Page 704 - War Conflict
EU condemns attack on Sergei, exhorts Russia to disclose nerve agent use
The European Union (EU) on Monday strongly condemned the poisonous attack on ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal while stating that it takes the UK assessment of Moscow's possible involvement in it "extremely seriously."The Union members further said the EU "expresses its unqualified solidarity with the United Kingdom and its efforts to bring those responsible for this crime to justice", as reported by the Sputnik News Agency.The bloc also expressed shock over the offensive use of Novichok, a military-grade nerve agent for the first time in over 70 years in Europe and urged Moscow to disclose information on the nerve agent to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).Further the European Union said the incident violated the Chemical Weapons Convention, breaching the international law and undermines the rules-based international order.Earlier in the day, EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini said the European Union stand in full solidarity with the United ...
Four involved in cricket betting arrested
Four persons allegedly involved in organised cricket betting, including the T20 tri-series in Sri Lanka, have been arrested here, police said today. Sleuths of the Commissioner's Task Force, North Zone Team, Hyderabad, along with local police raided separate premises under the Abids and Kulsumpura police stations yesterday, a police release said. Betting activity, including in connection with the T20 tri-series in Sri Lanka, was allegedly going on there, it said. According to the release, Rs 7.72 lakh, two TV sets, two set top boxes, 10 cell phones and one calculator were seized.
Afghan officials: Bombs attached to motorbikes kill 4 people
Afghan officials say bombs attached to motorcycles have killed four people in separate attacks. One struck outside a sports stadium in eastern Nangarhar province, killing three on Monday. Akramuddin, a provincial police official, says the explosion occurred as former warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar was holding a rally at the stadium in Jalalabad, the province' capital. Akramuddin, who like many Afghans uses only one name, says the blast took place as the rally ended. Ten people were wounded. Hekmatyar, previously a declared terrorist by the United States, signed a peace deal with President Ashraf Ghani in 2017 and was removed from the list. The second motorcycle bomb exploded in western Herat province. Spokesman Jelani Farhad says one person was killed and seven were wounded. No groups have taken responsibility for the attacks.
BSF seizes Bangladeshi Taka
The Border Security Force has seized Bangladeshi currency from near the Indo-Bangla border in West Bengal's Malda district, a BSF release said today. BSF troops made the seizure on Sunday when they chased a miscreant near Mohadipur border outpost. The miscreant fled and on searching the area they found a packet containing 10,970,00 Bangladeshi taka, it said. The seized currency was handed over to the customs department at Mohadipur, the release added.
10 kg of gold looted in Ghaziabad
Armed robbers in police uniform looted 10 kg of gold chains from a Mumbai-based jeweller here on Monday, police said.
French consulate worker accused of smuggling guns from Gaza: Israel
A French consulate worker has been arrested on accusations of using an official car to smuggle dozens of guns from the Gaza Strip to the occupied West Bank, Israeli authorities said today. The French citizen was accused of being part of a gun-running network with Palestinian suspects that eventually sold the weapons on to arms dealers, Israel's Shin Bet domestic security agency said in a statement. It said Romain Franck, in his mid-20s, had taken advantage of reduced security checks for consular vehicles to transport the weapons out of the Palestinian enclave. The Shin Bet said he acted on his own and was motivated by money. His superiors were not aware of his actions, the statement said. "The consulate employee smuggled the arms on a number of occasions in recent months while using the French consulate's consular car, which underwent a more lax security inspection at the border crossing, as is the case with this type of car," the statement said. "The consulate employee transferred ...
Israel moves to destroy Jerusalem attacker's home
Israeli forces are preparing to demolish the West Bank home of a Palestinian who murdered a Jewish man in Jerusalem's Old City before being shot dead, the army said today. Abdul Rahmani Faddal, 28, stabbed Adiel Kolman in the torso yesterday before being shot by police. Kolman died of his wounds a few hours later in a Jerusalem hospital. "Following the stabbing attack yesterday in Jerusalem in which Adiel Kolman was killed, troops... surveyed the terrorist's house in Aqraba before demolition," the army said. "In addition, the terrorist's family members were questioned." Kolman, 32, was a father of four from Kokhav Hashahar settlement. He will be buried on Monday at 11:00 am (0900 GMT). The attack came after a Friday car ramming by a Palestinian near Jenin in the northern West Bank that the army said killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded two others. Tensions were high after Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas called for a day of rage on Friday to mark 100 days since US President ...
Naxals set vehicles, machines on fire at road construction site; contractor feared killed
Naxals today set on fire four vehicles and machines engaged in road construction work in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, a police official said. The contractor was feared to have been abducted and killed, but there was no official confirmation yet, he said. The incident took place this morning between Tumnar and Koitpal villages, where the road construction work was going on under the Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojna, Deputy Inspector General of Police (south Bastar range) Sundarraj P told PTI. According to preliminary information,a group of armed Naxals stormed the construction site, located around seven km from Bijapur town and about 450 km from the state capital, and threatened the labourers to stop the work, he said. The ultras then set ablaze four vehicles and machines before fleeing the spot, he said. The IG said that according to information reaching him, Naxals also kidnapped and killed the contractor, but it was yet to be confirmed. Security forces were sent to the spot and ..
SSudanese flee only to find unrest across the border
Refugees seeking safety from the atrocities of South Sudan's unending conflict cross the border only to find themselves in one of Africa's most war-torn and poorest countries. Neighbouring Central African Republic (CAR) has been ravaged by armed groups vying to control the vast landlocked nation, trapped in poverty where more than half the population survives on humanitarian aid. In the southeastern town of Obo, some 2,000 South Sudanese have fled to a refugee camp set up by the United Nations in 2016. But it has not been the peaceful haven they had sought. "You know, there has been a lot of dying here," says refugee Nicolas Anthony, explaining life in the camp. The refugees are caught between the hostility of locals in Obo and the threat from armed groups who prowl around the town. The CAR has been struggling to return to stability since exploding into bloodshed after the 2013 overthrow of its Christian president by the mainly Muslim Seleka rebel alliance. Since the rebels were ...
Russia dismisses ex-spy poisoning claims as 'nonsense'
Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed the British accusations of his country's involvement in an ex-spy's poisoning, calling it "nonsense."TASS quoted President Putin as saying, "As for the tragedy you have mentioned, I learnt about it from the mass media. And the first thing that comes to my mind is that should it really be a warfare agent, people would have died instantly. It is an obvious fact."He added, "Russia does not possess such agents. We have destroyed all our chemical arsenals under control of international observers."President Putin stressed that Russia was the first country to destroy its chemical weapons."We are ready for cooperation and said that immediately. We are ready to take part in all necessary probes but the will of the other side is needed for that. So far, we see none," he said.Russian President further said that it was clear for any sober-minded person that this situation "is absolute nonsense" as it was inconceivable "that anyone in Russia could ...
US airstrike kills 13 Taliban militants in Afghanistan
At least 13 militants belonging to the Taliban insurgent group have been killed in an airstrike carried out by the United States in Southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan.Khaama Press quoted local security officials as saying that two engineers expert in the making of the Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) were among those killed in the airstrike conducted on Saturday night in the vicinity of Khakriz district.According to the Police Chief General Abdul Raziq, the militants were making IEDs when they came under the air raid.Taliban has not commented on the incident so far.Last month, Afghanistan's Minister of Defence (MoD) claimed that at least 35 insurgents were killed in an airstrike conducted in the province.
Putin rejects spy attack claims as chemical weapons experts head to UK
President Vladimir Putin today rubbished claims that Russia poisoned a former spy in Britain, on the eve of international chemical weapons experts heading to the UK to probe the attack. "It's complete drivel, rubbish, nonsense that somebody in Russia would allow themselves to do such a thing ahead of elections and the World Cup," Putin told supporters after winning a fourth term as president. "We have destroyed all chemical weapons," he added, rejecting Britain's claim that only Moscow could be behind the nerve agent attack on former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. The poisoning in the English city of Salisbury on March 4 has led to a diplomatic crisis, with Britain expelling 23 Kremlin diplomats. Technical experts from Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons will visit Britain on Monday to collect samples of the nerve agent used in the attack. "These will then be despatched to highly-reputable international laboratories selected by the OPCW for ...
Syria's Assad visits troops in battle-scarred Ghouta
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad today paid a first visit in years to battered East Ghouta to congratulate his troops for a gruelling assault to oust rebels from near Damascus. Syrian state television broadcast photos of the president dressed in a shirt and jacket surrounded by soldiers, some perched on a tank behind him, in an unspecified part of Eastern Ghouta. Rebels have held out in Eastern Ghouta since 2012, but a regime assault in the last month has retaken more than 80 percent of the former opposition bastion. "The inhabitants of Damascus are more than grateful and they will maybe tell their children in the coming decades how you saved the capital," Assad told soldiers in a video released by his office. The ferocious air and ground campaign against Eastern Ghouta has killed over 1,400 civilians since it was launched on February 18, a Britain-based monitor says, and sparked international outrage. In that time some 50 civilians, including 10 children, have been killed by rebel ..
Three die in Mumbai communal clash
At least three persons were killed and two injured when clashes erupted between two groups here on Sunday, police said.The incident took place in Mumbai's Bhandup area, the police said.The police have been investigating the matter.
Turkey-backed forces take 'total' control of Afrin
Turkish-backed Syrian rebels have taken total control of the centre of the Syrian-Kurdish city of Afrin, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday."Units of the Free Syrian Army, which are backed by Turkish armed forces, took control of the centre of Afrin this morning at 8.30am (0530 GMT)," The Guardian quoted Erdogan as saying.Taking Afrin has been the main objective of Turkey's Operation Olive Branch, a ground and air offensive launched on January 20, with the aim of ousting the People's Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish militia group.Fighters waved flags and tore down the statue of a legendary Kurdish figure after claiming the city centre.The Turkish military also released a statement saying the city centre was under control."Search operations to locate mines and other explosives are under way," the statement said as per The Guardian.Further, the military posted a video on Twitter of a soldier raising a Turkish flag on a balcony."Now the Turkish flag will fly over ...
Palestinian stabs Israeli in Jerusalem, shot dead by police
Israel's Shin Bet security service says a Palestinian has stabbed an Israeli in Jerusalem, seriously wounding him. Police said he was shot dead by officers at the scene. The attack Sunday occurred in Jerusalem's Old City, home to sensitive holy sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims. The Shin Bet said the attacker was from the West Bank city of Nablus. There has been a spike in violence since President Donald Trump's Dec 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Palestinians seek east Jerusalem as their future capital and view Trump's decision as siding with Israel. On Friday, a Palestinian killed two Israeli soldiers and badly wounded two others when he drove his car into them in the West Bank. Stabbings and car-ramming have been widely used by Palestinian assailants.
5 of family killed, 5 Army men among 7 injured in Pak shelling
Pakistani troops targeted border villages in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district with mortar bombs today, killing five members of a family including three minor brothers and injuring five Army personnel and two civilians, officials said. The "unprovoked and indiscriminate" shelling of civilian areas almost three-four kilometres from the Line of Control (LoC) by the Pakistani troops, in violation of a ceasefire agreement, lasted nearly four hours this morning, they said. Five Army personnel, including a junior commissioned officer, suffered injuries and were rushed to a military hospital in Udhampur. Two sisters were critically injured in the shelling and were airlifted to Jammu for treatment, they said. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti expressed anguish over the loss of lives and stressed the need for peace if we want to save the people of the state. Army PRO Lt. Col. Devender Anand said the mortar shelling from across the LoC was "unprovoked and indiscriminate" and ...
Botched suicide attack wounds 5 students in Afghan capital
An attacker dressed in a school uniform set off a grenade amid a group of hundreds of university students in Afghanistan's capital on Sunday, killing himself and wounding five students, according to the district police chief. Nasir Nadery said the attacker, who slipped past two guards, was wearing an explosives vest that failed to explode. The students were inside a private compound where they were taking classes to prepare for university exams. The attack took place in a Kabul neighborhood dominated by ethnic Hazaras, a Shiite minority frequently targeted by the Sunni extremists. No one immediately claimed the attack, which resembled previous assaults carried out by the Islamic State group. Yesterday, a sticky bomb attached to the motorcycle driven by a retired Pakistani army officer exploded in southern Zabul province's Shahjoy district, killing the officer and his guard, according to the provincial government spokesman, Gul Islam Seyal. Pakistan has been criticised by both the ...
Five killed, seven injured in Pakistan shelling
Five civilians were killed and seven others, including five soldiers, injured on Sunday in indiscriminate shelling by Pakistan army on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, officials said.
21st century belongs to India: Former Army Chief Vij
A former Army chief today said the 21st century belongs to India, provided all the institutions in the country rise up to the challenges and deliver. General (retd) N C Vij said the political leadership of the country, the legislature, judiciary, bureaucracy and armed forces, besides the people of the country, would be responsible for the rise of India. He was addressing the first convocation of Central University Jammu (CJU) during which 14 students were conferred on PhD, 20 M Phil and 885 PG degrees. Besides, 45 gold medals including two recently instituted 'Jammu and Kashmir bank gold medals', and merit certificates were also awarded to the students. Vij, who along with Union Minister Jitendra Singh was conferred upon Doctor of Philosophy degree (Honoris Causa) from the university, said, "The 21st century belongs to India provided all these institutions rise up to the challenges and deliver." "You will find the defence and armed forces rock solid as far as security and defence of .