International
Places of worship attacked in Russia's Dagestan; priest, seven security personnel killed (Lead)
Moscow, July 23 (IANS) Two Orthodox churches, a synagogue, and a traffic police station in Russia’s Dagestan region were attacked on Sunday, leaving a priest and at least seven security personnel, including six local policemen, dead, reports said.
A counter-terrorism operation has been launched in Dagestan in response to the attacks as an exchange of fire is still underway at some of the sites, some of which are in flames too, RT reported.
The attacks took place in Makhachkala, the regional capital, as well as the city of Derbent. Russian authorities have termed the attackers members of an “international terrorist organisation”, but did not provide any further details.
While earlier reports said that unidentified assailants opened fire on the religious buildings in Makachkala with automatic firearms before fleeing the scene in a vehicle, intense fighting was reported near the church in Makhachkala, as per RIA Novosti. Local media reports said some 40 people are being held hostage inside, but authorities have not confirmed this yet.
A traffic police station in the centre of Makhachkala was also attacked, causing several casualties among police officials.
The police fatalities were reported from both Makhachkala and Derbent.
A 66-year-old Orthodox priest was killed in the attack on the church in Derbent. Earlier, a local public official claimed that the attackers had slit his throat.
The synagogue in Derbent was also set ablaze and firefighters have been called away from it since it is feared that attackers could still be inside with gunfire still heard near the building, according to RIA Novosti.
The attack on the police officers in Derbent was caught on video and shared on social media. Loud gunfire can be heard in the clip, with several police cars seen parked down the street, as law enforcement officers retaliated against the assailants.
Gunfire could still be heard in central Derbent, according to witnesses. Local law enforcement officers were reportedly still engaged in a fight against the attackers near the Orthodox church.
Local Muslim leaders have condemned the attacks. North Caucasus Muslim Coordination Council chief termed the assailants “brutal and hateful beasts”, while Chechen Republic chief Ramzan Kadyrov termed the attacks a “villainous provocation” aimed at sowing discord between religions.
–IANS
vd
International
5 killed by tornadoes in China
Beijing, July 6 (IANS) Five people were confirmed dead after tornadoes struck the Heze City in east China’s Shandong province, said local authorities on Saturday.
Tornadoes hit the Dongming County and the Juancheng County, leaving 88 people injured. Five of them were later confirmed dead after medical treatment failed, according to Heze’s emergency management bureau, reports Xinhua news agency.
Preliminary investigation showed that a total of 2,820 houses, 60,900 mu (4,060 hectares) of crops and 48 power supply lines were damaged in the disaster.
Thanks to overnight repair efforts, local roads, communication, water and power supplies have been restored, while local rescuers are evacuating and resettling the affected people.
A task force has been deployed to carry out a comprehensive survey of the damage to residents’ houses and infrastructure.
Shandong averages 1.5 tornadoes every year, according to data from the National Climate Centre.
–IANS
int/rs/khz
International
Israel reports 61 new cases of West Nile fever, fatalities rise to 12
Jerusalem, July 6 (IANS) The Israeli Ministry of Health reported a fresh fatality from West Nile fever, pushing the death toll due to infections in the country to 12.
The ministry also reported on Friday 61 new cases of infection with the virus, increasing the total number of cases detected in the country since the beginning of May to 236, reported Xinhua news agency.
It is the highest annual number of West Nile fever cases since 2000, during which more than 400 cases of infection with the virus were diagnosed in Israel, according to the ministry’s data.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Ministry of Environmental Protection announced the detection of mosquitoes infected with the West Nile virus in several locations in the central Shfela region.
The ministry added that it directed local authorities to expand the monitoring and extermination actions and called on the public to dry up sources of stagnant water, the best place for mosquitoes to breed.
–IANS
int/rs/svn
International
Teenager killed, three injured in road accident in Australia
Sydney, July 6 (IANS) A 16-year-old boy died and three other teenagers injured in a road accident in Australia’s New South Wales (NSW).
The NSW Police Force said in a statement on Saturday that emergency services were called to a rural suburb of the Port Stephens in NSW at about 10.45 p.m. local time.
Police officers arrived to find a white Ford Falcon sedan containing five young persons, aged 14-17, had left the roadway and impacted with a tree, it added, Xinhua news agency reported.
The 16-year-old teenage boy died on the way to hospital. The three injured teenage passengers were taken to hospital for various non-life-threatening injuries.
The police said the driver of the vehicle, a 17-year-old boy, was subject to a roadside breath test, which allegedly returned a positive reading. He was taken to hospital for mandatory testing.
–IANS
int/rs/svn
International
NATO summit to discuss with Indo-Pacific partners resilience, cybersecurity: US official
Washington, July 6 (IANS) The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and its Indo-Pacific partners, including South Korea, plan to discuss resilience, support for Ukraine, disinformation, cybersecurity and emerging technologies during their summit in Washington next week, a senior US administration official said.
The NATO summit is set to take place in the US capital from Tuesday to Thursday. The leaders of the alliance’s four Indo-Pacific partners (IP4) – South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Japan have been invited to the summit that marks the 75th anniversary of NATO’s founding, reported Yonhap news agency.
“We are bringing together some of our closest non-NATO partners to have a discussion around issues like resilience, cyber, disinformation, and technology,” the official said in a virtual briefing.
He added, “This particular grouping of IP4 as we call them in NATO lingo — Australia, Japan, New Zealand and ROK (Republic of Korea) ,These are some of our closest partners that we work with in the region”.
The NATO summit involving Indo-Pacific partners is set to take place on Thursday.
The official did not elaborate on the issue of resilience. In a NATO context, resilience refers to the capacity to prepare for, resist, respond to and quickly recover from shocks and disruptions across the full spectrum of threats, according to an article on NATO’s Allied Command Transformation website.
At the NATO gathering, there will be a “strong” demonstration of U.S. and allies’ support for Ukraine, the official said, highlighting Washington’s plan to announce new steps to strengthen Ukraine’s air defences and military capabilities.
“Together, the Washington summit will send a strong signal to Putin that if he thinks he can outlast the coalition of countries supporting Ukraine, he’s dead wrong,” he said.
“We are also sending an important message to the rest of the world, including through our partnerships in the Indo-Pacific, as we stand together united and in support of democratic values,” he added.
The summit comes amid growing concerns about Biden’s mental health and physical fitness, which was called into question again following a poor debate performance last week.
Observers said that Biden is likely to capitalise on the summit to highlight that he is up for the job and capable of leading the nation for another four year term.
“Foreign leaders have seen Joe Biden up close and personal for the last three years. They know who they are dealing with and they know how effective he’s been,” the official said.
“What the president has done over the last three years is to reinvigorate the NATO alliance, including expanding it, making it more capable. He has stood up to President Putin’s unprecedented aggression against Ukraine by mobilising a coalition of a minimum of 50 allies and partners to provide capabilities to Ukraine.”
–IANS
int/rs/svn
International
Masoud Pezeshkian wins Iran's 14th presidential elections
New Delhi, July 6 (IANS) Masoud Pezeshkian, a reformist and former Health Minister of Iran, on Saturday, won the 14th presidential election by beating his rival, Saeed Jalili, local media reported.
Masoud Pezeshkian got 16,384,402 of the total 30,573,931 votes in the runoff, reports Iran International News.
The voter turnout, however, stood at 49.8 per cent, relatively lower than the first phase of the elections, as over 50 per cent of the eligible voters boycotted the elections.
Voting for the Iran presidential runoff commenced on Friday morning, with two top contenders, Masoud Pezeshkian and Saeed Jalili, a principlist and the former chief negotiator in the nuclear talks between Tehran and world powers, in the run.
Iran went to polls on June 28, and the next day, Spokesman of Iran’s Election Headquarters Mohsen Eslami announced the results for the first phase, in which Pezeshkian garnered 42.6 per cent of the total votes, while Jalili got 38.8 per cent.
Despite leading the race, none of the candidates were able to cross the 50 per cent mark required to win the presidential race.
Iran’s 14th presidential election, which had initially been set for 2025, was rescheduled following the unexpected death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash on May 19.
–IANS
sd/kvd
-
Video1 year ago
PM Modi Attacks Congress in Karnataka with “Kerala Story”
-
Cricket1 year ago
CSK players rejoice 5th IPL title with their families (Pics)
-
Politics1 year ago
Siddaramaiah & DK Shivakumar sworn in as Chief Minister & Deputy CM respectively
-
Entertainment1 year ago
Karan Deol weds his longtime Girlfriend Drisha Acharya (Pics)
-
Entertainment1 year ago
Urvashi Rautela dazzles on Cannes 2023 red carpet (Pics)
-
Entertainment1 year ago
Sunny Leone gets ready for Kennedy premiere in Cannes (Pics)
-
Entertainment1 year ago
Alia Bhatt looks crazy beautiful in Prabal Gurung creation at MET GALA 2023 (Pics)
-
Sports6 years ago
History Of Official FIFA WORLD CUP Match balls