Nigeria's Buhari builds unassailable lead in historic vote

ABUJA: Muhammadu Buhari, an ex-general who first seized power in Nigeria three decades ago in a military coup, closed in on a historic election win on Tuesday which would mark the first time an incumbent has been ousted via the ballot box in Africa's most populous nation.

According to a Reuters tally from 34 of Nigeria's 36 states, the 72-year-old Buhari had 14.6 million votes, testament to the faith Nigerians have put in him as a born-again democrat intent on cleaning up the country's notoriously corrupt politics.

That support compared to 11.3 million for President Goodluck Jonathan, whose five years at the helm in Africa's biggest economy and top oil producer have been plagued by corruption scandals and a Boko Haram Islamist insurgency.

One of Jonathan's redoubts in the oil-producing Niger Delta is yet to report but the gap is so large it is hard to see the leader of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), which has run Nigeria since the end of military rule in 1999, closing it.

Buhari took power in a coup in December 1983 but was ousted in another military takeover led by General Ibrahim Babangida in August 1985. He has since run in several elections and declared himself a convert to democracy.

Bar some technical glitches and the killing of more than a dozen voters by Boko Haram militants in the northeast, the election has been the smoothest and most orderly in recent history - a factor that appears to have played in the outcome.

"There are probably lots of reasons why the PDP might have lost, but I think the key one is that the elections just haven't been rigged," said Antony Goldman, a business consultant with high-level contacts in Nigeria.

"If you leave it to the Nigerian people they will be ready to make big decisions and to make Nigeria look something more like a conventional democracy."

In the Abuja house where Buhari was staying during the delivery of the final results, there was joy tinged with a sense of responsibility to manage the transition smoothly in a turbulent country with a long history of political violence.

"We are on course to win. We need to first manage this period where - for the first time in Nigeria - we are going to see an incumbent government unseated in the polls," Kwara state senator and senior APC official Bukola Sarki said.

"We should all work together to redirect the country in the right direction," he added. "A lot of sacrifices will have to be made in the next few years with the economic and security situation in our country."

Buhari's march towards victory was briefly interrupted when former PDP minister Godsday Orubebe, a Niger Delta community leader, grabbed a microphone and launched into a 10-minute rant against election commissioner Attahiru Jega at the election commission headquarters in Abuja.

"Mr. Chairman, we have lost confidence in what you are doing. You are being very, very selective. You are partial," he shouted as nervous security guards stood by, wondering what to do.

Orubebe was persuaded to end his sit-in and put down the microphone, allowing the results ceremony to continue.

"Disturbing"

The weekend vote was marred by technical glitches, arguments and occasional violence but overall proved to be less chaotic than previous elections in the country of 170 million, which only got rid of military rule in 1999.

At least 15 people were shot dead on polling day, most of them in the northeast where Boko Haram has declared war on democracy in its fight to revive a mediaeval caliphate in the sands of the southern Sahara.

More than 800 people were killed in post-election violence in 2011, most of them in the predominantly Muslim north.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Nigeria election,Muhammadu Buhari,General Ibrahim Babangida

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Iraq forces retake government HQ in Tikrit from IS

KIRKUK (Iraq: Iraqi forces have retaken the Salaheddin provincial government headquarters in Tikrit from the Islamic State jihadist group, a significant advance in the battle to recapture the city, officials said on Tuesday.

The spokesman for the Badr militia said members of the Popular Mobilisation units — pro-government paramilitary forces dominated by Iran-backed Shiite militias — took part in the fighting, after some froze offensive operations last week in response to US-led air strikes.

"Iraqi forces cleared the government complex in Tikrit," an army major general said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"The government buildings have been under our control since last night."

It is the most significant advance in Tikrit since pro- government forces launched an operation to retake the city on March 2, their largest since IS led an offensive that overran much of the country's Sunni Arab heartland last June.

Salaheddin Governor Raad al-Juburi confirmed that the government headquarters had been retaken, saying that Iraqi flags now flew over various recaptured buildings in the city.

Badr spokesman Karim al-Nuri also said that the government headquarters was recaptured, and that Popular Mobilisation members fought alongside federal police in the operation.

Key Shiite militia forces said they were halting Tikrit operations when a US-led anti-IS coalition began air strikes in the area after weeks in which Iran was the main foreign partner in the operation.

The coalition strikes started last Wednesday, angering Shiite militiamen who accused Washington of attempting to hijack their victory.

The Pentagon conditioned its intervention on an enhanced role for regular government forces, and on Friday hailed the withdrawal from the fight of "those Shiite militias who are linked to, infiltrated by, (or) otherwise under the influence of Iran".

The coalition said it carried out three strikes in the Tikrit area from Sunday to Monday, in its most recent statement on the air campaign.

After giving themselves political cover by declaring that they do not want to work with each other, both sides are still taking part in the Tikrit operation.

The main militias in the Popular Mobilisation forces have played a key role in successful operations against IS in multiple areas north of Baghdad, but they have also been accused of abuses including summary executions and destruction of property.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=US-led air strikes,Islamic State jihadist group,HQ in Tikrit,anti-IS coalition

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Iran nuke talks to continue in new phase: Officials

LAUSANNE (Switzerland): Wrapping up six days of marathon nuclear talks with mixed results, Iran and six world powers prepared Tuesday to issue a general statement agreeing to continue talks in a new phase aimed at reaching a final agreement to control Iran's nuclear ambitions by the end of June, officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Officials had set a deadline of March 31 for a framework agreement, and later softened that wording to a framework understanding, between Iran and the so-called P5+1 nations — the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China.

And after intense negotiations, obstacles remained on uranium enrichment, where stockpiles of enriched uranium should be stored, limits on Iran's nuclear research and development and the timing and scope of sanctions relief among other issues.

The joint statement is to be accompanied by additional documents that outline more detailed understandings, allowing the sides to claim enough progress has been made thus far to merit a new round, the officials said. Iran has not yet signed off on the documents, one official said, meaning any understanding remains unclear.

The talks have already been extended twice as part of more than a decade of diplomatic attempts to curb Tehran's nuclear advance.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment on the talks on the record.

The softening of the language from a framework "agreement" to a framework "understanding" appeared due in part to opposition to a two-stage agreement from Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Earlier this year, he demanded only one deal that nails down specifics and does not permit the other side to "make things difficult" by giving it wiggle room on interpretations.

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, who left Lausanne Monday, was heading back to the Swiss city, also indicating that an end to the talks was near.

In Moscow, he told reporters: "Prospects for this round of negotiations were not bad, and I would even say good."

Some of the P5+1's foreign ministers joined Kerry and Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at the talks over the weekend in an intense effort to reach a political understanding on terms that would curb Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.

Kerry and others said the sides have made some progress, with Iran considering demands for further cuts to its uranium enrichment program but pushing back on how long it must limit technology it could use to make atomic arms. In addition to sticking points on research and development, differences remain on the timing and scope of sanctions removal, the officials said.

The Obama administration says any deal will stretch the time Iran needs to make a nuclear weapon from the present two to three months to at least a year. But critics object that it would keep Tehran's nuclear technology intact.

Officials in Lausanne said the sides were advancing on limits to aspects of Iran's program to enrich uranium, which can be used to make the core of a nuclear warhead.

Uranium enrichment has been the chief concern for more than a decade. But Western officials say the main obstacles to a deal are no longer enrichment-related but instead the type and length of restrictions on Tehran's research and development of advanced centrifuges and the pace of sanctions-lifting.

Over the past weeks, Iran has moved from demanding that it be allowed to keep nearly 10,000 centrifuges enriching uranium, to agreeing to 6,000, plus another 480 centrifuges in the underground facility in Fordo that the Iranians say would be used only to enrich other elements used for peaceful purposes. The officials said Tehran now may be ready to accept even fewer.

Tehran says it wants to enrich only for energy, science, industry and medicine. But many countries fear Iran could use the technology to make weapons-grade uranium.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=US-Iran N-deal,Tehran's nuclear advance,Nuclear talks,Iran

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

France's Senate debates punishing prostitutes' customers

PARIS: A French bill aimed at decriminalizing prostitutes and fining their customers is being turned upside down by the Senate, led by the conservative opposition.

The bill was approved by France's Socialist-dominated lower house of Parliament in 2013 amid heated debate. Supporters argue it would help fight human trafficking networks, while opponents defend those who buy sex.

The Senate is taking up the debate on Monday and votes on the bill on Tuesday. During preparatory work in commission, senators amended the text to include a ban on soliciting and to remove punishment for customers.

The final vote, in the lower house, could be several months away.

Prostitution is currently legal in France, but brothels, pimping, soliciting in public and the sale of sex by minors is prohibited.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=punishing prostitutes' customers,pimping,French bill,France

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Probe into Ukraine plane disaster eyes Buk missile launchers

THE HAGUE, Netherlands: An international investigation into the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 disaster is officially looking into a scenario that the plane was downed by a missile fired from conflict-ridden eastern Ukraine.

A Dutch judicial statement said on Monday the international investigating team is looking for witnesses "that can tell more about the transport, crew and firing of a Buk missile system in the Donbass region."

The cause of the MH17 disaster last summer is a subject of major diplomatic disputes. Ukraine and Western governments say Russia-backed separatist fighters are responsible for downing the plane, while Russian state-run television has claimed Ukraine's air force was to blame. All 298 people aboard the Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur were killed.

The Dutch statement said it was "too early to come to conclusions."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Ukraine Crisis,Ukraine,MH17,Malaysia Airlines flight,Buk missile system

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Rhino on rampage in Nepal, kills 1, injures several

KATHMANDU: A wild rhino charged into a city in southern Nepal on Monday, killing a woman, injuring several others and chasing panicked people through the main market and a hospital, an official said.

Attempts to force the rhino out of Hetauda city by honking car horns and beating drums were unsuccessful, with the animal running from one area to another, government administrator Ram Prasad Thapaliya said.

Teams with tranquilizer guns were on their way to attempt to capture it, he said.

Thapaliya said the rhino fatally gored a 61-year-old woman on the outskirts of Hetauda, a city of about 135,000 people that borders a forested area. An unknown number of people were injured, he said.

It chased people around the main downtown market and the city bus station, he said.

"The whole town is terrorized by this animal. It even entered the local hospital, forcing terrified people to jump over the fences," Thapaliya said.

Hetauda is about 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Kathmandu, Nepal's capital.

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ten dead, two missing, in Indonesian landslide

JAKARTA: Ten people were killed and two others were missing after a landslide triggered by heavy rain hit Indonesia's main island of Java, an official said today.

The landslide took place in Tegal Panjang village in Sukabumi district in west Java late yesterday after a particularly heavy downpour, according to national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.

"Ten bodies were found... and we are still looking for two others missing," he said in an update, revising up the earlier death toll of six and four missing.

He said the landslide had taken place suddenly during a heavy rain, causing a cliff to collapse and hit the village.

Eleven houses were also buried under the debris. Landslides triggered by heavy rains and floods are common in tropical Indonesia during the rainy season.

The national disaster agency estimates around half the country's 250 million population lives in areas prone to landslides.

The vast Indonesian archipelago is one of the most natural disaster-prone nations on Earth, and is also frequently hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Tegal Panjang village,Sukabumi,Purwo Nugroho,landslide,Indonesia

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Foreign students banned from British university science courses as they might learn how to make nuclear weapons

Foreign students have been banned from learning about nuclear, biological and chemical warfare at UK universities over security concerns, it has been revealed.

Some 739 international students have been prevented from taking certain university courses over fears they may use the knowledge to orchestrate terrorist attacks under the Academic Technology Approval Scheme.

The scheme was launched by the government in 2007 to vet students from outside the EU when they apply to certain science courses which could be used to make weapons of mass destruction.

READ ALSO: Universities must make students employable, British VC says

But MPs have criticized the limits of the measure which does not extend to British-born students.

Speaking to the Sun on Sunday, the chairman of the committee on Arms Exports Controls, Sir John Stanley MP, said: "The fact 739 students have had to be barred indicates this is grounds for serious concern.

"It is extraordinary given the threat we face for the Government to go on refusing to extend this to those in the UK.

"We have made the recommendation for at least two years but it has been consistently rejected."

According to the foreign office, 20,000 applications were made under the scheme by would-be foreign students last year.

READ ALSO: Theresa May warns that foreign student numbers will hit 6,00,000 in 2020s

Last month, it launched a new website to make the scheme more accessible after fending off criticism by a House of Lords report which said the scheme was contributing to UK universities' struggle to recruit international students.

Tobias Ellwood, the coalition's minister for counter proliferation, said: "The UK's higher education sector is important to the British economy and it is important that we get the balance right between meeting our international security commitments and supporting our higher education institutions."

READ ALSO: Student visa rules tightened by UK govt

The number of western citizens who have gone to join the Isis militant group is now estimated to have reached 3,400, according to NBC.

Five girls at an east London secondary school were made subject to a travel ban this week after three fellow pupils, Kadiza Sultana, 16, Shamima Begum, 15, and Amira Abase, 15, disappeared in mid-February and travelled to Syria.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Science courses,Nuclear weapons,Foreign students,British university

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

DNA from 78 Germanwings crash victims found: Prosecutor

MARSEILLE: Forensic teams have isolated 78 distinct DNA strands from body parts recovered from the Germanwings crash site in the French Alps, one of the lead investigators said on Sunday.

Prosecutor Brice Robin added that an access road was being built for all-terrain vehicles to reach the site where 150 people died.

The road will help with the removal of large parts of the plane, and could be completed by Monday night, Robin said.

Investigators have faced a huge task in trying to recover bodies and search for a second "black box" at the site, which is extremely hard to access and has required specialist mountain police to accompany search teams.

The Germanwings flight crashed on Tuesday, breaking up on impact and leaving not a single body intact, according to police working at the scene.

French officials say the plane's voice recorder indicates that Andreas Lubitz, 27, locked the captain out of the cockpit of the Germanwings jet and steered Flight 4U 9525 into the mountainside.

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

8 injured in blast outside Cairo University: Officials

CAIRO: A spokesman for the Egyptian Ministry of Heath says a bomb exploded in front of Egypt's largest and most prominent university, injuring 8 people.

A security official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to journalists, says 4 of the people injured on Saturday are police officers who were guarding the entrances to Cairo University.

The official says the blast went off by a subway entrance near the campus. Security officials have cordoned off the area and are sweeping for additional explosives.

Egypt has faced regular militant attacks, mostly targeting security forces, since the military's ouster of elected Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in 2013. Militant groups say they are avenging a security crackdown on Islamists, while authorities blame Morsi supporters for the violence.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Mohammed Morsi,Egyptian Ministry of Heath,Cairo University

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Somalia hotel siege ends, 14 dead

MOGADISHU: A hotel siege by al Shabaab militants in the Somali capital has ended and the final death toll from the attack stands at 14, a senior government official said on Saturday.

Al Shabaab fighters blasted and shot their way into the popular Hotel Maka Al Mukaram on Friday afternoon, trapping many government officials.

Security personnel, led by a unit from the elite U.S.-trained special forces troops known as "Gaashaan" (Shield) stormed the hotel on Friday evening and fought the attackers into Saturday.

Mohamed Abdi, information minister, said the 14 dead included Somalia's ambassador to Geneva, five civilians, four hotel guards and four government soldiers. Four attackers, including one who detonated a car bomb, were also killed.

"The hotel operation is over and these are the dead bodies of the militants who wanted to slaughter our people. Thanks to our forces who saved our people in the hotel," he said at the scene while displaying the militants' bodies to reporters.

Police had previously put the number of dead at 15, and 20 wounded.

African peacekeeping forces pushed al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab out of Mogadishu in 2011, but it has kept up guerrilla-style attacks, looking to overthrow the government and impose its strict version of Sharia, or Islamic law, on the country.

Residents evacuate an injured boy after Islamist group al Shabaab attacked Maka Al-Mukarama hotel in Mogadishu on March 27, 2015. (Reuters photo)
The AU Mission in Somalia condemned the attack, including the killing of Somalia's representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Yusuf Bari-Bari.

"Our message to the perpetrators of this inhuman act is that their action will not dampen our spirit for the common good of Somalia," it said in a statement.

Sheikh Ali Mahamud Rage, al Shabaab's spokesman, said in an emailed statement that fighters who had survived the attack had left the hotel, and he threatened more violence. He did not say how many people had been involved in the attack.

Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab's military operations spokesman, said they had targeted only government officials and had spared civilians.

Earlier on Saturday journalists and paramedics had been barred from entering the hotel grounds and had only been allowed to watch from its gate.

Streets surrounding the hotel were sealed off by government and African Union peacekeeping troops.

An offensive launched last year by AU forces along with the Somali army has driven al Shabaab from its strongholds in central and southern Somalia, while a series of U.S. drone strikes have killed some of its top leaders.

In February, al Shabaab fighters attacked another hotel in Mogadishu, killing at least 25.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Somalia hotel siege,Hotel Maka Al Mukaram,al Shabaab militants

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Over 32,000 arrested in anti-terror operations since Peshawar carnage

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's law enforcement agencies have arrested over 32,000 people on different charges in more than 28,000 anti-militant operations in the aftermath of the Peshawar school massacre, the government said on Saturday.

The arrests were made after the launch of the National Action Plan (NAP) in December which aims to rid the country of terrorism following Taliban's massacre at an army school in Peshawar in which 150 people, including 136 students were killed.

32,347 people were arrested on different charges in 28,826 anti-militants operations conducted across the country, the government said.

A report presented to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif states that the security agencies conducted 14,791 operations in Punjab, 5,517 in Sindh, 6,461 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 84 in Balochistan, 405 in Islamabad, 1,394 in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, 83 in Gilgit-Baltistan and 91 in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

The report is based on information available from December 24, 2014, to March 25, 2015.

It states that under the NAP, the security agencies arrested 32,347 people including 2,798 from Punjab, 6,467 from Sindh, 18,619 from KP, 3,483 from Balochistan, 762 from Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), nine from PoK, 30 from Gilgit-Baltistan and 179 from FATA.

Moreover, 37 terrorists were killed during this period and among those arrested also included 727 hardcore militants.

During the said period, 62 convicts have also been executed.

According to the report, 18,855 Afghan Refugees have been deported whereas 354,672 have been registered.

The Federal Investigation Agency has registered 64 cases for money transfer through Hawala Hundi, arrested 83 people and recovered Rs 101.7 million during the said period.

Nine cases have also been registered for suspicious transactions while the agency also registered 57 money laundering cases and arrested 50 people on such charges.

The State Bank of Pakistan also froze 120 accounts containing Rs 10.1 billion under the measures being taken under NAP.

Around 2,237 intelligence-based operations were also conducted during this period throughout the country, the report said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Taliban's massacre,Peshawar School Massacre,National Action Plan,anti-militant operation

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Iraqi Shia cleric calls for unity after militia pullout

BAGHDAD: Iraq's most revered Shia cleric on Friday called for unity among the country's forces battling the Islamic State group after most of the Iran-backed Shia militias pulled out of the offensive in the militant-held city of Tikrit in protest over US airstrikes there.

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani's appeal came a day after the militias, which had been instrumental so far in the operation to recapture Saddam Hussein's hometown, announced their boycott of the Tikrit offensive.

The U.S. got involved in the operation and started providing airstrikes on Wednesday in support of the mission at the request of Iraq's government.

Al-Sistani said that coordination between the military, Shia militias and tribes is necessary for the success of the operation, according to his representative Ahmed al-Safi in the holy site of Karbala.

It is up to the ``high command of (the Iraqi) armed forces to adopt the proper and right decision,'' al-Sistani said.

On the ground, the Iraqi troops pressed their push in Tikrit on Friday as fighter planes pounded IS targets from above. Militants holed up in the center of Tikrit fired mortars at the military, slowing its progress despite the new aerial campaign.

A senior military commander told The Associated Press that roadside bombs and booby traps planted by the Islamic State militants demanded extreme caution. The commander spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.

Iraq's military suffered a humiliating defeat during the Islamic State group's lightning offensive last year, when it crumbled in the face of the group's onslaught in Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul.

Days after the fall of Mosul, al-Sistani called on volunteers to rush to the battlefields and reinforce the military, and many of the country's militias reported for duty. But with a range of different leaders and loyalties, many of them became difficult to control.

On Thursday, Iraqi troops launched what commanders described as the final phase of the Tikrit offensive _ this one without the Shia militias. During the day, the clashes intensified as Iraqi troops and special forces moved toward the city center, Lt Gen Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi told The Associated Press.

The militias' pullout has prompted mixed reactions in Iraq. While several of them have been accused by human rights groups of committing atrocities against Sunni civilians, many in Iraq view them as the most capable fighting force in the country today.

The militias also receive significant backing from Iran, one of Iraq's biggest allies, which raised the prospect of coalition interests uncomfortably overlapping with those of Iran.

At least two-thirds of the ground forces fighting in Tikrit were linked to Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces, the official government-backed body made up of different militias. The remaining fighters include the military and Iraq's Sunni tribes, the latter of which the U.S. has cited as a crucial component to fighting the Sunni militant group.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Tikrit offensive,shia,Islamic State,Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani,Baghdad

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Saeed case: Pak HC asks Govt if it can defend citizens abroad

LAHORE: A Pakistani court, hearing the pleas of Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed and his deputy challenging the fixing of bounty on their heads by the US, today sought a reply from the government whether it can defend its citizens abroad.

The Lahore High Court asked the Foreign Affairs Ministry to inform the court "in black and white" whether it could defend Pakistani citizens in foreign countries.

LHC Justice Shams Mahmood Mirza issued the order while hearing the pleas of JuD chief Saeed and his deputy Hafiz Abdur Rehman Makki challenging the fixing of bounty on their heads by the US.

In the pleas, Saeed and Makki said the announcement of bounty was liable to be withdrawn and they needed to be protected being citizens of Pakistan.

They asked the court to direct the government to protect them and make arrangements for their security.

The petitioners also sought direction to the government to raise the matter of bounty with the US.

The judge adjourned the hearing till April 13. This is the third bench of the LHC hearing the case.

The case has been pending in the LHC for over two years. US Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in 2012 announced a head-money of USD 10 million and USD 3 million on Saeed and Makki respectively while she was in India.

In the pleas, Saeed and Makki pleaded that the government should also seek evidence from the US on the basis of which it put the head money on Saeed.

Advocate A K Dogar, counsel for Saeed and Makki, has argued that his clients had been running a charitable organisation and had no nexus with any banned outfit.

Dogar alleged that that US acted against his clients on the "instigation" of India.

He argued that head money is usually announced on the accused hiding in mountains or not traceable while Saeed and Makki are available and ready to face any investigation.

He said Saeed was head of JuD which he called a charitable organisation having no links to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) responsible for the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

Saeed had been detained by the Pakistani government in 2009 on charges of having links with Al-Qaida but a full bench of LHC had set aside the detention after it failed to provide any evidence against him.

He said both the Supreme Court and the LHC had already exonerated Saeed of all charges leveled against him by India and the US, regarding his alleged involvement in terror activities, especially the Mumbai attacks.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Lahore High Court,Lahore,Hafiz Saeed,Foreign Affairs Ministry

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Nigeria recaptures Boko Haram 'HQ' Gwoza

ABUJA: Nigeria's military on Friday announced that troops had retaken the town of Gwoza from Boko Haram, from which the group declared their caliphate last year.

"Troops this morning captured Gwoza destroying the headquarters of the Terrorists self-styled Caliphate," Defence Headquarters in Abuja said on Twitter.

"Several terrorists died while many are captured. Mopping up of entire Gwoza and her suburbs is ongoing," it added in a separate message.

Earlier this month, residents who fled the town in Borno state told AFP that militants had been massing in Gwoza and killing local people who were unable to flee.

That led to speculation that the group, which has been pushed out of a number of towns in three northeast states in recent weeks, was preparing for a final assault.

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau declared on August 24 last year that Gwoza was "part of the Islamic caliphate", adding to speculation the militants were imitating the Islamic State group.

Shekau had the previous month praised IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi but stopped short of pledging allegiance. He has since formally allied himself to the group in Syria and Iraq.

Nigeria's national security spokesman Mike Omeri said last week that troops had begun the "final onslaught" against Boko Haram, saying Gwoza was one of three areas yet to be retaken.

A four-nation coalition of Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon has claimed a number of successes since the turn of the year to end the insurgency which has claimed more than 13,000 lives since 2009.

The ongoing operation was cited as a reason to delay Nigeria's general election on February 14 to this Saturday, as soldiers would not be able to provide security nationwide.

In a televised address broadcast on Friday, President Goodluck Jonathan hailed troops for having "successfully stemmed the seizure of Nigerian territories".

"I heartily commend the very courageous men and women of our Armed Forces for the immense sacrifices which they continue to make in defending the nation and protecting its citizens," he added.

But Chad's President Idriss Deby accused Nigeria of failing to cooperate with the regional coalition battling the jihadists, saying there had been zero contact between their armies.

"The whole world is asking why the Nigerian army, which is a big army... is not in a position to stand up to untrained kids armed with Kalashnikovs," Deby told French magazine Le Point, in an interview published this week.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Nigeria unrest,Islamists,Gwoza,Boko Haram headquarters

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

18 killed as rebels clash with pro-govt forces in south Yemen

ADEN: At least 18 people died today in clashes between supporters of president Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and Shia rebels advancing on a town bordering Aden, where the internationally backed leader has sought refuge, a local official said.

The clashes erupted in Huta, capital of the southern Lahj province, when the pro-Hadi "popular committees" were resisting a rebel advance, the official said.

The rebels, who reached Huta's northern entrance yesterday, pressed on towards the city centre where they clashed with the popular committees, the source added.

They traded gunfire near the local adminstration headquarters and the police complex, security officials told AFP, confirming that 13 Huthis and five pro-Hadi fighters were killed.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=south Yemen,Shia rebels,Aden,Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Andreas Lubitz: Who is Germanwings co-pilot who 'intentionally' set plane on descent?

The co-pilot of the Germanwings Airbus A320 that crashed in the French Alps has been named by French authorities as German national Andreas Lubitz.

The information released by authorities investigating the crash about the pilots themselves has been sparse thus far.

However, what we do know about Lubitz is that the 28-year-old was from Montabaur, a town in the district seat of the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

READ ALSO: Germanwings co-pilot 'deliberately crashed plane': French officials

Germanwings pilot was locked out of cockpit before crash in France

The LSC club, where he was a member, posted a death notice on their website naming him.

"Andreas became a member of the club as a youth to fulfill his dream of flying," it said.

"The members of the LSC Westerwald mourn Andreas and the other 149 victims of the disaster. Our deepest sympathy goes out to the victims of all nationalities."

His full name is believed to be Andreas Gunter Lubitz and he is reported to have completed just 630 hours of flying time.

At a press conference this afternoon, the Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said Lubitz had taken a three month break during his training six years ago, but did not elaborate on what the break was for

He said Lubitz was fit for flying without any restrictions. "His performance was without any criticism, nothing at all was striking," he added.

"In a company like ours, where we are so proud of our selection criteria and safety criteria, this is even more of a shock than it is for the general public."

"We have regular psychological checks and we also have a medical check once per year," he continued.

"We have a very high flung and sophisticated selection procedure. Later on during training and later on during professional life the person is observed. But there is no procedure anywhere in the world where the family and friends are interviewed."

The captain of the doomed Germanwings plane has since been named as Patrick S, which The Independent understands stands for Sondenheimer, by the same flying club, which said he had completed more than 6,000 flying hours.

A former colleague named by Europe 1 as 'Dieter' described Sondenheimer as a "very experienced pilot, very serious [...] he was one of the best".

He continued: "He was a good man, kind, with a good sense of humour." He said Sondenheimer was married with two children.

French prosecutors say the co-pilot, not the pilot, was alone at the helm when the Germanwings plane began its descent.

According to the Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin, whose briefing contradicts reports from a French aviation official in Le Monde earlier, Sondenheimer left the flightdeck, presumably to go to the toilet.

He returned to find that he was locked out and banged on the door as the co-pilot accelerated the descent of the plane "intentionally".

"The intention was to destroy this plane," he continued. Mr Robin said passengers could be heard screaming just before the plane crashed into the alps.

Lubitz was alive "until the plane's final impact" with a mountain at 700km per hour, according to French prosecutors. Mr Robin said his breathing was "normal" in the final few moments of the crash and there was almost complete silence from the cockpit.

Lubitz was recognised by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in September 2013, with inclusion in the FAA Airmen Certification Database, according to an article published by the Aviation Business Gazette.

In Montabaur, acquaintances told the Associated Press Lubitz showed no signs of depression when they last saw him as he renewed his glider pilot's license.

"He was happy he had the job with Germanwings and he was doing well," said a member of the glider club, Peter Ruecker. "He gave off a good feeling."

Mr Ruecker said Lubitz received his glider pilot's license as a teenager and was later accepted as a Lufthansa pilot trainee.

He remembered him as "rather quiet" but friendly.

LBC reports that he also had a residence in Dusseldorf, but was known to stay with his parents in his hometown of Montabaur.

Additional reporting by agencies

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Germanwings,Andreas Lubitz

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

France launches first bombing strike against IS in Tikrit

PARIS: France has bombed Islamic State positions in the Tikrit area of Iraq for the first time since the start of the international offensive against the jihadist militia, French military officials said today.

"Last night we struck the region of Tikrit as part of the coalition" aiding the Iraqi army battle IS fighters, a spokesman for France's armed forces said, noting it was the first time a French strike had targeted that area of northern Iraq.

The official did not specify whether jets or drones staged the strikes, and declined to detail targets of the attack.

US forces earlier announced they had led an air strike against IS units in Tikrit with coalition allies at the request of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

Despite receiving military advice and aid from Iran's military, the Iraqi army has struggled to recapture Tikrit -- hometown of ex-dictator Saddam Hussein -- since its offensive began on March 2.

Thousands of Iraqi soldiers, police officers and paramilitary forces have been deployed to retake Tikrit, which is being ferociously defended by a large number of IS fighters who have booby-trapped streets and buildings in the city with bombs.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Tikrit,Saddam Hussein,Islamic State,Iraq,France

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Over 100 arrested for lynching 2 in Pakistan

LAHORE: Over 100 Christians have been arrested for allegedly being part of a mob that lynched two men after Taliban suicide attacks on two churches here in Pakistan's biggest Christian colony that killed 17 people.

Confirming the arrests, a senior investigation officer said that more than 100 Christian protesters were arrested. They are currently being investigated by the police to determine their role in the protests.

"We first established identity of the suspects through TV footages, still cameras and other relevant sources before laying hand on them," he said.

The usual Sunday mass was underway on March 15 at the Christ Church and Catholic Church of Youhanabad Christian Colony that houses over 100,000 Christians, when two suicide bombers reached there and tried to break in.

When the guards stopped them from entering the churches they blew themselves up at the gates.

After the blasts the police had taken two suspects into custody from the site and shifted them to a vehicle when a group of charged youngsters got hold of them.

The enraged mob started thrashing the two suspects and after beating them severely, the mob tied them with a rope and set them on fire.

Their charred remains were later found at the site. Later, the suspects identity was established as both worked in different shops in Yauhanabad and had no criminal record.

Tahreek-i-Taliban Pakistan splinter group Jamat-ul-Ahrar has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The same group had claimed responsibility of a suicide attack in Wagah border in September last year in which 60 people were killed.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Youhanabad Christian Colony,Wagah border,Taliban suicide attacks,Tahreek-i-Taliban Pakistan,Lahore church

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Heavy clashes during protests in Yemen

MOST VIEWED VIDEOS ON TOI

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Jeremy Clarkson, Top Gear host, sacked by BBC

LONDON: The BBC has dropped one of its most popular presenters, "Top Gear" host Jeremy Clarkson, two weeks after he was suspended over an altercation with a producer, reports said on Wednesday.

The controversial star of the motoring show, which draws more than 350 million viewers around the world, will not have his contract renewed when it expires at the end of the month, The Guardian newspaper reported.

Sky News also said that Clarkson had been sacked, while The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that he was expected to be let go on Wednesday.

READ ALSO: BBC suspends 'Top Gear' host Jeremy Clarkson

The BBC said Clarkson was suspended after a "fracas", reported to be a verbal and physical assault on show producer Oisin Tymon after the star failed to receive a hot meal after a day's filming.

The suspension sparked nationwide debate, with Prime Minister David Cameron among those weighing in on Clarkson's side and more than one million signing an online petition calling for him to be reinstated.

According to the Telegraph, an internal investigation found that Clarkson verbally abused Tymon for 20 minutes, before launching a 30-second physical assault on him.

"There can't be one rule for talent and one rule for ordinary human beings," a source told The Guardian.

A BBC spokesman told AFP: "We've got nothing further to add on this. We'll let people know when we have something to announce."

Any decision to drop Clarkson could have major financial ramifications for the BBC.

"Top Gear" earns around £50 million ($75 million, 70 million euros) each year for the broadcaster's commercial arm, BBC Worldwide.

But Clarkson was already on his last warning from the BBC, for whom he has worked since 1988, after drawing fire over a string of inflammatory remarks.

Most damaging for Clarkson have been accusations of using the N-word while reciting an old nursery rhyme in leaked footage, something the presenter denied.

He was also accused of making a racially offensive comment about an Asian man.

"Top Gear" has regularly been criticized over its depiction and jokes at the expense of Albanians, Romanians and Germans among others.

Last year, the team fled Argentina after residents hurled stones at a Porsche Clarkson was driving whose licence plates appeared to make reference the Falklands War.

The BBC was also forced to apologized to Mexico after the show described Mexicans as "lazy" and "feckless".

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Jeremy Clarkson,BBC,"Top Gear" host

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Crashed Germanwings jet sent distress signal 46 minutes after take-off

The pilot of a Germanwings flight from Barcelona to Dusseldorf sent out a distress signal minutes before crashing into a 9,000-foot mountain in the French Alps on Tuesday.

All 144 passengers and six crew aboard the German Airbus A320 are believed to have died in the crash about 100 miles north of Nice.

Flight 4U 9525 vanished from radar screens at about 10.47am local time, 46 minutes after take-off from Barcelona. French officials said that debris had been found on the 2,961m-high Estrop massif near the small town of Barcelonnette in the Alpes-de-Hautes-Provence.

French President Francois Hollande and Prime Minister Manuel Valls said that they feared that all those on board had died. "Our first thought is for the victims of this catastrophe," Mr Valls said.

This was the first crash by a civil airliner in France since the Concorde crash near Paris in 2000, most of whose victims were German tourists.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Germanwings,German Plane Crash Death Toll,French Alps Plane Crash,Flight 4U9525 Crash,Flight 4U9525

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Crashed Germanwings jet sent distress signal 46 minutes after take-off

The pilot of a Germanwings flight from Barcelona to Dusseldorf sent out a distress signal minutes before crashing into a 9,000-foot mountain in the French Alps on Tuesday.

All 144 passengers and six crew aboard the German Airbus A320 are believed to have died in the crash about 100 miles north of Nice.

Flight 4U 9525 vanished from radar screens at about 10.47am local time, 46 minutes after take-off from Barcelona. French officials said that debris had been found on the 2,961m-high Estrop massif near the small town of Barcelonnette in the Alpes-de-Hautes-Provence.

French President Francois Hollande and Prime Minister Manuel Valls said that they feared that all those on board had died. "Our first thought is for the victims of this catastrophe," Mr Valls said.

This was the first crash by a civil airliner in France since the Concorde crash near Paris in 2000, most of whose victims were German tourists.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Germanwings,German Plane Crash Death Toll,French Alps Plane Crash,Flight 4U9525 Crash,Flight 4U9525

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Canada says it will launch air strikes against IS in Syria

OTTAWA: The Canadian government on Tuesday said it would expand its military mission against Islamic State by launching air strikes against positions in Syria as well as Iraq.

A government motion also said Canada planned to extend its six-month mission by a year to the end of March 2016. Canada has around 70 special forces troops operating in northern Iraq and six Canadian jets are taking part in U.S.-led bombing missions against Islamic State in Iraq.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper says Islamic State, formally known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), poses a fundamental threat to Canada.

"Continuing to degrade ISIL will require striking its operations and infrastructure where they are located, including in Syria," said the government motion, which seeks parliamentary approval for air strikes in both Iraq and Syria.

The motion will undoubtedly be adopted by legislators, since Harper's ruling Conservatives have a majority in the House of Commons.

Canada will become the second NATO member nation after the United States to attack Islamic State positions in Syria, which have also been hit by jets from Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=United Arab Emirates,NATO,Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant,Islamic State,Canadian government

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Yemen foreign minister calls for Gulf Arab military intervention

CAIRO: Yemeni foreign minister Riyadh Yaseen called on Monday for Gulf Arab military intervention in Yemen to stop territorial advances by Houthi fighters opposed to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

"They're expanding in territory, occupying airports and cities, attacking Aden with planes, detaining whom they please, threatening and gathering their forces," he said in an interview with pan-Arab satellite channel Al Jazeera.

"We have expressed to the Gulf Cooperation Council, the United Nations as well as the international community that there should be a no-fly zone, and the use of military aircraft should be prevented at the airports controlled by the Houthis," he told the pan-Arab newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Yemen foreign minister,Riyadh Yaseen,Houthi fighters,Gulf Arab military intervention

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Mullah Fazlullah, Pakistan Taliban chief killed in air strike?

ISLAMABAD: Tehreek-e-Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah, who masterminded the Peshawar school massacre, was believed to be killed after being seriously hit in air strikes in Pakistan's restive Khyber tribal area over the weekend.

Fazlullah, 40, who took over in 2013 when his predecessor Hakimullah Mehsud was killed, was seriously injured in the air strikes, sources told PTI.

Pakistan army said at least 80 militants were killed and over 100 injured in ground and aerial offensive in Khyber tribal district over the weekend.

Security sources said Fazlullah might have been killed in the fierce fighting in which seven soldiers were also killed.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa governor Mehtab Khan Abbasi on Monday said that the death of Fazlullah would be confirmed in coming days.

However, Taliban spokesman Mohammad Khorasani rejected the news about death of the Taliban chief.

"The reports concerning death of our chief are totally baseless," he said in a statement.

With these conflicting reports, it is difficult to say with certainty about the fate of fugitive Taliban chief who has dodged death since 2009 when he broke through a cordon of security forces in Swat and fled to Afghanistan.

There have been reports of his death couple of times in the past but all such reports proved false.

Fazlullah nicknamed the "Radio Mullah" is said to be in contact with the Peshawar school attackers during the assault that left 154 people dead, mostly school children on December 16, 2014.

A joint operation to hunt down Fazlullah was conducted after Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif rushed to Afghanistan after the Peshawar massacre, demanding that the Afghan government take action against TTP's most-feared leader hiding there.

Fazlullah was the leader of the Taliban in Swat Valley and became the Taliban chief in November 2013 after the killing of Hakimullah in a US drone attack.

Hakimullah's predecessor Baitullah Mehsud was also killed in a US drone attack in August 2009.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Tehreek-e-Taliban,Taliban,Peshawar School Massacre,Pakistan taliban,Pakistan army

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tunisia fires police chiefs over museum massacre

TUNIS: Tunisia's prime minister fired police chiefs in the capital on Monday as the country looks to restore faith in its tourism industry after last week's jihadist attack that killed 20 foreigners.

Prime Minister Habib Essid sacked the heads of police for Tunis and the area around the National Bardo Museum, site of the assault claimed by the Islamic State group, after finding "several deficiencies" in security.

The dismissals came as the museum prepared to reopen in what organizers said was "a message" to the gunmen who killed 20 tourists and a police officer last Wednesday.

"It's a challenge but also a message ... we want to show that they haven't achieved their goal," museum curator Moncef Ben Moussa said.

Tunisia fears that last week's carnage — the deadliest assault on foreigners in the North African country since 2002 — will hit its vital tourism sector.

In a move aimed at restoring confidence, Essid "decided to fire a number of officials including the Tunis police chief and the police chief for the Bardo," his communications director Mofdi Mssedi told AFP.

But in a reminder of the fragile security situation in the country credited as the birthplace of the Arab Spring uprisings, a soldier was killed and two wounded late Sunday near the border with Algeria.

"A mine exploded under their vehicle," ministry spokesman Belhassen Oueslati told AFP, declining to name the exact location where he said a military operation was "ongoing".

"The mine was planted by terrorist elements," he added.

Tunisia has struggled to quell a wave of extremist attacks against its police and army since a 2011 popular uprising that toppled long-time strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

President Beji Caid Essebsi, who served under Ben Ali, said Tunisia was hunting a third suspect in the Bardo massacre.

"Definitely there were three," he told France media iTele television and Europe 1 radio.

"Two were killed, but there is one who is now on the run," Essebsi said. "In any case, he will not get very far."

Officials had previously named two gunmen shot dead by security forces after the attack and said they had received training at militant camps in neighbouring Libya.

Authorities say as many as 3,000 Tunisians have gone to Iraq, Syria and Libya to join jihadist ranks, raising fears of returning battle-hardened militants plotting attacks.

Writing in Monday's edition of the French Le Figaro newspaper, Essid admitted there were security "failures" around the museum and vowed to "take the necessary steps ... to defend" Tunisia.

On Saturday, authorities released CCTV footage showing two black-clad gunmen with automatic weapons walking unimpeded though a large lobby in the Bardo, just after noon.

The grainy footage then shows the gunmen passing an unidentified male. They point an automatic weapon at him briefly before letting him leave as they make their way up a staircase.

Secretary of state for security Rafik Chelly said Sunday that the video showed "one of the two Vespa drivers that brought the killers".

Activists called for demonstrations outside the museum and a protest arranged by the organizers of the Global Social Forum, a mass anti-globalization event held in Tunis this week, is expected to draw thousands on Tuesday.

The Bardo attack was the first claimed by IS in Tunisia after the militant group's apparent expansion to strife-torn Libya from its Syria and Iraq strongholds.

With feeble growth and a graduate unemployment rate of 30 percent, Tunisia relies heavily on tourist income.

"Our country is experiencing a serious economic crisis and the strategy of the terrorists is to add to this problem," Essid wrote in Le Figaro.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Tunisia Prime Minister,Tunisia museum massacre,National Bardo Museum,Habib Essid

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

9 British medical students believed to be in Syria

LONDON: Nine British medical students have travelled to Syria, apparently to work in hospitals controlled by Islamic State, Britain's Observer newspaper reported on Saturday.

The group of four women and five men crossed into Syria from Turkey last week, having travelled from Sudan where they had been studying, said the story, published on the website of the Observer's sister paper, the Guardian.

It quoted Turkish opposition politician Mehmet Ali Ediboglu, who had met members of the students' families who were trying to persuade the students to return.

Britain's security services estimate that some 600 Britons have gone to Syria or Iraq to join militant groups, including the man known as "Jihadi John", who has appeared in several Islamic State beheading videos.

Islamic State's attempt to create a theocratic Sunni Muslim 'caliphate' by violent means has attracted thousands of recruits from Europe and elsewhere.

Three British schoolgirls are thought to have travelled through Turkey to Syria in February to join the militant group, in one of the most high-profile recent cases. Their families and British authorities have made repeated appeals for them to return home.

Britain's Foreign Office was not immediately available for comment on Saturday.

The group of medical students are in their late teens and early 20s and all have Sudanese roots but were born and brought up in Britain, the story said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Jihadi John,Islamic State,ISIS,British medical students

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Shia militia seize airport in key Yemen city

ADEN: Shia militia in Yemen seized the airport in a key central city Sunday as deteriorating security prompted Washington to evacuate personnel and the UN security council to call an emergency session.

The security council was to meet later Sunday after President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi called for "urgent intervention" amid mounting unrest, including suicide bombings claimed by the Islamic State group that killed 142 people in the capital Sanaa on Friday.

Impoverished but strategic Yemen has descended into chaos in recent months, with the Shia militia, known as Houthis, seizing control of Sanaa and forcing Hadi to flee to the main southern city of Aden.

The Arabian Peninsula country is increasingly divided between a north controlled by the Houthis, who are allegedly backed by Iran, and a south dominated by Hadi's allies.

On Sunday the Houthis and their allies seized the airport in the city of Taez, which is just 180 kilometres (110 miles) north of Aden on the road to Sanaa and seen as a strategic entry point to Hadi's refuge.

Security sources told AFP some 300 men, including Houthi fighters dressed in military uniforms and allied forces, had deployed at the airport and reinforcements were arriving from Sanaa by air and land.

The forces allied with the Houthis included members of the former central security force, a unit seen as loyal to ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Saleh was forced from power in early 2012 after a year-long popular uprising and has been accused of working with the Houthis to restore his influence.

Security sources said Houthi militiamen were also patrolling parts of Taez and had set up checkpoints in Raheda, some 80 kilometres (50 miles) south of the city on the road to Aden.

A military source said troops loyal to Hadi and southern paramilitary forces had meanwhile deployed in Lahj province, north of Aden, in anticipation of a possible advance by the Houthis.

Hadi, backed by Western and Gulf states as Yemen's legitimate ruler, has been struggling to reassert his authority since escaping house arrest in Sanaa last month and fleeing to Aden.

In a letter to the Security Council, he said the Houthis and their allies "not only threaten peace in Yemen but regional and international peace and security".

He called for "urgent intervention by all available means to stop this aggression that is aimed at undermining the legitimate authority, the fragmentation of Yemen and its peace and stability."

The country is increasingly divided along sectarian lines, with the Shia militia facing resistance from Sunni tribesmen and al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the powerful branch of the global jihadist network.

The Houthis were targeted on Friday by IS, who claimed responsibility for the series of devastating suicide bombings against mosques in Sanaa.

Yemen has long been a key US ally in the fight against Islamic extremism, allowing Washington to carry out drone strikes on AQAP on its territory.

But in statement on Saturday, Washington said it was evacuating its remaining personnel from the country.

"Due to the deteriorating security situation in Yemen, the US government has temporarily relocated its remaining personnel out of Yemen," State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke said.

The US would "continue to actively monitor terrorist threats emanating from Yemen and have capabilities postured in the area to address them," Rathke said.

Washington late Friday pulled out troops from the Al-Anad airbase in southern Yemen amid fighting between Yemeni security forces and al-Qaida militants nearby which left at least 29 dead.

Yemen has acknowledged that US personnel gathering intelligence for drone strikes on al-Qaida are deployed at Al-Anad.

Hadi has been trying to cement his power base in Aden which he declared the temporary capital after he retracted a resignation tendered under Houthi pressure.

On Thursday, his forces overran the base of special forces in Aden after its commander refused Hadi's decision to remove him.

On Saturday he pledged to fight Iranian influence in his country, accusing the Houthis of importing Tehran's ideology.

Hadi said he would ensure that "the Yemeni republic flag will fly on the Marran mountain in (the Houthi militia's northern stronghold) Saada, instead of the Iranian flag".

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=UN Security Council,Shia militia,President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Russia threatens Denmark with nuclear weapons if it tries to join Nato defence shield

LONDON: Russia has threatened to target Denmark's warships with nuclear weapons if the Scandinavian nation becomes a member of Nato's missile defence shield.

In comments which have been met with anger in Copenhagen, the Russian ambassador to Denmark said a move towards better integration with the western alliance would make it a "threat to Russia", and that it would have to accept the consequences.

Mikhail Vanin told Jyllands-Posten newspaper: "I do not think that the Danes fully understand the consequences if Denmark joins the US-led missile defence shield. If that happens, Danish warships become targets for Russian nuclear missiles."

According to a translation by Copenhagen Post, Vanin added that while such a move would be "Denmark's decision", "relations with Russia will be damaged" and it would "lose both money and security".

READ ALSO: Russia launches radar system to counter US missile shield

The threat comes amid a backdrop of heightened tension across eastern Europe, as last night David Cameron and other EU leaders agreed to extend sanctions against Russia until the terms of a Ukraine ceasefire agreement are met.

And Martin Lidegaard, the Danish foreign minister, denounced the Russian diplomat's use of threats.

"This is obviously unacceptable," he said. "Russia knows very well that Nato's missile defence system is defensive. We disagree with Russia on many important things, but it is important that the tone between us remains as positive as possible."

The flagship of Russia's Nothern Fleet, heavy nuclear missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky (Peter the Great). (Getty Images file photo)

British official arriving in Brussels on Saturday prepared to put forward Cameron's plan for a £20 million fund designed to help strengthen democratic institutions across states that could be under immediate threat of intimidation from the Kremlin.

"The long-term interest for the UK is that we see strong and stable states on the borders of Eastern Europe," one official said. "It is a long-term investment to prevent the next Ukraine."

READ ALSO: Russia violated 1987 nuclear missile treaty, US says

In the Baltics, fears of an attack ordered by Vladimir Putin have escalated to the point where Lithuania — which doesn't even have a land border with mainland Russia — has introduced military conscription.

Between Lithuania and Russia lies Belarus — headed by pro-Russian President Aleksander Lukashenko. It supports Russian bases, which have been bolstering their numbers in recent weeks.

A Russian solid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missile RS-22B (SS-24) installed on a combat railway missile complex in Russia. (Getty Images file photo)

Lithuania's President Dalia Grybauskaite said it was a "necessity" for the country to pass a bill allowing conscription to bolster its army of just 15,000.

Defence minister Jonas Vytautas Zukas said: "A critical shortage of soldiers prevents us from being properly prepared and poses a real threat to our national sovereignty."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Vladimir Putin,Russia Nuclear Threat to Denmark,Nato Defence Shield,Mikhail Vanin,Lithuania Military Conscription

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Repent and stop 'mother tears': Pope to mafia dons

NAPLES: Pope Francis called on members of organized crime to turn away from violence and exploitation and stop the "tears of the mothers of Naples" after he visited one of the city's most violent and drug-infested neighbourhoods on Saturday.

Francis, on a day-long trip to the southern city, also spoke out against political corruption in a morning address to a crowd in the notorious Scampia neighbourhood, a stronghold of clans of the Camorra, the Naples version of the Sicilian mafia.

He was speaking in the shadow of a dilapidated sail boat-shaped housing project known as Le Vele, so dangerous that even police are sometimes afraid to enter, residents say.

He urged residents of the blighted area, which has often been the battleground of Camorra clans fighting each other for control of drug trafficking and extortion rackets, not too let criminals rob them of their hope.

Later at a Mass in the city centre, Francis urged Neapolitans to "react firmly to organisations that exploit and corrupt young people, that exploit the poor and the weak with cynical drug trafficking and other crimes".

He added: "To the criminals and all their accomplices, I, today, humbly and as a brother, repeat: convert yourselves to love and justice. It is possible to return to honesty. The tears of the mothers of Naples are asking this of you."

Since his election two years ago, Francis — who renounced the spacious papal apartments used by his predecessors and lives in a small apartment in a Vatican guest house — has made the defence of the poor and weakest members of society a key plank of his papacy.

He has also said members of organised crime excommunicate themselves from the Church and that it would welcome them back if they repent.

In Scampia, where drugs are sold openly and youth unemployment is more than 40 per cent, Francis listened to a Filipino immigrant woman and an unemployed Italian man tell of their difficulties and a magistrate speak of "juvenile delinquency, desperation and death" in Naples.

The pope defended immigrants, saying they could not be considered "second-class human beings". He called for just wages for workers, and railed against corruption in public life.

"How much corruption there is in the world! I hope you have the courage ... to clean up the city and clean up society so that there is no longer that stink of corruption," he said.

Francis was speaking a day after Italy's transport minister, Maurizio Lupi, stepped down over a graft inquiry involving public works contracts. Lupi has denied any wrongdoing.

The pope also drew cheers from the crowd when he said "May the Madonna accompany you" in the Neapolitan dialect.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=tears of the mothers of Naples,Pope Francis,organized crime,Maurizio Lupi,mafia dons

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pakistan occupied with tackling terror, no time for developmental issues, Nawaz Sharif says

LAHORE: Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday said most of his government's time is consumed in tackling terrorism and the acute energy crisis which leaves little time for development works.

Expressing strong resolve to eliminate terrorism, Sharif said the military operation against terrorists in North Waziristan that started in June last year will continue till the elimination of the last terrorist.

"Come what may the operation against terrorists will continue in the country till elimination of the last terrorist," he said and praised the army for breaking "the back of terrorists".

The premier also claimed that his government would overcome energy crisis in two to three years.

READ ALSO: Executions in Pakistan continue, 48 hanged since Dec

"A country without gas and electricity cannot progress," he said.

"I am working hard to curb terrorism and overcome energy crisis. I spend 90 per cent of my time on these issues. And because of this, not much time is left to look into the other matters related to development works," Sharif said addressing businessmen in Sialkot, some 80 kilometers from here.

He also lashed out military dictators, saying they were responsible for halting the country's progress.

READ ALSO: Terror attacks drive Pakistan coffin boom

Sahrif also made it clear that anti-crime drive in Karachi was not against any political party.

The Mutahida Quami Movement (MQM), which has stronghold in Karachi, accused the government of targeting it for "not cooperating with it in Senate elections".

Currently, Pakistan's demand for electricity is around 14,000MW as compared to total generation of 7,000MW and the crisis has been aggravated by petrol shortage.

READ ALSO: Don't compromise with terrorists, India tells Pakistan

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=terrorism in Pakistan,Pakistan's Fight with Terrorism,Pakistani Taliban,Nawaz Sharif,Military Operations in North Waziristan

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Jailed Kurdish chief urges fighters to end Turkey rebellion

ANKARA: Jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan on Saturday called for Kurds to hold a historic congress to end a decades-long armed struggle against the Turkish authorities that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

In an eagerly-anticipated message for the traditional Kurdish New Year, Ocalan however stopped short of setting out a clear road map for disarmament of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels as had been anticipated in some quarters.

In the message read out by a pro-Kurdish lawmaker to hundreds of thousands of supporters in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Ocalan said that the armed struggle had been "painful" and could no longer be maintained.

"A congress should be organised to bring an end to the 40-year struggle against the Turkish Republic," Ocalan said.

The message was read out by lawmaker Sirri Sureyya Onder of the People's Democratic Party (HDP).

Ocalan is serving a life sentence on the prison island of Imrali in the Sea of Marmara following his sensational arrest by Turkish agents in Kenya in 1999.

He said the congress — which would likely involve all the Kurdish political forces in Turkey — would decide "a social and political strategy which will determine our history".

Ocalan said that the congress — whose timing was not made clear — would usher in a "new era" in relations between Turkey and the Kurds.

The Turkish government welcomed the message, with Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc describing the statement as "positive in every way".

The written message had been delivered by Ocalan to a group of HDP deputies who visited him on Imrali on Thursday.

However Ocalan, who in February had called on the PKK to lay down their arms, did not specifically mention disarmament in this message.

The PKK has largely observed a ceasefire since 2013 but attempts to find a permanent deal have stalled over the issue of the withdrawal of PKK fighters and weaponry from Turkey.

Ocalan is known to his followers as "Apo" ("Uncle") and remains the main leader of Turkish Kurds despite his incarceration.

However the PKK's military leaders, who are based in the Kandil Mountains of northern Iraq, have argued their should be no disarmament before a final settlement.

At least 40,000 people have been killed on both sides since the PKK formally began its insurgency in 1984 demanding self-rule for Turkey's Kurds who make up around 20 percent of the population. Bloodshed though had begun at least a decade before that.

The PKK is regarded as a terrorist group not only by Turkey but also by the United States and the European Union.

However it has also been working with Iraqi and Syrian Kurds in the US-backed campaign against IS militants, with its fighters winning respect for their abilities.

Ocalan hailed as a "victory" and a "new symbol of history" the defeat by Kurdish fighters of Islamic State (IS) jihadists in the battle for the Syrian town of Kobane earlier this year.

Hundreds of thousands attended the celebration in Diyarbakir despite heavy rain, flying yellow and red Kurdish flags and brandishing pictures of Ocalan.

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) co-founded by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has worked over the last years to find a solution to end the violence, granting modest reforms to the Kurdish minority.

However the route to a final peace deal remains thorny, with Turkey preparing for legislative elections on June 7 and still shaken by the deaths of dozens in clashes during pro-Kurdish protests in October 2014.

Erdogan, who nationalists accuse of giving too much ground to the Kurds, infuriated Kurdish politicians last week by declaring there was no longer a "Kurdish problem" in Turkey.

Often described as the world's largest stateless people after being denied their own nation in the wake of World War I, Kurds are spread between Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Turkey rebellion,Syrian Kurds,People's Democratic Party,Kurdistan Workers Party,Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tunisia arrests 4 family members of museum assailant

TUNISIA: Four relatives of an assailant killed in the deadly attack on the Bardo museum in the Tunisian capital have been arrested, the family and police said on Friday.

The sources told AFP that two brothers of the Khachnaoui family, their sister and father were arrested on Wednesday night in Kasserine near the border with Algeria, where the family has a small farm.

Prime Minister Habib Essid, hours after Wednesday's attack, identified one of the two attackers killed as Hatem Khachnaoui.

But police sources in his home village of Ibrahim Zahar, southwest Tunisia, said his first name was in fact Jabeur.

Yesterday, the presidency announced the arrests of "four people directly linked to the (terrorist) operation and five suspected of having ties to the cell".

The two gunmen who killed 21 people — all but one of them foreign tourists — at Tunisia's national museum trained at a militant camp in Libya, secretary of state for security Rafik Chelly said on Friday.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Tunisia Terror Attack,Tunisia attack,museum assailant

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Nepal extends permits to over 300 climbers for Mount Everest

KATHMANDU: Nepal has allowed more than 300 mountaineers to climb Mount Everest after they had to abandon their expeditions last year when 16 Sherpa mountain guides were killed in an avalanche on the world's highest mountain.

The government will extend last year's permits without charging new fees, said the head of Nepal's tourism department, Tulasi Gautam.

The extended permits can be used at any time through 2019, according to officials.

The government had last year assured to extend the permit after the avalanche hit the Everest base camp.

The climbers can join any group, or they can opt to pay extra to attempt the summit individually as the fees for group climbing and solo climbing are different, the official said.

The three-month climbing season for the 8,848-metre high Everest begins in March till late May, when weather conditions are considered most suitable for scaling Himalayan peaks.

Nepal also decided recently to station doctors on Everest, improve weather forecasting, security and rescue efforts, and has cut climbing fees to $11,000 per climber from $25,000, besides changing the traditional route taken by climbers to ascend the peak.

Last year, a sudden fall of ice struck a group of Sherpa guides near base camp, killing 16 Sherpas in the worst single disaster on Everest.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Sherpa mountain guides,Mount Everest,Himalayan peaks,Everest base camp

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Iran nuke talks break but top Russian official optimistic

LAUSANNE, Switzerland: Iran and six world powers broke off nuclear negotiations ahead of schedule Friday to allow members of the Iranian delegation to attend the funeral of their president's mother, as a senior Russian officials suggested that the sides were close to a deal.

Senior Russian negotiator Sergey Ryabkov told The Associated Press that while some disputes remain, negotiators are expected to ''finish their main work'' during the current round and even before the talks resume next week.

The negotiations had been tentatively extended to go into Saturday. But the Iranian delegation decided to depart for home later Friday to allow negotiators, including Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Hossein Fereydoon, a brother of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, to attend the funeral of Rouhani's mother.

Ryabkov's comments jibe with that of other officials who told the AP earlier that the United States and Iran are drafting elements of a deal that commits Tehran to a 40 percent cut in the number of machines it could use to make an atomic bomb. In return, the Iranians would get quick relief from some crippling economic sanctions and a partial lift of a U.N. embargo on conventional arms.

Agreement on those details of Iran's uranium enrichment program could signal a breakthrough for a larger deal aimed at containing the Islamic Republic's nuclear activities.

The sides ultimately want to reach a full agreement by the end of June. In Brussels, French President Francois Hollande, British Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the state of negotiations Friday with the EU's top diplomat, Federica Mogherini.

Ryabkov said earlier that foreign ministers of those three nations were considering joining the talks in Lausanne, but the decision by the Iranians to leave Friday took that option off the table.

Instead, Western consultations were moving elsewhere. U.S State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said Secretary of State John Kerry _ who has done most of the negotiating directly with Zarif _ would meet the French, British and German foreign ministers somewhere in Europe Saturday ahead of a new full round next week. The ISNA news agency in Iran said talks would resume Wednesday. Diplomats said the venue would likely be somewhere in Switzerland.

Iran is negotiating in Switzerland with the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany, with an end-of-March deadline to reach a preliminary deal for Iran to scale back its nuclear program in return for an easing of economic sanctions. Iran insists it is not trying to build a nuclear bomb, but the West is skeptical.

The negotiations build on a deal struck in late 2013 that commits Tehran to temporary restrictions while the present negotiations continue. A confidential International Atomic Energy Agency report issued Friday and shared with the AP said Iran was honoring those commitments.

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Barack Obama slams Benjamin Netanyahu’s ‘deeply divisive rhetoric’ as US takes Iran and Hezbollah off terror list

Barack Obama has criticized the "divisive rhetoric" used by Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu in the closing stages of the country's parliamentary election, shortly before he swept to victory ahead of the Zionist Union party.

Netanyahu's Likud party returned 30 seats in the Knesset to the Zionist Union's 24 — and is now likely to form the next coalition government with partners on the right and the centre.

But on the eve of the polls, the Likud leader made controversial remarks about the high turnout among Israeli-Arab voters, warning that they were being bussed to the polls "in droves".

Obama, who has not yet called Netanyahu to congratulate him following his success, according to Guardian, condemned the incendiary remarks — saying that they sought to "marginalize Arab-Israeli citizens".

READ ALSO: Netanyahu claims victory in Israel election after hard right shift

The US president's response came after the Israeli PM appeared in a video posted to his Facebook page where he urged his supporters to go out and vote, saying: "The right-wing government is in danger. Arab voters are heading to the polling stations in droves. Left-wing NGOs are bringing them in buses."

He also ruled out the creation of an independent Palestinian state and vowed to strengthen construction of settlements in occupied east Jerusalem.

"I think that anyone who moves to establish a Palestinian state and evacuate territory gives territory away to radical Islamist attacks against Israel," he said in a pre-election interview with a website owned by his biggest backer — US casino magnate Sheldon Adelson.

READ ALSO: Netanyahu says no Palestinian state if re-elected

In response, the White House said that it was now preparing to "re-evaluate" its policy on the Middle East process.

A statement issued by the president's press secretary, Josh Earnest, reiterated his hopes for a two-state solution in the Middle East.

"The United States and this administration is deeply concerned about rhetoric that seeks to marginalize Arab Israeli citizens," Earnest said.

"It undermines the values and democratic ideals that have been important to our democracy and an important part of what binds the United States and Israel together."

He added: "Rhetoric that seeks to marginalize one segment of their population is deeply concerning, it is divisive, and I can tell you that these are views the administration intends to communicate directly to the Israelis."

READ ALSO: US-Israel spat intensifies over Netanyahu speech

Earnest said the president would call Netanyahu "in the coming days", insisting that the move was not a rebuke. He said that in two previous Israeli elections, Obama did not call Netanyahu until he was directed by the Israeli president to form a government.

It comes as the US excluded Iran and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah from its terror threat list in an annual security assessment.

The unclassified report, which was presented to the US Senate by director of US National Intelligence James Clapper in February, named Iran as a "cyber and regional threat" to the US because of its support for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, but did not include the country in the "terrorism" section, as in previous years.

It was published by The Times of Israel, which said it had described Tehran's assistance in preventing Isis from gaining "large swaths of additional territory" in Iraq.

The report also referenced the threat to Hezbollah from Sunni extremists trying to establish networks in Lebanon — saying that they have "increased attacks against Lebanese army and Hizballah positions along the Lebanese-Syrian border" — but did not label the militant group as a terrorist organization.

Hezbollah has previously been accused of responsibility for a number of terror attacks against US or its allies, including the 1983 bombings of the US embassy and American military barracks in Beirut.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Zionist Union,US terror list,Obama-Netanyahu Spat,Israel election,Iran in US Terror List

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Planes flying over Yemen president's Aden base come under fire

ADEN: Anti-aircraft guns opened fire at an unidentified warplanes flying over the presidential palace in the southern city of Aden on Thursday after sounds of two explosions were heard, witnesses said.

Smoke was seen rising from the hill-top compound, where President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi is based, the residents said. It was not immediately clear if Hadi was inside the compound.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=anti-aircraft guns,Aden,Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Almost all mosques destroyed in Central African Republic unrest

UNITED NATIONS: Almost all of the 436 mosques in the Central African Republic have been destroyed by months of vicious fighting between Christians and Muslims, the US ambassador to the United Nations said on Tuesday, calling the devastation "kind of crazy, chilling."

Samantha Power spoke to reporters after a Security Council visit last week to the country. She expressed concern about an upcoming possible security vacuum as European Union and French forces pull out and a UN peacekeeping force is still not at full strength.

At least 5,000 people have been killed since Central African Republic exploded into unprecedented sectarian violence in December 2013. Nearly 1 million of the Texas-sized country's 4.5 million residents have been displaced. Many of those who have fled are Muslim.

Power said 417 of the country's mosques have been destroyed. She visited the one remaining Muslim neighborhood in the capital, Bangui, and described the residents as "a terrified population."

Some Muslim women, afraid of leaving the community while wearing their veils, are choosing to give birth in their homes instead of hospitals, the ambassador said.

UN peacekeepers, French forces and a European Union military operation have tried to calm the violence. But Power said the last of the EU force of about 750 troops left the Central African Republic over the weekend, shortly after the Security Council visit.

Nearly one million of Central African Republic's 4.5 million residents have been displaced. (Photo: Getty Images)

"That's a big dropoff in capability," she said. Meanwhile, the French forces have announced a "substantial drawdown" by the end of this year. France had sent 2,000 troops to its former colony.

The UN peacekeeping force remains at about 80 per cent of its planned strength of about 10,000, Power said. The UN secretary-general last month asked for more than 1,000 additional peacekeepers, and Power said the council is "very favorably disposed" to the request.

The Central African Republic has been rocked by conflict between Christian and Muslims. (AFP photo)

She said the combined forces have "averted a worst-case scenario," but the country's roving armed groups remain armed.

The ambassador called that a deep cause for concern and said disarmament is a "huge priority."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Central African Republic unrest,CAR mosques

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Strikes kill 34 militants in Pakistan's northwest

ISLAMABAD: At least 34 militants were killed on Wednesday when fighter jets pounded their positions in the restive northwestern tribal region, the Pakistani military said.

Pakistan intensified operations against Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants after the grisly Peshawar school attack in December in which at least 136 students were killed.

The army said in a statement that precise aerial strikes were launched against militants in the remote Tirah valley area of Khyber tribal region which borders Peshawar. It said that "34 terrorists were killed" in the attacks.

The toll could not be confirmed through independent sources as the region is out of bounds for the media.

The Taliban have so far not commented on the attack.

The Pakistan army claims that it killed more than 1,700 militants since launch of operation Zarb-e-Azb in North Waziristan in June.

But the Taliban are far from defeated as they attacked two Christian churches on Sunday near Lahore, killing at least 15 people.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan,Operation Zarb-e-Azb,Khyber tribal region

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

3 Burmese children stabbed to death in US were ages 1, 5, 12

NEW BERN (North Carolina): Police say three Burmese children — ages 1, 5 and 12 — were stabbed to death and two other people hurt in an attack at a North Carolina home.

Police said in a statement on Wednesday that 18-year-old Eh Lar Doh Htoo is charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill.

The names of the three people killed in the Tuesday night attack haven't been released, nor has any possible motive.

An adult and another juvenile were wounded.

Lt. Ronda Allen says the suspect and victims knew each other. She says that all are Burmese and that a language barrier is affecting the investigation.

Htoo is expected to appear in court on Thursday.

District attorney Scott Thomas says more charges are expected.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=US--Stabbing,Ronda Allen,Eh Lar Doh Htoo,district attorney

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Biden calls for peace, trust on St Patrick's Day

WASHINGTON: Vice President Joe Biden is calling for trust on all sides to make Northern Ireland's peace agreement work.

Biden is hosting Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny at his official residence for St. Patrick's Day breakfast. It's an annual tradition for Biden, who has Irish roots. Eggs, country potatoes and Irish soda bread are on the menu.

Kenny says Ireland wants to see a major US-European trade deal succeed. He also says fixing America's immigration system is a priority.

The breakfast kicks off a day of festivities throughout Washington.

Later, the Irish leader and Biden will meet with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office before attending a St. Patrick's Day luncheon at the Capitol.

Obama will then speak at his annual White House reception marking the holiday.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=St Patrick's Day,Joe Biden,Enda Kenny

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Israelis vote as Benjamin Netanyahu reign hangs in the balance

JERUSALEM: Israelis began voting on Tuesday in a general election that is too close to call with incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing a tough fight from the opposition that is keen to stop him from securing a record fourth term.

Polls opened today at 7am local time and will close at 10pm. Ballots are for political parties rather than individual candidates.

Israel has a proportional representation system, meaning a coalition government is likely to be formed within its 120-seat Knesset, or parliament. Election is being held for all the 120 seats. In the current Parliament Netanyahu's Likud Party has 18 seats.

About 5.3 million voters are eligible to vote and are casting their ballot across the over 10,000 voting stations.

65-year-old Netanyahu, nicknamed Bibi, yesterday said there would be no Palestinian state if he were re-elected, in a last-ditch effort to woo rightwing voters.

The hawkish prime minister, who led a fragile five party coalition government in this third term after winning polls in January 2013, called for early elections last year after his alliance splintered.

Netanyahu had about three years left in office when he called for early elections with a hope to secure a record fourth term and improve the tally of his right-wing Likud party. However, the recent opinion polls have shown his party trailing the centrist Zionist Union by about four seats.

His main rival, 54-year-old Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog was ahead in the opinion polls on a campaign that promised to repair ties with the Palestinians and the international community and also deal with middle class issues such as price rise.

The election results will assume significance given the high inflation, instability in the strategic region and Israel's public image following Netanyahu's challenge to US President Barack Obama over Iranian nuclear issue.

The Israeli Premier has been constantly at loggerheads with President Obama and his recent efforts to undermine the US leader by addressing the Congress without coordinating with the White House has widened the rift.

Netanyahu came to power for the first time in 1996 and held the premiership until his crushing defeat in the 1999 election. He achieved a political comeback in 2009 and has been the premier ever since.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Zionist Union,Likud party,Benjamin Netayahu,Barack Obama

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Syrian troops attacked town with chlorine: Activists

BEIRUT: Activists say the Syrian air force has carried out a chlorine gas attack on a northern town, killing six people.

A military official immediately denied the claims and blamed the rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees today said that the attack targeted the town of Samrin the previous night.

The two activist groups say it also injured dozens.

An opposition official in the area says there were two attacks, the first targeting rebels while the second hit a residential area.

He says the six killed were members of the same family, including three children. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Syrian Observatory for Human Rights,Syrian air force

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

18 killed, 11 injured in bus accident in Nepal

KATHMANDU: At least 18 people, including a three-month-old baby, were killed and 11 others injured today when a bus skidded off from a rain-drenched mountain road in northwestern Nepal.

The bus was heading for Nagam in Kalikot district from Jumla district, carrying 29 passengers.

Thirteen people died on the spot, two others on their way to hospital and another two succumbed to their injuries upon reaching a hospital.

Three of the injured passengers are said to be in critical condition. One of the passengers escaped unhurt. A three- month-old boy also succumbed to injuries during treatment bringing the death toll to 18, Himalayan Times reported.

Police Inspector Indra Bahadur Raut said three seriously injured persons were airlifted to Kohalpur Medical College, Banke for treatment.

Others are being treated at Jumla-based Karnali Institute of Health Sciences. Meanwhile, police have identified all of the victims.

The incidents of road mishaps have increased in the recent past across the country which are attributed to poor road conditions, old vehicles and negligence of drivers.

On December 8 last year, at least 18 people were killed and 49 others injured when an overcrowded bus fell off a mountain road and rolled 600 meters down a slope in western Nepal.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Kalikot district,Jumla district

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

21.50 | 0 komentar | Read More