UMass Bans Iranians From Some Engineering, Science Programs

(AMHERST, Mass.) — The University of Massachusetts at Amherst has banned Iranian nationals from admission to certain graduate programs in a move that school officials say aligns its policy with U.S. sanctions against Iran.
The university will no longer admit students from Iran to some programs in engineering and natural sciences.
The National Iranian American Council says UMass’ interpretation of the law is flawed and may violate protections against discrimination.
Congress enacted legislation in August 2012 that denies visas for Iranian citizens to study in the U.S. if they plan to participate in coursework for a career in the energy or nuclear fields in Iran.

Ukraine Truce Hangs by Thread as Fighting Rages Near Eastern City of Debaltseve

The fragile cease-fire in Ukraine appears to be near collapse just 48 hours after being implemented, as separatist fighters and government troops continued to engage in tit-for-tat fighting.
On Monday, rebels and Ukrainian forces exchanged artillery fire throughout the day near the strategic rail hub of Debaltseve, east of Donetsk. A leading representative from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) pledged to travel to the city on Tuesday to assess the situation after members of the group were denied access over the weekend.

Judge Approves Injunction Against Obama's Executive Action on Immigration

A South Texas judge has ordered an injunction on U.S. President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration, attributing it to a failure of the government to “comply with the Administrative Procedure Act.”
The injunction stalls Obama’s orders, which could spare up to 5 million people who are currently in the U.S. illegally from deportation. The move gives a coalition of 26 states the opportunity to pursue a lawsuit that would permanently halt the President’s orders.
U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush in 2002, prevented any implementation of the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, or DAPA, until a resolution is reached or the court decides otherwise.
Hanen also ordered the parties to come to an agreement on the issue by Feb. 27, when they will be required to submit a schedule for its resolution.

Beyoncé and Gary Clark Jr. Pay Tribute to Stevie Wonder

The songs may have been written by Stevie Wonder, but the moment belonged to Beyoncé as she performed an impressive melody from the funk legend’s songbook along with Gary Clark Jr. during a tribute concert that aired on Monday.
The performance was part of CBS special taped last week that featured renditions of several Wonder classics by Lady Gaga, Pharrell, Janelle Monáe and John Legend. Wonder, 64, is set to kickoff the next leg of his “Songs in the Key of Life” tour in March.

100 Indians Have Died of Swine Flu in the Past Three Days

A hundred people have died in three days of the H1N1 virus — commonly known as swine flu — in India, taking the country’s death toll from the disease to 585 in 2015.
A total of 8,423 people have contracted the disease in the country this year, and the Indian Express reports that hospitals are now running out of protective masks and medicines to combat the disease. Private hospitals have reportedly started turning patients away citing a shortage of Tamiflu, the primary drug against the virus, while the government has ordered additional stocks.
“There are no masks in our hospital,” an unnamed employee at a government hospital in New Delhi was quoted as saying. “Doctors are working at a very high risk. There is also hoarding of vaccines that has raised prices from the usual Rs 750 [$12] to Rs 1000 [$16].”
[Indian Express]

North Korea Threatens Strong Response to D.C. Rights Meeting

(UNITED NATIONS) — North Korea says it will respond “very strongly” to a conference in Washington on Tuesday about its widespread human rights abuses and says the United States ignored Pyongyang’s offer to attend and defend itself. Puzzled conference organizers said the event was open to the public.
North Korea’s U.N. Ambassador Jang Il Hun told reporters Monday his country has asked the U.S. government to “immediately scrap the so-called conference” hosted by the nonprofit Center for Strategic & International Studies. Speakers include Robert King, the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues.
Victor Cha, Korea chair at CSIS, said he was not sure what Jang was referring to. “We issued no specific invitations to anyone,” he said.
Nuclear-armed North Korea has been on the defensive ever since a groundbreaking U.N. commission of inquiry detailed vast rights abuses there. International pressure behind last year’s report led the U.N. Security Council to place the issue on its agenda of matters of international peace and security.
Jang said he sent a formal request to his counterpart in the State Department and that the counterpart responded that the conference was not a government one. “That means our request was denied,” Jang said.
North Korea and the United States do not have formal diplomatic relations, but Jang is tasked with communicating through the so-called “New York channel” that the country’s U.N. mission uses to reach out to U.S. officials. Jang said his communication to the U.S. was only about the conference.
The U.S. restricts North Korean diplomats to traveling within a 25-mile (40-kilometer) radius of midtown Manhattan, and they must request permission to go farther.
The State Department said the conference was a privately organized event.
North Korea has repeatedly said the U.S. uses the human rights issue as a pretext to overthrow it, and it has started demanding that the U.S. should instead look into the CIA’s “torture crimes.”
The U.N. General Assembly in December approved a resolution that urged the council to refer North Korea’s human rights situation to the International Criminal Court, and the head of the commission of inquiry has written to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warning that he could be held accountable for crimes against humanity.
“We are not guilty of any crime,” Jang said Monday, smiling.
But alarmed by anything targeting their young leader, North Korean diplomats briefly proposed last year that the U.N. high commissioner for human rights could visit their country if the U.N. resolution would drop the language about Kim and the ICC.
Jang on Monday told reporters that the opportunity had passed. “Once it’s gone, we have to start all over again,” he said.
Jang also has said his foreign minister was not allowed to attend a meeting with Secretary of State John Kerry and other diplomats about North Korea’s human rights during the U.N. General Assembly of world leaders last fall.
Another organizer of Tuesday’s conference, Greg Scarlatoiu with the Washington-based Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, said he had not heard from North Korea about it. “I find it encouraging that North Korea is paying attention to a conference commemorating one year since the release of the report, since they’ve been unwilling to accept the commission of inquiry,” he said.

Boko Haram Issues New Threat Against Niger, Chad

(YAOUNDE, Cameroon) — The Nigeria-based extremist group Boko Haram on Monday threatened neighboring countries Niger and Chad, warning the fighters were prepared to carry out suicide bombings in the countries sending troops to help fight the militants.
The warning came as leaders from Niger and other countries in the region gathered in Cameroon’s capital to finalize plans for a joint offensive against the militants who have stepped up their attacks in recent weeks.
In a translation published by the SITE Intelligence Group, Boko Haram sharply criticized Niger for joining the effort and said the country was being dragged into a “swamp of darkness.” Over the last 10 days, Boko Haram fighters have repeatedly struck the town of Diffa but not the capital.
“If you insist on continuing the aggression and the coalition with the government of Chad, then we give you glad tidings that the land of Niger is easier than the land of Nigeria and moving the war to the depth of your cities will be the first reaction toward any aggression that occurs after this statement,” it said, according to SITE’s transcript.
A multinational force to fight Boko Haram is expected to be formally launched in coming weeks. Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin initially pledged to help Nigeria. On Monday, Burundi and Central African Republic also agreed to contribute troops to fight the militant group.
The Islamic extremist group has fought a five-year insurgency against Nigeria’s government, leaving 10,000 people dead last year alone. The violence has forced some 157,000 people to seek refuge in Niger, while 40,000 others have gone to Cameroon and 17,000 are in Chad, the U.N. said. Almost 1 million Nigerians are internally displaced, according to the country’s own statistics.
On Monday, leaders in Central Africa said that 10 member states had agreed to contribute most of the $100 million needed to combat Boko Haram. They did not state how much had been raised nor how much is remaining despite calling for the creation of an emergency fund to bridge the difference.

New York City's Record Murder-Free Streak Ends After 12 Days

An unusually long run of days without a murder in New York City ended Saturday just shy of two weeks.
The New York Police Department believes this 12-day stretch was the longest without a homicide since the early ’90s, though last February saw a comparably long streak of 10 days.
Eric Roman was shot outside of his home in Queens on Friday and died of his wounds in a hospital on Saturday, the New York Times reports. The same day, another Queens man was found dead in his basement with head trauma, though that case has not yet been ruled a homicide.
Officials believe cold weather is the primary cause for these extended periods of quiet, and the shooting rate isn’t down year over year—136 people have been shot in New York as of Saturday this year, compared to 110 in the same period last year.
But while shootings are up, the murder rate is on the decline: homicides are down 2.5% year-to-date as of Feb. 8, and 82.4% since 1993.

Hundreds of Jewish Tombs Have Been Desecrated in France

Hundreds of Jewish tombs at a French cemetery in eastern France have been vandalized in what the French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve called “a despicable act” on Sunday.
The incident, which happened in the town of Sarre-Union, near the German border, is the latest to have targeted European Jews in recent months, according to the Guardian.
“Everything will be done to identify, arrest and judge the perpetrator or perpetrators of this ignominious act,” Cazeneuve said in a statement.
Images on social media show the tombs violated with images of swastikas and Nazi symbolism

Facebook Now Letting Users Manage Accounts After Death

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