Human Rights

HAVANA, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel warned again on Saturday that the U.S. government continues to seek an opportunity to launch a military strike against Venezuela.

"The U.S. continues its perverse zeal to fabricate false pretexts to justify intervention and aggression against Venezuela," the president tweeted.

"Let's raise our voices" against the plan, he said.

Srinagar, Mar 2; PTI/GANASHAKTI: Authorities in Kashmir have sealed several properties belonging to Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), including residences of some of its activists, police said Saturday, days after the Centre banned the outfit on grounds that it was "in close touch" with militant groups and was likely to "escalate secessionist movement".

Several properties, including residential houses, belonging to various JeI leaders and activists were sealed in many areas of the city and elsewhere in the Valley Friday night, a police official said.

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — There is insufficient evidence to pursue federal civil rights charges against a white former Tulsa police officer who shot and killed an unarmed black man, the Department of Justice said Friday.

U.S. Attorney Trent Shores announced the closure of the investigation into whether Betty Shelby willfully used unreasonable force against Terence Crutcher when she shot and killed him in September 2016.

01 Mar 2019; DW: The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) reported that the toxic chemical used in Douma, was likely molecular chlorine.

Despite being given the power to assign blame by its member states last June, the OPCW investigation did not do so for the Douma attack, as it was not part of the mandate for the team investigating the April attack.

01 Mar 2019; DW: The Canadian government has allowed for the extradition process of Huawei's chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou to proceed, Canada's Department of Justice said on Friday.

She was arrested in Vancouver last December and has been living in one of her two mansions under house arrest. The United States has requested the extradition of Meng, who has been charged, along with Huawei, with stealing trade secrets and technology and conspiring to violate US sanctions in Iran.

UNITED NATIONS, March 1 (Xinhua) -- More than two million boys and girls are currently out of school in Syria, people's resources are depleting, and more than eight in ten people live below the poverty line, the UN Humanitarian Needs Overview for Syria said on Friday.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told reporters at a regular briefing that the 2019 overview is a reminder that the crisis is far from over for millions of people in Syria who have lived through eight years of war.

MOSCOW, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Russia is concerned about possible U.S. military intervention in Venezuela and hopes its plans will fail amid international opposition, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday.

Srinagar, Mar 1; PTI: Three security personnel were killed on Friday in an encounter with separatist militants in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Babagund area of Kupwara following information about presence of separatist militants there, the officials said.

During the searches, the militants opened fire on the security forces, who retaliated.

New Delhi, Mar 1 (PTI) Over 200 artistes across cultural disciplines will come together over the weekend to "resist the politics of hate" and to "stand up for democracy" in a first of its kind festival of the arts being held under the banner "Artistes Unite".

There will be music, dance, poetry, theatre, cinema and more at the two-day festival, which will held against the historic backdrop of the Red Fort in the 15 August Park.

01 Mar 2019; AFP: Bangladesh told the UN Security Council on Thursday that it will no longer be able to take in refugees from Myanmar.

Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque told a council meeting that the crisis over the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya sheltering in his country had gone from "bad to worse" and urged the council to take "decisive" action.