Page 469 - War Conflict
Kovind watches documentary on 'President's Bodyguard'
President Ram Nath Kovind watched a documentary on the President's Bodyguard (PBG) at a special screening at the Rashtrapati Bhavan today, according to an official statement. The documentary produced by National Geographic has been directed by Robin Roy, with narration by Amitabh Bachchan. It will premiere on National Geographic channel at 2100 hrs tomorrow, the statement issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan said. The documentary tells the story of the President's Bodyguard, the oldest surviving mounted unit and one of the senior most regiments of the Indian Army. The regiment, with a 245-year legacy, is made up of almost 200 soldiers and represents supreme and selfless service. "The President's Bodyguard displays the best traditions of discipline and skills of our Armed Forces. Their flawless turnout and impressive bearing speak for the heritage of our country, and our Armed Forces. "But behind their skills, while standing erect or on horse-back, is years of hard work and the relentless .
Egypt arrests 13 on anniversary of 2013 crackdown
Egyptian police have arrested 13 alleged Muslim Brotherhood members accused of inciting protests on the fifth anniversary of the violent dispersal of two mass sit-ins. The Interior Ministry said today that six were arrested in a Cairo suburb, including three who had been sentenced in absentia to 10-15 years on terror charges. They will now face a retrial. The other seven were detained northwest of the capital. On August 14, 2013, police dispersed two mass sit-ins by supporters of President Mohammed Morsi, who had been overthrown by the military earlier that summer amid mass protests against his rule. Security forces killed more than 600 people. Morsi was a senior figure in the Muslim Brotherhood, which is now outlawed as a terror group. Egypt has detained thousands of Islamists since 2013.
Author of apartheid paedophile expose found dead in S.Africa
A South African author of a new book exposing an alleged paedophile ring involving top-ranking apartheid-era cabinet members has been found dead in an apparent suicide case, police said today. Mark Minnie, 58, was found last night at a friend's farm in Eastern Cape province with a gun shot wound to his head just weeks after the book, The Lost Boys of Bird Island, was published. "We did find a suicide note," police spokeswoman Priscilla Naidu, told AFP on the phone from the southern city of Port Elizabeth. "A firearm was found lying next to him." Police said no foul play was suspected but that an investigation had been launched. Minnie, a former police officer who was working as a teacher in China, had been in South Africa for the launch of the book he co-authored with investigative journalist Chris Steyn. The book, published early this month, chronicles allegations that former defence minister Magnus Malan was part of a paedophile network that operated during white-minority rule in ...
Taliban offensive in Afghan's Ghazni kills 466
At least 466 people, including 40 civilians, have been killed in ongoing clashes between the Taliban and Afghan security forces in Ghazni city, officials said on Tuesday.
Army officer whose unit was named for civilian deaths gets gallantry award
Major Aditya Kumar, at the centre of a controversy following the death of three Kashmiri civilians in Army firing in January, and Rifleman Aurangzeb, gunned down by militants while he was on his way to celebrate Eid with his family, were on Tuesday named for the third highest peacetime gallantry award.
I-day: CRPF leads gallantry medals tally with 5 Shaurya Chakras for JK ops
Daredevilry in counter-militancy operations in the Kashmir Valley, including the Lethpora and Sumbal camp attacks, earned the CRPF the highest number of gallantry medals -- 96 -- this Independence Day, including five Shaurya Chakras, the third highest peacetime bravery award. Head constable A S Krishna, constables K Dinesh Raja and Prafulla Kumar of the 45th battalion of the force were decorated with the Shaurya Chakra for their gallant act of thwarting a suicide attack on their camp in Sumbal in Jammu and Kashmir's Bandipora district on June 5 last year. As the troops were alert and prepared, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) team eliminated the four terrorists and finished the operation in quick 45 minutes, the citation for the operation read. Deputy Commandant K S Chahar and constable D Ravindra Baban (posthumously) of the 182nd battalion of the force won the military medal (Shaurya Chakra) for their brave act of thwarting a similar attack by three militants on the district ..
Odisha restricts participation of children in I-Day parade
The Odisha government on Tuesday directed all districts not to allow participation of children during Independence Day parades with met department predicting heavy rainfall in several parts of the state in the next two days.
Sri Lanka to ink agreement with China's Alibaba
The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) will ink an agreement with Alibaba's travel arm Fliggy to bring 1,000 travellers weekly to the country in order to expand its growing tourism sector, Tourism Minister John Amaratunga said on Tuesday.
Major Aditya, Rifleman Aurangzeb to get Shaurya Chakra
Major Aditya Kumar, who was embroiled in a controversy after his unit fired on a stone-pelting mob in South Kashmir's Shopian in January leading to death of three persons, is among 20 armed forces personnel who will be honoured with Shaurya Chakra. Rifleman Aurangzeb, who hails from Jammu and Kashmir and was brutally killed by terrorists in Pulwama in June when he was on his way home for Eid, will also be conferred the gallantry award. The official list of gallantry award winners was released by the defence ministry on the eve of the Independence Day. The unit led by Major Aditya had opened fire on a group of stone-pelters in Shopian on January 27 following which the Jammu and Kashmir police filed an FIR against the army personnel involved in the incident. In February, the father of Major Aditya had moved the Supreme Court seeking quashing of the FIR. During hearing of the case, the Centre said the state government cannot lodge an FIR against serving army personnel when the Armed ...
President watches documentary on President's Bodyguard
President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday watched a special screening of a documentary on one of the oldest regiments of the Indian Army, The President's Bodyguard, at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Car crashes into barriers outside UK Parliament as terror strikes London; 3 injured
In a terror attack, a man drove a car at high speed and ploughed into several pedestrians and cyclists before crashing into security barriers outside the UK's Parliament during rush hour today, injuring three persons, Scotland Yard said. The attack, the second terrorism incident on the iconic building in central London since March last year, is being investigated by Scotland Yard's Counter-Terrorism Command. The man, in his late 20s, has been arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences. Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the National Lead for Counter Terrorism Policing in the UK, said the man was not cooperating with police as they work to establish his identity. "Our priority is to formally establish the identity of the suspect and his motivation if we can. He is not currently cooperating," the Indian-origin officer said, adding that the suspect was not known to security services or under surveillance. "There is no intelligence at this time of further danger to ...
Trump says 'crazy animals' responsible for London attack
US President Donald Trump called the individual who rammed his car into pedestrians and cyclists in an apparent terror attack in London as "crazy animals", saying perpetrators of such attacks must be dealt with through "toughness and strength". "Another terrorist attack in London...These animals are crazy and must be dealt with through toughness and strength!," Trump tweeted. The speeding car crashed into security barriers outside the UK's Parliament in London during rush hour, injuring two persons. Scotland Yard's Counter-Terrorism Command is treating the incident as a terrorist attack. The driver of the car, a man in his late 20s, was arrested at the scene by armed officers. He has been taken to a south London police station where he remains in police custody.
Russian-made arms in rebel-held east Ukraine: Watchdog
A security watchdog today said for the first time it had spotted Russian-made weapons in rebel-held areas of eastern Ukraine, despite the Kremlin insisting it has not provided arms in the conflict. The statement from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a rare independent confirmation that sophisticated Russian-produced arms are involved in the fight between the Ukrainian army and separatists. In a statement to AFP, the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine said that on July 28, it had "spotted four distinct electronic warfare systems ... in areas not controlled by the government." The mission said one of its drones had seen the Leer-3, Krasukha-2, Bylina, and Repellent-1 systems some 64 kilometres (40 miles) south-west of the rebels' stronghold Lugansk. The systems -- designed to jam mobile communication and disable radar guided missiles -- started being produced only a few years ago and are made in Russia. The OSCE report did not explicitly name ...
MP: Police's horse squad out of Aug 15 parade due to glanders
The Madhya Pradesh police's horse squad will not participate in tomorrow's Independence Day Parade here due to an outbreak of glanders, a senior official said today. Glanders is a zoonotic disease caused by the bacterium burkholderia mallei and primarily affects horses, donkeys and mules. The police's horse contingent traditionally has been a big draw with children who throng in large numbers along with their parents to watch the parade on August 15, officials said. Deputy Inspector General Deepak Verma of the Special Armed Force told PTI today that, following a notification by the state government, the horses would not be taking part in the parade. He informed that the animals had been sent to other districts on account of the outbreak of glanders. The first case of glanders was detected in Gwalior this year and in May three horses were culled to stop its spread, officials said. The Independence Day parade, to be held at the Motilal Nehru Stadium here, will be ...
SC to hear plea against AFSPA dilution on August 20
The Supreme Court will hear on August 20 a plea by a group of serving Army officers against the dilution of AFSPA that gives immunity to military personnel from prosecution for actions in disturbed and insurgency-hit areas.
11 injured in grenade attack in Pak's Baluchistan province
At least 11 people were injured in a grenade attack in Baluchistan province today, police said. Two unidentified men riding a motorcycle lobbed a hand grenade at a shop situated at Masjid Road in Nushki area, they said. All the 11 injured have been admitted in a hospital and their condition are stable now, they said.
Bosnian Serb leader denies scope of Srebrenica massacre
The leader of Bosnia's Serbs today called for a government report that acknowledged the massacre of more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995 to be revoked, triggering possible new tensions in the war-scarred Balkan state. Milorad Dodik spoke at a parliamentary session of the autonomous Bosnian Serb republic, demanding that the legislature revoke the 2004 report compiled by a previous government which acknowledged the massacre the worst carnage in Europe since World War II. He said the report was biased and did not mention Serb victims. Dodik, who advocated that Bosnian Serb territories should split and join Serbia, has always rejected rulings by the U.N. war crimes court that genocide was committed in Srebrenica. He accused "some Western states" and rival Bosnian Muslims of staging the massacre. "The Srebrenica crime is a staged tragedy with an aim to satanize the Serbs," Dodik said without elaborating. He called for the forming of an "unbiased" international
942 Police Medals to be given on I-Day, CRPF tops
The Central Reserve Police Force's (CRPF) constable Sharief-ud-Din Ganaie and Head Constable Mohammad Tafail, who lost their lives in 2017 while fighting militants in Jammu and Kashmir, have been posthumously selected for the President's Police Medal for Gallantry (PPMG) -- the highest police medal.
UN: Libyan militia forces 1,900 people from camp in Tripoli
The U.N. refugee agency said it's concerned over a Libyan militia forcing 1,900 displaced people out of their refugee camp in the capital, Tripoli. UNHCR spokesman William Spindler said today that the militia ran 370 families, originally from the western city of Tawergha, out of their homes in the Triq al-Matar camp last week. He said the militia also "arrested" around 100 of the Tawerghas, 12 of whom are being held in dismal conditions. The displaced in other Tripoli camps were also at risk of "forced evictions", he added. Libya plunged into chaos after the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed dictator Moammar Gadhafi and is now split between rival governments, each relying on several militias. The Misrata militia, which is dominant in Tripoli, blames the Tawergha for siding with Gadhafi.
SC admits petition challenging dilution of AFSPA
The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a plea, filed by a group of over 350 armymen, challenging the dilution of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).The plea claims that the prosecution of security forces for encounters against insurgents will endanger "national security".The apex court will hear the matter on August 20."Essentially the issues that we have raised are in regard with the protection of AFSPA in areas where soldiers are operating in anti-insurgency, militancy and proxy war situations. We have raised the issue that this protection actually felicitates those military operations that they are carrying out to secure the frontiers in and outside," lawyer Aishwarya Bhati, who is representing the petitioners in the court, told ANI."Any dilution of that protection will amount to jeopardising the security, sovereignty and integrity of the nation. The protection under AFSPA is not a blanket protection. That protection is only to the extent that no case can be filed or ...