At least 84 dead in 'terrorist' Nice truck attack

July 15, 2016

Nice (France), Jul 15: A truck ploughed into a crowd in the French resort of Nice, killing at least 84 people today in what President Francois Hollande called a "terrorist" attack on revellers watching a Bastille Day fireworks display.

Bastille

The driver was shot dead after barrelling the truck two kilometres through the festive crowd on the palm-lined Promenade des Anglais, sending hundreds fleeing in terror and leaving the area strewn with bodies.

Authorities said they found identity papers belonging to a 31-year-old French-Tunisian citizen in the truck, as well as "guns" and "larger weapons".

The attack was of an "undeniable terrorist nature," a sombre Hollande said in a televised national address, confirming that "several children" were among the dead as families came together to celebrate France's national day.

The bloodshed came on Bastille Day, a celebration of everything France holds dear, its secular republic and the values of "Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite" (Freedom, Equality, Fraternity).

The attacker struck after a day of military pomp and ceremony in Paris -- where armed forces, tanks and fighter jets swooped down the Champs Elysees avenue -- and spectacular firework displays.

"France was struck on its national day ... the symbol of freedom," said Hollande. A photograph showed the front of the truck riddled with bullet holes and badly damaged, with burst tyres. A lone doll lay abandoned on the promenade where families celebrated the holiday just hours earlier.

Robert Holloway, an AFP reporter who witnessed the white truck driving at speed into the crowd, described scenes of "absolute chaos". "We saw people hit and bits of debris flying around. I had to protect my face from flying debris," he said.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told reporters on the scene that the death toll stood at 84, with scores injured including 18 in "critical condition". The attack is the third major strike against France in less than 18 months and prosecutors said anti-terrorist investigators would handle the probe.

It comes eight months after Islamic State attacks on Paris nightspots left 130 people dead, dealing a hard blow to tourism in one of the world's top destinations.

US President Barack Obama condemned "what appears to be a horrific terrorist attack", although no group had yet claimed responsibility. Hollande announced he would extend France's state of emergency for three months in the wake of this latest attack and "step up" the government's action against jihadists in Syria and Iraq.

He also called up army reservists to bolster the country's security services that are stretched to the limit.

Comments

observer
 - 
Friday, 15 Jul 2016

Countries like USA, Russia, Israel and India are ruled by murderers engaging in destabilizing the world in the name of Islam. Anti Islam agenda is their prime aim.

arjun
 - 
Friday, 15 Jul 2016

@comment #3
Boppanna seems to be right going by the number of mindless terror attacks by Muslims. Terror has no religion but the terrorists are always Muslim. Shame on such a bike cult, where the majority abets the criminality of terrorists.
S

Bopanna
 - 
Friday, 15 Jul 2016

Muslims are like cockroaches and have no place in a civilized society.
They should be removed from civil society and put on islands

Bopanna
 - 
Friday, 15 Jul 2016

Moshanba you are the frustrated one not me. Taqiiyya always as usual
I can give u the verses if u want

naren kotian
 - 
Friday, 15 Jul 2016

where are jihadis in mangalore ... hahaha ... zakir naik skype video nodtha ummah ge jai , lakadi pakadi jummah ohh ummah ankondu kootirbeku ... or 4 options jothe population jaasthi madodu helkodtha irbahudu i mean appa amma aata... hahaha ... france incident proves who is real blood thirsty and it is another henious crimes committed by muslims ... very shocking and discgusting ... they can stoop anylevel ... kachada galu ...mekka and madina dalle bomb madagthave andre .. maklu yaav range nalli corrupted mind and frustrated souls agirbeku ...

moshanna
 - 
Friday, 15 Jul 2016

Being in Saudi Arabia our frustrated Bopanna might not aware of the  punishment for twisting the verses of holy quran (blasphemy) .

imtiaz
 - 
Friday, 15 Jul 2016

this is gruesome... some psycho can only do this kind of heinous acts.....but media doesn't have any ryt to put d blame on entire religion.... ISIS does not represent Islam at all....ISIS is not Islam...jus cos few bastards grow beard n waive black flags doesn't mean that they r muslims.....

ISlam is the religion Of Allah,,,, n Allah alone will protect His religion.....

Vijay
 - 
Friday, 15 Jul 2016

All \peace \" commentators left India to join IS?"

Bopanna
 - 
Friday, 15 Jul 2016

Why are the followers of Religion of \Piece\" not commenting here ?
It's written in the Koran that the month of Ramadan should be one to sow the seeds of terror in the hearts of non Muslims.

Can you tell the truth rather than taqiiyya ?"

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News Network
February 18,2020

Washington, Feb 18: The upcoming visit of President Donald Trump to India later this month has the potential to usher in a new era of bilateral ties between the two countries, a top American business advocacy group has said.

President Trump will pay a state visit to India on February 24 and 25 at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He would be accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump.

This would be the president's first bilateral visit in the third decade of the 21st century and also the first after his acquittal by the Senate in the impeachment trial.

"I believe President Trump's upcoming visit to India has the potential to usher in a new era of our bilateral ties," Mukesh Aghi, President of the US India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF) said in a statement on Monday.

On the sidelines of the visit, the USISPF, in collaboration with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the ORF, has announced to organise a program entitled "US-India Forum: Partners for Growth".

The full-day discussion will focus on the key pillars defining India and the US' strategic, economic, and cultural partnership over the next decade.

"We have an opportunity before us to make real progress on multiple aspects of the relationship— whether it is upholding peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region; building upon an already strong energy partnership; developing co-production and co-development opportunities in the defense space; or strengthening bilateral trade," Aghi said.

"We look forward to an extremely successful visit and some concrete outcomes from the visit," he said.

The day-long programme on February 25 in New Delhi, will bring together over 500 senior business executives, members of the US-India think tank community and leading figures of the Indian diaspora to set the agenda for this strategic partnership.

Discussions during the day will touch upon areas, including the Indo-Pacific Strategy and Maritime Security; the US-India Defence Partnership, the US-India Energy Partnership, Elevating US-India Trade and Investment and Role of the Indian Diaspora in US-India Relations.

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News Network
March 29,2020

Beijing, Mar 29: In a rare display of public anger in China, dozens of people in central Hubei province, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak till recently, attacked official vehicles after they were stopped from crossing a bridge and travel to neighbouring Jiangxi after the lifting of the lockdown.
Hubei province with over 56 million people was kept under lockdown from January 23 as part of aggressive measures to bring down COVID-19 cases which rapidly spread in the area.

Videos on Chinese social media on Friday showed unprecedented scenes of police from Hubei and Jiangxi clashing on the bridge connecting the two provinces over barricades erected from stopping Hubei people from moving out over fears of coronavirus spreading.

Policemen from both sides argued over how to verify if people were allowed to enter Jiangxi, according to local media reports.

It was a major relief for millions of people in Hubei province, when the Chinese government which kept it under lockdown lifted the restrictions on travel.

The government will permit people from the province to travel if they hold a green health code, meaning no contact with any infected or suspected COVID-19 cases.

But people of Hubei to their shock on Friday found roadblocks on the 1st Yangtze River Bridge that separates Huangmei county in Hubei erected by Huangmei county of Jiangxi province.

In local media reports, witnesses were quoted as saying that Huangmei police in Jiujiang erected roadblocks on the bridge to stop people from Hubei from crossing it, a move they alleged stigmatised them.

Video footage shared online showed rows of police armed with riot shields holding back the crowds, while members of the public could be seen damaging and even overturning police vehicles.

In a clip published by the Huanggang city government, which administers Huangmei, the county's Communist Party chief Ma Yanzhou could be heard speaking to the people through a loud hailer, warning them that by gathering in a large group they were increasing their chances of contracting the virus, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.

While it is unclear exactly how the clash started, police from the two sides published separate official statements online, which were quickly deleted, it said.

The incident underlines the problems China faces as it seeks a return to normalcy after months of lockdown, the Post said.

After the incident, the governments of Huangmei and Jiujiang on Friday issued a joint statement saying they had agreed to remove the barriers set up to restrict travel during the lockdown, and also to recognise each other's health screening codes to make it easier for people in good health to get to where they needed to be, the Post report said.

An article by the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) mouthpiece, People''s Daily acknowledged the problems in getting the country back on its feet.

"In the past few days, all walks of life have called for governments to accept workers from Hubei," it said.

"However, it is undeniable that some places, intentionally or not, have set up obstacles for Hubei migrant workers to return to their posts and hold prejudices against them."

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News Network
January 10,2020

Washington, Jan 10: It is “highly likely” that Iran shot down the civilian Ukrainian jetliner that crashed near Tehran late Tuesday, killing all 176 people on board, U.S., Canadian and British officials declared Thursday.

They said the fiery missile strike could well have been a mistake amid rocket launches and high tension throughout the region.

The crash came just a few hours after Iran launched a ballistic attack against Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops in its violent confrontation with Washington over the U.S. drone strike that killed an Iranian Revolutionary Guard general. The airliner could have been mistaken for a threat, said four U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence.

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, whose country lost at least 63 citizens in the downing, said in Toronto: “We have intelligence from multiple sources including our allies and our own intelligence. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile.”

Likewise, U.K. prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian prime minister Scott Morrison offered similar statements. Morrison also said it appeared to be a mistake. “All of the intelligence as presented to us today does not suggest an intentional act,” he said.

The assessment that 176 people were killed as collateral damage in the Iranian-U.S. conflict cast a new pall over what had at first appeared to be a relatively calm aftermath following the U.S. military operation that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

At the White House, U.S. president Donald Trump suggested he believed Iran was responsible for the shootdown and dismissed Iran's initial claim that it was a mechanical issue with the plane.

“Somebody could have made a mistake on the other side.” Trump said, noting the plane was flying in a “pretty rough neighborhood."

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