Human Rights

25 June 2019; MEMO: The British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES) has endorsed the Palestinian call for a boycott of Israeli academic institutions, in a vote taken at its AGM in Bristol on Monday.

According to reports on social media, the resolution supporting the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) campaign was easily passed, with almost 80 percent support (final numbers to be confirmed).

25 June 2019; DW: Several US billionaires have urged candidates running in the 2020 US presidential election to raise taxes on the wealthiest of the wealthy.

25 June 2019; DW: United Nations special rapporteur Yanghee Lee warned that Myanmar's military could be committing rights abuses under the cover of a mobile internet ban in Rakhine and Chin states.

Thousands of troop reinforcements have been deployed to the western region, where ethnic rebels are waging an insurgency for more state autonomy.  

The internet blackout began on June 21 when the government ordered mobile providers to cut data services to nine townships.

New Delhi, Jun 24 (PTI) Former prime minister Manmohan Singh said on Monday rising inequality was a concern and the country cannot allow extreme poverty or economic disparity as it is a welfare state.

Speaking at the release of a social development report titled 'Rising Inequalities in India, 2018', Singh said some regions and social groups were extremely poor and vulnerable despite various anti-poverty programmes and affirmative policies being followed.

Muzaffarnagar, Jun 25 (PTI) A 36-year-old married woman was allegedly killed for dowry at Simbhalka village under Shamli district, police said on Tuesday.

Sumita, wife of Krishan Kumar, was strangled to death on Monday and her body was thrown on the roadside, they said.

A case was registered against the victim's in-laws including her husband who is absconding, the police said, adding that the body has been sent for postmortem.

24 June 2019; MEMO: According to documents released by the White House, the economic aspect of Donald Trump’s peace plan between Palestine and Israel includes granting $9 billion to Egypt, half of which is in the form of soft loans.

The documents revealed that $50 billion will be dedicated to the economic part of the deal of the century, which will be invested in the revival of the Palestinian territories, as well as Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt.

24 June 2019; DW: The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) said it went to court on Monday to challenge a raid conducted earlier this month by Australian Federal Police.

The ABC demanded an injunction to prevent police from accessing seized files relating to a 2017 investigative report — based on hundreds of pages of leaked secret military documents — about possible war crimes committed by Australian special forces in Afghanistan.

Patna, June 24; IANS/GANASHAKTI: A Bihar court on Monday ordered an investigation against Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey on charges of negligence that killed nearly 150 children due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) in Muzaffarpur district over the past fortnight.

The Chief Judicial Magistrate's (CJM) Suryakant Tiwari ordered the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ADJM) to investigate the charges based on a case filed by social activist Tamanna Hashmi.

Seraikela-Kharsawan (J'khand), Jun 24 (PTI) A 24-year-old man, who was brutally beaten up here last week on suspicion of being a thief, has died, police said Monday.

The incident took place on June 18 when Tabrez Ansari was returning along with his two friends from Jamshedpur, around 30 km from here, in neighbouring East Singhbhum district.

Some villagers caught them and accused them of stealing a motorcycle at Dhatkidih village in Seraikela-Kharsawan district, police said.

Shopian, Jun 24: 4 Kashmiris have been killed in an alleged gun battle with Indian security forces in Shopian district of Indian administered Kashmir on Sunday, Indian Army said.

The Indian security forces' spokesman alleged that a cordon and search operation in Daramdora area of Shopian was conducted following information about presence of Kashmiri separatists.