Page 511 - War Conflict
Royal family remembers Nelson Mandela on centenary anniversary
Marking the centenary anniversary of former South African President and Anti-Apartheid revolutionary, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended the launch of Nelson Mandela Centenary exhibition.Prince Harry met Nelson Mandela's widow, Garca Machel.The official Twitter handle of Kensington Palace posted a picture with the caption, " HRH met Mandela's widow Graca Machel at the Centre and gave this speech saying; "These organisations, which include the Nelson Mandela Foundation, are empowering the next generation of engaged South African citizens,"The Duke and Duchess of Sussex later met Lord Peter Hain, Chair of The Nelson Mandela Centenary Committee and Elaine Bedell, Chief Executive of the Centre.Prince Harry and Meghan Markle aslo met Zamaswazi Dlamini-Mandela, the granddaughter of Neslon Mandela.Kensington Palace Twitter handle wrote,"The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also meet Nelson Mandela's granddaughter Zamaswazi Dlamini-Mandela @southbankcentre before viewing the @Mandela100UK ...
Private security industry employees protest at India gate, demand 'streamlining of GST rules'
Owners and employees of private security industry today staged a silent protest at India Gate here, demanding "streamlining of GST rules" for the sector. The Central Association of Private Security Industry (CAPSI) demanded immediate implementation of 'reverse charge mechanism' for GST payment so that payment of GST is done directly by service receiver to the government and those running private security agencies should not be burdened by it. In a statement issued by the CAPSI, owners and employees of private security industry, majority of whom are retired Armed forces officers and personnel, first laid wreath at the Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate in respect of martyrs and then staged the protest in support of their demands. Similar protests were organised in all state capitals across the country by CAPSI members, it said. "We have made several representations to the Finance Ministry and to the GST Commissioner demanding streamlining of the GST mechanism for our industry. The major ...
CPI(Maoist) member surrenders before police
A member of the banned CPI (Maoist) M Anil alias Ganesh surrendered before police in Warangal district today, police said. Anil was not involved in any violent incidents nor any exchange of fire during his stint as dalam member, police said. He surrendered before Warangal Police Commissioner V Ravinder, disillusioned with Maoist ideology, police added.
Armed dacoity in Palghar district
A gang of seven armed men burgled a house at Wadavli in neighbouring Palghar district and looted valuables and cash worth over Rs 8 lakh today, police said. The burglars entered the house through the kitchen door at around 3:30 AM, an official said. They pointed a revolver at the family including a couple and his mother threatening them to face dire consequences if they raised an alarm, he said. The dacoits, armed with knives, took away cash and gold ornaments worth Rs 8.50 lakh, according to police. Police have launched a search to trace the dacoits, the Palghar district police spokesperson said, adding that no arrest has been made so far. A case has been registered against unidentified dacoits under various sections of the IPC and provisions of the Arms Act.
Police seizes 26 kg of opium, arrests smuggler
The police today arrested a smuggler and seized 26 kg of opium from his possession in Churachandpur district, a police officer said. Superintendent of Police, K Kabib said acting on a tip-off police caught hold of the smuggler at Thingkangphai area of the district and seized 26 kg of raw opium from his possession. The seized contraband is valued around Rs 36 lakh in the international market, police said.
11 Afghan journalists killed in six months
Eleven Afghan journalists and media workers have been killed in the first half of the year amid deteriorating security, an independent media safety group said on Wednesday.
No SSP can be called to Jammu, Srinagar without nod from Home dept: J-K govt
The Jammu and Kashmir government has issued a circular directing that no district senior superintendent of police can be summoned to Jammu or Srinagar without permission from the state's Home department, officials said. The circular, which was issued on July 16, amounted to clipping their wings, senior police officials said on condition of anonymity. According to the circular by Principal Secretary (Home) R K Goyal, a request has to be made to his office if a district SSP is required for a meeting in the civil secretariat. "In case a district senior superintendent of police is required for a meeting in the civil secretariat, a request to that extant shall be made to Principal Secretary (Home)," the circular said. It had come to the notice of authorities that some SSPs are called by senior officers for meetings at Srinagar and Jammu, the circular stated. "The practice disrupts the functioning of district offices....as the presence of these officers is imperative at district ...
Preparations start to evacuate pro-regime Syria towns
Preparations were underway today to evacuate thousands of people from two pro-regime Syrian towns, an AFP reporter and state media said, after three years of encirclement by hardline rebels. No date has been set for the start of evacuations from Fuaa and Kafraya in the northwestern province of Idlib, but they could begin in the coming days. The Shiite-majority towns are the last remaining areas under siege in Syria, where government forces have also repeatedly used crippling blockades during the country's seven-year war. Today, barricades were lifted on the road leading into Fuaa and Kafraya, allowing 84 buses to enter, an AFP correspondent said. Official SANA news agency also said buses had arrived to evacuate people. "Dozens of buses and ambulances have entered the area of Fuaa and Kafraya to bring out the residents besieged by terrorists," SANA said. The towns are besieged by rebels and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadist alliance led by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate. The Syrian ..
100 terrorists, 43 security personnel killed in J-K in 6 months
Hundred militants and 43 security personnel were killed in Jammu and Kashmir in the first six months of this year, Union Minister Hansraj Gangaram Ahir said today. Ahir, the minister of state for home, said 16 civilians were also killed during this period, which saw 256 incidents of violence. He was replying to a written question in Rajya Sabha. In 2017, 342 incidents of violence were reported in the state, in which 213 terrorists were gunned down. A total of 80 security personnel and 40 civilians were killed last year, Ahir said. As many as 82 security personnel, 15 civilians and 150 terrorists were killed in the state in 2016, which witnessed 322 cases of terrorist violence, he said.
Master blaster extends birthday wishes to Mandela
Legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar wished late former South African President Nelson Mandela on what would have been his 100th birthday here on Wednesday.The 45-year-old took to his twitter account and shared a photograph where he is shaking hand with the iconic figure."Remembering @NelsonMandela on his 100th birthday. I was extremely fortunate enough to have met him early on in my life. So much to learn, so much to get inspired from. #Madiba100," Tendulkar captioned the picture.Mandela, who was a symbol of anti-apartheid activism in South Africa, passed away on December 13, 2013 after battling a recurring lung infection. He was 95.
Woman Naxal gunned down in Chhattisgarh
A woman Naxal was gunned down in an encounter with the security forces in Manpur area of Chhattisgarh on Wednesday.Jarina Potai, who had a reward of Rs 5 Lakhs on her head, had been active in Manpur sub-division of Rajnandgaon district since 2005.As many as 16 offences, including attacks on police teams, were registered against her at various police stations in Manpur sub-division.The security personnel seized a 12 bore gun and other Naxal-related material from her possession.The encounter took place around 8.30 am in a forest near Kondal hills when the security personnel were out on an anti-Maoist operation in the region.
IS beheads Taliban commander in Afghanistan
Militants loyal to the Islamic State captured and beheaded a senior commander of the rival Taliban on Wednesday amid fierce fighting between the two groups in Afghanistan's Jawzjan province, a government spokesman said.
IS militants behead Taliban commander in Afghanistan: Official
Militants loyal to the Islamic State (IS) terror group captured and beheaded a senior commander of the rival Taliban on Wednesday amid fierce fighting continuing between the two groups in Afghanistan Jawzjan province, a government spokesman said.
Air strikes kill 12 civilians in south Syria rebel holdout: Monitor
Unidentified air strikes have killed 12 civilians in a rebel-held pocket of southern Syria as regime ally Russia presses talks for Damascus to retake the area, a monitor said today. The deadly strikes late yesterday hit Nawa, the last town under rebel control in the southern province of Daraa, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The Britain-based monitor said it could not determine whether the strikes on the town in the west of the province were carried out by the regime or its Russian ally. The regime has in less than a month retaken more than 90 per cent of Daraa province, which borders Jordan and was the cradle of Syria's ill-fated 2011 uprising. But opposition fighters in Nawa -- where tens of thousands of people live -- have resisted. After regime forces launched a ferocious offensive on June 19, Russia pressured rebels to hand over eastern parts of the province in early July, and the provincial capital last week. Other towns in the west of the province have also joined
Ortega's forces besiege Nicaragua opposition stronghold
Forces loyal to Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega staged an organised attack on an opposition stronghold as international calls mounted for an end to months of deadly violence in the Central American country. The offensive on the city of Masaya came on the heels of a bloody siege of student protesters holed up in a church in the capital Managua on the weekend, suggesting Ortega was intensifying the use of lethal force to quell dissent. His government says it is carrying out a "liberation" of towns and cities where protesters have been active. Police and masked paramilitary units toting assault rifles yesterday sealed off all roads leading to Masaya's flashpoint neighborhood of Monimbo, from which gunfire could be heard. Videos posted on social media showed rebels inside Monimbo firing back, some with homemade mortars. The head of the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights, Vilma Nunez, said at least two people were killed -- an adult woman and a police officer. State media confirmed the
Yemen rebel leader willing to give UN control of key port
Yemen's Huthi rebel chief says he is ready to hand over control of the key port of Hodeida to the United Nations if the Saudi-led coalition backing pro-government troops halts its offensive, a French newspaper reported. "We told the UN envoy, Martin Griffiths, that we are not rejecting the role of supervision and logistics that the UN wants to hold in the port, but on the condition that the aggression against Hodeida stops," Abdel Malek al-Huthi said in an interview with Le Figaro published online late yesterday. War-ravaged Yemen imports 90 per cent of its food, 70 per cent of which pass through Hodeida's docks and the fighting has raised UN fears of a humanitarian catastrophe in a country already teetering on the brink of famine. The Red Sea port has been controlled by the rebels since 2014, when they drove the government out of the capital Sanaa and much of the country. Earlier this year, the Saudi-led coalition imposed a near-total blockade on the port alleging it was being used ..
Two Koreans unite for table tennis event
In a rare show of unity, two mixed doubles teams consisting players from South and North Korea have booked their places in the round-of-16 of an international table tennis event here.According to Yonhap, the two mixed doubles teams of Choe Il (North Korea)-Yoo Eun-chong (South Korea) and Jang Woo-jin (South Korea)-Cha Hyo-sim (North Korea) qualified for the last-16 of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour event in South Korea's Daejeon city.Choe and Yoo defeated Alvaro Robles and Galia Dvorak of Spain 3-2, while Jang and Cha moved on to the last-16 after their Mongolian opponents, Battumur Baatar and Delgermaa Mergen withdrew from the event.In addition to the mixed doubles pairs, the Koreas will also field one joint team each in men's and women's doubles event.This comes at a time after North Korea and South Korea agreed to hold a family reunion event by mid-August this year, as decided by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in ...
Russia, Tajikistan hold anti-Taliban drills near Afghan border
Russia and Tajikistan today began joint military exercises near the Tajik-Afghan border to prepare to ward off potential Taliban attacks. More than 10,000 troops, mostly Tajik reservists, will take part in the first such drills in the area by the ex-Soviet allies, Tajikistan's defence ministry said. Combined forces will practice "eliminating terrorists who broke through" from Afghanistan in an imagined incursion, it said. Some 400 soldiers and 80 pieces of Russian military equipment were deployed from a military base in Tajikistan for exercises due to last until Friday, the Russian army said. The drills will take place just over the border from the Afghan province of Badakhshan. Russia and Tajikistan have intensified military cooperation since US-led forces began withdrawing from Afghanistan in large numbers in 2014. This is the first time they have held exercises in the sometimes restive Tajik province of Gorno-Badakhshan, where clashes between government and rebel forces took place
Afghan officials: IS bomber kills 20, Taliban kill 9 police
An Islamic State suicide bomber killed 20 people in northern Afghanistan today, including a Taliban commander, while in southern Helmand province, a government commando unit freed 54 people from a Taliban-run jail, officials said. In southern Kandahar province, the Taliban attacked a police checkpoint in Arghistan district late last night, killing nine policemen and wounding seven, according to Daud Ahmadi, the spokesman for the provincial governor. Zia Durrani, the provincial police spokesman, said 25 Taliban fighters were killed and 15 were wounded in the ensuing battle in Arghistan, a violate districts close to the Pakistani border. Afghanistan has faced intense attacks by both the Taliban and the country's Islamic State affiliate recently, even as Washington considers a Taliban demand for direct talks in hopes of jump-starting a negotiated end to what is now the longest military engagement by US forces. A Taliban official in Qatar, where the Taliban maintain an unofficial office, .
2 killed, 4 injured in blast during bomb making
Two persons were killed and four others injured in an explosion while making bombs in an area near the international land port at Mahadipur in Malda district today, police said. A group of men were making bombs near the Bhagirathi river in Kaliachak police station area when the blast took place. One died on the spot and the other on way to hospital, police said. The injured were admitted to the Malda Medical College and Hospital in a critical condition.