London: For the first time in 40 years, Queen Elizabeth II will skip the Commonwealth summit to be held in Sri Lanka in November, deciding to send her son Prince Charles instead for the biennial event. 87-year-old Queen will miss the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) for the first time since 1973, Buckingham Palace announced on Tuesday.
"I can confirm that the Queen will be represented by the Prince of Wales. The reason is that we are reviewing the amount of long-haul travel that is taken by the Queen. As a result of that, she won't be travelling to the Commonwealth heads of government meeting later in 2013", a spokesman said.
This year's CHOGM has been mired in controversy, with campaigners including Amnesty International calling for not holding the summit until an investigation is carried out into alleged human rights abuses in the final six months of the 26-year Sri Lankan civil war.
Britain is facing pressure to lead a boycott of the meeting, with Canada indicating that it will not attend unless specific criteria are met. However, Buckingham Palace said the Queen's decision not to attend was not related to the political situation in Lanka....
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04:15 PM, May 07, 2013
Washington: Expressing deep concern over the recent surge in attacks on Sri Lankan media organisations, the US on Tuesday called on the country to ensure freedom of press. "The US calls on Sri Lankan authorities to demonstrate their commitment to the rule of law and freedom of expression by conducting thorough investigations into all attacks and killings of journalists and bringing perpetrators to justice," State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell, told...
07:20 AM, May 01, 2013
Although the global trend towards abolition remained strong, 2012 saw a disappointing resumption of executions in some countries including India, the latest Amnesty International report on death penalty and capital sentencing around the world in 2012 has revealed. The total number of confirmed executions was 682, two more than in 2011 with India accounting for one of them - the hanging of Mumbai 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab. The data from...
11:02 AM, Apr 12, 2013
New Delhi: Amnesty International on Sunday urged Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to take a stand of "zero tolerance" for human rights violations in the valley as part of its campaign "Pick up your pen to stop police abuse!" "In support of this campaign, Amnesty International wants the chief minister to take a stand of 'zero tolerance' for human rights violations in the Valley, and the first step...
11:20 PM, Mar 31, 2013
Islamabad/London: Amnesty International on Thursday accused the Pakistan Army of widespread human rights abuses in the country's restive tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, saying several laws were being misused in the fight against Taliban and other militants. In a new report titled "The hands of cruelty: Abuses by armed forces and Taliban in Pakistan's tribal areas", the rights group said troops arbitrarily detained people for long periods without charge and with...
02:58 AM, Dec 14, 2012
New Delhi: Amnesty International has slammed the Jammu and Kashmir government for continuing to use the Public Safety Act (PSA) to detain people without charge or trial in violation of their human rights and demanded its repeal. Terming the PSA, under which police can arrest any suspect and keep him/her in jail for two years without trial, as a "lawless law", Amnesty has demanded that all PSA detainees "must be...
11:38 PM, Oct 13, 2012
Norway: The right-wing fanatic on trial for massacring 77 people in Norway says he wants either freedom or death, calling the country's prison terms "pathetic" and arguing for the return of capital punishment, which was last used here to execute Nazi collaborators after World War II. On the third day of his terror trial, Anders Behring Breivik was grilled by prosecutors about the anti-Muslim militant group he claims to belong...
03:28 AM, Apr 19, 2012
New Delhi: Human Rights group Amnesty International on Wednesday demanded that security personnel facing serious charges like rape and murder should stand trial and not hide behind Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). Welcoming the Supreme Court statement that personnel involved in rape and murder could invoke AFSPA, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific Program Director Sam Zarifi said, "for far too long, Indian security forces have used the AFSPA as a cover...
05:03 AM, Feb 09, 2012
Dhaka: Eight Bangladeshi migrants were beheaded in public in the Saudi Arabian capital after they were convicted of killing an Egyptian security guard four years ago, a media report said. They were charged with robbing a warehouse and killing a security guard, Egyptian national Hussein Saeed Mohammed Abdulkhaleq, in April 2007, bdnews24.com reported on Saturday. Mamun Abdul Mannan, Faruq Jamal, Sumon Miah, Mohammed Sumon, Shafiq al-Islam, Masud Shamsul Haque, Abu...
11:02 AM, Oct 09, 2011
New Delhi: It’s the verdict which has left many across India completely shocked. Dr Binayak Sen being pronounced guilty by a Raipur Sessions Court has left human rights activists, leading jurists and writers appalled. A travesty of justice: That is how leading human rights defenders, activists and jurists have greeted the verdict of the Raipur sessions court which held Dr Binayak Sen guity of sedition and sentenced him to life....
11:15 PM, Dec 25, 2010
New Delhi: International human rights group Amnesty International has slammed the life sentence awarded on Friday to activist Dr Binayak Sen by a court in Raipur. In a statement on Saturday Amnesty International said that fair trial standards were violated in the case against Dr Binayak Sen. It has termed the sentence unusually harsh, claiming that since Dr Sen is an internationally recognised human rights defender who has never been...
01:53 PM, Dec 25, 2010
At $ 1.2 billion, the two summits, spanning three days, will be the costliest 72 hours in Canadian history. ...
12:56 PM, Jun 03, 2010
17 Indians were found guilty over the murder of a Pakistani in Sharjah and were sentenced to death. ...
09:08 AM, Apr 25, 2010
Amnesty's new chief Salil Shetty headed the UN Millennium Campaign. ...
09:24 AM, Feb 02, 2010
The bill was meant to beef up the powers of India's police to fight terror. ...
01:13 PM, Dec 19, 2008
Dubai: Two years ago, Afghanistan were the surprise package of the Twenty20 World Cup cricket qualifying tournament. Now they are the team to beat. The defending champions are the top seeds at the 16-team tournament which begins Tuesday. But they are likely to face a stiff challenge from Ireland, who they beat by eight wickets in the 2010 qualifying final. Other teams including the Netherlands and Kenya are also aiming ...
05:15 PM, May 02, 2008
Hello and welcome once again to DRS where I, in a freewheeling manner, talk about issues relating to the world of cricket. And what would cricket be without controversies? The latest of course, being reports of a rift in the team. Between Mahendra Singh Dhoni on the one side and seniors, or the so-called seniors of the team, on the other. I thought I would focus today on the personality...
10:33 PM, Apr 26, 2008
Amnesty International organised protests at US Embassies worldwide to mark the fifth anniversary of Guantanamo Bay. ...
04:25 PM, Jan 12, 2007
