Page 401 - War Conflict
Easy access to raw material, internet makes easier for terrorists to produce chemical weapons: India
Raising alarm over mounting threats posed by chemical weapons, India on Wednesday said easy access to raw materials and technical know-how, including through the internet, makes it relatively easier for terror groups to produce them. Addressing the 89th session of the Executive Council of the Organisation for Prevention of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) here, India expressed concern over allegations of use of chemical weapons in different parts of the world. "India is also deeply worried about the reports of the so-called Islamic State or ISIS/ISIL acquiring chemical weapons and their delivery systems. We request the Technical Secretariat to closely monitor this threat and report to the Executive Council on this emerging challenge," Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to OPCW, Venu Rajamony said. Any allegations of use of chemical weapons should be addressed in an effective and timely manner and strictly in accordance with the provisions of the convention, he said. "All ...
Afghan casualties from air strikes up 39 per cent: UN
The number of Afghans killed or wounded by air strikes rose 39 percent in the first nine months of 2018, the UN said Wednesday, as the overall number of civilian casualties remained at "extreme levels". Air strikes killed or wounded 649 Afghans, more than any full-year period since the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) began keeping records in 2009, as US and Afghan forces stepped up aerial bombardments. That figure accounted for eight percent of overall civilian casualties for the January to September period, which slipped to 8,050 -- 2,798 dead and 5,252 injured -- UNAMA said. "Every civilian death leaves a family devastated, grieving and struggling to come to terms with the loss, and each civilian injured or maimed causes untold suffering," said Danielle Bell, UNAMA's human rights chief. International forces accounted for 51 percent of the civilian casualties caused by air strikes, the report said. Afghan forces made up 38 percent. The United States is the only foreign .
8 Chadian soldiers killed in clashes with Boko Haram: army
Eight Chadian soldiers died in a Boko Haram attack in the Lake Chad region on Wednesday, with 48 jihadists killed as the army retaliated, a military spokesman said. "Boko Haram terrorists attacked defence force positions in Kaiga Kindji early this morning," the spokesman told AFP, saying the attack, in which 11 other soldiers were also wounded, had been "vigorously" repulsed.
Three Kashmiri students held in Punjab with AK, explosives; were planning attacks
In a joint operation, the Punjab Police and Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police on Wednesday busted a terror module in Punjab's Jalandhar city with the arrest of three Kashmiri students linked to Kashmiri terror outfit Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGH).
665 selection grade constables promoted in Jammu
Police authorities have promoted 665 selection grade constables (SGCts) to the rank of head constables in Jammu region, officials said Wednesday. Extending greetings on the beginning of the festival of Navaratras to all ranks of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, IGP, Jammu Zone, S D Singh, issued formal promotion order in respect of 665 selection grade constables. This is the 9th Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) under the chairmanship of the zonal IGP of Jammu, they said. While congratulating the promoted police personnel and their families, the IGP expressed hope that this promotion shall act as a morale booster for the police officials so as to rededicate themselves to work with even more zeal and enthusiasm thereby bringing laurels to the Police Department.
Three Kashmiri students nabbed in Punjab with AK-47, explosives
In a joint operation, the Punjab Police and Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police on Wednesday arrested three students after busting a terror module of Kashmiri terror outfit Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGH) in Punjab's Jalandhar city.
496 bottles of smuggled liquor seized in Maharajganj
Sashastra Seema Bal Wednesday seized 496 bottles of smuggled liquor near a village here along the Indo-Nepal border, officials said. SSB's 22nd battalion, Bhagwanpur outpost sub inspector Barat Hazarika said a team of the armed force intercepted two cycles near pillar number 516/22 close to Ragunathpur village and seized the liquor. He said the liquor was worth Rs 1.73 lakh, and it was smuggled into the country from Nepal by two men. While one of them managed to flee, the other was arrested, police said. A probe is on in the matter.
Australia, Japan agree to keep pressure on North Korea
Australia and Japan on Wednesday reaffirmed their commitment to pressuring North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program and enforcing sanctions on Pyongyang. Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said Australia and Japan are committed to working closely with allies and partners to ensure North Korea is pressured to end its nuclear and missile programs. Payne and Defense Minister Christopher Pyne were meeting in Sydney with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya. "We need to see real steps to complete, verifiable irreversible denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula, Payne told reporters. Payne and Kono had discussed sanctions enforcement with the United State at last month's UN General Assembly in New York. Iwaya said the "international community must remain united" to achieve the dismantling of North Korea's weapons of mass destruction. Meanwhile, Australia and Japan warned China and the United States to settle their differences over trade ...
South resumes supplying water in North Korean border town
South Korea is supplying water in the North Korean border town of Kaesong using a facility in a now-shuttered factory park that had been jointly operated by the rivals. South Korea's Unification Ministry on Wednesday said the water is being supplied to a liaison office between the countries that opened in Kaesong last month and has been provided to the town's residents as well. The ministry says the resumption of water supply does not violate international sanctions against the North over its nuclear weapons and missile program. South Korea had shut down water and power supplies as it closed the Kaesong factory park in February 2016 following a North Korean nuclear test and long-range rocket launch.
US buys Israeli weapon system for $500mn
Israeli military system Trophy will be sold to the US army in a $500 million deal, a media report has said.
World cybercrime shifts to state-backed hackers: Russian group
The latest innovations in cybercrime have shifted from financially motivated actors to state-backed hackers focussed on sabotage and intelligence gathering, a Russian cybersecurity firm said Tuesday. "The focus of innovations and research on the creation of complex malware, as well as organisation of multi-layered targeted attacks, has now shifted... to state-sponsored threat actors," said Group-IB, a firm that works with Interpol and several other global institutions. In its 2018 cybercrime trends report, the group said the top three countries in which state-backed entities operate were China, North Korea and Iran. It named Russia, US, Ukraine among other countries involved, and listed 40 active groups. The groups concentrated o "sabotage and espionage", particularly in the sectors of power, nuclear, water, aviation, and commerce, it added. Most attacks carried out in the second half of 2017 and first half of 2018 targeted the Asia-Pacific region, it said. "Banks are considered ...
Illegal gun factory busted, 84 pistols seized
A gang of gunrunners was busted with the arrest of five members on Tuesday in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut and 84 pistols seized, police said.
10 injured in clash during anti-encroachment drive in Kota
Over 10 people, including policemen and mediapersons, were injured Tuesday while two vehicles set afire when clashes broke out between encroachers and the enforcement squad in Rajasthan's Kota city, police said. The encroachers attacked the encroachment squad, accompanied by a police team, at Awali Rojadi and Nayagaun in Mukundra Vihar extension under the RK Puram police station in the Kota city, they said. Police said the accused also set afire a JCB machine belonging to the encroachment squad of the Urban Infrastructure Trust (UIT) and a mediaperson's motorbike during the drive in the area where the UIT is set to launch its housing scheme. They said several people had illegally occupied and constructed homes over about 18 to 20 bigas of land worth crores of rupees in the area. While the encroachment squad was carrying out the drive in Awanli Rojadi and Nayagaun area, the illegal dwellers assembled and started pelting stones at the squad and the police team, they said. In ...
Delhi Police busts illegal arms factory in Meerut
Five men were arrested for allegedly running an illegal arms factory in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut city and 84 pistols were seized from their possession, police said Tuesday. The accused persons used to bring raw materials from Munger and manufactured pistols by assembling parts at their unit in Meerut and then supplied them in Delhi and adjoining areas of Haryana, they added. Two of the accused persons were arrested following a brief exchange of fire. The accused persons were identified as Mohammad Shaidulla (37), Mohammad Shabir (32), Mohammad Intiaz (29), Mohammad Obayed (33) and Nasim (25). While Nasim is a native of Meerut, others are residents of Munger in Bihar. Acting on a tip-off, the police laid a trap near Singhu border on the National Highway-1 where the accused persons had come to deliver a huge consignment of pistols to their clients on Monday, a senior officer said. Subsequently, when the police spotted a silver colour car approaching the spot, they signalled them to stop ..
Election candidate among 8 killed in Afghan suicide bombing
A candidate for the upcoming parliamentary elections in Afghanistan and seven other people were killed on Tuesday in a suicide bombing in Lashkar Gah city, officials said.
NATO flexes muscles in show of strength to Russia
NATO's largest exercise since the end of the Cold War will see 50,000 troops deploy into the first snows of a Norwegian winter to show Russia that the alliance is ready to repel any attack, officers said Tuesday. Officially, November's Trident Juncture exercise will simulate an attack from a fictional country, but it will bring a huge force into one of Moscow's neighbours just months after Russia's vast Vostok war games. The head of NATO's Allied Joint Force Command, US Navy Admiral James Foggo said that the exercise "must show NATO is capable to defend against any adversary. Not a particular country, anyone." And he noted that Norway has a frontier with Russia and that the huge force, backed by 150 aircraft, 60 ships and some 10.000 vehicles, would demonstrate that they can mobilise quickly to defend an ally. "The core exercise area is 1,000 kilometres from the Russian border," said Norwegian General Rune Jakobsen, who will run the exercise headquarters. "There should not be any ...
Afghan election candidate among eight killed in suicide attack
An election candidate was among eight killed in a suicide attack in Afghanistan on Tuesday, officials said, days ahead of a parliamentary vote that militants have vowed to disrupt. Another 11 people were wounded when the attacker blew himself up inside Saleh Mohammad Asikzai's campaign office in the southern city of Lashkar Gah, Helmand provincial governor spokesman Omar Zhwak told AFP. Asikzai, a young first-time candidate, was campaigning on a platform of "positive change". There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. Helmand has long been a stronghold for the Taliban, which was toppled from power in a US-led invasion in 2001. President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack and said Afghans who believed in democracy would not allow "terrorists" to stop the elections. It is not clear how many people were inside the room at the time of the blast, which comes a day after the Taliban warned candidates to pull out of the "bogus" election scheduled for October 20. Describing
Police start issuing notices to licensed weapon holders
: Telangana police has started issuing notices to over 9,000 licensed weapon holders, requesting that they deposit the firearms with them in view of the prevailing election code of conduct in the state,a senior police official said Tuesday. Additional DGP (law and order) Jitender also said they had sought some companies of paramilitary forces from the Election Commission to support the state police in maintaining the law and order during the polls. "We have about 9,000 licensed weapons in the State. We have started issuing notices to them to deposit the weapons with us. They will be with us until the Model Code of Conduct is over," the police official told PTI. He said they would ensure that all the weapons would be deposited with police by the time the notification for the Assembly polls was issued. The Election Commission had on October 6 announced the election schedule for five states, including Telangana, which will go to the polls on December 7. Counting of votes ...
Suicide bombing on Afghan poll rally kills 8
At least eight people were killed and 10 others were wounded after a suicide bomb blast struck an election campaign rally in Afghanistan's Lashkar Gah city on Tuesday, officials said.
Non-profits urge Myanmar to strengthen Human Rights Commission
A group of civil society organisations on Tuesday urged the Myanmar government, led by Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, to strengthen the country's National Human Rights Commission to have a decisive impact on the country's development.