Human Rights

21 Feb 2019; DW: An Afghan migrant in Germany is willing to pay a fine imposed on activist Elin Ersson. The Swedish activist was charged with violating aviation law after keeping a plane from departing with an Afghan deportee on board.

22 Feb 2019; DW: Last year saw a 35 percent rise in the number of people deported to the Maghreb states of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, the Rheinische Post reported on Friday, citing the German Interior Ministry.

Germany deported a total of 1,873 rejected asylum-seekers to the northern African countries last year, compared to 1,389 in 2017.

The number of deportations to the region last year was nearly 14 times higher than in 2015, the paper reported.

Srinagar, Feb 21 (PTI) Accusing the BJP of "polarizing the country to hide its failures , National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah Thursday said it was time to forge unity and give a befitting reply to those who were "hell bent to destroy our social fabric .

CARACAS, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The United States is blocking Venezuelan state funds to be used on treating children with cancer or kidney problems due to its economic and financial sanctions, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said on Thursday.

The U.S. government denied a request from Venezuela to access funding for medical treatments, which were normally channeled via state oil firm PDVSA and its U.S.-based subsidiary Citgo, said Rodriguez.

ANKARA, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump discussed the U.S. withdrawal from Syria over phone late on Thursday, Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Erdogan and Trump discussed the latest developments in Syria and emphasized the importance of supporting a political resolution to the conflict, Anadolu said.

During the call, the two presidents also reiterated joint commitment to fighting terrorism and raising bilateral trade to 75 billion U.S. dollars.

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — A Muslim civil rights group called for a congressional investigation Wednesday after its lawsuit revealed that the U.S. government has shared access to parts of its terrorist watchlist with more than 1,400 private entities, including hospitals and universities.

HOUSTON (AP) — Months after the Trump administration announced an end to its widescale separation of migrant parents and children, the policy remains a heated issue in the courts and at the border as critics contend the government is still needlessly breaking up immigrant families.

The Texas Civil Rights Project released a report Thursday that counts 272 separations at a single Texas courthouse since June, when President Donald Trump issued an executive order ending widespread separations amid public outrage.

Kolkata, Feb 20; PTI/GANASHAKTI: A teenaged girl from Kolkata was trolled and allegedly threatened with rape on Facebook for a post on the plight of Kashmiris in the wake of the Pulwama attack, she said Wednesday.

In her February 15 post, the Class 12 girl condemned the deadly terror strike in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 40 CRPF jawans, while highlighting the daily hardships of Kashmiris.

She said some people asked her to leave the country and go to Pakistan in reply to her post, and others threatened rape and dire consequences.

New Delhi, Feb 21 (PTI) The Supreme Court has agreed to hear on Friday a PIL seeking a direction to authorities to protect Kashmiri students who are allegedly being attacked across the country in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror strike.

A bench, comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices L N Rao and Sanjiv Khanna, on Thursday took note of senior advocate Colin Gonsalves' submission that the plea needed to be heard urgently as it relates to the safety and security of students.

New Delhi, Feb 20 (PTI) Two Kashmiri shawl vendors have claimed they were beaten up and called "stone pelters" by unidentified men on a train, forcing them to cut short their business trip to Rohtak, officials said Wednesday.

The incident comes amid reports of some Kashmiri people claiming they were being targeted in many parts of the country in the aftermath of the February 14 attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama that left over 40 personnel dead.