Human Rights

02 Sep 2020; MEMO: President Donald Trump’s bid to get Gulf countries to normalise relations with Israel without ending the Zionist state’s brutal occupation and guaranteeing statehood for Palestinians, has been dealt a severe blow. Bahrain has refused to follow in the footsteps of the UAE and insisted that it would only normalise ties with Israel when regional power-house, Saudi Arabia, strikes a deal with Tel Aviv.

02 Sep 2020; MEMO: Israel’s military police launched an investigation into soldiers who placed explosives inside the West Bank Palestinian village of Qaddum last month, reported Haaretz. The investigation follows a report last week, by the Israeli newspaper, that occupation soldiers of the Zionist state had planted at least three explosive devices along a road in the Palestinian village that runs near a residential area.

Washington, Sep 2 (PTI) The Biden campaign has announced the launch of 'Hindu Americans for Biden', as part of its efforts to attract the over two million members of the community in the US and address their issues, including hate crimes.

Indian-American Congressman from Illinois, Raja Krishnamoorthi, is scheduled to address the first meeting of 'Hindus for Biden' on Thursday, the organisers said on Tuesday.

Lucknow/Mathura, Sep 1 (PTI) Following an order of the Allahabad High Court, Dr Kafeel Khan was released from Mathura jail late on Tuesday night, his lawyer said.

"Mathura jail administration informed at around 11.00 pm that Dr Kafeel will be released, and at around midnight, he was released," Khan's lawyer Irfan Ghazi told PTI.

The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday quashed Khan's detention under the National Security Act and ordered his immediate release.

The ICJ today expressed its concern regarding the 31 August 2020 and 14 August 2020 decisions of the Indian Supreme Court to convict prominent human rights lawyer Prashant Bhushan for criminal contempt of court, on the basis of two twitter posts in which the lawyer criticized the performance of the Indian judiciary.

While the Court only imposed a symbolic fine of one rupee, rather than imprisonment, the ICJ considers that the conviction appears to be inconsistent with international standards on freedom of expression and the role of lawyers.

Tehran, Sept 1, IRNA – President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday that the government makes every effort to thwart impacts of shocks to the national economy caused by sanctions and global shutdown due to the spread of the COVID-19, on economic development of the country.

He made the remarks in a meeting of the government’s economic coordination headquarters.

The president said that government has tried to develop and implement detailed plans in the areas of macroeconomics and household economy.

London, Sept 1, IRNA – Russian Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov in a sarcastic Twitter post on Tuesday reacted to the latest US claim about its contributions to the Iranian nuclear deal while trying to force the UNSC to return sanctions on Iran.

He stressed that “all real (not self- proclaimed)” participants of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action are present at the Joint Commission meeting."

01 Sep 2020; MEMO: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will hear preliminary objections raised by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the case concerning the violation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) filed by Qatar.

01 Sep 2020; MEMO: The International Committee to Support Gaza has called on the world community to save Gaza amid Israeli’s ongoing aggression, siege and the spread of COVID-19.

This came in a statement by Essam Yousef, head of the Committee.

Yousef called on charitable institutions that support the Palestinian people to “expedite the organisation of urgent relief campaigns for the health sector in Gaza, in addition to providing food aid and parcels for poor families.”

New Delhi, Sep 1 (PTI) The Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted bail to a member of Pinjra Tod, a women's collective, in a case related to the communal violence in northeast Delhi during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in February.

Justice Suresh Kumar Kait gave the relief to JNU student Devangana Kalita on furnishing of a personal bond of Rs 25,000 and a surety of the like amount.

The court directed that she shall not directly or indirectly influence witness or tamper with the evidence.