Page 846 - War Conflict
Air strikes kill 19 civilians in northwest Syria: monitor
Overnight air strikes killed 19 civilians, seven of them children, in a residential district of a town in northwestern Syria, a monitor said today. "Suspected Russian air strikes targeted several houses in Maarshurin," a rebel-held town in Idlib province, said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. He said 13 members of a single family were among the dead. Residents of Maarshurin were still working on Wednesday morning to clear rubble from buildings hit in the bombardment, an AFP photographer reported. One had been completely flattened and blood stained the rubble. "These are all civilian homes," said resident Zahed Abu Abdo. The Observatory said more than 25 people were wounded in the strikes, some of whom were in critical condition. The Britain-based war monitor relies on a network of sources inside Syria and says it determines whose planes carry out raids according to type, location, flight patterns and munitions used. Russia has been ...
Post Doklam, SSB strengthens presence on India-Bhutan border
The Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) -- the country's youngest paramilitary force -- on Wednesday said it has increased its strength along the India-Bhutan border in view of the Doklam standoff between the Indian and Chinese armies.
Rubber bullets may cause fatal injuries: study
Rubber bullets cause fatal injuries among three in every 100 cases, according to a study that used data from nine countries, including India, prompting calls for an alternative form of crowd control. Researchers, including Rohini Haar of University of California Berkeley looked at 26 scientific reports published on injury, disability and death caused by rubber bullets between 1990 and 2017 in India, Israel and the Palestinian territories, the US, Northern Ireland, Nepal and Switzerland. In the dats, a total of 1,984 people were found to have been injured, of whom 53 (three per cent) died, researchers said. "Some 300 (15.5 per cent) of all survivors were left with permanent disability as a direct result of the rubber bullet impact they sustained - usually to the head and neck," researchers wrote in the journal BMJ Open. The kinetic impact projectiles (KIPs) or rubber baton rounds, rubber or plastic bullets, are used commonly in crowd-control settings. They are meant to ...
US cannot tolerate nuclear-armed North Korea: NSA McMaster
The US cannot tolerate a nuclear armed North Korea, America's national security advisor has said, asserting that such a development would pose a grave security threat to the countries in the region and the world. President Donald Trump last month declared North Korea a state sponsor of terrorism, a move that allows the US administration to impose additional sanctions on Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile programmes. North Korea had launched an intercontinental ballistic missile which travelled about 1,000 km before splashing down in the Sea of Japan, within Japan's exclusive economic zone. "I don't think we can tolerate that risk. The world can't tolerate that risk. I mean, if North Korea has a nuclear weapon, I mean, who are you going to try to prevent getting one? Look at the behaviour of this regime, the hostility of this regime to the whole world," US National Security Advisor Lieutenant General H R McMaster told CBS News yesterday. The United States, he said, is .
Civil society, govt should work together to end violence:
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today expressed anguish over the killing of a woman during an encounter and said that civil society and government should work together to end violence in the state. During the exchange of fire between security forces and militants in Shopian district yesterday, a woman--Ruby--was injured. She was rushed to a hospital where she succumbed to injuries. "Anguished over the killing of young girl during a gunfight in Batmurran village of Shopian district", Mufti said in a tweet. "It is unfortunate that a web of violence has been cast in which the local and innocent civilians of the state have been caught," she said. In a statement, she further said that both civil society and the government should work together to end violence in the state.
NC MLA defends his derogatory remark against soldiers
National Conference (NC) MLA Javed Rana on Wednesday tried to defend his derogatory remark against soldiers and state police by citing examples of incidents where the Army was allegedly not helpful.Speaking to ANI here, Rana said, "The truth will not die...if someone is a chor (thief) or a dadal (tout) nothing will change them. I was referring to a local incident, where a local magistrate was injured during a hustle in the district here. We had asked help from the Army then but to our bad luck, they were not around"."In another incident, which took place in 2010, a rift broke out between commoners and police and then too, the Army was not there," he added."What should we term the police or personals who just watch innocent or common people getting brutally beaten while they stand nearby?", asked Rana.The National Conference MLA's statement comes a day after he brazenly used derogatory language against soldiers and state police, while addressing a public function in Mendhar in ...
Christmas in Bethlehem: Trump's Jerusalem shift looms large
President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital looms large in Christmas festivities this year in the traditional birthplace of Jesus. Some food vendors, sellers of holiday trinkets and a leading hotelier in biblical Bethlehem say Palestinian protests, triggered by what many here view as a provocative show of pro-Israel bias, have hurt their Christmas business. Yet Bethlehem also offers a stage for a Palestinian rebuttal: banners proclaiming Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Palestine have been draped over facades on Manger Square as a backdrop for Christmas TV broadcasts to a global audience. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is keenly felt, perhaps even more so at Christmas, in Bethlehem, just a few kilometres south of contested Jerusalem. Israel's West Bank separation barrier cuts into Bethlehem and a segment of it has become a tourist magnet in its own right. Its cement slabs are covered with works by international graffiti artists such as ...
Restrictions in parts of Srinagar : Police
Authorities today imposed restrictions in parts of Srinagar city in view of the bandh call given by separatists to protest killing of a woman during an encounter between security forces and militants in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir. Yesterday, two Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists were gunned down by security forces in Shopian while the woman also died after getting hit in the crossfire. Restrictions have been imposed in areas falling under seven police station areas of Khanyar, Nowhatta, Rainawari, Maharajgunj, Safakadal, Kralkhud and Maisuma as a precautionary measure, a senior official said. Normal life was affected due to the strike called by the separatist groups, under the banner of the joint resistance leadership, against the killing of a woman in Batmurran area of Shopian. Shops and other business establishments remained closed while intra-city transport was plying on most routes where no restrictions have been imposed. According to police, Ruby Jan alias ...
Kerala JD-U leader quits Rajya Sabha
Disgruntled Janata Dal-United leader M.P. Veerendra Kumar on Wednesday resigned from the Rajya Sabha, days after rebel JD-U leaders Sharad Yadav and Ali Anwar were disqualified from the Upper House.
Restrictions imposed in Srinagar to prevent protests
Authorities imposed restrictions in parts of Srinagar city on Wednesday to prevent protests during a separatist called shutdown in the Kashmir Valley, police said.
Saudi-led airstrikes claim 136 lives in 10 days in Yemen
At least 136 civilians were killed in airstrikes carried out by the Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen in 10 days.The United Nations has expressed concerns over intensified airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition.A spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Rupert Colville in a news conference in Geneva on Tuesday said, "We are deeply concerned at the recent surge in civilian casualties in Yemen."The recent wave of violence began in the country following the killing of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa on December 4."136 civilians and non-combatants were killed and some 87 injured as a result of airstrikes in Sanaa, Saada, Al Hudaydah and Taizz governorates in the period from December 6 to 16," Colville said.According to UN, a total of 5558 civilians have been killed and 9,065 others injured in Yemen since March 2015.
5 killed, 90 injured in clashes with security forces in Iraq
At least five protestors were shot dead and 90 others got injured amid clashes with security forces in northern Iraq's Kurdish region.The Anadolu Agency quoted the public health director in Sulaymaniyah's town of Ranya Taha Mohammed as saying that 36 security personnel were also injured in clashes between protesters and security forces.Civil servants have been protesting in Sulaymaniyah since Monday over delayed salaries and perceived government corruption.On Tuesday, the protesters torched a number of public facilities in the area.In wake of the violent clashes, the local authorities have beefed up the security throughout Sulaymaniyah to prevent any more damage.Sulaymaniyah is considered a bastion of the Kurdish region's leading opposition parties, including the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Gorran Movement.
Bangladesh PM hosts lunch for Indian war veterans
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina hosted a lunch for a delegation of Indian war veterans at her official residence Ganabhaban.The veterans shared their experiences of the great war of Liberation of Bangladesh.India and Bangladesh celebrate December 16 as Vijay Diwas every year to mark their military victory over Pakistan during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971, which led to the liberation of East Pakistan and the eventual creation of Bangladesh.On Saturday, Bangladesh paid tributes to the 1971 Liberation War soldiers as the country is celebrating the 47th Victory Day.Earlier on Friday, Bangladesh's Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque thanked India for its tremendous support that was extended by its people and government during the country's war of independence in 1971.A battle-hardened veteran, who was in the midst of heavy action in Dacca (now, Dhaka) during the 1971 Indo-Pak war, Colonel (retired) Ashok Kumar Tara, is no stranger to limelight.During the war, ...
Rebel shellfire kills three in Damascus: state media
Three people including a child were killed in rebel shelling of the eastern sector of the Syrian capital Damascus, the official SANA news agency reported. "Armed groups in Eastern Ghouta fired three mortar shells at the residential district of Zablatani, killing three people, including a child, and wounding five civilians," SANA reported, citing a police official. The news agency said rebel fighters were to blame for the "violations" of an agreement to de-escalate Eastern Ghouta. The rebel enclave, which has been under siege since 2013, is one of four so-called "de-escalation zones" across Syria agreed earlier this year by regime allies Russia and Iran and rebel backer Turkey. But in recent weeks violence has increased considerably, with government air strikes and artillery fire across the region, and rebel fire from the area into Damascus. The enclave east of the Syrian capital is home to around 400,000 people and humanitarian organisations have voiced fears conditions .
Five dead as protests rock Iraqi Kurdistan: medical official
Five people were killed and dozens wounded in Iraqi Kurdistan today as security forces opened fire during clashes with protesters, an official said, as anger grew over a failed independence push. Demonstrators torched the offices of two political parties in Raparin in the autonomous region's Sulaimaniyah province, said a spokesman for the local health department, Taha Mohammad. "Clashes erupted with the security forces who opened fire, leaving five dead and at least 70 wounded," he said. It came as protests broke out for a second day over the disastrous fallout from an independence referendum in September that delivered a resounding "yes" but drew sweeping reprisals from Baghdad.
British Police arrest four suspected of plotting terror attack
British Police may have thwarted a terror attack plot against the United Kingdom after they arrested four men in the north of England on Tuesday.A 31-year-old man was arrested from a house in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, while three others, aged 22, 36 and 41, were arrested in three separate properties in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. They were detained by officers from the north-east counter-terrorism unit (Nectu) and are being questioned at a police station in West Yorkshire. The arrested are suspected of Islamist-links.The arrests were intelligence-led and planned as part of an ongoing investigation, police were quoted as saying by The Guardian.Following this, the police counter-terrorism officers and Britain's domestic security service, MI5 launched a joint operation to probe a possible Islamist plot of terror attack in Britain.In this regard, the army's bomb disposal unit was called to the Chesterfield house where one of the arrests was made."I understand our local communities will ...
India, US discuss terrorist designation mechanisms
Even as China continued to block the listing of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar in the UN-designated list of international terrorists, India and the US discussed procedures for pursuing designations against terrorist groups and individuals through domestic and international mechanisms.
J&K: Terrorists fired from an UBGL towards police in Pulwama
Terrorists on Tuesday fired from an Underbarrel Grenade Launcher (UBGL) towards district police lines in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama, which exploded just outside the wall.No casualities or injuries have been reported yet.Earlier in the day, two terrorists were killed in an encounter with security officials in Shopian..
22 miscreants arrested, stolen motorcycles, mobile phones
Twenty two miscreants have been arrested by the police and stolen goods including motorcycles and mobile phones recovered from them, a senior police officer said today. Senior Superintendent of Police Anoop T Mathew has formed a police team led by the Superintendent of Police Prabhat Kumar to check the incidents of snatching and loot. Addressing a press conference here, Mathew said 22 miscreants involved in these incidents in the city were arrested from different places in a special raids launched since last night. Mathew said 13 stolen motorcycles, 42 mobile phones, one laptop and a magic machine used to change IMEI number as well as the lock of mobile phones were recovered from them. All the arrested persons were drug addicts and indulged in criminal activities to meet the expenses for it, the SSP said.
US cannot tolerate nuclear armed North Korea:McMaster
The US cannot tolerate a nuclear armed North Korea, America's national security advisor said today, asserting that such a development would pose a grave security threat to the countries in the region and the world. "I don't think we can't tolerate that risk. The world can't tolerate that risk. I mean, if North Korea has a nuclear weapon, I mean, who are you going to try to prevent getting one? Look at the behavior of this regime, the hostility of this regime to the whole world," US National Security Advisor Lt Gen H R McMaster told CBS News. The United States, he said, is applying maximum pressure to North Korea to convince Kim Jong-Un that this is a dead end, this pursuit of nuclear weapons and an intercontinental ballistic missile -- long range ballistic missile which of course poses a grave danger to the whole world. "So what you've seen is an effort led by the President worldwide really though to isolate that regime, to cut off not just what is restricted by the ...