Human Rights

New Delhi, Dec 12 (PTI) As farmers vowed to expand their protests over new farm laws, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday assured them that his government was committed to their welfare and that the legislations were aimed at giving them alternate markets to boost income.

Without directly referring to the farmers' agitation, which entered the 17th day on Saturday, Modi said agriculture reforms as part of government efforts are aimed at removing roadblocks, and the new laws will also bring in technology and investment in the sector.

11 Dec 2020; MEMO:  The Turkish Coast Guard on Thursday rescued at least 17 asylum seekers off the northwestern Canakkale province after they were pushed back to Turkish territorial waters by Greece, a security source said, Anadolu Agency reported.

11 Dec 2020; MEMO:  Israel and Morocco have today agreed to normalise relations in a deal brokered with the help of US President Donald Trump.

As part of the agreement, Trump agreed to recognise Morocco's sovereignty over the Western Sahara, where there has been a decades-old territorial dispute with Morocco pitted against the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, a breakaway movement that seeks to establish an independent state in the territory, Reuters reported.

New Delhi, Dec 10 (PTI) Farmer leaders on Thursday insisted that their ongoing protest against the Centre's new farm laws is "apolitical", after photos of protestors at the Tikri Border went viral in which they were seen holding posters demanding the release of writers, intellectuals and rationalists on the Human Rights Day.

Human Rights Day was observed on Thursday.

10 Dec 2020; MEMO:  Amnesty International accused Airbnb of acting in bad faith towards investors ahead of its stock market debut on Thursday by failing to inform them of its politically sensitive business activities in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, Reuters reports.

Airbnb did not provide comment on Amnesty's charge. A company spokesman referred Reuters to a statement it made in 2019 saying it would not take profits from its listings in the West Bank.

10 Dec 2020; MEMO:  US federal judge Paul Engelmayer on Tuesday ordered the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to surrender a report on the killing of prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi as well as a video of his assassination, after rejecting the decision to keep this information confidential, reported Bloomberg.

10 Dec 2020; MEMO:  In a vote held on Monday, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) called on Israel to "renounce possession of nuclear weapons," news agencies reported.

A resolution entitled "The Risk of Nuclear Proliferation in the Middle East" had 153 supporting votes against only 6 who did not support it, with 25 abstentions. The US, Israel's ally, was among the six countries that did not vote for the resolution.

10 Dec 2020; MEMO:  Iranian officials have accused the United States of thwarting its efforts to purchase the coronavirus vaccine, Bloomberg reported yesterday.

The agency said Tehran hoped to use the billions of US dollars held in South Korean won currency to purchase the vaccines under an agreement it had reached with Seoul a few months ago.

United Nations, Dec 10 (PTI) More than 80 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide as of mid-2020, with existing and new conflicts as well as the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically affecting their lives this year, a UN report has said.

According to its report on trends in global forced displacement released on Wednesday in Geneva, The UN Refugee Agency UNHCR estimates that global forced displacement surpassed 80 million at mid-year.

Bangaon (WB), Dec 9 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday asserted that her government will not allow implementation of National Register of Citizens (NRC) or National Population Register (NPR) in the state.

Maintaining that all the residents of the state are citizens of the country and no one can change that, Banerjee accused the BJP of trying to play divisive politics using the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).