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Philippines identifies 2 members of pro-Islamic State group as bomb suspects
Philippine police on Wednesday identified two persons of interest as suspects involved in a deadly blast that killed four people during a catholic Mass in a southern city at the weekend. Those suspected of orchestrating the attack in Marawi were members of Daulah Islamiya-Maute, a pro-Islamic State militant group that took control of the city in 2017 and held it throughout five months of ground offensives and ai.....»»
Philippines identifies 2 members of pro-Islamic State group as bomb suspects
Philippine police on Wednesday identified two persons of interest as suspects involved in a deadly blast that killed four people during a catholic Mass in a southern city at the weekend. Those suspected of orchestrating the attack in Marawi were members of Daulah Islamiya-Maute, a pro-Islamic State militant group that took control of the city in 2017 and held it throughout five months of ground offensives and ai.....»»
MSU blast victims receive medical, burial assistance
In response to the bomb explosion at the Dimaporo Gymnasium of Mindanao State University–Main Campus in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, victims received medical and burial assistance. Officials from the Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD) and other Bangsamoro Government agencies, including Barmm Chief Minister Ahod “Al-Hadj Murad” Ebrahim, visited victims at hospitals. Six patients received financial aid through MSSD’s Bangsamoro Critical Assistance for Indigents in Response to Emergency Situations program. Additionally, injured patients at the MSU Infirmary received financial aid for transportation and medical needs. The MSSD workforce also visited the bereaved families of the deceased victims to provide cash assistance and support. Mental Health and Psychosocial Support will be provided for MSU-Main Campus Marawi students, and interventions for deceased victims' families will be determined by MSSD. Officials from various agencies, including the university and security sector, held a meeting and inspected the site of the incident. Related stories include the naming of MSU Marawi bombing suspects and statements from officials condemning the attack......»»
With mapping robots and blast gel, Israel wages war on Hamas tunnels
Clearing the tunnels is an important part of Israel's military campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip in response to the Palestinian militant group's deadly attack on southern Israel on October 7.....»»
After conflict’s won, what happens next?
In the wake of the coordinated, well-planned savage attack mounted by the Palestinian terror group Hamas, which stunned Israel on 7 October, a seething Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed the total annihilation of Hamas. A “mighty vengeance” is what he promised against what he described as a “cruel enemy, worse than ISIS.” Likewise enraged by the slaughter of scores of Israelis, including over 200 revelers who were mowed down by armed paragliders and foot soldiers as they made merry at an electronic music festival outside the Re’im kibbutz, about 3.3 miles (5.3 kilometers) from the wall that separates Gaza from southern Israel, Netanyahu’s words were echoed by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant who declared, “We will wipe this thing called Hamas, ISIS-Gaza off the face of the earth. It will cease to exist.” Hamas didn’t spare any of the nearly 1,500 Israelis they felled —men, women, children, old people — they also took with them over 200 hostages. Within a week of the attack, Israel retaliated with an intense bombing of Central and Northern Gaza, with Israel striking over 7,000 targets, including rocket launchers, command centers, munitions factories, and leaders of Hamas. It has been nearly three weeks since the 7 October attack by Hamas, and it remains unclear if or when Israel will conduct a ground invasion of Gaza. Even as Israel continues to blast enemy targets, Western leaders and the UN are pleading for a pause to give aid a chance to get through the blockade and into Gaza and for the safe release of the hostages in Hamas’s hands. On Thursday, Israel said it had briefly sent tanks into Gaza to “prepare the battlefield ahead of the next stages of combat.” Again, on Wednesday, Netanyahu vowed Israel would exact a price for the terrorist assault, which killed over 1,400. Despite these statements by Netanyahu and the Israeli defense minister to decimate Hamas to kingdom come, there is no exact clarity as to when Israel will begin its ground invasion. For sure, the challenges of a ground war are gargantuan. If or when such a ground invasion is finally mounted, what awaits the Israeli defense force will be sustained urban warfare in enemy territory in pursuit of an objective that, other than the total demolition of Hamas, leaves so many other vital matters hanging in the air. The Israelites will confront at least four critical challenges in carrying out a major ground offensive. For Council for Foreign Relations expert Max Boot, these include urban fighting, an inherently different form of warfare where buildings provide positions for defenders, and the multiplication of difficulties for Israeli combatants due to the presence of a large number of Palestinian civilians and even the hostages seized by Hamas who could be used as human shields. Then there are all the underground tunnels built by Hamas over the years, enabling them to hide from Israeli troops and emerge at unexpected moments. There, too, is the challenge of a possible second front, with the Hezbollah in Lebanon poised on Israel’s northern border. The Hezbollah has an estimated arsenal of some 150,000 missiles and rockets. So far, Hezbollah has not mounted a major assault on Israel, but analysts fear it could do so once Israeli ground forces get into Gaza. “A two-front conflict would be a nightmare for Israel,” says Boot. A third critical challenge consists of post-combat stabilization operations. Known in the US military as “Phase IV,” this is where US efforts in both Washington and Iraq foundered badly for lack of preparation. Israeli media have reported that the Israeli government has been struggling to develop a Phase IV plan of its own and, Boot points out, “no wonder because there are no good options.” If Israel simply attacks Hamas and then leaves — as it had done in the past — the terrorist group would just regenerate itself. If to prevent that from happening, a Palestinian Authority government would be established in place of Hamas, with help from Arab states, that could be an option. But if that fails, Israel may have no choice but to re-occupy Gaza — a situation that could leave Israeli soldiers vulnerable to a grinding guerrilla war of the kind they faced in Lebanon in the early 1980s all through 2000. Even as they do get into Gaza, there are many unknowns, according to Boot: how will Israel deal with the Hamas tunnel network; how skillfully will Hamas fight; will a toll on civilian lives in Gaza force Israel to suspend its offensive; will Hezbollah join the war; will this war spread across the region and draw into the fray Hamas’s biggest supporter, Iran? If Hamas is indeed physically decimated — what then should be done to stabilize Gaza after the enemy has been vanquished? Who takes over Gaza once the guns have been stilled and the smoke of war clears? What happens next? Israel’s leaders say those matters, for the moment, are not of immediate concern to them. But at a certain point, they will become unavoidable; Israel will have to grapple with complex questions and carve out a workably resolute path through the din for its continued survival. The post After conflict’s won, what happens next? appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
‘Shame on int’l media’
As the conflict between the state of Israel and the Hamas terror organization intensifies, international media coverage has thus far been described as dismal and heavily slanted against the Jewish nation. Israel Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss cited as an example the Hamas missile attack on the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon, which was hit directly a few days after the 7 October attack by a rocket fired from Gaza, resulting in Israeli deaths and injuries. In contrast, an explosion on 17 October at the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City that resulted in a massive number of fatalities and injuries was splashed all over broadcast and print media and was immediately blamed on an Israeli air strike, a narrative peddled by Hamas. Investigations by Israel and the United States proved that a missile launched by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a Gaza-based terror group more radical than Hamas, had misfired and landed on the hospital grounds. “Nobody in the media reported that an Israeli hospital was bombed in Ashkelon, which had so many patients injured and killed. The rockets were shot at the hospital. No media picked it up and condemned nobody,” Fluss lamented during an interview with Daily Tribune editors. “So, for me, this incident is a shame on the international media. These news (outfits) and (media) people sort of still live with this image that it is the ratings that must (dictate the news coverage),” Fluss said. New York Times sorry US publication The New York Times issued on Monday an unprecedented admission that it had “relied too heavily on claims by Hamas” in its reporting of an explosion at a Gaza hospital. The newspaper issued the statement five days after running a headline on its front page, above the fold, reading: “Israeli Strike Kills Hundreds in Hospital, Palestinians Say.” “The Times’ initial accounts attributed the claim of Israeli responsibility to Palestinian officials and noted that the Israeli military said it was investigating the blast,” according to NYT’s editor’s note. “However, the early versions of the coverage — and the prominence it received in a headline, news alert, and social media channels — relied too heavily on claims by Hamas and did not make clear that those claims could not immediately be verified,” the NYT continued. NYT editors also acknowledged that “the report left readers with an incorrect impression about what was known and how credible the account was.” The note said Times reporters quickly edited the story on the website, as Israeli officials denied striking the hospital. Nonetheless, it added, “Given the sensitive nature of the news during a widening conflict and the prominent promotion it received, Times editors should have taken more care with the initial presentation and been more explicit about what information could be verified.” Islamic Jihad missile Israeli officials have vehemently denied responsibility for the explosion at the Al-Ahli Hospital and have released audio files of Hamas officials admitting that the blast was caused by a Palestinian Islamic Jihad projectile that fell onto Gaza. Also provided were images showing that the parking lot where the blast occurred did not have a crater in the ground, and there was no structural damage to nearby buildings, both of which typically would have been left by an Israeli Defense Forces strike. Recurring phenomena Media bias, as Fluss indicated, is a persistent issue. Terror groups like Hamas know this and take full advantage to sway public opinion. “As a result, coverage is often selective, stories get framed misleadingly, or certain perspectives go missing,” according to the American Jewish Committee, or AJC, which is the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people. “Instead of focusing on Hamas’ massacre of Israeli civilians, Israel’s efforts to thwart terrorists, destroy terrorist headquarters and weapons sites, and prevent more civilian deaths, some major media outlets characterize Israel’s targeted response as attacks on innocent and beleaguered Palestinians — feeding an unequivocally false narrative,” the AJC said. It added that Western media outlets often use the term “militant” to describe Hamas and other terrorist groups. For example, in the New York Times coverage of Hamas’ unprovoked attack on Israel on 7 October, the word “terrorists” was nowhere to be found on the front page of its website. The AJC said, “Hamas is not a militant group. It is a terrorist organization internationally designated as such by the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Israel, Japan, and others that has fired thousands of rockets and slaughtered Israeli civilians in cold blood.” Hamas has set two long-term goals articulated in its charter: The end of the Jewish state and the creation of an Islamic state from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. In the current conflict, Hamas has murdered over 300 Israelis and wounded nearly 2,000. “Using the term ‘militant’ to describe Hamas diminishes the true threat that the terror group poses. Media outlets need to call a terrorist a terrorist,” the AJC added. No occupation Some media accounts on the Gaza Strip often blame Israel’s “occupation” as the root cause of the conflict. Fluss pointed out, however, that Israel does not occupy the Gaza Strip and has had no presence in the coastal enclave for nearly two decades. From 1948 to 1967, the Gaza Strip was occupied by Egypt, which took control of the territory during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, also known as Israel’s War of Independence. After the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel took control of the Gaza Strip from Egypt. In 2005, Israel, facing huge political pushback, withdrew from the Gaza Strip, and dismantled its settlements and military forces in the name of peace and in hopes of creating a better future. However, those hopes were shattered after Hamas came to power through elections and, with it, violence and rocket attacks on Israeli civilian population centers. Since 2007, when Hamas violently ousted Fatah from the Gaza Strip, it began launching tens of thousands of rockets from Gaza into Israel. Hamas terrorists also infiltrated Israel through land, sea, and air incursions from Gaza to murder and abduct Israeli civilians. Over 600 Israelis were murdered on the 7 October large-scale infiltration into Israeli territory from Gaza. The post ‘Shame on int’l media’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Russian strike on Ukraine mail depot kills six
Kyiv, Ukraine (AFP) — At least six postal workers were killed while 17 were wounded after Russian missile strikes hit a mail depot in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, officials said. The strike in the northeastern Kharkiv region on Saturday came as Kyiv declared its positions in the embattled city of Avdiivka were “protected” despite Russian attacks, while Moscow said it had downed Ukrainian missiles targeting the Crimean Peninsula. The six killed in the depot attack were all workers at the Ukrainian postal operator Nova Poshta in Korotych, a village on the outskirts of Kharkiv city, regional governor Oleg Sinegubov said. “The victims, aged between 19 and 42, received shrapnel wounds and blast injuries,” he said. Of the injured being treated in hospital, seven were in a serious condition, according to Sinegubov, who said “doctors are fighting for their lives.” The regional prosecutor’s office later updated the number of injured to 17. President Volodymyr Zelensky shared a video on social media of what appeared to be a heavily damaged warehouse surrounded by rubble and a container with the Nova Poshta logo. Sergiy Nozhka, who works for Nova Poshta, described the condition of some his colleagues as “mild to moderate severity,” adding that “there are some people in a very serious condition.” He said that a rocket “flew into the neighboring depot, but at ours too — the windows and shutters flew out. This is not the first time.” According to the prosecutor’s office, Russian forces in the Belgorod region north of Kharkiv fired S-300 missiles, two of which hit the warehouse. “Debris analysis continues at the site in order to establish the exact number of injured and dead,” office spokesperson Dmytro Chubenko told Ukraine’s state broadcaster Suspilne. Separate Russian attacks on villages near the war-battered Ukrainian city of Bakhmut killed at least two people on Sunday, officials said. Both Kyiv and Moscow are preparing for a grueling winter ahead, as Ukraine warns of renewed strikes on its energy infrastructure and Russia contends with a Ukrainian counteroffensive to regain territory. In the eastern Donetsk region, Ukraine’s positions around the frontline city of Avdiivka were “protected”, Zelensky said in his evening address Sunday. The city has been the center of intense fighting in recent weeks as each side struggles to make advances. Ukraine’s general staff said on Friday that Russia had stepped up its military assault on Avdiivka in an ongoing bid to encircle and capture it. “The Avdiivka and Maryinka directions are particularly tough”, Zelensky said. “Numerous attacks by Russians. But our positions are protected.” Avdiivka has been a symbol of Ukrainian resistance since 2014, after it briefly fell to Russian-backed separatists. It lies just 15 kilometers (nine miles) from the Moscow-held city of Donetsk, capital of the Donetsk region that Russia said last September it was annexing. Ukrainian soldiers had been bracing for a new assault after a failed Russian offensive earlier this month using columns of armored vehicles and tanks from three sides. Built around a huge coke plant, Avdiivka had a pre-war population of around 30,000 people. Around 1,600 remain, according to local authorities, living in basements converted into bomb shelters. The city center has been all but destroyed through daily Russian artillery shelling and a months-long aerial bombing campaign. Also on Sunday Russian forces shot down three missiles targeting the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014, a Russian official said. The peninsula is crucial to Russia’s offensive, both for supplying troops in southern Ukraine and for carrying out missile strikes from the sea. The post Russian strike on Ukraine mail depot kills six appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Terror blast hits Ankara
A suicide bomber attacked the interior ministry building in Ankara, Turkey on Sunday wounding two police officers. The bomber died upon detonating himself near the Turkish parliament while his companion was shot dead by police. “Two terrorists arrived in a commercial vehicle at around 9:30 a.m., in front of the entrance gate of the General Directorate of Security of our Ministry of the Interior, and carried out a bomb attack,” the ministry said on social media. TV channel NTV reported gunfire in the cordoned-off district, where emergency services were in attendance. The attack happened ahead of the afternoon reopening of parliament where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will deliver a speech, according to Turkish media. WITH AFP The post Terror blast hits Ankara appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
More than 50 killed, dozens wounded in Pakistan blasts
More than 50 people were killed and dozens more wounded in Pakistan's Balochistan province on Friday by a suicide bomber targeting a procession marking the birthday of Islam's Prophet Mohammed, officials said. A second suicide attack by two men at a mosque hundreds of kilometers north in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province led to a roof collapse that killed four people, officials said. While the celebration of the Prophet's birthday is accepted by the majority of Islamic sects in Pakistan and elsewhere in the Muslim world, certain denominations view it as an unwarranted innovation. In southwestern Balochistan, officials said a suicide bomber detonated a device as rallies from neighborhood mosques converged on a meeting point in Mastung, around 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of the provincial capital, Quetta. "My feet trembled and I was thrown to the ground," said 49-year-old Hazoor Bakhsh. "As the dust settled, I saw people scattered in all directions, some screaming while others called out for help." Local hospitals were overwhelmed by the number of wounded, and provincial authorities used social media platforms to appeal for blood donors. The death toll kept climbing throughout the day. "I can confirm that the death toll has increased to 52, with over 70 individuals injured," Munir Ahmed Shaikh, the deputy inspector-general of Balochistan's police force, told AFP. Every year, mosques and government buildings are elaborately illuminated with strings of lights, and people march in processions to mark the Prophet's birthday. On the same occasion in April 2006, a suicide bomber killed at least 50 people in the port city of Karachi after detonating a device at a gathering of Sunni Muslims. Surge in violence Friday's blast comes as Pakistan prepares for an election due in January next year -- while grappling with a political crisis, a crippled economy, and a surge in militant violence inspired by the return to power of the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2021. Jan Achakzai, Balochistan's minister for information, announced a three-day mourning period. Balochistan, Pakistan's least populous province, is also home to several militant groups fighting for independence or a greater share of the region's mineral resources. Hundreds of kilometres north in Hangu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, four people were killed after the roof of a mosque collapsed following a suicide attack. "Two militants, armed with automatic firearms, hand grenades, and suicide vests attempted to breach the mosque's security," senior district police officer Nisar Ahmad told AFP. "They were intercepted at the main entrance leading to an exchange of gunfire. One of them detonated his vest, while the other managed to enter the mosque's hall through a window." Ahmad said most of those inside had managed to escape as the shooting started, but the detonation of the second bomber's vest brought the roof down, killing four people. In July, more than 40 people were killed in a suicide bombing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at a religious political party's gathering. Pakistan's Taliban have stepped up attacks against military and government targets since the return to power of the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan. But the group said it had nothing to do with the Balochistan attack. The regional chapter of the Islamic State group, known as Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), has also carried out attacks in the area in the past. "The attack on innocent people who came to participate in the procession... is a very heinous act," the interior ministry said in a statement. Separately, Pakistan's military said Friday four soldiers had been killed as they fought an attempt by TTP militants to infiltrate Balochistan from Afghanistan. The post More than 50 killed, dozens wounded in Pakistan blasts appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Russian missiles destroy Odesa grain stores
Ukraine authorities said Monday that the southern port of Odesa came under heavy Russian drones and missiles attack overnight that destroyed grain stores and wounded one person. The Defense Forces of the South of Ukraine said Russia sent 19 Shahed drones and fired two Onyx supersonic missiles and 12 Kalibr missiles. Nineteen drones and 11 Kalibrs were shot down while the others hit targets and caused significant damage. “Onyx missiles destroyed granaries while warehouses and a private house in the Odesa suburbs were damaged and caught fire “as a result of falling debris.” Nataliya Gumenyuk, spokesperson for the Ukrainian southern military command, said one of the grain stores hit was empty. Odesa regional governor Oleg Kiper said on Telegram that one woman in Odesa, a civilian, was injured by shrapnel “in a blast wave” and was being treated in hospital. Meanwhile, Russia’s defense ministry said its air defenses had “destroyed” four unmanned aerial vehicles over the northwestern Black Sea, and the Crimean peninsula which Moscow annexed in 2014. It said two drones each were intercepted in Kursk and Bryansk, two regions bordering Ukraine. Kursk regional governor Roman Starovoyt said several homes and the roof of an administrative building were damaged in the attack by Ukrainian unmanner aerial vehicles. Bryansk regional governor Aleksandr Bogomaz said there were “no casualties or damage” in the region. WITH AFP The post Russian missiles destroy Odesa grain stores appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Bomb blast kills 11 Pakistan laborers
Eleven laborers were killed when a bomb attached to their vehicle exploded in northwestern Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan Saturday evening, a local government official said Sunday. Rehman Gul Khattak, senior government official for North Waziristan, said in a statement that the victims were working at an under construction post for the Pakistan army. In a post on X, caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar condemned the senseless violence that Amir Muhammad Khan, a senior police official in the area, called a terrorist attack. No one has claimed responsibility for the bombing but militants are suspected. Pakistan has seen a sharp rise in militant attacks since the Afghan Taliban surged back to power in neighboring Afghanistan in 2021. Pakistan’s home-grown Taliban group, Tehreek's e-Taliban Pakistan, has waged a growing campaign against security officials, including police officers. The militant assaults have been focused in regions abutting Afghanistan, and Islamabad alleges some are being planned on Afghan soil — a charge Kabul denies. WITH AFP The post Bomb blast kills 11 Pakistan laborers appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
11 laborers killed in bomb attack in Pakistan
Eleven laborers were killed in a bomb blast in northwestern Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan, a local government official said Sunday. The device exploded after being attached to the vehicle they were traveling in on Saturday evening, Rehman Gul Khattak, a senior government official for North Waziristan, said in a statement. "The laborers were working at an under-construction post for the Pakistan army," Khattack said. Amir Muhammad Khan, a senior police official in the area, confirmed the bomb blast and the number of casualties to AFP. “Heartbreaking to know about the terrorist attack in North Waziristan which claimed the lives of 11 innocent laborers. Strongly condemn this senseless act of violence and stand in solidarity with the families affected," caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. The post 11 laborers killed in bomb attack in Pakistan appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Senators blast China’s use of water cannon vs. Philippine vessels in Ayungin Shoal
Senators on Sunday condemned the "excessive and offensive" actions of Chinese Coast Guard vessels against Philippine vessels near the Ayungin Shoal last Friday. Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri called the People’s Republic of China’s actions “reaffirms the merit of the resolution the Senate has unanimously passed.” The incident, which took place on 5 August near the Ayungin Shoal, happened barely a week after the Senate unanimously adopted a resolution denouncing China's intrusion into the West Philippine Sea and its harassment of Filipino fishermen. “Because China contemptuously ignores protests, all the more that we have to rally the world to condemn acts which have no place in a civilized order,” Zubiri said in a statement. In a statement issued on Sunday, the Philippine Coast Guards accused the CCG of using water cannon against its vessels while en route to the Ayungin Shoal for a routine troop rotation and resupply mission. Ayungin Shoal is located 105 nautical miles west of Palawan and is part of the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of the Philippines. In a separate statement, the Armed Forces of the Philippines also condemned China’s latest actions in the WPS, which it described as “excessive and offensive.” Zubiri said China’s actions are “yet again a manifestation of its ‘might vs. right’ treatment of its peaceful neighbors.” “By its actions, it shows diplomatic duplicity, of preaching about amity, but practicing hostile behavior,” he said. “We want to have friendship with you but why is it difficult to love you, China?” Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros echoed the same sentiments against China, saying China has no right to block the Philippine vessels in its own territory. “The Chinese Coast Guard has absolutely no right to block, let alone water cannon, our supply vessels. They do not have any right to starve Filipinos in the Ayungin Shoal,” Hontiveros said in a separate statement. “China’s repeated provocations are in complete violation of UNCLOS and the 2016 Arbitral Award. I call on our regional neighbors and the broader international community to join the Philippines in condemning this dangerous behavior,” she added. In a bid to strengthen the country’s position in the Ayungin Shoal, the Philippine government permanently supplies its forces there through the BRP Sierra Madre. The BRP Sierra Madre was a World War 2 landing ship tank that was stationed at the Ayungin Shoal since 1999. Hontiveros said she is hoping that the Philippines could soon start joint patrols with other claimant countries in the South China Sea such as Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei. “We need to cooperate with them to halt these aggressive actions of China,” she said. “I am also hoping that the DFA is now formulating steps to raise China’s endless incursions to different international fora.” “The recently adopted Senate resolution 718, with its precision and specific recommendations, is at their disposal,” she added. Senate Resolution 718 urges the Philippine government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs, to “continue asserting” the country’s sovereign rights over its exclusive economic rights. 'Heed Senate’s call' For his part, Senate Deputy Majority Leader Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito called on the national government to heed the Senate’s resolution which contains several recommendations for the executive department. “We cannot let this slip. This is too much already! China is very frustrating! China’s hostile actions towards our Philippine Navy, Philippine Coast Guard, and fishermen are extreme. Our territory, security, and peace are at stake here,” he said in a separate statement. “I urge the national government to heed the Senate's recent resolution on China's aggression and take decisive measures to safeguard our territorial integrity,” he added. Ejercito continued: “These measures will require us to expedite the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and strengthen our defense cooperation program and pacts with our allies.” For Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, China’s actions against PCG in the WPS require a strong stance from the Philippine government. “This is the reason why the Senate adopted Resolution No. 79 strongly condemning incursions like this,” Villanueva said. “Your Senate is always ready to fight for and protect the country’s sovereignty and sovereign rights.” Like Ejercito, Villanueva reminded the executive department of the newly adopted resolution which contains a guide for the DFA. “We urge the Department of Foreign Affairs to implement the courses of action stipulated in the resolution passed by the Senate to finally put an end into this harassment and bullying by China,” he said. Under the resolution, the DFA is “expected” to continue holding dialogues with the Chinese government to push for recognition and respect of the Philippines' sovereign rights over its EEZ and pursue the formulation of the Code of Conduct for the South China Sea based on international law and the UNCLOS. Should China continue to ignore the country’s efforts, the resolution contains actions the agency must do such as bringing international attention to China's harassment of Filipino fishermen in the Philippine EEZ and its continued violation of the Hague Ruling and the UNCLOS; utilizing international fora to rally multilateral support for the enforcement of the Hague Ruling and raise awareness on the real situation in the West Philippine Sea; and engaging with “like-minded” countries to call on China to respect the Hague Ruling and the UNCLOS. The DFA is also encouraged to file a resolution before the United Nations General Assembly, to call for the cessation of all activities that harass Philippine vessels and violate the Philippines' established rights in the West Philippine Sea; and pursue other diplomatic modes as the agency may deem appropriate and necessary. ‘Sensible plans' For his part, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III urged the PCG to come up with sensible plans to overcome China’s increasingly aggressive actions towards Philippine vessels that are on a re-supply mission to the Ayungin Shoal. “The PCG should overcome the CCG on our re-supply missions. They should come up with sensible plans behind closed doors,” Pimentel said in a separate statement. Asked if the recent actions of China against Philippine vessels could trigger the activation of the mutual defense treaty between the Philippines and the United States, Pimentel said: “Use diplomacy and intelligent tactics.” “The MDT should not be invoked lightly. Use our ‘kokote’ not the MDT,” he added. In a separate statement, the US State Department warned that an armed attack on Philippine public vessels, aircraft, and armed forces—including those of its Coast Guard in South China The post Senators blast China’s use of water cannon vs. Philippine vessels in Ayungin Shoal appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Suicide bomber attacks political gathering, kills 44
A suspected suicide bomber attacked a political rally in northwesst Pakistan on Sunday killing at least 44 people and injuring more than 100 others. “There was utter confusion, with human flesh, limbs, and body parts scattered throughout the area, alongside lifeless bodies,” witness Abdullah Khan said after the attack on 400 supporters of the the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F party in the town of Khar, near the Afghan border. “I found myself lying next to someone who had lost their limbs. The air was filled with the smell of human flesh,” Sabeeh Ullah, a 24-year-old party supporter who had his arm fractured by the blast, said. Images from the blast site circulating on social media showed bodies strewn around, and volunteers helping blood-soaked victims to ambulances. Riaz Anwar, the health minister for Khyber Pakht unkhwa province — told Agence France-Presse late Sunday that the bomber detonated himself in close proximity to the stage. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the blast Sunday on social media, offering condolences to the victims and vowing to punish those responsible. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but police said Monday their initial investigation suggested that the local chapter of the Islamic State was behind the bombing, according to Geo News. District Police Officer Nazir Khan said three suspects had been arrested, Geo News reported. The JUI-F is a major ally of the coalition government of Sharif, which is preparing for the November national elections. Last year, IS said it was behind violent attacks against religious scholars affiliated with the party, which has a huge network of mosques and madrassas in the north and west of the country. The jihadist group accuses JUI-F of hypocrisy for being an Islamic group while supporting hostile governments and the military. WITH AFP The post Suicide bomber attacks political gathering, kills 44 appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Islamic State claims responsibility for Pakistan blast that killed 54
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility Monday for a suicide bomb blast in Pakistan that killed at least 54 people, including 23 children, at a political party gathering ahead of elections due later this year. The blast has raised fears Pakistan could be in for a bloody election period following months of political chaos prompted by the ousting of Imran Khan as prime minister in April last year. Around 400 members of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F (JUI-F) party -- a key government coalition partner led by a firebrand cleric -- were waiting Sunday for speeches to begin when a bomber detonated a vest packed with explosives and ball bearings near the front stage. "I was confronted with a devastating sight -- lifeless bodies scattered on the ground while people cried out for help," Fazal Aman, who was near the tent when the bomb went off, told AFP. Shaukat Abbas, a senior official with the counter-terrorism department (CTD) told AFP that 54 people had been killed, including 23 under the age of 18. On Monday the Islamic State group claimed responsibility. "A suicide attacker from the Islamic State... detonated his explosive jacket in the middle of a crowd" in Khar, the jihadist group's news arm Amaq said in a statement Monday. The attack occurred in the town of Khar in the northwestern Bajaur district, just 45 kilometers from the Afghan border, in an area where militancy has been rising since the Taliban took control of Kabul in 2021. Parliament is likely to be dissolved after it completes its term in the next two weeks, with national elections to be held by mid-November or earlier. The local chapter of the jihadist Islamic State group has in the past targeted JUI-F rallies and leaders. Shattered family On Monday, blood-stained shoes and prayer caps littered the site, along with ball bearings and steel bolts from the suicide vest. Pieces of human flesh could still be seen, blasted 30 meters (100 feet) from the stage where the bomber detonated his device. Thousands of mourners attended the first funeral ceremonies, including for two young cousins aged 16 and 17. "It was not easy for us to lift two coffins. This tragedy has shattered our family," said Najib Ullah, the brother of one of the boys. "Our women are profoundly shocked and devastated. When I see the mothers of the victims, I find myself losing my own courage." JUI-F's leader, cleric Fazl-ur-Rehman, started political life as a firebrand Islamist hardliner, and while his party continues to advocate for socially conservative policies, he has more recently forged alliances with secular rivals. He has operated in the past as a facilitator for talks between the government and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a rival of the jihadist Islamic State group. Last year, IS said it was behind attacks against religious scholars affiliated with JUI-F, which has a huge network of mosques and schools in the north and west of the country. The jihadist group accuses the JUI-F of hypocrisy for being a religious party while supporting secular governments and the military. JUI-F officials hit out at the government for failing to provide security in areas where militants operate. "The state has not fulfilled its responsibilities. I think the state has failed regardless of who is in power," said Shams uz Zaman, deputy general secretary of its Bajaur branch. "For God's sake take notice of the situation." While Rehman's party never musters more than a dozen or so seats in parliament, they can be crucial in any coalition and his ability to mobilize tens of thousands of religious school students allows him to punch above his weight. "It is important to consider why workers of a religious inclined political party could have been subjected to such bestial violence," Dawn newspaper said in an editorial Monday. "However ultra-conservative the JUI-F's worldview, the party has chosen to contest power and operate within the parameters set by the Constitution of Pakistan." A spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell said the blast was "an attempt to weaken democracy". Rise in attacks Pakistan has seen a sharp rise in militant attacks since the Afghan Taliban surged back to power in neighboring Afghanistan in 2021. In January, a suicide bomber linked to Pakistan's Taliban blew himself up in a mosque inside a police compound in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing more than 80 officers. The militant assaults have been focused in regions abutting Afghanistan, and Islamabad alleges some are being planned on Afghan soil -- a charge Kabul denies. Analysts say militants in the former tribal areas have become emboldened since the return of the Afghan Taliban. The blast coincides with a visit to the country by a senior delegation of Chinese officials, including Vice Premier He Lifeng, who arrived in the capital Sunday evening. The post Islamic State claims responsibility for Pakistan blast that killed 54 appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Empty seats, discarded shoes remain after Pakistan bomb kills 47
Blood-stained chairs, scattered ball bearings and shoes shed by the dead, wounded and panicked bore testimony Monday to the carnage caused by a suicide bombing at a Pakistan political event. At least 47 people were killed and more than 100 wounded on Sunday when a blast ripped through a gathering of Islamic Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F party members in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The marquee hoisted in the town of Khar lay mangled and charred the morning after the explosion, partly collapsed onto blood-soaked carpets with around 400 upended red chairs strewn about. "Upon arriving at the scene, I was confronted with a devastating sight," Khar resident Fazal Aman, 29, told AFP on Monday. "Lifeless bodies scattered on the ground while people cried out for help." Party paraphernalia, including hats and scarves in JUI-F's black-and-white branding, were abandoned and trampled into the dusty ground, some flecked with dried blood. The first funerals for the victims got underway on Monday, including for a pair of cousins aged 16 and 17 where young boys wept by coffins. "These two were very serious and down-to-earth individuals in our family," said 24-year-old shopkeeper Najeeb Ullah. "This is a great injustice on our land." Mound of sandals Remnants of human flesh and hair could be seen as far as 30 meters (100 feet) from a shattered stage, the apparent epicenter of the blast near Khar's main bazaar. Gulistan Khan, a 40-year-old farmer being treated at a nearby hospital, said he was in the third row when the bomb detonated as local JUI-F leaders arrived to crowds chanting slogans. "I was thrown backwards as if lifted off the ground," he said. "The blast was powerful. Flames coming out were very high so I couldn't see anything." A mound of about 40 sandals and shoes had been piled in the shade behind a cordon of yellow police tape as zebra-striped JUI-F flags fluttered in the breeze. Investigators in rubber gloves and facemasks picked through the scene on Monday morning, one using a trowel to scoop up a sample from a dark patch on the floor of the stage. The site was swarmed by security forces carrying assault rifles and surrounding roads were peppered with police checkpoints. Regional counter-terrorism deputy inspector general Sohail Khalid told AFP the bomber used around 40 kilograms (90 pounds) of explosives, bound up with ball bearings to cause maximum carnage. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack but the local chapter of the Islamic State group has recently targeted JUI-F, a key government coalition partner led by a firebrand cleric. The post Empty seats, discarded shoes remain after Pakistan bomb kills 47 appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Russia attacks Odesa port
Russia fired missiles and sent explosive drones to Ukraine’s Odesa port Tuesday, a day after President Vladimir Putin vowed a response to Kyiv’s deadly bombing of a bridge in annexed Crimea. Ukraine’s military claimed downing six Kalibr missiles and 21 Iran-built attack drones, but said debris and the blast wave from the destroyed projectiles damaged parts of the port and several private homes. A total 36 drones were launched by Russia overnight and 31 of these were shot down by air defenses, Ukraine’s military southern command said in a statement. An “industrial facility” in the southern port city of Mykolaiv was also hit in the overnight attack according to local governor Vitaliy Kim. A fire had subsequently broken out before being extinguished, he said on Telegram, adding there were no casualties. Kyiv’s navy and SBU security service carried out the bombing of the Kerch bridge linking Crimea to Russia, using seaborne drones, a security service source told Agence France-Presse. Russian authorities said a civilian couple was killed and their daughter wounded in the attack on the bridge, which was also damaged last year in a blast Moscow blamed on Kyiv. Local officials said traffic across the bridge had been halted and encouraged holidaymakers stranded in Crimea to drive home through occupied Ukraine. Vehicle traffic was later “restored in reverse mode on the far right lane” of the bridge, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said. WITH AFP The post Russia attacks Odesa port appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Key events in the war in Ukraine
From the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February last year to the armed rebellion Saturday of the pro-Kremlin Wagner paramilitary group, here is a timeline of the main events. The biggest attack on a European country since World War II has killed or wounded over 150,000 people, according to Western estimates. February 2022: invasion Russian President Vladimir Putin announces a "special military operation" in Ukraine on 24 February, saying he wants to demilitarise and "de-Nazify" the country as well as protect the predominantly Russian-speaking east from "genocide". A full-scale invasion starts, with missile strikes on several Ukrainian cities that sparks a refugee crisis. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stays in the capital Kyiv to lead the resistance. The West imposes unprecedented sanctions on Russia and the European Union and United States send Ukraine weapons and aid. March: Russian advances Russian forces make gains in the south, seizing the city of Kherson, close to the Moscow-annexed Crimea peninsula. Russian forces also attempt to surround Kyiv and take Ukraine's second city of Kharkiv in the northeast but meet fierce resistance. A month into the fighting, Russia withdraws from the north to focus on the eastern industrial Donbas region, partly held by Moscow-backed separatists, along with the south. April: war crimes revealed In early April, AFP discovers the bodies of at least 20 civilians lying on a single street in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha -- the first of several grisly discoveries in towns that Russian forces had occupied which spark an international outcry and war crimes investigations. May: Mariupol falls On 21 May, Russia announces the fall of the southeastern port city of Mariupol, which had been relentlessly bombed, after the last Ukrainian troops holding out at a steelworks surrender. Sweden and Finland request membership of NATO, fearing they could be future targets of Russian aggression. June: Donbas battle rages In June, Russia takes the Donbas city of Severodonetsk after one of the bloodiest battles of the war, followed soon after by the neighbouring city of Lysychansk. July: gas supplies cut On 22 July, Kyiv and Moscow sign a deal to resume grain exports from Ukraine, in a bid to relieve a food crisis aggravated by Russia's blockade of the country's ports. Russian gas giant Gazprom slashes its supply to Europe through the Nord Stream pipeline, fuelling fears of gas shortages in Europe. August: battle for Bakhmut Kyiv launches a major offensive to retake Kherson as a bitter battle begins for the eastern town of Bakhmut, spearheaded on the Russian side by the Wagner mercenary group. Wagner claims to have wrested total control of Bakhmut in May. September: annexation Ukraine retakes hundreds of towns and villages in a lightning counter-offensive around Kharkiv. Putin launches a partial draft of 300,000 reservists, sparking an exodus of young Russian men of military age. On 30 September, he formally annexes the Ukrainian regions of Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. October: power supply hit On 8 October, an explosion causes major damage to a bridge linking Crimea to the Russian mainland -- a symbol of Moscow's annexation of the peninsula. Putin blames Ukrainian secret services for the attack. Russian forces retaliate with a barrage of strikes on energy infrastructure in Kyiv and other cities, leaving millions without power in what becomes its new modus operandi throughout the winter. November: retreat from Kherson On 9 November, Moscow orders its troops to retreat from Kherson in the face of advancing Ukrainian forces, marking a stunning defeat in one of the regions it annexed. Jubilant residents hail Ukrainian forces as liberators. December: Zelensky goes to Washington On 22 December, Zelensky visits Washington on his first overseas trip since the war began. He meets President Joe Biden and addresses Congress. January 2023: tanks on the way Russia suffers its biggest single loss of life since the invasion in a Ukrainian attack on a temporary base in the eastern town of Makiivka on 1 January. Moscow says 89 soldiers were killed in the hit. On 25 January, Germany finally agrees to send Ukraine some of its powerful Leopard tanks. The United States follows, announcing that it will provide 31 Abrams tanks. On 19 May, Biden authorises the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Kyiv. In April, Ukraine also receives anti-missile Patriot defence systems from Washington. 6 June: dam destroyed A blast at the Kakhovka dam in Russian-annexed Crimea inundates vast areas of the Kherson region, forcing thousands to flee and sparking fears of an environmental disaster. Kyiv accuses Moscow of blowing up the dam on the Dnipro River, while Russia blames Ukraine. June: Ukraine counter-offensive A long-awaited Ukrainian counter-offensive begins, aided by the supply of Western arms, according to analysts. Russia brands it a failure but Kyiv says it has retaken several areas. 24 June: Wagner rebellion Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, leading a mutiny to bring down Moscow's top brass, says his fighters have captured the army HQ in Russia's Rostov-on-Don "without firing a single shot" and claims to have the support of locals. Putin warns that treason against his rule threatens Russia with civil war and accuses the Wagner boss of a "stab in the back". The post Key events in the war in Ukraine appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Downed drones spark deadly fire
Three people were killed early Saturday in a fire sparked by falling debris from shot-down drones in the region of Odesa in southern Ukraine, regional officials said. “At night, the enemy attacked Odesa Region with attack drones,” regional authorities said in a statement social media, referring to Russian forces. Ukraine’s air defense forces destroyed all the unmanned aerial vehicles but their falling debris hit a high-rise residential building, sparking a fire, the statement said. “Unfortunately, there are victims among the civilian population,” officials said, adding that three people were killed and another 26 — including three children — wounded. Separately, Ukraine’s southern command said the fire was put out but the blast wave damaged several apartment buildings nearby. Meanwhile, water levels in parts of southern Ukraine that were flooded after the destruction of a Russian-held dam were beginning to fall, officials said Friday. “Thirty-five settlements remain flooded on the right bank, 3,763 houses are under water, but the water is gradually receding,” Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson military administration, said. Prokudin said water levels in his region went from an average 5.38 to near 5 meters in the course of Friday. He said 2,588 people had been evacuated from the Kherson region. The United Nations sent humanitarian convoys to the region earlier Friday, according to a post from the administration. Prokudin’s counterpart in the Mykolaiv region, Vitaly Kim, also said “the water level began to fall” there. The post Downed drones spark deadly fire appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Taliban kill IS ‘mastermind’ of Kabul airport attack: White House
The Taliban government has killed the alleged mastermind of a devastating suicide bomb attack at the Kabul airport during the chaotic withdrawal of US forces in 2021, the White House said Tuesday. The bomber detonated among packed crowds at the airport's perimeter as they tried to flee Afghanistan on August 26, 2021. The blast killed some 170 Afghans and 13 US troops who were securing the airport for the traumatic exit. It was one of the deadliest bombings in Afghanistan in recent years, and prompted a wave of criticism of President Joe Biden for his decision to pull American forces out of the country nearly 20 years after the US invasion. The leader of the Islamic State cell that planned the attack was killed by Taliban authorities, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. "He was a key ISIS-K official directly involved in plotting operations like Abbey Gate, and now is no longer able to plot or conduct attacks," Kirby said, referring to the spot outside the airport where the attacks took place. ISIS-K refers to Islamic State Khorasan, the branch of the group operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan. "He was killed in a Taliban operation," Kirby added without giving any details of it. The pullout, ending on 30 August 2021, saw Taliban fighters sweep aside Western-trained Afghan forces in just weeks, forcing the last US troops to mount the desperate evacuation from Kabul's airport. An unprecedented military airlift operation managed to get more than 120,000 people out of the country in a matter of days. Biden has long defended his decision to leave Afghanistan, which critics have said helped cause the catastrophic collapse of Afghan forces and paved the way for the Taliban to return to power two decades after their first government was toppled. Nothing "would have changed the trajectory" of the exit and "ultimately, President Biden refused to send another generation of Americans to fight a war that should have ended for the United States long ago," the White House National Security Council said in a report to Congress earlier this month. A recent Washington Post report citing leaked Pentagon documents said the United States believes that since the withdrawal, Afghanistan is becoming a "staging ground" for the Islamic State group. In his statement, Kirby said Tuesday, "We have made clear to the Taliban that it is their responsibility to ensure that they give no safe haven to terrorists, whether Al-Qaeda or ISIS-K." He added: "We have made good on the President's pledge to establish an over-the-horizon capacity to monitor potential terrorist threats, not only from Afghanistan but elsewhere around the world where that threat has metastasized, as we have done in Somalia and Syria." The Taliban and IS have long engaged in a turf war in Afghanistan, and experts have pointed to the jihadist group as the biggest security challenge for the new Afghan government going forward. The post Taliban kill IS ‘mastermind’ of Kabul airport attack: White House appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»