Human Rights

22 July 2020; MEMO: American singer, songwriter and actress Madonna expressed solidarity with Palestine over the weekend in a series of Instagram posts protesting against the removal of the occupied Palestinian territories from Google maps, social media users have said.

24 July 2020; MEMO: Omani sites and forums have reported news of an amnesty issued by Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq Al-Said for a number of political oppositionists residing in London and other Western capitals.

Sources indicated that the Sultanate’s embassy in the UK is making arrangements to ensure the oppositionists’ return to their countries, and to help them start a new life in Oman.

24 July 2020; MEMO: The head of the Islamic Movement’s Northern Branch in Israel, Sheikh Raed Salah, yesterday warned of calls by Jewish extremists to storm Al- Aqsa Mosque in the coming days to perform Talmudic rituals in its yards.

Sheikh Salah called on Palestinians in Jerusalem and inside Israel to defend Al-Aqsa and resume worship in it to counter the extremists’ calls.

24 July 2020; MEMO: On Thursday, the Israeli authorities released Hassan Yousef, a prominent leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, from the city of Ramallah, after a year and a half of administrative detention without charge.

Witnesses told Anadolu Agency that the Israeli authorities released Yousef at the Ofer Security Checkpoint near Ramallah.

24 July 2020; MEMO: The Syrian regime of President Bashar Al-Assad has imposed a fee of $100 on anyone travelling out of the country to be tested for Covid-19. The charge is intended to boost the regime’s acquisition of hard cash in dollars.

Jhansi, Jul 23 (PTI) As many as 120 inmates of district jail here have tested positive for COVID-19, officials said on Thursday.

The Jhansi district administration on Wednesday said that according to a report, 134 people have tested positive for COVID-19 of which 120 are inmates of the district jail.

Chhindwara (MP), Jul 23 (PTI) A three-year-old girl was allegedly raped and killed by two men at Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh, the police said on Thursday.

Both the accused have been arrested.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan directed the police to fast-track the trial in the case and ensure that the accused get death sentence, said an official release.

The girl was playing outside her house on July 17 when she was abducted, said additional superintendent of police Shashank Garg.

Guwahati, Jul 23 (PTI) Over 44 per cent of the 984 prisoners in the Guwahati Central Jail, including peasant leader Akhil Gogoi and student activist Sharjeel Imam, have tested positive for COVID-19, a senior official said on Thursday.

The Gauhati High Court has ordered the Assam government to provide the best treatment to prisoners who have tested positive for COVID-19 after suo motu cognisance of the rising number of cases inside the jails.

Muzaffarnagar (UP), Jul 24 (PTI) A 16-year-old girl was allegedly sexually harassed in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district by three men, who also beat up her uncle when he opposed them, police said on Friday.

The incident occurred at Bhokarhedi area on Thursday. The girl's uncle was beaten up with sticks and he has been admitted to a hospital in a serious condition, Bhopa police station incharge Sanjiv Kumar said.

CARACAS, July 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Venezuela’s government blasted a US$5 million US reward offer for information leading to the arrest of the country’s Supreme Court president, likening it to something out of the Wild West.

Washington “disrespects the Supreme Court of Justice, in the person of its president, Maikel Moreno, through false accusations and the offer of rewards in the style of the cowboys and the wild and far west,” the foreign ministry said.