Page 793 - War Conflict
Cash, gold ornaments looted from 2 shops in Ganjam district
Miscreants looted around Rs 50,000 in cash and gold ornaments from two shops in Ganjam district, police said today. The incident happened yesterday night at Ganjam districts Kabisurya Nagara police station limit, about 60 km from here. Hadu Pradhan (70) and his wife Ramulu were sleeping when masked dacoits entered their furniture shop. When t6he couple tried to resist, they attacked the duo with sharp weapons, police said adding that the couple sustained injury and have been admitted at the MKCG Medical College and Hospital here. They are, however, out of danger, police said, quoting hospital officials. The miscreants looted cash of around Rs 1,000, a mobile phone and gold ornaments from the couple, sources said adding the dacoits entered into the furniture outlet by breaking open the back door of the shop. Before looting the furniture shop, the dacoits had burgled around Rs 50,000 from a nearby liquor shop, police said. A police team and a sniffer dog squad were used ..
Hungary Jews angered by rightwing memorial on Holocaust day
Hungary's main Jewish organisation lashed out today against a senior member of the ruling Fidesz party for participating in a memorial for a Nazi-allied wartime leader to be held on a Holocaust remembrance day. Sandor Lezsak, also a deputy speaker of the Hungarian parliament, is scheduled to give a speech after a mass in Budapest Saturday in honour of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Miklos Horthy. Horthy, an autocrat who ruled Hungary from 1920 to 1944, passed anti-Jewish laws and oversaw the deportations of several hundred thousand Hungarian Jews to Nazi German death camps. Since 2005 the event's date, January 27, is a UN- designated Holocaust memorial day marking the 1945 liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest of the camps. Almost a third of the approximately 1.1 million victims at Auschwitz were Hungarian Jews, according to the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities (Mazsihisz). An estimated total of 600,000 Hungarian Jews perished during the ...
Save the Children suspends operations in Af after IS attack
Save the Children suspended operations across Afghanistan today as Islamic State militants terrorised staff trapped inside one of its offices in an hours-long attack, the latest assault on a foreign charity. Gunmen blasted their way into the British aid group's compound in the eastern city of Jalalabad, killing at least three people and wounding 24. Save the Children, an AFP reporter at the scene and a security source said the attack was continuing in the early evening, hours after an official claimed it was over. "Save the Children can confirm that the security incident affecting our office in Jalalabad, Afghanistan is still ongoing," a spokesperson said in a statement. "In response to this all of our programmes across Afghanistan have been temporarily suspended and our offices are closed." After blowing up a car outside the charity's compound in Jalalabad, the attackers used a rocket-propelled grenade to storm the complex, in a raid claimed by IS via its propaganda ...
Dozens killed in attacks on Yemen rebel heartland
Clashes in the Yemeni rebel heartland of Saada province have killed 40 rebel fighters, Saudi media said today, while the rebels reported nine civilians among 22 dead in Saudi-led air strikes. The rebels were killed in clashes over the past 24 hours with a pro-government alliance backed by Saudi Arabia, which controls several pockets of the province along the Saudi border, the kingdom's state-run Al-Ekhbariya television reported. An official of the province's rebel-run health department said four children were among the nine civilians killed in air strikes over the past 24 hours. The rebels' Al-Masirah television said a single strike on the province on Tuesday night killed nine people, four of them civilians. A spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition supporting the government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The uptick in fighting came as Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir held talks on the conflicts in Yemen and Syria with his British, US and ...
Ambush foiled in Manipur ahead of R-Day
The timely detection of a powerful bomb planted along National Highway 2 foiled an ambush against security forces in Manipur on Wednesday, as the northeast state prepares to celebrate Republic Day amid violence and boycott calls by banned underground organisations.
Syria denies 'lies' on chemical weapons use
Syria denied today carrying out chemical weapons attacks against rebel-held areas, denouncing recent accusations by the United States and France as "lies." "Syria condemns all the lies and allegations by the American and French foreign ministers about chemical weapons use in Syria," a foreign ministry official told state news agency SANA. Twenty-one people were treated for respiratory problems after rockets were fired on the rebel bastion of Eastern Ghouta outside Damascus on Monday, which residents and medical sources said contained chlorine. In response, 24 governments approved a new "partnership against impunity" for the use of toxic weapons at a meeting in Paris yesterday. Speaking after the meeting, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Damascus ally Moscow must be held responsible for the "apparent chemical attack." "Whoever conducted the attacks, Russia ultimately bears responsibility for the victims in East Ghouta and countless other Syrians targeted with ...
Boy killed in clashes between protesters,security forces in JK
A 17-year-old boy was today killed and several others were injured during clashes between protesters and security forces near an encounter site in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district, officials said. Shakir Ahmad Mir and several others sustained injuries when police fired pellet guns and tear smoke shells to disperse protesters at Chaigund, the officials said. Mir, a resident of Qalampora in Shopian, was rushed to a hospital in Rajpora, where doctors declared him brought dead, they said. The clashes were going on intermittently when reports last came in.
Robbery in engineer's house in Ghaziabad
Robbers barged into the house of a BSNL engineer here on Wednesday and looted cash, jewellery and other valuables, police said.
Teenager killed in protesters-security forces clash in Kashmir
A teenager was killed as protesters clashed with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district on Wednesday when a gunfight was underway, police said.
2 dead, 14 injured in Afghanistan's 'Save the Children' attack
At least two people died and 12 others were injured in Wednesday's attack on the 'Save the Children' office in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad.A police officer and a civilian were killed in the attack, the Guardian quoted the spokesperson for the governor of Afghan's Nangarhar province, Attaullah Khogyani, as saying."The fighting has ended. The security forces are clearing the building now", Khogyani said following the attack.The Islamic State (IS) has reportedly claimed the responsibility.Earlier in the day, attackers entered the aid group office after a car bomb exploded outside.Before the attackers stormed into the office, a suicide bomber detonated a car at the gate.Save the Children has temporarily suspended all of its Afghan programmes.The attack comes just three days after the Taliban gunmen raided a luxury hotel in Kabul, killing at least 22 people, mostly foreigners.
Two cops injured in pressure bomb explosion in Chhattisgarh
Two police personnel were injured today when a pressure bomb planted by naxals went off in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Bijapur district, police said. The incident occurred in the forest near Hidmapara village under Basaguda police station limits when a joint team of the Special Task Force (STF) and District Force (DF) was returning after conducting an anti-Maoist operation, a senior police official told PTI. Basaguda is located around 450 kms away from the state capital. As per preliminary information, the explosion occurred after an STF jawan unknowingly stepped on the pressure IED connection near Hidmapara. "While the STF jawan sustained serious injuries to his leg, another jawan, belonging to the DF, received minor injuries in the incident," the official said. Both the personnel were being airlifted to Jagdalpur for preliminary treatment and will be subsequently shifted to Raipur, he added.
Encounter between security forces, terrorists underway in J-K's Shopian
Security forces are engaged in an encounter with the terrorists in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir.Indian Army's 44 Rashtriya Rifles, 14th Battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Shopian Police are engaged in a fierce encounter in Chaigund Dairoo in Shopian district.More details are awaited.
Pb govt to set up committee to resolve land issue with forces
The Punjab government has decided to set up a committee to resolve issues relating to acquisition of land for setting up military facilities in the state and another to address infrastructural and garbage dumping problems around the Chandigarh air station. The decision was taken during a liaison meeting between the civil and military administration here today with top government and army officials participating in the parleys. A slew of decisions, aimed at sorting out various ongoing issues and preparing a mechanism to address any such issues that may crop up later, were taken during the meeting which also saw the participation of Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh after 12 years. The committees will meet regularly to take timely decisions, an official spokesperson said after the meeting, adding that the officials of the government and the armed forces would be part of the panels. The committee proposed to be set up to look into the Chandigarh airport problems would ..
Germany sends 19 more Afghans back to war-torn Kabul
A new group of 19 Afghans whose asylum application was rejected by Germany landed in war-torn Kabul today, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said. The group was made up of men, mostly young, some of whom had spent most of their lives living outside of Afghanistan before being deported, an IOM spokeswoman, who went to Kabul International Airport to greet them, told AFP. According to German regional television station WDR, the chartered flight departed Dsseldorf late yesterday. Initially, 80 Afghan asylum seekers were meant to be on board, but last-minute claims and cases of illness reduced the number, a German relief association told AFP. Berlin argues that the expelled are criminals who have served their sentences or persons considered dangerous because they are alleged to be related to radical Islam. Germany, which has repatriated its diplomatic staff from Afghanistan with the exception of the ambassador accommodated in the US embassy, says Afghanistan ..
Gunmen attack Save the Children office in Afghanistan; 2 dead
Gunmen blasted their way into Save the Children's office in Afghanistan's restive east today, witnesses and officials said, killing at least two people and wounding 14 others, in the latest attack on a foreign aid group in the war-torn country. After blowing up a car outside the British charity's compound in Jalalabad city, the attackers used a rocket- propelled grenade to storm the complex. Security forces swarmed the compound after the attackers launched the morning raid and brought the assault to an end after more than three hours, according to the office of Nangarhar province's governor. "The fighting has ended. The security forces are clearing the building now," spokesman Attaullah Khogyani told AFP, adding at least two people had been killed and 14 wounded. "Our initial information shows the attackers had military uniforms on." But a security source told AFP fighting was still ongoing. Mohammad Amin, who was inside the compound when the attackers launched the raid,
Indonesian President visits Sri Lanka
Indonesian President Joko Widodo arrived here on Wednesday on a two-day state visit on the invitation of his Sri Lankan counterpart Maithripala Sirisena.
Security guard fires his gun accidentally; 3 injured in JK
Three persons were injured today when the security guard at an ATM kiosk in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir accidentally fired his gun, a police official said. The 12 bore gun of the guard went off accidentally this afternoon in Baramulla city, the administrative headquarters of this district, 52 kms from here, the police official said. He said three persons sustained minor injuries in the incident.
Vice prez stresses need to tone up law and order in UP
Stressing on improvement of law and order in the state, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu today advised Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to take back firearms from people as they were main cause of crime. "I am glad to know that UP is changing policies to attract investment. But law and order should also be improved. Those who have firearms should return the weapons. I want to ask the CM that in UP a large number of people have firearms. This is main cause of crime incidents. If anyone did not have firearms, he will not be harmed," Naidu said at the first UP Diwas event. Stating that "law and order should be top priority", the vice president said that without development of UP, the country cannot progress. "I want UP to progress. I want Uttar Pradesh to flourish as 'Uttam Pradesh'. Yogi Adityanath is your CM. He does not want any personal gains. He also does not have any family like us...You all are his family," he said in lighter vein, prompting the CM to smile. Adityanath
India a responsible nuclear state, believes in 'no first use':
Union minister M J Akbar today asserted that India is a responsible nuclear state and believes in 'no first use' of such weapons, even as he questioned why no action is being taken at the global level against proliferation. Speaking at a session on nuclear threats to international security here at the World Economic Forum (WEF), he said many countries see nuclear weapons as the ultimate deterrence and see "missiles as a message". The minister of state for external affairs said just a few days ago India joined the Australia Group and is party to other such pacts. "The world recognises that India is a very responsible nuclear state. Also, we are like that not because someone asked us to do so, but because we want to be like that," Akbar said. He said India's approach is clear -- it wants a nuclear regime that is non discriminatory. "We have got support from so many countries on our approach and we hope that the world will work together on reducing if not eliminating the ..
6 Taliban militants killed in Afghanistan
At least six Taliban insurgents have been killed and two others arrested during the ongoing operations in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province.The Afghan armed and air forces carried out a series of operations against the hideouts of the Taliban in Spin Masjid area, leaving three militants dead and another militant wounded, Khaama Press reported, citing, the provincial government media office, as saying in a statement.The statement further added that the Afghan forces also conducted operations in Nad-e-Ali district where three Taliban militants were killed.On that note, two Taliban insurgents were arrested in another operation conducted in Marja district and their weapons were confiscated, the statement said.The Afghan forces discovered and confiscated 20 Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) during the same operations, the report said.Helmand is among the relatively volatile provinces in southern Afghanistan where the anti-government armed militant groups are actively operating in a .