UNHCHR flays pardon of officer who killed Tamil civilians

Colombo: The UN human rights chief has condemned the pardoning and release of a former Sri Lankan army officer sentenced to death for killing eight Tamil civilians, including four children, during the island’s bloody ethnic war in 2000. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) Michelle Bachelet said the presidential pardon is an “affront to victims and yet another example of the failure of Sri Lanka to fulfil its international human rights obligations to provide meaningful accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity and other gross violations of human rights”, the Colombo Gazzete reported. Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday pardoned former army sergeant Sunil Ratnayake who was sentenced in 2015 for the murder of eight Tamil civilians, including a five-year-old child, after more than a decade long trial. PTI

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Local election held in Queensland amid outbreak

Sydney: People in the Australian state of Queensland were urged to vote in local elections on Saturday or face a fine of USD 80, as polls went ahead despite most citizens being encouraged to stay home to stem the spread of the coronavirus. The state’s top health official said it was safe to vote in person as long as people followed social distancing guidelines. Many of the three million eligible voters had cast their ballot early, or remotely by post or telephone. However, long queues were reported outside some booths on Saturday due to safety measures. Queueing voters were told to stand 1.5 metres (5 feet) apart and asked to bring their own pens. AFP

Uzbek doctor dies after virus self-treatment

Tashkent: A doctor in Uzbekistan died on Saturday after unsuccessfully trying to treat a coronavirus infection that he kept secret, the Central Asian nation’s healthcare ministry said. The 39-year-old man had been in contact with Uzbek “patient zero”, it said in a statement, who appeared to have infected him. He was hospitalised on March 26 in grave condition and died two days later, becoming the second coronavirus patient to die in the former Soviet republic. Uzbekistan has confirmed 104 cases of the virus and has locked down all of its provinces and barred citizens from leaving their homes except for work or essential shopping. Reuters