Parts of Indian-controlled Kashmir were under curfew and businesses and schools were shut yesterday to contain anti-India protests that spilled into the streets overnight after soldiers killed four civilians and a rebel.
Militants on Sunday night fired at a checkpoint in southern Shopian area and a shoot-out with soldiers followed, Indian army Colonel Rajesh Kalia said.
A rebel and three young civilian associates of the rebel were killed, and a rifle was recovered from the site, Kalia said, adding that the body of a fourth civilian was recovered later.
Locals said the civilians were killed in cold blood.
Hundreds of people spilled into streets, shouting slogans against India’s army and demanding the end of New Delhi’s rule over Kashmir. Clashes erupted in several places in the area dotted with apple orchards as police and paramilitary soldiers tried to stop the protesters.
Police were cautious in describing the three slain civilians as militant associates and said they were investigating the incident.
The army told police that soldiers had signaled a car to stop at a temporary checkpoint outside a military camp, top police officer S.P. Vaid said.
“The car didn’t stop and instead fire came from the vehicle which soldiers retaliated,” Vaid said.
Three young men were found dead inside the car, while the militant’s body was lying outside at some distance, he said, adding that the fourth civilian was found dead in a separate car at some distance.
Kashmir is divided between Pakistan and India with both nations claiming the region entirely.
Rebels have been fighting against Indian rule since 1989, demanding the Himalayan region be united under Pakistani rule or as an independent nation. Most people in the portion governed by India support the rebels’ cause.
India accuses Pakistan of arming and training the rebels, which Pakistan denies.
Nearly 70,000 people have been killed in the uprising and the ensuing Indian military crackdown.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is constructing a new counter-stealth radar system on a disputed reef in the South China Sea that would significantly expand its surveillance capabilities in the region, satellite imagery suggests. Analysis by London-based think tank Chatham House suggests China is upgrading its outpost on Triton Island (Jhongjian Island, 中建島) on the southwest corner of the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島), building what might be a launching point for an anti-ship missile battery and sophisticated radar system. “By constraining the US ability to operate stealth aircraft, and threaten stealth aircraft, these capabilities in the South China Sea send
HAVANA: Repeated blackouts have left residents of the Cuban capital concerned about food, water supply and the nation’s future, but so far, there have been few protests Maria Elena Cardenas, 76, lives in a municipal shelter on Amargura Street in Havana’s colonial old town. The building has an elegant past, but for the last few days Maria has been cooking with sticks she had found on the street. “You know, we Cubans manage the best we can,” she said. She lives in the shelter because her home collapsed, a regular occurrence in the poorest, oldest parts of the beautiful city. Cuba’s government has spent the last days attempting to get the island’s national grid functioning after repeated island-wide blackouts. Without power, sleep becomes difficult in the heat, food
Botswana is this week holding a presidential election energized by a campaign by one previous head-of-state to unseat his handpicked successor whose first term has seen rising discontent amid a downturn in the diamond-dependent economy. The charismatic Ian Khama dramatically returned from self-exile six weeks ago determined to undo what he has called a “mistake” in handing over in 2018 to Botswanan President Mokgweetsi Masisi, who seeks re-election tomorrow. While he cannot run as president again having served two terms, Khama has worked his influence and standing to support the opposition in the southern African country of 2.6 million people. “The return of
SOUTH CHINA SEA TENSIONS: Beijing’s ‘pronounced aggressiveness’ and ‘misbehavior’ forced countries to band together, the Philippine defense chief said The Philippines is confident in the continuity of US policies in the Asia-Pacific region after the US presidential election, Philippine Secretary of Defense Gilberto Teodoro said, underlining that bilateral relations would remain strong regardless of the outcome. The alliance between the two countries is anchored in shared security goals and a commitment to uphold international law, including in the contested waters of the South China Sea, Teodoro said. “Our support for initiatives, bilaterally and multilaterally ... is bipartisan, aside from the fact that we are operating together on institutional grounds, on foundational grounds,” Teodoro said in an interview. China’s “misbehavior” in the South