Page 88 - War Conflict
Cops launch search as man flees on being stopped at Metro
Police are searching lodges and other places and tightened vigil in the city Tuesday after a man gave the slip to security personnel at the Metro Railway Station here on being questioned after a metal detector sounded. Metro Rail officials said the man, dressed in kurta-pyjama and sporting a skull cap and a scarf around his neck, tried to enter the station on Monday evening. As soon as he did so, the metal detector at the gate beeped. The private security personnel deployed by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited stopped him and a checking device made a loud noise when it was scanned around his waist,officials said. As they were questioning him, other passengers started walking in and demanded that the checking be expedited. In the melee, the man, said to be in his 50s or early 60s, fled, officials said. Security personnel claimed he tried to enter through another gate and even offered a bribe to a house keeping staff to take his bag inside but the woman ...
Modi changing goal-posts, is a stuntman and not statesman: Congress
The Congress on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of changing goal-posts this Lok Sabha election and misusing the valour and sacrifice of the armed forces, saying he will go down in history as a "mere stuntman" and not as a statesman. Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said the prime minister is not answering questions on joblessness, on black money, on economy, and on distress in the MSME sector. Instead, he is talking about "irrelevant issues" as he did not deliver on the mandate given to him in 2014, Singhvi said. He also accused the prime minister of lowering the dignity of the office he holds by using abusive language against political rivals and of insulting the memory of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, who was assassinated in a suicide bombing. The Congress leader alleged that Modi is changing goal-posts only to avoid real issues. "It is really interesting to watch how PM Modi is shifting issues and running from one to another. That is not surprising, when ...
Following are the top foreign stories at 200 hours
Following are the top foreign stories at 2000 hours: FGN30 UK-NIRAV MODI Nirav Modi set for fresh bail plea in UK court London: Fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi will file a third bail plea Wednesday before a UK court, which has already rejected his bail twice before as he fights his extradition case in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud and money laundering case amounting to up to USD 2 billion. By Aditi Khanna FGN29 LD LANKA Sri Lanka still faces threat of ISIS terror attacks: PM Wickremesinghe Colombo: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday said that authorities have arrested or killed all the militants responsible for the deadly Easter blasts, but warned that the country still faces the threat of ISIS terror attacks. FGN32 MYANMAR-2NDLD JOURNALISTS Myanmar frees two Reuters journalists after global outrage Yangon: Two Reuters journalists jailed for their reporting on the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar walked out of prison on Tuesday, freed in a presidential .
Egypt upholds death penalty for 13 on terror charges
Egypt's highest appeals court on Tuesday upheld the death sentence awarded to 13 people on charges of terrorist attacks.
4 policemen killed in Afghan bombing
Four police officers including a district police chief were killed in a bomb blast in Afghanistan's Laghman province on Tuesday, officials said.
Sri Lanka receives over 166,900 tourists in April
Over 166,900 tourists arrived in Sri Lanka last month, which was a 7.5 per cent decline compared to the same period last year due to large cancellations following the Easter Sunday bombings, according to official statistics on Tuesday.
C'garh cops deploy first ever anti-Naxal women's commando unit
The Chhattisgarh police for the first time has inducted women commandos in the District Reserve Guard, its frontline anti-Naxal force. A senior official said these women commandos were part of the security forces' "short action teams" that eliminated three Naxal "commanders" in the past one month. The specially-raised squad, christened 'Danteshwari Ladake', or fighters of Goddess Danteshwari, was inducted in the state's Naxal-hit Dantewada district, around 400 kilometres from here. Comprising 30 women led by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Dineshwari Nand, officials said they have received extensive training in jungle combat. "A first-of-its-kind platoon of women DRG commandos has been raised. Of the 30 recruits, 10 are surrendered women Naxals, while 10 others are assistant constables who were part of the erstwhile Salwa Judum (anti-Naxal militia) movement," Dantewada Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallava told PTI. With the induction of the women commando ...
'Saudi, Qatar groups should stop funding SL extremists'
Former Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara has urged Saudi Arabia and Qatar not to let extremist groups in their countries finance Muslim fundamentalists in Sri Lanka like the National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ) which carried out the Easter Sunday bombings.
Suspected NTJ member remanded till May 21 by Sri Lankan court
A suspected member of the banned Islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jamath (NTJ) was on Tuesday remanded further till May 21 by a Sri Lankan court, according to a media report. The Western Province Intelligence Division of the police had arrested the suspect, identified as Mohamed Farook Mohamed Fawaz, at Keselwatte on suspicion of having links with the NTJ, which is blamed for the deadly Easter suicide attacks that killed more than 250 people, the Daily Mirror reported. Fawaz was produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrate Court in relation to a search carried out in a shoe shop in Gampola. The police told the court that during the raid they discovered a hard disk in which a photograph of Fawaz posing with two suicide bombers - who hailed from Gampola - was found. They also seized 67 stickers of the NTJ, pen drives and mobile phones. Following the arrest of the suspect, the police had recovered the device suspecting it to be one used in the bomb blasts carried out island ...
Egypt court upholds death penalty for 13 militants
An Egyptian court Tuesday upheld the death sentences of 13 Islamic militants for attacks against security forces, a judicial official said. The defendants were charged with forming a militant group, Ajnad Misr (Soldiers of Egypt), that has claimed responsibility for lethal attacks on security forces in and around the capital Cairo. Egypt's Cassation Court rejected an appeal against initial rulings passed by a Giza criminal tribunal in December 2017. The accused were found guilty of "making and possessing explosive materials, bombs and firearms, and of receiving training outside the country". They were also convicted of "terrorist acts against police forces and public facilities from late 2013 to May 2015". Apart from the 13 death sentences, 17 defendants were handed life prison terms, and nine to between five and 15 years in jail, while five were acquitted. Ajnad Misr claimed several deadly attacks against security forces and bombings outside key buildings such as the supreme court ...
Ex-Lankan IGP to appeal before SC against President's decision to remove him
Sri Lanka's former police chief, Pujith Jayasundera, who was sent on compulsory leave after the Easter Sunday terror attack, will approach the Supreme Court against the President's action, a media report said Tuesday. Amidst the criticism over the massive intelligence failure to avert the country's worst suicide attack that killed over 250 people, President Maithripala Sirisena sought the resignation of Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and the Inspector General of Police Jayasundara. While Fernando resigned, claiming that he was quitting to "protect" his political bosses, Jayasundara initially defied pressure on him to resign. Sri Lankan media reported that constitutionally the President does not have the authority to dismiss the police chief. Jayasundara is currently consulting lawyers and is preparing to hand over his petition to the Supreme Court within the next two weeks, Sri Lanka Mirror reported. The report said Jayasundera has decided to file a fundamental rights case before
Sri Lanka still faces threat of ISIS terror attacks: PM Wickremesinghe
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday said that authorities have arrested or killed all the militants responsible for the deadly Easter blasts, but warned that the country still faces the threat of ISIS terror attacks. Speaking in Parliament during a debate on the current security situation in the country, Wickremesinghe said all those directly linked to the Easter Sunday attacks were either killed or are in custody. Nine suicide bombers carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on the Easter Sunday. The Islamic State claimed the attacks, but the government blamed local Islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jammath (NTJ) for the bombings that killed more than 250 people. Wickremesinghe said investigations had revealed the bombers had direct or indirect links with Islamic State and the island nation needed sophisticated technology to deal with the threat posed by such terror networks. "The danger is not .
Terrorists involved in Eastern Sunday bombings either killed or arrested: SL police
All the terrorists involved in the Easter Sunday bombings that left 257 people dead have been either arrested or killed, the Sri Lankan police claimed while assuring that the country could now go back to normalcy.Addressing a press conference here on Monday night, Sri Lanka's acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) CD Wickremarante said that among those killed were two bomb experts, reported Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka).The acting IGP also claimed that the police and security forces have seized all explosives possessed by terrorist groups.Police spokesperson Ruwan Gunasekera had earlier said the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) seized assets worth more than 7 billion rupees belonging to the local terror outfit National Thorheed Jamath (NTJ), reported Colombo Page.Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan government has lifted the ban on social media platforms, which was imposed as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of false information following the act of communal violence between ...
UN experts' suspected killers escape DR Congo jail
Two men suspected of involvement in the murder of two UN experts investigating mass killings in the Democratic Republic of Congo escaped from prison overnight, a defence lawyer said Tuesday. The pair, Evariste Ilunga Lumu and Tshiaba Kanowa, fled the central prison in Kananga, in central DRC, Lumu's lawyer Tresor Kabangu told AFP. He was informed of their disappearance by the military prosecutor's office. At dawn on Tuesday, heavy gunfire could be heard from the vicinity of the prison in Kasai-Central province. An AFP correspondent reported that by morning, the situation at the prison was tense with inmates in the yard threatening to attack anyone who ventures inside. Military and police officials were at the scene, awaiting reinforcements to enter the prison and do a headcount to determine how many have escaped. The experts -- Zaida Catalan, a 36-year-old Swedish-Chilean national, and American Michael Sharp, 34 -- were in Kasai on behalf of the UN Security Council to investigate mass
Army postpones critical wargames due to deployment on Pakistan border
Due to the deployment of troops in forward locations along the Pakistan border in wake of the Pulwama attack, a critical exercise to test the Integrated Battle Groups has been postponed by the Indian Army for some time.In the exercise planned to be conducted by fighting formations under the Chandimandir-based Army's Western Command, the Army wanted to test the swiftness of Integrated Battle Groups, Army sources said.The Army is working to create Integrated Battle Groups as war fighting formations which would have all the elements of warfare including tanks, artillery, air defence and logistics along with the infantry.The critical Corps-level exercise planned in the Punjab area was supposed to be the test-bed for the Integrated Battle Groups."The exercise was planned to be held in May this year but due to the deployment along the Pakistan border, the wargames had to be postponed for some time. The exercise will be held soon after the precautionary deployment gets over," sources in the .
NTJ's 'Colombo organizer' remanded till May 21
The Colombo district organizer of the proscribed National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ) Islamist group Mohamed Farouk Mohamed Fawaz was on Tuesday remanded further till May 21 by a court here, the media reported.
Sri Lanka's bombed church partially opens for prayers
Sri Lanka's St. Anthony's church partially opened for worship Tuesday even as security forces were rebuilding a shrine inside following the Easter suicide bombing. The faithful were allowed into a section of the church to pray before a statue of Saint Anthony, said Father Edmond Tilakaratne, spokesman for the Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith. "The church was partially opened today under very tight security," Tilakaratne told AFP. "Renovations are already under way." He said pilgrims will be allowed into the special area of the church for a 12-hour period. Three policemen and three women frisked pilgrims lined up to enter the shrine while heavily armed navy personnel and police kept watch outside. The 1740 church shares a boundary wall with the port of Colombo. New steel barricades were established Tuesday to prevent vehicle access to the church building. St. Anthony's was among the three churches attacked by jihadi suicide bombers in coordinated attacks that also ...
Sri Lanka is now safe, say police and military
The Sri Lankan police and military said the country is now safe as all those involved in the Easter Sunday bombings have been either arrested or dead and steps have been taken to implement a special security plan following the attacks.
Indonesia thwarts IS-linked bomb plots: police
Indonesia has thwarted a bid by Islamic State-linked militants to stage a series of bombings when it announces official election results this month, authorities said. Police in the Southeast Asian nation said Monday that they had arrested eight suspects at several locations over the past week, including in Sumatra and near the capital Jakarta. The roundup comes after IS-inspired Easter suicide bombings killed 257 in Sri lanka, and as Indonesia marks the anniversary of its worst terror attack in years, which saw a dozen killed at churches targeted by Islamist suicide bombers last May. Authorities said the arrested militants were members of Jemaah Anshurat Daulah (JAD), a local extremist group that has pledged allegiance to IS and was blamed for last year's church bombings. The group planned to set off bombs at various locations when the world's biggest Muslim majority nation releases election results on May 22. There are concerns about street demonstrations after presidential ...
Afghan official: Taliban hit security checkpoints, killing 8
An Afghan official says the Taliban have targeted security checkpoints in northeastern Takhar province, killing eight members of the security forces. Wafiullah Rahmani, head of the provincial council, says three soldiers and five policemen were killed in Monday night's attack in Khwaja Bahaudin district. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. The insurgents stage near-daily attacks on Afghan forces, even as peace efforts have accelerated to find an end to Afghanistan's 17-year war. Separately, Dadullah Qaneh, councilman in western Farah province, says coalition forces on Sunday carried out airstrikes against Taliban-run heroin labs, killing 15 laborers. But Mohibullah Mohib, the provincial police chief's spokesman, says those killed in Bakwa district were all members of the Taliban. The Taliban run most of Afghanistan's drug trade and control vast opium poppy fields.