LIVE: UN General Assembly suspends Russia from Human Rights Council

Russia is the second country to have its membership rights stripped at the Human Rights Council which was established in 2006. Stay tuned for LIVE news updates

Live news updates: The UN General Assembly voted on Thursday to suspend Russia from the world organisation's leading human rights body over allegations of horrific rights violations by Russian soldiers in Ukraine, which the United States and Ukraine have called tantamount to war crimes.

Pakistan's Supreme Court today struck down National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri's controversial move to dismiss a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan, in a major blow to the cricketer-turned politician who is now likely to face a no-trust vote in Parliament after the ruling.

In a unanimous verdict, the five-member bench also declared dissolution of the parliament as unconstitutional. The court ordered the speaker to call the session of the assembly on April 9 at 10am to organize the no-confidence vote.

Ukraine’s foreign minister pleaded for more weapons at a NATO meeting in Brussels, and called out Germany for being too slow to help. The United Nations General Assembly is set to vote Thursday on whether to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council, as U.S. President Joe Biden accused the Kremlin’s forces of committing “major war crimes” in Ukraine.

The US announced new sanctions that target two of Russia’s biggest banks and President Vladimir Putin’s adult daughters after saying Moscow’s forces carried out atrocities in towns near Kyiv that included the murder of civilians. Russia has repeatedly denied the allegations. 

11:43 PM

WHO's supply suspension of Covaxin not to impact travel of people: MEA

Days after the WHO suspended the supply of Covaxin through UN procurement agencies, India on Thursday said the move would not impact travel by people who have taken the vaccine.

 

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the efficacy of the vaccine is not in question and that the decision by the World Health Organization (WHO) should not be a cause for worry at all.

 

"I certainly do not think there should be any impact at all on people who have taken Covaxin. It is a safe vaccine. In terms of their travel, it continues to be recognised under the EUL (emergency use authorisation) of WHO," he said. Bagchi was replying to questions on the WHO's decision.

11:18 PM

IEA to release 120 million barrels of oil over six-month period

The International Energy Agency (IEA) on Thursday confirmed member country contributions to the second collective action to release oil stocks in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

 

The commitments submitted by members reached 120 million barrels to be released over a six month period, the IEA added. The U.S. will release 60 million barrels of oil from storage and Japan will release 15 million barrels. Other major contributors include South Korea, Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom.

 

11:10 PM

Bharatpe CEO apologises for remark on salary row; firm says March salary paid

Fintech firm Bharatpe CEO Suhail Sameer on Thursday apologised for his remarks in a social media post allegedly indicating that former company chief Ashneer Grover has stolen money from the company and little is left to pay the salaries of employees.

 

A Bharatpe employee in a Linkedin post had raised the matter of termination of administrative staff and non-payment of salaries, which attracted responses from Grover and CEO Sameer.

 

In response to a comment by a social media account in the name of Aashima Grover, Sameer said "Behen- tere bhai ne saara paisa chura liya (Sister, your brother has stolen all the money). Very little left to pay salaries". The comment was criticised by many on social media.

10:59 PM

US Congress votes to suspend Russia trade status, enact oil ban

Congress voted overwhelmingly Thursday to suspend normal trade relations with Russia and ban the importation of its oil, ratcheting up the U.S. response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine amid reports of atrocities.

 

House action came after the Senate approved the two bills with 100-0 votes. The measures now go to President Joe Biden to be signed into law.

 

Lawmakers overwhelmingly support the substance of the two bills, but they had languished for weeks in the Senate as lawmakers worked to hammer out the final details. Biden has already taken executive action to ban Russian oil, liquefied natural gas and coal to the United States. The legislation puts the effort into law.

10:57 PM

Russia rejects suspension from UN rights council as "illegal": News agency AFP

Russia rejects suspension from UN rights council as "illegal": News agency AFP

10:43 PM

CBI makes first arrests in Birbhum killings case, nabs four suspects from Mumbai

CBI sleuths on Thursday nabbed four persons hailing from West Bengal from Mumbai for their alleged involvement in the Birbhum killings, an officer of the agency said.

 

These are the first arrests made by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) since it took over the probe into the March 21 killings in Bogtui village following the Calcutta High Court's order.

 

Bappa SK alias Sal Mohamad, Sabu SK alias Sadril SK, Taj Mohammad alias Chand and Serajul SK alias Poltu who had escaped to Mumbai from Bogtui after the violence were sheltered by people close to them, the agency said.

10:39 PM

Sri Lanka medical group warns of catastrophic shortages

Sri Lanka's national medical association warned Thursday that hospitals will be unable to provide even emergency services in coming weeks because of critical shortages of drugs and medical equipment caused by the country's economic crisis, leading to a catastrophic number of deaths if supplies aren't replenished.

 

Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis in decades and has endured months of shortages of fuel and other essentials. Protests over the economic troubles have spread nationwide and expanded to criticism of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his politically powerful family.

 

The Sri Lanka Medical Association sent a letter to Rajapaksa on Thursday saying that hospitals have already decided to curtail services such as routine surgeries and limit the use of available medical materials to treatment of life-threatening illnesses.

10:38 PM

India says it is exploring ways to support IEA members' oil release

India, the world's third largest oil importer, said on Thursday it was examining ways to support decisions by the International Energy Agency (IEA) member countries to release crude from their national inventories to calm rising global prices.

 

"In the interest of collaborating with like minded countries on these positive initiatives, Government of India is examining what it can do to support these actions," the energy hungry nation said, without elaborating.

 

10:37 PM

Rape-in-Hindu-myths remark: Police question suspended AMU professor

The Aligarh Police on Thursday called for questing the suspended AMU assistant professor, who referred to examples of rape in Hindu mythology during a forensic science class, provoking accusations of hurting religious sentiments.

A case was registered against Dr Jitendra Kumar, an assistant professor in the Department of Forensic Medicine at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College. The complaint was filed by a BJP leader.

The suspended doctor was called to the Civil Lines police station as part of the ongoing investigation, Circle officer S Pandey told mediapersons.

Meanwhile, a senior university official said the two-member enquiry committee instituted by Vice-Chancellor Tariq Mansoor to probe the incident is expected to submit its report shortly.

The assistant professor was served a show-cause notice, asking him to explain within 24 hours why disciplinary action should not be taken against him.

The university authorities also set up the two-member probe committee, but he was suspended pending the outcome of the inquiry.

After getting the notice, the professor had apologised.

10:26 PM

India abstains in UNGA vote to suspend Russia from Human Rights Council

India and 57 other countries on Thursday abstained in the United Nations General Assembly on a vote with regard to the suspension of Russia from the Human Rights Council.

The resolution was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly with 93 members voting in its favour and 24 countries against it.

The US-initiated resolution expressed "grave concern at the ongoing human rights and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, particularly at the reports of violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law by the Russian Federation, including gross and systematic violations and abuses of human rights".

In his statement on the UNGA resolution, TS Tirumurti, India's Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, said that since the inception of the Ukrainian conflict, India has stood for peace, dialogue, and diplomacy.

"We believe that no solution can be arrived at by shedding blood and at the cost of innocent lives. If India has chosen any side, it is the side of peace and it is for an immediate end to violence," he said.

"We continue to remain deeply concerned at the worsening situation and reiterate our call for end to all hostilities. When innocent human lives are at stake, diplomacy must prevail as the only viable option," he added.

Tirumurti noted that the impact of the crisis has also been felt beyond the region with increasing food and energy costs, especially for many developing countries.

"It is in our collective interest to work constructively, both inside the United Nations and outside, towards seeking an early resolution to the conflict."

 

10:19 PM

Japan, Philippines to step up security ties amid China worry

The defence ministers of Japan and the Philippines agreed Thursday to bolster security cooperation and expand joint drills between their forces as they shared concerns about China's increasingly assertive military actions in the region.

Japanese Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi and his Philippine counterpart, Delfin Lorenzana, also shared concern about Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its impact in the Indo-Pacific, and noted that any attempts to change the status quo by force is unacceptable, Japan's Defense Ministry said in a statement that avoided identifying China by name.

Japan has significantly expanded joint drills with the United States and other partners, including Australia, India, France, Britain and Germany, that share its concerns about China's assertion of its territorial claims in the region, which has some of the world's busiest sea lanes.

Japan is especially concerned about Chinese military and coast guard activity in the East China Sea near the Japanese-controlled Senkaku islands, which China also claims and calls Diaoyu.

On Thursday, Japan's Defence Ministry said it spotted a Chinese Y-9 electronic warfare aircraft flying over the Sakishima islands, although it did not violate Japanese airspace.

Kishi and Lorenzana also agreed to increase cooperation in defense equipment and technology transfer between the two countries. Tokyo and Manila agreed in 2020 on the Japanese export of air radar systems to the Philippine military. 

9:46 PM

UN assembly suspends Russia from top human rights body

The UN General Assembly voted Thursday to suspend Russia from the world organisation's leading human rights body over allegations of horrific rights violations by Russian soldiers in Ukraine, which the United States and Ukraine have called tantamount to war crimes.

 

The vote was 93-24 with 58 abstentions, significantly lower than the vote on two resolutions the assembly adopted last month demanding an immediate cease-fire in Ukraine, withdrawal of all Russian troops and protection for civilians. Both of those resolutions were approved by at least 140 nations.

9:37 PM

LIVE: UN General Assembly suspends Russia from Human Rights Council

9:36 PM

Recent reports of civilian killings in Bucha are deeply disturbing: India at UN

9:30 PM

Pak SC strikes down deputy speaker's decision to reject no-trust motion against PM Khan

Pakistan's Supreme Court on Thursday struck down National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri's controversial move to dismiss a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan, in a major blow to the cricketer-turned politician who is now likely to face a no-trust vote in Parliament after the ruling.

 

Suri, who is associated with Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, on April 3 dismissed the no-confidence motion against the premier claiming that it was linked with a "foreign conspiracy" to topple the government and hence was not maintainable. Minutes later, President Ari Alvi dissolved the National Assembly on the advice of Prime Minister Khan who had effectively lost the majority.

 

Chief Justice Bandial, who is heading a five-member bench comprising Justices Ijazul Ahsan, Mohammad Ali Mazhar Miankhel, Munib Akhtar and Jamal Khan Mandokhel, declared as unconstitutional the controversial ruling by the deputy speaker regarding the rejection of the no-confidence motion in Parliament.

 

In a unanimous verdict, the five-member bench also declared dissolution of the parliament as unconstitutional. The bench restored the parliament and declared the advice by Prime Minister Khan to President Alvi to dissolve the assembly as unconstitutional. The court ordered the speaker to call the session of the assembly on April 9 at 10am to organize the no-confidence vote.