Indian authorities failed to "prevent many incidents of religious violence and contributed to tensions through polarising speeches", Amnesty International said.
India will sit in the 15-nation United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the 2021-22 term as a non-permanent member - the eighth time that the country has had a seat on the powerful horseshoe table.
US Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday warned Sri Lanka that "true reconciliation" with Tamils will take time, even as he praised the "openness" of the new government in efforts to boost democracy, human rights and reaching out to the minority community.
At a time when none in Kerala's Left politics questioned the chief minister's authority, MLA P V Anvar hurled a series of accusations against Pinarayi Vijayan's government, notes Shyam G Menon.
Both Khan and Modi are scheduled to address the UN General Assembly on September 27.
The decision was approved by Prime Minister Imran Khan in view of the tense situation in Kashmir, the minister told state broadcaster PTV.
'The narrative of patriotism has been framed around the army and competing worldviews about Pakistan and those who do not fit the army's parameters are ostracised as rebellious, treasonous, and even blasphemous'
The US is alarmed and appalled by reports of security authorities responding to university students' peaceful protests with violence and mass arrests.
Princess Sheikha Latifa is the daughter of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai and the prime minister of the UAE.
A Pakistani court has dismissed three identical petitions challenging the construction of the first Hindu temple in the country's capital.
On the night of July 5, the Tigers launched their first kamikaze operation. Miller took the wheels of the explosive-packed truck, smiled at everyone as he turned the ignition key and drove it slowly towards the Sri Lankan military camp. A few moments later all of Jaffna heard a thunderous explosion that brought the complex crashing down in clouds of dust. Miller had given birth to a deadly tactic that Prabhakaran would employ time and again with devastating consequences to Sri Lanka -- and India. A fascinating excerpt from M R Narayan Swamy's must read new book, The Rout Of Prabhakaran.
The NCERT has cited 'overlapping' and 'irrelevant' as reasons for dropping those portions from the syllabus.
Sushma in her address at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council of Foreign Ministers meeting said that terrorism is an enemy of basic human rights.
There is the problem of regions in the North East being theatre for power-play by nations with borders and influences converging in those parts, which in turn requires a sizable presence of the armed forces, notes Shyam G Menon.
Skeletal remains of 80 bodies have been dug out of a mass grave in a former Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam stronghold in Sri Lanka, fuelling speculation that the bodies are of Tamil civilians who disappeared during the war with the rebels.
They also slammed the "violent rhetoric" against India's Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu and said free speech does not mean a license to incite violence or vandalise property.
In a letter signed by 16 of 17 committee members including two Indian-Americans Jhumpa Lahiri and Kal Penn, they said reproach and censure are necessary following Trump's "support of the hate groups and terrorists who killed and injured fellow Americans in Charlottesville."
Pakistan strongly condemns and rejects the announcements made by the Indian Government regarding Jammu and Kashmir, the statement said. "As the party to this international dispute, Pakistan will exercise all possible options to counter the illegal steps," it said.
In a virtual address at the G20 Extraordinary Summit on Afghanistan, Modi also pressed for 'urgent and unhindered' humanitarian assistance to Afghan citizens and underlined the need for having an inclusive administration that includes women and minorities, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
'The incident that caused unnecessary embarrassment to the country could have been avoided if some of the TV outlets had been mindful of the nation's constitutional commitment to secularism, as well as the journalistic ethics and guidelines that the Press Council of India has issued to handle a volatile communal situation,'
Sri Lanka's new president will embark on a 4-day visit to February 15.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday termed as "unfortunate, painful and surprising" the African missions statement describing the attacks on African students as "xenophobic and racial", saying the Indian response to this cannot be called inadequate by any means.
Seeking to address international concerns, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China has been adjusting the zero-COVID policy based on the changing circumstances.
The silver lining for India's presidency is likely to be the support by almost all G20 countries to its proposal to include the African Union as a permanent member of the bloc that has emerged as perhaps the most influential multilateral forum after the United Nations.
United Nations General Assembly on Friday appointed Antonio Guterres as the UN Secretary General for a second term beginning January 1, 2022, days after the powerful Security Council unanimously recommended his name to the 193-member body for re-election.
Human rights abuses allegedly perpetrated in the war against Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam haunted Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on the sidelines of the CHOGM summit with UK Prime Minister David Cameron on Saturday giving the island country an ultimatum to conduct a credible probe into the war crimes by March, failing which he would seek an international investigation.
The report mentioned the Central Bureau of Investigation raid on NDTV, exit of Bobby Ghosh as the editor of Hindustan Times and arrest of cartoonist G Bala.
One would have expected Rashtrapati Bhavan and not the Delhi police to settle the Unidentified Feline Object issue. In its absence, the four legged-visitor spanned in imagined identity, anything from a domestic cat familiar with the palatial surroundings to a swashbuckling Puss in Boots visiting from the outside or indeed a Bagheera from Jungle Book, notes Shyam G Menon.
Any sex worker who is a victim of sexual assault should be provided with all facilities available to a survivor of sexual assault, including immediate medical assistance, in accordance with law, it said.
Condoling the death of Junaid Akhnoon, Pakistan's foreign office claimed the incident was part of "continued Indian atrocities" in Kashmir. "The cold-blooded murder is the worst example of state terrorism of the Indian government and is indeed deplorable," it said in a press release.
Speaking in the Security Council briefing on 'Threat to International Peace & Security Caused by Terrorist Acts' on Wednesday, Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti reiterated India's firm belief that terrorism in one part of the world is threat to peace and security of entire world.
If confirmed by the Senate, Garcetti, 50, would replace Kenneth Juster, who served as India's Ambassador to the US during the Trump administration.
Indian-Americans are taking over the country, United States President Joe Biden said on Thursday, referring to the high number of people from the community getting a place in his administration.
The various meat bans across the country are an attempt to attack civil liberties, says civil rights activist Kavita Srivastava.
His remarks came after the White House officials said Obama in his meeting with him in Laos on Tuesday would confront about his country's human rights record of handling drug traffickers.
The United Nations Security Council on Thursday condemned the Syrian government's violent crackdown on civilians demanding democratic reforms and widespread human rights violations, saying those responsible for the atrocities should be held "accountable."
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
Foreigners intending to work in NGOs, carry out research work on human rights and environment issues will have to face stricter scrutiny of their visa applications after detection of several incidents of alleged misuse of these provisions.
Condemning human rights violations and the excessive use of force by the Yemeni authorities against peaceful protesters in the country's eight-month uprising, the Security Council said all sides should quickly implement a regional plan for an orderly transition of power.
Several eminent officials and experts from both India and the United States have told American lawmakers that a Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre would be detrimental to the basic rights of the religious minorities in India.
