Author name: admin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for restraint as Israel weighs its response to Iran’s unprecedented weekend drone and missile attack. Putin made the remarks in a phone call with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Tuesday. The leaders discussed what the Kremlin called “retaliatory measures taken by Iran” after an Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on April 1. Putin urged all sides to refrain from action that would trigger a new confrontation that would have catastrophic consequences for the Middle East, the Kremlin said. Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel late on Saturday in response to the Israeli strike in Damascus, which killed seven officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including two generals. Putin, in his first publicly aired comments on Iran’s attack, said the root cause of the current instability in the Middle East was the continuing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “Vladimir Putin expressed hope that all sides would show reasonable restraint and prevent a new round of confrontation fraught with catastrophic consequences for the entire region,” the Kremlin said. “Ebrahim Raisi noted that Iran’s actions were forced and limited in nature,” the Kremlin said. “At the same time, he stressed Tehran’s disinterest in further escalation of tensions.”Play Video Raisi thanks Putin Raisi thanked Russia for its position towards Iran’s response to Israel and said the inaction of the international community and the destructive role of some Western countries forced Iran to carry out the recent operation, according to Iran’s presidency. Raisi reiterated that any action against Iran’s interests will demand a larger-scale response, the presidency said. Russia, which has forged close ties with both Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and several Arab leaders, has repeatedly scolded the West for ignoring the need for an independent Palestinian state within 1967 borders. “Both sides stated that the root cause of the current events in the Middle East is the unresolved Palestinian-Israeli conflict,” the Kremlin said of the call with Raisi. “In this regard, the principled approaches of Russia and Iran in favour of an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, easing the difficult humanitarian situation, and creating conditions for a political and diplomatic settlement of the crisis were confirmed.” Putin, who in 2022 visited Khamenei, congratulated Raisi and all Muslims on the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Iran has provided Russia with a large number of surface-to-surface ballistic missiles and drones that Moscow has used to attack Ukraine. Source : https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/16/russias-putin-urges-restraint-in-call-with-irans-raisi-as-tensions-soar

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/4/17/israels-war-on-gaza-live-eleven-killed-in-israeli-strike-on-refugee-camp

Victim’s brother alleges policeman tortured and killed his sister and threw her body on a railway track  Police on Monday said that the body of the woman, who was subjected to torture by railway police officer Mir Hasan on a moving train, was found near Chani Goth Railway Station in Bahawalpur. The incident came to light after a video went viral in which the police officer could be seen holding the woman by her hair and hitting her multiple times while other passengers watched silently. Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Railways Abdullah Sheikh had said that the incident took place on April 7 on the Karachi to Lala Musa-bound Millat Express. The woman, who belonged to Jaranwala, Faisalabad, was identified as Maryam Bibi. The victim’s brother, Afzal, said that his sister used to work at a beauty parlour in Karachi and she was coming to Jaranwala to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr. Afzal said that Maryam left Karachi on April 7 by Millat Express. He said that the Bahawalpur police informed his family of Maryam’s death, saying she fell from train. “We buried her on April 9 in the village thinking it was a train accident. When the video went viral, the truth behind the incident and the violence on my sister came to the fore,” he added. Afzal alleged that the policeman tortured and killed his sister and threw her body on a railway track, adding that they requested the police to register a case but no action was taken. Meanwhile, the woman’s nephew who was travelling with her, said that his aunt was reciting loudly to which the policeman objected and started torturing her. “The policeman took our aunt with him and dropped us at the next station,” said the nephew. Meanwhile, police said that Maryam Bibi’s postmortem was conducted at Tehsil Headquarters Hospital Ahmedpur and they are waiting for the report.  Source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1178568-woman-who-was-thrashed-by-cop-on-train-found-dead

Police in Australia have arrested a 15-year-old boy over a knife attack on a bishop and his followers at an Orthodox Assyrian church in Sydney, declaring the assault a “terrorist” act motivated by suspected religious extremism. The attack, which took place as a service at Christ The Good Shepherd Church and was being livestreamed on Monday evening, wounded Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and a priest. Both are expected to survive. Police arrested the teenager at the scene and were forced to hold him at the church for his own safety as an angry crowd of the bishop’s followers gathered outside. The crowd went on to clash with the police for more than three hours, demanding that the attacker be handed over to them. Emergency crews said they treated 30 people for riot-related injuries. New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb, speaking to reporters on Tuesday, said the suspect’s comments pointed to a religious motive for the attack. “We’ll allege there’s a degree of premeditation on the basis that this person has travelled to that location, which is not near his residential address, he has travelled with a knife and subsequently the bishop and the priest have been stabbed,” Webb said. “They’re lucky to be alive.” She added, “After consideration of all the material, I declared that it was a terrorist incident.” The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), the nation’s main domestic spy agency, and Australian Federal Police have joined state police in a counterterrorism task force to investigate whether anyone else was involved. Mike Burgess, the director-general of ASIO, in rare public comments said that the boy appeared to have acted alone and there was no immediate need to raise the country’s terror threat level. Police officers hospitalised after riot The church in a message on social media said the bishop and priest were in stable condition and asked for people’s prayers. “It is the bishop’s and father’s wishes that you also pray for the perpetrator,” it added. Bishop Emmanuel has a significant following online with his livestreamed sermons attracting a global audience and his video clips racking up hundreds of thousands of views. He became well known for his hardline views during the COVID pandemic when he described lockdowns as “mass slavery”, media reported at the time. During Monday’s service, worshippers watched in horror as a person in black clothes approached the altar and stabbed the bishop and priest Isaac Royel. Police said the congregation overpowered the suspect after the attack. A crowd of hundreds seeking revenge gathered outside the church later, hurling bricks and bottles, wounding police officers and preventing them from taking the teen outside, officials said. He was only brought out after more than 100 police reinforcements arrived at the church. Acting Assistant Police Commissioner Andrew Holland said the teen suspect and at least two police officers were admitted to hospital. When asked if the teen’s fingers had been severed, he said the hand injuries were “severe”. Several police vehicles were also damaged, he said. “A number of houses have been damaged. They’ve broken into a number of houses to gain weapons to throw at the police. They’ve thrown weapons and items at the church itself. There were obviously people who wanted to get access to the young person who caused the injuries to the clergy people,” he said. Responding to the attack, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, “There is no place for violence in our community. There’s no place for violent extremism.” He added, “We’re a peace-loving nation. This is a time to unite, not divide, as a community, and as a country.” The attack came two days after a man with a knife killed six people and wounded more than a dozen others at a shopping mall in Sydney’s Bondi Junction, before being shot dead by police. The attacker mostly targeted women. New South Wales Premier Chris Minns issued a joint statement with Christian and Muslim leaders calling for calm. “We’re calling on everyone to act with kindness and respect for each other”, the statement said. “Now is the time to show that we are strong and united.” Minns, speaking at a news conference later, also urged people to not take the law into their hands after the attack on police. “You will be met by the full force of the law if there’s any attempt for tit-for-tat violence in Sydney over the coming days,” he said. Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/16/knife-attack-at-church-in-australias-sydney-a-terrorist-act-police-say

Source: https://aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/4/16/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israel-vows-response-to-iran

ISLAMABAD: The two Pakistanis, who were stranded on a ship seized by the Iranian forces, will be released after the confirmation of their nationalities and completion of legal formalities.  Speaking to Geo News, Iranian envoy to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moqadam, said that they were waiting for the confirmation of the presence of Pakistani nationals on the ship. The diplomat confirmed that the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran has shared the details with higher officials in Tehran. “If there’s a Pakistani on the ship, we will free the national after completing legal formalities considering brotherly ties,” Moqadam said. On Sunday, the Foreign Office had taken up the matter with Iranian authorities in Islamabad and shared details with them, sources told the TV channel. The development came after the family of the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Israel-linked container ship seized by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) asked the government of Pakistan for help. Family seeks Pakistani govt help Family sources told Geo News that there are two Pakistanis who were on the ship seized by the Iranian forces and one of them is Muhammad Adnan Aziz —the COO of the Portugal-flagged MSC Aries. His family lives in Karachi and Azad Kashmir and some of his relatives live in London who shared their worries with the media. They confirmed that Aziz, along with another Pakistani, was on the ship seized by Iran’s forces. “We approached the Foreign Office seeking help for the safe return of Muhammad Adnan Aziz as soon as possible. The FO has assured us of all help. We understand that the matter has been taken up with the Iranian authorities already.” The family members said they were shocked after learning that Iran had seized the ship near the Strait of Hormuz amid rising tensions across the region after a deadly Israeli attack on Iran’s consulate in Syria. They clarified that Aziz had nothing to do with the ownership of the ship or the regional issues. “He was just doing his job as a professional and was seized. We want his release and return,” shared the family members. The ship was commandeered by the IRGC, the elite force that lost seven members, including two generals, in the Syria strike. “The ship has now been guided towards the territorial waters of our country,” state-run IRNA reported. Who owns the vessel? The vessel — identified as the Portugal-flagged MSC Aries — had departed from a port in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) en route to India. It is associated with the London-based Zodiac Maritime, a part of the Zodiac Group run by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer and his family. White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the ship’s crew comprised of Indian, Filipino, Pakistani, Russian, and Estonian nationals, and pushed back against the vessel’s seizure. Footage from the deck of the vessel showed soldiers rappelling down from a helicopter. The helicopter appeared to be a Soviet-designed Mil Mi-17, which is operated by the naval forces of the IRGC. Zodiac Maritime said in a statement that MSC, an Italian-Swiss shipping group, was responsible for all vessel activities. MSC confirmed there were 25 crew members on board the ship, adding in a statement that it is “working closely with the relevant authorities to ensure their wellbeing, and safe return of the vessel”. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) had said a vessel was seized by “regional authorities” 50 nautical miles (92km) northeast of the UAE’s Fujairah in a waterway vital to world trade. Source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1178575-pakistanis-stranded-on-ship-seized-by-iranian-forces-to-be-released

Fighting Politics and diplomacy Weapons Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/15/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-781

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/4/15/israels-war-on-gaza-live-five-killed-in-nuseirat-as-israel-strikes-camps

The CCTV footage of the incident showed the veiled woman walking down the deserted street when suddenly a man comes running from behind and harasses the woman. Another incident of harassing a woman walking down the street has surfaced in Karachi. In the area of Old Golimar, a man sexually harassed a veiled woman walking down the street. When the woman resisted, the culprit fled. The CCTV footage of the incident showed the veiled woman walking down the deserted street when suddenly a man comes running from behind and harasses the woman. The man approached the woman from behind and cornered her. After harassing the woman, he quickly escaped from the scene. The police arrested the suspect, identified as Raza, with the help of CCTV footage. During the initial interrogation, the suspect confessed to his crime. Source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1175759-man-held-for-sexually-harassing-woman-in-golimar

A 4.8 magnitude earthquake rattled the northeastern US Friday morning, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said, sending tremors along the Atlantic coast between Boston and Philadelphia. The quake’s epicentre was about 45 miles (72km) west of New York City in Lebanon, New Jersey, rocking buildings in densely populated Manhattan and throughout the five boroughs. As many as 45 million people may have felt the shocks, according to the USGS. Still, no casualties or major structural damage were immediately reported after the 10:23am local time (14:23 GMT) earthquake, according to the New York City Fire Department. In a post on the social media platform X, the New York City mayor’s office said it was still “assessing the impact”. Authorities were scheduled to hold a news conference at 12pm local (16:00 GMT) to provide updates. Meanwhile, the NYC Emergency Management agency urged anyone “in danger” to call the emergency 911 number, and to report any other non-emergency impacts to the city’s services hotline. A spokesman for NYC Public Schools said that teams were assessing school building facilities out of “an abundance of caution”. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said it was temporarily closing the Holland Tunnel, an arterial commuter route connecting New Jersey and Manhattan, for inspection. Some flights bound for New York were also diverted to other airports, according to the tracking website FlightAware. Residents of the city reported feeling their buildings shake for several minutes. “I noticed the door trembling on its frame,” India Hays, a barista in lower Manhattan, told The Associated Press news agency. “I thought surely there couldn’t be an earthquake here.” Charita Walcott, a 38-year-old resident in the Bronx borough, said the quake felt “like a violent rumble that lasted about 30 seconds or so.” “It was kind of like being in a drum circle, that vibration,” she told the Reuters news agency. At the United Nations in midtown Manhattan, Save the Children CEO Inger Ashing abruptly stopped an address to the Security Council on the war in Gaza. “You’re making the ground shake,” Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour quipped. People in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Connecticut and other areas of the Northeast also reported feeling the quake, with tremors lasting for several seconds felt more than 200 miles (322km) away near the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border. In a post on X, New York governor Kathy Hochul said she had been in touch with the White House, which said that President Joe Biden had also been briefed.Play Video For its part, the USGS noted that “earthquakes are uncommon but not unheard of along the Atlantic Coast”. There is no active tectonic plate boundary along the coast, “but there are stresses,” it said in a post on X. The earthquake evoked memories of an August 23, 2011, earthquake that jolted tens of millions of people along the Atlantic coast from Georgia to Canada. That earthquake registered at a magnitude 5.8 and was the strongest to hit the East Coast since World War II. The epicentre of that earthquake was in Virginia. It left cracks in the Washington Monument, spurred the evacuation of the White House and the US Capitol and rattled New Yorkers. Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/5/violent-rumble-4-8-magnitude-earthquake-rattles-new-york-city-northeast