Human Rights

UNITED NATIONS, May 15 (APP): Escalating religious-based violence in the North Western Province of Sri Lanka have prompted two senior United Nations officials to call for an end to “hateful attacks” directed towards the country’s Muslim minority.

In retaliation for the deadly violence on Easter Sunday, against Christians churches and upscale hotels in various parts of the country that left more than 200 people dead and hundreds of others injured, revenge attacks reportedly took place against mosques and Muslims’ homes on Monday.

15 May 2019; MEMO: Israeli occupation forces yesterday demolished the Arab village of Al-Araqeeb in the Negevand displaced its residents for the 144th times, Arab48 reported.

Witnesses from the village said Israeli bulldozers, protected by a large number of heavily armed Israeli police officers, stormed the village and destroyed the homes of Arab residents, including the elderly, women and children; leaving them homeless once again.

15 May 2019; AA: The head of Turkey’s religious authority strongly condemned on Tuesday a recent arson attack on a mosque in the U.S.

"I strongly condemn such provocative acts that will hurt all Muslims and disrupt the world peace," Ali Erbas, head of the Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet), said on Twitter.

SEOUL, May 15 (Xinhua): A South Korean taxi driver burned himself to death early Wednesday in what was believed to be a protest against the introduction of mobile carpooling services, according to local media reports.

The 76-year-old driver, identified by his surname Ahn, set fire on himself at around 3:19 a.m. local time on the sidewalk near the Seoul Plaza in central Seoul.

He was found by a passer-by and taken to a nearby hospital, but the taxi driver passed away.

15 May 2019; AFP: Coalition forces in Iraq and Syria sent conflicting signals Tuesday over Iran's alleged threat, with a British general appearing to take issue with Washington's alarms over an imminent danger posed by Tehran to the US and its allies.

15 May 2019; AFP: Chinese President Xi Jinping declared Wednesday there was "no clash" of civilisations and denounced racial supremacy as "stupid" amid tensions with the United States and concerns over Beijing's rising global power.

His remarks came after a top-level US official last month described the rivalry between China and the US as "a fight with a really different civilisation and a different ideology".

15 May 2019; DW: Angela Merkel celebrated 70 years since the signing of the German Basic Law with a speech before young immigrants taking part in an integration program. She said Germany had learned it was a country of immigration.

Chancellor Angela Merkel joined dozens of young people of immigrant background in Berlin on Tuesday to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Germany's Basic Law, or constitution.

Tehran, May 14 (AFP/PTI) Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has pledged the Islamic republic is "too great to be intimidated by anyone" in a late night meeting with clerics.

"God willing we will pass this difficult period with glory and our heads held high, and defeat the enemy," Rouhani said late Monday as he met Sunni clerics to mark the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, the official government website dolat.ir said.

He was speaking after four ships, including two Saudi oil tankers, were reportedly attacked off the UAE coast on Sunday, in a sign of mounting regional tensions.

Muzaffarnagar (UP), May 15 (PTI) A right to information activist has been shot at by four unidentified men in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district, police said on Wednesday.

Krishanpal had gone to the fields at Dhindhwali village on Tuesday evening when the four miscreants opened fire at him. The 35-year-old was rushed to a hospital in a serious condition, Superintendent of Police (City) Satpal Antil said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Several activists ignored a trespassing warning and remained holed up in Venezuela’s embassy in the United States on Tuesday, highlighting a dispute over who is the legitimate leader of the South American nation.

The activists, who consider socialist Nicolás Maduro to be the legitimate president, have protested inside the embassy in Washington for more than a month, sometimes chanting slogans from the windows of the red-brick building as opposition supporters heckle them from the street.