Terrorists attack Imam Zaman mosque in Kabul during Juma prayers

Agencies
August 25, 2017

Kabul, Aug 25: A suicide attack followed by gunfire as Shia Muslims gathered for Friday prayers at a mosque in the Afghan capital, Kabul, has killed and injured several people.

Interior ministry spokesman, Najib Danish, told Al Jazeera that after the blast at the Imam Zaman mosque in the Qala-Najara neighbourhood, three gunmen entered and began shooting.

Danish said there were 14 victims overall, without specifying how many among them had died.

More explosions and gunfire echoed from the site of the attack, which police official Mohammed Jamil said was still underway.

"We were here, people were waiting for prayers to start, a suicide attacker came and killed the guards and fired on the other guard at the gate and killed him, then entered the mosque," eyewitness Ghulam Reza told the Associated Press news agency.

Mir Hussain Nasiri, a member of Afghanistan's Shia clerical council, said the cleric who was performing the prayers was killed, but did not give his name.

Al Jazeera's Jennifer Glasse, reporting from Kabul, said police were trying to clear the mosque.

"Police have cordoned off the area and are trying to evacuate the worshippers," she said. "It was a busy time, in the middle of Friday prayer as the attack took place.

"It's a residential area. There are lots of high rises and the mosque is on a street which is usually very busy."

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

There have been several attacks against Shia Muslim mosques in Afghanistan in recent weeks. Last month, 32 people were killed when gunmen stormed a Shia mosque in western Herat province.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group claimed responsibility for that attack and vowed to carry out more attacks against Afghanistan's minority Shia Muslims.

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News Network
January 15,2020

Jammu, Jan 15: Fresh landslides kept the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway shut for the third consecutive day on Wednesday, leaving over 5000 vehicles stranded.

"There were four fresh landslides in Digdol and Panthiyal belts on the highway in Ramban district. The traffic on the highway remained closed for the third day today", a police officer told PTI.

On Monday, heavy rains triggered shooting of stones in Moumpassi, Digdole and Panthiyal areas, forcing a suspension of the traffic, the official said.

Snowfall in Kashmir side of the highway, including Jawahar Tunnel, since Sunday has resulted in blockade of the highway.

"No fresh traffic was allowed from Nagrota in Jammu for Kashmir", he said.

As a result of the blockade of the highway, over 5000 vehicles remained stranded at various places en route from Lakhanpur in Kathua district to Banihal belt of Ramban district and also on the Kashmir side.

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Agencies
May 10,2020

New Delhi, May 10: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi ensured audit of donations made to the PM-CARES Fund, and to share the details and the money spent with the people.

"The PM-CARES Fund has received huge contributions from PSUs and major public utilities like the Railways. It's important that the Prime Minister ensure the fund is audited and that the record of money received and spent is available to the public," he tweeted.

The #PmCares fund has received huge contributions from PSUs & major public utilities like the Railways.

It’s important that PM ensures the fund is audited & that the record of money received and spent is available to the public.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 9, 2020
His remarks came amid reports that the central government is accumulating a huge sum of money in the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund set up as a corpus to fight novel coronavirus and that the amount spent will not be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

The CAG office had clarified that since the fund is based on donations, it has no right to audit a charitable organisation.

On Friday, Rahul Gandhi told the media that the PM-CARES Fund should be audited and people of the country should know about the donors and the donations made.

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News Network
July 9,2020

Washington, Jul 9: The United States recorded 55,000 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours on Wednesday (Thursday in Malaysia), a tally by Johns Hopkins University showed, bringing its total to 3,046,351 recorded infections since the pandemic began.

The country, the hardest-hit in the world, had earlier on Wednesday passed the grim milestone of three million infections. The actual number is likely far higher due to issues over getting tested in March and April.

The US also added an additional 833 virus deaths, bringing the death toll to 132,195, the Baltimore-based institution showed at 8.30pm (0030 GMT Thursday).

US President Donald Trump regularly downplays the numbers, attributing them to an increase in testing capacity during the month of June.

Coronavirus cases are surging in several southern hotspots including Texas, Florida, Louisiana and Arizona, but the pandemic has almost entirely receded from its former epicentre in New York and the north-east.

Several states have been forced to suspend their reopening processes or even reverse course, with some ordering bars to close again.

On Wednesday morning, Trump called on schools throughout the country to reopen in the fall, lashing out at his own top health agency to ease health and safety requirements aimed at slowing the spread of the virus, such as social distancing.

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