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Showing posts from May 13, 2018

German government to toughen migrant family reunion rules

BERLIN: Germany's governing parties have agreed to toughen rules on family reunions for some asylum-seekers, ruling out such reunions for former extremists who have given up their beliefs. The  Cabinet  last week approved legislation allowing up to 1,000 people per month granted protection short of asylum to apply for relatives to join them. Family reunions for people with that status, including many  Syrians , were suspended over two years ago. The legislation bars reunions for migrants who have committed serious crimes or are deemed to pose a risk of extremist violence. But it foresaw an exception for people who can convincingly prove they have given up their extremist beliefs, drawing criticism from within Chancellor  Angela Merkel 's conservative bloc. Merkel's bloc said Thursday the governing coalition has agreed to drop the exemption. Source:  https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/german-government-to-toughen-migrant-family-reunion-rule

Suspected terror attack foiled in France, says minister

PARIS:  France 's interior minister says authorities have thwarted a possible attack using ricin or  explosives  and arrested two brothers. Interior minister  Gerard Collomb  told BFM television, on Friday, that authorities were tracking extremist activity on social networks and identified two young men "preparing to commit an attack with explosives or ricin." He said the young men were of  Egyptian  origin but didn't indicate their nationality or provide other details about where or when they were arrested. He said the men notably had tutorials on how to make poison using ricin. No other information was immediately released. The announcement came days after an Islamic extremist stabbed five people in the heart of Paris, and as the country is still on edge after a string of deadly attacks in recent years Source:  https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/suspected-terror-attack-foiled-in-france-says-minister/articleshow/64218511.cms

Santa Fe High School shooting: Up to 10 dead as teenage student storms Texas art class and shouts 'surprise!' before firing at pupils

Up to 10 people were killed when a teenage gunman stormed a high school in Texas screaming "surprise" as he began firing "everywhere". Students told local media that the mass shooter walked into an art classroom at Santa Fe High School, where he shot at least three pupils. He continued firing as people fled in terror, and reportedly hurled pipe bombs while armed with an AR-15 assault rifle, a shotgun and a pistol during the massacre. source  - http://tinyurl.com/yccrae9f

Ramzan Ceasefire Significant But it Will Make Job of Army More Complicated, Says Lt Gen DS Hooda

Just a week after Jammu and Kashmir CM Mehbooba Mufti proposed the idea of a unilateral ceasefire in Kashmir during Ramzan, the Union Home Ministry on Wednesday gave its approval, but the army has insisted that it is not a blanket ban. New Delhi: The central government may have approved the ceasefire in Jammu & Kashmir during Ramzan, but the move can’t be an end in itself. Speaking to News18 former commanding-in-chief of the Northern Command, Lt Gen (retd) DS Hooda said that ceasefire is a huge confidence building measure that the government has taken, but “needs to be carried forward.” Killing Terrorists Alone Can’t Be Measured As Success   “The purpose of suspending operations must be clear. If it is to allow local recruits to surrender during the ceasefire. What after that? There has to be a proper rehabilitation process and other attempts made at ensuring that he integrates well into society,” Lt Gen Hooda said, adding that various issues plague the state,

Gun Owners And Non-Gun Owners Actually Agree On A Lot Of Gun Reforms

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When it comes to addressing gun violence in the U.S., the general consensus seems to be that there’s no consensus. Gun owners and non-gun owners apparently can’t find common ground on policy solutions, which some Americans argue explains why there’s been so little action despite the mass shootings and other routine bloodshed of recent years. But that explanation might be a bit too simplistic, according to a new study comparing support for gun violence prevention policies among gun owners and non-gun owners. The survey, conducted in January 2017 by the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research and published Thursday in the American Journal of Public Health, found that both groups largely approve of the majority of the 24 proposals examined. For most of those policies, the approval gap between gun owners and non-gun owners was in the single digits. “This signals that we have higher levels of support and higher levels of agreement between gun owners and non-gun owners than

Israel's Gaza response 'wholly disproportionate': UN rights chief

Geneva (AFP) - The UN human rights chief on Friday slammed Israel's deadly reaction to protests along the Gaza border as "wholly disproportionate", backing calls for an international investigation. Addressing a special session of the UN Human Rights Council on the violence which has claimed more than 100 Gazan lives in six weeks, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein warned that "killing resulting from the unlawful use of force by an occupying power may also constitute wilful killings, a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention". Violations of the Geneva Conventions adopted in 1949 following World War II are commonly called "war crimes", although Zeid did not explicitly use that word. He pointed out though that while 60 Palestinians were killed and thousands injured in a single day of protests on Monday, "on the Israeli side, one soldier was reportedly wounded, slightly, by a stone." "The stark contrast in casualties on both sides is

The Latest: Venezuela transfers 72 inmates after unrest

CARACAS, Venezuela — The latest on Venezuela’s presidential election amid an economic and political crisis (all times local): 7:30 p.m. Venezuelan officials say they’re transferring 72 inmates from a jail a day after several detainees sent urgent messages begging for outside help. Attorney General Tarek William Saab announced on Twitter Thursday the inmates would first get medical check-ups before being been taken to other detention centers. A day earlier, inmates protested poor conditions and posted on social media that their lives were in danger. Officials haven’t said which inmates they’re moving. An estimated 340 inmates are held in the Helicoide, a building run by Venezuela’s political police. One of the inmates is jailed Utah man Joshua Holt, detained for two years on what U.S. officials call trumped up weapons charges. The unrest flared up days before Sunday’s election when President Nicolas Maduro seeks a second term. 7:10 p.m. Authorities in Colombia say th

Shots Reported at Trump Golf Course in Florida

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The police in Florida took a person into custody after they received a call from the Trump National Doral Golf Club that shots had been fired, officials said Friday. No one was wounded or killed, according to initial reports. The club is owned by the Trump Organization, President Trump’s company. The police did not confirm whether the shooting took place on the club’s property, west of Miami, about Doral police officials said there was “no further threat.” Doral Police Dept. @DoralPolice DPD responded to a shots fired call at the Trump National Golf Resort. Subject is in custody. No known Victims at this point. CP with media area at the parking lot of Carolina Ale house. More info to follow. Again, no known Victims at this time. No further threat. 12:04 PM - May 18, 2018 The Trump Organization purchased the golf resort, formerly known as the Doral Resort & Spa, in 2012. The club has four courses, including it

Act on LeT and JeM, top Pakistan cop had told Nawaz Sharif

More than three years before former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif questioned the policy of using Pakistan-based militants for assaults on India, the top cop who probed the Mumbai attacks had urged the PML-N government to take action against the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed in Punjab province. Tariq Khosa, the former head of the Federal Investigation Agency and one of Pakistan’s most respected police officials, was asked by the PML-N government to prepare a counter-terrorism action plan in the aftermath of the Taliban massacre at an army-run school in Peshawar on December 16, 2014. The “national counter-terrorism strategy” that Khosa presented to a working group, which included the then interior minister, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, on December 21, 2014, formed the basis of discussions that resulted in the National Action Plan on terror that was approved by the government later the same month. In his book,The Faltering State, Khosa provides details of the counter-terrorism strate

Gun control on the ballot as activists seek reform through state initiatives

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After the passion of March for Our Lives, some groups see the best hope for legislative success in states such as Washington and Oregon Some states will present ballot initiatives on gun law reform in November.   Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Though America has seen a string of mass shootings over the past year, no gun control legislation has been passed at the federal level. Three months after  17 people were killed and 17 injured  at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland, Florida, leading to a national push for reform led by student survivors, the debate has shifted, from Capitol Hill to states across the country. As November’s midterm elections approach, advocates of stricter gun laws hope to place the issue directly into the hands of voters. States such as Oregon and Washington will consider ballot initiatives including a ban on assault rifles and raising the minimum age for purchasing certain kinds of gun. Activists increasingly believe the issue w

Suicide attack on Mumbai thwarted

The investigations show that Faisal Hasan Mirza, a resident of Jogeshwari in Mumbai was working as a freelance technician. He had gone to Pakistan to receive arms training, the police said. Police sources say that he had been working on the instructions of Dawood Ibrahim and was constantly in touch with their associates. He was taken to Sharjah first where he was given instructions. Following that he was flown into Pakistan where he underwent training. He was instructed to first carry out targeted killing of influential persons and then a suicide strike in Mumbai. He has been booked under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The police say that investigations are on and also added that they do not rule out the possibilities of more arrests. Source  https://www.oneindia.com/amphtml/india/suicide-attack-on-mumbai-thwarted-2695730.html?__twitter_impression=true

Palestinian killed by Israeli fire along Gaza border: ministry

Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - A Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire on Tuesday amid renewed sporadic clashes on the Gaza Strip border, the Gazan health ministry said, a day after dozens died in the bloodiest day in years. The man killed was identified as Nasser Ghorab, 51, the ministry said, adding he was hit east of Bureij in the central Gaza Strip. Further details of the incident were not yet available. Protests continued on the Gaza border on Tuesday though they were far fewer in number. On Monday, tens of thousands had gathered near the border while smaller numbers of stone-throwing Palestinians approached the fence and sought to break through, with Israeli snipers positioned on the other side. Most of the 60 Gazans killed Monday were shot by Israeli snipers, Gaza's health ministry said. The toll included a baby who died from tear gas inhalation along with eight children under the age of 16, the ministry said. At least 2,400 others were wounded in

Family of suicide bombers kills at least 7 in Indonesia church attacks

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A trio of Sunday church bombings in Indonesia that killed at least seven people were carried out by members of the same family, police said. Six suicide bombers targeted three Christian churches during services in Surabaya, the country’s second-largest city. The bombers were a family of six, police said, including daughters ages 12 and 9 accompanied by their mother. Two sons, ages 18 and 16, carried out one of the attacks on a motorcycle, and the father used an SUV for his attack. All six family members died in the coordinated bombings, which wounded at least 40 people, police said, including on-duty police officers. The Islamic State militant group asserted responsibility for the attacks,  according  to the SITE Intelligence Group. President Joko Widodo visited the scene of the attacks. He said the “cowardly actions” of the attackers were “very barbaric and beyond the limit of humanity,” the Associated Press reported. [ Secretary Mattis seeks ties with once-brutal Indonesia