Kashmir tensions intensify amid India, Pakistan skirmishes

Residents go on shopping at a market held on Sundays in Srinagar on August 4, 2019. The Indian military on August 4 claimed to have killed several Pakistani attackers trying to cross the de facto border in Kashmir, as tensions ratcheted up in the disputed region and sent thousands of tourists fleeing. (File/AFP)
Updated 04 August 2019
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Kashmir tensions intensify amid India, Pakistan skirmishes

  • Pakistani police say Indian firing along the Line of Control on Sunday wounded a woman as the ongoing skirmishes have spread fear in the border villages
  • The frontier residents on the Pakistani side are either moving out to safer places or have begun construction of new bunkers with some strengthening existing shelters near their homes

SRINAGAR, India: Tensions have soared along the volatile, highly militarized frontier between India and Pakistan in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir as India deployed more troops and ordered thousands of visitors out of the region.

Pakistani police say Indian firing along the Line of Control on Sunday wounded a woman as the ongoing skirmishes have spread fear in the border villages. The frontier residents on the Pakistani side are either moving out to safer places or have begun construction of new bunkers with some strengthening existing shelters near their homes.

The nuclear-armed rivals routinely blame the other for initiating border skirmishes but the latest ones come amid India’s evacuation order of tourists and Hindu pilgrims and troop buildup in its part of Kashmir.


Ukraine will be technically ready to join EU in 2027, Zelensky says

Updated 58 min 44 sec ago
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Ukraine will be technically ready to join EU in 2027, Zelensky says

KYIV: Ukraine will be technically ready to ​join the European Union in 2027, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, adding that securing ‘fast track’ ‌accession to the ‌bloc ‌was ⁠an ​important ‌part of security guarantees after the war with Russia ends.
“Technically, we will be ready ⁠in 2027,” Zelensky ‌told reporters in remarks ‍released ‍by his ‍office on Friday, adding that by the end of 2026 ​Ukraine will have implemented the main steps ⁠required for membership.
“I would like Ukraine to receive a clear timeline,” he said, adding that his government was committed to the ‌necessary reforms.