Human Rights

Guwahati, Feb 7 (PTI) Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Assam, Congress Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi on Sunday said people are being harassed by various agencies for criticising the government, leading to the shrinking of democratic space in the country.

Addressing a press conference here, Gogoi accused the Narendra Modi government of threatening all forms of democractic protests in the country and trying to silence peaceful dissent.

Charkhi Dadri (Har), Feb 7 (PTI) Asserting that the agitation against the Centre's farm laws is a people's movement that will not fail, Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait on Sunday said there will be no "ghar wapsi" till protesting farmers' demands are met.

Tikait lauded the role of "khap panchayats" (caste councils) and their leaders in supporting the farmers' stir.

New Delhi, Feb 8 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday appealed to protesting farmers to end their agitation against the new farm laws even as he questioned opposition parties for their sudden "U-turn" on the agriculture sector reforms.

The prime minister also hit out at those behind the protests, saying a new "breed" of agitators called "andolan jeevi" has emerged in the country who cannot live without an agitation and the nation should guard against them.

Navsari, Feb 8 (PTI) A school teacher was arrested from Gujarat's Valsad town for allegedly raping a 17-year-old Class XI student on the promise of marriage, Navsari police said on Monday.

Statistics teacher Mayur Rana (27) raped the teen girl, a student of a school in Bilimora in Navsari, on several occasions, an official said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is set to announce this week that it will reengage with the much-maligned U.N. Human Rights Council that former President Donald Trump withdrew from almost three years ago, U.S. officials said. The decision reverses another Trump-era move away from multilateral organizations and agreements.

06 Feb 2021; MEMO: The International Criminal Court (ICC) decided on Friday that it has jurisdiction over crimes committed in the Palestinian territories, Anadolu Agency reports.

"Today, Pre-Trial Chamber I of ICC decided, by majority, that the Court's territorial jurisdiction in the Situation in Palestine, a State party to the ICC Rome Statute, extends to the territories occupied by Israel since 1967," ICC said in a statement.

Mathura, Feb 7 (PTI) A Mathura court has issued notices to the Shahi Idgah Masjid management committee and others, seeking their stands on a fresh plea for the removal of a 17th-century mosque from near the birthplace of Lord Krishna in the Katra Keshav Dev temple complex here.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Dev Kant Shukla on Saturday issued notices after admitting the plea, ruling that the suit is "maintainable and hence admissible" for detailed hearing, District Government Counsel (Civil) Sanjai Gaur said.

Delhi; 07 Feb 2021 (UMMN): 4G connectivity in Jammu and Kashmir was restored within hours after the US State Department expressed concern over the Indian government denying access to the internet to its own citizens.

"4G mobile internet services being restored in entire J&K," tweeted Jammu and Kashmir administration spokesperson Rohit Kansal.

06 Feb 2021; MEMO: Uyghur Turks who have not heard from their families living in East Turkistan staged a protest on Friday outside the Chinese Embassy in Turkey, Anadolu Agency reports.

They held banners saying: "Where is my family?" and "Release my family".

The spokesman for the group, Mirzehmet Ilyasoglu, called on the world to raise voice against those crimes against humanity.

06 Feb 2021; MEMO: The US Senate has voted at dawn on Friday in favour of keeping the US embassy in Jerusalem.

Senator Bill Hagerty disclosed in a written statement that the Senate voted 97-3 to pass a bill presented by his Republican colleague Jim Inhofe.