occurred in which 301 people were killed and 70 others injured. In 2018, two drone attacks killed one person and injured another. The top leadership of ...
Indonesian officer shoots armed militant to stop his attack
A suspected Islamic militant's frenzied attack on a police station in the Indonesian capital was thwarted by an officer who shot the man in the hand, police said Friday. Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono said the knife and machete-wielding man repeatedly shouted "God is Great" as he attacked officers, chasing some through the building and smashing a glass door. One officer suffered light injuries to his arm from a machete blow and another shot the attacker's hand, forcing him to drop the weapon. Police are a frequent target of attacks by militants in Muslim-majority Indonesia, who see them as representing the power of the secular government that they want replaced by an Islamic state. Yuwono said the 31-year-old man, identified as Rohandi, arrived at the police station in Jakarta's north on a motorbike after midnight and tried to attack at least half a dozen officers by throwing his knife and striking out with the machete. He said the attacker's house has been searched and ...
Six Chinese nationals inadvertently enter India, handed over to Nepal Police
Six Chinese nationals, who inadvertently entered India, have been handed over to Nepal Police, police said Friday. SSB jawans had stopped them when they were entering India from Nepal at Rupaideeha border on Wednesday. The Chinese nationals, including two women, entered the Indian side inadvertently on Wednesday while they had gone to see the Bageshwari Temple in Nepalganj in Nepal. All of them had a Nepal visa, Superintendent of Police Gaurav Grover said. "Nothing suspicious was found with them due to which they were handed over to Nepal Police onThursday evening. Due to language problem, the probe took time. They were kept at a forest guest house" Grover said.
MoD enhances financial powers of Tri-Services' Vice Chiefs by 5 times
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman took the decision to augment the arms and ammunition reserves of the Armed Forces
US 'war on terror' has killed 500,000 people: study
About half a million people have died violently in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan due to the US "war on terror" that was launched following the September 11 attacks in 2001, according to a study released Thursday. The report by Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs put the death toll at between 480,000 and 507,000 people -- but said the actual number is likely higher. The new toll "is a more than 110,000 increase over the last count, issued just two years ago in August 2016," Brown said in a statement. "Though the war on terror is often overlooked by the American public, press and lawmakers, the increased body count signals that, far from diminishing, this war remains intense." The death toll includes insurgents, local police and security forces, civilians and US and allied troops. The report's author, Neta Crawford, said many of those reported by US and local forces as militants may actually have been civilians. "We may never know the total direct ..
UK honours sole Indian aviator who survived World War I
The UK government on Thursday announced plans for a series of statues to go up at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) here to honour the sacrifices made by over 3 million Commonwealth soldiers, sailors, airmen and labour corps who served in World War I, including from India. The campaign, part of an initiative by the armed forces charity 'There But Not There', involves the installation of three six-foot figures of World War I soldiers in the FCO to represent the contribution of Commonwealth servicemen from Asia, Asia, the Caribbean, Australasia and Canada. Among them is Hardutt Singh Malik, the first Indian to fly with the British Royal Flying Corps. "Nearly 2 million Indian servicemen served in the First World WarMalik initially failed to qualify for the Corps but went on to be the sole Indian aviator to emerge alive from the war," the FCO said in a statement. Over 9 million servicemen died in Great War, including nearly 1 million from the Commonwealth, as they helped secure ...
France says no homage to Nazi collaborator Petain after outcry
President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday there would be no official homage to Nazi collaborator Philippe Petain as part of World War I ceremonies this week, a day after sparking outrage by saying his inclusion would be "legitimate." "It was never a question of celebrating him individually," Macron said in Maubeuge as he toured WWI sites in northern France this week ahead of the 100th anniversary of the armistice on Sunday. Petain was hailed as a national hero after WWI for leading French forces to victory, but during World War II he became head of the French government which collaborated with occupying German forces and helped deport thousands of Jews to death camps. Macron had indicated Wednesday that Petain would be among the eight army chiefs honoured at the Invalides military museum on Saturday, saying he had earned the nation's gratitude. "He was a great soldier, it's a fact," he said, though he stressed that Petain had made "disastrous choices" during World War II. His comments ..
Egypt convicts 65 on terror charges, allegiance to IS
Prosecutors say an Egyptian court has convicted 65 suspected militants of setting up a terrorist group and declaring allegiance to the extremist Islamic State group, sentencing 18 of them to life in prison. Thursday's verdict by a Cairo criminal court also sentenced 41 people to 15 years in prison and six more to five years. Two defendants were acquitted. Of the 67 defendants, only 43 are in custody, while the rest, who include two women, are fugitives. The prosecutors said the group set up cells in six provinces and members received training on firearms and explosives. Egypt's security forces have for years been battling militants in the turbulent northern Sinai Peninsula. The militants' insurgency, led by a local affiliate of IS, have targeted police, army soldiers and Egypt's Christian minority.