Human Rights

Ludhiana, Feb 12 (PTI) Some members of the Muslim community on Wednesday launched an indefinite sit-in against the amended citizenship law and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC ) here.

The indefinite dharna began at Dana Mandi here near Jalandhar bypass on the lines of the ongoing Shaheen Bagh protest in Delhi.

RAMALLAH/JERUSALEM, Feb 13 (NNN-XINHUA) – The Palestinians hailed the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR), for releasing a list of companies, that do business in Israeli settlements, in the occupied Palestinian territories, while Israel denounced the list as “biased” and “shameful.”

In a statement, Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammed Ishtaye, said, the UN list “is a step towards exposing the settlements and foiling attempts to legalise it.”

12 Feb 2020; MEMO: Libyan families whose relatives were killed or injured during the Libyan crisis have filed lawsuits to the Washington DC District Court, against the UAE and its ally, retired Field Marshall Khalifa Haftar.

The Transnational Business Attorneys Group stated on behalf of six Libyan families, in which it said: “Prosecutors shed light on the serious violations of human rights, killings and torture in which the defendants were involved.”

12 Feb 2020; MEMO: Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, stressed that his country categorically rejects the Middle East peace plan to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, known as the “deal of the century” which was drafted by the United States and Israel.

“The deal of the century will not pass, and Iran will continue to affirm its position in supporting the Palestinian people and their right to restore and liberate their land,” Zarif wrote in Arabic on Twitter.

12 Feb 2020; MEMO: Arab ambassadors accredited to the United Kingdom called on the British government to reject the Deal of the Century, as it does not fulfil the minimum legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and constitutes a clear violation of United Nations resolutions and international law.

12 Feb 2020; MEMO: The EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, urged Israel on Tuesday not to annex the Jordan Valley, a large swathe of the occupied West Bank, warning of Palestinian protests if it went ahead.

Mumbai, Feb 11 (PTI) Activist Medha Patkar on Tuesday said the Maharashtra government was afraid of protesters at 'Mumbai Bagh' in Nagpada, which is why it was using police force to quell them.

Addressing the protesters, Patkar said if the Uddhav Thackeray government has taken a clear stand on Citizenship (Amendment) Act, National Register for Citizens and National Population Register, why was the police interfering.

Srinagar, Feb 12 (PTI) The second batch of foreign envoys arrived here on Wednesday for a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir for a first-hand assessment of the situation in the Union territory six months after the nullification of Article 370.

The envoys of over 20 countries arrived at the Srinagar airport at around 11 am but could not visit Baramulla town in north Kashmir as per the schedule due to inclement weather, officials said.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) – UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, called for reflection on ways to bring Israelis and Palestinians back to negotiations, as the U.S. Middle East peace plan has been rejected by the Arab world.

In a briefing to the Security Council, Mladenov noted that, the U.S. proposal, unveiled Jan 28, has been rejected by the Palestinian government, the League of Arab States and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

DAMASCUS, Feb 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russian air strikes killed at least five civilians in the last major opposition bastion in northwestern Syria bringing the death toll to 25 in less than 24 hours, a monitor said.

The early Monday morning raids hit a populous village in Aleppo province where battles between Russia-backed government forces and their opponents have raged for weeks, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The victims include at least one child and a number of internally displaced Syrians, the Britain-based monitor said.