China miffed over Indian mountaineers naming Arunachal Pradesh mountain after 6th Dalai Lama
Beijing (PTI): China was on Thursday miffed over Indian mountaineers naming a previously unnamed peak in Arunachal Pradesh after the 6th Dalai Lama, reiterating its territorial claims over the area.
A team from the National Institute of Mountaineering and Adventure Sports (NIMAS) scaled an unnamed and unclimbed 20,942 ft high peak in Arunachal Pradesh and decided to name the summit after the 6th Dalai Lama Tsangyang Gyatso, who was born in 1682 in the region of Mon Tawang.
NIMAS, located at Dirang in Arunachal Pradesh, functions under the Ministry of Defence.
Naming the peak after the 6th Dalai Lama is a tribute to his timeless wisdom and his profound contributions to the Monpa community and beyond, said a Defence Ministry press release.
When asked for his reaction, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a media briefing here, "I’m not aware of what you mentioned."
"Let me say more broadly that the area of Zangnan is Chinese territory, and it’s illegal, and null and void for India to set up the so-called "Arunachal Pradesh" in Chinese territory. This has been China's consistent position," he said.
China calls Arunachal Pradesh Zangnan.
Also, China has been renaming places in Arunachal Pradesh since 2017 to assert its claims.
India emphatically rejected China's claims over Arunachal Pradesh, saying it is an integral part of India and assigning "invented" names does not alter this reality.
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
