Five killed in bomb attack on Colombia police station

Agencies
January 28, 2018

Bogota, Jan 28: At least five police officers were killed and 41 others wounded when alleged drug traffickers detonated a remote controlled bomb at a station in the northern city of Barranquilla, officials said.

The attack yesterday was one of the deadliest on security personnel in recent years, in one of Colombia's most important cities.

It comes as the government of President Juan Manuel Santos seeks to bring the armed conflict that has wracked Colombia for 50 years to an end. Much of the violence has been financed by drug trafficking.

The bombing also casts a pall over preparations for the annual carnival, a major attraction in the Caribbean port city.

Mariano Botero, the Barranquilla police commander, said that the bomb detonated as the officers gathered for morning formation.

A police source told AFP that 49 officers were at the site when the bomb exploded. Of those, five officers aged between 24 and 31 were killed and 41 were wounded.

A 31-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of carrying out the attack, according to attorney general Nestor Martinez.

"We will charge (him) with five aggravated murders ... attempted murder, terrorism and use of explosives," he told a press conference.

Barranquilla Mayor Alejandro Char quickly blamed drug traffickers for the attack.

"I do not have the slightest doubt that this is a retaliation" for successful police action against drug traffickers, he told reporters.

Botero also suggested that the attack could be in revenge after a police crackdown on local drug traffickers.

Colombia is the world's top producer of cocaine, and criminal groups have flooded the country's main cities with drugs in a move known as "microtrafficking."

El Heraldo, the main Barranquilla newspaper, said some believe the attack may have been aimed at distracting police from an armoured car robbery that took place at the same time.

The head of Colombia's national police, General Jorge Nieto, said he travelled to Barranquilla to offer his support to the blast survivors and their relatives.

He also announced a reward of 50 million pesos (USD 17.8 million) for information about the attack.

"We strongly condemn this barbaric act and soon we will find those behind it," he said.

President Juan Manuel Santos blasted the "cowardly attack" on Twitter.

"We will not rest until we find those responsible, my solidarity is with the families of the victims and the wounded," Santos wrote.

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News Network
June 25,2020

London, Jun 25: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called on India and China to engage in dialogue to sort out their border issues as he described the escalation in eastern Ladakh as "a very serious and worrying situation" which the UK is closely monitoring.

The first official statement of Mr Johnson came during his weekly Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

Responding to Conservative Party MP Flick Drummond on the implications for British interests of a dispute between a "Commonwealth member and the world's largest democracy on the one side, and a state that challenges our notion of democracy on the other," he described the escalation in eastern Ladakh as "a very serious and worrying situation", which the UK is "monitoring closely".

"Perhaps the best thing I can say... is that we are encouraging both parties to engage in dialogue on the issues on the border and sort it out between them," the Prime Minister said.

In a statement in New Delhi on Wednesday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said India and China have agreed that expeditious implementation of the previously agreed understanding on disengagement of troops from standoff points in eastern Ladakh would help ensure peace and tranquillity in the border areas.

During the diplomatic talks between India and China, the situation in the region was discussed in detail and the Indian side conveyed its concerns over the violent face-off in Galwan Valley on June 15. Twenty Indian Army personnel were killed in the clash. There were reports of several casualties for the Chinese army too, but China hasn't declared any official number yet.

The talks were held in the midst of escalating tension between the two countries following the violent clashes in Galwan Valley on June 15.

The Indian and Chinese armies are engaged in the standoff in Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie in eastern Ladakh. A sizable number of Chinese Army personnel even transgressed into the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control in several areas including Pangong Tso.

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News Network
January 30,2020

New York, Jan 30: Three Indian citizens were arrested by border patrol agents here for entering the US illegally.

US Border Patrol agents stopped a vehicle near Massena in New York state along the county's northern border on January 24. During the vehicle checking, the agents found that two of the passengers were Indian citizens who entered the US illegally and not at a designated port of entry.

Both the passengers were transported to the Border Patrol Station for processing and charged.

The vehicle driver, also an Indian citizen who originally entered illegally into the US in 2012 and was ordered removed from the country in absentia last December, was charged with alien smuggling, a felony, which carries a penalty of a fine and up to five years of imprisonment for each violation.

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Agencies
February 10,2020

Hubei, Feb 10: The death toll in the deadly coronavirus outbreak in China and other parts of the world has reached 904, CNN reported citing Chinese authorities on Monday.

The number of infected people globally has now hit the 40,000 mark.

According to the country's health officials, the number of people, who died from coronavirus in the Hubei Province, has risen to 871.

"As of 24:00 on February 9, Hubei Province reported a total of 29,631 cases of new coronavirus pneumonia, including 16,902 cases in Wuhan. 22,160 patients are still being treated in hospitals. 73,127 people remain under medical observation," read the statement from the Chinese Regional Health Committee.

The novel coronavirus was first detected in China's Wuhan city in late December and has since spread to more than 25 countries.

On Sunday, the new coronavirus even surpassed the fatalities caused by the SARS epidemic in 2003.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared a global health emergency in the wake of the outbreak.

Meanwhile, WHO's international expert mission led by Dr Bruce Aylward embarked for China.

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