International
Modi returns to India and shortens his visit to Saudi Arabia after a deadly attack in Kashmir
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shortened his visit to Saudi Arabia and returned to New Delhi on Wednesday after the deadly terrorist attack with 28 dead in the Pahalgam region, in Indian Kashmir, one of the worst attacks against civilians in recent years.
Upon his arrival in the Indian capital, the prime minister immediately held a high-level information meeting at the airport to analyze the situation resulting from the deadly attack against a group of tourists, which occurred yesterday, according to images from the Government.
Modi, who had just started an official visit to Saudi Arabia, met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, S. Jaishankar, National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval, and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, according to images of the meeting.
The attack in Pahalgam occurred yesterday when alleged militants attacked a group of tourists, killing 28 people and injuring more than 20.
Survivors of the attack, quoted by Indian media, told how the aggressors approached them in the meadow and began shooting at close range, pointing, according to reports, to individuals who claimed not to be Muslims.
The attack marks a serious escalation with respect to other recent incidents in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
Previously, the deadliest attack in recent years took place in February 2019, when a suicide attack killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police officers.
As for attacks against civilians, a notable incident took place in March 2000, when an insurgent attack on a village in the south of the region killed at least 36 people.
The Kashmir region has been a long-standing point of conflict between India and Pakistan since its separation from the British Empire in 1947. Both nations have fought wars and other minor conflicts for the control of the territory.
Since 1989, the region has been the scene of an armed revolt against the New Delhi Government, a conflict that has caused the death of tens of thousands of people. India maintains that Pakistan supports the insurgency, a statement that Pakistan denies.
In response to the attack, the Indian Army and Kashmir Police have launched a search operation in the Baisran area, Pahalgam, in the Anantnag district, to arrest the perpetrators.
The attack on tourists in the Pahalgam area, in the Anantnag district, has caused widespread condemnation throughout the country. Several political leaders, including Modi and Interior Minister Amit Shah, have denounced the attack.
International leaders, such as US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, also issued statements condemning the violence and expressing their solidarity with India.
Kashmir administered by India woke up this Wednesday paralyzed under strong security measures, even greater than usual in this heavily militarized region, while security forces try to find those responsible for the insurgent attack that killed 28 people yesterday.
Hundreds of police and soldiers are deployed today in Srinagar, the main city of the region, and in other cities such as Pahalgam, the closest to the place of the attack, with patrols that go through every street making loud sirens sound, according to EFE.
The region also observes a total closure of its activity, called by several local religious and political leaders, in addition to the main commercial organizations.
All stores, commercial establishments and educational institutions are closed while university exams scheduled for today have been postponed.
The attack occurred yesterday about five kilometers from Pahalgam, in a meadow frequented by locals and visitors, when alleged insurgents attacked a group of tourists, causing the death of 28 people and injuring at least a dozen people.
Survivors of the attack, quoted by Indian media, told how the aggressors approached them in the meadow and began shooting at close range, pointing, according to reports, to individuals who claimed not to be Muslims.
The security forces have not notified the arrest of any person so far, while a police investigation is already underway.
“A team from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is expected to arrive in Pahalgam to take charge of the investigation of the incident,” an official from the Kashmir divisional commissioner’s office told EFE.
According to a source close to the investigation cited by The Indian Express, there were four insurgents involved in the attack.
International
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe on Monday requested that the Supreme Court restore his freedom while he appeals the historic 12-year house arrest sentence he received for bribery and procedural fraud.
Uribe, the most prominent figure of Colombia’s right wing, was convicted last week by a lower court for attempting to bribe paramilitary members into denying his ties to the violent anti-guerrilla squads.
Since Friday, the 73-year-old has been under house arrest at his residence in Rionegro, about 30 km from Medellín. The judge justified the measure by citing a risk of flight.
However, Uribe’s defense team rejected that argument and formally petitioned the court to immediately lift the detention order, claiming it lacks legal basis.
Uribe, a dominant force in Colombian politics for decades, is now the first former president in the country’s history to be convicted and placed under arrest, found guilty of witness tampering and obstruction of justice to prevent links to paramilitary groups.
He has repeatedly denounced the trial as politically motivated, blaming pressure from the leftist government currently in power.
His political party, Centro Democrático, has called for nationwide protests on August 7 in support of Uribe, who remains popular for his hardline stance against guerrilla groups.
Uribe has until August 13 to submit his written appeal. The case will then move to the Bogotá High Court, which has until October 16 to uphold, overturn, or dismiss the sentence. If the deadline passes without a decision, the case will be archived.
International
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
The poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean is currently engulfed in a deep political crisis and a wave of violence driven by armed groups — a situation that an international security mission led by Kenya is attempting to stabilize.
Due to the worsening security conditions, the U.S. government has suspended all official movements of embassy personnel outside the compound in Port-au-Prince, the U.S. State Department announced Monday in a security alert posted on social media platform X.
“There are intense gunfights in the Tabarre neighborhood, near the U.S. Embassy,” the alert reads, urging the public to avoid the area.
Tabarre is a municipality located near Port-au-Prince International Airport, northeast of the Haitian capital.
According to a July report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 3,141 people were killed in Haitibetween January 1 and June 30 of this year.
International
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
The Israeli military announced on Sunday that 136 boxes of food aid were airdropped into Gaza by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, and Belgium.
“In recent hours, six countries conducted air drops of 136 aid packages containing food for residents in the southern and northern Gaza Strip,” read the statement, which added that the operation was coordinated by COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli military emphasized that they will “continue working to improve the humanitarian response alongside the international community” and reiterated their stance to “refute false allegations of deliberate famine in Gaza.”
The announcement comes as UN agencies warn Gaza faces an imminent risk of famine. More than one in three residents go days without eating, and other nutrition indicators have dropped to their worst levels since the conflict began.
The agencies also noted the difficulty of “collecting reliable data in current conditions, as Gaza’s health systems —already devastated by nearly three years of conflict— are collapsing.”
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry reported on Sunday that hospitals in the enclave recorded six deaths from hunger and malnutrition on Saturday, all of them adults.
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
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Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
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Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction