Page 780 - War Conflict
Infiltration bid on LoC foiled in J&K
An infiltration bid by militants has been foiled on the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district.
US military working to 'refine policies' post revelation of its army bases
The United States military is involved in the process to refine its privacy policy and procedures after it was reported that a fitness tracking app that maps people's exercise habits possibly poses security risks for the armed forces around the world, said the US Central Command.In an apparent security oversight, sensitive information about the location and staffing of military bases and spy outposts around the world has been revealed by a fitness tracking company.A spokesperson for the US Central Command, in a statement to CNN, stated that it is constantly working to "refine policies and procedures to address such challenges."US Defense Secretary James Mattis has been made aware of the issue and the Department of Defence is reviewing policy regarding smartphones and wearable devices, Pentagon spokesman Col Rob Manning said.The details were released by the San Francisco-based Strava in a data visualisation map that shows all the activity tracked by users of its app, which allows ...
Trump condemns Taliban role in Afghan attacks, says no talks
President Donald Trump told visiting members of the UN Security Council today the US would no longer talk with the Taliban following a recent string of deadly attacks in Afghanistan. Trump railed against a series of "atrocities" in Afghanistan and said as a result the US would not engage in any future talks with the Taliban as the administration seeks to end a stalemate in America's longest war. "Innocent people are being killed left and right. Bombing, in the middle of children, in the middle of families, bombing, killing all over Afghanistan," Trump said. "So we don't want to talk with the Taliban. There may be a time but it's going to be a long time." The president's comments followed a deadly car bombing attack in Kabul, the Afghan capital, that killed at least 95 people and wounded 158 more. Earlier this month, Americans were killed and injured in the Taliban's 13-hour siege of a hotel in Kabul. Trump's remarks at the diplomatic luncheon marked a shift in tone on ..
After Majid Khan, another militant returns to family in J-K
A Kashmiri youth who had joined a terrorist group has surrendered before the security forces and returned to his family."A young boy who had earlier joined terrorist ranks has come back to the mainstream in south Kashmir and left the path of violence and destruction," Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police (DGP) S.P. Vaid said during a press conference here on Monday.The report of the youth's return came two months after 20-year-old Majid Khan, hailing from Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag area, had surrendered before security forces in Kashmir and reconnected with the family and his passion, football.To encourage more such youths to join the mainstream, the state government is formulating a new surrender policy to "get positive results in the near future".Under the existing one, which was effected in 2004 and changed in 2010, a total of 608 militants had surrendered before security forces between 2004 and March 2015. Nearly Rs 10 crore had been spent on them during the same period,
Colombia suspends peace talks with ELN rebels over bombings
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has suspended peace talks with the country's last remaining rebel group after a series of bombings over the weekend killed seven police officers. The next round of the year-old talks between the government and National Liberation Army had been expected to begin in the coming days in Quito, Ecuador. "My patience and the patience of the Colombian people have limits," Santos, winner of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end Colombia's half-century conflict, said at an event near Bogota yesterday. Five officers were killed and more than 40 injured when a homemade bomb exploded outside a police station in Barranquilla during a shift change early Saturday. A few hours later two more were killed and several injured by two separate bomb attacks on police targets near the coastal city. An urban cell belonging to the ELN, as the group is known in Spanish, claimed responsibility for the first and deadliest of the three attacks, ...
Israeli army to unite command against Jerusalem area
The Israeli army has said it was creating a unified command in Palestinian areas adjoining annexed east Jerusalem after a rise in attacks launched from the area since 2015. "The goal is to create a single regional brigade that will coordinate counterterrorism activities," the army's website said yesterday. The army, the Israeli police and the Shin Bet security agency will work over the next two years to improve coordination along the Israeli barrier which surrounds the city on three sides, it said. Then a unified army brigade will be placed in charge of West Bank villages immediately east of the barrier, including Abu Dis and al-Azariya, it added. Left-leaning Israeli newspaper Haaretz said the changes would also cover Palestinian areas within Jerusalem's city limits, such as Shuafat refugee camp and Kufr Aqab. The army said top officers had been drafting the plan for the past year. That would long predate President Donald Trump's controversial December 6 recognition of .
We don't want any talks with Taliban: President Trump
United States President Donald Trump said on Monday that the U.S. would not hold any talks with Taliban as they were killing innocents in Afghanistan."They are killing people; innocents are being killed left and right. Bombing in middle of children, in the middle of families, bombing all over Afghanistan. So we don't want any talks with the Taliban," President Trump said here at a lunch with UN Security Council ambassadors.The U.S President's remarks came after the Taliban had claimed responsibility for Sunday's suicide car bombing in Kabul. The attack claimed 103 lives and wounded 163 others.President Donald Trump had called for "decisive action" by all countries against the Taliban after the attack."All countries should take decisive action against the Taliban and the terrorist infrastructure that supports them. The Taliban's cruelty will not prevail," RadioFreeEurope Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) quoted Trump as saying in a statement, issued hours after the attack.This bombing is the ...
President says Poland did not take part in the Holocaust
Poland's president says there was no institutionalised participation by Poland or its people in the Holocaust, but acknowledges that individual Poles took "wicked" actions against Jewish neighbours. President Andrzej Duda said yesterday that he would never allow Poland and Poles in general to be "vilified" though "false accusations." Duda seemed to be reacting to anger in Israel over a bill that would prohibit public statements assigning to "the Polish nation" responsibility for crimes committed by Nazi Germany during its World War II occupation of Poland. Violations would be punishable by fines or prison terms of up to three years. In Israel, the legislation has been interpreted as an attempt to undermine scholarly research and deny facts about the Holocaust. Polish and Israeli officials are discussing the bill's wording, which critics say is unclear.
IS attack on military academy in Afghan capital kills 11
Islamic State militants attacked Afghan soldiers guarding a military academy in the capital on today, killing at least 11 troops and wounding 16. The attack, which began before dawn and continued well past daybreak, was the latest in a wave of relentless violence in Kabul this month unleashed by the Taliban and the rival Islamic State group that has killed scores and left hundreds wounded. President Donald Trump condemned the recent spate of violence, saying "innocent people are being killed left and right," including children. After previously expressing support for Afghan efforts to reach a political settlement with the insurgent group, Trump said "there's no talking to the Taliban." Afghan Defence Ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said a suicide bomber struck the military unit guarding the academy, setting off a gunbattle. Two of the attackers were killed in the gunbattle, two detonated their suicide vests and one was arrested by the troops, he said. Waziri confirmed ..
Trump says 'no' to Taliban talks after wave of attacks
US President Donald Trump today ruled out quick talks with the Taliban, following a wave of bloody large-scale attacks in the Afghan capital Kabul. "I don't think we are prepared to talk right now," Trump said, throwing into question Washington's strategy of pushing the group toward the negotiating table. "We don't want to talk with the Taliban," Trump said. "They are killing people left and right, innocent people." He added: "There may be a time but it's going to be a long time." Kabul on Monday suffered its third major assault in recent days, as the Taliban and the Islamic State group escalate their offensives. The militants have stepped up their attacks on beleaguered Afghan troops and police in recent months, sapping morale already hit by desertions and corruption. A suicide attack on an Afghan army battalion Monday killed at least 11 soldiers and wounded 16, a defense ministry spokesman said. Last Saturday a Taliban suicide attacker driving an explosives-packed ...
Sukhbir Badal accuses Rajiv Gandhi of fueling 1984 anti-Sikh riots
Former deputy chief minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal on Monday accused former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi of supervising the anti-Sikh riots in parts of Delhi in October and November 1984.Singh's response came in the wake of reports that Gandhi took several rounds of North Delhi with then senior Congress leader Jagdish Tytler to assess the situation during and immediately after the riots."Jagdish Tytler has revealed that Rajiv Gandhi travelled with him across the city in 1984. It means that the then prime minister was supervising the killings. CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) must look into it, it is a very serious issue," Badal told ANI.In an interview given to a news channel recently, Tytler had claimed that Gandhi took stock of the situation and asked him to contain the riots.Tytler was then a sitting Member of Parliament from North Delhi.The former union minister is regarded as a controversial leader for his alleged role in the anti-Sikh riots that broke out in Delhi ...
Gunmen ambush, kill 2 police in north Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso's government says gunmen have killed two policemen who were patrolling a market in the West African nation's northern Baraboule district. The government said today that police troops and anti- terrorist forces have been sent and are searching the area near Petegoli in Soum Province in search of the assailants. Soum province is home to radicalized preacher Ibrahim Malam Dicko, who vowed to close all government administration in the north. His men have forced schools to close in several rural areas in Soum province. The killings come amid mounting violence near Burkina Faso's border with Mali. Last week 26 people died after their truck hit explosives in Mali. Extremists seem to be stepping up attacks after vows to prevent the deployment of a force of neighboring countries to fight extremism.
BSF seizes 9 kg of silver from near Bangla border
The Border Security Force troops seized around 9 kilogramme of silver from two places near the Bangladesh border in West Bengal, BSF said today. BSF troops near the Integrated Observation Post (IOP) Kaijuri in North 24 Parganas district yesterday saw suspicious movement of a person. When they challenged the person to stop, he fled from the spot leaving behind a bag containing silver ornaments weighing around 6.6 kg, worth around Rs 1.32 lakh, a BSF release said. The seized item has been handed over to Customs at Tentulia in North 24 Parganas district for further legal action, it said. In another incident, BSF troops at the border out-post Bazidpur in Nadia district yesterday observed suspicious movement of two miscreants coming from Bangladesh side who reached near Indo Bangladesh Border Fence. The miscreants threw one packet over the fence from Bangladesh to India side. On seeing this, BSF troops rushed towards the spot and found one packet containing silver items ...
BSF seizes one pistol at Indo-Pak border
The BSF personnel posted at Old Sundergarh border outpost today seized a 7.65 mm pistol, an official said. Confirming the seizure of the pistol, the official said the BSF troops noticed some suspicious movement on the Indian side of border security fence but dense fog hampered visibility. During a search operation, the BSF party recovered one 7.65 mm pistol with a magazine containing six bullets near the fence, he said.
Ghani warns Taliban of 'revenge' for Kabul attacks
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Monday vowed to take "revenge" against those responsible for the recent deadly attacks in Kabul that have killed hundreds of people.
Iraq says to comply with OPEC deal despite oil export capacity rise
LONDON (Reuters) - Iraq will comply with the OPEC output reduction deal even though it is working hard to increase its oil export capacity from both the country's south and north, its oil minister said on Monday.
Pak wants 'credible' peace initiative with Afghanistan
Pakistan on Monday has called for a "credible and inclusive" peace initiative with Afghanistan to end the political instability and suicide attacks on the other side of the border that separates both the countries.According to the Express Tribune, Islamabad is pinning hopes on Kabul to announce a comprehensive peace initiative during a regional conference that is scheduled to take place in Kabul next month.The meeting will be attended by Afghanistan's neighbours and also other international countries to arrive at a consensus on how to end the chaos in the country.It also seeks Afghanistan to be on the driving seat for any peace talks with the Afghan Taliban and other insurgent groups.A senior Foreign Ministry official confirmed Pakistan's participation in the meeting and said, "Islamabad hopes that the Kabul process would lead to tangible outcome.""The Afghanistan leadership needs to come up with a plan that offers incentive to all the insurgents to come to the negotiating table," the
Dortmund's Bartra appears before court as witness in bus attack trial
Borussia Dortmund defender Marc Bartra on Monday testified as a witness before a court in Germany regarding a bomb attack on the Bundesliga team's bus last year, which injured two players.
Army's version of Shopian incident to be taken into account:
Jammu and Kashmir Police chief S P Vaid today said registration of FIR in the Shopian incident is just the beginning of the investigation and the Army's version would be taken into account as well. Two civilians were killed when Army personnel fired at a stone-pelting mob in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, prompting Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to order an inquiry into the incident. Yesterday, the police registered an FIR under sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the Ranbir Penal Code against the personnel of 10, Garhwal unit, of the Army. A Major, who led the Army personnel at the time of the incident, was also mentioned in the FIR. At a press conference at the police headquarters today, the DGP said it was a matter of investigation as to what circumstances led to the incident. Asked whether the Army's version will be a part of the probe, the state police chief said, "The Army's version, eye- witness accounts and the statement of ...
2,200-yr-old govt office ruins unearthed in China
Archaeologists in China have unearthed the ruins of a government office building in northwest Shaanxi Province which was believed to be a musical department of the Qin Dynasty (221-207 B.C.) The ruins, 110 meters long and 19.5 meters wide, were composed of four rooms of equal area, with clay walls of around 3 meters thick, said Zhang Yanglizheng, assistant researcher with the provincial research institute of archaeology. In addition to architecture materials, such as tiles and bricks, pieces of stone chimes, a percussion instrument in ancient China, were found in the ruins excavated in Xixian New Area. Xu Weihong, excavation team leader of the institute, said 23 pieces of the chime debris were found with inscriptions saying "beigongyuefu", meaning musical department of the north palace. "The inscriptions have proved the building used to be the government office of the musical department in ancient city of Xianyang in the Qin Dynasty," she was quoted by state-run Xinhua