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Ten sailors are missing after a US warship collided with an oil tanker east of Singapore on Monday, the US Navy said, the second accident involving US Navy destroyers in Asian waters in little more than two months. The guided-missile destroyer USS John S McCain collided with the merchant vessel Alnic MC while heading to Singapore for a routine port call, the Navy said in a statement. "Initial reports indicate John S McCain sustained damage to her port side aft," the Navy said. "There are currently 10 sailors missing and five injured." A search-and-rescue mission was under way involving Singaporean ships, helicopters and tug boats, as well as US Navy aircraft. Malaysian authorities said the collision happened in Malaysian waters in the South China Sea and that they were assisting in the search-and-rescue operation. The warship was currently sailing under its own power and heading to port, the Navy said, without specifying which port. The Alnic MC is a Liberian-flagged, 183 meter-long oil or chemical tanker of 50,760 deadweight tonnes, according to shipping data in Thomson Reuters Eikon. Shipping data showed it last sent a transponder signal at 2258 GMT Sunday and had since come to a halt 10-20 km (6-12 miles) off the east coast of the Pengerang peninsula in Johor, southern Malaysia. An Alnic crew member contacted later by Reuters by telephone said there was no oil spill from the tanker, which was carrying almost 12,00 tonnes of fuel oil from Taiwan to discharge in Singapore. "We have not discharged the tanker yet," said the crew member, who asked not to be identified. "We are proceeding to Raffles Reserved Anchorage, where the owners will investigate the matter. There was some damage to the valve but no oil spill." The waterways around Singapore are some of the busiest and most important in the world, carrying around a third of global shipping trade. SECOND COLLISION The collision is the second involving a US guided missile destroyer in the Pacific in nine weeks. The US Navy said last week it had removed the two senior officers and the senior enlisted sailor on the USS Fitzgerald, which almost sank off the coast of Japan after it was struck by a Philippine container ship early on June 17. That collision killed seven US sailors. The USS Fitzgerald and USS John S McCain are both ballistic missile defense (BMD) capable ships and part of the same Japan-based destroyer squadron. The Seventh Fleet has six ships assigned to BMD patrols, with half of those out on patrol at any one time. Asked whether the US Navy would need to bring forward other ships to maintain its strength, a spokesman for the Seventh Fleet said it was "way too early to know". The series of maritime mishaps in Asian waters comes at a tense time in the region. North Korea threatened last week to fire ballistic missiles toward the US Pacific territory of Guam, ratcheting up tensions with US President Donald Trump, who had threatened to unleash "fire and fury" on Pyongyang if it threatened the United States. The US Navy vessel involved in the latest collision is named for the father and grandfather of US Republican Senator John McCain, who were both admirals in the United States Navy. "Cindy & I are keeping America's sailors aboard the USS John S McCain in our prayers tonight - appreciate the work of search & rescue crews," McCain said on Twitter. Senator McCain is a Vietnam War-era naval pilot who was shot down and held prisoner for five-and-a-half years. He is now undergoing treatment for brain cancer.   ....

Published at: 2017-08-21 05:00:05

The US and South Korea are conducting annual military drills which consistently infuriate Pyongyang, despite appeals to halt the exercise. Last week North Korea appeared to back down from a threat to send missiles towards the US Pacific island of Guam, but said it would watch US actions, the BBC reports on Monday. It has already condemned these drills as pouring "gasoline on fire". Washington describes the drills as defensive in nature, but the North sees them as preparation for invasion. China and Russia had in July proposed a halt on military exercises in exchange for a freeze on missile tests. But Joseph Dunford, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said last week that the military exercises were "not currently on the table as part of the negotiation at any level" and the Ulchi-Freedom Guardian (UFG) exercises were going ahead as planned. The US have said these exercises will involve about 17,500 US troops, largely involved in the computer simulation side of the drills. The exercises will last for about 10 days. But after North Korea's threats on Guam and an almost unprecedented war of words over Pyongyang's repeated missile tests, analysts have warned that the joint drills may be seen as a provocation at a particularly sensitive time. On Sunday an editorial in North Korea's official government newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun said the exercises would worsen the state of the peninsula and warned of an "uncontrollable phase of a nuclear war". The US and South Korea hold two sets of war games every year, involving a massive number of troops and military hardware. Foal Eagle/Key Resolve is usually held in spring, while Ulchi-Freedom Guardian (UFG) is in autumn. Both involve land, sea, and air military drills and computer simulations. Held in South Korea, they have also involved practice drills for terror and chemical attacks in recent years. South Korea usually deploys about 50,000 troops while the US typically sends 25,000 to 30,000 soldiers. They can also sometimes involve troops from other allies - last year's UFG saw the participation of nine other countries.....

Published at: 2017-08-21 05:00:04

An alleged terrorist, accused in college student murder case, was killed in a reported gunfight with police in Harinanayanpur Beribadh area of Sadar upazila of kushtia district on Monday. The deceased was identified as Enamul Haque, 26, son of Golam Mostafa of Shibpur area, reports UNB. Ratan Sheikh, officer-in-charge of Kushtia Islamic University Police Station, said that police recovered the body of Sagar, a 2nd year student of Khater Ali College, son of Pradip Kumar Saha of the area, from an abandoned septic tank adjacent to a house of Enamul on August 19 three days after he had gone missing. Later, police arrested Enamul in connection with the murder. Enamul made a confession to police and mentioned the name of his associate Shipon. Police along with Enamul conducted a drive in Shibpur area to arrest Shipon around 4:00 am. Sensing the presence of police, Enamul's associate opened fire on police, prompting them to retaliate, triggering a gunfight, leaving Enamul bullet injuries. Later, the injured was rushed to Kushtia General Hospital where doctors declared him dead. Police recovered a foreign pistol, cartridge, two rounds of bullets, three bullet shells and two machetes from the spot. However, police could not arrest the main accused Shipon as he fled away. Three police men were also injured in the gunfight, the OC added.....

Published at: 2017-08-21 05:00:04

A man and his wife died from electrocution in Alsha village in Delduar upazila of Tangail district on Sunday evening. The deceased were identified as Nowaz Ali Miah, 50, and his wife Nazma Begum, 40, of the village. Abu Taher Talukdar, chairman of Delduar Sadar union parishad, said Nowaz and his wife came in contact with a snapped electric wire when they went to Ashla Beel (a waterbody) by a small boat to collect water Lily, leaving them dead on the spot, reports UNB. Mosharraf Hossain, officer-in-charge Delduar Police Station, said police visited the spot.....

Published at: 2017-08-21 05:00:04

A man armed with a knife has injured seven pedestrians in the Russian city of Surgut. Police killed the assailant as he was resisting arrest and are investigating claims he was mentally ill.  However, terrorist group Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, reports RT. The knife attacks happened at around 11:20am local time. Nobody was killed, but the victims of the violence required medical treatment, the Investigative Committee said. Law enforcement initially reported the number of victims as eight, but corrected the statement later. The attacker was shot dead by a police patrol responding to the emergency reported by witnesses. The man resisted an attempt to arrest him even after a warning shot was fired in the air, the report said. The attacker was identified as a Surgut resident in his early 20s. The Surgut police are trying to establish the motive for his stabbing spree. Investigators are currently trying to verify a claim that the attacker suffered from a mental illness, the police said. Investigators do not view terrorism as a primary possible motive at the moment, the local police press service told Interfax. However, Islamic State claimed credit for the attack, Reuters reports, citing the terrorist group’s Amaq news agency. Surgut is the largest city and provincial capital of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area, east of the Ural Mountains. It has a population of over 360,000 and remains a major centre for oil and gas production in Russia.  ....

Published at: 2017-08-20 05:00:04