Latest news with #kidnapping
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Gunmen kill 2 Indians and abduct a third in Niger
NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Gunmen killed at least two Indians and abducted a third during an attack in Niger's southwest Dosso region, according to Indian authorities, the latest such violence targeting foreigners in Niger's conflict-battered territories. The Indian Embassy in Niger said in a statement on X on Friday that the attack occurred on Tuesday, and that it was in touch with local authorities to repatriate the bodies of the victims and ensure the safe release of the kidnapped individual. Local media in Niger identified the victims as workers at a construction site in Dosso, located 140 kilometers (87 miles) from the country's capital of Niamey. Foreigners are increasingly becoming targets of armed groups in Niger. Several of them have been kidnapped this year, including an Austrian woman who has lived in Niger as an aid worker for more than 20 years, a Swiss woman seized from her home in April and five Indian workers, also in April. Niger has for many years battled a jihadi insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, a security crisis that analysts say has worsened since the military toppled the country's government in July 2023, and has since struggled to restore peace in hot spots. According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, June was one of the country's deadliest months on record as IS-backed fighters launched a major offensive across the Tillaberi and Dosso regions, killing more than 100 civilians in what marked a return to mass atrocities in rural areas. Solve the daily Crossword
Telegraph
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Minorities in the Middle East are facing extinction
Father Tony Boutros is a Catholic priest in Sweida, southern Syria. He is no stranger to ethnic unrest; in 2015, he was kidnapped during a spate of abductions of Christians in the country. The clergyman survived that brush with death. But he may not be so fortunate next time. This week, he recorded a message begging the international community for help. 'We ask the US, Europe, the Vatican, and the whole world for international protection for this region of Sweida, all of it, for us and for our Druze brothers, my dear ones,' he said. 'Look at the massacres that happened to us in Sweida.' As he spoke, hundreds of Druze civilians, including women and children, were being kidnapped, tortured, executed and mutilated, with Christians suffering at their side. They fought back but there were fears of genocide. The Syrian Bedouin, who had started the onslaught, were soon backed by forces from Damascus, who joined the violence despite being ostensibly sent to quell it. Before long, Sweida was a magnet for every Sunni tribe in the region, with thousands of militiamen brandishing Kalashnikovs and knives streaming south on motorcycles, in cars and in buses. 'Your fight isn't just with Syrians, it's with the entire Muslim world,' one masked jihadi said in a chilling video. 'We'll hunt you down wherever you are, just like the Jews.' The world ignored the priest's desperate pleas. Apart from Jerusalem. This week, Israel Defense Forces jets pushed the murderous mob back for the sake of its own security – Sweida is 45 miles from Israel – as well as that of the Druze. It also provided large quantities of humanitarian aid. This stemmed the tide, though appallingly not for long. The violence continues. Israel, you say? Israel? So it was that the UN secretary-general demanded 'an immediate cessation of all violations of Syria's sovereignty', while the EU urged Jerusalem to 'immediately cease its strikes'. God knows what Father Boutros made of that. This was just the latest round of ethnic bloodshed to have ravaged Syria since Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, the former Islamic State and al-Qaeda terrorist, toppled Assad in December with support from Turkey. He has been bafflingly fêted by the West. There was inexplicable appearance on Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell's podcast The Rest is Politics, not to mention visits from world leaders and sanctions relief. Under Jolani's rule, Alawites and Christians have been massacred in sadistic scenes that have often been captured on social media. One video showed the corpse of a vintner being trampled face-down in his own wine by the soldiers of Allah in March. Was the old jihadi powerless to stop his men? Or had he little desire to do so? This time it was the turn of the Druze. Numbering up to a million, they adhere to a mystical faith that believes both in the God of Abraham and reincarnation. About 150,000 reside in Israel and are counted among its most doughty soldiers. Others live across the Levant. That such an obscure people roused little global sympathy is predictable. After all, they were not being menaced by the Israelis, so who cares? From a Jewish perspective, however, and perhaps a Muslim one, it is hard to understand the lack of concern in the Christian West for Christians in the Middle East. A century ago, they comprised 20 per cent of the population of the region. After decades of bloody persecution, that number stands at under three per cent. Not a single placard has been raised. For a country embarrassed by its religious heritage, all of this is a bit awkward for us, I suppose. Anyway, back to Gaza.
Associated Press
17 hours ago
- Associated Press
Gunmen kill 2 Indians and abduct a third in Niger
NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Gunmen killed at least two Indians and abducted a third during an attack in Niger's southwest Dosso region, according to Indian authorities, the latest such violence targeting foreigners in Niger's conflict-battered territories. The Indian Embassy in Niger said in a statement on X on Friday that the attack occurred on Tuesday, and that it was in touch with local authorities to repatriate the bodies of the victims and ensure the safe release of the kidnapped individual. Local media in Niger identified the victims as workers at a construction site in Dosso, located 140 kilometers (87 miles) from the country's capital of Niamey. Foreigners are increasingly becoming targets of armed groups in Niger. Several of them have been kidnapped this year, including an Austrian woman who has lived in Niger as an aid worker for more than 20 years, a Swiss woman seized from her home in April and five Indian workers, also in April. Niger has for many years battled a jihadi insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, a security crisis that analysts say has worsened since the military toppled the country's government in July 2023, and has since struggled to restore peace in hot spots. According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, June was one of the country's deadliest months on record as IS-backed fighters launched a major offensive across the Tillaberi and Dosso regions, killing more than 100 civilians in what marked a return to mass atrocities in rural areas.
The Guardian
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
TV tonight: the Uma Thurman kidnap drama reaches its endgame
10.40pm, ITV1 First streamed on Apple TV+, this kidnapping drama (briefly) features Uma Thurman and follows five suspects as they attempt to clear their names after a kidnapping. As the endgame approaches, the quartet are forced to hide in a country cottage. Could this be a blessing in disguise, giving them time to figure out who framed them? Phil Harrison 5.45pm, BBC One The quiz show for music fans returns. Marvin and Rochelle Humes ask contestants to name as many songs and artists as possible for £10,000 – starting with best pals Izzy and Ellie from Sheffield, husband and wife Joy and Joe from Nottingham, and father and son Tom and Paul from Liverpool. Hollie Richardson 7pm, Channel 5 'Sausage!' That's what Prince William once called a person who interrupted him at a football game, according to lip reader Nicola Hinkling. Expect such spicy revelations and more as 'experts' work out wha the royals have said at funerals, weddings and state occasions. But nothing will beat Queen Elizabeth II exclaiming 'cows!' to Prince Philip as a herd parade past them. HR 8.30pm, Channel 5 Saturday night continues to be Windsors night, and now the royal-watchers are wrestling with the King's estrangement from his brother. Charles has understandably distanced himself from Prince Andrew, who is a PR liability at best. Can/should they reconcile? Jack Seale 9pm, ITV2 Sign up to The Guide Get our weekly pop culture email, free in your inbox every Friday after newsletter promotion There's still two weeks left of the summer reality staple, which means there's still time to let yourself get sucked in – apparently, it's one of the series with the most beef and bust-ups, and the least romances. This week's unseen bits will help you catch up with all the drama. HR 10.05pm, ITV2 She's covered boobs, penises, vaginas, bottoms and the face in this series about modern beauty obsessions. For the final episode of the eye-opening series, former Love Islander Olivia Attwood is meeting people who have spent more than £10,000 on surgery. HR All-Ireland Senior Hurling: Cork v Tipperary, 3pm, BBC Two The championship final at Croke Park, Dublin.
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Kidnappers Planned to Force a 12-Year-Old Girl into Marriage. A Pride of Lions Came To Her Rescue
How three lions saved a 12-year-old girl in 2005NEED TO KNOW The young girl was kidnapped while walking home from school and was missing for a week A pride of lions rescued the girl from her captors and "stood guard" Find out how the girl's actions likely drew the lions' attentionIt's been 20 years since an Ethiopian 'miracle,' but it's still no less astonishing today. In June 2005, a 12-year-old girl who had been kidnapped, beaten and missing for a week was found alive after three lions in Ethiopia chased off the captors and protected her. Reports claim that the girl was taken by a group of seven men who sought to force her into marriage. "They stood guard until we found her and then they just left her like a gift and went back into the forest," Sergeant Wondimu Wendaju told NBC News of the pride's actions afterward. "If the lions had not come then it could have been much worse. Often these young girls are raped and severely beaten to force them to accept the marriage.' The girl was "shocked and terrified" and had to be treated for cuts from the beatings, Wendaju said. Reports at the time indicated the girl was kidnapped while walking home from school and was soon after held captive in a remote location. At some point, however, the men, with the girl in tow, attempted to move down a dusty trail through the outskirts of Bita Genet, about 350 miles from the country's capital, Addis Ababa. The sounds of the movements and the weeping of a scared girl likely alerted the pride of lions. In fact, wildlife expert Stuart Williams told NBC that the girl likely stayed alive because she cried. 'A young girl whimpering could be mistaken for the mewing sound from a lion cub, which in turn could explain why they didn't eat her,' he said. Wendaju added, 'Everyone thinks this is some kind of miracle, because normally the lions would attack people.' Ethiopia's lions are rather revered in Ethiopia, and are the country's national symbol, adorning statues and the local currency. Famous for their large black manes, Ethiopian Lions are highly endangered, as it's believed that only a few hundred are alive today, according to LionAid, a lion conservation and education charity. Read the original article on People Solve the daily Crossword
