Srinagar, May 7,2024: Sporadic gunfire continued in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Tuesday as the operation to flush out militants entered the second day. There is so far no report of any casualties.
The gun battle erupted on Monday night at Redwani Payeen village of Kulgam after security forces launched an operation in the area following an input about militant presence.
“As the joint team of security forces approached towards the suspected spot, the hiding militants fired indiscriminately upon them, which was retaliated effectively leading to an encounter,” a security official said, adding that additional forces were rushed to the area to ensure a tight cordon.
After the initial exchange of fire, there was a lull for most part of the night.
“The operation resumed this morning and there was a fresh exchange of fire in the area,” the official said.
The gun battle in Kulgam broke at a time when Kashmir is in the middle of its general elections. The first Lok Sabha seat in Kashmir going to polls is Srinagar.
Srinagar parliamentary constituency will go to polls on May 13, while Baramulla north Kashmir and Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary constituency will go to polls on May 20 and 25 respectively.
Male [Maldives], May 4,2024: India and Maldives held the 4th meeting of the bilateral High-Level Core Group on Friday and reviewed the replacement of Indian military personnel from the Island nation by May 10 and noted that government will replace military personnel before the noted time.
Earlier, the Mohamed Muizzu-led Maldives government formally requested that India withdraw its troops from Male.
Maldives foreign ministry said in a press release that both sides reviewed the existing bilateral cooperation. “Discussions were held on a wide range of issues of mutual interest, including development and defence cooperation.”
“Both sides noted with satisfaction that the Government of India will replace military personnel at the last of the three aviation platforms by May 10, and all the logistical arrangements are going ahead as per schedule,” the press release added.
It was further agreed that the fifth meeting of the High-Level Core Group will be held in Male’ on a mutually agreeable date during the month of June/July.
Last month, the Ministry of External Affairs said that the first batch of Indian personnel in the Maldives had been replaced by technical personnel.
The external affairs ministry earlier informed that both India and the Maldives have agreed on a set of mutually workable solutions to enable the continued operation of Indian aviation platforms that provide humanitarian and medical evacuation services to the people of the Maldives.
Last month, the MEA said that the first batch of Indian technical personnel reached the Maldives to replace the defence personnel.
India and the Maldives have held two high-level core group meetings, and the third one is expected to take place soon.
The removal of Indian troops from the country was the main election campaign of Muizzu’s party. Currently, there are around 70 Indian troops, along with Dornier 228 maritime patrol aircraft and two HAL Dhruv helicopters, stationed in the Maldives.
New Delhi, May 2,2024: The Government on Wednesday began the online nominations / recommendations for Padma Awards 2025 to be announced on occasion of Republic Day, 2025.
The last date for nominations for Padma Awards is September 15 and will be received online on the Rashtriya Puraskar Portal (https://awards.gov.in), an official statement said.
The Padma Awards, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri, are amongst the highest civilian awards of the country.
Instituted in 1954, these Awards are announced on the Republic Day every year.
The award seeks to recognise ‘work of distinction’ and is given for distinguished and exceptional achievements in all fields such as Art, Literature and Education, Sports, Medicine, Social Work, Science and Engineering, Public Affairs, Civil Service, Trade and Industry, etc.
All persons without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex are eligible for these Awards. Government servants, including those working with PSUs, except doctors and scientists, are not eligible for Padma Awards.
The Government is committed to transform Padma Awards into “People’s Padma”. All citizens are, therefore, requested to make nominations / recommendations, including self-nomination.
Concerted efforts may be made to identify talented persons whose excellence and achievements really deserve to be recognised from amongst women, weaker sections of the society, SCs and STs, divyang persons and who are doing selfless service to the society.
The nominations / recommendations should contain all relevant details specified in the format available on the above said portal, including a citation in narrative form (maximum 800 words), clearly bringing out the distinguished and exceptional achievements / service of the person recommended in her / his respective field / discipline.
Details in this regard are also available under the heading ‘Awards and Medals’ on the website of Ministry of Home Affairs (https://mha.gov.in) and on the Padma Awards portal (https://padmaawards.gov.in).
April 25,2024: Burkina Faso’s military forces “summarily executed” 223 civilians, including at least 56 children, in two villages in February, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said in a new report.
The mass killings took place on February 25 in the northern villages of Nondin and Soro, according to the report published on Thursday.
The international rights group said the massacre appeared to be part of a widespread military campaign against civilians accused of collaborating with armed groups.
Soldiers killed at least 44 people, including 20 children, in Nondin, and 179 people, including 36 children, in nearby Soro.
HRW said it interviewed dozens of witnesses between February and March and analysed videos and photographs shared by survivors. It also reportedly obtained lists of the victims’ names compiled by survivors, and geolocated eight mass graves based on satellite imagery from March 15.
On February 24 and 25, armed groups carried out attacks across the country on military targets, including barracks and bases, and on civilian infrastructure, such as religious sites, killing scores of civilians, soldiers and militia members.
While Defence Minister Mahamoudou Sana denounced what he described as “simultaneous and coordinated” attacks, he did not mention the mass killings of civilians in Nondin and Soro.
Civilians have been caught in the middle of and displaced by the fighting between armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS), and security forces.
About half of the country is outside government control. The violence has killed almost 20,000 people and displaced more than two million.
The West African country is run by a military government led by captain Ibrahim Traore who seized power in a coup in September 2022, eight months after an earlier military coup had overthrown the democratically elected President Roch Marc Kabore.
Beirut, April 25,2024: Hezbollah has launched 1,650 military operations against Israeli targets since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict, leaving more than 2,000 Israeli personnel dead or wounded, according to data released by the Shiite military party on Wednesday.
Hezbollah said that the operations used different types of weapons including 352 artillery shelling, 727 ground-to-ground missiles, 50 air defense, 55 air attacks, 77 sniper rifles, 546 guided missiles, 136 direct weapons, and 17 engineering weapons.
Israel incurred losses including 344 raids and fortifications, 328 pieces of technical equipment, 92 military vehicles, 67 command centers, 722 settlement units, 33 artillery positions, five Iron Dome platforms, and five drones, it said.
On Wednesday, exchanges of fire across the Lebanese-Israeli border saw an unprecedented escalation, with intense Israeli air strikes and artillery shelling confronted with a series of Hezbollah rocket shells and drones.
Tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border escalated on Oct. 8, 2023, following a barrage of rockets launched by Hezbollah towards Israel in solidarity with Hamas’ attack on Israel the day before. Israel then retaliated by firing heavy artillery towards southeastern Lebanon.
April 24,2024: A Myanmar rebel group has withdrawn its troops from a town along the Thai border following a counteroffensive by soldiers of the ruling junta from whom the rebels had this month wrested the key trading post, an official said on Wednesday.
The Karen National Union (KNU) made a “temporary retreat” from the town of Myawaddy, a spokesperson said, after the return of junta soldiers to the vital strategic area that is a conduit for annual foreign trade of more than $1 billion.
“KNLA troops will … destroy the junta troops and their back-up troops who marched to Myawaddy,” Saw Taw Nee said, referring to the group’s armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army, one of Myanmar’s oldest ethnic fighting forces.
He did not say what its next move would be.
Fighting had flared as recently as Saturday in Myawaddy, forcing 3,000 civilians to flee in a single day as rebels fought to flush out stranded Myanmar government troops holed up at a border bridge crossing.
New Delhi, April 19,2024: The first of the seven-phase Lok Sabha polls on Friday remained largely peaceful with voter turnout exceeding 60% at 7 in the evening.
With this, the fate of as many as 1,625 candidates across 21 states and union territories (UTs) have been locked in EVMs (electronic voting machines).
After the polling began today, sporadic incidents of violence were reported from West Bengal and strife-torn Manipur.
In Tripura, where voting took place for one seat, the vote percentage was the highest at 79.90%. This was followed by West Bengal (three seats), where voter turnout was recorded at 77.57%.
At 47.49%, voter turnout was the lowest in Bihar where four seats were up for grabs.
“The voting percentage is likely to go upwards when reports from all polling stations are obtained as polling is scheduled till 6 PM in many constituencies. Also, voters reaching the polling stations till the end of polling hour are allowed to cast their vote,” Election Commission of India (ECI) said in a press note.
The poll body noted that final figures of voter turnout will be known by Saturday after scrutiny of form 17A.
In phase-I of the general election, polling has been completed for 10 states/UTs to elect 18th Lok Sabha along with polling for state legislative assemblies of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh in the northeastern part of the country.
As many as 102 parliamentary constituencies went to polls today. States including Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territories of Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep completed their voting process.
States which saw voting on a few parliamentary constituencies included West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. Voting on the remaining seats would be held in subsequent phases.
Remaining six phases of polls will continue till 1st of June with around 97 crore voters lined up to vote. Counting of votes is scheduled on June 4, 2024.
The counting of votes for the Assembly polls in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim will be on June 2.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP is seeking a third straight term and forming the government at the Centre, opposition parties under the banner of Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) are seeking to upstage the ruling party.
Ramallah, Apr 18,2024: Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa stressed on Wednesday the key challenges facing the Gaza Strip amid ongoing conflict.
In a meeting with Muhannad Hadi, the UN coordinator for humanitarian affairs in Palestine, Mustafa said the challenges include ensuring the quality and suitability of emergency aid, refining the mechanisms for aid delivery and distribution to meet the urgent needs across the Gaza Strip, as well as restoring essential services disrupted by the conflict.
According to a statement from his office, the prime minister emphasized the importance of fully opening all crossings with the enclave, especially in the north of the Strip, and coordinating relief efforts fully between international partners, civil society, and relief institutions with relevant ministries.
For his part, the UN coordinator affirmed full coordination with the government and relevant ministries to benefit from all available resources fully to meet the urgent humanitarian needs of citizens, according to the statement.
On the same day, Mustafa also discussed the humanitarian aid for Gaza with visiting British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, calling for international intervention to stop aggressions in the West Bank and settlement expansion.
The prime minister also addressed the financial strains caused by Israeli deductions from Palestinian clearance funds, urging Britain and the global community to pressure Israel to release the withheld funds. He reaffirmed Palestine’s efforts towards full UN membership and international recognition.
Washington, Apr 17,2024: The White House on Tuesday announced the decision to impose new sanctions on Iran with measures including punishing the Islamic Republic’s missile and drone program.
“In the coming days, the United States will impose new sanctions targeting Iran, including its missile and drone program as well as new sanctions against entities supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran’s Defense Ministry,” U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement.
The announcement came after Iran carried out a massive military operation against Israel on Saturday, in which hundreds of missiles and drones were launched. Tehran said the attack was a response to the Israeli strike on the consular section of the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital city of Damascus on April 1, which killed seven Iranians, including two veteran commanders.
Sullivan’s announcement followed a similar one made earlier in the day by U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, who didn’t elaborate much on the detail at a press conference ahead of the unveiling of this year’s Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
Despite the Washington’s harsh condemnation of Iran’s attack against Israel, local media reports suggest that the U.S. government only resorts to diplomatic and economic tools in response, out of fear that any use of force might lead to the conflict in the Middle East escalating to a degree where it becomes uncontrollable.