Refugees and Migrants to be returned back to Libya when found on sea: Credit #ANSAmed

On the eve of a parliamentary discussion on Tuesday, Amnesty International on Monday said that the Italian government plan to send warships to patrol Libyan territorial waters is a ''shameful attempt by the Italian authorities to circumvent their duty to rescue refugees and migrants at sea and to offer protection to those who need it''. ''Under the plan up to six vessels would be deployed to support the Libyan coastguard in the interception and return of refugees and migrants to Libya, where they would face horrific abuses and human rights violations. Italian military personnel are likely to be authorized to use force against smugglers and traffickers, and the plan could also result in refugees and migrants being caught in the crossfire,'' Amnesty reported.

''Rather than sending ships to help save lives and offer protection to desperate refugees and migrants, Italy is planning to deploy warships to push them back to Libya," said Amnesty International's Europe Director John Dalhuisen.

''This shameful strategy is not designed to end the spiralling death toll in the central Mediterranean but rather to keep refugees and migrants from Italian shores. Claims that the rights of those returned will be respected will ring hollow in the ears of those that have fled horrific abuse in Libyan detention centres." (ANSAmed).

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Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh: Dera Sacha Sauda spiritual leader found guilty of raping female followers

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh at a news conference to launch the score for his film 'MSG-2 The Messenger' in Mumbai AFP/Getty Images A popular Indian actor and spiritual leader, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, has been convicted of raping his followers following a high profile trial. Singh was found guilty of raping two women in a case dating back to 2002 at the headquarters of his Dera Sacha Sauda group in the town of Sirsa. The bearded guru, who had denied the charges, had arrived for the hearing with a 100-vehicle convoy that left his ashram early on Friday. Some 15,000 police and soldiers were deployed in Panchkula, the town where his trial took place, for fear of violence. Tens of thousands of his devotees had travelled there to protest his innocence, according to reports, while internet and phone services were throttled in a bid to forestall unrest. In a televised appeal, Singh asked his supporters not to resort to violence, but some said they would not t...

Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar of the Libyan National Army (LNA) threatens to attack Italian vessels in Libyan waters unlikely to materialise, but risks support mission

the Italian parliament approved legislation allowing Italian military vessels to patrol Libyan waters in order to stem the flow of migrants entering Italy. This is the latest in a series of initiatives and proposals by the Italian government to block the Mediterranean migrant route, including the recent introduction of a code of conduct curtailing the flexibility of aid groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to operate rescue vessels in the Mediterranean. In response to the latest measure to deploy the Italian navy, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar of the Libyan National Army (LNA) – a militia associated with the Tobruk-based government in eastern Libya – warned that any non-commercial vessel entering Libyan waters without prior authorisation would be attacked.

More Than 70 Killed in Fighting in Western Myanmar

An empty street in Maungdaw township, in Rakhine State in western Myanmar, on Friday after the authorities told residents to stay in their homes after an attack by Rohingya militants. Credit Wai Moe/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images HONG KONG — More than 70 people were killed on Friday in clashes between militants and security forces in Rakhine State in western Myanmar, which outside observers called a worrying upsurge of violence in the troubled region. The dead included at least 12 members of the security forces and at least 59 Rohingya insurgents, according to a statement from the office of Myanmar’s de facto leader, State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi . Myanmar’s armed forces said the militants used knives, small arms and explosives in coordinated early morning attacks on several police and military posts around Buthidaung and Maungdaw, near Myanmar’s border with Bangladesh. Rakhine is home to about one million Rohingya, a predominantly Muslim min...

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