Human Rights

05 Aug 2020; MEMO: Libya’s Toubou tribes yesterday filed a lawsuit at the International Criminal Court (ICC) against renegade General Khalifa Haftar over last year’s massacre in the city of Murzuq.

In a statement, tribal leader Issa Abdel-Majid Mansour said the lawsuit seeks to “punish criminals and terrorists who committed the massacre of bombing a residential neighbourhood in the city of Murzuq”.

04 Aug 2020; MEMO: The Turkish Foreign Ministry yesterday condemned an oil agreement concluded between an US-based company and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on the development of oil fields in northeastern Syria, Anadolu reported.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the deal “ignores international law”, adding that Kurds have clearly demonstrated their ambition to secede from Syria by seizing the natural resources of its people.

Israel launched air strikes on Syrian military targets in southern Syria late yesterday, after thwarting an attack near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Reuters reported.

04 Aug 2020; MEMO: According to the state-run news agency Sana, Israeli helicopters fired rockets at Syrian army positions near Quneitra in the south but caused only material damage.

It also said air defences had gone into action near the Syrian capital.

New Delhi, Aug 3 (PTI) The expression of opinion, however outspoken, disagreeable or unpalatable to some , cannot constitute contempt of court, activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan said on Monday in his reply to a show cause notice issued by the Supreme Court.

The top court on July 22 issued notice to Bhushan for hearing on August 5 the criminal contempt proceedings initiated against him for his two alleged derogatory tweets against the judiciary, observing his statements prima facie brought the administration of justice in disrepute .

BEIJING, Aug 3 (APP): The scars of last summer remain in Soura, an enclave that became a symbol of Kashmir’s resistance to India’s central government a year ago on Wednesday.

Coils of concertina wire, remnants of makeshift road blocks, lie close to the broken tar of roads dug up to keep the security forces of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi out of this area of 15,000 people in Kashmir’s main city of Srinagar, China Global Television Network (CGTN) reported on Monday.

Srinagar, Aug 3 (PTI) Restrictions were imposed in the Kashmir valley on Monday, with officials saying that the curbs have been enforced as part of efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19.

The restrictions come two days ahead of the first anniversary of the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status.

No movement of people, except essential services and medical emergencies, was being allowed, the officials said.

(AP) --- The Portland Police Bureau declared an unlawful assembly Saturday night when people gathered outside a police precinct in Oregon’s largest city and threw bottles toward officers, police said.

Until that point, federal, state and local law enforcement had been seemingly absent from the protests Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The demonstrations - that for weeks ended with tear gas, fireworks shot towards buildings, federal agents on the street and injuries to protesters and officers - have recently ended with chanting and conversations.

02 Aug 2020; MEMO: Lebanon is prepared to defend itself against Israel’s attacks, which are in violation of the 2006 UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution, Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Saturday.

In a televised address, the president said Israel’s attacks in southern Lebanon had once again flouted UNSC Resolution 1701, which calls for full cessation of hostilities and Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

DAMASCUS, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian Foreign Ministry on Sunday condemned a deal signed recently between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and a U.S. oil company to modernize the oil industry in areas controlled by the U.S.-backed SDF in northeastern Syria, the state news agency SANA reported.

New Delhi, Aug 2 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday demanded the release of former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, saying India's democracy is damaged when the government illegally detains political leaders.

The Peoples Democratic Party leader has been in detention under the Public Safety Act (PSA) since Jammu and Kashmir's special status under Article 370 was revoked in August last year and the state was bifurcated into the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.