Page 719 - War Conflict
There should be more women in Armed Forces: Sitharaman
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday pitched for women empowerment and said there should be more women in the Armed Forces."Debate about empowerment should not always be a gender-based argument, whether an individual can perform being a woman or a man. Therefore, the whole narration on Women's Day is to look at it in this context," Sitharaman said while addressing a function on 'Women in Uniform of Armed Forces Medical Services' (AFMS) here.She said, "I think there are areas in which men should be posted, not so much to fight them, but for making them understand that well you may not be good in this you may be good at something else. So blanket rejection of male or female can completely be avoided. That's why I think whenever we talk, it should be citizens' empowerment."Lt Gen Bipin Puri delivered the welcome speech at the event and lauded the role of women officers as health care providers and caregivers.The event was attended by delegates comprising of senior serving and ...
South Sudan suspends UN radio station
South Sudan has suspended a United Nations radio station for allegedly refusing to comply with the country's media laws, although the station has not yet been taken off the air. Today, the Media Authority, an independent body charged with regulating journalistic practices in the country, said it was shutting down Radio Miraya for "persistent non-compliance." They said the radio station was "not immune" to oversight. "Radio Miraya opted not be regulated or questioned. They are operating in an environment of their own but they operate in the Republic of South Sudan where there are laws that need to be observed," said Elijah Alier, the Media Authority's managing director at a press conference. Alier said they are not trying to censor the station but rather they are monitoring it for "hate speech and incitement." The government may not be able to take the station off the air because the transmitter is on the UN base in Juba. Amid South Sudan's 5-year civil war, which has killed tens of ..
Palestinian killed in clashes with Israeli army: Palestinian ministry
A Palestinian man was killed in clashes today with the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said. Mohammed al-Jabari, 24, was shot during the clashes in the southern West Bank city of Hebron and later died in hospital, the ministry said. The official Palestinian news agency Wafa said he had disabilities, without further details. The Israeli army said a "riot" had broken out in Hebron and that protesters had attacked soldiers. "Troops fired live rounds towards a main instigator who held a firebomb with the intent to hurl it," a spokesman said, adding an investigation had been launched. Clashes between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers are common after Friday Muslim prayers. Meanwhile, at least four people were wounded in the Gaza Strip on Friday, one of them seriously, in clashes along the border with Israel, the health ministry in the Palestinian enclave said. Tensions have risen since US President Donald Trump's recognition in December of Jerusalem .
BAE Systems announces Saudi deal for 48 Typhoon jets
British military equipment maker BAE Systems announced today that Saudi Arabia has signed a preliminary deal for 48 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets. "The UK Government has signed a Memorandum of Intent with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to aim to finalise discussions for the purchase of 48 Typhoon Aircraft," BAE said in a brief statement to the London Stock Exchange. "This is a positive step towards agreeing a contract for our valued partner. "We are committed to supporting the Kingdom as it modernises the Saudi Armed Forces and develops key industrial capabilities." In reaction, BAE's share price jumped 2.0 per cent to 600.80 pence in afternoon deals on London's benchmark FTSE 100 index, which traded flat.
Maha govt wants planning agencies to share cost of infra plans
Even as it managed to increase the budget outlay for development programmes by nearly 23 per cent to Rs 95,000 crore in 2018-19, the Maharashtra government expects planning agencies to bear the financial burden of its various infrastructure projects. Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar today presented the budget for 2018-19, which has an estimated revenue deficit of Rs 15,374 crore and focuses on improving infrastructure. While he made a provision of Rs 10,828 crore for road development, the finance minister said the government was evaluating a proposal to ascertain financial participation of local bodies and authorities in such projects. Mungantiwar, presenting his fourth budget in the Legislative Assembly, said works worth Rs 10,948 crore have been undertaken by the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) 3 for improving the suburban railway services. "The state's share of 50 per cent towards the project would be borne by Cidco and
There should be more women in armed forces: Sitharaman
There should be more women in the armed forces, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said today, noting that women have achieved great heights in all spheres of life. Speaking at an event organised by women officers of the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) here, Sitharaman called upon them to grab every opportunity coming their way saying "blanket rejection" of males or females should be completely avoided. "I think there should be more women in the armed forces," she said. Women achievers in India have a very different environment, she said, pointing out that a number of women have achieved great heights in their area of specialisation but such examples were not sustained. Three distinguished veterans of the AFMS, including the first woman Air Marshal, Padmavathy Bandopadhyay, Vice Admiral Punita Arora and Lt Colonel Farida Rehman were felicitated by the minister at the event organised to celebrate the International Women's Day. In her inspiring tale, Air Marshal Bandopadhyay, ...
CISF to provide security consultancy to 5-star hotels
After refusing to provide its commandos to guard five-star hotels, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has now decided to offer security consultancy to these luxury facilities across the country in order to prepare them against 26/11-like terror strikes. Sources in the paramilitary force said a blueprint was prepared, keeping in mind two specific terror incidents where luxury hotels and their guests were targeted in the past that led to the loss of numerous lives. One was the 2008 Mumbai attack, where the Taj Mahal and Trident hotels were targeted by heavily armed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists. The other incident also took place in the same year, when an explosives-laden dump truck was detonated in front of the Marriott hotel in Pakistan's capital Islamabad, killing over 54 people, the sources told PTI. Once the security consultancy blueprint was approved, the force would write to some of the prominent five-star hotels in the country, proposing to render the services of ...
Clashes erupt in Kashmir town
Clashes erupted between security forces and protesters in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian town on Friday in which around a dozen civilians were injured.
Islamabad won't become US' proxy in Afghanistan: Pak FM
Pakistan's Foreign minister Khawaja Asif today accused the US of trying to use Islamabad as a "proxy" in defending its interests in war-torn Afghanistan. Maintaining that Pakistan wants constructive ties with America, he said that in the high-level engagements recently, the US officials have been told that Trump's "unwarranted" allegations against the country were against the cooperative history of the US-Pak relationship. In his new South Asia Policy in August last year, Trump had called for tougher measure against Pakistan if it fails to cooperate with the US in its fight against terrorism. The US also blocked about USD two billion in security assistance to Pakistan. Replying to a question in the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, he said, Pakistan would not defend any country's interest but only its own. Without naming any country, he also said that certain "powers" were responsible for the unrest in the Muslim world from Libya, Iraq, Syria to Afghanistan. "The ...
Security beefed up along Assam-Mizoram border
Security forces have been deployed along the Assam-Mizoram border in Kachurthal area of Hailakhandi district to prevent "intrusion", officials said today. Tension has been prevailing in the area ever since some members of Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), an apex student body, entered Assam and erected a working shed and a temporary checkpost, which were later dismantled by the state police personnel, they said. The police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officers will be stationed along the border till normalcy returns to the region, the officials said, adding that the local people will also feel safe in their presence. Hailakandi Deputy Commissioner Adil Khan said the district administration, with the help of adequate forces, has "ensured that not one inch of Assam's land is encroached upon". "We will not let our guard down and constantly keep an eye on the situation," he said. The repeated attempts made by several organisations of Mizoram yesterday to 'intrude' into
Philippines says eight jihadists killed in the south
The Philippine military said today it had killed at least eight Islamic militants in an operation to stop jihadist efforts to set up base in the country's south following the deadly five-month siege of Marawi city last year. Armoured vehicles and artillery were used against about 50 gunmen from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) on Mindanao island on Thursday, local military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Gerry Bisana said in a report. The military said last month that gunmen linked to the Islamic State group have renewed an armed campaign to set up a caliphate in the region, home to the Catholic nation's Muslim minority. A first attempt was put down last year after a US-backed military campaign that flattened Marawi and left more than 1,100 people dead. Survivors of the Marawi siege have recruited a fresh force of about 200 gunmen, according to the military, with President Rodrigo Duterte warning they could attack other Mindanao cities. Bisana said troops recovered the ...
Security up in Sri Lanka after communal clashes
Security was heightened throughout Sri Lanka on Friday to maintain law and order after deadly communal clashes erupted in the central Kandy region earlier this week, killing three and injuring several others.
Suicide bomber kills at least nine in Kabul Shiite area
A suicide bomber blew himself up in a Shiite area of Kabul today, killing at least nine people, officials said, as militants dial up pressure on the war-weary Afghan capital. The third suicide attack in the city in a fortnight comes as the Taliban face growing pressure to take up the Afghan government's recent offer of peace talks to end a more than 16-year insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, which happened near a high-profile gathering to mark the 23rd anniversary of the death of Abdul Ali Mazari -- a prominent former leader of the mainly Shiite Hazara ethnic community who was killed by the Taliban. The event was attended by some of the country's top politicians, including Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah and his deputy Mohammad Mohaqiq, a senior Hazara figure. The Sunni Islamic State group typically targets Shiites who it regards as apostates. "The death toll has gone up to nine," deputy interior ministry ...
J-K: Restrictions in Shopian to prevent protests
Authorities today imposed restrictions in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir to prevent violent protests post the Friday prayers against the killing of six persons, including two militants, in a shootout with Army on March 3. Sporadic protests have been reported from the south Kashmir district since last Sunday when six persons were killed in a shootout involving Army and militants. "Restrictions have been imposed in Shopian as a precautionary measure for maintaining law and order," a police official said. He said the restrictions were imposed to curb any violent protests in view of large gatherings that assemble for Friday congregational prayers. While the Army has claimed that the youth killed during last Sunday's shootout in Shopian's Pahnoo area were militants and their overground workers, the police on the other hand said they are investigating the incident.
16 Afghan security personnel killed in Afghanistan
As many as 16 Afghan security personnel were killed after Taliban militants attacked check posts in Khwaja Ghar district of Takhar Province in eastern Afghanistan, according to officials on Friday.Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, who confirmed the incident was quoted by the TOLOnews as saying that "while defending the country, 10 army soldiers and six police force members were killed in Takhar".In a statement, the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack and said that the militant group had attacked various security check posts in Khwaja Ghar district and inflicted heavy losses to government forces.
Suicide bomber strikes Kabul's Shiite area, casualties reported
A suicide bomber on foot blew himself up in Kabul's Shiite area today, killing at least seven people, officials said, in the latest attack in the Afghan capital. "In the explosion seven were martyred and seven were wounded," interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish wrote on Facebook. One policeman was among those killed in the blast, which happened near a gathering to mark the 23rd anniversary of the death of Abdul Ali Mazari -- a prominent former leader of the mainly Shiite Hazara ethnic community who was killed by the Taliban. Kabul police chief Mohammad Daud Amin told Tolo News that the bomber detonated his explosive device at a checkpoint "after being identified by police". "The bomber failed to get inside to target the gathering," Amin said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack but it comes amid growing pressure on the Taliban to take up an offer by the Afghan government for direct talks on peace. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at an international ...
Ten killed in Kabul suicide blast
At least 10 people were reportedly killed and 22 others were injured in a suicide bombing in Mosalla-e-Mazar area here on Friday, according to sources.The explosion occurred close to a ceremony of a slain Afghan leader of the Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan, according to TOLOnews.Afghan Government officials are yet to react to the development so far.According to Afghanistan's Ministry of Interior's (MoI) one person was killed and 14 others, including two Australian nationals, were injured when a car bomb was detonated near a convoy of Australian Embassy vehicles in Kabul last week.Afghanistan has been hit by a series of deadly suicide attacks in the last few months, killing over 150 people, particularly in the capital Kabul.
Delhi Police officer allegedly commits suicide
An Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) of Delhi Police allegedly committed suicide here by shooting himself with his service revolver, police said on Friday.
10 security personnel killed in Afghanistan
Ten security personnel were killed and nine others injured when Taliban militants ambushed a security patrol in Afghanistan's Takhar province on Friday, police said.
Taliban assault outpost, kill 10 policemen
An Afghan official says the Taliban launched a deadly assault on an army outpost in a remote region of northern Takhar province, killing 10 local policemen and wounding nine. Provincial police spokesman Khali Aseir said today that a large number of Taliban fighters assaulted the outpost overnight. He says the members of the local police were ambushed and killed while on their way to the outpost to assist the Afghan soldiers in the remote district of Khwaja Ghar. The soldiers suffered no casualties. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the assault late yesterday and the police slayings. He claimed the Taliban had inflicted a far higher number of casualties but the insurgents often exaggerate their claims. The report couldn't be independently confirmed because of the area's remoteness.