Attack on consulate in Afghanistan: All gunmen killed, Modi talks to Indian envoy

May 23, 2014

Attack on consulate

Kabul, May 23: Gunmen armed with heavy weapons including rocket propelled grenades on Friday attacked the Indian Consulate in Afghanistan's Herat province during which three attackers were killed, top Indian officials said.

However, TV reports further claimed that the fourth gunman has also been killed by the security forces.

All the diplomatic staff were safe. Three gunmen were killed, one by ITBP (Indo-Tibetan Border Police) and two by Afghan police, out of four attackers who struck the Consulate which houses two buildings, Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan Amar Sinha said.

PM-designate Narendra Modi spoke to Amar Sinha and assured all help. According to TV reports, Afghan President Hamid Karzai will call Modi later to brief him about the attack.

In a pre-dawn assault, the gunmen attacked the building which houses the residence of Consulate General, Sinha said, adding that there were nine Indians in the mission apart from local Afghans.

One attacker was killed while climbing the wall to enter the premises of the consulate, Sinha said.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi said, "India's Consulate in Herat, Afghanistan attacked. Brave ITBP (Indo-Tibetan Border Police) personnel and Afghan soldiers rebut attackers. All are safe."

The spokesperson said that operation is underway. "India-Afghanistan officials (were) in touch on attack on India's Consulate in Herat. Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh (was) monitoring (the) situation," the official said.

Afghan police officials earlier said gunmen armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades opened fire on the consulate early this morning from a nearby home.'

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Afghanistan has experienced a rise in the Taliban attacks as foreign troops plan to withdraw from the war-torn country by the end of the year.

In August last year, a failed bombing against the Indian Consulate in Jalalabad city near the border with Pakistan killed nine people, including six children. No Indian officials were hurt.

The Indian Embassy in Kabul was attacked twice in 2008 and 2009 that left 75 people dead.

India has invested in some major infrastructure projects in Afghanistan like Salma hydroelectric dam in Herat province and the Afghan parliament building in Kabul.

India's development assistance programme for Afghanistan currently stands at USD two billion, making it the leading donor nation among all regional countries.

Pakistan condemns attack on Indian Consulate in Herat

Pakistan condemned the attack on the Indian Consulate in Afghanistan's Herat province.

Foreign office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said Pakistan reiterates its condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

"No cause justifies targeting of diplomatic missions. It is a matter of relief that no one from the Consulate staff was hurt," she said in a statement.

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News Network
March 26,2020

New Delhi, Mar 26: Despite repeated assurances by the Centre and state government of no shortage of food and essential services in Delhi, many daily wage earners have started fleeing the national capital on foot to return to their native villages in nearby Uttar Pradesh and other states because of the hardships being faced by them.
Most daily wage earners who are fleeing have complained that they are doing so because they will die of hunger due to lack of resources at their disposal.
"I am going to Azamgarh, my native place which is more than 800 kilometers from here. We have started walking towards our village. On the roads, if we get some vehicles then it will be all right otherwise we will continue on foot. I used to work in the construction sector but all work has stopped, we therefore have no other means to buy our rations. Atleast, food is guaranteed in our homes," Ghanshyam, a daily wage earner, told ANI here.
Rani, another daily wage earner, who was fleeing Delhi along with her family said, "Who would want to leave on foot, but what other options do we have. Our children will die of hunger, even if they are saved from the disease. That is why we are leaving."
While the government has been assuring that it will provide food and other essentials to the low-income groups, the people complained that they are yet to receive any help.
The departing of people has started despite repeated warnings by governments to prevent the influx of persons living in other states to curtail the spread of coronavirus.
Prince, who used to reside in Mongolpuri area of Delhi, said, "If we continue to stay the landlord will pester us for rent. The prices of all commodities are rising with each passing day, this way we will have nothing left to survive. We did not get any help from the government. I am, therefore, returning to Kasganj, which is close to 300 kilometres from Delhi. We will at least get food served twice a day in the village, nobody is offering us even water here."
Earlier on Tuesday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had announced Rs 5,000 for each construction worker under Construction Workers Welfare Board Fund.
Addressing a video conference here, he said, "The Delhi government will give Rs 5,000 to each construction worker as their livelihood has been affected due the outbreak of coronavirus."
He also said that the number of night shelters in the city has been increased and more food is being distributed to homeless people.
He also said that due to curfew, several people were not able to get food, and urged the public to send such people to the nearest shelters of the Delhi government, where food was being arranged.

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News Network
January 15,2020

New Delhi, Jan 15: The Delhi government Wednesday told the high court that execution of the death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case will not take place on January 22 as a mercy plea has been filed by one of them.

The four convicts -- Vinay Sharma (26), Mukesh Kumar (32), Akshay Kumar Singh (31) and Pawan Gupta (25) -- are to be hanged on January 22 at 7 am in Tihar jail. A Delhi court had issued their death warrants on January 7.

Justices Manmohan and Sangita Dhingra Sehgal were told by the Delhi government and the Centre that the petition filed by convict Mukesh, challenging his death warrant, was premature.

The Delhi government and the prison authorities informed the court that under the rules, it will have to wait for the mercy plea to be decided before executing the death warrant.

They also said that none of the four convicts can be executed on January 22 unless the present mercy plea is decided.

The Supreme Court had on Tuesday dismissed the curative pleas of Mukesh and Vinay.

The mercy plea hearing began Wednesday morning and will continue in the afternoon.

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News Network
July 4,2020

Pune, Jul 4: Now that wearing mask in public places has become the new normal, a resident of Pimpri-Chinchwad of Pune district, Shankar Kurade has got himself a mask made of gold worth Rs 2.89 lakhs amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It's a thin mask with minute holes so that there is no difficulty in breathing. I am not sure whether this mask will be effective," said Kurade.

Kurade loves wearing gold ornaments and his hands and neck are loaded with jewellery.

This unique idea struck him soon after he saw a man wearing a silver mask on social media.

"I saw a video on social media of a man in Kolhapur wearing a silver mask and then an idea struck me to have a mask of gold. I talked to a goldsmith and he gave me this five and a half pound gold mask in a week," said Kurade.

"All my family members love gold, if they too demand it, then I will get it designed for them too. I do not know if I will be infected with coronavirus wearing a gold mask or not, but following all the rules of the government can prevent the spread of virus," he added.

Since childhood, Shankar is very fond of gold ornaments, that is the reason he wears gold rings in all the fingers, gold bracelets on his wrist and huge gold chains around his neck.

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