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Showing posts from August 13, 2017

Aid workers attacked most often in West and Central Africa

DAKAR, Aug 18 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - West and Central Africa is the most volatile region in the world for aid workers, accounting for more than half of attacks on humanitarians worldwide this year, aid agencies said on Friday. Worsening militant violence across the region has seen aid workers attacked on nearly 200 occasions in Central African Republic, more than 115 in Mali and about 75 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, U.N. agencies and humanitarian groups said. "The deteriorating trend in these countries ... is extremely worrying," said Noel Tsekouras, regional representative for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). "Our staff and volunteers too often risk their own lives when coming to the relief of civilians trapped in conflict," he said in a statement ahead of World Humanitarian Day on Saturday. Central African Republic is the most troubling country in the region in terms of attacks on aid workers and civili

Confidential UN report accuses Saudi coalition of killing hundreds of children in Yemen conflict

A Saudi-led military coalition conducting airstrikes in Yemen committed "grave violations" of human rights against children last year, killing 502, injuring 838, according to a draft report by the  U.N.  Secretary General António Guterres. "The killing and maiming of children remained the most prevalent violation" of children's rights in Yemen, according to the 41-page draft report obtained by Foreign Policy. "In the reporting period, attacks carried out by air were the cause of over half of all child casualties, with at least 349 children killed and 333 children injured." Saudi Arabia and its allies have been trying since March 2015, with U.S. backing, to force Houthi rebels out of power in Yemen. But the coalition's air strikes have been heavily criticized for killing civilians, hobbling infrastructure, and destroying the country's architectural heritage. The chief author of the confidential report, Virginia Gamba, the U.N. chief'

Philippines war on drugs and crime intensifies, at least 60 killed in three days

MANILA (Reuters) - Police killed at least 28 people overnight in a crackdown in the Philippines capital Manila, authorities said on Thursday, a second night of heavy bloodshed this week in an intensification of President Rodrigo Duterte's fierce war on drugs and crime. The killings across Manila followed 32 deaths in police raids on Monday night in Bulacan province, which borders the capital. Together, they mark the deadliest period of a drugs-focused crackdown that has killed thousands of Filipinos, and caused international alarm, since Duterte took office over a year ago. Colonel Erwin Margarejo, spokesman for Manila police, described the raids that started late Wednesday in Manila as "one-time, big-time" operations, the same term used by police in Bulacan, who said the victims died because they chose to put up a fight. The term has been used by Philippines police to describe a coordinated anti-crime drive in crime-prone districts, usually slums or low-income ne

Yemen violence worsening, more access to north needed: U.N.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 18 ( Reuters ) - Top United  Nations  officials on Friday warned violence in  Yemen  was worsening and greater access was needed to the Houthi rebel-held north, particularly through the key  Red Sea  port of  Hodeidah . U.N. aid chief Stephen O'Brien slammed Yemen's government and a Saudi-led military coalition for "unilaterally denying or excessively delaying entry to vessels carrying essential cargo" to the port. "It is simply wrong to insist these cargoes go to  Aden , not Hodeidah," O'Brien told the U.N.  Security Council , appealing for countries to back a U.N. mechanism that started inspecting commercial shipments to rebel-held ports in May last year. The United Nations has worked to avert attacks on Hodeidah port, where around 80 percent of Yemen's food imports arrive. The Saudi-led coalition, which has destroyed several cranes at Hodeidah port in air strikes, has accused the  Houthis , the rebels fighting the Sau

On World Humanitarian Day, UN chief Antonio Guterres urges protection for civilians trapped in conflict

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is urging people everywhere to protect the millions of civilians trapped in conflicts around the world who are routinely being killed in direct and indiscriminate attacks. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is urging people everywhere to protect the millions of civilians trapped in conflicts around the world who are routinely being killed in direct and indiscriminate attacks. He told a UN event today on the eve of World Humanitarian Day that protecting civilians, humanitarian workers and health care staff is required under international law, “yet in war zones all over the world, parties to conflict are flouting their obligations.” Guterres said: “We are here to tell the world: Civilians in conflict are not a target.” UN humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien said that since the General Assembly designated World Humanitarian Day in 2008 “many thousands of aid workers have been killed in direct or indirect attacks.” Last year, he said

Students' body in PoK holds massive protest rally demanding freedom from Pakistan

Jammu and Kashmir National Students Federation (JKNSF) held a massive rally in Jandali area of PoK to demand freedom from Pakistan. A massive rally has been organised by the Jammu and Kashmir National Students Federation in Jandali area of PoK (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) to demand freedom from Pakistan.  Local leader Liyaqat Khan said, "Pakistan sends terrorists here to ruin this peaceful place". In a video shared by ANI, the protestors are seen raising pro-freedom slogans and raising banners to demand freedom from Pakistan. This is not the first time that demands of freedom from Pakistan have been raised from the troubled region. In the past as well, anti-Pakistan protests have taken place across Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The Pakistani forces have been accused of committing human rights violations and inflicting atrocities on the people of PoK.   On April 24, 2017, hundreds of locals in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir's Kotli area took to the streets to pro

In Kerala's Love Jihad Probe, Counter-Terror Agency NIA Takes First Step

This is the first time that the NIA, which was meant to probe terror offences, is investigating the circumstances of a marriage to determine if this was a case of "love jihad" THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:   India's top counter-terror agency, the National Investigation Agency, on Friday started its first-of-a-kind probe into the  marriage of a Hindu woman to a Muslim man in Kerala last year  to ascertain if it was a case of Muslim extremist groups radicalising a Hindu woman and recruiting them for terror groups. "We have re-registered the case under the directions of Supreme Court," Sharad Kumar, the chief of the investigating agency set up after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks in 2008, told NDTV. This is the first time that the NIA, which was meant to probe terror offences, is investigating the circumstances of a marriage to determine if this was a case of "love jihad" - a term coined by Hindu right-wing groups to allege an Islamist strategy to convert H

ISIS's Propaganda Machine Is Thriving As The Physical Caliphate Fades

Attacks like the one in Barcelona are painful reminders that ISIS is "more than a collection of territories," - it is also a virtual network that inhabits swaths of cyber-terrain that are "just as consequential as the spaces it holds in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere, said an official. A few weeks before Thursday's attack in Barcelona, the Islamic State's main online magazine posted an illustrated article with advice on acquiring a special kind of truck - specifically, the kind best suited for mowing down large numbers of pedestrians. The "ideal vehicle," the article in Rumiyah said, would be "large in size, heavy in weight," and with a raised chassis that can clear curbs and barriers. It also should be "fast in speed, or rate of acceleration," the magazine said, to ensure maximum momentum before striking. Whether the men behind Thursday's attack in Barcelona saw the article is unknown, but they appear to have tried to follow the a

Finnish Police 'Quite Certain' About Attacker's Identity: Report

A number of people were arrested during the night, as the Nordic country investigated their possible link to the attacker of a now "quite certain identity", Finnish news agency SST said. TURKU, FINLAND:   Finnish police raided an apartment in eastern Turku and said it was "quite certain" it had identified the attacker who killed two people and wounded eight during a stabbing rampage on Friday, local media reported. The raid occurred just before 10 p.m. (1900 GMT), after police located a suspected vehicle, a white Fiat Ducato, whose owner lived in a building located in Turku's Varissuo suburb, Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat reported. A number of people were arrested during the night, as the Nordic country investigated their possible link to the attacker of a now "quite certain identity", Finnish news agency SST said. "We are investigating what their role is in this. Whether they had something to do with this act, or if they were just involv

Syrian army, Hezbollah allies attack IS near Lebanon border

Syrian  government   forces and allied Lebanese militant Hezbollah fighters have captured several Islamic State positions on strategic hilltops along the Syrian-Lebanese border, a military outlet said.  The captures come ahead of an anticipated Lebanese offensive to clear the extremists from their side of the frontier.  Separately, the Russian military today said that its aircraft are supporting a Damascus  government  offensive against the Islamic State group in a town in central Syria.  The area taken includes several hilltops in the western Qalamoun mountain range on the Syrian side of the border, according to the Central Military Media outlet. The outlet posted video showing forces fighting their way up the hills, under the cover of artillery fire.  This is the second push by the  government  in the area - in July, Hezbollah and the Syrian army defeated a pocket of al-Qaida-linked fighters nearby.  In Moscow, Russia's Defense Ministry said the Syrian army is finalizing i

One killed in stabbing in western Germany, attacker on the run: Police

BERLIN: One man was killed and another injured in a stabbing in the western German city of Wuppertal on Friday police said, adding that the attacker was still on the loose. "We can confirm there has been a deadly crime. One man has died and another man is in hospital," a police spokeswoman told AFP. The police said they were hunting for one or more assailants, but could not immediately provide more information about the circumstances of the attack. The stabbing happened at around 1245 GMT in the city's Elberfeld area. Also on Friday afternoon, several people were stabbed in the street in the Finnish city of Turku, with police shooting one suspect and warning several others could be at large. The stabbing in Germany also comes a day after 14 people were killed in twin terror attacks in Spain. Source:  http://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2017/aug/18/one-killed-in-stabbing-in-western-germany-attacker-on-the-run-police-1645019.html

Ex-chief of jihadist 'Islamic police' jailed for 10 years in Mali

BAMAKO: The head of an Islamic police brigade deployed by jihadists controlling a northern Mali city in 2012 was jailed for 10 years Friday, after being convicted of crimes that included cutting off the hands of suspected thieves. Aliou Mahamar Toure had denied a long list of offences, as he stood trial in Bamako, having been accused of endangering state security and aggravated assault. "The court finds the accused guilty of all charges," said the verdict after the one-day trial. Rights groups had earlier said the charges -- among them he was said to have whipped women for not wearing sufficiently conservative clothing -- did not reflect the gravity of his offences. Toure, the feared former "Islamic police chief" of the city of Gao, was arrested in December 2013 by the Malian army. He had spread terror in Gao as one of the most high-profile faces of Al-Qaeda offshoot MUJAO (the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa). Victims gave gruesome testi

Nine killed in Islamic State attack in Iraq

BAGHDAD: At least seven civilians and two members of the Islamic State terrorist group were killed in an attack carried out by the militants that targeted the home of an Iraqi officer in Kirkuk province, a security source said. According to the source, The IS fighters on Friday stormed the home of the officer, identified as Farhan al-Azawi, in the al-Dabs area, about 40 km northwest of Kirkuk, Efe news reported. The attackers killed three of al-Azawi's children, two nephews and two civilians who were guests at the house, while two of his neighbours were also wounded, the source added. A group of Kurdish Peshmerga fighters arrived at the scene of the attack and killed two IS militants, while the other attackers managed to flee to areas controlled by the terror group. Despite the liberation of the northern city of Mosul in July, IS still has a presence in several areas in western Iraq and occasionally carries out attacks in the capital Baghdad and in other provinces