Human Rights

Chennai, June 11 (PTI) The Madras High Court Tuesday dismissed the bail petition of a male nurse arrested in connection with a racket allegedly involved in sale of newborns from a government hospital in Namakkal district of Tamil Nadu.

Justice G K Ilanthiraiyan held that the petitioner was charged with a serious offence and the investigation was in the initial stage.

He said the prosecution case was that petitioner Arulsamy, along with the other accused, working as nurses in the government hospital were allegedly involved in sale of newborns.

Srinagar, June 12: A Kashmiri has been killed in an alleged encounter with Indian security forces in Sopore area of Baramulla district in Indian administered Kashmir, an Indian official said.

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

11 June 2019; MEMO: Israel has forced 30 fundraising accounts associated with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement to close in the past two years.

11 June 2019; DW: After several years in decline, the number of first-time asylum applications lodged in European Union countries is growing again, according to the European Asylum Support Office (EASO).

While first-time applications from Syrians — the largest nationality represented — were down 8% from 2018 to 20,392, Venezuela came in second, with 14,257 citizens seeking asylum in the European Union.

New Delhi, Jun 10; PTI/GANASHAKTI: A group of journalists and activists held a protest here on Monday over the arrest of scribe Prashant Kanojia and the editor and the head of a Noida-based TV channel by the Uttar Pradesh police, alleging that it is an attack on the freedom of expression.

They demanded the immediate release of Kanojia, Ishita Singh, who is the editor of Noida-based TV channel Nation Live, and its head Anuj Shukla, who have faced police action over release of alleged objectionable content against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

New Delhi, Jun 10; PTI/GANASHAKTI: CPI(M) general-secretary Sitaram Yechury said the party will mobilise the Opposition to ensure that election commissioners are appointed by a collegium-led by the President rather than by the government.

He said the recent Lok Sabha elections underlined the need for far reaching electoral reforms, adding the Election  Commission could not implement its assurance to conduct "free and fair polls".

New Delhi, June 11 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to journalist Prashant Kanojia who was arrested for allegedly making objectionable comments against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on social media.

A vacation bench, comprising Justices Indira Banerjee and Ajay Rastogi, said Right to Liberty, a fundamental right, is non-negotiable as it granted bail.

However, the bench said granting bail does not mean that it approves of the journalist's tweets or posts on social media.

Srinagar, June 11: Two Kashmiri have been killed in an alleged encounter with Indian security forces in Shopian district of Indian administered Kashmir, Indian police said.

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

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico and its largest city sued the Trump administration Monday in a first-of-its-kind lawsuit from a state seeking to stem the quick release of asylum seeking migrants into local communities and claim reimbursement for humanitarian efforts to shelter migrants temporarily.

Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham cited a “derogation of duty” in announcing the lawsuit against acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan and top federal immigration officials, with Albuquerque listed as co-plaintiff.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A human rights group said Tuesday it has identified hundreds of spots where witnesses claim North Korea carried out public executions and extrajudicial state killings as part of an arbitrary and aggressive use of the death penalty that is meant to intimidate its citizens.

The Seoul-based Transitional Justice Working Group said its research was based on interviews with 610 North Korean defectors conducted over four years who helped locate the sites with satellite imagery.