Rajapaksa orders release of Indian fishermen after UN vote

March 28, 2014

Indian_fishermenColombo, Mar 28: President Mahinda Rajapaksa ordered the release of all Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan custody, hours after India abstained from backing a resolution against Colombo at the UN.

Just over 100 Indian fishermen remain in Sri Lankan custody after some 170 others were freed last week, reports Xinhua.

The President's Office said on Friday that Rajapaksa ordered all remaining Indian fishermen to be set free as a goodwill gesture.

The Indian government on Thursday made a surprise decision to abstain from voting at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva and criticized the US sponsored draft resolution saying it was inconsistent and impractical.

There was strong speculation that India would back the resolution, especially with political parties in Tamil Nadu raising the pitch against the Sri Lankan government.

But India's permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, Dilip Sinha, said it was New Delhi's firm belief that adopting an intrusive approach that undermined national sovereignty and institutions was counter-productive.

The resolution was, however, passed by a majority vote with 23 countries in the 47-member council voting for it and 12 against. A total of 12 countries abstained.

China, Russia, Pakistan and Cuba were among the countries that voted against the resolution. Japan also abstained.

The resolution calls for an international investigation over alleged human rights abuses during the war in Sri Lanka. Colombo says it will not agree to an international probe.

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News Network
June 10,2020

New Delhi, Jun 10: Delhi recorded 1,366 fresh cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, taking the tally to 31,309, while the death toll mounted to 905, authorities said on Wednesday.

According to a health bulletin issued by the Delhi government's health department, there are 18,543 active cases, while 11,861 patients have either recovered, been discharged or migrated.

No health bulletin was issued on Tuesday.

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April 11,2020

New Delhi, Apr 11: Calling upon chief ministers to popularise Aarogya Setu app, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said it will an essential tool in India's fight against coronavirus and referred to the possibility of the app being an "e-pass which could subsequently facilitate travel from one place to other".

Interacting with chief ministers through video conference, the Prime Minister mentioned how South Korea and Singapore had got success in contact tracing and said India has made its own effort through the app amid efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus.

A PMO release said that the Prime Minister spoke about popularizing the Aarogya Setu app to ensure downloads in greater numbers.

"He referred to how South Korea and Singapore got success in contact tracing. Based on those experiences, India has made its own effort through the app which will be an essential tool in India's fight against the pandemic, he said. He also referred to the possibility of the app being an e-pass which could subsequently facilitate travel from one place to another," the release said.

The Prime Minister had earlier this week urged people to download the app saying it is an important step in the fight against COVID-19 and its effectiveness will increase as more people use it.

"Aarogya Setu is an important step in our fight against COVID-19. By leveraging technology, it provides important information. As more and more people use it, it's effectiveness will increase. I urge you all to download it," he had said in a tweet.

The app launched earlier this month in public-private partnership enables people to themselves assess the risk for their catching the coronavirus infection.

The app makes its calculations based on a person's interaction with others, using Bluetooth technology, algorithms and artificial intelligence.

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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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