Human Rights

Varanasi, Nov 21 (PTI) Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Thursday came out in support of the Muslim professor whose appointment at the Banaras Hindu University's Sanskrit department has triggered a row.

Taking to Twitter, the Congress leader defended the appointment.

"Our languages and culture are our speciality, our strength," the Congress leader tweeted.

Srinagar, Nov 20, GANASHAKTI: Several areas in Kashmir, including parts of Srinagar, witnessed a complete shutdown on Wednesday after posters warning shopkeepers against the opening of shops appeared overnight, officials said.

There was a complete shutdown in several areas in downtown (Old City) of Srinagar on Wednesday as shopkeepers did not open their business establishments in the morning, they said.

The officials said the shutdown was also witnessed in Ganderbal town in central Kashmir and Anantnag town in south Kashmir.

Aurangabad, Nov 20 (PTI) An entrepreneur, owning a small metal polishing unit in Waluj Industrial area, committed suicide, after failing to pay Goods and Services Tax (GST), police said on Wednesday.

Vishnu Rambhau Kalavane (53) hanged himself from the ceiling with a saree at his home in Pandharpur area on Tuesday, an official said.

New Delhi, Nov 20 (PTI) WhatsApp has written to the government expressing "regret" over the Pegasus snooping row, and has assured that it is taking all security measures to address concerns, top government sources said.

The sources, who requested not to be named, said the government has asked WhatsApp to reinforce its security wall, and that no more breaches at the messaging platform will be tolerated.

20 Nov 2019; MEMO: A US decision effectively backing Israel’s building of settlements in the occupied West Bank, long a cherished item on conservative Christians’ wish list, is expected to strengthen evangelicals’ support for Donald Trump as he seeks re-election in 2020, according to a leader of the president’s evangelical advisory group.

20 Nov 2019; MEMO: Amnesty International stressed yesterday that Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem “breaches international law and amounts to war crimes.”

New Delhi, 20 Nov 2019, GANASHAKTI: Former Supreme Court judge Madan B Lokur on Tuesday warned that unless new Chief Justice of India SA Bobde restores the top court’s credibility and stature urgently, it could lead to the death knell of the independence of the judiciary.

Critical of some of the recent verdicts and administrative decisions of the top court, Lokur in an article for the Hindustan Times said “our judges need to show some backbone and spine, particularly in dealing with issues of personal liberty”.

Chandigarh, November 20, GANASHAKTI: “ It is more than 100 days for the lockdown of Kashmir. The economy of the state has been totally shattered. The apple crop has been worst affected. Apple growers have suffered a loss of more than 10 thousand crores of rupees. Tourism industry is shut up. In absence of internet there can be no tourism business. The daily wagers are the worst affected.

New Delhi, Nov 18 (PTI) The CBI, the ED and the Intelligence Bureau are among 10 central agencies upon which the power of telephone interception is vested and they have to take the Union Home Secretary's approval before putting anyone on surveillance, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — A white supremacist manifesto that appeared to be a copy of one linked to a man accused of attacking two mosques in New Zealand was circulated electronically at Syracuse University, campus law enforcement said Tuesday, adding to a string of racist episodes that have shaken the upstate New York campus.

Officials said the manifesto appeared to be copied from one written by the man accused of killing 51 people at two mosques in New Zealand in March.