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US military announces detention of ISIS leader during operation in Iraq, Syria

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Washington, June 5: The US military announced the detention of an ISIS leader and the death of two operatives of the terror group during Defeat ISIS (D-ISIS) operations in Iraq and Syria.

“US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces supported six D-ISIS operations, five in Iraq and one in Syria, resulting in the two ISIS operatives killed, two detained, including an ISIS leader, and the recovery of multiple weapons. The operations served to disrupt and degrade ISIS’ ability to reconstitute, plan, organise, and conduct attacks against civilians and US and partner forces in the region,” said US CENTCOM in a statement on X on Thursday.

According to the statement, the US CENTCOM forces supported partner forces in operations in Iraq and Syria from May 21-27 in support of the ongoing D-ISIS campaign.

The Syrian Democratic Forces, enabled by US CENTCOM, conducted a D-ISIS operation near Deir ez-Zur from May 21-22, resulting in the capture of an ISIS operative.

Additionally, the Iraqi forces, enabled by USCENTCOM, conducted D-ISIS operations in northern Iraq, within the Salah al-Din Governorate, Kirkuk Governorate, and Al-Fallujah, from May 21-27, resulting in the clearance and destruction of multiple locations.

The operation led to the confiscation of small arms weapons and munitions, and the recovery of material for further exploitation, while two ISIS operatives were killed in action, and an ISIS leader was captured

“The US and members of the multinational Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) maintain our ongoing commitment to the fight against ISIS,” stated US CENTCOM.

“Operations like these underscore the commitment of USCENTCOM, along with our allies and partners, to the enduring defeat of ISIS in the region,” said Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, US CENTCOM Commander.

In 2014, ISIS declared a “caliphate” after it captured several parts of Iraq and Syria.

Later in late 2017, the Iraqi forces, with the support of international partners, defeated ISIS, which then lost its last territory in Syria two years later.

International

Man shot in targeted attack in Australian state of Queensland

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Sydney, June 6: A man has been hospitalised with serious injuries following a targeted shooting in the Australian state of Queensland.

The Queensland Police Service said on Friday that emergency services were deployed to a house in Parkwood, 65 kilometres southeast of Brisbane, around 7:50 p.m. on Thursday in response to reports that a man had sustained gunshot wounds to his leg and other injuries to his hand.

According to media, the 21-year-old man was found at the scene with serious injuries and was taken to hospital in a stable condition.

A police statement said that initial inquiries indicated that the incident was a targeted shooting and that there was no ongoing threat to the public.

An investigation into the attack was ongoing and police commenced a search for the perpetrator.

In a separate incident, Australian police are investigating a fatal stabbing in a remote outback mining town west of Sydney.

Emergency services were called to conduct a welfare check at a home in Broken Hill, over 900 kilometers from Sydney in the far west outback of the state of New South Wales (NSW), just after 11:50 p.m. on Thursday.

Police officers arrived at the scene where they found a man, believed to be aged in his 40s, with stab wounds to his neck.

He was treated by ambulance paramedics but could not be revived and was declared deceased.

Local police established a crime scene at the house and have commenced an investigation into the man’s death with assistance from the NSW Homicide Squad.

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Business

EAM Jaishankar lays out three objectives to bolster India-Central Asia trade ties

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New Delhi, June 6: External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar has urged the India-Central Asia Business Council to recommend a roadmap for further deepening of India-Central Asia ties in trade, economic and investment.

Addressing the Business Council meeting in the national capital, EAM Jaishankar highlighted three broad objectives for strengthening the economic partnership — deepen existing cooperation, diversify the trade basket and introduce sustainability and predictability in economic interactions.

“One, is to deepen the existing cooperation both in terms of volume and in terms of quality. There is already I think a recognition in each others countries and each others economies of the players and of the products. But, we must build further on that foundation and a very good example here is actually the pharmaceutical sector,” he told the gathering.

“Two, we need to diversify our trade baskets so that all of us have more options and we have more competition and in a way we are looking for new opportunities. I would like our friends from central Asian economies to appreciate that an economy today which is in excess of $4 trillion, which is growing at 6-8 per cent annually, it will create new demands for products, for services and even I would say in a way new demands out of more prosperous lifestyles,” EAM Jaishankar emphasised.

He also stressed on the need to introduce greater sustainability and more predictability in economic interactions.

“That means more long-term contracts and arrangements, cross investments, joint ventures and certainly sectors like energy whether we are talking uranium, whether we are talking crude oil even potentially gas, whether we are looking at mining, If you are talking about coal or if you are discussing fertilizers, I think these are all relevant examples to reach really long term understatings between us,” the foreign minister highlighted.

India’s trade and economic ties with Central Asia over the last decade have shown a very strong positive trend. Mutual trade was less than $500 million a decade ago in 2014.

Today, “what we have collectively is actually a trade volume which is almost touching $2 billion. However, this figure does not reflect the full potential. The need to address this is today even more urgent because of the uncertainties of the international economy and this requires governments and businesses to work together in tandem, which is why all of us are here in this room,” EAM Jaishankar noted.

He also laid out five solutions to further bolster the India-Central Asia economic ties: Digital Economy and Innovation, Financial Services, Healthcare and Pharma, improving connectivity and streamlining Transit Procedures.

“In addition to all of this, I think you would agree that tourism, education, films, and cultural exchanges, these are all important, they should be tapped for their economic and business potential,” he mentioned.

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International

Trump signs proclamation banning travel from 12 nations

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Washington, June 5: US President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation imposing a travel ban on 12 countries and restricting the entry of seven others to the US, citing national security concerns.

According to the proclamation, the 12 countries that were banned include Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

Additionally, the order partially restricts and limits the entry of nationals of the following seven countries — Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

The announcement of the ban followed a recent violent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, on participants of a peaceful rally calling for the safe return of Israeli hostages from Hamas captivity.

“The recent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, has underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted, as well as those who come here as temporary visitors and overstay their visas. We don’t want them,” Trump said in a video statement released by the White House on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, US Homeland Security officials said that the terror attack perpetrator in Colorado, Mohammed Sabry Solima, was allowed entry into the country under the former Biden Administration and overstayed his visa.

The White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson took to social media stating that President Trump is protecting Americans from foreign actors who pose security threats to the country.

“President Trump is fulfilling his promise to protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors that want to come to our country and cause us harm. These commonsense restrictions are country-specific and include places that lack proper vetting, exhibit high visa overstay rates, or fail to share identity and threat information. President Trump will always act in the best of interest of the American people and their safety,” Abigail Jackson said on X.

The recent proclamation echoed a series of travel bans issued during the first term of Trump’s administration to seven majority-Muslim nations from coming to the US.

It included Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. The move witnessed legal challenges before President Joe Biden repealed it after he assumed office in 2021.

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