Bangladesh halts forced Rohingya repatriation

Agencies
November 16, 2018

Dhaka, Nov 16: Muhammad Abdul Kalam, the Commissioner of the Bangladesh Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commission, stated that the Rohingya will not be forced to return to Myanmar on Thursday, the same day that the first scheduled repatriation was slated to take place.

"No one will be forced back to Myanmar. They survived atrocities so it's natural they fear to go back," the commissioner told Al Jazeera.

However, he further told Anadolu News Agency that the formal process has not been suspended, adding that the Bangladeshi government will resume talks with Rohingya to persuade them for their willful return.

Troops have been deployed at Rohingya camps in Bangladesh to prevent a violent breakout, while a protest was held by the Rohingya at Cox's Bazar against the forceful repatriation citing a risk to their lives in Myanmar's Rakhine state.

Earlier, Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi had been stripped of Amnesty's top honour, the Ambassador of Conscience Award, due to her stance on the "crimes against humanity committed by the military against the Rohingya," according to Amnesty's Secretary General Kumi Naidoo.

Myanmar and Bangladesh had agreed on the repatriation of the Rohingya following the third Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting held last month, leading to concerns being raised by the international community, including the United Nations, who emphasised on the need for a dignified and voluntary return.

Myanmar was given a list of 22,000 Rohingya for repatriation by Bangladesh, out of which Naypyidaw agreed for the return of 5,000 Rohingya in the first phase scheduled for November 15.

Naypyidaw had previously signed an agreement with Dhaka to resettle around one million Rohingya currently living as refugees in Bangladesh.

Rohingya are a minority ethnic group in Myanmar, who are fleeing brutal military clampdowns and violence in their native country. According to Amnesty International, the Myanmar security forces killed thousands, raped women and girls, detained and tortured men and boys and burned hundreds of homes and villages to the ground in the Rakhine state last year, forcing these individuals to flee for their safety.

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News Network
February 2,2020

Mount Maunganui, Feb 2: India registered a rare 5-0 whitewash against New Zealand after notching up a seven-run win in the fifth and final T20 International at Bay Oval here on Sunday.

Electing to bat, India posted 163 for three, riding on Rohit Sharma's 60 off 41 balls and a 33-ball 45 from K L Rahul.

The visitors then restricted the hosts to 156 for nine with Jasprit Bumrah claiming three wickets for 12 runs.

Chasing the target, the Black Caps were tottering at 17 for three in 3.2 overs.

Tim Seifert (50) and Ross Taylor (53) then added 99 runs for the fourth wicket as New Zealand recovered to 116.

Seifert clobbered a 30-ball 50 studded with five fours and three sixes, while Ross Taylor hit two sixes and five fours in his 47-ball 53-run innings.

However, once Seifert was dismissed in the 13th over, the hosts suffered a collapse, losing five wickets, including Taylor, for 25 runs to loss the plot in the end.

Brief Score:

India: 163 for 3 in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 60; S Kuggeleijn 2/25)    

New Zealand: 156 for 9 in 20 overs (Ross Taylor 53, Tim Seifert 50; Jasprit Bumrah 3/12).

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Agencies
June 15,2020

New Delhi, Jun 15: After Two Indian officials working with Indian High Commission in Pakistan wet missing on Monday,  the Ministry of External Affairs summoned Pakistan's Charge d'affaires to India in the national capital and told them not to interrogate or harass Indian officials.

"Two Indian High Commission officials are missing since morning while on official work. The matter has been taken up with the Pakistani authorities," Akhilesh Singh, First Secretary and spokesperson, Indian High Commission, Pakistan, said.

According to sources quoted by PTI news agency, the MEA told the  Pakistan's Charge d'affaires to India that the responsibility of safety and security of Indian personnel in Islamabad "lays squarely with Pakistani authorities."

"Pakistan was asked to ensure return of two Indian officials along with official car to Indian High Commission in Islamabad immediately," sources added. 

The incident comes after two Pakistani officials at the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi were accused of espionage and deported.

The two officials have been missing since Monday morning. Officials said the issue has been taken up with the Pakistan government.

Earlier, a vehicle of India's Charge d'affaires Gaurav Ahluwalia was chased by Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) member.

In March, the Indian High Commission in Pakistan sent a strong protest note to the foreign ministry in Islamabad protesting against the continuing harassment of its officers and staff by Pakistani agencies.

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News Network
January 15,2020

New Delhi, Jan 15: The mother of 23-year-old paramedic student, who was raped and brutally assaulted by six men in December 2012, on Tuesday said she knew that the curative petitions of the convicts will be rejected and is confident that they will be hanged on January 22.

Her remarks came after the Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to stay the execution of two of the four death row convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case while dismissing their curative petitions against their conviction and capital punishment.

"The curative please had to be rejected. This was the third time they had gone to the Supreme Court. Whatever pleas they file, we are ready to face them and we will fight it out. We feel that they will be hanged on January 22. We want that to happen," Nirbhaya's mother told PTI over phone.

The four convicts -- Vinay Sharma (26), Mukesh Kumar (32), Akshay Kumar Singh (31) and Pawan Gupta (25) -- are to be hanged on January 22 at 7 am in Tihar jail as a Delhi court issued their death warrants on January 7.

Vinay and Mukesh had filed curative petitions on January 9.

Shortly after the apex court refused to stay the execution of two of them, Mukesh moved a mercy petition before President Ram Nath Kovind.

Mukesh also approached the Delhi High Court for quashing the death warrant. The high court is expected to take up his petition on Wednesday.

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