Page 730 - War Conflict
1 killed as Kabul car bomb targets foreign forces: ministry
A suicide car bomb targeting a foreign forces convoy rocked eastern Kabul early today, killing at least one civilian and injuring four in an area where many expatriates reside, the Afghan interior ministry said. "Unfortunately around 9:00 am, a car bombing took place in (the) Qabil Bay area of Kabul," ministry spokesman Najib Danish told AFP, giving the toll and adding that police are investigating. Earlier, Danish had said the explosion took place "in" the vehicle, which he initially said belonged to an international contractor. Another interior ministry spokesman, Nasrat Rahimi, said it was not clear if there were foreign casualties following the blast. Local media showed extensive damage to the facades of nearby houses, and witnesses reported a strong explosion. No group immediately claimed the attack, which is the latest to hit Kabul, one of the deadliest places in Afghanistan for civilians as both the Taliban and the expanding Islamic State group step up their assaults on the ...
Blast near foreign contractor's car in Kabul, 4 wounded
An explosion near a vehicle belonging to foreign workers left at least four people injured today in eastern Kabul, an area where many expatriates reside, the Afghan interior ministry said. It was not immediately clear if the explosion was a bomb. The blast hit "an international contractor company's car", interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish told AFP, adding that the four wounded were all civilians. Local media showed images of damage to houses and shops in the area. If confirmed as an attack, it would be the latest to hit Kabul, which is one of the deadliest places in Afghanistan for civilians as both the Taliban and the expanding Islamic State group step up their assaults on the city. The explosion also comes just days after Afghan president Ashraf Ghani unveiled a plan for peace talks with the Taliban, including a proposal to eventually recognise them as a political party. Ghani revealed his plans in a speech during international peace talks in Kabul this week that went better ..
Blast kills three in Somalia
At least three people have been killed and three others injured in a suicide attack in outskirts of the Somali's capital Mogadishu.Mogadishu, [Somalia], Mar 2 (ANI): At least three people have been killed and three others injured in a suicide attack in outskirts of the Somali's capital Mogadishu.The blast took place in Sinka Dher area of the region, where the bomber who was sitting inside a car blew up himself.Anadolu Agency quoted Somali police as saying that the suicide attack targeted a security checkpoint."The blast was a suicide car bomb blast and was hit in our security checkpoint in Sinka Dher, three people including the attacker were killed, and three civilians were also wounded" police officer Mohamed Bulle said."Our security forces prevented the suicide attacker from entering the city which we believe that was its main target" he added.The militant group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack.However, spokesman for the internal security minister, Abdi Asis Ali ...
Security forces kill 10 naxals in Chhattisgarh
The security forces in a joint operation on Friday killed 10 Naxals in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district.Telangana Police along with Chhattisgarh Police neutralised the ultras in Pujari Kanker area of the district.A policeman also suffered injuries during the operation, informed DM Awasthi, Special DG.On February 26, four Naxals including two women were killed in an encounter between security forces and Naxals in Jharkhand's Palamu district.More details are awaited.
Kroger joins Walmart, Dick's, raises minimum age for gun buyers to 21
(Reuters) - Kroger Co said on Thursday it will stop selling firearms and ammunition to buyers under the age of 21 at its Fred Meyer stores, becoming the third major U.S. retailer to set restrictions that are tougher than government regulations.
Qatar organises counter-terrorism conference in Rome
Rome, March 2 (IANS/AKI) Qatar's embassy in Italy will next week organise a conference in Rome on fighting terrorism and its sources of finance on 8 March, the embassy said on Thursday.
China expanding its military, political influence in Latin America
A recent report taken out by a Washington D.C.-based think tank has predicted that Communist China is seeking to expand its military and political influence across Latin America.The report prepared by the Center for a Secure Free Society (SFS) think-tank appears in the breitbart.com web site.Titled, "The Dragon and the Condor: Beyond China's Economic Influence in the Americas," the report has warned that Beijing is likely to increase its power through military and political means."It is also clear that China's strategic objectives and interests are well beyond the economic realm, and that they raise considerable national security concerns for the U.S. as well as for other nations in the hemisphere," the SFS report claims.The assessment of the SFS is that there has been a "steady increase in Chinese intelligence activities in Latin America," noting that the countries in the region cannot combat Beijing's capabilities.SFS notes that Beijing's intelligence activities in the Americas ...
Six civilians killed in Libya tribal clashes
At least six civilians have been killed in clashes between rival tribes in the south of Libya that saw a hospital get hit repeatedly, the United Nations said today. The violence over the past month in the southern town of Sebha, some 600 kilometres from Tripoli, is the latest flare-up in a region regularly wracked by tribal violence. The UN mission in Libya said on Twitter that it was "deeply concerned by the escalation of armed conflict in Libya's Sebha, where at least 6 civilians killed and 9 injured." "The hospital was hit repeatedly. Indiscriminate use of weapons in densely populated areas must be stopped." A spokesman for Sebha hospital, Oussama al-Wafi, told AFP that a girl of 15 and a woman of 35 were among the dead from the clashes which started in early February. Wafi said 12 people had been wounded, including 10 civilians. The latest clashes in the marginalised Fezzan region -- known for its smuggling routes -- have see the Awlad Suleiman tribe pitted against the ...
De Mistura renews UN appeal for Syrian truce
Geneva, March 2 (IANS/AKI) The United Nations special envoy to Syria said on Thursday that the world body has and will not give up urging the implementation of its resolution demanding a 30-day ceasefire in the war-ravaged country.
Two armymen, 1 civilian injured in Pak shelling along LoC
Two Indian Army jawans and a civilian were injured in firing and heavy mortar shelling by Pakistani troops targeting civilian areas along the LoC, including in Poonch district and Nowshera town in Rajouri today, an official said. The Pakistan Army had fired and shelled forward areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in Sunderbani, Nowshera and Khour sectors of Rajouri and Jammu districts yesterday also. Two Pakistani soldiers were killed in retaliatory fire by Indian troops, an Army official said. "Pakistan troops resorted to heavy mortar shelling in Sunderban sector tonight. Due to shelling, there was a forest fire," Deputy Commissioner of Rajouri Shahid Iqbal Choudhary said. There was shelling in Mangiote, Kalai and Minka in the same sector, he said, adding the Pakistani Army targeted civilian areas in Kalsia, Hania, Troi nalla, Baba Khori and Nowshera town located deep inside Indian territory. A civilian was injured in the shelling in Kalsia, where a house was also damaged, Choudhary
Polish law criminalizing some Holocaust speech takes effect
A Polish law that makes it a crime to falsely accuse the Polish nation of crimes committed by Nazi Germany took effect today, part of a wider effort by nationalist authorities to use history to defend the country's honor and pride. For years Polish officials have struggled to fight phrases like "Polish death camps" that are sometimes used abroad to refer to Auschwitz and other death camps that Nazi Germany built and operated on occupied Polish territory during World War II. Some Poles fear that as the war grows more distant, new generations will mistakenly believe that Poles were the perpetrators of the Holocaust. The law, however, has sparked a crisis with Israel, where Holocaust survivors and officials fear its true aim is to repress research and debate about Poles who killed Jews during the World War II. Polish and Israeli representatives met Thursday in Jerusalem to resolve a standoff over the law. "We must make sure that historical truths are preserved and that there be no ...
Two gangsters killed in encounter in Madurai
Two gangsters were killed on Thursday in an encounter here.Madurai police has identified killed gangsters as Mayakannan and Saguni Karthik. According to police, the two history-sheeters had at least 10 criminal cases pending against them.According to police, when the gangsters were rounded up then they opened fire at police party.Both the gangsters were shot dead by a team of Madurai city police at Sikkandar Chavadi.Police have said that when the accused tried to open fire on a police team, the police retaliated and shot them dead inside a house in Mandhaiamman Kovil Street around 4:15 p.m. on Thursday.The bodies have been shifted to Government Rajaji Hospital.
Pakistan welcomes Ghani's dialogue offer to Taliban
Pakistan on Thursday welcomed Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani's dialogue offer to the Taliban.
Pak summons Indian envoy over 'unprovoked firing'
Pakistan today summoned India's Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh over the issue of an "unprovoked firing" by Indian troops across the Line of Control which killed a 70-year-old man. Foreign Office said that Director General (South Asia & SAARC) Mohammad Faisal summoned Singh and condemned the "unprovoked ceasefire violations" by the Indian forces in Kotli/Jandrot and Chirikot Sectors. The firing killed a 70-year-old man and injured a woman, it said, adding that Indian troops were using heavy automatic weapons and rockets. Faisal said despite calls for restraint, India continues to indulge in ceasefire violations and carried out more than 400 ceasefire violations in 2018, resulting in the death of 19 civilians. Faisal said this "unprecedented escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from the year 2017 when the Indian forces committed 1970 ceasefire violations." "The deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas is indeed deplorable and contrary to human ...
Pak says Indian firing kills its 2 soldiers
Pakistan Army has said that two of its soldiers were killed in "unprovoked firing" by Indian troops across the Line of Control. According to a statement issued yesterday by the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani Army's media wing, Indian troops initiated "unprovoked firing" in Bhimber Sector along the LoC. Two Pakistan Army soldiers were killed in the incident, it said. It further said that Pakistani Army troops retaliated and caused "substantial damage" to the Indian posts. Defence officials said that the situation was tense and the two sides were engaged in exchange of fire on the LoC. In the recent past, Pakistan has accused India of carrying out more than 400 ceasefire violations in 2018, resulting in the death of 18 civilians.
B'desh accuses Myanmar of military buildup at border; mobilises extra forces
Bangladesh today said it has mobilised extra forces on frontiers after Myanmar's military buildup across its border where thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees are living in tents and summoned the neighbouring country's envoy in Dhaka for a clarification on the issue. "We have mobilised extra forces on the Myanmar borders," Paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh's (BGB) deputy chief Brigadier General Majibur Rahman told a media briefing in Dhaka. "We are on alert on the frontiers in view of the situation." He said BGB asked its Myanmar counterparts to join an "urgent flag meeting" to clarify the buildup of extra forces, equipped with heavy weapons, since this morning. "We cannot tell you the exact number of (Myanmar soldiers mobilised on borders) but whatever the number, it is more than what is normal (and) Myanmar violated border norms by deploying the extra forces," Rahman said. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, however, ruled out possibilities of any disorder against the backdrop
OMEGA launches NATO Strap Pop-Up Boutique in Paris
In the bustling and fashionable Marais district of Paris, OMEGA has launched an exclusive "Pop-Up Boutique" with a new interactive spirit.At this store, however, there are no watches on sale. In fact, the concept is first of its kind in the world and is 100 percent focused on the brand's colourful and diverse selection of NATO straps.Take a walk down Rue Debelleyme and one will come across an OMEGA store that is quite unlike any other.The main window features a spectacular moving display of OMEGA NATO straps, showing one exactly what is on offer. And instead of a door, the boutique provides a digital screen, allowing customers to scroll through its different options that are available for their watch.Once a customer has made their choice, they will be able to pay via their phone and have their new strap delivered straight to the front of their door.Presley Gerber, one of OMEGA's newest brand ambassadors, was in Paris to open the new NATO boutique.In tribute to his special relationship
Officials: Indian fire kills 2 Pakistani soldiers
Pakistan's military says Indian troops have killed two Pakistani soldiers in the latest "unprovoked" fire along the Line of Control (LoC). The gunfire from Indian troops yesterday struck Pakistani posts near Bhimber village, along the LoC. The situation on the LoC remained tense today. Pakistan's army said in a statement that Pakistani troops returned fire after coming under attack and "substantial" damage was caused to the Indian posts. It was unclear whether Indian troops suffered any casualties.
Suspects in kidnapping of UK couple in S.Africa court
A South African court today remanded in custody an Indian-origin woman and a man accused of abducting elderly British couple in a case with suspected links to the so-called Islamic State. Fatima Patel and Sayfydeen Aslam del Vecchio are alleged to have snatched British holidaymakers Rod, 73, and Rachel Saunders, 64, both renowned botanists, in KwaZulu-Natal province last month. The Saunders are still missing. Since their disappearance, 734,000 rand (USD 62,000) has reportedly been drained from the couple's accounts and their Toyota Land Cruiser was found covered in blood. Patel, 27, and Del Vecchio, 38, appeared briefly alongside Themba Xulu who faces lesser charges in connection to the case. During the hearing in a gloomy courtroom in Verulam Magistrates, 30 kilometres north of Durban, all three were ordered to be held in custody. Their bail applications will be heard on March 6. Patel wore an Islamic face covering and stood beside Del Vecchio who brought a Koran into court, the ...
Encounter with Police kills two gangsters in Madurai
In a recent encounter with the police on Wednesday, two gangsters were killed in Madurai.The gangsters have been identified as Mayakannan and Saguni Karthik.The police claimed that a clash which broke out when they rounded up the gangsters and open fired in retaliation.