Human Rights

New Delhi, Jan 20 (PTI) An alleged rape victim and her husband, who have temporarily shifted here from Jammu and Kashmir apprehending threat to their lives, have been given protection by the Delhi High Court.

The high court was informed by the couple that personal circumstances forced them to leave their native place and made serious allegations against some police officials and political workers.

CHICAGO (AP) — Activists and others who were disappointed by the outcome of two historic cases involving the killing of black teenager Laquan McDonald by a white Chicago police officer see a way forward — by turning tragedy into political power.

A judge on Friday sentenced former Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke to less than seven years in prison for McDonald’s 2014 death.

DAMASCUS, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian air defenses intercepted a fresh Israeli missile strike targeting the areas in southern Syria on Sunday, state news agency SANA reported.

The Israeli strike targeted areas in the surroundings of the capital Damascus in southern Syria, said the report.

It added that all Israeli missiles were destroyed before reaching their targets.

It is the latest in a string of Israeli missile strikes targeting military bases in Syria.

Last week, Israel carried out missile strikes on military bases around the capital Damascus.

GENEVA, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- The UN refugee agency UNHCR on Saturday evening issued a press statement saying that according to emerging reports, an estimated 170 people had either died or gone missing in two latest shipwrecks on the Mediterranean Sea.

UNHCR cited "recent information from NGO sources" as saying that some 53 people have died on the Alboran Sea, western Mediterranean, but it did not mention the exact time of the accident.

Johannesburg, Jan 19 : The US military on Saturday said it had carried out its deadliest airstrike in Somalia in months, killing 52 al-Shabab extremists after a "large group" mounted an attack on Somali forces.

The US Africa Command said the airstrike occurred near Jilib in Middle Juba region. There were no reports of Americans killed or wounded.

New York, Jan 20 : A Sikh man has been brutally assaulted in an alleged hate crime by a white man who pulled his beard, kicked and punched him in the face at a store in the US, the latest such incident in the country.

Harwinder Singh Dodd, who was working at a convenience store in the US State of Oregon, was racially targeted on Monday by a 24-year-old Andrew Ramsey.

Ramsey targeted Dodd because of his perception of the employee's religion, FOX 12 TV news reported, citing a court document.

New Delhi, Jan 19 (PTI) A court here questioned the Delhi police on Saturday for filing a chargesheet against former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union president Kanhaiya Kumar and others in a 2016 sedition case without procuring requisite sanctions.

Metropolitan Magistrate Deepak Sherawat granted police time till February 6 to procure requisite sanctions after they told the court they will get the approvals within 10 days.

"Why did you file (the chargesheet) without approval? You don't have a legal department," the court said.

Lahore, Jan 20 (PTI) The killing of four people, including a man, his wife and their teenage daughter, in what Pakistan's Punjab police called a shootout with "terrorists" has triggered a public outcry and the victims' family held a protest against the "staged" encounter.

The family was travelling in a car when the alleged encounter which the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) officials later termed an 'intelligence-based operation' took place on a highway in Sahiwal, about 200 kms from Lahore, on Saturday.

Washington, Jan 20 (PTI) US President Donald Trump has launched a new plan to end a government shutdown, which has been ongoing for nearly a month, by offering protection from deportations for some undocumented immigrants in exchange for USD 5.7 billion for constructing a wall on the US-Mexico border.

The Democrats, however, rejected the deal as a "non-starter" and called on Trump to open the government before negotiations on immigration could start.

Kolkata, Jan 19 (PTI) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday called upon people to defeat the "dangerous" BJP government at the Centre at any cost.

Stating that the country was at the crossroads of a serious crisis, he said there is need for immediate change of the Modi government to save the country and democracy.