Human Rights

5 Feb 2019; DW: The Bundeswehr (Germany’s Federal Defence) provides Catholic and Protestant clergy for soldiers, but no spiritual counsel for Muslims. According to the government, key questions must be answered before the Bundeswehr's religious ranks are expanded.

Nariman Reinke, a naval petty officer, is one of about 1,500 Muslim soldiers who serve in the Bundeswehr.

JERUSALEM; 05 Feb 2019; AA: Israeli forces rounded up 25 Palestinians in overnight raids carried out across the occupied West Bank, according to the Israeli military on Tuesday.

The individuals were arrested for “suspected involvement in popular terrorist activities”, the army said in a statement, without elaborating on the nature of these activities.

CARACAS, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Venezuela's foreign ministry rejected on Monday several European countries' decision to recognize opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president.

Those countries "are officially adopting the strategy of the U.S. administration to overthrow the legitimate government of President Nicolas Maduro," the Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement.

Such a decision "is in open violation of the principles and practices that govern diplomatic ties, setting a dangerous precedent for peaceful coexistence between nations," said the ministry.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- UN agencies and their humanitarian partners need to increase aid to Nigerian refugees in neighboring Cameroon, Stephane Dujarric, the chief UN spokesman said on Monday.

"The response needs to be scaled up significantly to cope with the influx of people, with many refugees reluctant to return to Nigeria's Rann area or any other camp in Ngala without assurances of their safety and security," he said.

New Delhi, February 4; GANASHAKTI: "While the illegal arrest of Professor Anand Teltumbde by the Maharashtra Police in defiance of the Supreme Court has been set aside for the time being, the fact that it occurred at all points to the break-down of rule of law within a government agency whose duty it is to uphold the law.

Mumbai, Feb 4 (PTI) Dalit scholar and rights activist Anand Teltumbde, who was briefly arrested by the Pune police last week in the Elgaar Parishad case, Monday said the "Urban Maoist" was a bogey that was being raised to "silence" those who raise their voice against policies of the government.

Teltumbde, who teaches at the Goa Institute of Management, was arrested by Pune police Saturday at the Mumbai airport, despite the supreme court having granted him time till February 11 to seek anticipatory bail.

04 Feb 2019; DW: Israel on Sunday said it had started to build a new barrier along its border with the Gaza Strip, according to the Defense Ministry.

The ministry said in a statement that the above-ground barrier — 65 kilometers long and six meters high — would work in conjunction with an underground wall also under construction, to neutralize the possibility of cross-border tunnels built by Hamas militants.

ANKARA; 03 Feb 2019; AA: The Free Rohingya Coalition (FRC) will host an international conference at Barnard College, Columbia University in New York City on Feb. 8 and 9.

The two-day conference, with the participation of world renowned scholars, UN envoys, activists and refugees, will call for accountability and protection for national minorities in Burma, also known as Myanmar, the FRC said in a statement on Friday.

New Delhi, Feb 3 (PTI) A new book pieces together stories of people at the receiving end of mob violence and seeks to find out what triggers lynchers to flout laws with impunity.

In recent years, cases of mob lynching have increased to an alarming extent and the emergence of mobocracy has put India's secularity and democratic constitution to test, says Ziya Us Salam in his book "Lynch Files: The Forgotten Saga of Victims of Hate Crime".

He says the mob giving out instant justice is not the way our Constitution makers had planned.

Palghar (Maha), Feb 2 (PTI) Two persons were Saturday arrested in Maharashtra's Palghar district for illegal transportation of 1200 kg red meat, suspected to be that of bulls, police said.

The arrests were made in Mokhada village at around 2 AM, following a tip-off by a Bajrang Dal functionary, an official release stated.

Police have impounded the vehicle carrying the meat, whose value has been estimated to be Rs 1.44 lakh.