Page 10 - Social Issues

Delhi govt offers to help Bihar tackle encephalitis

The Delhi government Wednesday offered all possible assistance to Bihar to deal with the increasing cases of children dying due to acute encephalitis syndrome (AES). Talking to reporters here, deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, flanked by Health Minister Satyendar Jain, said the AAP government was ready to send a team of doctors, paramedics, medicines and ambulances to Bihar. Around 113 children have died so far due to AES in the state. Earlier this week, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had visited a hospital in Muzaffarpur where he faced protests by angry people over the deaths. "I offer all possible assistance to the Bihar government in this crisis. We are ready to provide help such as sending teams of our doctors, para-medical staff, medicines and ambulances, to the state government," Sisodia said. Hitting out at the central government, Jain sought to know as to why no child was getting medical treatment under its Ayushman Bharat programme. The Delhi health minister had ...

No deliberate delay in executing death penalty of 2 convicts: Maha govt to HC

The Maharashtra government Wednesday told the Bombay High Court that there has been no "deliberate or inordinate delay" on its part in deciding and executing the death penalty imposed on two convicts in the 2007 Pune BPO employee's gang-rape and murder case. The state home department and Superintendent of Yerwada jail in Pune, where the two convicts are lodged, filed their affidavits in response to the pleas filed by the duo seeking to halt their execution scheduled on June 24. The petitions filed by Purushottam Borate and Pradeep Kokade have claimed that the "inordinate delay" in executing the sentence violated their fundamental rights. They urged the high court to commute their death sentence to life imprisonment. In the affidavit, the government said the Pune sessions court delayed in issuing warrants for the convicts' execution despite several reminders sent by the Yerwada prison superintendent and Additional Director General, Prisons Department, Pune. The home department, in its .

Massive protest in Kathmandu against controversial Guthi Bill

Thousands of protestors took to streets here on Wednesday demanding the government to scrap the controversial "Guthi Bill" which, they said, is against the cultural heritage of the Himalayan nation.Guthis, a form of institutional landownership, are socio-economic institutions that fulfill religious public services and social roles from incomes of cultivated or leased land as assets. This sort of institution has been in practice in Nepal for centuries which involve members from a common lineage or several.On April 30, the Nepali government tabled the controversial bill through the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation in the Upper House which proposes consolidation of all acts and amendments related to 'Guthis'."The government has grown more pragmatic for getting a two-thirds majority and is marching towards the state of solitude. It is neither listening to the opposition nor the public and is making decisions on own whims," Maya Dangal, one of the ...

Panel to probe high number of hysterectomy cases in Beed: Maharashtra health minister

The Maharashtra government has set up a committee to probe the high number of hysterectomies that were performed in Beed district in the last three years.This was disclosed by Health Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday while replying to a question by Shiv Sena leader Neelam Gohre in the state Assembly.The committee will be headed by the principal secretary of the health department.As many 4,605 women underwent womb removal surgeries in Beed district in the last three years, Shinde told the House."The committee will also have a team comprising three gynaecologists and women MLAs of the state. The panel has been asked to submit its report within two months," he said.Gohre had raised the issue of women sugarcane farmers aged between 25 to 30 years undergoing womb removal surgeries.In April, the National Commission for Women (NCW) had issued notice to the state chief secretary after a media report said that women were getting their wombs removed to avoid hindrance in work due to ...

Odisha: Litchi goes out of market after encephalitis outbreak in Muzaffarpur

The traders in the state have stopped getting litchis from Muzaffarpur in Bihar, which is reeling under the outbreak of acute encephalitis syndrome (AES).The traders' decision comes after Health Minister Naba Kishore Das asked the Public Food Safety Commissioner to test the quality of litchis from Bihar, which are being sold in the state."I have already asked my department to test the quality of litchis from Bihar. As a result, litchis are not available in the market," Das told reporters here on Wednesday.So far, nearly 112 children have died due to encephalitis in Muzaffarpur, Bihar.Arun Kumar Sahoo, a litchi wholesaler, said: "We were bringing litchi from Malda of West Bengal. But due to complaints about Muzaffarpur litchi, we have stopped to purchase it."Chief District Medical Officer, Sundargarh, DK Sudangi said: "After encephalitis deaths in Bihar, I have asked the Public Health Department to test the quality of litchi. People should get to eat only healthy litchi.

Belagavi: Protest against Union Minister for taking his oath in English

Karnataka Police on Wednesday detained members of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, who were protesting against Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Railways, Suresh Angadi, for taking oath in English as a member of the Lok Sabha.Suresh Angadi, who has won for the fourth time consecutively from Belagavi, having won for the first time in 2004. (ANI)Karnataka Rakshan Vedike or Karnataka Defence forum is a pro-Kannada organization, known for their activism in the interest of Kannada-speaking community in issues like Belgaum border issue, Krishna river water sharing, Cauvery water dispute, Hogenakkal, Mahadai project and so on..

NHA, ICICI Foundation to skill 15,000 personnel to implement Ayushman Bharat scheme

The National Health Authority and ICICI Foundation have signed an agreement to train 15,000 state and district personnel and Pradhan Mantri Arogya Mitras to streamline delivery of health services under the government's flagship Ayushman Bharat scheme. The MoU between NHA and ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth is aimed at capacity building of health personnel at state and district levels. The state personnel are responsible for implementing the scheme in their respective states and Arogya Mitras are frontline health service professionals present at each empanelled hospital. Arogya Mitras serve as the first-point contact for beneficiaries and help them in availing the services. This partnership with ICICI Foundation aims to skill more than 15,000 state personnel and Arogya Mitras over a period of one year. Post-training, the trained personnel will help the beneficiaries understand the scheme better. ICICI Academy for Skills will conduct the training programme at 20 of its centres, a .

LGBT refugees allege harassment in Kenya, a rare safe haven

Burundi national Nina Muregwa says she feels threatened again. After escaping death threats back home over her sexual identity the 17-year-old thought she had found a sanctuary in Kenya. Recent incidents, however, have left her scared for her life once more. She and other LGBT refugees allege they have been harassed by police in recent weeks in Kenya, which is a rare regional haven for the gay community and yet maintains that gay sex is illegal. It is the only East African nation where someone can seek asylum and be registered as a refugee based on their LGBT status, the United Nations refugee agency says. It is not clear how many are registered in Kenya. Muregwa and 16 other LGBT refugees allege that five police officers arrested them at gunpoint at home and locked them up without charge earlier this month. After they were released two days later on June 10, they allege another group of police officers tried to arrest them but the U.N. refugee agency intervened. Nairobi police chief .

Habit-forming drugs worth Rs 2.48 lakh seized from medical stores in Jalandhar

In a joint operation with Food and Drug Administration officials, the Punjab police have seized various habit-forming drugs worth about Rs 2.50 lakh from medical stores in Jalandhar district, officials said Wednesday. The drugs worth over Rs 2.48 lakhs were seized from three pharmacies in the districts, said Punjab Food and Drug Administration Commissioner K S Pannu in a release. Acting on a tip-off, the teams conducted raids at three chemist shops at Maqsudan, Nakodar and Dilkhusha market in Jalandhar and seized the drugs, he added. Owners of the shops too have been arrested, he said, adding the the process of cancellation of their medical store licenses has also been initiated.

Migration a multi-billion dollar industry: Amitav Ghosh

The migration network is extensive and has gone on to become a multi-billion dollar industry linking organisations in Europe to those in Africa and Asia, says author Amitav Ghosh who has been focusing on this topic in several of his books including his latest, "Gun Island". Migration, according to him, is happening on such a big scale that it is almost impossible to control. He says, one of the things that led him to write this novel is the refugee crisis, specifically the European refugee crisis of 2014-16. "Lot of the people coming across were from Libya, Tunisia and Egypt. These are countries where I have spent time. I found myself quite hypnotised by the unfolding of this crisis. I started looking at the pictures that were on the front pages of newspapers. There were many South Asian faces in the boats - people from this part of the world," he says. In some months among the refugees who were crossing the Mediterranean, one of the largest groups was from Bangladesh, he says. "I ...

Egypt accuses UN of seeking to 'politicise' Morsi death

Egypt accused the United Nations on Wednesday of seeking to "politicise" the death of the country's first democratically elected president Mohamed Morsi by calling for an "independent inquiry". Foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Hafez said he condemned "in the strongest terms" the call by the spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Rupert Colville, for an independent investigation into Morsi's death during a court hearing on Monday. Hafez said it was a "deliberate attempt to politicise a case of natural death." Colville called Tuesday for a probe into whether the conditions Morsi faced during his nearly six years in custody had contributed to his death. "Any sudden death in custody must be followed by a prompt, impartial, thorough and transparent investigation carried out by an independent body to clarify the cause of death," he said. "Concerns have been raised regarding the conditions of Mr. Morsi's detention, including access to adequate medical care, as well as ...

Guterres calls on intl community to step up response to check hate speech

With digital technology providing new channels for hate speech to grow and reach to wider audiences at lightning speed, UN chief Antonio Guterres has called on the international community to step up its response to combat acts of hatred and xenophobia. The UN secretary-general was speaking on Tuesday during the launch of the United Nations Strategy and Plan of Action aimed at enhancing global efforts to address the root causes of hate speech and enabling the world body to effectively respond to its impact on societies. Voicing deep concern about growing xenophobia, racism, intolerance, violent misogyny, anti-semitism and anti-Muslim hatred around the world, he asserted that over the past 75 years, hate speech has been the precursor to crimes like Easter Sunday blasts in Sri Lanka, attacks in New Zealand, the US and incidents of genocide in countries like Rwanda, Bosnia and Cambodia. "Governments and technology companies alike are struggling to prevent and respond to orchestrated ...

Euthanasia now legal in Australian state

Terminally ill Australians can for the first time apply to end their own life, after new laws went into effect in the state of Victoria Wednesday. The country's second most populous region made voluntary euthanasia legal under closely specified circumstances, a first for the country. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews -- who supported the bill after his father's death from cancer in 2016 -- said the laws were about giving patients a "dignified option at the end of their life". "We've taken a compassionate approach," Andrews told commercial broadcaster Channel Nine, adding that he hoped it would bring people the dignity of a "good death." Assisted suicide is illegal in most countries and in Australia until Victoria state introduced laws to legalise the practice in 2017. The scheme will be accessible only to terminally ill adult patients with fewer than six months to live -- or one year left to live for sufferers of conditions such as motor neurone disease and multiple sclerosis. Multiple

Record 70.8 million people displaced at end of 2018: UN

More than 70 million people were counted last year as displaced from their homes, a record that underestimates the real number of refugees and asylum seekers, the UN said Wednesday. In its annual global trends report, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) described the figure of 70.8 million at the end of 2018 as "conservative", particularly because the number of people who fled Venezuela's devastating crisis is undercounted. At the end of 2017, by comparison, 68.5 million people were counted as being forcibly displaced by violence or persecution. The UNHCR attributed the increase partly to surging displacement in Ethiopia caused by inter-ethnic conflict, and in Venezuela, where thousands are fleeing every day amid an economic collapse that has triggered shortages of basic food and medicine. An estimated 3.3 million people have left Venezuela since the start of 2016, according to the UN. UNHCR head Filippo Grandi told reporters in Geneva the figure of 70.8 million only includes ..

Gunmen kill 38 in attack on two villages in central Mali

At least 38 people were killed and several others sustained injuries in an attack carried out by unidentified gunmen in Gangafani and Yoro villages in central Mali, authorities said on Tuesday.The government responded to the incident by sending a military unit to the area to track down the perpetrators and investigate the incident, reported CNN.According to media reports, the victims of the attacks on two villages belonged to ethnic Dogons group.There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. However, members of the Dogan and Fulani ethnic groups in the country often clash over access to land and water.In a similar attack recently, at least 95 people were killed by unidentified gunmen in a village inhabited by the Dogon ethnic group in central Mali.The Dogans accuse Fulanis of having ties with local jihadist groups, while Fulanis claim that Mali's army provides arms to Dogans to attack them.

South Asian group seeks probe into death of Indian minor girl along the US-Mexico border

A South Asian group has sought a probe into the death of a six-year-old Indian girl, whose body was found along the US-Mexico border in Arizona, alleging that militarisation of the area and rejection of migrants attempting to cross at the entry ports have created an inhuman environment. The body of Gurupreet Kaur was found by the US Border Patrol officials 27 kilometres west of Lukeville, Arizona last week, when temperature reached a high of 42 degrees Celsius. Kaur's mother left her with a woman and her child and went in search of water. The deceased was travelling with four other persons, including her mother, and dropped near the border by human smugglers who ordered the group to cross in the dangerous and austere location. We are devastated to learn the death of Gurupreet Kaur, Lakshmi Sridaran, interim co-executive director of the South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), said in a statement. The group said that it will send a letter of inquiry to Customs and Border ...

Voluntary euthanasia becomes legal in Australian state

Voluntary euthanasia has become legal in an Australian state more than 20 years after the country repealed the world's first mercy-killing law for the terminally ill. The process of dying in an assisted suicide after an initial approach to a doctor in Victoria state takes at least 10 days from Wednesday. Health Minister Jenny Mikakos expects as few as one patient a month will be assisted to die in the first year. Australia's sparsely populated Northern Territory in 1995 became the first jurisdiction in the world to legalize doctor-assisted suicide for terminally ill patients. But the Australian Parliament overturned that law in 1997 after four people had been helped to die. The Australian Parliament does not have the same power to repeal the laws of states such as Victoria.

Acting US Defence Secretary quits as domestic violence reports surface

Acting US Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan has quit as reports of a domestic violence incident from nearly nine years ago surfaced marring his chances for confirmation even as Washington readies for a possible confrontation with Iran.

'Alcohol ads influence intention to intervene in sexual assault situations'

The results of the study largely support objectification theory, which suggests that perceptions of women as powerless objects result in individuals' negative treatment of women

Guterres backs 'self-policing' to fight hate speech

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has backed "new forms of self-policing by social media platforms" and action by volunteer groups to fight hate speech spreading at "lightning speed" through digital media.