War kills over 100,000 babies a year: Save the Children
Munich, Feb 15: At least 1,00,000 babies die every year because of armed conflict and its impact, from hunger to denial of aid, Save the Children International said on Friday.
In the 10 worst-hit countries, a conservative estimate of 550,000 infants died as a result of fighting between 2013 and 2017.
They succumbed to war and its effects, among them hunger, damage to hospitals and infrastructure, a lack of access to health care and sanitation and the denial of aid.
It said children face the threat of being killed or maimed, recruited by armed groups, abducted or falling victim to sexual violence.
"Almost one in five children are living in areas impacted by conflict -- more than at any time in the past two decades," said the charity's CEO Helle Thorning-Schmidt in a statement.
"The number of children being killed or maimed has more than tripled, and we are seeing an alarming increase in the use of aid as a weapon of war," she said on releasing the report at the Munich Security Conference.
Save the Children said a study it had commissioned from the Peace Research Institute Oslo had found that 420 million children were living in conflict-affected areas in 2017.
This represents 18 percent of all children worldwide and was up by 30 million from the previous year.
The worst-hit countries were Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Mali, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
The total number of deaths from indirect effects over the five-year period jumped to 870,000 when all children under the age of five were included, the charity said.
It also issued a list of recommendations to help protect children, from steps such as committing to a minimum age of 18 for military recruitment to the avoidance of using explosive weapons in populated areas.
Thorning-Schmidt said the rising number of child casualties was very worrying.
"It is shocking that in the 21st century we are going backwards on principles and moral standards that are so simple children and civilians should never be targeted."
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Delhi Police: No case filed against individual who called Mohd Zubair 'Jihadi' in tweet, High Court
New Delhi: In response to a plea filed by Mohammed Zubair regarding an allegedly offensive tweet in 2020, the Delhi Police informed the Delhi High Court that no case has been registered against the individual who referred to Zubair as a "jihadi."
The tweet in question was posted by Jagdish Singh, who accused Zubair of cyber sexual harassment of his granddaughter. However, the police found no incriminating evidence against Singh, stating that his comment, "Once a jihadi is always jihadi," did not cause fear or alarm to the public.
Zubair's plea stems from a tweet he made, questioning a user's appropriateness in using derogatory language online while displaying a profile picture with his granddaughter. Zubair's tweet, which blurred the minor's face, prompted an FIR against him under various acts including the POCSO Act and the Information Technology Act.
The status report has been filed in Zubair's plea against the FIR under POCSO Act — he has already been given a clean chit in the case.
“Thus, the captioned tweet by the complainant Mr. Jagdish Singh and his examination in this regard has revealed that the captioned tweet on 18.04.2020 does not cause fear or alarm to the public or any section of the public whereby any person may be induced to commit an offence against any state or against public tranquility,” the Delhi Police has said.
The status report added: “That in view of above, no case has been registered in relation to the captioned tweet against the complainant i.e. Mr. Jagdish Singh.”
The Delhi Police filed the response after it was pulled up by the court last year over no action taken against the man.
The case pertains to a tweet posted by Zubair, sharing the profile picture of a user and asking if it was appropriate for him to use derogatory language in replies while using a profile picture with his granddaughter in it. Zubair in his tweet had blurred the face of the minor girl. U
"Hello XXX. Does your cute grand daughter know about your part time job of abusing people on social media? I suggest you to change your profile pic," Zubair had said in the tweet.
In the FIR lodged in Delhi, offences under the POCSO Act, Section 509B of IPC, Sections 67 and 67A of the Information Technology Act were invoked against Zubair.
However, the Delhi Police found no criminality in Zubair's tweet and granted him interim protection from arrest in September 2020. The court directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Cyber Cell to provide a status report on the investigation, while also instructing Twitter India to expedite the request filed by the Cyber Cell.
