Author Archives: Irfan Sheikh

ہم سائنس و ٹیکنالوجی میں پیچھے کیوں ہیں؟

سائنس اور ٹیکنالوجی کا شعبہ نہایت اہم ہے۔ موجودہ دور سائنس اور ٹیکنالوجی کا دور ہے۔ جو ملک سائنس اور ٹیکنالوجی میں آگے ہے اس کی معیشت بھی مضبوط ہے اور اس کا دنیا میں نام بھی ہے۔ ممالک تو کیا حالیہ دور میں افراد بھی سائنس اور ٹیکنالوجی میں مہارت حاصل کرکے دنیا پر راج کررہے ہیں۔ سائنس اور ...

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نوجوانوں کو سوشل میڈیا کے مضمرات سے کیسے بچایا جائے؟

جاوید نذیر نئی نسل کے ہاتھ سے موبائل فون چھیننا ایسا ہی ہے جیسے مرتے ہوئے شخص کے چہرے سے آکسیجن ماسک اتارنا۔ ایسی صورت حال میں نوجوانوں کو سوشل میڈیا کے مضمرات سے محفوظ رکھنے کےلیے بہت سوچ سمجھ کر حکمت عملی تیار کرنا ہوگی۔ سب سے پہلے تو والدین، ٹیچرز اور سرپرستوں کو اپنے بچوں کو اعتماد میں ...

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The Myanmar Military Wants the World to Give Up

Abandon hope. This is the message the junta is sending to the population of Myanmar. World leaders will gather in Jakarta in early September for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and East Asia Summits. Participants will include several G7 leaders and U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris, while U.S. President Joe Biden will be in the region attending the G20 ...

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Pakistan: Mob Attacks Christian Settlement

A mob attack on a Christian settlement in Pakistan highlights the need for the authorities to take immediate action to protect religious minorities from violence, Human Rights Watch said today. Federal and provincial governments in Pakistan have an obligation to investigate and appropriately prosecute all those responsible for intimidation, threats, and violent acts against religious minorities. On August 16, 2023, ...

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Thailand: Cambodian Opposition Activist Assaulted

Thai authorities should immediately and impartially investigate the attack on a Cambodian opposition activist who had sought refuge in Thailand, Human Rights Watch said today. Three Khmer-speaking men beat Phorn Phanna at around noon on August 22, 2023, in Rayong province, causing injuries to his face and chest. Phanna, 40, a member of Cambodia’s opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, fled ...

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Bangladesh: Social Audits Shortchange Workers

The social audits and certifications that brands and retailers use are totally inadequate to monitor and respond to threats to workers trying to organize independent unions, Human Rights Watch said today in releasing an analysis of standard social audit reports of garment factories in Bangladesh. Most audit reports either barely addressed the issue of freedom of association, or in some cases, ...

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Turkey Approves New Coal Mining to Feed Power Plants Destruction of Forest Latest Battleground on Coal

Dramatic scenes of villagers and environmental activists protesting the felling of thousands of trees in order to expand a coal mine have received widespread media coverage in Turkey over the past two weeks. Police used teargas and water cannon against the protesters and numerous were arrested as they attempted to stop the tree felling in Akbelen forest in Turkey’s western ...

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Amazon Summit: Commit to Protect Rainforest, Defenders

Latin American countries meeting at the Amazon Summit in Brazil on August 8 and 9, 2023, should commit to ratify and carry out the Escazْ Agreement, Human Rights Watch said today as it released a video explaining the importance of this treaty. The regional agreement would help shore up protection of the Amazon rainforest and other vital ecosystems across the ...

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Kenya: Ban Use of Highly Hazardous Pesticides

A study released on September 13, 2023, in Kenya indicates that pesticides that are banned for use in the European Union due to their risks to health and the environment continue to be sold by European and other international companies in Kenya, Human Rights Watch said today. Kenyan authorities should ban all imports of highly hazardous pesticides and their active ...

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Plastics Treaty Draft Takes First Step to Reduce Production

September 4, the United Nations Environment Programme published the zero draft of the new global plastics treaty. The text, based on previous negotiations, lays the foundation for a legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution and could help confront some of the harmful impacts of plastics on the environment and protection of human rights. The draft proposes options to address ...

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Bold Action Needed Following UN Climate Ambition Summit

On Wednesday, The United Nations held a Climate Ambition Summit in New York City alongside the annual meeting of the General Assembly. The summit broke ground for several reasons, particularly its push for governments to “stamp out fossil fuels.” UN Secretary General Antَnio Guterres has become increasingly steadfast in his commitment to taking on the industry at the forefront of ...

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New UN Guidance on Children’s Rights and the Environment

Today, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child launches new guidance for governments on protecting children’s rights in the face of climate change and other environmental crises. From toxic pollution in Zambia and harmful plastics recycling in Turkey, to rising sea levels affecting housing in Panama and higher temperatures diminishing food supplies in Canada, environmental crises pose immense risks to children worldwide. Children ...

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Brazil: Prosecutors Should Lead Police Killings Inquiries Prosecutor’s Office Should Ensure That New Guidelines Reflect International Standards

Brazil should urgently address the chronic problem of police abuse and impunity by ensuring that prosecutors lead investigations and that those investigations comply with international standards, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to the attorney general, Augusto Aras. Police killed more than 6,400 people in 2022, according to the nonprofit Brazilian Forum of Public Security, which compiles the ...

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Violence against Indigenous People Overshadows Amazon Summit

Violence against Indigenous people in Brazil has marred the Amazon Summit, a high-level meeting of presidents of countries in the Amazon region aimed at improving protection of the Amazon rainforest. The violence is a stark reminder that there is no future for the Amazon without protecting the people living in, and dependent on, the rainforest. On August 7, I visited ...

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Indigenous Peoples Secure Decisive Victory in Brazil

On September 21, Brazil’s Supreme Court upheld Indigenous peoples’ rights to their traditional lands by ruling against the so-called cutoff date, a legal argument that Indigenous peoples should not obtain title of their ancestral territories if they were not physically present on them on October 5, 1988, the day Brazil’s current Constitution was adopted. Following the decision, Indigenous people across ...

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