Tuesday, March 19News and updates from Kashmir

INTERNATIONAL

Post-earthquake, Syrians forced to sleep on roads as US blocks relief-aid: Report

Post-earthquake, Syrians forced to sleep on roads as US blocks relief-aid: Report

INTERNATIONAL
Despite a major earthquake that hit the nation, Syrian people are suffering from the blockade imposed by the United States of America and several other Western nations. Most of the help to Syria has come from nearby Muslim countries including Iran, and Jordan and local self-help groups have been engaged in huge relief and rescue operations with a little help from the Government agencies, reported Sana. "The US deprives the Syrian people of their most basic rights, shortage in electricity, food, and medicine. Meanwhile, the US occupation forces in Syrian Al-Jazeera are still looting and stealing the Syrian national resources, especially oil, gas and wheat," the news agency reported. Pertinently, an earthquake measuring 7.7 magnitude struck a number of Syria and Turkey on Monday tha...
Yemeni woman on Umrah arrested by Saudi Arabia inside Masjid e Haram

Yemeni woman on Umrah arrested by Saudi Arabia inside Masjid e Haram

INTERNATIONAL
Marwa Abed Rabbo Al-Sabri, 29, was detained by Saudi Arabia authorities inside the Grand Mosque in Mecca while she was performing Umrah. Ministry of Expatriate Affairs in Sanaa condemned the arbitrary actions by Saudi authorities to arrest al-Sabri, local media reported. The ministry said in a statement that Marwa Abed Rabbo Al-Sabri, was prosecuted by the Saudi authorities after an argument with a Saudi policewoman in Mecca city over an "insult to the people of Yemen." The statement denounced the treatment of the Yemeni citizen Al-Sabri, by the Saudi security system and said the authorities in Saudi have accused her of possessing bombs, "to justify the issuance of a court ruling that sentenced her to one year in prison." The statement indicated that the Saudi security employee...
Death toll in Syria, Turkey earthquake crosses 16,000

Death toll in Syria, Turkey earthquake crosses 16,000

INTERNATIONAL
The death toll in the devastating earthquake that hit Syria and Turkey crossed 16,000 people on Thursday afternoon. On Monday, a powerful earthquake of 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit southern Turkey and northern Syria followed by three more earthquakes. Officials in Turkey said that the quake was centered about 33 kilometers (20 miles) from Gaziantep about 26 kilometers (16 miles) from the town of Nurdagi. Hours later, a second earthquake of magnitude 7.6 struck southeastern Turkey's Kahramanmaras region. It occurred at a depth of 7 km earthquake and the epicenter of the quake was the Elbistan region of Kahramanmaras province. The earthquake of magnitude 6.0 struck central Turkey later on Monday evening. The Turkish president Erdogan, who faces a tough battle for reelection in...
SGPC condemns attacks on Sikhs in Pakistan

SGPC condemns attacks on Sikhs in Pakistan

INTERNATIONAL
The alleged attacks on two Sikh brothers near the holy site of Nankana Sahib in Punjab province of Pakistan were taken up by members of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Tuesday, with Advocate and SGPC President Harjinder Singh Dhami condemning the incident. "Even before this, there have been many attacks on members of the Sikh community in Pakistan. Neither is an action taken by the accused or are related issues taken seriously," Dhami said. He has also sought intervention from the Centre on the matter. "To ensure the safety of Sikhs, the Modi government should hold talks with the Pakistan government at a diplomatic level," he added.
Congress must pass law to allow religious violence victims to sue Indians in US, says Christian group

Congress must pass law to allow religious violence victims to sue Indians in US, says Christian group

INTERNATIONAL
The US failure to call out religious persecution in India will hurt America’s business and security interests in South Asia, a leading Indian American Christian group said this week. The US Congress must also pass a law so that perpetrators of such persecution in India can be sued in US courts, it added. “The US Congress [must] pass a law that would allow the victims of religious violence to sue the perpetrators, be it a non-state actor or a government official, in the courts under the US jurisdiction for both criminal and civil negligence,” the Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations (FIACONA) said in a report released here this week. The US must designate India as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), America’s formal name for persecuting nations, it said. The US Dep...
Fourth powerful earthquake hits Syria, Turkey, Death toll climbs to 4300

Fourth powerful earthquake hits Syria, Turkey, Death toll climbs to 4300

INTERNATIONAL
Another powerful earthquake of 5.6 magnitude struck Turkey, making it the fourth since Monday morning's major quake that struck Syria and Turkey. A powerful earthquake of 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit southern Turkey and northern Syria early Monday morning followed by three more earthquakes killing more than 4,300 people. Officials in Turkey said that the quake was centered about 33 kilometers (20 miles) from Gaziantep about 26 kilometers (16 miles) from the town of Nurdagi. Hours later, a second earthquake of magnitude 7.6 struck southeastern Turkey's Kahramanmaras region. It occurred at a depth of 7 km earthquake and the epicenter of the quake was the Elbistan region of Kahramanmaras province. The earthquake of magnitude 6.0 strikes central Turkey later in the evening.
Death toll crosses 200 in Turkey, Syria; History of major earthquakes in Turkey

Death toll crosses 200 in Turkey, Syria; History of major earthquakes in Turkey

INTERNATIONAL
The death toll in Turkey's earthquake has risen to over two hundred, as per Government officials in Turkey. A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 occurred on Monday, collapsing dozens of buildings, killing up to 76 people in seven Turkish provinces and causing aftershocks to be felt in Cyprus, Lebanon, and Syria. 440 people, according to Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Agency, were hurt. According to Syrian state media, which cited the Health Ministry, the death toll increased to 99 in areas of Syria that are still under government control. In addition, Syria suffered at least 334 injuries. Earlier, 20 people were reported killed in rebel-held areas of Syria. This raises the overall death toll to 200 Turkey and Syria. Turkey, a hotbed of seismic activity, ...
Explosives found from Indian origin man’s house in USA

Explosives found from Indian origin man’s house in USA

INDIA, INTERNATIONAL
The Federal Bureau of (FBI) is looking for an Indian man after finding explosive devices in his home Tuesday. The FBI in Little Rock and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in New Orleans is looking to find and arrest Neil Ravi Mehta, 31, for unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device, according to local reports. The devices were found when agents searched Mehta’s residence in Fort Smith, according to FBI Little Rock spokesman Connor Hagan. He said multiple explosive devices were found inside the residence that were rendered safe by federal agents. Mehta remains at large. He is described as being 5’11” and weighing 160 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes. “At this point in time, we do consider Mehta to be armed and dangerous,” Hagan said....
Massive explosion near Quetta police lines in Pakistan, casualties feared

Massive explosion near Quetta police lines in Pakistan, casualties feared

INTERNATIONAL
At least five people were injured in an explosion near the Quetta Police Lines area on Sunday, rescue officials said. Edhi worker Zeeshan Ahmed, who is leading the rescue operation on the site, told Dawn.com that the injured persons have been moved to the Civil Hospital, Quetta. He said police and emergency teams have arrived at the site and the area has been cordoned off. Police haven’t issued any statement and the nature of the blast is not clear at the moment. The explosion comes days after a ghastly suicide blast in the Peshawar Police Lines area took nearly 80 lives, mostly policemen.
Pakistan bans Wikipedia over ‘blasphemous’ content

Pakistan bans Wikipedia over ‘blasphemous’ content

INTERNATIONAL
Pakistan has banned the popular online encyclopedia Wikipedia in the country for not “blocking/removing sacrilegious content” within the 48-hour deadline given to the website, a spokesperson confirmed on Saturday. Wikipedia is a free, crowdsourced, editable online encyclopedia often used as a starting point by millions across the world for basic information. The Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) had on Wednesday degraded Wikipedia services countrywide for not complying with the directives for the removal of controversial content from the website, Newspaper Dawn reported. The regulator said the website had neither responded to its requests, nor taken down the content in question. PTA spokesperson Malahat Obaid was quoted by Dawn as saying that the ban had primarily been imposed f...