Page 687 - War Conflict
Russian spy daughter's health rapidly improves
Yulia Skripal, hit in a nerve agent attack that has chilled relations between Russia and the West, came out of critical care today following a swift improvement in her health. The 33-year-old daughter of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal is "improving rapidly and is no longer in a critical condition. Her condition is now stable", said the hospital treating the pair since the March 4 attack. Sergei Skripal, 66, remains in a critical but stable condition, Salisbury District Hospital's board said. The attack on the Skripals in the southwestern English city has been met with a major response that has seen more than 150 Russian diplomats expelled from countries around the world. British authorities have blamed Moscow, which denies any involvement, and said a Soviet-designed nerve agent dubbed Novichok was used in the poisoning -- the first use of chemical weapons in Europe since World War II. "I'm pleased to be able to report an improvement in the condition of Yulia Skripal," said
Guterres 'very concerned' about return of Cold War conditions
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday that he is "very concerned" about the world returning to a Cold War situation and suggested reviving mechanisms that existed then to prevent escalation of tensions.
2 PLFI members killed in encounter
Two members of the People's Liberation Front of India (PLFI) were killed in an encounter, while a villager was shot dead by CPI(Maoist) in separate incidents in Jharkhand, police said today. Two PLFI activists were killed in an encounter with the police in Regre Bagichatoli under Karra police station of Khunti district today. Acting on a tip-off that some members of the PLFI have assembled in the village, a joint team of Ranchi and Khunti district police rushed to the spot, Khunti Superintendent of Police Ashwini Kumar Sinha said. Activists of the PLFI, a Maoist outfit, fired on the approaching police team and the policemen retaliated, he said adding that two ultras have been killed in the gun battle and others fled. A search operation has been launched following the encounter to track down the extremists. Police recovered two fire-arms and a motorcycle from the spot. Meanwhile, a villager was shot dead by CPI(Maoist) which has given a Jharkhand bandh today in protest ...
Police fire in air near Vadodara after mob turns violent
Police had to fire in air to disperse a violent mob during a raid at an illegal liquor-making unit at Ganpatpura village near here late this evening, a senior official said. The village is 15 km from here. A mob of around 300 people gathered and started pelting stones at a police team which was conducting raid at a hooch manufacturing unit at the village, said Superintendent of Police Saurabh Tolumbia. Two constables were injured in the stone-pelting and the police fired four rounds in air in self-defence, he said. The situation was now under control and senior police officers have reached the spot, he added.
Militants shot dead special police officer in J-K
Militants tonight shot dead a special police officer (SPO) and injured his wife in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir, an official said. "Militants fired upon SPO Mushtaq Ahmad Sheikh inside his residence at Katsoo in Bijbehara area of Anantnag district," the police official said. While the SPO was killed in the spot, his wife, Fareeda, suffered injuries in the firing by the militants, the official said. He said the woman has been rushed to a hospital for treatment. In a separate incident, the ultras fired upon a man at Chancer in Kulgam district, the official said. Sayar Wani was hit by a bullet in the leg, he said, adding the injured was admitted to a local hospital for treatment.
SPO shot dead in J&K
A Special Police Officer was shot dead by militants in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on Thursday, police said.
Militants open fire on Army patrol in J-K
Militants opened fire on an Army patrol in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, prompting security forces to launch a cordon-and-search operation tonight. The ultras fired upon a patrolling party of the Army at Ahgam in Shopian district this evening, a police official said. He said the soldiers retaliated, triggering a brief exchange of fire. The security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to track down the militants, he added.
59 Naxals surrender in Sukma district
Fifty-nine Naxals, including 16 women, surrendered in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh today, a senior police official said. Sukma district superintendent of police Abhishek Meena said that 59 rebels including 16 women cadres laid down the arms before police at Errarbor village. Arrest warrants were pending against nine of them, he said. All of them were residents of villages under the Errabor police station limits, Meena said.
Bhagalpur clash: Union Minister's son seeks quashing of FIR
Union Minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey's son Arijit Shashwat on Thursday moved the Patna High Court, seeking quashing of the FIR filed against him in connection with communal clashes in Bihar's Bhagalpur district.A case against Shashwat was registered on March 19. He filed an anticipatory bail petition two days after a Bhagalpur court issued a warrant of arrest against him in connection with the communal clashes in Nathnagar on March 17.On March 17, violence broke out during a procession led by Shashwat in Nathnagar that the Bharatiya Navvarsh Jagran Samiti organised to mark the Hindu New Year.Choubey and other local BJP leaders later claimed that the district administration had allowed the rally and had also denied that provocative slogans were shouted.Choubey was elected from the Buxar Lok Sabha seat in 2014. His son Shashwat had contested the 2015 Bihar Assembly elections from Bhagalpur.
Asansol violence: Babul Supriyo booked for assaulting officer
An FIR has been filed against Union Minister Babul Supriyo for allegedly violating Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and assaulting an IPS officer after he was prevented from visiting the violence-hit areas in Asansol, where the situation continued to remain tense over a Ram Navami procession.The minister, who was booked in North Asansol police station, was heading to the city to take stock of the situation when he was barred from entering the area by the security forces.Earlier in the day, Supriyo said that the state administration, including the police and the district magistrate, was acting like the Trinamool Congress cadres and was doing nothing to take stock of the current situation.Supriyo, who also met state Governor Keshri Nath Tripathi during his visit, said that he has informed the Centre that several attempts by the Governor to convince the state to allow paramilitary force in Asansol have failed.The Ram Navami celebrations on March 25 had turned sour after .
Landmines to be cleared from Jesus's baptism site
Thousands of landmines at the site where many believe Jesus was baptised are to be removed during the next year, allowing eight churches to reclaim land sealed off since the 1970s. The project, carried out by the international de-mining charity the Halo Trust along with the Israeli defence ministry, would cost around USD 3 million and reopen thousands of square metres of territory, officials said. The site is only a few hundred metres from where, according to biblical tradition, Jesus was baptised by his cousin John and where thousands of pilgrims come every year to submerge themselves in the water. The majority of the mines were laid by Israeli forces after the Jewish state seized control of the West Bank in 1967 from Jordanian troops. Other unexploded ordinance from both Israel and Jordan remains lodged in the ground, including around the churches -- which were evacuated by Israel in the 1970s. "We are looking to clear one million square metres and we estimate that in the ground we .
Girls school in Haryana renamed after Army officer killed in J-K
A school in Haryana's Rewari was today renamed after an Army officer who was killed while fighting militants in Jammu and Kashmir. Haryana state education department took the initiative of renaming the government senior secondary girls school, Kosli, in Rewari district as 'Shaheed Major Vikas Yadav Senior Secondary School'. The renaming was to pay respect to Major Vikas Yadav of 7 Jat who had laid down his life fighting militants in Jammu and Kashmir, an Army spokesperson said.. The renaming coincides with his birth anniversary. The event also saw unveiling of statue of the valiant officer by Lt Gen SK Saini, Colonel of the Jat Regiment. To mark the occasion, a large number of veterans including course mates of the brave officer were also present at the occasion.
Haley, Sajjan at UNSC's peacekeeping meeting represent diaspora's political rise
At a high-level UN Security Council meeting on peacekeeping operations, the world's superpower - the US -- and Canada were represented by their top cabinet-level officials, both of whom are of Indian-descent and belonging to the Sikh faith, signalling the rise of Indian-origin persons in geo-political leadership positions across the world. US Permanent Representative to the United Nations Nikki Haley and Canada's Minister for National Defence Harjit Singh Sajjan came together to address the Security Council yesterday in an open debate on improving the Organisation's flagship enterprise - UN peacekeeping. Haley, born as Nimrata Randhawa in South Carolina, is the daughter of Indian immigrants from Punjab. Her parents Ajit Singh Randhawa and Raj Kaur Randhawa emigrated from Amritsar in Punjab, India. Haley had served as the Governor of South Carolina. She became the first Indian-American to serve in a presidential administration at a Cabinet level position when she was confirmed to be ...
Mega security plans for Prince Harry, Markle wedding in UK
UK Police are urging the public not to be "alarmed" by the massive scale of security arrangements ahead of the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, described as one of the largest security operations in British history. Prince Harry and Markle would wed at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle on May 19, followed by a carriage procession through Windsor town and a reception in St George's Hall, it was announced last year. Thames Valley Police called on the public not to be "alarmed" by the massive scale of the security arrangements in the lead up to the big day on May 19 in Windsor Castle. "The wedding is expected to attract thousands of people from around the world to Windsor and planning is well under way. Visitors to the town can expect to see our officers, both armed and unarmed, our search dogs and our mounted section out and about in the coming weeks and months," Thames Valley Police said in a statement. "A broad range of visible security measures are already in place, such ..
Pak hands over terrorist activities dossier to Afghanistan
Pakistan on Thursday handed over a dossier to Afghanistan, containing of evidence of terrorist activities being carried out from Afghan soil.The Pakistan Foreign Office, in a statement, said that the report carried evidence of the involvement of Afghan Taliban in a Swat suicide attack on the military forces last month, The Express Tribune reported."The dossier also contains details on the presence of terrorist sanctuaries in Afghanistan. These include hideouts of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Jamaat-ul Ahrar and other militant groups," the statement said."Afghanistan had been asked to take action on militant sanctuaries that had become a hotbed of anti-Pakistan activities. These included financing, planning and mounting cross-border attacks on Pakistani military installations, cities and towns," it added.On Wednesday, Pakistan Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif, who led the delegation at the Tashkent Conference on Afghanistan in Uzbekistan, pressed for 'collective pressure' on the .
Strike cripples normal life in Manipur
A 48-hour general strike called by a tribal students organisation in Manipur's Tengnoupal district crippled normal life on Thursday in the border areas and hit NH-2, the state's lifeline.
50 held in Bihar in police crackdown in communal violence-hit areas
Nearly 50 people, including two local BJP workers, were today held in Samastipur and Nalanda districts of Bihar in connection with communal clashes that erupted there in the last couple of days. Eleven persons have been taken into custody in Samastipur district where trouble had erupted on Tuesday when some miscreants hurled footwear at a procession carrying the idol of Goddess Durga for immersion upon the conclusion of Chaiti Navaratra festivities in Rohtas town, Superintendent of Police Deepak Ranjan said. Two local BJP leaders were also among those detained for interrogation, the SP said while declining to divulge their names. During the violence, heavy stone-pelting was witnessed from two sides close to a mosque and three motorcycles were also set afire. Additional Superintendent of Police, Dalsinghsarai, Santosh Kumar, and Inspector in-charge of Samastipur town Chaturvedi Sudhir Kumar sustained injuries while trying to disperse the rioters, Ranjan said. The situation was ...
India voices serious concern over growing IED attacks on UN peacekeepers
India voiced serious concern over the growing IED attacks against UN peacekeepers, calling for concerted efforts to upgrade the security infrastructure and resources to help missions counter such threats. In the last four years, of the 176 fatal casualties due to acts of violence against UN peacekeeping missions, 43 were due to Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) attacks, India's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Tanmaya Lal said during an open debate in the Security Council on the collective action to improve UN peacekeeping operations. Voicing "very serious concern" over the increasing loss of lives of UN peacekeepers due to attacks on the peacekeeping missions, Lal yesterday said that missions facing IED threats should have dedicated resources for countering such threats. He stressed the need for concerted efforts to upgrade the security infrastructure of the camps as well as providing capabilities to ensure timely and reliable medical evacuation and casualty evacuation. The
Pak hands over dossier to Afghanistan
Pakistan today handed over a dossier to Afghanistan containing evidence of Afghan-based militant groups' involvement in attacks on its soil. Foreign Office said in a statement that Pakistan handed over the dossier to the embassy of Afghanistan in Islamabad. "The dossier contains evidence of the involvement of Afghanistan based TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan) in the suicide bombing at a Pakistan Army unit in Swat and the presence of TTP, JuA (Jamaatul Ahrar) and other terrorist groups' hideouts in Afghan territory," the Foreign Office said. Pakistan also asked Afghanistan to take effective action against terrorist hideouts from where "they have been financing, planning and undertaking cross border terrorist attacks on Pakistani military posts, cities and towns." At least 11 security personnel were killed when a suicide bomber targeted them in Kabal area of Swat in early February. Army said that the bomber came from Afghanistan.
Naxal IED,landmine attacks condemned
The use of IEDs and landmines is being condemned globally, but Naxals in India are using these devices frequently against security forces.On March 13, a powerful landmine blast in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district killed nine Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel.In another attack on March 24, five District Reserve Guard (DRG) personnel were injured in an IED explosion carried out by Naxals.Experts have condemned the use of IEDs and Landmine blasts in the state.Journalist Rajendra Vajpayee said, "This is a repetition of the recent ambush by the Maoists in Burkapal and Kistaram, but it is because of the intelligence of the army and the alert received that the attack did not get much hype. Had their been huge casualties, the situation would have been different. Naxalites are making constant efforts to slay jawans just as they did in the Burkapal attack. They have not been very successful."The Naxals are continuously killing innocent people.Social activist Sampat Jha said, "The ...