Page 640 - War Conflict
Houthis deny entry of humanitarian aid: Saudi-led coalition
Saudi-led coalition said on Wednesday that the rebels hinder the entry of humanitarian aids to the country, highlighting that 40 ships are waiting to access Al Hudaydah port, Al Arabiya news reported.
UN reports dire humanitarian situation in Syria
A UN official has depicted a bleak picture of the humanitarian situation in Syria and asked for full access to people in need.
Pak court criticises Army over its failure to submit report on last year's protest
The Army did not establish Pakistan so it will not be ruled on the whims and wishes of anyone, the country's Supreme Court said today as it censured security agencies for their failure to submit a detailed report on a protest led by a hardline cleric last year that paralysed the capital, Islamabad. Two-member bench comprising Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Musheer Alam heard the suo motu case against the three-week long siege of the capital in November, 2017 by religious groups against so-called changes in the oath by parliamentarians. Justice Isa used strong words to castigate a representative of the ministry of defence and deputy attorney general when he was informed that security agencies had not prepared any fresh report about the protest. The judge said that since the previous report was rejected as unsatisfactory, it was the duty of intelligence agencies to come up with the new report, detailing who funded the protest. "Who is paying you? Who is paying the Inter-Services ...
PM Modi trying to take looters of Karnataka to assembly: Rahul
Congress president Rahul Gandhi today accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "insulting" Karnataka by trying to take "those who looted the state to its assembly". "When in power, Yeddyurappa and Reddy Brothers looted Karnataka. Our Govt. brought them to justice. Now Mr Modi is trying to take 8 of them from jail, into the Vidhan Sabha. This is an insult to every honest citizen, to Karnataka and to the spirit of Basavanna," Gandhi wrote on Twitter. Yeddyurappa is the BJP's chief ministerial face in Karnataka, and the party has decided to field the Reddy brothers, Somashekara and Karunakara, who have been accused of corruption by political opponents. Gandhi, who will be on a two-day visit to the poll-bound state starting tomorrow, alleged the BJP had given tickets to five more "tainted candidates". Basavanna was a 12th-century reformer and is considered a Lingayat icon. Karnataka goes to polls on May 12 and the results will be declared on May 15.
Security forces still need AFSPA to tackle banned groups, says Assam DGP
Assam DGP Mukesh Sahay today said the banned militant group of ULFA(I) still had the strength to carry out terror attacks in some pockets of the state, and that the security forces still needed the controversial AFSPA for operations. "Union home ministry has said that militancy in Assam has gone down significantly, say about 70 per cent. But some pockets are still there, where some groups are active," he said at a press conference here. ULFA(I) is active in some areas of upper Assam i.e. along the inter-state border with Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, he said. "Due to its proximity with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) and easy access to the Myanmar border, ULFA(I) is still in a position to create problems in some pockets. We are coordinating with Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland in our counter-insurgency operations," Sahay said. Regarding the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), the top cop said Assam still required it during its operation against banned ...
Israeli policeman gets 9 months for killing Palestinian teen
An Israeli court sentenced a border policeman to nine months in prison today for the fatal shooting of a stone-throwing teenage Palestinian protester in 2014. The Jerusalem District Court ruled that Ben Deri unjustly opened fire during demonstrations in the West Bank four years ago. The shooting killed 17-year-old Nadim Nuwara, who did not pose an immediate threat to Deri's life, according to the court's ruling. It said Deri exhibited a "high degree of negligence" when he loaded his weapon with a live bullet rather than the rubber coated bullets typically used to disperse Palestinian demonstrations. Deri agreed to a plea bargain that dropped the charge from manslaughter to causing severe bodily harm and death through negligence. He was also ordered to pay the victim's family $14,000. Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi condemned the length of the sentence as "ludicrous." She compared its severity to that of a Palestinian teenager, Ahed Tamimi, who is serving an eight-month prison term .
Policeman injured in Kabul blast
A policeman was injured in yet another explosion which occurred in Deh Afghanan area of Afghan capital city Kabul on Wednesday evening.A magnetic bomb had been detonated, Afghan's TOLO News reported, citing Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish, as saying.According to the report, the police personnel was "slightly wounded" and had been taken to the hospital.An investigation is underway.This comes barely days after a deadly blast near a voter registration center in Kabul which claimed at least 60 lives..
Police apprehend three for planning to attack cops in J-K
Police today apprehended three persons, who were planning to attack cops and snatch weapon from them in Pampore town of Jammu and Kashmir. During their search, one Chinese pistol was seized from them, a police spokesperson said. "Police today apprehended three persons who were travelling on a bike near EDI Pampore when they were intercepted by a naka party," the spokesperson said. During questioning, they revealed that they were in search of a "soft target" and kill a cop from whom they could snatch a weapon, he said. A case in this regard has been registered and investigations were underway, the spokesperson said.
OPCW team has visited second Douma 'gas attack' site
Experts from the global chemical weapons watchdog today visited a second site in the Syrian town of Douma as they probe an alleged poison gas attack earlier this month, the body said. "Today, the FFM (fact-finding mission) team carried out a visit to a second location in Douma. It also collected samples at this site," the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said in a statement. It is the team's second visit to Douma after they managed to gain access to the town on Saturday for the first time since deploying to Damascus on April 14. The mission came amid international outrage over images of adults and children appearing to be suffering from the effects of a toxic weapon attack. The gruesome footage from the apparent April 7 attack horrified the world and prompted unprecedented Western strikes on Syrian military installations. Along with the first samples taken at the weekend, all the evidence collected in Douma will be brought back to the OPCW's labs on the ...
Joint Indian-Malaysian defence exercise from April 30
Joint training exercise Harimau Shakti, which is a part of ongoing Indian-Malaysian defence cooperation, will be conducted in the dense forests of Malaysia's Sengai Perdik from April 30 to May 13, said a defence statement.
Palestinian journalist shot at Gaza protest dies of wounds
A Palestinian journalist shot two weeks ago by Israeli forces on the Gaza border has died, Israeli and Palestinian sources said today, the second journalist killed in a month of unrest. Ahmed Abu Hussein, 25, was shot on April 13 while covering protests along the Gaza border for Palestinian media. The Gaza health ministry announced he had died after receiving treatment inside Israel, which the Sheba hospital near Tel Aviv confirmed. His brother Diaa told AFP they were preparing to transfer the body to Gaza for his funeral. Abu Hussein worked for Radio Shaab, a well-known radio station seen as close to the left-wing Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) party, as well as being a photographer for a local news agency. The family said the body was expected to cross from Israel late Wednesday, with the funeral to be held tomorrow. Abu Hussein was shot in the stomach while covering protests near Jabalia in northern Gaza, the health ministry in Gaza said. Images from the day .
2,000 bottles of liquor seized in Bihar
As many as 2,000 bottles of Indian made foreign liquor bottles were seized during a raid conducted in Rohtas district today, police said. According to Sub-Divisional Police Officer, Dehri, Mohammad Anvar Javed Ansari, 2,000 bottles of liquor were recovered from a godown in Rudrapura village of Dehri police station where a raid was conducted following a tip-off. He said each bottle was of 180 ml, and the liquor was kept in 414 boxes. No arrests have been made so far in this connection and police were investigating as to who owned the godown, Ansari said. Sale and consumption of alcohol is banned in Bihar for the past two years.
Ambedkar statue damaged in UP's Gorakhpur
A statue of Dr B R Ambedkar was damaged by some unidentified people in Deoria district's Rampur Khas village, following which locals staged a protest today, police said. The damage to the statue was spotted by some villagers this morning, according to reports. On receiving information, administrative and police officials reached the spot and pacified the people assuring them of action. The statue was repaired and an FIR registered against unidentified miscreants on a complaint village head Shobha Singh, they said. SHO, Tarkulwa, Shashank Shekhar Rai said, "The statue has been repaired and an FIR registered against unidentified people." The situation in the village is under control, Rai said.
Bodo militant escapes from police custody
A Bodo militant, who was arrested by the NIA, on Wednesday escaped from police custody while he was being produced in a Guwahati court in connection with the killing of five tribal villagers in Assam's Kokrajhar district in December 2014, officials said.
India, Malaysia to hold military exercise
The Indian and Malaysian armies will hold a two-week military exercise beginning April 30 in Malaysia as part of efforts to bolster defence cooperation. The joint exercise 'Harimau Shakti' will take place in the dense forests of Sengai Perdik in Hulu Langat district of Malaysia, the Defence Ministry said. "The exercise is aimed at bolstering cooperation and coordination between the armed forces of both the nations and to share the expertise of both the contingents in conduct of counter-insurgency operations in jungle terrain," it said. The Indian Army will be represented by 4 Grenadiers, one of the oldest infantry battalions which has rich operational experience in conventional as well as counter- insurgency warfare. The Malaysian contingent is being represented by soldiers from 1 Royal Ranjer Regiment and the Royal Malay Regiment, known for their experience in jungle warfare, said the Ministry. "This is the first instance wherein a joint training exercise of this magnitude involving .
Pakistan's security forces foil terror plot
Pakistan's security agencies today claimed to have foiled a major terror plot by arresting two suicide bombers. The bombers were arrested from Sarai Naurang area of Lakki Marwat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa bordering North Waziristan Agency, the Inter-Services Public Relations, is the media wing of the Pakistan Armed Forces, said in a statement. Suicide bombers Naimatullah and Sadeequllah had come to Pakistan from across the border. Suicide jackets and communication devices were also recovered from the possession of the terrorists, it said.
Naxals kill two men in Chhattisgarh for being 'informers'
The Naxals allegedly killed two men, including a village head, accusing them of being police informers, in separate incidents in Chhattisgarh, police said today. They added that the rebels had called for a day-long bandh in the south Bastar region today against the Supreme Court's recent ruling on the SC/ST Act. Somaru Ram Mandavi (28), the "sarpanch" of Darbha village under the Kutru police station in Bijapur district, was attacked by the ultras last night, Superintendent of Police (SP) Mohit Garg told PTI. "A few armed Naxals stormed into his village, located around 450 kms from Raipur, and attacked him with an axe and sticks," the SP said, adding that Mandavi was killed on the spot. The Naxals accused him of being a police informer before killing him, the SP said, adding that a search was launched in the area to nab the assailants. In another incident, an unidentified man was allegedly hacked to death by the Naxals in the insurgency-hit Dantewada district. A Maoist pamphlet found ..
ICC apologises for tweet on PM from official handle, launches inquiry
The International Cricket Council today apologised and launched an investigation into a social media post relating to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that went out from its official handle. "ICC is dismayed at a non-cricket related tweet appearing on its Twitter feed earlier today. We would like to extend our sincere apologies to anyone who was offended during the short space of time it was up," ICC said in a tweet after removing the post, the screenshot of which was shared multiple times. "We have launched an investigation into how this happened," the world body stated. The tweet that appeared this morning related to Modi and self-proclaimed godman Asaram Bapu, who was today convicted by a Jodhpur court for raping a teenager at his ashram in 2013. As soon as the tweet appeared, many users of the platform asked who was handling the ICC account, and the faux pas also left the Indian Cricket Board fuming. "This is unfortunate that an objectionable post has been attributed to the ICC ...
UN's peace building efforts struggling due to inadequate funding: India
Highlighting that funds available for UN's peacebuilding efforts are barely one per cent of the annual peacekeeping budget, India has told a high-level meeting here that UN's peace building efforts are "struggling" due to inadequate funding, a result of genuine political will. "The concept of peacebuilding, that expanded the focus to post conflict situations and led to the establishment of UN's peacebuilding architecture around a decade ago, is struggling due to lack of adequate funding that betrays a lack of genuine political will," Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs A Gitesh Sarma said in his address to the high-level meeting on peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace at the UN General Assembly yesterday. Sarma said while peacekeeping, the flagship activity of the UN, has been largely successful in containing inter-state conflict situations, its limitations in tackling chronic intra-state armed conflict situations, notwithstanding large-scale deployment of troops ...
Militants gun down Congress leader in J&K's Pulwama
A local Congress leader was killed and two policemen injured in a militant attack in south Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district today, officials said. Three persons were injured in firing by militants near the Rajpora Chowk in Pulwama district, a police official said. One of the injured, a political activist identified as Ghulam Nabi Patel, resident of Shadimarg area, succumbed to injuries while being taken to a hospital, he added. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti condemned the killing. "Heartfelt condolences to the family of senior Congress leader G N Patel who was killed by militants today in Rajpora. Such cowardly acts achieve nothing but leave one more family devastated," she tweeted. The other two injured both policemen - were being treated upon at a hospital and their condition was said to be stable, according to the police official. Security forces have cordoned off the area and a hunt has been launched to nab the attackers, he said.