World news in brief
India gives rivers human rights
Two of India's most famous rivers have been given the status of living entities to save them from further harm caused by widespread pollution. The High Court in the northern state of Uttarakhand ruled that the Ganges and Yamuna rivers - considered sacred by nearly a billion Hindus in the country - be accorded the status of living human entities, meaning that if anyone harms or pollutes them, the law would view it the same as harming a person. The judges cited the example of New Zealand's Whanganui River, revered by the indigenous Maori people. The Whanganui was declared a living entity with full legal rights by New Zealand's government last week.
The Uttarakhand court, in the Himalayan hill resort town of Nainital, appointed three officials to act as legal custodians responsible for conserving and protecting the two rivers and their tributaries. Judges Rajeev Sharma and Alok Singh declared the Ganges and the Yamuna and their tributaries “legal and living entities having the status of a legal person with all corresponding rights, duties and liabilities”. The case
came to court after officials complained that the governments of Uttarakhand and the neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh were not co-operating with federal government efforts to set up a panel to protect the Ganges.
AP
Bulgarian nationalists block roads to prevent arriving voters from Turkey
Several hundred Bulgarian nationalists have blocked the three main checkpoints at the Bulgarian-Turkish border for a few hours Tuesday to prevent what they called “electoral tourism” by Bulgarian citizens living permanently in Turkey. The organizers from the nationalist United Patriots coalition claimed they had information that some 1,000 buses with at least 50,000 voters from Turkey were expected to cross the border ahead of Sunday's parliamentary elections. The protesters claimed that Turkish officials were forcing expatriate voters to support a pro-Ankara party, which the nationalists consider a threat to Bulgarian national interests.
TV footage from the scene showed protesters carrying Bulgarian flags and posters with the slogan “We are defending Bulgaria and Europe.” Piles of car tires were placed on the road to stop traffic. Valeri Simeonov, one of the leaders of the nationalist coalition, told reporters that some 500 people from nearby towns had joined Tuesday's protests. “If necessary, we will bring together many more and we will block the traffic 24/7 if attempts to bring buses with foreign elements do not stop,” he added.
AP
Australia face fresh criticism on indigenous human rights record from UN
Australia came under fresh criticism over its treatment of its indigenous population on Tuesday as a UN investigator examined the impact of a government takeover of remote communities and as Canberra pushes its bid to join the UN Human Rights Council. Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders make up just three percent of Australia's population of 23 million people but have disproportionately high rates of suicide, alcohol abuse, domestic abuse and imprisonment, tracking near the bottom in almost every economic and social indicator.
U.N. special rapporteur Victoria Tauli-Corpuz this week started a 15-day tour to review the impact of laws surrounding the government's 2007 intervention, which was aimed at curbing alcohol abuse, domestic violence and improving health. “The special rapporteur's visit comes at a time we're hearing harrowing allegations from young people brutalised by the youth justice systems,” Tammy Solonec, Indigenous Rights Manager of Amnesty International Australia, said in a statement on Tuesday. “Prime Minister (Malcolm) Turnbull must show federal leadership in setting a national plan to address it.”
Reuters
South Korea's ousted president apologizes as she arrives for questioning
South Korea's ousted president has apologised to the people before being questioned over a corruption scandal that led to her removal from office. The questioning of Park Geun-hye came 11 days after the country's constitutional court ruled unanimously to dismiss her as president over claims that she colluded with a confidante to extort money from businesses and committed other wrongdoings. Her power had been suspended since she was impeached by parliament in December.
It was a dramatic fall for Ms Park, a daughter of murdered dictator Park Chung-hee, who was elected as the country's first female president in late 2012 amid a wave of support from conservatives who remembered her father as a hero who pulled the country up from poverty despite his suppression of civil rights. “I am sorry to the people. I will sincerely undergo an investigation,” Ms Park said when she arrived at a Seoul prosecutors' office. She did not elaborate and went inside the building amid a barrage of camera flashes.
Prosecutors later said they began questioning her with her lawyer present. AP