Human Rights

28 Apr 2019; AFP: The European Union warned Saturday that US President Donald Trump's rejection of a UN treaty designed to regulate the global arms trade would hamper the global fight against illicit weapons trafficking.

"A decision by the US to revoke its signature would not contribute to the ongoing efforts to encourage transparency in the international arms trade, to prevent illicit trafficking and to combat the diversion of conventional arms," said the EU's chief diplomat, Federica Mogherini.

Washington, Apr 28 (AFP) Two top Saudi royal advisors have been linked to journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder. One has been labeled the "ringleader" but questions are swirling over the absence of the other in the closed-door trial of 11 suspects, multiple sources told AFP.

Saudi prosecutors have said deputy intelligence chief Ahmed al-Assiri oversaw the Washington Post columnist's killing in the kingdom's Istanbul consulate last October and that he was advised by the royal court's media czar Saud al-Qahtani.

KWA-THEMA, South Africa (AP) — Sporting a lively array of colorful outfits, about 3,500 South Africans attended celebrations on Saturday in Kwa-Thema township, east of Johannesburg, on Freedom Day, the public holiday marking the 25th anniversary of the end of apartheid.

Many wore the bright yellow, green and black colors of the African National Congress, the ruling party of the late Nelson Mandela that played a crucial role in the struggle that ended the brutal system of racial discrimination. Other people wore traditional outfits.

According a report published in The Indian Express; The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) stayed the Election Commission’s move to suspend an officer who, as a poll observer, had searched Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s helicopter in Odisha’s Sambalpur during a campaign rally last week.

UNITED NATIONS, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The rocket and mortar shelling of residential areas in Tripoli "is completely unacceptable by any measure," a UN spokesman said on Friday.

"The United Nations is gravely concerned about the continued reports of indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas in Tripoli," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Dujarric stressed the need to protect civilians and grant immediate, unconditional access for humanitarian partners.

United Nations, Apr 26 (PTI) UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has underscored the need for free press disseminating reliable information to maintain peace and justice, especially during elections as "facts, not falsehoods" should guide the people while choosing their representatives.

Noting that civic space has been shrinking worldwide at an alarming rate, Guterres said that he is "deeply troubled" by the growing number of attacks against journalists and the culture of impunity.

HAVANA, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez on Thursday slammed Washington's newly adopted measures against the island, saying they will "suffocate" the country's economy.

On April 17, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that a 22-year suspension of Title III of the Helms-Burton Act will be lifted on May 2, which allows U.S. citizens to file suits against foreign firms operating property in Cuba since 1959.

SANAA, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Ongoing fighting in Yemen's northwestern border province of Hajjah has resulted in 68,000 internally-displaced families since the beginning of this year, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Yemen (UNOCHA) said on Thursday.

"Between mid-February and mid-March, an estimated 8,400 families were displaced from Kushar District as a result of clashes between Hajour tribesmen and the de-facto authorities (Houthi rebels)," the UN agency said.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — One of the largest annual gatherings of indigenous people in the United States begins Friday in New Mexico, where organizers of the two-day powwow say they want to build awareness around the deaths and disappearances of Native American women.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The federal government has six months to identify potentially thousands of children who were separated from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border early in President Donald Trump’s term, a judge ordered Thursday.

Trump administration officials said they had a goal of six months but opposed any deadline, saying it could take as long as two years to reunite children with their parents if efforts to speed up the process fail.