
Body of missing African naval cadet recovered in Kochi
KOCHI: The body of Abdul Ibrahim, a 22-year-old African national naval cadet who went missing after being swept away by strong currents in the Kochi backwaters two days ago, was found on Tuesday morning.
According to Shibu, Sub-Inspector of Harbour Police Station, the mortal remains were recovered near the south jetty of the Naval Base.
The body was spotted close to the shore around 7 am and was later identified.
Inquest procedures were conducted at Naval Hospital Sanjeevani in the presence of Navy officials. Following this, the remains were shifted to Ernakulam General Hospital for post-mortem examination, said Shibu.

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NDTV
8 hours ago
- NDTV
How Thane Techie Spied For Pakistan's ISI, Shared Info On Indian Warships
Mumbai: A week after a 27-year-old man from Maharashtra was arrested in an alleged espionage case, it has now emerged how he spied for his Pakistani agents and the information that he shared with them. Ravi, a mechanical engineer based in Thane, had shared intelligence about Indian warships and submarines with his Pakistani handler. He had provided inputs about 14 Navy ships, out of which the inputs about five ships were accurate. For this, he received money from Pakistan's spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the police said. Ravi was "honey-trapped" by a Pakistani agent who had befriended him on Facebook, posing as a woman, officials had earlier said. He was found sharing sensitive information with the Pakistani operative through WhatsApp, officials said. Based on a tip-off, he was arrested on May 29 by the Thane unit of the Anti-Terrorism Squad. He has been charged with criminal conspiracy and relevant sections of the Official Secrets Act. Two others who were taken into custody along with him were left off after an inquiry. Indian agencies had heightened surveillance in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack and the subsequent India-Pakistan tensions. Over a dozen men and women have been arrested on charges of sharing sensitive information with Pakistani intelligence operatives. This includes two influencers, travel vlogger Jyoti Malhotra and YouTuber Jasbir Singh. Both had over a million subscribers on YouTube and had travelled to Pakistan multiple times. They are currently being probed. A student from Punjab and a security guard from Haryana are among others who face charges of leaking classified information across the border.


Time of India
9 hours ago
- Time of India
Surging jihadist violence in Sahel fuels fears unrest may spread
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Several hundred soldiers have been killed in various attacks claimed by the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) in Mali and Burkina Faso, and the Islamic State in the Sahel (EIS) group in Niger. - Why are attacks intensifying? - "The global vision of regional terrorism is changing. There is an ideological aspect, but also an ethnic one," said Lassina Diarra of the International Counter-Terrorism Academy in Jacqueville, Ivory Coast. "Jihadist leaders declared in March their intent to intensify attacks against national armies to prevent a genocide against the Fulani community." Military violence targeting civilians -- particularly the Fulani, often singled out in the Sahel region and accused of feeding the jihadists' ranks -- "has exacerbated grievances and played into jihadist narratives, driving JNIM's expansion", said the Soufan Center think tank in a brief. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like เทรดทองCFDs กับโบรกเกอร์ที่เชื่อถือได้ | เรียนรู้เพิ่มเติม IC Markets สมัคร Undo It also highlighted "a broader strategy to degrade public confidence in state forces, boost recruitment". "There is also a question of competition for territory," Diarra added. "JNIM is accelerating attacks to reduce the influence of EIS, which is making a comeback." - What are jihadists' ambitions? - According to many observers, the goals of JNIM and EIS differ. "EIS aims for a global jihad, with the intention of establishing a caliphate, the strict implementation of sharia law and a brutal approach, including against civilian populations," Diarra said. "JNIM has a more political approach". - Could they topple a government?- The capitals of Mali and Burkina Faso "are surrounded", said Diarra. "Given its increasing operational capabilities, JNIM has the capabilities to occupy a capital. The challenge will be to administer it. It's unclear they have the means and expertise in this area." For Gilles Yabi, founder of the west African think tank Wathi, it is important to remain cautious of "catastrophic" predictions. The jihadists' "main advantage is their mobility and ability to move and blend with populations", he said. "In Burkina Faso, we cannot rule out a Somalia-like scenario, with a capital that resists while the rest of the country is out of control," said a Western military source. - What response? - The juntas in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger came to power through coups between 2020 and 2023 and are now united in a confederation, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). They have been turning their backs on west African bloc ECOWAS and Western powers engaged in anti-jihadist efforts. The military rulers rarely communicate about jihadist attacks, insisting they are reclaiming large portions of territory. "What is concerning and greatly destabilises the military is the use of drones by armed groups, which can reduce or even annihilate the advantage armies seemed to have gained in recent months," said Yabi. "These governments live in isolation and also face financial issues, such as paying soldiers. There is reason to question their capacity to resist in the long run," Diarra said. The Alliance of Sahel States announced at the beginning of the year the formation of a 5,000-soldier joint force, with its three armies conducting operations together. "We can't say there are no results at all, but they are losing many men, which is likely creating concerns regarding soldier mobilisation," Yabi said. The Western military source said he "fears regional collapse" due to a "cocktail of factors: not very solid governments, all sorts of trafficking, demographic explosion, misinformation on social media and the withdrawal of American aid". - Could the threat spread? - The northern parts of Togo and Benin, bordering Sahelian states, are already regularly targeted by violent jihadist incursions. Benin maintains tense relations with neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger, which have accused it of harbouring jihadist training bases -- an accusation it denies. "The fact that Benin cannot directly talk with its neighbours and therefore struggles to secure its borders increases its vulnerability," Diarra said. JNIM is also seeking to establish itself in Senegal and Mauritania via Mali, according to a study by the Timbuktu Institute. Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko has taken the threat seriously. During a visit to Burkina Faso in May, Sonko said it was "illusory" to think jihadism would remain confined to the Sahel region.


Hindustan Times
20 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
What is the International Criminal Court?
THE HAGUE, - President Donald Trump's administration on Thursday imposed sanctions on four judges at the International Criminal Court, an unprecedented retaliation over the tribunal's work on issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Here are some facts about the court: WHEN WAS THE ICC SET UP AND WHY? The court was established in 2002 to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression when member states are unwilling or unable to do so themselves. It can prosecute crimes committed by nationals of member states or on the territory of member states by other actors. It has 125 member states. The court's budget for 2025 is about 195 million euros . WHAT IS THE ICC INVESTIGATING? The ICC is conducting investigations from the Palestinian territories to Ukraine and African states such as Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya, to Venezuela in Latin America and Myanmar and the Philippines in Asia. It says there have been 32 cases before the court, with some having more than one suspect. ICC judges have issued at least 60 arrest warrants. HOW MANY PEOPLE HAS THE COURT CONVICTED? ICC judges have issued 11 convictions and four acquittals. Twenty-one people have been held in the ICC detention centre in The Hague and have appeared before the court, and 31 people remain at large. Charges have been dropped against seven people due to their deaths. Of the 11 convictions, only six have been for the court's core crimes of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The others were for crimes such as witness tampering. The six convicted men were all African militia leaders from Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali and Uganda. Terms ranged from nine to 30 years in prison. The maximum possible term is life imprisonment. WHO IS ON THE COURT'S ARREST WARRANT LIST? Former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested on March 11 on a warrant from the ICC. Prosecutors accuse him of forming and arming death squads held responsible for the killing of thousands of perceived drug users and dealers during his rule. Duterte has said he takes full responsibility for the "war on drugs" as he braces for the legal battle. Other notable ICC suspects are Netanyahu, who is accused of being criminally responsible for acts including murder, persecution and using starvation as a weapon of war in the Gaza conflict, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, accused of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. Both Israel and Russia have repeatedly denied that their forces have committed atrocities in Gaza and Ukraine respectively and have argued the ICC has no jurisdiction over them. When it issued the warrant for Netanyahu, the ICC also issued a warrant for the arrest of Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif, whose death was confirmed after the warrant was issued. The ICC prosecutor has also requested arrest warrants for senior Afghan and Myanmar leaders, but those have not been officially approved by judges. WHICH COUNTRIES ARE NOT MEMBERS OF THE ICC? Although the court is supported by many United Nations members and the European Union, other countries such as the United States, China and Russia are not members, arguing the ICC could be used for politically motivated prosecutions. Myanmar is not a member of the court, but in 2018 and 2019 judges ruled the court had jurisdiction over alleged cross-border crimes that partially took place in neighbouring ICC member Bangladesh, such as deportation and persecution, and said prosecutors could open a formal investigation. Israel is not a member and does not recognise its jurisdiction, but the Palestinian territories were admitted as an ICC member state in 2015. This, together with a ruling by judges, means the court can look at potential war crimes carried out by Hamas fighters in Israel and by Israelis in the Gaza Strip. The Philippines is not currently a member of the ICC but was between 2011 and 2019, when the unilateral withdrawal by Duterte became final. Under the court's founding 1998 Rome Statute, even if a state withdraws as a member it retains jurisdiction over crimes within its jurisdiction committed during the membership period. In February 2025, Trump authorised economic and travel sanctions targeting people who work on International Criminal Court investigations of U.S. citizens or U.S. allies such as Israel. Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan has so far been the only ICC staff member targeted by sanctions, which are set to go into force on April 7.