24 may, kabul- Afghan security forces waged a special operation and killed three Taliban militants in the outskirts of the country’s capital Kabul on Thursday, the military said Friday.
“A Taliban bomb making expert Hazrat Ali, two Taliban fighters named Hatiqullah and Hamidullah were killed following a special operation in Spinkay area of Surobi district,” Afghan army Corps 201 Selab said in a statement.
One Taliban divisional commander named Mullah Kochai was wounded during the clashes in the raid in Surobi, 50 km east of Kabul city, the statement added.
The Afghan security forces, backed by the NATO-led coalition troops, have increased ground and air offensives against militants within the past few months as spring and summer known as fighting season is drawing near in the country.
The operation came days after a Taliban attack claimed the lives of four Afghan police officers at a security checkpoint in eastern Kabul. The Taliban militant group has not made a comment on the report so far.(RSS)
24 may, Afghanistan- About 10 civilians were wounded following a car bomb blast in Afghanistan’s southern province of Kandahar overnight, the provincial police chief said Friday.
“The incident occurred in Hino Mina neighborhood of provincial capital Kandahar city late Thursday night. The likely target of the explosion remained unknown and an investigation is underway,” Gen. Tadeen Khan tweeted. “But it seems the objective of this attack was to target civilians,” he said.
The blast occurred near the house of a former provincial intelligence agency official, he said. The blast also damaged several houses and the injured included six children and four women who sustained wounds inside their houses by shrapnel and flying glasses.
No group has claimed responsibility for the incident yet. The Afghan civilians continue to bear the brunt of armed conflicts as more than 3,800 civilians were killed and over 7,180 others injured in conflict-related incidents in 2018 in the war-torn country’ (RSS)
24 may, (Xinhua) –Ten people have been confirmed dead and eight others remained unaccounted for as of 2 p.m. Friday after a boat capsized on a river in southwest China’s Guizhou Province Thursday afternoon, according to local authorities.
A total of 11 people have been rescued. The owner of the boat, who is among the survivors, has been held by police. All the injured have been sent to the hospital for treatment.
Rescuers composed of police, emergency response officers, people from the transport and health departments in Bouyei-Miao Autonomous Prefecture of Qianxinan are searching for the missing, and trying to lift up the capsized boat. The vessel had 29 people on board when it capsized at 6:30 p.m. Thursday on the Beipan River. Investigation into the cause of the accident continues. (RSS)
24 may, kabul (AFP) –Two air strikes have killed 14 civilians in Afghanistan in recent days, the United Nations said Thursday, as the US intensifies its air war across the country.
According to the UN Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), five women and seven children were among the 14 civilians killed in Helmand province in the south on May 20, and Kunar province in the east on May 22.
“Civilian casualty toll from airstrikes in #Afghanistan continues to rise,” UNAMA said on Twitter. “Parties must respect international obligations to protect civilians from harm.”
While the Afghan military does have a fledgeling air force, most strikes are led or supported by American air power. US Forces Afghanistan declined to comment. According to US Air Force Central Command, the US dropped 7,362 bombs in Afghanistan in 2018, the highest number since at least 2010.
In April, UNAMA published a report saying Afghan civilians are for the first time being killed in greater numbers by US and pro-government forces than by the Taliban and other insurgent groups. During the first three months of 2019, international and pro-government forces were responsible for the deaths of 305 civilians, whereas insurgent groups killed 227 people, UNAMA said.
The development comes as the US steps up its air campaign in Afghanistan while pushing for a peace deal with the Taliban, who now control or influence more parts of the country than at any time since they were ousted in 2001.
At least eight police officers were killed May 16 in southern Afghanistan during a “friendly fire” strike from US forces. And UNAMA last week said it was probing allegations of civilian casualties resulting from US air strikes against purported drug-making facilities in western Afghanistan.
The allegations centre on strikes conducted earlier in May in Farah and Nimroz provinces, where dozens of structures said to have been used to produce heroin and other illegal drugs were destroyed.(RSS)
24 may,laudanne- (AFP) -FIFA shelved a proposed expansion of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to 48 teams on Wednesday, dealing a blow to the world football body’s president Gianni Infantino.
The 2022 tournament in the Gulf state will now be played with 32 nations taking part. FIFA said it had abandoned the expansion plans “following a thorough and comprehensive consultation process” which led to the conclusion that “under the current circumstances such a proposal could not be made now”.
“(The tournament) will therefore remain as originally planned with 32 teams and no proposal will be submitted at the next FIFA Congress on 5 June,” FIFA said in a statement.
The expansion was a pet project of Infantino, who pushed the idea despite the likely need for Qatar’s neighbours to put aside a two-year blockade and help to host an expanded tournament.
“The involvement of these countries in the organisation of the tournament jointly with Qatar implies the lifting of this blockade, in particular the lifting of restrictions on the movement of people and goods,” said a feasibility study submitted to March’s FIFA Congress in Miami.
The study, seen by AFP, also claimed that a Qatar World Cup with 48 teams would generate “between $300-$400 million (265-354 million euros) of additional income”.
Specifically FIFA was counting on an additional $120 million in TV rights, $150 million in marketing rights and $90 million from ticket sales. The news comes after Europe’s top football clubs said in March they would boycott an expanded 24-team Club World Cup — also backed by Infantino — which is planned to take place in June and July 2021, replacing the Confederations Cup tournament.
– Complicated proposition –
An announcement of the final decision had not been expected until next month’s FIFA Congress to be held in Paris ahead of the women’s World Cup that takes place in France between June 7 and July 7.
FIFA said it had examined the possibility of Qatar hosting a 48-team tournament on its own, but a study “concluded that due to the advanced stage of preparations and the need for a detailed assessment of the potential logistical impact on the host country, more time would be required and a decision could not be taken before the deadline of June”.
FIFA has dropped the plan to expand the 2022 tournament despite recommending in March that the number of teams should be raised to 48 for that tournament, ahead of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Expanding the competition for the 2022 tournament was always a complicated proposition. FIFA had sounded out potential co-hosts in the region willing to support Qatar, which is subject to an ongoing embargo by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and their allies.
Qatar’s Supreme Committee, charged with the organisation of the tournament, said in reaction to FIFA’s decision that “Qatar had always been open to the idea of an expanded tournament in 2022 had a viable operating model been found and had all parties concluded that an expanded 48-team edition was in the best interest of football and Qatar as the host nation.”
But it said there was insufficient time to make a deeper assessment before the June deadline and “it was therefore decided not to further pursue this option.”
“With just three and a half years to go until kick off, Qatar remains as committed as ever to ensuring the 32-team FIFA World Cup in 2022 is one of the best tournaments ever and one that makes the entire Arab world proud,” the Supreme Committee said.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain cut all ties with Qatar in June 2017, accusing Doha of supporting Iran and Islamist groups. Qatar vehemently denies the charges and says Saudi Arabia and its allies are aiming to incite government change in the emirate, the world’s largest exporter of liquified natural gas. Gulf states Kuwait and Oman have not taken sides in the crisis. However, Oman said in April it was “not ready” to host matches. (RSS)
May 23, Mexico – (AFP) – Ten people were killed Wednesday in a shootout between “presumed members of criminal groups” in Mexico’s western state of Michoacan, the regional prosecutor’s office said.
The clash that took place near the Arroyo Colorado neighborhood of Urusapan municipality resulted in a preliminary toll of ten dead and at least four others wounded, the state prosecutor’s office said.
Authorities said they found military-grade weapons, ammunition clips and bullets of various calibers at the shootout site.
Michoacan has long dealt with criminal violence, leading to the rise of self defense groups six years ago and the deployment of soldiers to the state in 2014.
Mexico has seen spike in deadly violence since the government deployed soldiers to crack down on drug trafficking cartels in 2006. More than 250,000 people have been killed since then, although it remains unclear how many of those are linked to the war on drug cartels. (RSS)
23 May, tripoli – (Xinhua) — Violence in Libya killed 20 civilians and injured 69 others, including women and children, in February and March, UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said Wednesday.
“Victims included 12 men, four women and four children killed, and 60 men, two women and seven children injured,” UNSMIL said in a statement.
Shelling, gunfire and explosive remnants of war caused the majority of the casualties, the UN mission added.
UNSMIL demanded all fighting parties in Libya stop using mortars and other indirect weapons in civilian areas and keep fighters and other military objectives away from populated areas.
“Such attacks amount to war crimes that can be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court,” it warned. Since the 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi’s regime, Libya has been plagued with escalating violence and unrest, as well as political division. Enditem (RSS)
May 23, New Delhi – (ANI): With counting of votes for Lok Sabha elections underway, leaders across the political spectrum expressed confidence of victory on Thursday.
Poonam Sinha, Samajwadi Party’s Lucknow candidate and wife of Congress’ Shatrughan Sinha, reiterated her claim of trumping Union Minister and sitting lawmaker Rajnath Singh. “Our alliance (SP-BSP-RLD) is very strong in Uttar Pradesh. It has worked for the people in the state and I feel people have voted for the alliance,” she said.
Contrary to Sinha’s claim, Rajnath Singh’s son Pankaj counted on the development work done by his father and said, “With the blessing of the almighty, we will win the polls with a record margin.”
In New Delhi, BJP leader Prem Shukla stated that the National Democratic Alliance will bag more than 300 seats as predicted by most of the exit polls. “There is no chance for ‘if and but’ because ‘abki baar 300 par’ (this time, we will cross 300),” he said.
Jaipur Rural Congress candidate and Olympian Krishna Poonia, who is pitted against Union Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, refused to buy Shukla’s claim and said: “I am fully confident that the people have voted for the Congress and the Congress is going to form the government.”
Samajwadi Party spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary exuded confidence to claim results in favour of the grand-alliance in Uttar Pradesh and stated that BJP’s ideology is harmful.
He said, “Alliance has tried its best to remove the BJP. It is sure that people in UP are with alliance and results will also be in favour of it. BJP ‘s ideology is not good for the people of this country.”
Leaders in Tamil Nadu, where 22 Assembly seats are up for grabs along with 38 Lok Sabha constituencies, also claimed victory.
DMK spokesperson Saravanan said, “We are very confident that we will be able to sweep both the parliamentary elections and assembly by-poll elections. There will be the change of government both at the Center and in Tamil Nadu. Our president MK Stalin has already said that Congress president Rahul Gandhi will be the prime ministerial candidate of the DMK.”
Countering Saravanan’s claims, ruling AIADMK leader Kovai Sathyan said his party will register a “historic win” in the by-elections and national polls. “AIADMK is going to rewrite history as we did in 2016. We expect that people here have accepted the leadership and cadre of AIADMK,” he said. He said: “DMK hopes of Congress coming to power in the centre has been shattered. Stalin is a daydreamer and we wish him to continue with his dreams.”
Counting of votes for 542 Lok Sabha seats and assemblies of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh and bypolls for 22 seats of Tamil Nadu Assembly is underway. The voting of the elections ran through April 11 to May 19. (ANI) (RSS)
23 May, sydney –(AFP) – Two boating brothers have been rushed to a hospital with serious injuries after a being hit by a flying marlin in the waters off Australia’s east coast Thursday.
The two men in their 40s were sailing in a rigid hull inflatable boat near Coffs Harbour when they were struck by the 80-100 kilogram (175-220 pound) animal.
The spear-nosed fish flew through the air and crashed into the brothers on the boat, which had been travelling at around 40 kilometres (25 miles) per hour.
“The marlin’s sharp snout sliced open the younger brother’s lower right arm, causing an open fracture,” New South Wales police said. “The older brother suffered a deep cut to his right shoulder.”
One was airlifted to hospital and the other was taken overland. “Their injuries are not considered life threatening,” police said. Some Australian marlin can grow as long as five metres (16 feet) — and weigh as much as a car. (RSS)
23 May,Tokyo – (AFP) – Japan’s Panasonic said Thursday it would stop supplying some components to Huawei, joining a growing list of firms distancing themselves from the Chinese telecoms giant after a US ban over security concerns.
Japan’s Toshiba also announced it was temporarily halting shipments to Huawei to check whether US-made parts were involved, in order to comply with Washington’s new restrictions.
The moves came a day after major Japanese and British mobile carriers said they would delay releasing new Huawei handsets, upping the pressure on the world’s second-largest smartphone manufacturer.In an official statement emailed to AFP, Panasonic said it had announced in an “internal notification” that it would “suspend transactions with Huawei and its 68 affiliates that were banned by the US government”.
It declined to comment on “other transactions that are not banned by the US”. Asked about its opinion about the news, Huawei pointed to a statement on Panasonic’s Chinese website that said the firm was supplying Huawei “normally” and doing so “strictly abiding by the relevant laws and regulations of countries and regions where Panasonic is present”.
Washington’s restrictions affect products made fully or partially in the United States, where Panasonic manufactures some of its components.
Toshiba meanwhile said it had temporarily halted shipments to Huawei while it checks if they include US-made parts.
“We will resume shipments if we confirm our products don’t use American-made parts,” spokesman Takashi Ebina told AFP.
– ‘Economic bullying’ –
Last week, Donald Trump declared a national emergency to bar US companies from using foreign telecoms equipment deemed a security risk. The move appeared aimed at Huawei, though the White House said no particular company or country was targeted.
The Commerce Department has also announced an effective ban on US companies selling or transferring US technology to Huawei. The moves have prompted a parade of firms to step back from dealings with Huawei, including Google, whose Android operating system powers most of the world’s smartphones.
And on Wednesday, mobile carriers in Japan and Britain said they were delaying releases of Huawei handsets. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi denounced the US moves and said Beijing would “fight to the very end” in its trade war with Washington.
“The US use of state power to arbitrarily exert pressure on a private Chinese company like Huawei is typical economic bullying,” Wang said Wednesday at a meeting in Kyrgyzstan.
Telecoms giant EE, owned by BT, had been due to bring Huawei’s first 5G phone, the Huawei Mate 20X, to Britain, but chief executive Marc Allera said Wednesday the company had “paused” the launch.
The delay would last “until we get the information and confidence and the long-term security that our customers… are going to be supported”, he said.- ‘Regrettable situation’ –
The group also said it would phase out the use of Huawei equipment in the most sensitive “core” elements of its network infrastructure. Vodafone soon followed suit, announcing a temporary suspension of pre-orders for Huawei handsets. And the BBC reported British firm ARM, which designs processors used in most mobile devices, would also cut ties with Huawei
Huawei said Wednesday that it recognised “the pressure” placed on its suppliers, and that it was “confident this regrettable situation can be resolved”. In Japan, KDDI and SoftBank Corp, the country’s number-two and number-three carriers respectively, said they were delaying the release of Huawei handsets.
And the country’s top carrier said it would suspend pre-orders for a new phone from the Chinese firm. While Trump’s order effectively bans US companies from selling Huawei and affiliates critical components, US officials offered a brief reprieve this week by delaying the ban for 90 days to avoid major disruption.
Analysts say the restrictions could be seriously damaging for the Chinese firm, with the pullback by Google and ARM likely to be “particularly troubling” for the telecoms giant.
“How the US ban on business with Huawei will impact the Chinese firm’s performance is at this point unclear, but what is clear to me is that its sales will be negatively affected,” said Hiroyuki Kubota, an independent financial analyst.
Washington has long suspected deep links between Huawei and the Chinese military, and its moves against the company come amid the churning trade dispute between the world’s top two economies. (RSS)