Human Rights

Kolkata, Mar 25 (PTI) Chinese-origin people in the city, some living here since birth, have become targets of racial discrimination and slurs, amid the growing panic over the Covid-19 pandemic, which began in China.

Francis Yee Lepcha (41), whose grandfather had migrated from China decades ago, said he had been encountering glares and cold stares since the outbreak of the disease.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The man who committed the worst atrocity in New Zealand’s modern history when he slaughtered 51 worshippers at two Christchurch mosques unexpectedly pleaded guilty to all charges Thursday.

The attacks targeting people praying at the mosques a year ago shocked the nation and prompted new laws banning the deadliest types of semi-automatic weapons. It also prompted global changes to social media protocols after the gunman livestreamed his attack on Facebook, where it was viewed by hundreds of thousands of people.

25 Mar 2020; MEMO: Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) Executive Committee, Dr. Saeb Erekat, has said that Israel has seized 95 per cent of the Jordan Valley which is inhabited by 12,700 Israeli settlers while only 55,000 Palestinians live on the remaining five per cent.

25 Mar 2020; MEMO: Turkish coastguards have rescued 31 asylum seekers stranded at sea off the coast of Muğla Province after Greek authorities forced them to return to Turkish territorial waters, Anadolu News Agency reported.

The Turkish coastguards said in a statement that their teams responded to a distress call issued by the boat which had 11 children and four women on board.

25 Mar 2020; MEMO: Amnesty International has revealed that 220 civil society organisations have announced a boycott of the G20 meeting due to be hosted by Saudi Arabia in November. The human rights organisation said that civil society groups around the world have expressed concerns about the participation of NGOs in the summit.

Allahabad, Mar 24 (PTI) The All-India Kisan Mazdoor Sabha (AIKMS) on Tuesday accused the Uttar Pradesh government of abusing people's democratic rights in the name of tackling the coronavirus threat and demanded an immediate release of its general secretary Dr Ashish Mittal and activist Umar Khalid.

In a press release, the organisation alleged that both were arrested to suppress the protest against the CAA-NRC-NPR in Mansoor Park of the city.

24 Mar 2020; MEMO: The International Criminal Court (ICC) has postponed its procedures against Israel due to the coronavirus outbreak, ICC’s chief prosecutor announced on Sunday.

According to the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom, the ICC’s Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said that the procedures against Israel would be delayed for at least a month, citing the global coronavirus pandemic.

Bensouda, the Israeli newspaper said, was slated to file her responses to several issues on 30 March.

New Delhi, Mar 24 (PTI) Expressing concern over the plight of construction workers after the country-wide lockdown over coronavirus, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to announce emergency measures, including wage support to those in distress.

In a letter to the prime minister, Gandhi said over 44 million construction workers are now faced with a "precarious" future as many of them are stranded in cities and are deprived of livelihood due to the lockdown.

Srinagar, Mar 24 (PTI) Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah's eight-month detention ended on Tuesday after the administration revoked the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) against him.

The National Conference leader, who turned 50 on March 10, has been under detention since August 5, when the Centre announced the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status under Article 370 and its bifurcation into the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

23 Mar 2020; MEMO: Israel’s Public Prosecution Service has rejected a request to delay the detention of Sheikh Raed Salah who is due to go back into prison on 25 March, Arab48.com reported on Sunday.

The veteran Palestinian rights activist was given a 28-month prison sentence by the Magistrates’ Court in Haifa for remarks that he made at a funeral in 2017.