Page 613 - War Conflict
Official talks to follow up on Moon-Kim agreements soon
South Korea has asked North Korea to hold official talks as a follow-up to the agreements signed during their recently concluded summit.According to the Yonhap news agency, the meeting will be aimed at discussing follow-up measures on agreements made by South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during their meeting on April 27 at Panmunjom (Demilitarised Zone).South Korea's unification ministry proposed this and is awaiting the North Korea's answer."We are making arrangements with the North for the high-level meeting, and when the date is determined, we will let you know. We expect that the meeting could take place in the middle of next week," said a Unification Ministry official.During their meet Moon and Kim signed a joint declaration where they agreed to stop all hostile acts against each other and promised economic co-operation.The Yonhap news agency further reports that the issue of South Korean citizens being detained in North Korean prisons could be
Pakistan's top judge orders probe of deadliest terror attack
- Pakistan's top judge has ordered the first official investigation into the country's deadliest terror attack, a massacre at a school that killed more than 150 people in 2014, authorities said today. Relatives of the victims -- mainly children -- have long called for an accounting of the security and intelligence failures that allowed Pakistani Taliban gunmen to storm the school, run by the powerful military, in the northwestern city of Peshawar on December 16 that year. No government or military official has ever been held to account for the security failings. Criticism of Pakistan's powerful armed forces, especially their counter-insurgency operations, is largely seen as a red line in the country. Supreme Court Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar ordered the formation of a judicial commission to examine the attack during a court hearing in Peshawar yesterday, Abdul Latif Yousafzai, advocate general of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, told AFP. The inquiry was set to be cmpleted in two ...
Bengal will have to compensate any panchayat poll victims: HC
Holding the West Bengal government liable for any loss of lives and property due to violence during the upcoming panchayat polls, the Calcutta High Court on Thursday said the state will have to pay compensation in such cases.
Valour of Siachen troops makes us confident about border safety: President
President Ram Nath Kovind on Thrusday flew to the world's highest battle field to address soldiers posted at the Siachen glacier, sometimes also referred to as the "Third Pole" where temperatures can dip to minus 50 degrees Celsius.
Prez visits Siachen base camp; expresses gratitude to soldiers
President Ram Nath Kovind today visited the Army base camp in Siachen, the world's highest battlefield, and expressed gratitude to the soldiers posted there. The bravery and valour of soldiers deployed in Siachen over the past 34 years, the president said, had given every Indian the confidence that the borders were safe and secure. Kovind said he had come to Siachen to iterate to the troops posted here that all citizens of India and Government of India were always with them and supportive of their families. Addressing the soldiers, he said as the supreme commander of the armed forces and as the president of India, he had come to them carrying the gratitude of the entire country. The president said Siachen was the world's highest battlefield and it was difficult to live even a normal life in the extreme climate. "In such a situation, it is extraordinary for soldiers to stay in a state of constant mobilisation and combat readiness. Their determination and dedication is worthy of the ...
Miscreants tried to loot me, claims BJP leader
Delhi BJP senior leader Vijay Jolly on Thursday said that four unidentified persons on two motorbikes deflated his vehicle's tyre and attempted to loot him in south Delhi.
Militants surrender to end Indonesia detention center riot
Dozens of Islamic militant prisoners who took over a police detention center near Indonesia's capital and killed five officers surrendered to police today, the country's top security minister said. The riot erupted late Tuesday at the headquarters of the elite Mobile Brigade police in Depok, on Jakarta's southern outskirts, where four days earlier authorities arrested three militants they accuse of planning to attack police. Most of the prisoners surrendered before dawn today following an ultimatum from security personnel, said Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law and Security Wiranto, who goes by one name. About 10 inmates refused to give up but shortly were subdued when police fired smoke bombs and tear gas. He said those involved were "detained terrorists." "They committed cruelty by seizing weapons, holding hostages, torturing and even killing the officers in cruel and vile manners, beyond the limits of humanity," Wiranto said at a news conference. He said inmates had ...
Death toll in Kabul police attacks rises to 10: health ministry
The death toll from apparent coordinated attacks on two Kabul police stations has risen to 10, the health ministry said today, as the Afghan capital remains on edge in expectation of more violence. At least 23 people were also wounded in yesterday's hours-long assaults in the city, the ministry said. The Taliban and Islamic State group each claimed responsibility for one of the attacks. But Afghanistan's intelligence agency blamed the Taliban's Haqqani Network and Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba for both incidents. The Taliban said the attack in front of a police station in Shar-e-Naw neighbourhood in downtown Kabul was revenge for an Afghan airstrike on a religious ceremony in a Taliban stronghold in northern Afghanistan on April 2. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said Monday that children made up most of the 107 casualties in the airstrike that Afghan authorities said had targeted senior Taliban commanders planning attacks. "It was revenge for ..
Italian anti-terror ops target 14 supporting war in Syria
Italian police have launched anti-terrorism operations across the country in the hunt for 14 suspects linked to a network supporting Islamic extremists in Syria. Prosecutors said today that police were exercising arrest warrants for four suspected militants, one Syrian and three Moroccans, in Sardinia; and elsewhere in the country for 10 Syrians suspected of money laundering and other financial crimes linked to terror financing. Italy's top anti-terror prosecutor Federico Cafiero de Raho told Sky TG24 that the suspects belong to a single cell that was "collecting and distributing considerable funds to Syria to support the war." He said all were legal residents of Italy. Police video showed officers exercising the arrest warrants in the pre-dawn hours. It was not immediately clear how many people had been taken into custody.
Kovind boosts soldiers' morale at Siachen base camp
President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday became the second president to visit the Siachen base camp of the Indian Army in Ladakh, and conveyed the whole country's respect for the soldiers protecting Indian borders at the highest battlefield in the world."There was a special reason behind my excitement to meet you. I wanted to personally convey you the message that there is special respect in heart of all Indians for the soldiers and officers guarding the borders," Kovind said in his address to the Army personnel at the camp."Siachen is the highest battlefield in the world and living a normal life in such an atmosphere is difficult. Having to be ready to fight the enemy in these conditions is even more difficult, and it is an honour for me to meet the brave soldiers who are here protect our country," he added.In his address, the President also remembered the soldiers who were killed in action here, "I bow to those soldiers who sacrificed their lives here."President Kovind also came with ..
LeT militant asks ultras to shun violence in viral video
An LeT militant, who was arrested along with others for their alleged involvement in the Baramulla terror attack, has urged the ultras to "shun the path of violence" in a video that has gone viral. My name is Aijaz Ahmad Gojri. I request my other friends--Suhaib Akhoon, Mohsin Mushtaq Bhat and Nasir Amin Drazi--who are on the wrong path and have left their families, their good life and living in forests, to return home. I request Nasir to come back as his mother is very ill," the militant said in the 2-minute video, which was shot while he was in Army custody. "Pakistan is misleading the youth," he said. A Lashker-e-Taiba terror module was busted in north Kashmir yesterday with the arrest of 10 people, including four militants who were allegedly responsible for gunning down three boys at Baramulla on April 30. "We have ample evidence to suggest the hand of outlawed Lasher-e-Taiba group in instigating violence and killing innocent people in north Kashmir," Inspector General of Police ..
Douma accusations 'a farce': Assad
Accusations that Bashar al-Assad's forces used chemical weapons against the Syrian town of Douma last month are a "farce", the Syrian president said today. "If you look at the videos, it's completely fake," Assad told Greece's Kathimerini daily. "When you have chemical weapons, how could the doctors and nurses be safe, dealing with the chemical atmosphere without any protective clothes, without anything, just throwing water at the victims? And the victims became okay just because you washed them with water... It's a farce," he said. "They talk about 45 victims - when you use WMD (weapons of mass destruction) in such an area, you should have hundreds or maybe thousands of victims," Assad said. Images of adults and children appearing to be suffering from the effects of a toxic weapon attack sparked international outrage. The gruesome footage from the apparent April 7 attack horrified the world and prompted unprecedented Western strikes on Syrian military installations. Syria and close .
CIA concerned about potential contacts between Pak nuclear scientists and extremists: Haspel
The CIA continues to be very concerned about potential contacts between Pakistani nuclear scientists and extremist groups and is monitoring them, US President Donald Trump's nominee to head the agency has said. Gina Haspel, if confirmed by the Senate, would be the first female director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). "There was very deep concern about potential contacts, and we continue to monitor this very closely, between extremists and Pakistani nuclear scientists," Haspel told the members of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee during her confirmation hearing yesterday. She was responding to a question from Senator John Cornyn. Cornyn cited a book that reminded him that post-9/11, the then president George W Bush was concerned about reports that Osama bin Laden and al Qaida were meeting with the Pakistani officials connected with their nuclear programme to gain access to a nuclear device that they might then use for a follow-on attack against the cities like ...
Militants surrender to end Indonesia detention centre riot
Dozens of Islamic militant prisoners who took over a police detention centre near Indonesia's capital and killed five officers surrendered to police today, the country's top security minister said. The riot erupted late Tuesday at the headquarters of the elite Mobile Brigade police in Depok, on Jakarta's southern outskirts, where four days earlier authorities arrested three militants they accuse of planning to attack police. Most of the prisoners surrendered before dawn Thursday following an ultimatum from security personnel, said Coordinating Minister for Political, Law and Security Wiranto, who goes by one name. About 10 inmates refused to give up but shortly were subdued when police fired smoke bombs and tear gas. He said those involved were "detained terrorists." "They committed cruelty by seizing weapons, holding hostages, torturing and even killing the officers in cruel and vile manners, beyond the limits of humanity," Wiranto said at a news conference. He said inmates had ...
Prison riot ends in Indonesia
Indonesian authorities confirmed on Thursday that a prison riot in which five guards and one prisoner were killed, has ended.
CIA concerned about potential contacts between extremists and Pak nuclear scientists: Haspel
The CIA continues to be very concerned about the potential connection between extremist groups and Pakistani nuclear scientists and is very closely monitoring this, a top official from the spy agency has told lawmakers. "There was very deep concern about potential contacts, and we continue to monitor this very closely, between extremists and Pakistani nuclear scientists," Gina Haspel, US President Donald Trump's nominee for CIA director told the members of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee during her confirmation hearing yesterday. Haspel, if confirmed by the Senate, would be the first female head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). She was responding to a question from Senator John Cornyn. "(Recently reading through a book) I was reminded that post-9/11, President Bush was concerned about reports he had received that Osama bin Laden and al Qaida were meeting with the Pakistani officials connected with their nuclear programme to gain access to a nuclear device that they ..
11 killed in Somalia market explosion: Security official
At least 11 people were killed in an explosion in a busy market in a small Somali city north of Mogadishu, a security official and witnesses said. "Eleven people were confirmed dead and more than 10 others were wounded in the blast which we are still investigating, some of the victims have serious wounds and they are admitted at hospital," Mohamed Abdikarim, a regional security official, told AFP. Sources contacted by AFP did not yet know whether the blast was caused by a suicide bomber or an explosive device. The blast occurred at the marketplace in Wanlaweyn district about 70 kilometres (around 45 miles) north of the Somali capital where Khat (narcotic leaves) is sold. "There was chaos at the market, a number of people died and others wounded, I saw the severed dead bodies of civilians but there were also security personnel involved in the casualty," Mohamed Dahir, a witness said. Wanlaweyn district is close to the Balidogle airbase where the US special forces have a major base. No .
Transfer of US Embassy to Jerusalem violates international law
Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday in Chile that US President Donald Trump's decision to move Washington's embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem violates international law.
Country-specific exception for NSG membership detrimental for non-proliferation: Pak
Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua today said that any country-specific exception for NSG membership will be detrimental for the global non-proliferation regime. Janjua inaugurated a two-day international Seminar on 'The Present and Future of Strategic Export Controls' organized by the Strategic Export Control Division (SECDIV) of the ministry of foreign affairs. She emphasised that any country-specific exception for NSG membership, that overrode the long-established principles and norms, would be detrimental to the credibility of the global non-proliferation regime, the Foreign Office said. The seminar is aimed at reinforcing networking among export control community and strengthening engagements for promoting regional and international cooperation against the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) and their delivery systems.
Theni clashes: Compensation for Dalit victims announced
In the aftermath of the recent clashes between Dalits and Muslims in Tamil Nadu's Theni district, the National Scheduled Cast Commission (NSCC) has announced a compensation for the damages caused to Dalit houses by police while conducting searches and security drills in the area."I have recommended district officials to give compensation to Dalit families and have asked officials to maintain law and order situation and ensure normalcy returns to the village as soon as possible," Murugan, the Deputy General Secretary of the NSCC, said on Monday.On May 5, the body of an elderly woman, Vanniamal, was being carried through a Muslim neighbourhood en route to the cremation ground when clashes between the two communities erupted.Dalits chose the route as there was another funeral procession going on along the regular route. When the procession entered the Muslim area, some residents protested, and minor clashes followed.The police pacified both sides and the Dalits managed to complete the ...