Page 690 - War Conflict
Nato expels seven Russian diplomats over spy-poisoning
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) on Tuesday expelled seven officials from Russian mission in the aftermath of poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal at his home in Britain's Salisbury.Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, in a conference here, announced the organisation was cutting the size of its Russian mission by a third, removing accreditation of seven Russian staff members and rejecting three other pending applications.The permanent size of the Russian mission has now been cut from 30 to 20 people, according to the Guardian.The Nato official said the latest action was "a clear and very strong message that there was a cost to Russia's reckless actions" in poisoning the agent earlier this month.He claimed that Russia had underestimated Nato's resolve and said the announcement would reduce Moscow's capability to do intelligence work across Nato.The move came after more than 20 western allies ordered the expulsion of dozens of Russian diplomats in response to the ...
Centre to make provisions for modernisation of police: Officer
Special provisions will be made by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for the modernisation of the state police force, a senior officer said here today. The announcement was made by Joint Secretary (MHA) Vivek Bhardwaj at the 4th Regional Workshop organised by the home ministry for effective implementation of the Umbrella Scheme for assistance to states to modernise their police forces at the police headquarters here. Special provisions for internal security, law and order, women security, availability of modern weapons, mobility of police forces, logistics support, upgradation of police wireless, the National Satellite Network, the CCTNS project and the e-prison project would be made under the scheme, a spokesman said. Further, the scheme would help maintain law and order, women and child security, the CCTNS project, mobility, infrastructure, FSL and telecommunication systems in Haryana, he added. Representatives of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttrakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Tripura, ...
President confers gallantry awards
President Ram Nath Kovind today conferred Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra posthumously to Major David Manlun and Major Satish Dahiya, who lost their lives while fighting with militants in Nagaland and Jammu and Kashmir. Besides Manlun and Dahiya, Shaurya Chakra was posthumously awarded to Naik Chandra Singh, Constable Manzoor Naik of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, Sergeant Milind Khairnar and Corporal Nilesh Kumar Nayan. Malun lost his life in a fight with militants in northern Nagaland, but eliminated three of them before succumbing to his injuries. "Major Dahiya displayed his inspirational leadership and gallantry throughout the operation to kill three militants in Bandipora till his martyrdom. "During search operation for three militants in a village, Maj Dahiya isolated the suspected house by putting a tight cordon, placing himself at the likely escape route. Militants suddenly rushed out, firing indiscriminately. He was hit on his chest but killed all the militants," the official .
Hate crime accused deified on Ram Navami
Shambhu Lal Regar, accused of murdering a Muslim man, Afrazul, was deified in a procession taken out by right-wing groups on the occasion of Ram Navami here on Sunday, a matter which the police are now looking into, officials said. Regar, who is presently behind bars, is accused of hacking Afrazul in the Rajsamand district of Rajasthan. A chilling video of the hate-crime had gone viral sending shock-waves across the country. In the procession taken out here, out of the several tableaux, one was dedicated to Regar. A man, pickaxe in hand, posed as Regar while another lay on the ground, posing as the victim. A banner hailed Regar as someone who tried to fight 'love-jihad'. "Wake up Hindu brothers, save your sisters and daughters; Nation should be liberated of love jihad," the message, in Hindi, said. It hailed Regar as someone who tried to eliminate 'love-jihad'. Shockingly, some of the organisers even defended the brazen eulogising of a hate-crime accused. Mahaveer Singh, an office ...
Ram Navami violence: BJP accuses Bengal of appeasement, police inaction
Union Minister Babul Supriyo on Tuesday accused West Bengal's Mamata Banerjee government of destroying communal harmony by practising "appeasement politics" and called on Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi to apprise him of the situation in Raniganj, where a clash broke out during a Ram Navami rally.
NATO to expel 7 Russian diplomats
NATO became the latest entity to dismiss Russian diplomats over Moscow's alleged role in a nerve agent attack against a former double agent in Salisbury, as the trans-Atlantic organization announced on Tuesday that seven officials would have their accreditation withdrawn.
Trump, Trudeau discuss Russian diplomats' expulsion, Nafta
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and US President Donald Trump have discussed the current expulsion of Russian diplomats and the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) during a phone call, the Canadian Prime Minister's Office said on Tuesday.
Turkey welcomes Afghan's call for peace process with Taliban
The Foreign Minister of Turkey Mevlut Cavusoglu on Tuesday welcomed Afghanistan's unconditional call to initiate a peace process with the militant group Taliban."We welcome the call of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani for starting negotiations with the Taliban without preconditions," Cavusoglu said while addressing the Tashkent Conference on Afghanistan in the Uzbek capital, as reported by the Anadolu Agency.Earlier on March 25, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he was optimistic to end the four-year-old insurgency crises in the country while saying that the on-going peace process was on for national consensus.Cavusoglu further urged various groups that are active within Afghanistan to recognise the ruling Afghan government."We want all the groups in Afghanistan to recognize the Afghan government, condemn violence and become part of legitimate politics," Cavusoglu added.He further emphasized on the need of the participation by the international agencies to help in the reconciliation ...
NATO expels seven Russian diplomats, denies accreditation to three more
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said today the alliance was expelling seven Russian diplomats and denying accreditation to three more as part of international measures over the poisoning of a former spy in Britain. "I have today withdrawn the accreditation of seven staff of the Russian mission to NATO. I will also deny the pending accreditation request for three others," Stoltenberg told a news conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels. "This will send a clear message to Russia that there are costs and consequences for their unacceptable pattern of behaviour.
Odisha Maoists asked to shun violence
Two days after eliminating four women Maoists, Odisha police today asked the red rebels to shun violence and return to the mainstream to lead a normal life. Director General of Police Rajendra Prasad Sharma today visited Maoist-hit Koraput and Malkangiri districts to review the anti-Maoist operations being carried out in southern districts of the state. "We are appealing to the Maoists to give up the path of violence and return to the mainstream to lead a normal life," Sharma told reporters here. He said the anti-Maoist operations in Narayanpatna area of Koraput on the night of March 25 in which four women Maoists were killed was a major success for the state police. The DGP met senior officials of the para-military forces and state police and discussed strategies to deal with the Maoists in the region. Steps to strengthen intelligence network in the area were discussed in the meeting, Sharma said adding the police were working in close coordination with the central ...
Ireland expels Russian diplomat
Ireland says it is expelling a Russian diplomat, joining more than 20 other nations in punishing Moscow for the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal. Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said today that the nerve-agent attack on Skripal and his daughter Yulia was a "shocking and abhorrent" use of chemical weapons. He said the Russian ambassador in Dublin has been informed that one diplomat from his embassy must leave Ireland. Britain and Russia have expelled 23 of each other's diplomats since the March 4 attack, which the U.K. blames on Moscow. British Prime Minister Theresa May says 23 other countries have expelled more than 115 Russian diplomats, including 60 kicked out by the United States. Russia denies responsibility and has vowed a "tough response" to the expulsions. A top Russian diplomat says Moscow is preparing a "tough response" to today's announcement by the United States that it is expelling 60 Russian diplomats. The United States, European Union nations and some other ...
Search ops launched in Rajouri after reports of suspicious movement
Security forces today launched a search operation in the border villages of Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, police said. The search operation was being conducted in border areas in the Sunderbani area after receiving reports about suspicious movement today, the police officials said. TheArmy and the police had launched a search operation along the LoC in Sunderbani on January 23 following inputs about the suspected movement of armed persons in the area.
China urges calm amid worldwide expulsion of Russian diplomats
The Chinese government on Tuesday called for tranquility and the abandonment of the Cold War mentality in response to a wave of expulsions of Russian diplomats in countries around the world.
Sri Lanka sinks bullet proof vehicles, LTTE ship
Sri Lankan Navy today dumped in sea several bullet proof vehicles, including an LTTE ship, used by former presidents during the three-decade long civil war to prevent them from falling into "wrong hands". The vehicles, including one used by Vinayagamurthi Muralitharan, the former LTTE deputy leader who later became a politician, were dumped in the deep sea area off the western coast and destroyed last morning, the Navy said. It said the vehicles used by Presidents JR Jayawardene, Ranasinghe Premadasa, Chandrika Kumaratunga and Mahinda Rajapaksa were sunk after dismantling their communication equipment. The move was to prevent them from falling into "wrong hands" if they were disposed of through public auctions, it added. Armored vehicles became part of politicians' retinue due to LTTE's feared suicide squads. They allegedly assassinated several top leaders through suicide attacks, including Premadasa who was President between 1989 to 1993. Kumaratunga, the President between 1994 and ..
Ram Navami violence: Heavy police force deployed in Raniganj
Heavy police force was deployed today in the Raniganj area of Bardhaman West district, a day after clashes broke out between two groups over a Ram Navami procession, killing one person and injuring two police officers, a district official said. Peace has been restored with additional police forces patrolling the area, District Magistrate Shashanka Shetty said. "We have received reports that one person was killed in yesterday's incident. Senior police officers, who are camping here in the aftermath of yesterday's violence, are monitoring the situation very closely," he added. State Labour Minister Moloy Ghatak, who rushed to Raniganj last evening, said Mahesh Mandal, a man in his mid-50s, was hacked to death during the clashes. Ghatak, however, assured the local people that the situation had been largely brought under control by the police. Tension ran high in the region yesterday after a Ram Navami procession, organised by the BJP, allegedly tried to enter an area, where members of ...
UN chief shocked by Myanmar general's Rohingya remarks
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was shocked by the remarks made by Myanmar Army chief regarding the Rohingya Muslim minority.
France gunman summoned by anti-terror police before attack: source
The Islamist gunman who killed four people in southern France last week had been summoned by anti-terror police for questioning shortly before his shooting rampage, a police source said today. Radouane Lakdim, a 25-year-old Moroccan-born French national, had been on a list of suspected extremists since 2014 and was being monitored, leading to criticism of the security services from some politicians over their failure to prevent the attack. Lakdim killed four people and injured four others on Friday in three separate shootings in the towns of Carcassonne and nearby Trebes, where he took hostages at a supermarket before being shot by anti-terror police. The police source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP that Lakdim had been sent a letter in March asking him to arrange a face-to-face meeting with agents from France's domestic intelligence agency DGSI. Since the violence, police have arrested Lakdim's 18-year-old girlfriend, a radicalised Muslim convert, as well as a ...
Former Radio Jockey murdered
A young former radio jockey was on Tuesday murdered in his studio in an attack that also left a friend wounded, police said.
Clashes erupt in J&K during search operation
Clashes erupted on Tuesday in Jammu and Kashmir's Sopore area during a search operation by the security forces, police said.
Biggest convoy yet leaves rebel pocket of Syria's Ghouta: state media
The largest convoy yet of evacuated Syrian rebel fighters and civilians began leaving a devastated pocket of Eastern Ghouta overnight, state media said today. One hundred buses carrying 6,749 people -- around a quarter of them fighters -- left a part of the enclave controlled by the Faylaq al-Rahman rebel faction, the SANA state news agency said. The departure was part of a deal reached last week between the Islamist group and Russia, which is helping its Syrian ally negotiate such deals to clear the last rebels out of Ghouta. Russian-backed Syrian troops and allied militia have waged a brutal offensive since February 18 in which they have recaptured more than 90 percent of Ghouta, a onetime rebel bastion on the edge of Damascus. Moscow has negotiated two evacuation deals so far for Ghouta. One, implemented last week, saw hardline Islamist rebels from Ahrar al-Sham leave the battered town of Harasta in the west of the enclave. The agreement with Faylaq al-Rahman was announced on ...