Minggu, 12 Mei 2019

Pakistan attack: Gunmen killed five in Balochistan hotel - BBC News

Pakistan's army says gunmen who attacked a luxury hotel in Balochistan province on Saturday killed four hotel employees and a soldier.

The three attackers were also killed during a siege that lasted several hours. Six people were injured.

A spokesman for the Zaver Pearl-Continental Hotel in the port of Gwadar said there were few guests because of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The separatist Balochistan Liberation Army said it carried out the attack.

The group said that the hotel, the centrepiece of a multi-billion-dollar Chinese project, was selected in order to target Chinese and other investors. Militants in Balochistan oppose foreign investments, saying they do not benefit locals.

Who were the casualties?

The army's media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), says three hotel employees and a hotel security guard were killed by the gunmen.

A soldier of the Pakistan Navy, named as Abbas Khan, was also killed in the operation to clear the hotel.

Two army captains, two more navy soldiers and two hotel employees were injured in the attack.

What happened in the attack?

Three gunmen wearing military-style uniforms stormed the hotel at around 16:50 (11:50 GMT) on Saturday.

The security guard who died had confronted the attackers to try to stop them entering the hotel.

The attackers then moved to the upper floors with the intent of taking hotel guests hostage, the ISPR said.

As they moved up the stairs the other hotel employees were shot dead.

The ISPR said the attackers cut CCTV and planted improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to stop access to the fourth floor, where they were contained by the arriving security forces.

The attackers were killed in the corridor and the IEDs removed.

The military thanked the media for limiting reporting of the attack, saying it had denied the gunmen "possible live updates".

What has the reaction been?

Prime Minister Imran Khan said the attack had been an attempt to "sabotage prosperity" in Balochistan.

The hotel sits on a hilltop overlooking Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea, which is being developed by China as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a network of roads, railway and pipelines between the two countries.

The Chinese embassy in Pakistan said: "We appreciate the courageous steps taken by Pakistan Army and security agencies."

Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan such attacks would "not deter us and Balochistan shall continue on its path to progress".

What is the situation in Balochistan?

Home to a long-running insurgency, Balochistan is Pakistan's poorest and least developed province.

It shares a large, porous border with Afghanistan and Iran.

Its economy is dominated by natural resources, particularly natural gas, and is being transformed by major Chinese infrastructure projects on the CPEC, part of the ambitious Belt and Road initiative.

Several militant groups operate in the region, including the Pakistani Taliban, the BLA and the Sunni Muslim extremist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48245353

2019-05-12 13:34:56Z
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Iran's Guards commander says U.S. military presence in Gulf is 'an opportunity': ISNA - Reuters

The fast combat support ship USNS Arctic pulls alongside the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln to conduct a replenishment-at-sea in the Mediterranean Sea, May 8, 2019. Michael Singley/U.S. Navy/Handout via REUTERS

GENEVA (Reuters) - The United States’ military presence in the Gulf used to be a serious threat but now it is an opportunity, a senior commander of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday, according to the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA).

“An aircraft carrier that has at least 40 to 50 planes on it and 6000 forces gathered within it was a serious threat for us in the past but now...the threats have switched to opportunities,” Amirali Hajizadeh, head of the Guards’ aerospace division said.

He added, “If [the Americans] make a move we will hit them in the head.”

Reporting By Babak Dehghanpisheh

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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-iran-commander/irans-guards-commander-says-us-military-presence-in-gulf-is-an-opportunity-isna-idUSKCN1SI087

2019-05-12 11:34:00Z
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Flight miraculously lands safely with no front landing gear - ABC News

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https://abcnews.go.com/International/myanmar-national-airlines-flight-miraculously-lands-safely-front/story?id=62987483

2019-05-12 10:46:00Z
CBMid2h0dHBzOi8vYWJjbmV3cy5nby5jb20vSW50ZXJuYXRpb25hbC9teWFubWFyLW5hdGlvbmFsLWFpcmxpbmVzLWZsaWdodC1taXJhY3Vsb3VzbHktbGFuZHMtc2FmZWx5LWZyb250L3N0b3J5P2lkPTYyOTg3NDgz0gF7aHR0cHM6Ly9hYmNuZXdzLmdvLmNvbS9hbXAvSW50ZXJuYXRpb25hbC9teWFubWFyLW5hdGlvbmFsLWFpcmxpbmVzLWZsaWdodC1taXJhY3Vsb3VzbHktbGFuZHMtc2FmZWx5LWZyb250L3N0b3J5P2lkPTYyOTg3NDgz

India election 2019: Sixth round of voting under way for 59 seats - Aljazeera.com

Voters in Delhi and elsewhere in India's north have lined up to cast their ballots in the second last round of a seven-phase general election, with the opposition seeking a united stand to deny Prime Minister Narendra Modi a second term.

More than 100 million people across seven states are eligible to vote in the sixth phase of the poll, which began on April 11 and will end on May 19. Votes will be counted on May 23.

Sunday's voting in 59 constituencies, including seven in the Indian capital, will complete polling for 483 of 543 seats in the lower house of parliament. The voting for the remaining 60 seats will be held next Sunday.

190511113303373

Turnout in the first five phases averaged 67 percent, nearly the same as in 2014 elections that brought Modi to power.

Opinion polls say the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJPcontinues to be the frontrunner, but it is likely to return with fewer than the 282 seats it won in 2014.

The BJP captured 31 percent of votes in 2014, but it won more than half the seats to wrest power from the Congress party in a first-past-the-post electoral system in which a candidate who receives the most votes wins.

Referendum on Modi rule

Modi is running his campaign like a presidential race, a referendum on his five years of rule with claims of helping the poorest with benefits, free healthcare, providing toilets in homes and giving women free or cheap cooking gas cylinders.

At the same time, he is banking on stirring Hindu nationalism by accusing the Congress party of being soft on nuclear rival Pakistan, pandering to minority Muslims for votes and indulging Kashmiri separatists.

Opposition parties accuse Modi of digressing from the main issues affecting nearly 70 percent of the population living in villages and small towns.

The opposition is challenging him over India's 6.1 percent unemployment rate - the highest in decades - and the economic difficulties of farmers hurt by low crop prices that have led many to take their own lives.

190511073358286

Opposition officials have also alleged corruption in a deal for India to purchase French fighter jets

Rahul Gandhi, 48-year-old scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family and the Congress party president, has accused Modi of buying 36 French Rafale fighters jets at an exorbitant price, and helping a private industrialist by promoting him as an offset partner of Dassault, the aircraft manufacturer.

"It was a good fight," Gandhi said after he cast his vote. "Narendra Modi used hatred, we used love. And I think love is going to win."

India's opposition parties have recently taken heart at what they see as signs the BJP is losing ground and have begun negotiations over a post-election alliance even before polling ends on May 19. 

Some voters in Delhi said they were backing Modi because they were won over by his tough stand on security.

"I have voted for Modi's sound foreign policy and national security," a 36-year old first-time voter who declined to be identified told Reuters news agency.

Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, a political commentator and Modi's biographer, calls the Hindu nationalist leader "the most visible prime minister".

But he adds: "There could be an element of fatigue also. People at the end of it are looking at their bottom line. I think the issues of employment and rural distress are very important."

Congress president Rahul Gandhi shows his ink-marked finger after casting his vote at a polling station in New Delhi [Adnan Abidi/Reuters]

Personal attacks

Political analysts say that state-based and caste-driven parties could be decisive in determining the make-up of the next government, as a lack of new jobs and weak farm prices have hurt the BJP.

"Regional parties will play a bigger role compared to the previous five years or even 15 years," said KC Suri, a political science professor at the University of Hyderabad. "They will regain their importance in national politics."

Recent weeks have also been marked by personal attacks between leaders, including comments from Modi about the family of Rahul Gandhi.

190507141853621

At a recent rally Modi called Gandhi's late father, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, "Corrupt No. 1". The BJP says Modi was reacting to Rahul Gandhi calling him a thief.

"The political vitriol has become intense, and negatively intense," said Ashok Acharya, a political science professor at the University of Delhi.

"It seems as if this particular election is all about a few political personalities. It is not about issues, any kind of an agenda."

 

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https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/05/india-elections-2019-voting-penultimate-190512044847266.html

2019-05-12 11:15:00Z
52780290072734

India election 2019: Sixth round of voting under way for 59 seats - Aljazeera.com

Voters in Delhi and elsewhere in India's north have lined up to cast their ballots in the second last round of a seven-phase general election, with the opposition seeking a united stand to deny Prime Minister Narendra Modi a second term.

More than 100 million people across seven states are eligible to vote in the sixth phase of the poll, which began on April 11 and will end on May 19. Votes will be counted on May 23.

Sunday's voting in 59 constituencies, including seven in the Indian capital, will complete polling for 483 of 543 seats in the lower house of parliament. The voting for the remaining 60 seats will be held next Sunday.

190511113303373

Turnout in the first five phases averaged 67 percent, nearly the same as in 2014 elections that brought Modi to power.

Opinion polls say the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJPcontinues to be the frontrunner, but it is likely to return with fewer than the 282 seats it won in 2014.

The BJP captured 31 percent of votes in 2014, but it won more than half the seats to wrest power from the Congress party in a first-past-the-post electoral system in which a candidate who receives the most votes wins.

Referendum on Modi rule

Modi is running his campaign like a presidential race, a referendum on his five years of rule with claims of helping the poorest with benefits, free healthcare, providing toilets in homes and giving women free or cheap cooking gas cylinders.

At the same time, he is banking on stirring Hindu nationalism by accusing the Congress party of being soft on nuclear rival Pakistan, pandering to minority Muslims for votes and indulging Kashmiri separatists.

Opposition parties accuse Modi of digressing from the main issues affecting nearly 70 percent of the population living in villages and small towns.

The opposition is challenging him over India's 6.1 percent unemployment rate - the highest in decades - and the economic difficulties of farmers hurt by low crop prices that have led many to take their own lives.

190511073358286

Opposition officials have also alleged corruption in a deal for India to purchase French fighter jets

Rahul Gandhi, 48-year-old scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family and the Congress party president, has accused Modi of buying 36 French Rafale fighters jets at an exorbitant price, and helping a private industrialist by promoting him as an offset partner of Dassault, the aircraft manufacturer.

"It was a good fight," Gandhi said after he cast his vote. "Narendra Modi used hatred, we used love. And I think love is going to win."

India's opposition parties have recently taken heart at what they see as signs the BJP is losing ground and have begun negotiations over a post-election alliance even before polling ends on May 19. 

Some voters in Delhi said they were backing Modi because they were won over by his tough stand on security.

"I have voted for Modi's sound foreign policy and national security," a 36-year old first-time voter who declined to be identified told Reuters news agency.

Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, a political commentator and Modi's biographer, calls the Hindu nationalist leader "the most visible prime minister".

But he adds: "There could be an element of fatigue also. People at the end of it are looking at their bottom line. I think the issues of employment and rural distress are very important."

Congress president Rahul Gandhi shows his ink-marked finger after casting his vote at a polling station in New Delhi [Adnan Abidi/Reuters]

Personal attacks

Political analysts say that state-based and caste-driven parties could be decisive in determining the make-up of the next government, as a lack of new jobs and weak farm prices have hurt the BJP.

"Regional parties will play a bigger role compared to the previous five years or even 15 years," said KC Suri, a political science professor at the University of Hyderabad. "They will regain their importance in national politics."

Recent weeks have also been marked by personal attacks between leaders, including comments from Modi about the family of Rahul Gandhi.

190507141853621

At a recent rally Modi called Gandhi's late father, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, "Corrupt No. 1". The BJP says Modi was reacting to Rahul Gandhi calling him a thief.

"The political vitriol has become intense, and negatively intense," said Ashok Acharya, a political science professor at the University of Delhi.

"It seems as if this particular election is all about a few political personalities. It is not about issues, any kind of an agenda."

 

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https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/05/india-elections-2019-voting-penultimate-190512044847266.html

2019-05-12 10:31:00Z
52780290072734

Pakistani forces comb hotel a day after raid kills at least five - Reuters

QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani security forces searched a luxury hotel in the port city of Gwadar on Sunday a day after separatist insurgents stormed in, killing at least five people, in what the militants said was a strike against Chinese and other foreign investors.

A general view of the Pearl Continental (PC) hotel in Gwadar, Pakistan April 11, 2017. Picture taken April 11, 2017. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro

Officials said at least four gunmen raided the five-star Pearl Continental Hotel, but police on Sunday declined to say if any of the attackers had been captured or killed.

Senior police official Rao Munir Ahmed Zia told Reuters three of the hotel’s four floors had been cleared and security forces were searching the top floor some 20 hours after the attack began.

Intermittent firing could still be heard from the hotel on Sunday afternoon, Gwadar resident Abdur Rahim Baloch told Reuters.

The Balochistan Liberation Army insurgent group, which says it is fighting what it sees as the unfair exploitation of the province’s natural resources, claimed responsibility saying in a statement the attack was aimed at “Chinese and other foreign investors”.

The gunmen were dressed in army uniforms, officials said.

At least three security guards and two hotel personnel were killed and four wounded as the attackers battled members of the security forces on Saturday evening. Soldiers cornered the attackers in a staircase leading to the top floor, the military said.

Balochistan, which borders both Iran and Afghanistan, is Pakistan’s poorest province but has abundant reserves of natural gas and various minerals

Separatists have for decades been fighting the central government, bombing gas and transport infrastructure and raiding security posts. Islamist militants from various factions also operate in the province.

Gwadar is a strategic port on the Arabian Sea that is being developed as part of the $60 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is itself part of China’s Belt and Road infrastructure project.

The separatists have denounced the development plans and vowed to block them while Pakistan has promised China it would protect its investments and Chinese workers.

The Pearl Continental Hotel, on a hillside near the port, is used by foreign guests, including Chinese project staff, but there were none in the building at the time of the attack, officials said.

Prime Minister Imran Khan issued a statement condemning the attack.

“Such attempts, especially in Balochistan are an effort to sabotage our economic projects and prosperity,” he said.

Security across most of Pakistan has improved over recent years following a major crackdown after the country’s worst attack, when 148 people, most of them children, were killed in an assault on a school in the western city of Peshawar in 2014.

But Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province, remains an exception and there have been several attacks this year, with at least 14 people killed last month in an attack on buses traveling between the southern city of Karachi and Gwadar.

Writing by Saad Sayeed; Editing by Robert Birsel

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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-security/pakistani-forces-comb-hotel-a-day-after-raid-kills-at-least-five-idUSKCN1SI05A

2019-05-12 08:56:00Z
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Myanmar passenger jet lands safely after landing gear fails - ABC News

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https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/myanmar-passenger-jet-lands-safely-landing-gear-fails-62986476

2019-05-12 08:51:00Z
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