Page 115 - Social Issues
IT officials raid construction company in Hyderabad
Income Tax officials on Friday conducted raids at an office belonging to Maphar Constructions in Masab Tank area and seized few documents related to the company, sources said.The raids were conducted for over five hours, the sources further mentioned.Maphar Constructions is a bespoke residential development company, primarily operating in Hyderabad.
UN official welcomes Rohingya relocation plan
A senior UN official has welcomed Bangladesh's plan to move Rohingya refugees out of the country's congested camps, but said any move to transfer some 100,000 of them to a flood-prone island should be voluntary. Volker Turk, an assistant high commissioner at the UN's refugee agency, said Thursday that the southeast Kutupalong camp, the world's largest and now home to some 600,000 Rohingya refugees who have fled neighbouring Myanmar, is highly overcrowded. "If you have been in Kutupalong or various camps in Cox's Bazar area, it is clear that there is huge congestion," the UNHCR official told reporters in Dhaka after concluding a five-day visit to the country. "So we welcome the fact that the government of Bangladesh has taken very active steps to identify alternative settlement (for the Rohingya refugees)." He added that the UN was still in "discussion" with the Bangladeshi authorities about the relocation of refugees to the island of Bhashan Char, in the Bay of Bengal, but said ...
Kigali Global Dialogue to be held from July 3-5
The Kigali Global Dialogue (KGD) will take place at the Marriott Hotel in Kigali, Rwanda, from July 3 to 5.
Karni Sena members entering poll fray will have to quit outfit
The Karni Sena, which hogged limelight last year for its violent protests against Hindi movie 'Padmaavat', said Friday its members who want to contest Lok Sabha polls will have to resign from the organisation. Talking to reporters here, Karni Sena founder Lokendra Singh Kalvi said their organisation is non-political in nature and hence its members who want to jump into the poll fray will have to formally resign from the outfit. He said the Karni Sena, an outfit of Rajputs, is not going to field any candidate, but claimed half a dozen of its office-bearers are going to contest the elections. Kalvi said a convention of the Karni Sena would be organised on March 31 in Bhopal and several issues, including reservation granted to the economically weaker section (EWS) in jobs and education, would be discussed at the meet. The reservation for poor candidates in the general category is yet to be implemented in the Congress-ruled Madhya Pradesh. He also advocated construction of a .
Veteran Indian-origin MP fights back malicious' deselection attempt in UK
Veteran Indian-origin politician Virendra Sharma, who has been a Labour Party MP in the UK Parliament for over a decade, has lashed out at a "malicious" attempt by a local group to try and deselect him. Sharma, who represents the constituency of Ealing Southall in south-west London with a massive Punjabi-origin electorate, said he was proud to have been able to fight back an attempt to divide the community along racial lines by a local labour union branch. "The malicious no-confidence motion in a first generation immigrant Member of Parliament by self-appointed anti-racist campaigners smacks of hypocrisy, said 71-year-old Opposition politician. I am proud to continue to serve Ealing Southall as their MP with a majority of more than 22,000 votes, the largest of any MP here in history. The vast majority of members continue to support me as do voters locally, he said. The no-confidence motion tabled by a local Unite labour union body, which forms part of the wider Labour Party ...
Prahar party gives farmer's widow Lok Sabha ticket
In a bid to take farm crisis to Parliament, widow of a farmer has decided to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha election from Yavatmal-Washim in Maharashtra.A resident of Kambal tehsil, Vaishali Sudhakar Yeddy will contest on the ticket of a newly formed Prahar Party of MLA Bachhu Kadu.According to the party, the main issue in the elections will be the failure in implementing government policies on farmers.In 2011, Vaishali's husband Sudhakar Yedi had committed suicide due to debt. After the death of her husband, Vaishali was associated with many social organisations which were involved in the welfare of farmers.As many as 5000 party workers from Amravati district have been deployed to Yavatmal-Washim for the campaigning.She is likely to file her nomination papers on March 23.Polls will be held in Maharashtra on April 10, 17 and 24. Counting of votes will take place on May 23.
Pulwama attack mastermind aide in NIA custody
A Delhi court on Friday sent Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist Sajjad Khan, a close aide of Pulwama attack mastermind Muddasir Ahmed Khan, to NIA custody till March 29.
Mentally ill prisoner died at Pakistan hospital
A Pakistani rights group says a mentally ill prisoner who spent the last 16 years of his life on death row has died at a hospital in the eastern city of Lahore. A Friday statement by Justice Project Pakistan, which campaigns against the death penalty, says Khizar Hayat, 56, passed away Thursday night. It said Hayat had been hospitalized in critical condition for being "severely anemic and hypotensive". Pakistan's Supreme Court had suspended Hayat's execution early this year following a civil society campaign. The former policeman was sentenced to death in 2003 for killing a fellow officer. The court also ordered a new hearing in his case, but Hayat passed away before any progress could be made. Hayat is survived by four children and his mother.
Barclays, TCS team up to help children with locomotor disabilities
India's largest IT services company Tata Consultancy Services has teamed up with Barclays to launch a virtual platform to help children with neuro-muscular disabilities become more self-dependent. The virtual habilitation platform, TCS VHAB, will be launched at ZEP Rehabilitation Centre, Pune. This centre, established in 2008, carries out programmes to help improve the mobility of children with locomotor disabilities. These programmes are aimed at enabling development of daily skills, self-help skills, functional skills and academics. "TCS has joined hands with Barclays to launch TCS VHAB platform at the ZEP Rehabilitation Centre in Pune...," the IT company said in a statement. Under the partnership, REACH- the Barclays Disability and Mental Health Network, is providing the hardware and equipment, while TCS is deploying its VHAB solution, as per a regulatory filing. VHAB solution is essentially a digital assistive platform that improves physiotherapy regimen for children with ...
NGT directs Delhi chief secy to furnish report on illegal scrap units in Mayapuri
The National Green Tribunal has directed the Delhi chief secretary to furnish a status report on illegal scrap units, which do a business of around Rs 6,000 crore per annum, in Mayapuri here. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel also asked the authorities to adopt stern precautionary measures against polluters in view of deteriorating air quality in the city. The NGT said that the failure of authorities was resulting in damage to public health and environment. "The chief secretary states that the steps are now being taken to improve the situation, including the working of Delhi Pollution Control Committee. The chief secretary has undertaken to look into the present matter and to positively furnish a separate report in the matter before the next date of hearing," the bench said. The tribunal has posted the matter for April 11. The NGT had earlier directed the AAP government to furnish a performance guarantee of Rs 5 crore within a month for failing to act ...
Woman constable hangs self in Rajasthan's Jalore
A woman constable allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself in Jalore district of Rajasthan, police said Friday. Geeta Vishnoi, 27, hanged herself from a ceiling hook in her quarter in Sanchore police station Thursday night, they said. Vishnoi lived alone, they added. "During preliminary investigation, it was found that she had sent a message to her brother saying that her officer had marked her absent on the day of Holi and she was therefore disturbed," Additional Superintendent of Police Binjaram Meena said. The body has been sent for post-mortem and the matter is being probed, he said.
JeM terrorist Sajjad Khan remanded to NIA custody
A Delhi court on Friday send Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist Sajjad Khan, arrested near Red Fort earlier, to NIA custody till March 29.
Christel House celebrates, new international CEO, Bart Peterson's visit to India
India is a huge country and social issues need to be addressed on a large scale to make an impact. Christel House India - an initiative which strives to help children from impoverished backgrounds break the cycle of poverty - believes otherwise.Through a model focused on education, nutrition, character and healthcare, this NGO has made a small but powerful transformation of 1000 plus economically disadvantaged children by introducing them into the mainstream as educated, contributing members of society.At the recent cultural event held at the Bengaluru centre, Christel House shared plans to emulate its standard of success at its other centre in India viz Atal Nagar. With a robust K - 12 education program, the Bengaluru centre continues to reach more children with each new group of kindergartners added and the corresponding graduating class of PUC 12th graders moving on to the college & careers program. The centre is making a significant social impact. When its graduates gain ...
Woman commits suicide at Noida metro station
A 28-year-old woman on Friday committed suicide by jumping in front of a moving Delhi Metro train at the Noida Sector 16 station, officials said.
15 polling stations in Mizoram for tribal refugees
The Election Commission will set up 15 special polling stations at Kanhmun village along the Mizoram-Tripura border to help tribal refugees living in relief camps in Tripura exercise their franchise for the lone Lok Sabha seat in Mizoram, officials said on Friday.
US border agents fire tear gas at Central American migrants
US Border Patrol agents on Thursday fired tear gas at Central American migrants attempting to cross the border from the Mexican city of Tijuana, AFP journalists saw. A group of migrants, including children, used an improvised rope to try to scale fencing installed on the beach between Tijuana and San Diego, California -- but were forced back with tear gas, which agents had not deployed since January 1. An AFP journalist witnessed only one migrant cross the border, where he was immediately detained. It marked the third time in a week that a group of Central Americans had tried to cross the border to ask for asylum on the grounds their lives were threatened by violence at home. On the first occasion, a week ago, around 50 people made it across, with about 10 more crossing on Tuesday. All were detained by authorities. "Someone brought them here, they train them because they know that upon crossing they must ask for asylum and that way they won't be deported and they have to be processed .
Mexico moves toward total ban on underage marriage
Mexico has moved closer to a total, nationwide ban on underage marriage with no exceptions after the Senate approved the prohibition. The changes to the national legal codes still have to approved by the lower house. The law approved Thursday would require people to be at least 18 to get married. Most of Mexico's 32 state-level governments prohibit underage marriage, but exceptions have been allowed, with parental consent. According to the Interior Department, only Baja California state remains without a ban. Just a few years ago, boys as young as 16, and girls as young as 14, were allowed to marry with their parents' consent. The department said in 2015, 24,338 people under 18 got married in Mexico; the majority were young girls marrying older males.
Cyprus seeks EU intelligence access for migrant screening
Cyprus wants access to the European Union's security intelligence network so it can screen arriving migrants more thoroughly for signs of radicalization by extremist groups, the Mediterranean island nation's interior minister said Thursday. Rising numbers of migrants enter ethnically divided Cyprus on its breakaway Turkish side to seek asylum in the internationally recognized Greek side in the south, creating a situation that Interior Minister called "more disconcerting" and "very difficult to manage." Petrides said monthly asylum applications have surpassed 1,000 so far this year. According to Cyprus' Asylum Service, one-quarter of arriving migrants are from Syria, but significant numbers come from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Cameroon. Cyprus joined the European Union in 2004, but only the south enjoys full membership benefits. EU Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said after talks with Petrides on Thursday that Cypriot officials shed light on issues that he hadn't ...
China 'invites' EU diplomats to visit Xinjiang
China said Thursday it had invited European diplomats to visit the restive northwest region of Xinjiang, where Beijing is accused of rights abuses against the ethnic Uighur Muslims. "In order to enhance the understanding of the achievements of Xinjiang's economic and social development in Europe... the Chinese side invited the diplomatic envoys of European countries to visit Xinjiang," foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters. The dates of the visit and other arrangements were under discussion, he said, hoping the trip would allow the diplomats to "experience the stability and harmony of Xinjiang, and the real situation of people of all nationalities living and working in peace and contentment". As many as one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities are being held in internment camps in Xinjiang, according to a group of experts cited last year by the United Nations. Beijing claims the camps are "vocational training centres" that help steer people who may be ...
Japan gives UN World Food Programme $69m
Yokohama (Japan), March 22 (IANS/AKI) Japan has donated 69 million dollars to the United Nations World Food Programme to provide vital aid to 28 countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, with the biggest shares of the money earmarked for Yemen and Iraq, WFP said Thursday in a statement.