SRINAGAR: Indian and Pakistani soldiers shelled military outposts and villages along their highly militarized frontier in disputed Kashmir on Wednesday, in an outbreak of new violence despite stepped-up diplomatic efforts by the rival countries to ease tensions.
The two armies accused each other of initiating the artillery and mortar fire and small-arms gunfire. No casualties were immediately reported.
Tensions have been high since Indian aircraft crossed into Pakistan last week, carrying out what India called a pre-emptive strike against militants blamed for a Feb. 14 suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 Indian troops.
Pakistan retaliated, shooting down two Indian planes and capturing a pilot, who was later returned to India in a peace gesture. The two countries have also resumed bus and train services that were stopped following the escalation of tensions, the most serious in the long-simmering conflict since 1999, when Pakistan’s military sent a ground force into Indian-controlled Kashmir.
In another effort aimed at easing tension with India, Pakistan on Tuesday arrested dozens of people including the brother of the leader of the outlawed Jaish-e-Mohammad militant group, which claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing in Kashmir.
Among the detainees were Mufti Abdul Rauf and Hammad Azhar, two prominent members of the group who were on a list of suspects given by India to Pakistan over the weekend.
Pakistan on Wednesday continued a crackdown on seminaries, mosques and hospitals belonging to outlawed groups, saying the actions were part of its efforts to fight terrorism, extremism and militancy. In Islamabad, authorities also took control of a mosque and dispensary run by Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a charity run by an anti-India cleric, Hafiz Saeed, that is widely believed to serve as a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba, the militant group blamed for attacks in Mumbai in 2008 that killed 166 people.
In Pakistan, foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Pakistan’s ambassador to India was returning to New Delhi and a Pakistani delegation will also travel to India on March 14 for talks on opening the first visa-free border crossing between the nations, a corridor that will allow Sikh pilgrims to easily visit their shrines on each side of the border.
“Tension has eased because of our successful diplomacy,” said Qureshi, who led diplomatic efforts in recent weeks to muster the support of the international community to prevent a possible war with India. He said Washington, Beijing, Moscow and several Muslim countries played a significant role in easing tensions.
“We appreciate the role of the United States in de-escalating the situation,” he told reporters in the capital, Islamabad.
There was no immediate comment from Indian officials.
However, border tensions continued.
The new violence flared up at several places along the Line of Control that divides the Himalayan territory of Kashmir between India and Pakistan. Both of the nuclear-armed rivals claim the entire territory.
Both sides accused the other of violating a 2003-cease-fire accord and said their soldiers retaliated “befittingly and effectively.”
Tens of thousands of people live in rugged, mountainous and lush green-forested areas along the frontier on both sides of divided Kashmir despite a climate of constant fear. Each year cycles of border violence break out between the two countries. Hundreds of civilians have died in the skirmishes, which have also killed livestock and damaged property.
The high tensions last week displaced hundreds of villagers on both sides. Many are still living in government-run shelters or with relatives and friends in safer places.
Sitting outside one shelter in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, Mohammad Lateef, 42, said he had to leave his village near the Line of Control when Indian mortar shells began landing. “Our homes were destroyed in a 2005 earthquake and since then we have been living in tin-roof sheds,” he said. “We are poor people. We don’t have enough money to run our kitchen. How can we build bunkers to protect ourselves from Indian firing?“
Another resident, Rubina Bibi, 32, said she wants peace “so that we can live without leaving our own villages” in Kashmir. “Give us peace and we will want nothing else,” she said.
In Indian-administered Kashmir, the situation was no different.
“We have seen these cycles of violence. They grab each other to kill and then they grab each other to hug,” said Shafaat Ali, a resident of the Poonch frontier area. “Even if tensions between the two countries ease and they resume all relations as normal, our lives still remain under stress.”
Nusrat Bano, a resident of the Mendhar area who has taken shelter with her relatives for about two weeks, said border residents know the real meaning of peace. “Peace is good, very good. Who would say it’s not. But let there be peace in our lives too, in our homes too.”
India accuses Pakistan of training, arming and sheltering rebels who began fighting Indian forces in 1989. Pakistan denies the allegation, saying it only offers moral support to Kashmiris seeking the right to self-determination for the entire territory.
India, Pakistan again target army posts, villages in Kashmir
India, Pakistan again target army posts, villages in Kashmir
- Both militaries accuse the other of starting the attacks
- No casualties were reported so far
France marks 10 years since deadly Charlie Hebdo attacks
- Macron joined police officers in laying wreaths of flowers against the wall of the former Charlie Hebdo headquarters in the 11th district
- Germany “shares the pain of our French friends,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz said
BERLIN/PARIS:PARIS: A decade after gunmen stormed the offices of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in a deadly assault that shook France to its core and ignited a global outcry in defense of freedom of speech, the nation paused on Tuesday to honor the victims and renew its resolve to fight for liberty and democracy.
President Emmanuel Macron and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo led solemn tributes at the site of the attack, where 12 people, including some of France’s most beloved cartoonists, were killed on January 7, 2015. Among those remembered was Ahmed Merabet, a police officer who was gunned down on the street while defending the newspaper.
In a poignant ceremony, Macron stood with his wife, Brigitte, alongside former President François Hollande, who had steered France through the aftermath of the attacks. Macron joined police officers in laying wreaths of flowers against the wall of the former Charlie Hebdo headquarters in the 11th district and the gathering observed a minute of silence. A lone trumpet played, resonating through a neighborhood scarred by that day’s bloodshed and later by the Bataclan massacre in November of the same year.
The attacks plunged France into a year of unparalleled terror, beginning with the Charlie Hebdo assault and culminating in the coordinated November attacks, including the Bataclan tragedy. The nation was left grieving, yet public gatherings became acts of resilience, defying fear and standing firm against violence.
The massacre at Charlie Hebdo, carried out by two brothers claiming allegiance to Al-Qaeda, signaled the dawn of a dark new chapter for France. A wave of extremist violence forced the country to reexamine its security measures. In the days following the attack, then German Chancellor Angela Merkel marched arm in arm with Hollande and other world leaders through the streets of Paris — a powerful display of unity in defense of freedom of expression that reverberated far beyond French borders.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, speaking on RTL Tuesday, acknowledged how far France has come. while warning of the persistent dangers. “France has rearmed considerably, but the threat is still there,” he said, pointing to both external dangers and the rise of homegrown radicalization.
“The nature of the threat has changed,” Retailleau added. “It is now primarily endogenous — young individuals radicalized through social media. Last year alone, our services foiled nine attacks, the highest number since 2017.”
The attacks’ impact continued to extend beyond France itself. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz shared a message of solidarity on social media, writing, “#JeSuisCharlie spread around the world after the barbaric attack on Charlie Hebdo 10 years ago. Today, as then, we share the grief of our French friends. The attack targeted our shared values of freedom and democracy— we will never accept this.”
The attack on Charlie Hebdo, carried out in retaliation for the newspaper’s irreverent caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, ignited fierce global debates about the limits of free expression. In the days that followed, millions marched in solidarity, brandishing pens and signs declaring, Je Suis Charlie (I am Charlie).
But 10 years on, the unity of that moment has given way to deeper divisions. Charlie Hebdo said its research shows that while a majority of French still believe in the fundamental right to caricature, younger generations increasingly criticize satire they see as divisive or insensitive, particularly toward marginalized communities.
“Are we all still Charlie?” one television special asked. For some, the answer is a resounding yes — a tribute to those who paid the ultimate price for freedom of expression. For others, French media say, it’s a more complicated question.
The newspaper remains unapologetic. Its 10th-anniversary edition features a cover cartoon of a reader perched on an AK-47, captioned “Indestructible.” In an editorial, the magazine’s director, Laurent Sourisseau, known as “Riss,” defended the power of satire. “If you want to laugh, it means you want to live,” he wrote.
Germany “shares the pain of our French friends,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Tuesday on the 10th anniversary of a deadly attack on French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo that claimed 12 lives.
The “barbaric attack... targeted our common values of liberty and democracy — which we will never accept,” Scholz said in a post in French on X.
Hundreds of Afghans detained in Pakistan: Afghan embassy
ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan’s embassy in Pakistan said around 800 Afghans living in the capital have been detained by authorities, including some who are registered with the UN’s refugee agency.
It warned in a statement late on Monday that uncertainty around the visa process for Afghans in Pakistan has caused “troubling cases of arbitrary detention and deportation.”
Islamabad has cracked down on undocumented Afghans as political tensions with Kabul have increased, forcing more than 780,000 Afghans back across the border since the end of 2023 — including some who have lived in Pakistan for decades.
“The Embassy of Afghanistan expresses its deep concern over the recent detention of approximately 800 Afghan nationals in Islamabad,” it said on social media platform X.
“This has caused the tragic separation of families, including women and children, many of whom remain stranded in Pakistan.”
The statement said the number included 137 Afghans with pending visa extension requests or who are temporarily registered with the UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency.
The embassy was “alarmed by reports of unwarranted arrests, home searches, and extortion targeting Afghan nationals,” it said.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry has not responded to requests for comment.
More than 600,000 Afghans have fled to Pakistan since the Afghan Taliban regained control of Kabul in August 2021, including tens of thousands on the advice of Western nations with the promise of relocation.
Many are forced by embassies to wait for months in guest houses in Islamabad while their cases are processed and have reported a rise in harassment by police in recent weeks.
The Pakistan government said its deportation campaign is a bid to improve security after a rise in militancy in the border regions.
But Afghans say they are being targeted because of a political falling-out between Islamabad and Kabul.
“The Afghans in Pakistan awaiting immigration are going through so much pain,” Umer Ijaz Gilani, a lawyer who represents Afghans, told AFP.
Millions of Afghans have fled into Pakistan to escape successive conflicts over decades, becoming deeply ingrained in Pakistani society.
According to the UNHCR, Pakistan currently hosts some 1.5 million Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers, alongside more than 1.5 million Afghans of different legal statuses.
Pakistan has given a series of short-term extensions to Afghans with registered refugee status, currently due to expire in June 2025.
China attaches importance to Trump’s remarks on talks with Xi
BEIJING: China attaches “great importance” to the remarks of Donald Trump, the foreign ministry said in response to comments on Monday from the US President-elect saying he has been in talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping through their aides.
Trump had said he believed he and Xi will get along but it had to be a “two-way street,” repeating that China has been “ripping off” the US economically.
The ministry spokesperson did not confirm there were exchanges through the leaders’ aides but said that China and US have maintained communications through various means.
Man accused of burning woman to death on a New York City subway train is set to be arraigned
- Prosecutors say Zapeta lit the New Jersey native on fire on a stopped F train at Brooklyn’s Coney Island station on Dec. 22. Zapeta then fanned the flames
- The killing has renewed discussion about safety in the nation’s largest mass transit system even as crime in the subway remains relatively rare
NEW YORK: The man accused of burning a sleeping woman to death inside a New York City subway train is set to be arraigned Tuesday on murder and arson charges.
Sebastian Zapeta, 33, will appear in Brooklyn court in connection with the killing of Debrina Kawam, 57.
Prosecutors say Zapeta lit the New Jersey native on fire on a stopped F train at Brooklyn’s Coney Island station on Dec. 22. Zapeta then fanned the flames with a shirt before sitting on platform bench and watching as Kawam burned, they allege.
Prosecutors say Zapeta confirmed to police he was the man in surveillance photos and videos of the fire but said he drinks a lot of alcohol and did not recall what happened.
Zapeta, a Guatemalan citizen who authorities say entered the country illegally after being deported in 2018, faces multiple counts of murder as well as an arson charge. The top charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole.
He was previously arraigned on a criminal complaint, but in New York, all felony cases require a grand jury indictment to proceed to trial unless a defendant waives that requirement.
Prosecutors with Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez’s office announced Zapeta had been indicted in late December.
Zapeta’s lawyer didn’t respond to an email seeking comment Monday evening.
The killing has renewed discussion about safety in the nation’s largest mass transit system even as crime in the subway remains relatively rare.
Transit crime is down for the second straight year, with a 5.4 percent drop last year compared to 2023, according to data released by police Monday, which also showed a 3 percent overall drop in major crimes citywide.
Still, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a Monday news conference discussing the statistics that riders simply “don’t feel safe.”
In response, she said the department will surge more than 200 officers onto subway trains and deploy more officers onto subway platforms in the 50 highest-crime stations in the city.
“We know that 78 percent of transit crime occurs on trains and on platforms, and that is quite obviously where our officers need to be,” Tisch said. “This is just the beginning.”
Powerful Tibet earthquake, near Nepal, kills at least 53
- 6.8-magnitude quake measured at 10km depth with Tingri as epicenter
- Southwestern China, Nepal and northern India are frequently hit by quakes
BEIJING/Katmandu: A magnitude 6.8 earthquake rocked the northern foothills of the Himalayas near one of Tibet’s holiest cities on Tuesday, Chinese authorities said, killing at least 53 people and shaking buildings in neighboring Nepal, Bhutan and India.
The quake hit at 9:05 a.m. (0105 GMT), with its epicenter located in Tingri, a rural Chinese county known as the northern gateway to the Everest region, at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles), according to the China Earthquake Networks Center. The US Geological Service put the quake’s magnitude at 7.1.
At least 53 people had been killed and 62 injured on the Tibetan side, China’s state-run news agency Xinhua reported.
Southwestern parts of China, Nepal and northern India are frequently hit by earthquakes caused by the collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.
A magnitude 7.8 tremor struck near Katmandu in 2015, killing about 9,000 people and injuring thousands in Nepal’s worst ever earthquake. Among the dead were at least 18 people killed at the Mount Everest base camp when it was smashed by an avalanche.
Tuesday’s epicenter was around 80 km (50 miles) north of Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain and a popular destination for climbers and trekkers.
Winter is not a popular season for climbers and hikers in Nepal, with a German climber the lone mountaineer with a permit to climb Mount Everest. He had already left the base camp after failing to reach the summit, Lilathar Awasthi, a Department of Tourism official, said.
Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) said the tremors were felt in seven hill districts bordering Tibet.
“So far we have not received any information of any loss of life and property,” NDRRMA spokesman Dizan Bhattarai told Reuters. “We have mobilized police, security forces and local authorities to collection information,” he said.
Many villages in the Nepalese border area, which are sparsely populated, are remote and can only be reached by foot.
AFTERSHOCKS, DAMAGE
The impact of the temblor was felt across the Shigatse region of Tibet, home to 800,000 people. The region is administered by Shigatse city, the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, one of the most important figures in Tibetan Buddhism.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said all-out search and rescue efforts should be carried out to minimize casualties, properly resettle the affected people, and ensure a safe and warm winter.
Villages in Tingri reported strong shaking during the quake, which was followed by dozens of aftershocks with magnitudes of up to 4.4.
Crumbled shop fronts could be seen in a video on social media showing the aftermath from the town of Lhatse, with debris spilling out onto the road.
Reuters was able to confirm the location from nearby buildings, windows, road layout, and signage that match satellite and street view imagery.
There are three townships and 27 villages within 20 km (12 miles) of the epicenter, with a total population of around 6,900, Xinhua reported. Local government officials were liaising with nearby towns to gauge the impact of the quake and check for casualties, it added.
Tremors were also felt in Nepal’s capital Katmandu some 400 km (250 miles) away, where residents ran from their houses.
The quake also jolted Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, and the northern Indian state of Bihar which borders Nepal.
So far, no reports of any damage or loss to property have been received, officials in India said.
