Human Rights

Moresby, Jun 17 (AFP/PTI) Papua New Guinea will not renew a contract with an Australian company providing security at Pacific refugee camps, a senior minister has told AFP, in another setback for the deeply controversial policy.

Singapore-registered Paladin Holdings provides security and other services at three "transition centres" for refugees being held on Papua New Guinea's remote Manus Island after trying to get to Australia.

Muzaffarpur, Jun 16 (PTI) Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Sunday visited the families of the children suffering from suspected acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) even as the death toll rose to 93 in the district.

Vardhan, his deputy Ashwini Kumar Choubey and Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey visited the SKMCH.

"I assure the people of the area, especially the affected families, that the government will extend all possible help and measures to the state government," the Union health minister told reporters here.

16 June 2019; IRNA: Addressing Majlis on Sunday, Ali Larijani said it seems that attacks on oil tankers happened due to the fact that they got nothing from their harsh sanctions.

Citing a US historical record, Larijani said that during the World War US used to attack its own ships near Japan to provide pretexts for bombing Japan.

16 June 2019; MEMO: Turkey rejects ‘fait accompli’ in Jerusalem, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said today, as reported on Anadolu Agency.

“We reject efforts to create new fait accompli in Jerusalem,” Erdogan told at the 5th Summit of Heads of State of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe.

Erdogan said Turkey has an active stance on Palestine issue.

16 June 2019; DW: Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini on Saturday gave permission for 10 migrants to leave the German Sea-Watch 3 rescue ship.

Among the 10 were two pregnant women, three minors and two sick men. The group was allowed to disembark on the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, which lies between the Italian mainland and the North African coast.

15 June 2019; MEMO: American medical team succeeded in removing a bullet from head of 7-month-old Palestinian infant who was shot by Israeli fire while in the lap of her mother, Al-Wattan Voice reported on Friday.

In a statement, the Palestinian ministry of health in Ramallah said that the American medical team ended a three-week ordeal of the baby girl who was in an intensive care unit since she was shot.

This year, London will once again host the world’s biggest exhibition on Palestine, bringing together culture, history, entertainment and exhibitions.

Organised by the British NGO Friends of Al-Aqsa (FOA), Palestine Expo aims to bring awareness to the Palestinian cause during the two-day event which is being held in the iconic Olympia Exhibition Centre.

15 June 2019; MEMO: Belgian State Council decided on Friday to suspend the licenses of arms exports to Saudi Arabia fearing their use against civilians in Yemen, media sources reported.

In recent months Belgium’s Foreign Minister Didier Reynders has been a vocal advocate against arms sales to the kingdom because of its human rights violations in Yemen.

15 June 2019; MEMO: Fatah’s Revolutionary Council headed by Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas announced on Friday its absolute rejection of the US sponsored deal of the century.

In a statement issued after three days of meetings, the Council said: “Donald Trump’s administration is no longer qualified to play a positive role in the implementation of the international legitimacy and international resolutions related to the Palestinian cause.”

15 June 2019; AFP: Mediterranean countries say they have taken a key step towards finding out the fate of thousands of migrants -- many fleeing Syria's war -- who have gone missing while trying to reach Europe.

At a meeting of the International Commission for Missing Persons in The Hague this week, Cyprus, Greece and Malta pledged to coordinate and beef up their efforts to trace nearly 18,500 migrants who have disappeared since 2014 while making the perilous journey across the Mediterranean.