At least 17 people were killed when suicide attackers set off two car bombs at a hotel near the headquarters of Somalia's Criminal Investigations Department in Mogadishu on Friday, police said.

"So far we have confirmed 17 civilians dead. They were travelling in public vehicles at the scene when the blasts and gunfire occurred. The death toll is sure to rise," Ali Nur, a police officer in the city, told Reuters.

Twin car bombs first went off near two popular hotels as well as the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) police headquarters, followed by gunfire and a third explosion in the same area a while later.

"There is an attack going on at the CID area, two car bombs went off and gunfire followed but we don't have details," said police official Ibrahim Mohamed, referring to the initial attack.

(With inputs from agencies)

At least 17 people were killed when suicide attackers set off two car bombs at a hotel near the headquarters of Somalia's Criminal Investigations Department in Mogadishu on Friday, police said.

At least 17 people were killed when suicide attackers set off two car bombs at a hotel near the headquarters of Somalia's Criminal Investigations Department in Mogadishu on Friday, police said. "So far we have confirmed 17 civilians dead. They were travelling in public vehicles at the scene when the blasts and gunfire occurred. The death toll is sure to rise," Ali Nur, a police officer in the city, told Reuters. Twin car bombs first went off near two popular hotels as well as the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) police headquarters, followed by gunfire and a third explosion in the same area a while later. "There is an attack going on at the CID area, two car bombs went off and gunfire followed but we don't have details," said police official Ibrahim Mohamed, referring to the initial attack. (With inputs from agencies)

At least 17 killed in suicide bomb attack on Somalia hotel

Two Hizbul Mujahideen militants were killed on Monday in an encounter with security forces in&nbsp;Jammu-Kashmir’s Pulwama district, officials said.

The two militants have been identified as&nbsp;Sameer Tiger and Aaqib Khan.&nbsp;

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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JammuAndKashmir?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JammuAndKashmir</a>: 2 terrorists, Sameer Tiger and Aaqib Khan, gunned down during ongoing encounter with security forces in Pulwama's Drabgam.
— ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/990881695992897536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 30, 2018</a></blockquote>
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An army Major and a soldier have been injured in the ongoing encounter. The injured have been evacuated to a hospital.&nbsp;Reports said at least 1 civilian was killed in the crossfire.

Reports said that the CRPF and army men laid siege around the Drabgam village in Pulwama early this morning after receiving information about the presence of some militants there.

They said while the security personnel was conducting searches in the area, they came under fire from the militants hiding in the area.&nbsp;

Reports say that as soon as gunshots were heard, locals from the village gathered near the spot and staged protests in an attempt to break the cordon and help the militants escape.&nbsp;

Locals claim that at least 12 people were injured during the protests till now and police and paramilitary forces have resorted to heavy tear smoke shelling and pellet firing to disperse the crowd.&nbsp;

The militants have not been identified yet and the internet has been shut in order to prevent further flow of information.&nbsp;

A civilian was killed in the crossfire between the terrorists and the security forces. Reports said at least two militants — most likely top commanders — are still trapped at the encounter site

Two Hizbul Mujahideen militants were killed on Monday in an encounter with security forces in Jammu-Kashmir’s Pulwama district, officials said. The two militants have been identified as Sameer Tiger and Aaqib Khan. #JammuAndKashmir: 2 terrorists, Sameer Tiger and Aaqib Khan, gunned down during ongoing encounter with security forces in Pulwama's Drabgam. — ANI (@ANI) April 30, 2018 × An army Major and a soldier have been injured in the ongoing encounter. The injured have been evacuated to a hospital. Reports said at least 1 civilian was killed in the crossfire. Reports said that the CRPF and army men laid siege around the Drabgam village in Pulwama early this morning after receiving information about the presence of some militants there. They said while the security personnel was conducting searches in the area, they came under fire from the militants hiding in the area. Reports say that as soon as gunshots were heard, locals from the village gathered near the spot and staged protests in an attempt to break the cordon and help the militants escape. Locals claim that at least 12 people were injured during the protests till now and police and paramilitary forces have resorted to heavy tear smoke shelling and pellet firing to disperse the crowd. The militants have not been identified yet and the internet has been shut in order to prevent further flow of information.

J&K: Two Hizbul Mujahideen militants killed in Pulwama encounter

At least two people were killed and one wounded in a shooting inside a Walmart store in suburban Denver on Wednesday, police said.

Police in Thornton, Colorado, did not immediately release any information about the circumstances of the shooting or who was responsible for the gunfire.

In a Twitter post about 90 minutes after the shooting, police said investigators had confirmed that two men were dead and a woman was taken to a local hospital, but no further details were given.

The situation appeared potentially ominous from authorities&#39; initial reports.

&quot;We&#39;ve got multiple parties down, we&#39;re still trying to ascertain what their conditions are,&quot; Officer Victor Avila of the Thornton Police Department told Reuters by telephone not long after police arrived on the scene.

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Shooting just occurred at Walmart, 9900 Grant St, multiple parties down. Please stay away from the area. <a href="https://t.co/MdffbTPLKl">pic.twitter.com/MdffbTPLKl</a>
&mdash; Thornton Police Dept (@ThorntonPolice) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThorntonPolice/status/925882009423044608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 2, 2017</a></blockquote>
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About an hour after the initial alert, police said on Twitter that the threat of gunfire had ended at the store, which was surrounded by police and fire crews.

&quot;At this time this is NOT an active shooter. Active crime scene. We will update as info becomes available,&quot; the police department said in that tweet. Confirmation of the two fatalities came about 20 minutes later.

Thornton is city of about 120,000 people roughly 10 miles (16 km) northeast of downtown Denver.

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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ThorntonWalmartShooting?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ThorntonWalmartShooting</a> At this time this is NOT an active shooter. Active crime sceneWe will update as info becomes available. <a href="https://t.co/EZgSOtb6yy">pic.twitter.com/EZgSOtb6yy</a>
&mdash; Thornton Police Dept (@ThorntonPolice) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThorntonPolice/status/925899199803039744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 2, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Avila said police were called to the store at about 6:30 p.m. Mountain time (8:30 p.m. ET) and that the gunshots had ceased by the time the first officers arrived at the scene.

A Walmart customer, Aaron Stephens, 44, of Thorton, told Reuters he was inside paying for groceries at a self-checkout stand when he heard gunshots and the sound of ricocheting bullets.

&quot;The employees started screaming and the customers started screaming&quot; as people began to flee the store, he recounted. &quot;I ran out, too, because I didn&#39;t want to get shot.&quot;

Stephens said he did not see where the shooting had come from and did not see anyone struck by bullets.

Local NBC television affiliate 9NEWS reported that a woman whose son was in the Walmart had told her that he had heard about 30 gunshots and was still inside.

A video posted on Twitter showed the Walmart, which is situated in a large complex of big-box stores and other retail outlets adjacent to U.S. Interstate 25, apparently empty except for police officers with guns drawn.

Police in Thornton, Colorado, did not release any information about any of the victims and it was not clear if an assailant had been taken into custody.

At least two people were killed and one wounded in a shooting inside a Walmart store in suburban Denver on Wednesday, police said. Police in Thornton, Colorado, did not immediately release any information about the circumstances of the shooting or who was responsible for the gunfire. In a Twitter post about 90 minutes after the shooting, police said investigators had confirmed that two men were dead and a woman was taken to a local hospital, but no further details were given. The situation appeared potentially ominous from authorities' initial reports. "We've got multiple parties down, we're still trying to ascertain what their conditions are," Officer Victor Avila of the Thornton Police Department told Reuters by telephone not long after police arrived on the scene. Shooting just occurred at Walmart, 9900 Grant St, multiple parties down. Please stay away from the area. pic.twitter.com/MdffbTPLKl — Thornton Police Dept (@ThorntonPolice) November 2, 2017 × About an hour after the initial alert, police said on Twitter that the threat of gunfire had ended at the store, which was surrounded by police and fire crews. "At this time this is NOT an active shooter. Active crime scene. We will update as info becomes available," the police department said in that tweet. Confirmation of the two fatalities came about 20 minutes later. Thornton is city of about 120,000 people roughly 10 miles (16 km) northeast of downtown Denver. #ThorntonWalmartShooting At this time this is NOT an active shooter. Active crime sceneWe will update as info becomes available. pic.twitter.com/EZgSOtb6yy — Thornton Police Dept (@ThorntonPolice) November 2, 2017 × Avila said police were called to the store at about 6:30 p.m. Mountain time (8:30 p.m. ET) and that the gunshots had ceased by the time the first officers arrived at the scene. A Walmart customer, Aaron Stephens, 44, of Thorton, told Reuters he was inside paying for groceries at a self-checkout stand when he heard gunshots and the sound of ricocheting bullets. "The employees started screaming and the customers started screaming" as people began to flee the store, he recounted. "I ran out, too, because I didn't want to get shot." Stephens said he did not see where the shooting had come from and did not see anyone struck by bullets. Local NBC television affiliate 9NEWS reported that a woman whose son was in the Walmart had told her that he had heard about 30 gunshots and was still inside. A video posted on Twitter showed the Walmart, which is situated in a large complex of big-box stores and other retail outlets adjacent to U.S. Interstate 25, apparently empty except for police officers with guns drawn.

At least two dead in shooting inside Walmart store in Colorado

America has experienced yet another mass shooting, this time at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on the strip in Las Vegas, Nevada.&nbsp;It is reportedly the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

As a criminologist, I have reviewed recent research in hopes of debunking some of the common misconceptions I hear creeping into discussions that spring up whenever a mass shooting occurs. Here&rsquo;s some recent scholarship about mass shootings that should help you identify misinformation when you hear it.

<figure>
#1: More guns don&rsquo;t make you safer
</figure>

A study I conducted on mass shootings indicated that this phenomenon is not limited to the United States.

Mass shootings also took place in 25 other wealthy nations between 1983 and 2013, but the number of mass shootings in the United States far surpasses that of any other country included in the study during the same period of time.

The U.S. had 78 mass shootings during that 30-year period.

The highest number of mass shootings experienced outside the United States was in Germany &ndash; where seven shootings occurred.

In the other 24 industrialized countries taken together, 41 mass shootings took place.

In other words, the U.S. had nearly double the number of mass shootings than all other 24 countries combined in the same 30-year period.

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<hr />
Another significant finding is that mass shootings and gun ownership rates are highly correlated. The higher the gun ownership rate, the more a country is susceptible to experiencing mass shooting incidents. This association remains high even when the number of incidents from the United States is withdrawn from the analysis.

<hr />
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<hr />
Similar results have been found by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime,&nbsp;which states that countries with higher levels of firearm ownership also have higher firearm homicide rates.

My study also shows a strong correlation between mass shooting casualties and overall death by firearms rates. However, in this last analysis, the relation seems to be mainly driven by the very high number of deaths by firearms in the United States. The relation disappears when the United States is withdrawn from the analysis.

#2: Shootings are more frequent

A recent study published by the Harvard Injury Control Research Center shows that the frequency of mass shooting is increasing over time. The researchers measured the increase by calculating the time between the occurrence of mass shootings. According to the research, the days separating mass shooting occurrence went from on average 200 days during the period of 1983 to 2011 to 64 days since 2011.

What is most alarming with mass shootings is the fact that this increasing trend is moving in the opposite direction of overall intentional homicide rates in the U.S., which decreased by almost 50 percent since 1993 and in Europe where intentional homicides decreased by 40 percent between 2003 and 2013.

#3: Restricting sales works

Due to the Second Amendment, the United States has permissive gun licensing laws. This is in contrast to most developed countries, which have restrictive laws.

According to a seminal work by criminologists, George Newton and Franklin Zimring,&nbsp;permissive gun licensing laws refer to a system in which all but specially prohibited groups of persons can purchase a firearm. In such a system, an individual does not have to justify purchasing a weapon; rather, the licensing authority has the burden of proof to deny gun acquisition.

By contrast, restrictive gun licensing laws refer to a system in which individuals who want to purchase firearms must demonstrate to a licensing authority that they have valid reasons to get a gun &ndash; like using it on a shooting range or going hunting &ndash; and that they demonstrate &ldquo;good character.&rdquo;

The type of gun law adopted has important impacts. Countries with more restrictive gun licensing laws show fewer deaths by firearms and a lower gun ownership rate.

#4: Background checks work

In&nbsp;most restrictive background checks&nbsp;performed in developed countries, citizens are required to train for gun handling, obtain a license for hunting or provide proof of membership to a shooting range.

Individuals must prove that they do not belong to any &ldquo;prohibited group,&rdquo; such as the mentally ill, criminals, children or those at high risk of committing a violent crime, such as individuals with a police record of threatening the life of another.

Here&rsquo;s the bottom line. With these provisions, most U.S. active shooters would have been denied the purchase of a firearm.

#5: Not all mass shootings are terrorism

Journalists sometimes describe the mass shooting as a form of domestic terrorism. This connection may be misleading.

There is no doubt that mass shootings are &ldquo;terrifying&rdquo; and &ldquo;terrorize&rdquo; the community where they have happened. However, not all active shooters involved in the mass shooting have a political message or cause.

For example, the church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina in June 2015 was a hate crime but was not judged&nbsp;by the federal government to&nbsp;be a terrorist act.

The majority of active shooters are linked to mental health issues, bullying and disgruntled employees. Active shooters may be motivated by a variety of personal or political motivations, usually not aimed at weakening government legitimacy. Frequent motivations are revenge or a quest for power.

#6: Historical comparisons may be flawed

Beginning in 2008, the FBI used a&nbsp;narrow definition of mass shootings. They limited to mass shootings to incidents where an individual &ndash; or in rare circumstances, more than one &ndash; &ldquo;kills four or more people in a single incident (not including the shooter), typically in a single location.&rdquo;

In 2013, the FBI changed its definition, moving away from &ldquo;mass shootings&rdquo; toward identifying an &ldquo;active shooter&rdquo; as &ldquo;an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area.&rdquo; This change means the agency now includes incidents in which fewer than four people die, but in which several are injured, like this 2014 shooting in New Orleans.

This change in definition impacted directly the number of cases included in studies and affected the comparability of studies conducted before and after 2013.

Some researchers on the mass shooting, like Northeastern University&nbsp;criminologist James Alan Fox, have even incorporated in their studies several types of multiple homicides that cannot be defined as mass shooting: for instance, familicide (a form of domestic violence) and gang murders.

In the case of familicide, victims are exclusively family members and not random bystanders.

Gang murders are usually crime for profit or a punishment for rival gangs or a member of the gang who is an informer. Such homicides don&rsquo;t belong in the analysis of mass shootings.

This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com" nofollow="" rel="">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/six-things-to-know-about-mass-shootings-in-america-48934" nofollow="" rel="">original article</a>.

The United States has experienced most mass shootings (66 per cent) between 1983 to 2013

America has experienced yet another mass shooting, this time at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on the strip in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is reportedly the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. As a criminologist, I have reviewed recent research in hopes of debunking some of the common misconceptions I hear creeping into discussions that spring up whenever a mass shooting occurs. Here’s some recent scholarship about mass shootings that should help you identify misinformation when you hear it. #1: More guns don’t make you safer A study I conducted on mass shootings indicated that this phenomenon is not limited to the United States. Mass shootings also took place in 25 other wealthy nations between 1983 and 2013, but the number of mass shootings in the United States far surpasses that of any other country included in the study during the same period of time. The U.S. had 78 mass shootings during that 30-year period. The highest number of mass shootings experienced outside the United States was in Germany – where seven shootings occurred. In the other 24 industrialized countries taken together, 41 mass shootings took place. In other words, the U.S. had nearly double the number of mass shootings than all other 24 countries combined in the same 30-year period. Another significant finding is that mass shootings and gun ownership rates are highly correlated. The higher the gun ownership rate, the more a country is susceptible to experiencing mass shooting incidents. This association remains high even when the number of incidents from the United States is withdrawn from the analysis. Similar results have been found by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, which states that countries with higher levels of firearm ownership also have higher firearm homicide rates. My study also shows a strong correlation between mass shooting casualties and overall death by firearms rates. However, in this last analysis, the relation seems to be mainly driven by the very high number of deaths by firearms in the United States. The relation disappears when the United States is withdrawn from the analysis. #2: Shootings are more frequent A recent study published by the Harvard Injury Control Research Center shows that the frequency of mass shooting is increasing over time. The researchers measured the increase by calculating the time between the occurrence of mass shootings. According to the research, the days separating mass shooting occurrence went from on average 200 days during the period of 1983 to 2011 to 64 days since 2011. What is most alarming with mass shootings is the fact that this increasing trend is moving in the opposite direction of overall intentional homicide rates in the U.S., which decreased by almost 50 percent since 1993 and in Europe where intentional homicides decreased by 40 percent between 2003 and 2013. #3: Restricting sales works Due to the Second Amendment, the United States has permissive gun licensing laws. This is in contrast to most developed countries, which have restrictive laws. According to a seminal work by criminologists, George Newton and Franklin Zimring, permissive gun licensing laws refer to a system in which all but specially prohibited groups of persons can purchase a firearm. In such a system, an individual does not have to justify purchasing a weapon; rather, the licensing authority has the burden of proof to deny gun acquisition. By contrast, restrictive gun licensing laws refer to a system in which individuals who want to purchase firearms must demonstrate to a licensing authority that they have valid reasons to get a gun – like using it on a shooting range or going hunting – and that they demonstrate “good character.” The type of gun law adopted has important impacts. Countries with more restrictive gun licensing laws show fewer deaths by firearms and a lower gun ownership rate. #4: Background checks work In most restrictive background checks performed in developed countries, citizens are required to train for gun handling, obtain a license for hunting or provide proof of membership to a shooting range. Individuals must prove that they do not belong to any “prohibited group,” such as the mentally ill, criminals, children or those at high risk of committing a violent crime, such as individuals with a police record of threatening the life of another. Here’s the bottom line. With these provisions, most U.S. active shooters would have been denied the purchase of a firearm. #5: Not all mass shootings are terrorism Journalists sometimes describe the mass shooting as a form of domestic terrorism. This connection may be misleading. There is no doubt that mass shootings are “terrifying” and “terrorize” the community where they have happened. However, not all active shooters involved in the mass shooting have a political message or cause. For example, the church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina in June 2015 was a hate crime but was not judged by the federal government to be a terrorist act. The majority of active shooters are linked to mental health issues, bullying and disgruntled employees. Active shooters may be motivated by a variety of personal or political motivations, usually not aimed at weakening government legitimacy. Frequent motivations are revenge or a quest for power. #6: Historical comparisons may be flawed Beginning in 2008, the FBI used a narrow definition of mass shootings. They limited to mass shootings to incidents where an individual – or in rare circumstances, more than one – “kills four or more people in a single incident (not including the shooter), typically in a single location.” In 2013, the FBI changed its definition, moving away from “mass shootings” toward identifying an “active shooter” as “an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area.” This change means the agency now includes incidents in which fewer than four people die, but in which several are injured, like this 2014 shooting in New Orleans. This change in definition impacted directly the number of cases included in studies and affected the comparability of studies conducted before and after 2013. Some researchers on the mass shooting, like Northeastern University criminologist James Alan Fox, have even incorporated in their studies several types of multiple homicides that cannot be defined as mass shooting: for instance, familicide (a form of domestic violence) and gang murders. In the case of familicide, victims are exclusively family members and not random bystanders. Gang murders are usually crime for profit or a punishment for rival gangs or a member of the gang who is an informer. Such homicides don’t belong in the analysis of mass shootings. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Six things to know about mass shootings in America

Carrot juice and gunfire

Israel is a country that stuns you with its beauty and incongruity. And that&rsquo;s an understatement. Our chopper (called BDS, not weird at all!) landed on Mount Bental in the Golan Heights. It&rsquo;s a dormant volcano where lava seeps from the base and not the top of the mountain, leaving the soil around it rich with minerals. There are lush vineyards as far as the eye can see. The Instagram happy lot had just turned on their selfie cameras when we were beckoned to the other side.

There was a UN convoy practicing a drill. The young Irish officers refused to talk. But a few minutes down the road we met more soldiers, men, and women, resting with their backpacks and machine guns, lying under olive trees, posing for cameras. War, perhaps, is just a state of mind for some.&nbsp;

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A female soldier smiling for the photograph shows for some war is just a state of mind. Photo credit: Palki Sharma (Others)
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We were headed to cafe Kofi Annan, packed with tourists and students. Kofi Annan in Hebrew sounds like &lsquo;coffee on the clouds&rsquo;. Apt. around tables laden with salads, coffee, carrot juice, pizzas and oranges, animated conversation ebbed and flowed. It was like any other cafe, except that you heard booming sounds intermittently.

It&rsquo;s the ISIS fighting, said our guide. He passed on a pair of binoculars. In the distance, you could see the Syrian border. This is the only place in the world or one of the only since I don&rsquo;t know better, where you can see the full theatre of war, live and unedited, perched on barstools.

After a while, the sounds ceased. It&rsquo;s lunch break for the fighters, we were told. Of course. Ideology gives only so much sustenance.&nbsp;

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Tourists on the Golan Heights looking able to see the Syrian border. Photo credit: Palki Sharma (Others)
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The scene reminded me of Tom Friedman&rsquo;s description of the Lebanese war in the 80s. An American friend of his was invited for dinner on Christmas Eve. Amid artillery salvos and machine gun fire that shook the neighborhood, the hostess put off serving dinner hoping that things would calm down. After a while, she asked, &ldquo;Would you like to eat now or wait for the cease-fire?&rdquo; I thought it was a bit exaggerated. Not anymore. It&rsquo;s a coping mechanism.

For a country that has lived under the constant shadow of war when it&rsquo;s not fighting one, this perhaps is the only way to survive and thrive. The Israelis have turned it into a fine art, complete with blooming hydrangeas in the kitchen garden and lace doilies on the window sill.&nbsp;

More power to Merav!

We were led into a fine dining restaurant with sparkling wine goblets and oversized lampshades. We were to meet a member of Knesset from the ruling coalition. Merav Ben Ari was to brief us on policy and politics. She walked in pushing a pram. Her three-month-old daughter gurgled greetings as the mother shook hands with us. She&rsquo;s the first lawmaker in Israel to have conceived a baby with a gay friend and opted for shared parenting out of wedlock. At the risk of soundly too credulous and callow, I have to say I cannot imagine a politician in India, much less a woman, doing this and being cheered for it.&nbsp;

She discussed the corruption allegations against Prime Minister Netanyahu while burping her baby and forking her ravioli. The picture was almost inspirational - a working mother, unapologetic about tending to her baby while meeting a delegation, not expected to prove her dedication to her profession while balancing it with &#39;life&#39;. &nbsp;Envy.&nbsp;

All the exhortations about leaning in and claiming your space seemed fraudulent. It&rsquo;s not really a choice for most women where I come from. It&rsquo;s an offer with pre-conditions foisted on them. Most struggle to convince their bosses that they are committed professionals and to their children that they are committed mothers while living in the constant guilt that they might end up being neither.

Ben Ari gave me hope. But unfortunately, I did not follow much of what she said. My contemplative mood coupled with an overdose of cheesecakes that had me looking forward to a nap on the bus to our next destination.

Palki Sharma&nbsp;traveled to Israel for the AJC&#39;s Project Interchange 2017.&nbsp;

The Israelis have turned war into a fine art, complete with blooming hydrangeas in the kitchen garden and lace doilies on the window sill.

Carrot juice and gunfire Israel is a country that stuns you with its beauty and incongruity. And that’s an understatement. Our chopper (called BDS, not weird at all!) landed on Mount Bental in the Golan Heights. It’s a dormant volcano where lava seeps from the base and not the top of the mountain, leaving the soil around it rich with minerals. There are lush vineyards as far as the eye can see. The Instagram happy lot had just turned on their selfie cameras when we were beckoned to the other side. There was a UN convoy practicing a drill. The young Irish officers refused to talk. But a few minutes down the road we met more soldiers, men, and women, resting with their backpacks and machine guns, lying under olive trees, posing for cameras. War, perhaps, is just a state of mind for some. A female soldier smiling for the photograph shows for some war is just a state of mind. Photo credit: Palki Sharma (Others) × We were headed to cafe Kofi Annan, packed with tourists and students. Kofi Annan in Hebrew sounds like ‘coffee on the clouds’. Apt. around tables laden with salads, coffee, carrot juice, pizzas and oranges, animated conversation ebbed and flowed. It was like any other cafe, except that you heard booming sounds intermittently. It’s the ISIS fighting, said our guide. He passed on a pair of binoculars. In the distance, you could see the Syrian border. This is the only place in the world or one of the only since I don’t know better, where you can see the full theatre of war, live and unedited, perched on barstools. After a while, the sounds ceased. It’s lunch break for the fighters, we were told. Of course. Ideology gives only so much sustenance. Tourists on the Golan Heights looking able to see the Syrian border. Photo credit: Palki Sharma (Others) × The scene reminded me of Tom Friedman’s description of the Lebanese war in the 80s. An American friend of his was invited for dinner on Christmas Eve. Amid artillery salvos and machine gun fire that shook the neighborhood, the hostess put off serving dinner hoping that things would calm down. After a while, she asked, “Would you like to eat now or wait for the cease-fire?” I thought it was a bit exaggerated. Not anymore. It’s a coping mechanism. For a country that has lived under the constant shadow of war when it’s not fighting one, this perhaps is the only way to survive and thrive. The Israelis have turned it into a fine art, complete with blooming hydrangeas in the kitchen garden and lace doilies on the window sill. More power to Merav! We were led into a fine dining restaurant with sparkling wine goblets and oversized lampshades. We were to meet a member of Knesset from the ruling coalition. Merav Ben Ari was to brief us on policy and politics. She walked in pushing a pram. Her three-month-old daughter gurgled greetings as the mother shook hands with us. She’s the first lawmaker in Israel to have conceived a baby with a gay friend and opted for shared parenting out of wedlock. At the risk of soundly too credulous and callow, I have to say I cannot imagine a politician in India, much less a woman, doing this and being cheered for it. She discussed the corruption allegations against Prime Minister Netanyahu while burping her baby and forking her ravioli. The picture was almost inspirational - a working mother, unapologetic about tending to her baby while meeting a delegation, not expected to prove her dedication to her profession while balancing it with 'life'. Envy. All the exhortations about leaning in and claiming your space seemed fraudulent. It’s not really a choice for most women where I come from. It’s an offer with pre-conditions foisted on them. Most struggle to convince their bosses that they are committed professionals and to their children that they are committed mothers while living in the constant guilt that they might end up being neither. Ben Ari gave me hope. But unfortunately, I did not follow much of what she said. My contemplative mood coupled with an overdose of cheesecakes that had me looking forward to a nap on the bus to our next destination. Palki Sharma traveled to Israel for the AJC's Project Interchange 2017.

There is an Israel beyond the gunfire

Suspected militants attacked the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul yesterday, trapping foreign staff and dozens of students inside the campus. 
 
At least one student was killed and 14 wounded in the attack, Mohammad Saleem Rasouly, head of hospitals in the Afghan capital, told the media. 
 
Dozens of special forces surrounded the university compound, where shooting lasted for more than an hour after the attack started yesterday evening around 6.30 pm (1400 GMT). 
 
Witnesses at the scene said gunfire had since stopped, and special forces had made their way into the compound. 
 
&quot;I heard explosions and gunfire is going on close by our classroom is filled with smoke and dust,&quot; said an anxious student. 
 
&quot;We are stuck inside and very afraid,&quot; she said via telephone. 
 
Students used classroom furniture to barricade the doors while many others tweeted desperate messages for help. 
&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AUAF?src=hash">#AUAF</a> under attack. I along with my friends escaped and several other of of my friends and professors trapped inside.
&mdash; Ahmad Mukhtar (@AhMukhtar) <a href="https://twitter.com/AhMukhtar/status/768465612884602881">August 24, 2016</a></blockquote>
 
 
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="161" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpermalink.php%3Fstory_fbid%3D1255118614521654%26id%3D100000705827625&amp;width=500" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" width="500"></iframe> 
 
Associated Press photojournalist Massoud Hossaini, who was among the trapped, was said to be wounded and later managed to escape with some fellow students. 
 
&quot;Many students have been evacuated,&quot; said interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi, adding that there were no immediate reports of any hostages taken by the attackers. &quot;We are not sure about the number of attackers but our special forces have started clearance operations.&quot; 
 
US military advisers were assisting Afghan forces to respond to the attack, an American defense official said. 
 
Kabul-based journalist Ahmad Mukhtar, a university student, tweeted that he managed to escape but &quot;several of my friends and professors (are) trapped inside&quot;. 
 
Ambulances rushed to the scene as erratic gunshots rang out from inside the campus. 
 
The Italian-run Emergency Hospital in Kabul tweeted that at least five wounded people had been brought to the facility for treatment. 
&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/emergency_ong">@emergency_ong</a> hospital has opened mass casualties procedures for the wounded of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AmericanUniversity?src=hash">#AmericanUniversity</a> attack, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Kabul?src=hash">#Kabul</a>. <a href="https://t.co/oU8YiouKpT">pic.twitter.com/oU8YiouKpT</a>
&mdash; EMERGENCY (@emergency_ong) <a href="https://twitter.com/emergency_ong/status/768506326649606144">August 24, 2016</a></blockquote>
&nbsp;

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Afghanistan?src=hash">#Afghanistan</a>. The American university in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Kabul?src=hash">#Kabul</a> currently under attack. 5 wounded trasferred to <a href="https://twitter.com/emergency_ong">@emergency_ong</a> hospital.
&mdash; EMERGENCY (@emergency_ong) <a href="https://twitter.com/emergency_ong/status/768479244339077120">August 24, 2016</a></blockquote>
 
 
So far no group has claimed responsibility for the assault, which comes just weeks after two university professors - an American and an Australian - were kidnapped at gunpoint near the school. 
 
The attack, which underscores the worsening security situation in Afghanistan, comes as Taliban insurgents step up their summer fighting season against the Western-backed Kabul government. 
 
The management of the American University of Afghanistan, which opened in 2006 and enrols more than 1,700 students, was not immediately reachable for comment. 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies)

Students used classroom furniture to barricade the doors while many others tweeted desperate messages for help

Suspected militants attacked the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul yesterday, trapping foreign staff and dozens of students inside the campus. At least one student was killed and 14 wounded in the attack, Mohammad Saleem Rasouly, head of hospitals in the Afghan capital, told the media. Dozens of special forces surrounded the university compound, where shooting lasted for more than an hour after the attack started yesterday evening around 6.30 pm (1400 GMT). Witnesses at the scene said gunfire had since stopped, and special forces had made their way into the compound. "I heard explosions and gunfire is going on close by our classroom is filled with smoke and dust," said an anxious student. "We are stuck inside and very afraid," she said via telephone. Students used classroom furniture to barricade the doors while many others tweeted desperate messages for help. #AUAF under attack. I along with my friends escaped and several other of of my friends and professors trapped inside. — Ahmad Mukhtar (@AhMukhtar) August 24, 2016 Associated Press photojournalist Massoud Hossaini, who was among the trapped, was said to be wounded and later managed to escape with some fellow students. "Many students have been evacuated," said interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi, adding that there were no immediate reports of any hostages taken by the attackers. "We are not sure about the number of attackers but our special forces have started clearance operations." US military advisers were assisting Afghan forces to respond to the attack, an American defense official said. Kabul-based journalist Ahmad Mukhtar, a university student, tweeted that he managed to escape but "several of my friends and professors (are) trapped inside". Ambulances rushed to the scene as erratic gunshots rang out from inside the campus. The Italian-run Emergency Hospital in Kabul tweeted that at least five wounded people had been brought to the facility for treatment. @emergency_ong hospital has opened mass casualties procedures for the wounded of #AmericanUniversity attack, #Kabul. pic.twitter.com/oU8YiouKpT — EMERGENCY (@emergency_ong) August 24, 2016 #Afghanistan. The American university in #Kabul currently under attack. 5 wounded trasferred to @emergency_ong hospital. — EMERGENCY (@emergency_ong) August 24, 2016 So far no group has claimed responsibility for the assault, which comes just weeks after two university professors - an American and an Australian - were kidnapped at gunpoint near the school. The attack, which underscores the worsening security situation in Afghanistan, comes as Taliban insurgents step up their summer fighting season against the Western-backed Kabul government. The management of the American University of Afghanistan, which opened in 2006 and enrols more than 1,700 students, was not immediately reachable for comment. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Militants attack American University in Kabul, at least one dead

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