Human Rights

Nanded (Maha), Jul 15 (PTI) Thanks to price hikes, liquor has become cheaper than petrol and diesel in the country, Congress leader and Maharashtra PWD minister Ashok Chavan said here on Thursday.

The former chief minister led a protest march against rising prices from Old Mondha area to the district collector's office.

New Delhi, Jul 15 (PTI) Former Union minister Arun Shourie on Thursday moved the Supreme Court to have the sedition law declared unconstitutional, arguing that it is "heavily abused" and cases are being filed against citizens for "exercising their freedom of speech and expression".

Guwahati, Jul 15 (PTI) The Congress in Assam on Thursday urged Governor Jagadish Mukhi to institute a judicial inquiry into the series of encounters that have taken place in the states for the last two months since Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma assumed office.

In a party memorandum submitted to the Governor, state Congress chief Ripun Bora alleged that human rights in Assam have been constantly violated during these two months since the BJP government came to power for the second consecutive term.

New Delhi, Jul 15 (PTI) A lawyer has moved the Delhi High Court challenging the new Information Technology (IT) Rules for allegedly being in gross disregard of the fundamental rights of free speech and privacy of users of social media intermediaries such as WhatsApp, Instagram and Twitter.

In his petition that is likely to be listed on July 21, advocate Uday Bedi has contended that the new IT rules are unconstitutional and antithetical to the fundamental principles of democracy.

Amethi (UP) Jul 16 (PTI) A 16-year-old girl was allegedly abducted and raped for five days by a youth here, police said on Friday.

According to the family of the girl, she had gone to fill water from a hand pump near her house on July 9 when the youth abducted her and raped her, they said.

The girl managed to escape from the clutches of the youth after five days and informed her family about the matter, he said.

A case has been registered under the POCSO Act and the girl has been sent for medical examination.

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Authorities in Indian-controlled Kashmir have banned the sacrifice of animals during the upcoming Islamic Eid al-Adha holiday, in a ruling that is likely to further stoke anti-India anger in the disputed Muslim-majority region.

An order issued on Thursday said the “illegal killing/sacrifices of cows/calves, camels & other animals” must be stopped, citing animal welfare laws.

15 July 2021; MEMO: The US announced on Wednesday that it would allow Iran to use frozen funds to pay off its debts to South Korea and Japan.

The move comes in light of the ongoing talks to save the 2015 international nuclear agreement, which has lifted long-imposed US sanctions on Tehran.

15 July 2021; MEMO: The Palestinian affairs specialist for BBC Monitoring, Tala Halawa, was fired last month over a tweet criticising the Israeli offensive on Gaza in 2014, three years before being hired by the British news outlet.

15 July 2021; MEMO: Israeli forces demolished 11 Palestinian-owned homes this morning in the Bedouin village of Al-Qabbun, to the northeast of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, reported Wafa news agency.

The locals said large Israeli military forces raided the village with lorries and bulldozers.

Local activist, Fares Ka'abneh, told Wafa that the Israeli occupation forces also seized tractors, water tankers and solar power units.

NEW DELHI (AP) — It began in February with a tweet by pop star Rihanna that sparked widespread condemnation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s handling of massive farmer protests near the capital, souring an already troubled relationship between the government and Twitter.

Moving to contain the backlash, officials hit Twitter with multiple injunctions to block hundreds of tweets critical of the government. Twitter complied with some and resisted others.

Relations between Twitter and Modi’s government have gone downhill ever since.