Page 496 - War Conflict
Two dead in attack on Afghan midwife training centre: police
A militant attack on a midwife training centre in eastern Afghanistan today killed at least two people and wounded five, officials said, after the more than six-hour assault was brought to an end by security forces. At least 67 people, including students and teachers, were inside the centre in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, at the time of the attack, provincial governor spokesman Attaullah Khogyani told AFP. Nangarhar police chief Ghulam Sanyee Stanikzai told AFP two people -- a guard and a driver -- were killed and five others wounded. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest attack, but most of the recent assaults in the city have been carried out by the Islamic State group, which has a stronghold in Nangarhar. The Taliban denied involvement in a WhatsApp message sent to reporters. Provincial health department spokesman Inamullah Miakhil said 48 women from remote districts of the province were enrolled in the two-year midwifery course. The ...
2 Sri Lankan refugees arrested in Rameswaram
Two Sri Lankan refugees were arrested in Rameswaram on Saturday.The coastal security police arrested Sayinson (26) and Jayakumar (27) in Gulf of Mannar Sea Single Island near Pamdan in Rameswaram island.Sayinson was from Puduppatti SLR camp in Vilupuram while Jayakumar was an outstaying refugee at Thiruchirappalli.The Mandapam costal security wing police arrested them for unlawful travel to Sri Lanka in an Illegal boat.The coastal security wing police have put the refugees under interrogation.
J-K Police to purchase 50 bullet resistant bunker vehicles with 'NIJ level-3 protection'
Amid a spike in terror attacks on security forces in Kashmir, the police are set to purchase 50 bullet-resistant bunker (BRB) vehicles with a higher level of protection from gunfire. The Jammu and Kashmir Police has recently floated tenders for the purchase of the 50 BRB 4X4 vehicles with NIJ-III level protection that would shield them against fire from SLR and AK-47 rifles. The NIJ-III level is a standard set by the US-based National Institute of Justice (NIJ) for body armour. Hundred militants and 43 security personnel were killed in Jammu and Kashmir in the first six months of this year, the government informed the Rajya Sabha recently. Sixteen civilians were also killed during this period, which saw 256 incidents of violence. The Jammu and Kashmir Police will get 50 bullet-proof bunker vehicles for protection of security personnel against terror attacks in insurgency-hit areas of Kashmir, a senior police official said today. The BRB vehicles should have specifications to give ...
3 injured in Jalalabad blast
Three people have sustained injuries and are shifted to the hospital after terrorists stormed inside a midwife training centre on Saturday. The training centre belongs to Afghanistan's Ministry of Public Health.TOLO news quoted the spokesperson for Nangarhar governor, Attaullah Khogyani as saying that an unknown number of people are still trapped inside the compound.Meanwhile, eyewitnesses said that a number of explosions and gunfire shots can be heard from the scene of the attack. As the gunfight is still underway, more casualties are feared.The security forces have cordoned off the area.The latest attack came two days after four National Directorate of Security force members were killed in a suicide attack carried out by the Taliban in Afghanistan's capital city Kabul.
Sri Lanka key component of B&R Initiative: China
Sri Lanka is a key component of China's 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, with Hambantota Port and Colombo Port City as the two flagship projects of cooperation between the two countries under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Chinese Ambassador Cheng Xueyuan said.
Odisha police steps up security in Malkangiri as Maoists
Odisha police has stepped up security and put the force on high alert in Malkangiri district as Maoists observe Martyrs Week from today. "Tight security arrangement has been made across the district keeping in view the Maoists's Martyrs' Week," Malkangiri district superintendent of police Jagmohan Meena said adding that the police personnel have been issued advisory to check movement of suspicious persons. The authorities have stopped operation of government buses in several southen districts including Malkangiri. This apart, the police have also asked BSF camps and other police troops to stay on alert. Operational teams like special operation groups, district voluntary force, and BSF have jointly intensified the combing operations in the interior areas of the district, SP said. The district voluntary force formed in 2009 is a special constabulary unit of the Odisha Police and they are primarily used in anti-Maoist operations. Police have recovered Maoist pamphlets and ..
Attack on midwife training centre in Afghanistan's Jalalabad injures 3
At least three people were injured as militants attacked an Afghan midwife training centre in Jalalabad city on Saturday, officials said.
Somali leader heads to Eritrea in possible diplomatic thaw
Somalia's president has begun a visit to Eritrea in another possible diplomatic thaw in the restless Horn of Africa region. A spokesman said President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed had departed this morning. "Somalia is ready to write a new chapter of its relations with Eriteria," Abdinur Mohamed announced on Twitter. The two nations have not had diplomatic relations for nearly 15 years. Eritrea's information minister has said the three-day visit comes at the invitation of longtime leader Isaias Afwerki. Eritrea, one of the world's most closed-off nations, remains under United Nations sanctions after alleged support for the Somalia-based al-Shabab extremist group, which continues to carry out high-profile attacks in the capital, Mogadishu. Eritrea denies supporting armed groups such as al-Shabab. The visit by Somalia's leader follows a stunning diplomatic thaw in recent weeks between Eritrea and Ethiopia after more than two decades. Ethiopia under reformist new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ..
Militants attack Afghan midwife training centre: officials
Several gunmen stormed a midwife training centre in an ongoing attack in eastern Afghanistan today that has left at least three people wounded, officials said, as plumes of smoke were seen rising above the compound. Afghan security forces have stormed the centre in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, and sporadic gunfire could be heard from inside, witnesses and officials told AFP. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest attack, but most of the recent assaults in the city have been carried out by the Islamic State group, which has a stronghold in Nangarhar. "The Afghan security forces have cordoned off the area and... launched an operation to gun down the attackers," provincial governor spokesman Attaullah Khogyani said. Several midwives have been rescued, he added. Provincial health department spokesman Inamullah Miakhil confirmed its midwife centre had been attacked. Three wounded civilians have been taken to hospital, Khogyani said. A witness in a .
Taliban official says group spoke with US official
The Taliban held their first direct contact with a US official in a preliminary discussion about future peace talks on Afghanistan, a senior official with the insurgent group said today. It marked one of the most significant developments amid efforts to find a negotiated end to the country's protracted war. The official described as "useful" a meeting with Alice Wells, the US's top diplomat for South Asia, earlier this week. He said the meeting was held in the small Middle Eastern country of Qatar, where the Taliban have maintained a political office since 2013. "The environment was positive and the discussion was useful," the Taliban official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media. US officials neither confirmed nor denied a meeting took place. However, Wells was in Doha, the Qatar capital, this week. In a statement following her return, the State Department said only that Wells had been in Doha, had met with the ruling
Search operations on in Srinagar
Security forces on Saturday launched a search operation in the densely populated Balgarden area of the city here.
Militants abduct policeman in J-K's Pulwama
Militants have abducted a policeman from his home in Tral area of Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir, police said today. Special police officer (SPO) Mudasir Ahmad Lone was abducted by the militants from his home at Chainattar village last night, a police official said. Security forces have launched an operation to rescue the abducted policeman, he said.
Militants abduct J&K SPO at gunpoint
Militants abducted a special police officer (SPO) at gunpoint from Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, police said on Saturday.
J-K: 1 dead in blast
At least one person was dead and six injured in an explosion in Jammu's Arnia sector near the international border on Friday.According to preliminary investigation, the blast occurred when an old shell suddenly exploded. The incident occurred when labourers from Bihar were working in the field in Jabowal village.An eyewitness said, "We were in the field planting paddy saplings this morning. We sat down to drink water when the shell suddenly exploded out of nowhere."Further investigation into the incident is underway.Earlier in May this year, Pakistan troops did heavy shelling along the international border in Arnia and Ramgarh sectors injuring police personnel and civilians.
Israel to build new settler homes after deadly knife attack
Israel is to build hundreds of new homes in a settlement in the occupied West Bank where a Palestinian stabbed three Israelis, one fatally, Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said today. "The best answer to terrorism is the expansion of settlements," Lieberman wrote on Twitter, announcing 400 new housing units in the Adam settlement north of Jerusalem a day after the deadly stabbing. The teenage attacker sneaked into the settlement yesterday evening by climbing a fence, Israeli media reported. He stabbed three people seemingly at random before being shot dead, the army said, naming the dead Israeli as Yotam Ovadia, 31. Israeli media said he had two young children. A 58-year-old victim was said to be seriously wounded but stable. The third victim was lightly injured. The attacker was later identified by official Palestinian media as Mohammed Dar Youssef, 17, from the village of Kobar. The army said today it had raided the village, questioned a number of his family members and suspended
Ghanshyam Tiwari accuses Raje of 'stealing' her upcoming yatra's name
Former BJP leader and president of newly founded Bharat Vahini Party, Ghanshyam Tiwari today accused Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia of "stealing" the name of her upcoming 'Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra'. Tiwari alleged that it was a "deliberate conspiracy" of the BJP-led state government to rechristen the programme from the earlier 'Suraj Gaurav Yatra' to the present 'Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra'. It shows the intellectual bankruptcy of the party, he said at a press conference here. Raje's 40-day yatra is aimed at seeking the people's mandate in the upcoming state assembly elections and will cover all the divisions in the state. BJP national president Amit Shah will flag off the yatra from Charbhuja Nath temple in Rajasthan's Rajsamand district on August 4. The event was earlier named Suraj Gaurav Yatra, which was yesterday renamed as Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra. Tiwari had earlier taken a dig at the Suraj Gaurav Yatra, saying that it was 'Kuraj' (bad governance) Gaurav Yatra. BJP ...
Israeli police reopen Al-Aqsa mosque after clashes
Israeli police closed the gates to Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound for several hours today after clashes erupted with Palestinian worshippers following midday prayers at the flashpoint site. For around four hours all entry into and out of the mosque, which is Islam's third holiest site, was prevented by Israeli officers, an AFP photographer said, following clashes inside. The compound was reopened in the early evening, with worshippers flooding in to pray, the photographer said. Police said the clashes were sparked after Friday midday prayers as "rioters started to throw fireworks directly at police". "Police entered the Temple Mount compound and began evacuating the site. During dispersal of the rioters police arrested a number of suspects," a statement said, using the Jewish name for the site. The Waqf, the religious authority that governs the site, published videos showing police firing tear gas at Palestinians inside the mosque compound. Police later surrounded the Al-Aqsa ...
Gujarat: Several injured, 29 held as residents, cops clash
Several people, including policemen, were injured and over a score arrested following clashes between police and locals in Sardarnagar area here, officials said today. While residents have accused a raiding police team of using excessive force and assaulting people in the locality, a senior police official claimed that residents first attacked the police team that had raided the area looking for liquor vends. The incident took place yesterday in Chharanagar area of Sardarnagar locality and 29 people had been arrested so far for rioting and attacking police personnel, Inspector R N Virani of Sardarnagar police station said today. He said an FIR has been registered against a mob of about 150 persons and further investigations into the incident were underway. A local resident and well-known stage artiste, Daxin Bajrange, alleged that a police team which barged into the area late last night vandalised parked vehicles and assaulted residents with batons. Several videos, shot on mobile ..
Super-speciality hospital at Udhampur soon: Minister
A super-speciality hospital with modern hi-tech healthcare facilities as well as super-specialist doctors will soon come up in the Udhampur town of Jammu and Kashmir, Minister of State at PMO Jitendra Singh said on Friday.
UN verifies over 7,000 child casualties in Syria since 2013
A UN envoy says the United Nations has verified that more than 7,000 children have lost their lives or been injured in the Syrian conflict since 2013 and cites unverified reports putting the number "way beyond 20,000." Virginia Gamba, who focuses on children in conflict, told the Security Council today that since the beginning of 2018, the UN has verified over 1,200 violations against children. These include more than 600 children killed or maimed and over 180 recruited or used by government forces or armed groups, she said. Gamba said the first quarter of 2018 saw a 348 per cent increase in killing and maiming of children compared to the previous quarter. She also said the detention of children for alleged association with armed forces and groups "has exponentially increased.