World
Indian soldiers engaged in deadly gun battles with Kashmir rebels
One rebel killed as two separate gunfights under way amid increase in armed attacks in the Indian-administered Kashmir.
A suspected rebel has been killed in a gunfight with security forces in the Indian-administered Kashmir, the army said, days after rebels killed two members of a government-backed militia.
“One terrorist has been neutralised by the security forces [in Zabarwan forest near Srinagar city],” the Indian army’s Chinar Corps said on Sunday.
Security forces were engaged in two separate gun battles – one in the Chaas area of Kishtwar district in the southern Jammu region and the other one in Baramulla district north of Srinagar, the capital of the disputed Kashmir region, according to Indian media reports.
The gun battles come days after rebels killed two members of a government-run militia, called the Village Defense Group, in Kishtwar on Thursday. The Kashmir Tigers armed group claimed responsibility for the killings in a statement on social media.
Separatists have been demanding either independence or to merge with Pakistan. Many Muslim Kashmiris also support the goals of the rebels. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed as India deployed more than 500,000 soldiers to quell the rebellion.
New Delhi has often blamed Pakistan for supplying the rebels with weapons and helping them launch attacks, which Islamabad denies.
Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir in its entirety but govern only part of it. They have fought two wars over the Himalayan territory, which has witnessed decades-long armed rebellion against Indian rule.
Increased attacks
Since October, rebel groups and Indian forces have exchanged fire, including an attack on an army convoy and firing on a construction camp, in which seven people were killed.
Last week, a rebel hurled a grenade at a busy market in the central city of Srinagar, wounding 12 people.
On Friday, the Indian military said a team of soldiers and police raided a village near northwestern Sopore town following a tip about the presence of armed rebels.
The military said in a statement that rebels “fired indiscriminately” at the troops, which led to a gun battle, killing two fighters. Earlier, officials said two members of the Village Defence Group were killed by rebels in the southern Kishtwar area late on Thursday.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah condemned the attack on X, saying, “I expect the security forces to move quickly to plug any gaps in our counter-terror grid & ensure that attacks like this stop completely.”
On Wednesday, Kashmir’s newly elected regional assembly passed a resolution demanding that New Delhi restore its partial autonomy, which was stripped by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in 2019.
New Delhi stripped Kashmir of its special status in a sudden decision which was accompanied by mass arrests and a months-long communications blackout.
The Indian government slammed the resolution. “No power in the world can restore Article 370 [of the Constitution, pertaining to partial autonomy] in Kashmir,” Modi said on Wednesday.
World
Video: Israel and Hezbollah Trade Deadly Attacks
Israeli strikes pounded areas in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a day after eight people were killed, according to the authorities, in the northernmost attack on Lebanese soil since the start of the war. Israeli officials said two men were killed in a rocket attack from Lebanon on Tuesday.
World
Germany braces under collapsing government and looming Trump trade war
With the re-election of former President Donald Trump to the White House and the collapse of the coalition government under German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Germany is bracing for an economically and politically dubious time.
From the campaign trail, Trump pledged to increase import tariffs on friends and foes alike under the “Trump Reciprocal Trade Act” which would increase all U.S. tariffs to match the taxes enforced by each corresponding country.
“If India, China, or any other country hits us with a 100 or 200 percent tariff on American-made goods, we will hit them with the same exact tariff,” he outlined in his campaign agenda. “If they charge US, we charge THEM—an eye for an eye, a tariff for a tariff, same exact amount.”
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However, it is unclear if the president-elect still plans to push these specific tariff increases, as he has also suggested there should be a 10% tariff on imports from all countries, as well as 60% duties on imports from China, according to a Reuters report.
China was not the only country in Trump’s crosshairs, as the now president-elect also referred to the European Union (EU) as a “mini China” and warned the bloc would have to pay up.
“They don’t take our cars. They don’t take our farm products. They sell millions and millions of cars in the United States,” he told supporters at an October rally in Pennsylvania. “No, no, no. They are going to have to pay a big price.”
Some economic experts have warned that increasing tariffs – which are paid by companies importing the goods, not by government entities – could lead to rising costs worldwide, including in the U.S., as well as further inflation.
A report earlier this month by the German Marshall Fund (GMF) pointed to findings by Germany’s Institute for Economic Research in Cologne that said the promised Trump tariffs are estimated to cost the country roughly $127 billion over the next four years.
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“Trump’s victory does not bode well for a Germany that is dependent on U.S. security and thrives on open markets,” the GMF said in its report on how the U.S. election will impact Germany. “And uncertainty in Europe’s largest economy is not ideal when the EU needs to find its place in a world in which the U.S. president is not expected to support the traditional, rules-based international order.”
However, it is not only Germany’s flagging economy that could spell uncertainty for Berlin’s international standing, as Scholz faces a vote of no confidence in January after he fired his Finance Minister Christian Lindner and his coalition government collapsed.
A confidence vote is now set to be held in Germany on December 16 – which Scholz, given his minority status, is expected to lose.
The most likely next step will be for German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to dissolve the parliament and call for elections which are not expected to be held on Feb. 23, 2025.
The EU now stares down a potential trade war with the Trump administration while one of its leading nations, both geopolitically and economically, will essentially sit as a lame duck while Berlin waits to see who will be next to lead the country.
German opposition leader Friedrich Merz – who could find himself the next German chancellor – said he intends to cut a deal with Trump.
In an interview with Stern magazine, Merz reportedly said, “In Germany, we have never really articulated and enforced our interests well enough, and we have to change that.
“The Americans are much more on the offensive. It shouldn’t end with only one side profiting, but rather with us making good arrangements for both sides,” Merz said according to a Bloomberg report on the interview. “Trump would call it a deal.”
World
There is no safe zone in Gaza, warns UNRWA
UNRWA’s Scott Anderson described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as critical and called on all sides to respect civilian safe zones.
The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip remains critical and could deteriorate further, warns the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA).
Speaking to Euronews in Brussels, UNRWA Director in Gaza, Scott Anderson, called on all parties to the conflict to respect the sanctity of safe places for civilians.
“There’s nowhere safe in Gaza. Including the safe zones. And unfortunately, all parties to the conflict are not respecting the sanctity of sites that should be safe for civilians, including hospitals and schools.” said Anderson.
He stressed that both UNRWA facilities and Palestinian schools have been targeted, appealing to all sides to uphold the protection of these locations so civilians can find safety for themselves and their families.
Too cosy with Hamas?
Anderson also responded to past allegations that his agency was too lenient with Hamas, which the EU designates as a terrorist organisation.
He underlined that UNRWA took swift action after discovering that some of its employees were linked to the group.
When asked if he could confidently say that UNRWA had removed all Hamas operatives, Anderson was frank in his reply:
“No, I don’t think anybody can say anything with certainty about their workforce anywhere. We have over 13,000 people. We do take ‘neutrality’ very seriously, as shown by the commissioner general’s very swift action. But no, I can’t with certainty say that’s done,” he said.
Anderson also reiterated that they don’t have any evidence of employing Hamas members, and if they did, the necessary actions would have already been taken.
You can watch the full interview on the situation in Gaza on Thursday and online at euronews.com.
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