US to ease human rights criticism of El Salvador, Israel and Russia: Report
Usually, these annual reports are released around March or April each year."The 2024 Human Rights Report has been restructured in a way that removes redundancies, increases report readability and is more responsive to the legislative mandates that underpin the report," a State Department official briefing reporters on Wednesday said."The report is not meant to be a every single human rights abuse that's happened in every single country. It's meant to be illustrative and a broad picture of what the conditions of human rights are on the ground in each country."- EndsMust Watch
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Hindustan Times
10 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Why Donald Trump is wrong to take over the DC police
AMERICA'S CAPITAL city was designed as a showcase for its democracy: sweeping boulevards, white-marble palaces of administration, monuments aplenty. This week, however, Washington, DC has become a manifestation of something less inspiring: the grandstanding instincts of the current president. This time, Donald Trump's preoccupation is violent crime. Mr Trump has been banging this drum for decades. 'Roving bands of wild criminals roam our neighbourhoods dispensing their own brand of twisted hatred,' warned Mr Trump nearly 40 years ago. The occasion then was the rape and assault of a white woman in New York's Central Park, for which five black and Hispanic men were later wrongfully convicted. On August 11th Mr Trump all but quoted himself: 'Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people,' he said from the White House briefing room. Then he deployed the National Guard to Washington; took control of its police force; and promised to 'get rid of the slums' and clear out its homeless population. This is not the president's first use of the armed forces for civilian law enforcement in a city that reviles him and that he reviles right back. Earlier this summer Mr Trump sent National Guard troops to protect federal property during protests over immigration raids in Los Angeles. In 2020 he ordered them to disperse Black Lives Matter demonstrators in Washington. In neither instance did local Democratic leaders ask for his intervention. Now Mr Trump hints that the Washington deployment could be a blueprint for other troublesome (ie, Democratic-run) places. That will be easier said than done, however. The capital has an unusual legal status as a territory of the federal government granted qualified home rule. Elsewhere the president would face more legal impediments. The practical impact of the president's order may be modest. He has authorised the DC National Guard—which is tiny—to act as cops. About 200 troops will support law enforcement. By law his control of the city police can last for only 30 days; after that Congress would need to extend it. It is a far cry from a federal takeover of Washington. Seeking to justify his order, Mr Trump cited several awful attacks against government workers. In early August carjackers beat up and bloodied a former DOGE staffer. In June stray gunfire killed a congressional intern. Last year an official at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission was shot to death in a carjacking. In 2023 a Senate aide was stabbed and a congressman was robbed at gunpoint. 'It's becoming a situation of complete and total lawlessness,' said Mr Trump, likening the capital to Baghdad and Bogotá. The president is right that violent crime in Washington surged in 2023 and that it numbers among the most dangerous cities in America. He neglected to say that crime there has since tumbled. This year's murder rate is falling towards the pre-pandemic trend. The number of carjackings, which doubled between 2022 and 2023, is declining too, though they are still more frequent than they were before the pandemic. Overall the capital is considerably safer than it was in the 1990s, when it had the highest murder rate in the country, and it is a bit less dangerous than it was a decade ago. Mr Trump's action will irk the 700,000-odd citizens of Washington, whose elected government is being sidelined. And it is hypocritical. Mr Trump and his fellow Republicans in Congress have been impeding the city government, preventing it from spending the taxes it has raised and forcing cuts to services like policing. Republicans have thus exacerbated Washington's crime problem. Mr Trump's focus on the city over more violent ones is not just because he can see it from his bedroom window. It is because the federal government retains more authority over the capital than over states or even other federal territories. The president commands the DC National Guard—in states, governors have that job—and he can take temporary control over the police department. Washington's unique status means these same tactics cannot easily be replicated outside the capital. To 'federalise' the National Guard for arrest purposes elsewhere—to empower troops to act as cops—Mr Trump would have to invoke the Insurrection Act. Only then can the armed forces legally be put to use to quell a domestic uprising. The act was last used in 1992. Invoking it again would be immensely controversial. Mr Trump's approach in Washington, then, is clever when viewed through a lawyer's lens. Which is not to say that his order is justified or good policy. Stay on top of American politics with The US in brief, our daily newsletter with fast analysis of the most important political news, and Checks and Balance, a weekly note from our Lexington columnist that examines the state of American democracy and the issues that matter to voters.
Hindustan Times
10 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Electoral roll revision row: ECI summons West Bengal chief secretary to Delhi
The Election Commission of India has summoned the West Bengal chief secretary to its office at Nirvachan Sadan in Delhi amid the ongoing tussle between the poll body and the state government over penal actions taken against four state officers. The Election Commission of India office in New Delhi. (Reuters File Photo) On August 5 the ECI had directed the Mamata Banerjee-government to suspend four officers - two Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and two Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) - and lodge FIRs against them, as well as a data entry operator, after the poll body accused them of adding names of fictitious voters to the electoral roll and compromising data security. However, the state government withdrew only one officer and a data entry operator from election-related duties on Monday and initiated an inquiry. 'Manoj Pant, the West Bengal chief secretary, has been summoned to Delhi,' an ECI official said. Pant has been asked to appear at 5 pm on Wednesday. After chief minister Mamata Banerjee made it clear that her government will not penalise the officers as directed by the ECI, the poll panel gave the state government a deadline till 3pm on Monday to submit a compliance report on the actions taken against the four officers and the data entry operator. Pant, in his letter to ECI secretary Sujeet Kumar Mishra, on Monday said only the services of AERO of Moyna AC and the data entry operator of Baruipur Purba were withdrawn from electoral revision and election-related duties. 'Further action taken report will be submitted post completion of enquiry,' the chief secretary had said in his letter. 'Initiating proceedings before a detailed enquiry against these officers, who have consistently demonstrated sincerity and competence, may be a disproportionately harsh measure. Such an action could have a demoralising impact not only on the individuals but also on the broader team of officers engaged in electoral responsibilities and other administrative functions,' the letter added.
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First Post
10 minutes ago
- First Post
Netanyahu's Gaza plan fuels Israeli hostage families' anger: Strike called on Sunday to end war
Relatives fear an expanded assault on Gaza City could endanger the captives. Among them is Evyatar David, recently seen emaciated in a Hamas video read more Relatives and supporters of hostages held in Gaza since the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas protest for the release of all hostages outside the headquarters of the Likud Party, in Tel Aviv, Israel. Reuters Families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza are urging a nationwide strike on Sunday to press the government to reach a cease-fire deal with Hamas that would secure their relatives' release, even as Israel moves to expand its nearly two-year military campaign in the territory. 'Silence enables their sacrifice on the altar of an endless war without purpose or goal,' the Hostage Families Forum, an advocacy group, said in a statement. 'This is the time for everyone to join us, across the entire country.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The appeal came days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans to intensify operations in Gaza. Last week, Israel's security cabinet authorised a proposal to 'take over' Gaza City, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering, New York Times reported. It was unclear how much support the strike call would receive. The Histadrut, Israel's largest labour union, ruled out participation. The union had joined a previous strike last year that failed to change government policy. 'Although my heart is bursting with anger, it has no practical outcome,' union leader Arnon Bar-David said Monday. Hostages still in Gaza Hamas and allied militants abducted about 250 people during the October 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war. More than 100 were freed in two short-lived cease-fires, while Israeli forces have recovered the bodies of others. Around 20 hostages are believed to be alive in Gaza, with the bodies of roughly 30 more also still there. Relatives fear an expanded assault on Gaza City could endanger the captives. Among them is Evyatar David, recently seen emaciated in a Hamas video. Anat Angrest, whose son Matan was kidnapped while serving as a soldier near the Gaza border, accused the government of endangering him. 'They're fighting to bring him back — but in practice, they're putting both his life in danger and their own,' she told reporters. Human toll in Gaza Gaza health officials say more than 60,000 people have been killed in the Israeli campaign, including thousands of children, though the figures do not separate civilians from combatants. Israeli officials have said a takeover of Gaza City would require weeks to mobilise reserves and evacuate civilians, potentially leaving a window for further truce negotiations. Families of hostages say that time should be used to secure their release rather than press ahead with the offensive.
