Let's stand up for defence of religious freedom for all: Pompeo
Days after US State Department report on ''International Religious Freedom"
New Delhi, June 26: US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo on Wednesday pitched for the "defence of religious freedom for all", days after a report published by his ministry made critical remarks over the status of minorities in India.
At the same time, he hailed the rule of law prevailing in India, like in the US, and said both the countries believe in it.
"India is the birthplace of four major religions of the world. Let us stand up together for defence of religious freedom for all. Let's speak out strongly together in favour of those rights, for whenever we do compromise those rights, the world is worse off," he said while delivering a speech here.
A few days back, the US State Department, in its annual 2018 ''International Religious Freedom Report'', said: "Mob attacks by violent extremist Hindu groups against minority communities, especially Muslims, continued throughout the year amid rumours that victims had traded or killed cows for beef."
India rejected the observations, saying the "foreign entity/government" had "no locus standing to pronounce on the state of our citizens'' constitutionally protected rights".
In his speech, Pompeo said both India and the US "protect inalienable rights" of their people.
Also referring to the Lok Sabha elections, he hailed the democratic exercise, saying "imagine if every country had the voice which Indian people recently expressed".
He said India and the US "should see the world as it is and see each other what we are great democracies, global powers and good friends".
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2 Indian nationals part of crew of luxury cruise ship that reported hantavirus outbreak
London (PTI): At least two Indian nationals are part of the crew of the Dutch vessel MV Hondius which reported a hantavirus outbreak with five confirmed cases and three deaths so far, according to the BBC.
The luxury cruise ship, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, began its journey on April 1 from Argentina’s Ushuaia and is expected to arrive in Spain’s Canary Islands on May 10.
About 150 passengers and crew from 28 countries were initially aboard the luxury cruise, but dozens disembarked on the island of St Helena on April 24, according to the report.
Of the 28 nationalities onboard, 38 are from the Philippines, 31 from the UK, 23 from the US, 16 from the Netherlands, 14 from Spain, nine from Germany, six from Canada, and two crew members from India, among others, the BBC reported.
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The World Health Organization said on Thursday that five of the eight suspected hantavirus cases had been confirmed.
A 69-year-old Dutch woman, confirmed to have the virus, has died; her Dutch husband and a German woman were also among the fatalities. Their cases are being investigated.
The UN health agency has said the outbreak is not the start of a pandemic.
Maria van Kerkhove, an infectious disease epidemiologist at WHO, told a news briefing that the situation is not the same as six years ago with Covid-19 because hantavirus spreads through “close, intimate contact”.
Van Kerkhove said “this is not Covid, this is not influenza, it spreads very, very differently”. She said authorities had asked “everyone to wear a mask” on board the MV Hondius.
Those in contact with or caring for suspected cases, she added, should “wear a higher level of personal protective equipment”.
Hantavirus typically spreads from rodents - but in the latest outbreak the transmission between people was documented for the first time, the WHO said.
Meanwhile, health authorities are racing to trace dozens of people who have recently disembarked from the Dutch vessel MV Hondius.
Oceanwide Expedition said 29 passengers, of at least 12 different nationalities, had left the MV Hondius in St Helena, the British Overseas Territory.
It also said the body of one deceased person—now known to be a Dutch man - was taken off the vessel.
Seven of those who left the cruise liner were British nationals.
