Over 2,000 youth from three districts of south Kashmir turned up on the first day of Indian army recruitment drive in Srinagar on Saturday.

The youth who applied for around 110 vacancies included&nbsp;boys from terrorism prone areas.

Since morning, long queues were seen outside JKLI Regimental centre Srinagar where Jammu and Kashmir police were deployed to help the Indian army manage the crowd. Some youth said that they spent their night in rented cars, outside the army centre to get in first.

Among the youth is Haseeb Bashir, a resident of Kulgam, who lost his father in a terror attack Srigufwara in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district in 1995, when terrorism was on its peak in the state.

“Like my father died for the country, I want to serve too. I never saw my father and I could just study till 10th standard as I had to run my family which includes two sisters and mother,” said Haseeb adding that his father was associated with 3 Rashtriya Rifles, a counter-insurgency force operating in Jammu and Kashmir.

Most of the youth also say that they want to join the army due to unemployment and lack of opportunities in the valley.&nbsp;

“I am also afraid due to the situation but because we don’t have work, so I want to ask other unemployed youth to join the army,” says Umar, who didn’t wish to disclose his village or district, fearing a backlash.

The Indian army says that they are overwhelmed by the response of south Kashmir youth.&nbsp; 
“We carried out same recruitment in 2016 and 2017 and usually we wouldn’t get more then 800 candidates. Today, more than 2000 candidates have come in,” said RR Singh, who was overlooking the recruitment rally.

The rally for the recruitment into 162 infantry battalion will continue till October 21 and numbers are expected to grow.

Over 2,000 youth from three districts of south Kashmir turned up on the first day of Indian army recruitment drive in Srinagar on Saturday. The youth who applied for around 110 vacancies included boys from terrorism prone areas.

Over 2,000 youth from three districts of south Kashmir turned up on the first day of Indian army recruitment drive in Srinagar on Saturday. The youth who applied for around 110 vacancies included boys from terrorism prone areas. Since morning, long queues were seen outside JKLI Regimental centre Srinagar where Jammu and Kashmir police were deployed to help the Indian army manage the crowd. Some youth said that they spent their night in rented cars, outside the army centre to get in first. Among the youth is Haseeb Bashir, a resident of Kulgam, who lost his father in a terror attack Srigufwara in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district in 1995, when terrorism was on its peak in the state. “Like my father died for the country, I want to serve too. I never saw my father and I could just study till 10th standard as I had to run my family which includes two sisters and mother,” said Haseeb adding that his father was associated with 3 Rashtriya Rifles, a counter-insurgency force operating in Jammu and Kashmir. Most of the youth also say that they want to join the army due to unemployment and lack of opportunities in the valley. “I am also afraid due to the situation but because we don’t have work, so I want to ask other unemployed youth to join the army,” says Umar, who didn’t wish to disclose his village or district, fearing a backlash. The Indian army says that they are overwhelmed by the response of south Kashmir youth. “We carried out same recruitment in 2016 and 2017 and usually we wouldn’t get more then 800 candidates. Today, more than 2000 candidates have come in,” said RR Singh, who was overlooking the recruitment rally. The rally for the recruitment into 162 infantry battalion will continue till October 21 and numbers are expected to grow.

Jammu and Kashmir: Over 2,000 youth participate on day-1 of Indian army recruitment drive

Bringing the two-day<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/in-pics-highlights-of-india-china-2nd-informal-summit-in-mamallapuram-chennai-255483"> India-China informal summit</a> to an end, Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for Delhi from the airport here on Saturday.

The Chinese President had left earlier to embark on the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/chinese-president-xi-jinping-wraps-up-chennai-visit-leaves-for-nepal-255459">second leg of his two-state visit</a> in the Asian neighbourhood. Xi had departed for Nepal from India shortly before the Prime Minister`s journey back to the national capital.

The Mamallapuram meeting was held following the inaugural summit between the two leaders in Wuhan from April 27 to 28 last year.

The two leaders exchanged views on a wide-ranging area of bilateral relations, including trade, people-to-people exchanges, countering terrorism, to name a few.

The Prime Minister also accepted President`s Xi`s invite for the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/india-china-informal-summit-was-a-good-idea-will-continue-to-have-such-meetings-xi-jinping-255443">third informal summit in China</a>, according to Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale.

Modi and Xi held one-on-one interactions that lasted for about six hours during the summit in the historic coastal city of Mamallapuram.

During delegation-level talks on Saturday, Prime Minister Modi said that the `Chennai Connect` is the start of a new era in India-China relations.

On the first day, the close ties shared between the two leaders shone through, as Modi took Xi on a guided tour of UNESCO World Heritage Sites like Arjuna`s Penance, Krishna`s Butter Ball, Pancha Rathas and the Shore Temple.&nbsp;

A veshti-wearing Modi received Xi on Friday afternoon in Mamallapuram, which is famed for its temples and architecture dating back to the Pallava Dynasty.

The visiting dignitary also relished a variety of Indian cuisine during the dinner hosted by Modi in his honour on Friday. The two leaders met for over two hours over dinner.&nbsp;

Bringing the two-day India-China informal summit to an end, Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for Delhi from the airport here on Saturday. The Chinese President had left earlier to embark on the second leg of his two-state visit in the Asian neighbourhood.

Bringing the two-day India-China informal summit to an end, Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for Delhi from the airport here on Saturday. The Chinese President had left earlier to embark on the second leg of his two-state visit in the Asian neighbourhood. Xi had departed for Nepal from India shortly before the Prime Minister`s journey back to the national capital. The Mamallapuram meeting was held following the inaugural summit between the two leaders in Wuhan from April 27 to 28 last year. The two leaders exchanged views on a wide-ranging area of bilateral relations, including trade, people-to-people exchanges, countering terrorism, to name a few. The Prime Minister also accepted President`s Xi`s invite for the third informal summit in China, according to Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale. Modi and Xi held one-on-one interactions that lasted for about six hours during the summit in the historic coastal city of Mamallapuram. During delegation-level talks on Saturday, Prime Minister Modi said that the `Chennai Connect` is the start of a new era in India-China relations. On the first day, the close ties shared between the two leaders shone through, as Modi took Xi on a guided tour of UNESCO World Heritage Sites like Arjuna`s Penance, Krishna`s Butter Ball, Pancha Rathas and the Shore Temple. A veshti-wearing Modi received Xi on Friday afternoon in Mamallapuram, which is famed for its temples and architecture dating back to the Pallava Dynasty. The visiting dignitary also relished a variety of Indian cuisine during the dinner hosted by Modi in his honour on Friday. The two leaders met for over two hours over dinner.

Chennai: Culminating India-China informal summit, PM Modi leaves for Delhi

Here is the full list of Nobel Peace Prize laureates from 1901, when the prize was first awarded.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/ethiopian-prime-minister-abiy-ahmed-ali-awarded-nobel-peace-prize-255217">This year's prize </a>went on Friday to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for his efforts to resolve the long-running conflict with neighbouring foe Eritrea:

2019: Abiy Ahmed (Ethiopia)

2018: Denis Mukwege (DR Congo) and Nadia Murad (Iraq)

2017: International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN)

2016: Juan Manuel Santos (Colombia)

2015: The National Dialogue Quartet (Tunisia)

2014: Kailash Satyarthi (India) and Malala Yousafzai (Pakistan)

2013: The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)

2012: The European Union (EU)

2011: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Leymah Gbowee (Liberia), Tawakkul Karman (Yemen)

2010: Liu Xiaobo (China)

2009: Barack Obama (US)

2008: Martti Ahtisaari (Finland)

2007: Al Gore (US) and the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

2006: Muhammad Yunus (Bangladesh) and the Grameen Bank

2005: International Atomic Energy Agency and Mohamed ElBaradei (Egypt)2004: Wangari Maathai (Kenya)

2003: Shirin Ebadi (Iran)

2002: Jimmy Carter (US)

2001: Kofi Annan (Ghana) and the United Nations

2000: Kim Dae-jung (South Korea)

1999: Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders)

1998: John Hume and David Trimble (Northern Ireland)

1997: Jody Williams (US) and the International Campaign to Ban Landmines

1996: Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo and Jose Ramos-Horta (East Timor)

1995: Joseph Rotblat (Britain) and the Pugwash movement

1994: Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres (Israel) and Yasser Arafat (PLO)

1993: Nelson Mandela and Frederik de Klerk (South Africa)

1992: Rigoberta Menchu (Guatemala)

1991: Aung San Suu Kyi (Burma)

1990: Mikhail Gorbachev (Soviet Union)

1989: Dalai Lama (Tibet)

1988: United Nations Peacekeeping Forces

1987: Oscar Arias Sanchez (Costa Rica)

1986: Elie Wiesel (US)

1985: International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War

1984: Desmond Tutu (South Africa)

1983: Lech Walesa (Poland)

1982: Alva Myrdal (Sweden) and Alfonso Garcia Robles (Mexico)

1981: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

1980: Adolfo Perez Esquivel (Argentina)

1979: Mother Teresa (Albania)

1978: Anwar Sadat (Egypt) and Menachem Begin (Israel)

1977: Amnesty International

1976: Betty Williams (Britain) and Mairead Corrigan (Northern Ireland)

1975: Andrei Sakharov (Soviet Union)

1974: Sean MacBride (Ireland) and Eisaku Sato (Japan)

1973: Henry Kissinger (US) and Le Duc Tho (Vietnam, declined)

1972: prize not handed out

1971: Willy Brandt (Germany)

1970: Norman Borlaug (US)

1969: International Labour Organisation

1968: Rene Cassin (France)1967: prize not handed out

1966: prize not handed out

1965: United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

1964: Martin Luther King Jr (US)

1963: International Committee of the Red Cross and the League of Red Cross Societies

1962: Linus Carl Pauling (US)

1961: Dag Hammarskjoeld (Sweden)

1960: Albert Lutuli (South Africa)

1959: Philip Noel-Baker (Britain)

1958: Georges Pire (Belgium)

1957: Lester Pearson (Canada)

1956: prize not handed out

1955: prize not handed out

1954: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

1953: George Marshall (US)

1952: Albert Schweitzer (France)

1951: Leon Jouhaux (France)

1950: Ralph Bunche (US)

1949: Lord (John) Boyd Orr of Brechin (Britain)

1948: prize not handed out

1947: Friends Service Council (The Quakers), American Friends Service Committee (The Quakers)

1946: Emily Greene Balch (US), John Raleigh Mott (US)

1945: Cordell Hull (US)

1944: International Committee of the Red Cross

1943: prize not handed out

1942: prize not handed out

1941: prize not handed out

1940: prize not handed out

1939: prize not handed out

1938: Nansen International Office for Refugees

1937: Viscount Cecil of Chelwood (Britain)

1936: Carlos Saavedra Lamas (Argentina)

1935: Carl von Ossietzky (Germany)

1934: Arthur Henderson (Britain)

1933: Sir Norman Angell (Ralph Lane) (Britain)

1932: prize not handed out

1931: Jane Addams (US) and Nicholas Murray Butler (US)

1930: Nathan Soederblom (Sweden)

1929: Frank Billings Kellogg (US)

1928: prize not handed out

1927: Ferdinand Buisson (France) and Ludwig Quidde (Germany)

1926: Aristide Briand (France) and Gustav Stresemann (Germany)

1925: Sir Austen Chamberlain (Britain) and Charles Gates Dawes (US)

1924: prize not handed out

1923: prize not handed out

1922: Fridtjof Nansen (Norway)

1921: Karl Hjalmar Branting (Sweden) and Christian Lous Lange (Norway)

1920: Leon Victor Auguste Bourgeois (France)

1919: Thomas Woodrow Wilson (US)

1918: prize not handed out

1917: International Committee of the Red Cross

1916: prize not handed out

1915: prize not handed out

1914: prize not handed out

1913: Henri La Fontaine (Belgium)

1912: Elihu Root (US)

1911: Tobias Michael Carel Asser (The Netherlands) and Alfred Hermann Fried (Austria)

1910: Permanent International Peace Bureau

1909: Auguste Marie Francois Beernaert (Belgium) and Paul Henri Benjamin Balluet, Baron d'Estournelles de Constant de Rebecque (France)

1908: Klas Pontus Arnoldson (Sweden) and Fredrik Bajer (Denmark)

1907: Ernesto Teodoro Moneta (Italy) and Louis Renault (France)

1906: Theodore Roosevelt (US)

1905: Baroness Bertha Sophie Felicita von Suttner (Austria)

1904: Institute of International Law

1903: William Randal Cremer (Britain)

1902: Elie Ducommun (Switzerland) and Charles Albert Gobat (Switzerland)

1901: Jean Henri Dunant (Switzerland) and Frederic Passy (France)

Here is the full list of Nobel Peace Prize laureates from 1901, when the prize was first awarded. This year's prize went on Friday to Ethiopian Prime Minister A

Here is the full list of Nobel Peace Prize laureates from 1901, when the prize was first awarded. This year's prize went on Friday to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for his efforts to resolve the long-running conflict with neighbouring foe Eritrea: 2019: Abiy Ahmed (Ethiopia) 2018: Denis Mukwege (DR Congo) and Nadia Murad (Iraq) 2017: International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) 2016: Juan Manuel Santos (Colombia) 2015: The National Dialogue Quartet (Tunisia) 2014: Kailash Satyarthi (India) and Malala Yousafzai (Pakistan) 2013: The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) 2012: The European Union (EU) 2011: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Leymah Gbowee (Liberia), Tawakkul Karman (Yemen) 2010: Liu Xiaobo (China) 2009: Barack Obama (US) 2008: Martti Ahtisaari (Finland) 2007: Al Gore (US) and the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2006: Muhammad Yunus (Bangladesh) and the Grameen Bank 2005: International Atomic Energy Agency and Mohamed ElBaradei (Egypt)2004: Wangari Maathai (Kenya) 2003: Shirin Ebadi (Iran) 2002: Jimmy Carter (US) 2001: Kofi Annan (Ghana) and the United Nations 2000: Kim Dae-jung (South Korea) 1999: Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) 1998: John Hume and David Trimble (Northern Ireland) 1997: Jody Williams (US) and the International Campaign to Ban Landmines 1996: Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo and Jose Ramos-Horta (East Timor) 1995: Joseph Rotblat (Britain) and the Pugwash movement 1994: Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres (Israel) and Yasser Arafat (PLO) 1993: Nelson Mandela and Frederik de Klerk (South Africa) 1992: Rigoberta Menchu (Guatemala) 1991: Aung San Suu Kyi (Burma) 1990: Mikhail Gorbachev (Soviet Union) 1989: Dalai Lama (Tibet) 1988: United Nations Peacekeeping Forces 1987: Oscar Arias Sanchez (Costa Rica) 1986: Elie Wiesel (US) 1985: International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War 1984: Desmond Tutu (South Africa) 1983: Lech Walesa (Poland) 1982: Alva Myrdal (Sweden) and Alfonso Garcia Robles (Mexico) 1981: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 1980: Adolfo Perez Esquivel (Argentina) 1979: Mother Teresa (Albania) 1978: Anwar Sadat (Egypt) and Menachem Begin (Israel) 1977: Amnesty International 1976: Betty Williams (Britain) and Mairead Corrigan (Northern Ireland) 1975: Andrei Sakharov (Soviet Union) 1974: Sean MacBride (Ireland) and Eisaku Sato (Japan) 1973: Henry Kissinger (US) and Le Duc Tho (Vietnam, declined) 1972: prize not handed out 1971: Willy Brandt (Germany) 1970: Norman Borlaug (US) 1969: International Labour Organisation 1968: Rene Cassin (France)1967: prize not handed out 1966: prize not handed out 1965: United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) 1964: Martin Luther King Jr (US) 1963: International Committee of the Red Cross and the League of Red Cross Societies 1962: Linus Carl Pauling (US) 1961: Dag Hammarskjoeld (Sweden) 1960: Albert Lutuli (South Africa) 1959: Philip Noel-Baker (Britain) 1958: Georges Pire (Belgium) 1957: Lester Pearson (Canada) 1956: prize not handed out 1955: prize not handed out 1954: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 1953: George Marshall (US) 1952: Albert Schweitzer (France) 1951: Leon Jouhaux (France) 1950: Ralph Bunche (US) 1949: Lord (John) Boyd Orr of Brechin (Britain) 1948: prize not handed out 1947: Friends Service Council (The Quakers), American Friends Service Committee (The Quakers) 1946: Emily Greene Balch (US), John Raleigh Mott (US) 1945: Cordell Hull (US) 1944: International Committee of the Red Cross 1943: prize not handed out 1942: prize not handed out 1941: prize not handed out 1940: prize not handed out 1939: prize not handed out 1938: Nansen International Office for Refugees 1937: Viscount Cecil of Chelwood (Britain) 1936: Carlos Saavedra Lamas (Argentina) 1935: Carl von Ossietzky (Germany) 1934: Arthur Henderson (Britain) 1933: Sir Norman Angell (Ralph Lane) (Britain) 1932: prize not handed out 1931: Jane Addams (US) and Nicholas Murray Butler (US) 1930: Nathan Soederblom (Sweden) 1929: Frank Billings Kellogg (US) 1928: prize not handed out 1927: Ferdinand Buisson (France) and Ludwig Quidde (Germany) 1926: Aristide Briand (France) and Gustav Stresemann (Germany) 1925: Sir Austen Chamberlain (Britain) and Charles Gates Dawes (US) 1924: prize not handed out 1923: prize not handed out 1922: Fridtjof Nansen (Norway) 1921: Karl Hjalmar Branting (Sweden) and Christian Lous Lange (Norway) 1920: Leon Victor Auguste Bourgeois (France) 1919: Thomas Woodrow Wilson (US) 1918: prize not handed out 1917: International Committee of the Red Cross 1916: prize not handed out 1915: prize not handed out 1914: prize not handed out 1913: Henri La Fontaine (Belgium) 1912: Elihu Root (US) 1911: Tobias Michael Carel Asser (The Netherlands) and Alfred Hermann Fried (Austria) 1910: Permanent International Peace Bureau 1909: Auguste Marie Francois Beernaert (Belgium) and Paul Henri Benjamin Balluet, Baron d'Estournelles de Constant de Rebecque (France) 1908: Klas Pontus Arnoldson (Sweden) and Fredrik Bajer (Denmark) 1907: Ernesto Teodoro Moneta (Italy) and Louis Renault (France) 1906: Theodore Roosevelt (US) 1905: Baroness Bertha Sophie Felicita von Suttner (Austria) 1904: Institute of International Law 1903: William Randal Cremer (Britain) 1902: Elie Ducommun (Switzerland) and Charles Albert Gobat (Switzerland) 1901: Jean Henri Dunant (Switzerland) and Frederic Passy (France)

Full list of Nobel Peace Prize winners

PM Modi-President Xi Jinping: A study in contrast

South Korea's Army said Friday it will cut its force by 100,000 in the next three years in the face of a shrinking population.

Seoul, a key Washington ally, conscripts able-bodied men for two years of service to defend the country from the nuclear-armed North and it's much larger army, which invaded the South in 1950 backed by communist allies China and the Soviet Union.

The war ended three years later in an armistice, not a peace treaty, leaving the South and North technically at war and the peninsula divided along the Demilitarized Zone.

Troops will be cut down from the current level of 464,000 by 2022, the Army said in a report to MPs, according to the South's Yonhap news agency.

In line with the reductions, the number of Army corps will be down to six from the current eight by 2022 and divisions from 38 to 33 by 2025, the Army stated.

South Korea's combined force of 600,000 personnel is already much smaller than the North's nearly 1.3 million strong military (which includes 1.1 million in its army), according to Seoul's 2018 defense white paper.

Analysts estimate Pyongyang also has between 20 to 60 nuclear warheads.

To make up for the reduced workforce, the Army stressed it would develop "next-generation game changers" such as high-mobility flight vehicles and artificial intelligence systems, according to Yonhap.

The downsizing comes as the government struggles to boost the country's total fertility rate -- the number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, which dropped to 0.98 in 2018, far short of the 2.1 needed to maintain population stability.

Currently 51 million, the population is projected to fall to 39 million in 2067, when the median age will be 62.

South Korea's Army said Friday it will cut its force by 100,000 in the next three years in the face of a shrinking population. Seoul, a key Washington ally, conscripts able-bodied men for two years of service to defend the country from the nuclear-armed North and it's much larger army, which invaded the South in 1950 backed by communist allies China and the Soviet Union.

South Korea's Army said Friday it will cut its force by 100,000 in the next three years in the face of a shrinking population. Seoul, a key Washington ally, conscripts able-bodied men for two years of service to defend the country from the nuclear-armed North and it's much larger army, which invaded the South in 1950 backed by communist allies China and the Soviet Union. The war ended three years later in an armistice, not a peace treaty, leaving the South and North technically at war and the peninsula divided along the Demilitarized Zone. Troops will be cut down from the current level of 464,000 by 2022, the Army said in a report to MPs, according to the South's Yonhap news agency. In line with the reductions, the number of Army corps will be down to six from the current eight by 2022 and divisions from 38 to 33 by 2025, the Army stated. South Korea's combined force of 600,000 personnel is already much smaller than the North's nearly 1.3 million strong military (which includes 1.1 million in its army), according to Seoul's 2018 defense white paper. Analysts estimate Pyongyang also has between 20 to 60 nuclear warheads. To make up for the reduced workforce, the Army stressed it would develop "next-generation game changers" such as high-mobility flight vehicles and artificial intelligence systems, according to Yonhap. The downsizing comes as the government struggles to boost the country's total fertility rate -- the number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, which dropped to 0.98 in 2018, far short of the 2.1 needed to maintain population stability. Currently 51 million, the population is projected to fall to 39 million in 2067, when the median age will be 62.

South Korea's army says will cut force by 100,000 in three years

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's office said Friday the nation of Ethiopia was proud of his <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/ethiopian-prime-minister-abiy-ahmed-ali-awarded-nobel-peace-prize-255217">Nobel Peace Prize win</a>, hailing it as testimony to efforts to reform the country and seek peace with Eritrea.

"We are proud as a nation," his office wrote on Twitter after the announcement of Abiy's win.

In a statement, his office further praised the decision as "timeless testimony to the... ideals of unity, cooperation and mutual co-existence that the Prime Minister has been consistently championing".

"Since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed assumed political leadership in April 2018 he has made peace, forgiveness and reconciliation key policy components of his administration," the statement said.

"At a national level, the release of tens of thousands of political prisoners, granting of amnesty for media entities and political parties charged under the anti-terrorism law to return from exile and engage peacefully, widening the space for political parties... are some notable milestones.

"At the regional level, ending the two-decade stalemate between Ethiopia and Eritrea has opened up a new dimension of possibilities for co-operation between the two countries."

The statement also pointed to Abiy's attempts to reconcile differences regionally, among countries across the Horn of Africa.

However, despite Abiy's moves for peace, the Eritrea deal has been undermined by a lack of tangible progress on critical issues like border demarcation.

Hopes that it may lead to an opening up of one of the world's most isolated countries, and the ending of forced military conscription have also yet to bear fruit.

Eritrea's ambassador to Japan, Estifanos Afwerki, on Twitter hailed the decision, saying the people of Eritrea and Ethiopia "with blood, sweat (and) tears have won again over evil."

African Union chief Moussa Faki on Twitter congratulated Abiy on the win "for his historic peacebuilding efforts that have given the world hope at a time it needs servant leadership more than ever."

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's office said Friday the nation of Ethiopia was proud of his Nobel Peace Prize win, hailing it as testimony to efforts to reform the country and seek peace with Eritrea.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's office said Friday the nation of Ethiopia was proud of his Nobel Peace Prize win, hailing it as testimony to efforts to reform the country and seek peace with Eritrea. "We are proud as a nation," his office wrote on Twitter after the announcement of Abiy's win. In a statement, his office further praised the decision as "timeless testimony to the... ideals of unity, cooperation and mutual co-existence that the Prime Minister has been consistently championing". "Since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed assumed political leadership in April 2018 he has made peace, forgiveness and reconciliation key policy components of his administration," the statement said. "At a national level, the release of tens of thousands of political prisoners, granting of amnesty for media entities and political parties charged under the anti-terrorism law to return from exile and engage peacefully, widening the space for political parties... are some notable milestones. "At the regional level, ending the two-decade stalemate between Ethiopia and Eritrea has opened up a new dimension of possibilities for co-operation between the two countries." The statement also pointed to Abiy's attempts to reconcile differences regionally, among countries across the Horn of Africa. However, despite Abiy's moves for peace, the Eritrea deal has been undermined by a lack of tangible progress on critical issues like border demarcation. Hopes that it may lead to an opening up of one of the world's most isolated countries, and the ending of forced military conscription have also yet to bear fruit. Eritrea's ambassador to Japan, Estifanos Afwerki, on Twitter hailed the decision, saying the people of Eritrea and Ethiopia "with blood, sweat (and) tears have won again over evil." African Union chief Moussa Faki on Twitter congratulated Abiy on the win "for his historic peacebuilding efforts that have given the world hope at a time it needs servant leadership more than ever."

Ethiopia 'proud as a nation' of Abiy Nobel win: PM's office

Eritrea and Ethiopia ended decades of tensions in 2018 after a whirlwind peace process for which Ethiopian Prime Minister <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/ethiopian-prime-minister-abiy-ahmed-ali-awarded-nobel-peace-prize-255217">Abiy Ahmed received the Nobel Peace Prize</a> Friday.

Here is a recap of the tensions and reconciliation between the Horn of Africa neighbours.

In 1962 Ethiopia proclaims the annexation of Eritrea, abolishing its autonomous status and effectively making it a province.

Eritrea launches a war for independence that lasts nearly 30 years.

In 1991 Eritrean rebels, who help overthrow the military-Marxist Ethiopian regime of Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam, seize the Eritrean capital Asmara.

They install a government and gain full independence in 1993, a secession blessed by Addis Ababa.

However, the 620-mile&nbsp;border between the neighbours is not properly defined and the move deprives Ethiopia of its only entry point to the Red Sea.

In May 1998 skirmishes erupt after Eritrean forces enter the area around Badme, claiming the town under borders drawn during Italian colonial rule.

Fighting spreads and in June the warring sides carry out airstrikes.

The ensuing conflict is marked by trench warfare and large-scale pitched battles, alternating with long periods of calm.

Fighting flares anew in May 2000. Between 1998 and 2000 the conflict claims nearly 80,000 lives.

In June 2000 the two sides reach an initial peace accord that allows for the deployment of a U.N. peacekeeping force in a border buffer zone.

An official peace pact signed in December 2000 establishes a Boundary Commission, which sits at the International Court of Arbitration in The Hague, to officially demarcate the disputed frontier.

In 2002 the commission attributes to Eritrea chunks of land along the border, including the contested town of Badme.

But Ethiopia rejects the ruling and requests an "interpretation, correction". The commission refuses.

Ethiopian forces continue to occupy Badme. The standoff delays the physical demarcation of the border as ruled by the commission.

Tensions rise with gunfire, landmines and troop movements near the border.

In May 2006, amid fears of a new all-out war, talks in London fail to end the standoff.

In June Ethiopia claims to have killed more than 110 rebels. Eritrea denies involvement.

There are regular attacks in border regions.

In June 2018, Abiy -- who had become prime minister in April -- announces Ethiopia will abide by the 2002 ruling requiring it to cede territory, including Badme, and withdraw its forces.

His concession launches a whirlwind peace process.

Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki hosts Abiy in Asmara on July 8 and cheering crowds line the streets to welcome him.

Direct telephone communications are restored for the first time in two decades.

On July 9 the two leaders sign a joint declaration declaring that the "state of war that existed between the two countries has come to an end".

Afwerki re-opens Eritrea's embassy in Addis Ababa on July 16.

Two days later an Ethiopian Airlines plane departs for Addis Ababa as commercial flights between the capitals resume.

Ethiopia reopens its embassy in the Eritrean capital on September 6.

Five days later two land border crossings are opened for the first time in 20 years.

And on September 16 the countries sign a peace agreement at a summit in Saudi Arabia.

Eritrea and Ethiopia ended decades of tensions in 2018 after a whirlwind peace process for which Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed received the Nobel Peace Prize Friday.

Eritrea and Ethiopia ended decades of tensions in 2018 after a whirlwind peace process for which Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed received the Nobel Peace Prize Friday. Here is a recap of the tensions and reconciliation between the Horn of Africa neighbours. In 1962 Ethiopia proclaims the annexation of Eritrea, abolishing its autonomous status and effectively making it a province. Eritrea launches a war for independence that lasts nearly 30 years. In 1991 Eritrean rebels, who help overthrow the military-Marxist Ethiopian regime of Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam, seize the Eritrean capital Asmara. They install a government and gain full independence in 1993, a secession blessed by Addis Ababa. However, the 620-mile border between the neighbours is not properly defined and the move deprives Ethiopia of its only entry point to the Red Sea. In May 1998 skirmishes erupt after Eritrean forces enter the area around Badme, claiming the town under borders drawn during Italian colonial rule. Fighting spreads and in June the warring sides carry out airstrikes. The ensuing conflict is marked by trench warfare and large-scale pitched battles, alternating with long periods of calm. Fighting flares anew in May 2000. Between 1998 and 2000 the conflict claims nearly 80,000 lives. In June 2000 the two sides reach an initial peace accord that allows for the deployment of a U.N. peacekeeping force in a border buffer zone. An official peace pact signed in December 2000 establishes a Boundary Commission, which sits at the International Court of Arbitration in The Hague, to officially demarcate the disputed frontier. In 2002 the commission attributes to Eritrea chunks of land along the border, including the contested town of Badme. But Ethiopia rejects the ruling and requests an "interpretation, correction". The commission refuses. Ethiopian forces continue to occupy Badme. The standoff delays the physical demarcation of the border as ruled by the commission. Tensions rise with gunfire, landmines and troop movements near the border. In May 2006, amid fears of a new all-out war, talks in London fail to end the standoff. In June Ethiopia claims to have killed more than 110 rebels. Eritrea denies involvement. There are regular attacks in border regions. In June 2018, Abiy -- who had become prime minister in April -- announces Ethiopia will abide by the 2002 ruling requiring it to cede territory, including Badme, and withdraw its forces. His concession launches a whirlwind peace process. Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki hosts Abiy in Asmara on July 8 and cheering crowds line the streets to welcome him. Direct telephone communications are restored for the first time in two decades. On July 9 the two leaders sign a joint declaration declaring that the "state of war that existed between the two countries has come to an end". Afwerki re-opens Eritrea's embassy in Addis Ababa on July 16. Two days later an Ethiopian Airlines plane departs for Addis Ababa as commercial flights between the capitals resume. Ethiopia reopens its embassy in the Eritrean capital on September 6. Five days later two land border crossings are opened for the first time in 20 years. And on September 16 the countries sign a peace agreement at a summit in Saudi Arabia.

Ethiopia and Eritrea: decades of discord, then detente

The Iraqi government and security forces are "responsible for the bloodshed" during recent protests, top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani said on Friday.

In a sermon read out at the main weekly prayers, Sistani gave authorities "two weeks" to release the findings of an investigation into the more than <a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-violent-protests-in-iraq-at-least-100-dead-over-6000-hurt-254349">100 deaths recorded</a> during the protests since October 1.

Spiritual leader for Iraq's Shiite majority, Sistani wields significant power to influence the government.

Iraq descended into violence at the start of the month as protests that began with demands for an end to rampant corruption and chronic unemployment escalated with calls for a complete overhaul of the political system.

The demonstrations from October 1-6 in Baghdad and across the south of the country quickly turned violent, as protests were met with tear gas and live fire, with over 100 killed and more than 6,000 wounded.

Uncertainty over the identity of the perpetrators persists, with authorities blaming "unidentified snipers".

But protestors and human rights advocates insist Iraqi security forces participated in the violent repression of the rallies.

The demonstrations were unprecedented because of their apparent spontaneity and independence in a deeply politicised society.

Sistani endorsed the protests on October 4, calling on the government to heed the demonstrators' demands "before it's too late".

"The government must change its approach in dealing with the country's problems," the cleric said, adding that lawmakers also bore a heavy responsibility.

Sistani wields huge influence within Iraq's Shiite community, among whom the deadly protests were concentrated.

"The government and its security forces are responsible for the bloodshed during the recent protests", said Abdel Mahdi al-Karbalai, a representative of Sistani who read his sermon in Karbala on Friday.

"What happened demonstrates an unfettered violence that goes beyond all limits of the imagination," he added, saying "the government is responsible when, under the eye of law enforcement, protestors are fired on illegally and media are beaten or attacked to terrorise their employees."

The Ayatollah went on to call on authorities to act to "put an end to threats, beatings, abductions, sniper fire and violence by those who believe they can act with total impunity."

After six days of violence, the authorities recognised <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/iraq-military-admits-excessive-force-used-in-deadly-protests-254197">"excessive force outside the rules of engagement"</a> had been used in Sadr City, the Baghdad stronghold of influential Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr.

Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi on Wednesday promised a full probe into the violence.

In a televised address to the nation, Abdel Mahdi promised compensation to the "martyrs" -- both civilians and members of the security forces killed in clashes.

He also said he would propose a government reshuffle on Thursday to parliament.

The Iraqi government and security forces are "responsible for the bloodshed" during recent protests, top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani said on Friday.

The Iraqi government and security forces are "responsible for the bloodshed" during recent protests, top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani said on Friday. In a sermon read out at the main weekly prayers, Sistani gave authorities "two weeks" to release the findings of an investigation into the more than 100 deaths recorded during the protests since October 1. Spiritual leader for Iraq's Shiite majority, Sistani wields significant power to influence the government. Iraq descended into violence at the start of the month as protests that began with demands for an end to rampant corruption and chronic unemployment escalated with calls for a complete overhaul of the political system. The demonstrations from October 1-6 in Baghdad and across the south of the country quickly turned violent, as protests were met with tear gas and live fire, with over 100 killed and more than 6,000 wounded. Uncertainty over the identity of the perpetrators persists, with authorities blaming "unidentified snipers". But protestors and human rights advocates insist Iraqi security forces participated in the violent repression of the rallies. The demonstrations were unprecedented because of their apparent spontaneity and independence in a deeply politicised society. Sistani endorsed the protests on October 4, calling on the government to heed the demonstrators' demands "before it's too late". "The government must change its approach in dealing with the country's problems," the cleric said, adding that lawmakers also bore a heavy responsibility. Sistani wields huge influence within Iraq's Shiite community, among whom the deadly protests were concentrated. "The government and its security forces are responsible for the bloodshed during the recent protests", said Abdel Mahdi al-Karbalai, a representative of Sistani who read his sermon in Karbala on Friday. "What happened demonstrates an unfettered violence that goes beyond all limits of the imagination," he added, saying "the government is responsible when, under the eye of law enforcement, protestors are fired on illegally and media are beaten or attacked to terrorise their employees." The Ayatollah went on to call on authorities to act to "put an end to threats, beatings, abductions, sniper fire and violence by those who believe they can act with total impunity." After six days of violence, the authorities recognised "excessive force outside the rules of engagement" had been used in Sadr City, the Baghdad stronghold of influential Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr. Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi on Wednesday promised a full probe into the violence. In a televised address to the nation, Abdel Mahdi promised compensation to the "martyrs" -- both civilians and members of the security forces killed in clashes. He also said he would propose a government reshuffle on Thursday to parliament.

Top Iraq cleric says government responsible for protest deaths

WikiLeaks'&nbsp;founder Julian Assange was remanded in custody on Friday after a brief hearing in a London court which will decide whether he should be extradited to the United States to face spying charges.

Assange, 48,<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/us-announces-17-new-espionage-charges-against-wikileaks-julian-assange-221127"> faces 18 counts in the US</a>&nbsp;including conspiring to hack government computers and violating an espionage law. He could spend decades in prison if convicted.

Appearing by video link from Belmarsh Prison in east London, Assange, bearded and wearing a purple sweatshirt, spoke only to confirm his name and age before he was remanded in prison until his next hearing later this month.

"I very much hope we can make some progress on this case," Judge Tam Ikram told him at the end of the five-minute hearing at London's Westminster Magistrates'&nbsp;Court.

Australian-born Assange came to prominence when WikiLeaks published hundreds of thousands of secret U.S. diplomatic cables in 2010, angering Washington which said he had put lives at risk.

In 2012, he took refuge in Ecuador’s London embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden where he was accused of sex crimes which he denied, saying he believed he would ultimately be sent on to the United States.

He was dragged from the embassy in April after seven years and given a 50-week jail term for skipping bail. That sentence was completed last month but he remains in prison while his extradition case continues.

He is due to appear in court again, this time in person, on October&nbsp;21 with the full extradition hearing due to start on February&nbsp;25 next year.

WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange was remanded in custody on Friday after a brief hearing in a London court which will decide whether he should be extradited to the United States to face spying charges.

WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange was remanded in custody on Friday after a brief hearing in a London court which will decide whether he should be extradited to the United States to face spying charges. Assange, 48, faces 18 counts in the US including conspiring to hack government computers and violating an espionage law. He could spend decades in prison if convicted. Appearing by video link from Belmarsh Prison in east London, Assange, bearded and wearing a purple sweatshirt, spoke only to confirm his name and age before he was remanded in prison until his next hearing later this month. "I very much hope we can make some progress on this case," Judge Tam Ikram told him at the end of the five-minute hearing at London's Westminster Magistrates' Court. Australian-born Assange came to prominence when WikiLeaks published hundreds of thousands of secret U.S. diplomatic cables in 2010, angering Washington which said he had put lives at risk. In 2012, he took refuge in Ecuador’s London embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden where he was accused of sex crimes which he denied, saying he believed he would ultimately be sent on to the United States. He was dragged from the embassy in April after seven years and given a 50-week jail term for skipping bail. That sentence was completed last month but he remains in prison while his extradition case continues. He is due to appear in court again, this time in person, on October 21 with the full extradition hearing due to start on February 25 next year.

WikiLeaks founder Assange remanded in jail after brief UK court hearing

Since January, the US&nbsp;government has ordered 13,000 migrants under 18, including more than 400 infants, to wait with their families in Mexico for US immigration court hearings, a Reuters analysis of government data found.

Along the US-Mexico border, babies and toddlers are living in high-crime cities - often in crowded shelters and tents or on the streets - for the weeks or months it takes to get a US&nbsp;asylum hearing.

The risk of violence and illness runs high and is of particular concern for families with young children or those with chronic health conditions, according to interviews with health professionals, migrants, aid workers and advocates.

The children, whose numbers have not been previously reported, are among tens of thousands of migrants returned to Mexico under a Trump administration policy known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP). Most are from Guatemala, Honduras or El Salvador.

US&nbsp;immigration officials did not respond to requests for comment on Reuters'&nbsp;data findings.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, decisions about whether a person is placed in MPP are made by border agents on a case-by-case basis and include consultation with medical professionals. Unaccompanied minors should not be sent back to Mexico, according to the program guidelines, but children can be sent back with their parents.

Trump administration officials have said they are doing everything possible to discourage migrant families from making dangerous journeys to the United States, often in the hands of human smugglers, which they say needlessly put children at risk.

Numbers growing as flu season looms

About one third of the nearly 40,000 migrants in the MPP program as of September 1 were children under 18, according to the latest data available from the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), which oversees US&nbsp;immigration courts. Of those, Reuters found more than 3,400 under 5 years old and 418 under 1 year old.

The numbers have grown in recent weeks. There are now more than 51,000 people in the MPP program, according to US&nbsp;Customs and Border Protection.

Blanca Aguilar, a 27-year-old mother from Guatemala, is living in a makeshift encampment of around 40 small tents cramped together in the back rooms of a church outside Tijuana, across the border from San Diego. Children can be heard coughing and crying throughout the night, she and other mothers told Reuters during a recent visit.

When one gets sick, they all do, Aguilar said. Her two-year-old son Adrian has had a recurrent cough with wheezing, as well as bouts of diarrhea since they arrived in August.

"He's been sick a lot," she said, adding that she suspects he may be developing asthma.

Another mother at the same shelter, 34-year-old Marla Suniga from Honduras, said her 1-year-old daughter Montserrat recently had a convulsion due to a high fever and had to be taken to a hospital. "She couldn't breathe," she said.

Suniga said she fled violence in her home country but plans to return there because she fears for her daughter`s life in Tijuana.

DHS said it could not comment on individual cases. Mexican officials did not respond to requests for comment on the conditions in migrant shelters.

Reuters was unable to corroborate the diagnoses of the Suniga and Aguilar children. Doctors and nurses visiting shelters and camps in Mexican border towns, however, told Reuters they have seen cases of chickenpox, scabies, respiratory infections, skin rashes, eye infections and gastrointestinal issues among children and adults.

Children under 5, and especially under the age of 2, are at high risk of serious flu complications, according to the US&nbsp;Centers for Disease Control, and the flu season is about to start.

American doctors and nurses volunteering in Tijuana with the Refugee Health Alliance hope to be able to provide flu shots in a few of the shelters there, but the effort is hard to organize, said coordinator Phil Canete. The vaccines need to be stored in cold, regulated conditions, and the Mexican government requires a physician licensed in Mexico to supervise the effort, as well as signed consent for every patient, he said.

The US&nbsp;government has said in guidance documents that migrants with known physical or mental health issues are not candidates for the MPP program. But advocates say it`s not clear what qualifies as a medical exemption from MPP.

Jennifer Jimenez, a 30-year-old Salvadoran, said she arrived at the border in July with 11-year-old twins and her eight-month-old son Jacob, who was born with lungs that had not fully developed.

Although she explained Jacob`s condition to border agents, she said, the agents sent her and her children back to Ciudad Juarez, where the family ended up sleeping on the floor of a crowded shelter.

Recently she managed to find a doctor who noted in Jacob's medical records - seen by Reuters - that living in the shelter had complicated his health care. US&nbsp;officials recently admitted the family to stay with relatives in the United States, a rare occurrence.

Reuters found that fewer than 1% of migrants assigned to MPP have so far been transferred out of the program.

The US&nbsp;government has signed a series of bilateral deals with the governments of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador to push more people to seek asylum closer to home. In May, nearly 85,000 family units - parents with kids - were arrested at the U.S.-Mexico border, a monthly record. In August, the number of families arrested dropped by 70 per cent&nbsp;after the administration ramped up MPP and other measures to deter migration.

US&nbsp;President Donald Trump has said that lax US&nbsp;asylum laws encourage people to show up at the border with their children. Before MPP, it was common practice to release arriving families into the United States to wait out their US&nbsp;court hearings – something Trump and others said allowed many migrants to disappear into the country to live illegally.

Immigrant advocacy groups say most released immigrants show up for their court hearings. Some are suing to halt the MPP policy, and a federal appeals court - the 9th US&nbsp;Circuit - is due to rule on the case soon.

'Nothing for them here'

According to the Reuters analysis, thousands of children are awaiting court hearings in border towns where the risk of kidnappings, rapes and assaults is high.

About 5,400 children in the MPP program had their cases assigned to San Diego immigration court, north of Tijuana. Most of the others were assigned to Texas courts: 5,600 to San Antonio and El Paso and 2,000 to Brownsville.

Jimenez, the Salvadoran mother, said that when she heard her family was being sent from El Paso to Ciudad Juarez, known for its high murder rate, "it was like they threw a bucket of cold water on me. ..Mexico isn't a place I trust to go out alone with my three children."

Brownsville is just north of Matamoros, in Mexico's Tamaulipas state, a violent battleground for drug cartels.

Florida resident Helen Perry, a nurse in the US&nbsp;Army Reserve who joined a volunteer aid group headed to Matamoros on Labor Day weekend, told Reuters she saw families camped out in donated tents - each with between 5 to 10 people sleeping inside - a few dozen feet from the border.

One family, with four small children, was curled up under a tree, she said. People lacked access to freshwater and proper restrooms and were bathing in the Rio Grande river, she said.

One baby Perry examined had a chronic eye infection and was beginning to develop scarring, threatening his vision. Another had a fungal rash under his arm so severe it limited his movement.

Perry said she saw breastfeeding mothers so dehydrated that they could not nurse their babies and parents chewing up donated pizza into mush to feed their infants. Some children were showing early signs of malnutrition, she said.

"There is really nothing for them there," Perry said.

Since January, the US government has ordered 13,000 migrants under 18, including more than 400 infants, to wait with their families in Mexico for US immigration court hearings, a Reuters analysis of government data found.

Since January, the US government has ordered 13,000 migrants under 18, including more than 400 infants, to wait with their families in Mexico for US immigration court hearings, a Reuters analysis of government data found. Along the US-Mexico border, babies and toddlers are living in high-crime cities - often in crowded shelters and tents or on the streets - for the weeks or months it takes to get a US asylum hearing. The risk of violence and illness runs high and is of particular concern for families with young children or those with chronic health conditions, according to interviews with health professionals, migrants, aid workers and advocates. The children, whose numbers have not been previously reported, are among tens of thousands of migrants returned to Mexico under a Trump administration policy known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP). Most are from Guatemala, Honduras or El Salvador. US immigration officials did not respond to requests for comment on Reuters' data findings. According to the Department of Homeland Security, decisions about whether a person is placed in MPP are made by border agents on a case-by-case basis and include consultation with medical professionals. Unaccompanied minors should not be sent back to Mexico, according to the program guidelines, but children can be sent back with their parents. Trump administration officials have said they are doing everything possible to discourage migrant families from making dangerous journeys to the United States, often in the hands of human smugglers, which they say needlessly put children at risk. Numbers growing as flu season looms About one third of the nearly 40,000 migrants in the MPP program as of September 1 were children under 18, according to the latest data available from the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), which oversees US immigration courts. Of those, Reuters found more than 3,400 under 5 years old and 418 under 1 year old. The numbers have grown in recent weeks. There are now more than 51,000 people in the MPP program, according to US Customs and Border Protection. Blanca Aguilar, a 27-year-old mother from Guatemala, is living in a makeshift encampment of around 40 small tents cramped together in the back rooms of a church outside Tijuana, across the border from San Diego. Children can be heard coughing and crying throughout the night, she and other mothers told Reuters during a recent visit. When one gets sick, they all do, Aguilar said. Her two-year-old son Adrian has had a recurrent cough with wheezing, as well as bouts of diarrhea since they arrived in August. "He's been sick a lot," she said, adding that she suspects he may be developing asthma. Another mother at the same shelter, 34-year-old Marla Suniga from Honduras, said her 1-year-old daughter Montserrat recently had a convulsion due to a high fever and had to be taken to a hospital. "She couldn't breathe," she said. Suniga said she fled violence in her home country but plans to return there because she fears for her daughter`s life in Tijuana. DHS said it could not comment on individual cases. Mexican officials did not respond to requests for comment on the conditions in migrant shelters. Reuters was unable to corroborate the diagnoses of the Suniga and Aguilar children. Doctors and nurses visiting shelters and camps in Mexican border towns, however, told Reuters they have seen cases of chickenpox, scabies, respiratory infections, skin rashes, eye infections and gastrointestinal issues among children and adults. Children under 5, and especially under the age of 2, are at high risk of serious flu complications, according to the US Centers for Disease Control, and the flu season is about to start. American doctors and nurses volunteering in Tijuana with the Refugee Health Alliance hope to be able to provide flu shots in a few of the shelters there, but the effort is hard to organize, said coordinator Phil Canete. The vaccines need to be stored in cold, regulated conditions, and the Mexican government requires a physician licensed in Mexico to supervise the effort, as well as signed consent for every patient, he said. The US government has said in guidance documents that migrants with known physical or mental health issues are not candidates for the MPP program. But advocates say it`s not clear what qualifies as a medical exemption from MPP. Jennifer Jimenez, a 30-year-old Salvadoran, said she arrived at the border in July with 11-year-old twins and her eight-month-old son Jacob, who was born with lungs that had not fully developed. Although she explained Jacob`s condition to border agents, she said, the agents sent her and her children back to Ciudad Juarez, where the family ended up sleeping on the floor of a crowded shelter. Recently she managed to find a doctor who noted in Jacob's medical records - seen by Reuters - that living in the shelter had complicated his health care. US officials recently admitted the family to stay with relatives in the United States, a rare occurrence. Reuters found that fewer than 1% of migrants assigned to MPP have so far been transferred out of the program. The US government has signed a series of bilateral deals with the governments of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador to push more people to seek asylum closer to home. In May, nearly 85,000 family units - parents with kids - were arrested at the U.S.-Mexico border, a monthly record. In August, the number of families arrested dropped by 70 per cent after the administration ramped up MPP and other measures to deter migration. US President Donald Trump has said that lax US asylum laws encourage people to show up at the border with their children. Before MPP, it was common practice to release arriving families into the United States to wait out their US court hearings – something Trump and others said allowed many migrants to disappear into the country to live illegally. Immigrant advocacy groups say most released immigrants show up for their court hearings. Some are suing to halt the MPP policy, and a federal appeals court - the 9th US Circuit - is due to rule on the case soon. 'Nothing for them here' According to the Reuters analysis, thousands of children are awaiting court hearings in border towns where the risk of kidnappings, rapes and assaults is high. About 5,400 children in the MPP program had their cases assigned to San Diego immigration court, north of Tijuana. Most of the others were assigned to Texas courts: 5,600 to San Antonio and El Paso and 2,000 to Brownsville. Jimenez, the Salvadoran mother, said that when she heard her family was being sent from El Paso to Ciudad Juarez, known for its high murder rate, "it was like they threw a bucket of cold water on me. ..Mexico isn't a place I trust to go out alone with my three children." Brownsville is just north of Matamoros, in Mexico's Tamaulipas state, a violent battleground for drug cartels. Florida resident Helen Perry, a nurse in the US Army Reserve who joined a volunteer aid group headed to Matamoros on Labor Day weekend, told Reuters she saw families camped out in donated tents - each with between 5 to 10 people sleeping inside - a few dozen feet from the border. One family, with four small children, was curled up under a tree, she said. People lacked access to freshwater and proper restrooms and were bathing in the Rio Grande river, she said. One baby Perry examined had a chronic eye infection and was beginning to develop scarring, threatening his vision. Another had a fungal rash under his arm so severe it limited his movement. Perry said she saw breastfeeding mothers so dehydrated that they could not nurse their babies and parents chewing up donated pizza into mush to feed their infants. Some children were showing early signs of malnutrition, she said. "There is really nothing for them there," Perry said.

US migrant policy sends thousands of children including hundreds of babies back to Mexico

For the second time in two years, Jihan and her family had to pack their bags and abandon their home in northern Syria because of a Turkish invasion.

As she picked her way through the belongings other <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/more-than-60000-displaced-by-turkey-assault-on-syria-monitor-255034">displaced families </a>had strewn across the schoolyard, the 47-year-old mother felt a mix of anger and wary deja vu.

"We don't know where to go," she said, moments after reaching the school in the city Hasakeh which the autonomous Kurdish administration turned into a shelter.

According to the United Nations, 70,000 people have had to flee their homes since <a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/turkey-invades-syria-and-attacks-kurds-255086">Turkey launched a cross-border offensive </a>on Kurdish-controlled areas on Wednesday.

It is the third time since the start of the Syria conflict in 2011 that Turkey has invaded northern Syria.

The last time was in early 2018, when Turkish forces and their Syrian proxies seized the Kurdish-majority area of Afrin, causing another major wave of displacement.

Jihan and her family fled her native Afrin then and settled in Kobane, another mostly Kurdish border town that suffered major destruction earlier in the war.

On Thursday, she had to flee again and join the flock of civilians who have streaming to Hasakeh, an eastern city that has not been targeted by Turkey so far.

"What does Erdogan want from us?," she raged, referring to the Turkish president. "Is it all simply because we are Kurds?"

She and most other displaced Kurds have been unable to return to Afrin, where mostly Sunni Arab former rebels loyal to Ankara have settled.

Some of the same former rebels, who were defeated by regime forces and cannot return to their own native regions in Syria, are now supporting Turkey's latest operation.

History is repeating itself in many ways: Turkey launched its attack on Afrin last year after Russian forces quit positions in the area.

This week, Ankara and its proxies launched their offensive two days after US forces pulled back from the border, leaving their Kurdish allies in the lurch.

"In Afrin, Russia sold us out. Today, America is selling us out," is how Jihan summed it up.

In the schoolyard in Hasakeh, the displaced children play on a rusty old swing while their parents start unpacking their bags and feed the youngest.

Most of the displaced are from the largest towns on the border, including Kobane, Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain.

"Following the emergency... people went to Tall Tamr, Hasakeh, and surrounding villages. We have requisitioned three schools to house the people," said Majida Amin, a local official in charge of displaced people.

She said that the number of people who were given shelter in the first school was 220 and increasing with every hour.

Amin said that little help was available from local aid groups and called on the international community to step up and organise the emergency humanitarian response.

She explained that most of the people who fled their homes try to move in with relatives who live in safer areas before coming to the newly opened shelters.

Since Turkish jets and artillery started raining bombs and shells, families can be seen heading away from the border, some of them walking down roads with bags and bundles on their backs.

Others like Ibrahim Fares and his family were able to squeeze in a car to leave Ras al-Ain, one of the towns hardest hit.

"Now we don't know where to go and where we will sleep," the 28-year-old said.

For the second time in two years, Jihan and her family had to pack their bags and abandon their home in northern Syria because of a Turkish invasion. As she picked her way through the belongings other displaced families had strewn across the schoolyard, the 47-year-old mother felt a mix of anger and wary deja vu.

For the second time in two years, Jihan and her family had to pack their bags and abandon their home in northern Syria because of a Turkish invasion. As she picked her way through the belongings other displaced families had strewn across the schoolyard, the 47-year-old mother felt a mix of anger and wary deja vu. "We don't know where to go," she said, moments after reaching the school in the city Hasakeh which the autonomous Kurdish administration turned into a shelter. According to the United Nations, 70,000 people have had to flee their homes since Turkey launched a cross-border offensive on Kurdish-controlled areas on Wednesday. It is the third time since the start of the Syria conflict in 2011 that Turkey has invaded northern Syria. The last time was in early 2018, when Turkish forces and their Syrian proxies seized the Kurdish-majority area of Afrin, causing another major wave of displacement. Jihan and her family fled her native Afrin then and settled in Kobane, another mostly Kurdish border town that suffered major destruction earlier in the war. On Thursday, she had to flee again and join the flock of civilians who have streaming to Hasakeh, an eastern city that has not been targeted by Turkey so far. "What does Erdogan want from us?," she raged, referring to the Turkish president. "Is it all simply because we are Kurds?" She and most other displaced Kurds have been unable to return to Afrin, where mostly Sunni Arab former rebels loyal to Ankara have settled. Some of the same former rebels, who were defeated by regime forces and cannot return to their own native regions in Syria, are now supporting Turkey's latest operation. History is repeating itself in many ways: Turkey launched its attack on Afrin last year after Russian forces quit positions in the area. This week, Ankara and its proxies launched their offensive two days after US forces pulled back from the border, leaving their Kurdish allies in the lurch. "In Afrin, Russia sold us out. Today, America is selling us out," is how Jihan summed it up. In the schoolyard in Hasakeh, the displaced children play on a rusty old swing while their parents start unpacking their bags and feed the youngest. Most of the displaced are from the largest towns on the border, including Kobane, Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain. "Following the emergency... people went to Tall Tamr, Hasakeh, and surrounding villages. We have requisitioned three schools to house the people," said Majida Amin, a local official in charge of displaced people. She said that the number of people who were given shelter in the first school was 220 and increasing with every hour. Amin said that little help was available from local aid groups and called on the international community to step up and organise the emergency humanitarian response. She explained that most of the people who fled their homes try to move in with relatives who live in safer areas before coming to the newly opened shelters. Since Turkish jets and artillery started raining bombs and shells, families can be seen heading away from the border, some of them walking down roads with bags and bundles on their backs. Others like Ibrahim Fares and his family were able to squeeze in a car to leave Ras al-Ain, one of the towns hardest hit. "Now we don't know where to go and where we will sleep," the 28-year-old said.

In Syria, history repeats itself for displaced Kurds

Five people were stabbed at a shopping centre in the northern English city of Manchester on Friday and police said counter-terrorism detectives were leading the investigation.

Video uploaded to social media showed a police officer pinning down a man to the ground, while others ran towards the scene.

The stabbings took place at the Arndale shopping centre in the heart of the city. The mall was evacuated as armed police rushed to the scene.

"In these early stages we are keeping an open mind about the motivation of this terrible incident and the circumstances as we know them," Greater Manchester Police said in a statement.

They said a man in his 40s had been arrested at the scene on suspicion of serious assault. David Allinson, director of the mall, told the Manchester Evening News the centre had been evacuated.

The city was the location for Britain's most deadly militant attack in recent years when a suicide bomber killed 22 people in May 2017 at the end of a pop concert by Ariana Grande at the Manchester Arena, not far from the Arndale centre.

Five people were stabbed at a shopping centre in the northern English city of Manchester on Friday and police said counter-terrorism detectives were leading the investigation.

Five people were stabbed at a shopping centre in the northern English city of Manchester on Friday and police said counter-terrorism detectives were leading the investigation. Video uploaded to social media showed a police officer pinning down a man to the ground, while others ran towards the scene. The stabbings took place at the Arndale shopping centre in the heart of the city. The mall was evacuated as armed police rushed to the scene. "In these early stages we are keeping an open mind about the motivation of this terrible incident and the circumstances as we know them," Greater Manchester Police said in a statement. They said a man in his 40s had been arrested at the scene on suspicion of serious assault. David Allinson, director of the mall, told the Manchester Evening News the centre had been evacuated. The city was the location for Britain's most deadly militant attack in recent years when a suicide bomber killed 22 people in May 2017 at the end of a pop concert by Ariana Grande at the Manchester Arena, not far from the Arndale centre.

Man arrested after five stabbed at UK shopping mall

Author

Zee News Rajasthan

Editor

Punitipandey

Home

Live Tv

Latest

World

India

Business

Entertainment

Sports

Opinions

Videos

Photos

Gravitas

Lifestyle

Science

Tech

Rajasthan News in Hindi: In-depth coverage of Rajasthan Crime, Political News, Education, Rajasthan Weather Update and Latest Rajasthan News on Zee News Rajasthan.