YANGON: Rakhine insurgents killed at least nine Myanmar police in the country’s western Rakhine State, local media reports have said.

Local media said the insurgents raided a police post in the village of Yoe Ta Yoke late on Saturday night.

San Aung Thein, the village’s administrator said nine police were killed by the insurgents. He, however, gave no details of the attack.

This is the second biggest attack on police this year. The insurgents had in January attacked on a station killing 13 police.

The insurgents have been fighting for autonomy for Rakhine. More than 5,000 people have been displaced so far, authorities said. (Agencies)

KUALALUMPUR: Police in Malasiya have stepped up security measures upon the arrest of 9 terrorist suspects last month. The arrest signals of the infiltration of foreign terrorists in the country.

Police has taken their presence seriously and will continue to cooperate with foreign intelligence agencies to weed out undesirable elements, according to Mohd Fuzi Harun, inspector general of police.

Nine terror suspects including six Egyptians and one Tunisian were arrested in Klang Valley and Sarawak between Feb 2 and Feb 9.

Two of them, a 21-year-old Egyptian and a 22-year-old Tunisian are said to be members of Ansar Al Shariah Al Tunisia, who entered Malaysia using false Syrian travel documents. Based in North Africa, Ansar Am Shariah Al Tunisia is listed by the United Nations as an international terrorist group responsible for planning large scale attacks in several countries.

The other five Egyptians picked up by police special branch on counter terrorism are members of Muslim Brotherhood Al Ikhwanul Muslimin and functioned as facilitators to secure lodging, logistics and jobs including buying air tickets for members.

Two of them were students from institutions of higher learning in Malaysia, while another two were teachers, one at a religious school in Klang valley and another an Arabic teacher.

Also arrested were two Malaysians in Serian Sarawak who were charged with terror offences as facilitators to foreign fighters.

All seven foreigners were deported to their home countries on Mar 5 and blacklisted in Malaysia. The Malaysia police also outlined some common methods used by foreign fighters to come in and operate in Malaysia including marrying locals in order to get a spouse visa. Others exploit their student visa or try to set up businesses in Malaysia. (Agencies)

TOKYO: A 116-year-old Japanese woman who still enjoys studying math and playing board games has been recognized as the world’s oldest person, the Guinness World Records said Saturday.
Kane Tanaka was born on 2 January 1903, the year when the Wright brothers launched humanity’s first powered flight.

Tanaka’s recognition was celebrated at the nursing home where she lives by city Mayor, Soichiro Takashima and other well-wishers in western Japan’s Fukuoka .
Asked what moment she was the most happy in life, she replied: “Now.”
She married Hideo Tanaka in 1922, giving birth to four children and adopting a fifth.
Kane normally wakes each morning at 6 am and passes the afternoons by studying mathematics and practicing calligraphy.
“One of Kane’s favorite pastimes is a game of Othello and she has become an expert at the classic board game, often beating rest-home staff,” Guinness said.
Japan has one of the world’s highest life expectancy rate and has been home to several people recognised as among the oldest humans to have ever lived.
They include Jiroemon Kimura, the longest-living man on record, who died soon after his 116th birthday in June 2013.
The oldest verified person ever — Jeanne Louise Calment of France — died in 1997 at the age of 122, according to Guinness.

(Agencies)

WASHINGTON: Iranian hackers have hit more than 200 companies over the past two years, targeting thousands of people. Hackers have stolen corporate secrets and wiped data from computers.

According to Microsoft, hackers have affected oil-and-gas companies and makers of heavy machinery in several countries, including Saudi Arabia, Germany, the United Kingdom, India and the US, incurring a loss of millions of dollars.

Holmium, the Iranian hacker group, that usually attacks big companies, have been targeting more than 2,200 people with phishing emails that can install malicious codes.

Satellite images of North Korea shows it is restoring a rocket launch site, which it had pledged to dismantle.

The Tongchang-ri rocket launch site has been used for satellite launches and engine testing, according to reports.

The satellite showed the images two days after the Hanoi summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un.

Even though the work to dismantle the site began last year, it stopped as the US-North Korea talks stalled, agency reports said.

The US, meanwhile, has warned North Korea of more sanctions if Pyongyang did not take steps to denuclearize. (Agencies)

KABUL: At least 16 people were killed when suicide bombers and gunmen attacked a construction company in Jalalabad of Afghanistan, officials said.

Two suicide bombers set off their explosives outside the office of the company while gunmen opened fire, international news agencies said on Wednesday.

Those killed include several of its guards, five attackers, two bombers and three gunmen, according to officials. No group has claimed responsibility.

According to officials, critically injured four employees of the company have been taken to hospital. (Agencies)

India’s Gurgaon city is the world’s most polluted city, according to a data released by IQAir AirVisual and Greenpeace. The non-profit organization report says India has 15 out of the 20 cities with worst pollution.

Likewise, Nepal’s capital Kathmandu is at number 99 on the pollution chart, according to the report.

The report says out of the 10 cities with highest pollution, seven are in India. Similarly, one city is in China and two are in Pakistan.

The Indian cities include Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida, Ghaziabad, Bhiwadi, Lucknow and Patna. The other three most polluted cities are Hotan in China and Lahore and Faislabad in Pakistan. Likewise, India’s capital Delhi is at number 11 on the chart.

According to experts, exposure to PM2.5 pollution increases the risk of stroke, lung cancer, heart attack or respiratory diseases.

According to the report, based on a study of 3000 cities, 64 percent of the cities exceeded the World Health Organization’s (WHO) annual exposure guideline for PM2.5. (Agencies)

Tensions between Pakistan and India flared up in the past few weeks. The two nuke-powered rivals were almost at the brink of war. Though the war has been averted, permanent solution is nowhere in sight.

Long known as a peaceful country, Nepal has no stake with the current situation involving Pakistan and India. However, observers have expressed concern that Nepal should remain vigilant given the fact that the Pakistan-based terrorists were found to have used Nepali territory in the past.

India wants Pakistan to hand over Masood Azhar, the leader of Jaish-e-Mohammad leader to it since the group has been responsible for the series of terrorist attacks in Indian cities in the past. Pakistan, however, has not complied with the demand so far. Azhar, who has been declared a terrorist by India, the USA, the UN and other countries including Britain, France and the USSR, is taking shelter in Pakistan.

The latest tension between India and Pakistan sparked by Jaish-e-Mohammad, a Pakistan based terrorist group that ambushed, and killed 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) members on the 15th February. In retaliation, India launched a surgical strike inside the Pakistani territory targeting the terrorist camp.

Later, both the countries were involved in a dog fight. Pakistan had held captive, Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman after downing his aircraft. It released the pilot as a “gesture of peace” dowsing the fire of possible war.

India wants Pakistan to hand over Masood Azhar, the leader of Jaish-e-Mohammad leader to it since the group has been responsible for the series of terrorist attacks in Indian cities in the past. Pakistan, however, has not complied with the demand so far. Azhar, who has been declared a terrorist by India, the USA, the UN and other countries including Britain, France and the USSR, is taking shelter in Pakistan.

How Nepal gets dragged into

Nepal has no direct involvement with the latest Indo-Pak feuds. Yet, members of Pakistan based terrorist groups aided by Inter Service Intelligence (ISI): Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Indian Mujahideen are found to have used Nepali territory. Some of them were even detained from within Nepal. Therefore, there are chances that Nepal too could be dragged into the terrorism issue sooner or later. That is to say, Pakistan based terrorist groups could one day put Nepal into a grave danger.

Citing this reason, Arun Kumar Subedi, an expert on international affairs talking to Khabarhub said that expressing mere condolence on the Pulwama incident by Nepal does not suffice. He insists that Nepal needs to demand that Azhar be detained and handed over to India. He further warns that Nepal government needs to remain alert on the activities of Azhar’s group since he was the person responsible for an airplane hijack from the Tribhuvan International Airport in 1999.

“Nepal should remain on a high alert on the activities of terrorist groups since they don’t have any country or a territory,” said Devi Ram Sharma, former chief at the National Investigation Department adding, “Care should be taken that Nepal does not become another victim of terrorism.”

Since terrorism can grip the entire South Asian region given the incidents in neighboring India, Nepal should invest more in strengthening the security forces and it needs to reform and enhance the intelligence mechanism, opines Binoj Basnyat, a retired major general of Nepal Army. “If Nepal strengthens the surveillance mechanism against terrorist activities that shall contribute on regional security.” Hemanta Malla, a retired Deputy Inspector General of Police echoes Basnyat’s views. “Given the possibility that Nepal may face the melt down of the Indo-Pak tension, it needs to strengthen the special bureau of the police,” said Malla.

Plane hijack by Jaish-e-Mohammad group

Jaish-e-Mohammad group had hijacked a New Delhi-bound Indian Airlines Flight 814 from the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on December 24, 1999. It was boarded by a total 189 persons including the crew members and passengers.

The terrorist group finally landed the plane at Kandahar International Airport in Afghanistan on the 25th December after following brief landings at other airports for fuel refills. The terrorists also killed a passenger in terms of the hijack. Kandahar airport was a safe haven for the terrorists for Afghanistan then was ruled by the terrorist group Taliban. Thus, they could comfortably put pressure on and negotiate with the Indian government.

The Indian government had no options than to give in to the pressure of the terrorists. Thus, it was forced to release various terrorists from Indian jails like: Masood Azhar, Sekh Ahamad Umar, Said Mushtak, among others.

Following this, India had stopped operating its flight to Nepal for a long time.

A report by a commission in Nepal to investigate the incident mentioned that those concerned had finalized the plane hijack plan through a meeting at the Central Zoo in Kathmandu.

Jamim Shah, a Nepalese national was also blamed for the hijack incident. Two unidentified assailants shot Shah to death in 2010 in Kathmandu.

Who is Masood Azhar?

Maulana Masood Azhar, the founder of Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist group was born in Punjab of Pakistan in 1968. A son of a school headmaster, he is an 8th grade drop-out of a regular school but obtained further education from a Madrasa. He has visited many countries including Britain, UAE and Afghanistan as an orthodox preacher on Islam in 1990s. Indian security force had arrested him in 1994 from Srinagar for entering India with fake documents.

Prevention is better than cure

Nepal cannot remain obvious of the terrorist activities in south Asia when the fear of terrorist attacks in various forms grips the world. Terrorism is an issue that no longer be ignored, especially when terrorist organizations are getting more ambitious and have been inventing new ways of launching proxy war.

Any delays to develop and execute counter terrorism mechanism could prove costly to the country. This is important especially because there are chances that terrorists might use Nepali youths to realize their evil dreams.

China’s Prime Minister Li Keqiang says the country faces a tough struggle while he laid out plans to prop up the country’s economy.

Inaugurating the annual session of China’s parliament, Prime Minister Li forecast a slower growth of 6 percent to 6.5 percent this year, which is down from a target of around 6.5 percent last year, agency reports said.

China, which has been struggling with a slowing economy and trade war with the US, plans to boost spending. It also plans to increase foreign firms’ access to its markets, as well as cut billions of dollars in taxes, according to reports.

He said China now must be prepared for a tough struggle adding the country will face a “graver and more complicated environment”, risks and challenges. (Agencies)

Huawei’s chief financial officer is suing Canada over her arrest. She was arrested at the Vancouver airport last year at the request of the US.

China’s tech giant Huawei’s chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou was detained in last December on suspicion of fraud and breaching US sanctions on Iran. Meng has denied all the charges against her.

Meng has filed a civil claim against the Canada government, agency reports said. She has filed the claim against the border agency and police for seriously breaching her civil rights. (Agencies)