Page 12 - Social Issues

Rakuten Social Accelerator to launch in India

Rakuten, Inc, a global leader in internet services headquartered in Tokyo, today announced that its social innovation initiative, Rakuten Social Accelerator, is expanding globally with the launch of the program at its Development and Operations Center in Bengaluru, Rakuten India.Drawing on the success of the program launched in Japan during 2018, Rakuten India selected three local non-profit organizations, Robin Hood Army, Wildlife SOS and Samarpana Charitable Trust for The Disabled, as inaugural partners for 2019.By working with Rakuten, these partners will be able to make full use of the company's global portfolio of online services and brand visibility, as well as gain access to industry talent to move their business plans forward at a previously unattainable scale."I am thrilled with the launch of Rakuten Social Accelerator in India," said Narendra Narayana, Chief Operating Officer, Rakuten India."Rakuten is built on a philosophy of empowering society and through this program; our

Over 2.4k HIV deaths in Maha in 11 months: Minister

Maharashtra Health Minister Eknath Shinde Tuesday said over 2,400 people in the state have died of HIV infection in the past one year. He was responding to a question raised by Shiv Sena MLA Vilas Potnis. "Between April 1 last year and February this year, 2,460 people have died (of HIV infection) in Maharashtra. However, the government has not stopped the process of carrying out determination tests of suspected people. The required funding for the scheme is still on," Shinde said. There has been no delay in implementation of any measure laid down by the National Aids Society of India, said Shinde.

300,000 flee violence in northeast DR Congo: UN

Hundreds of thousands of people have fled inter-ethnic violence in northeastern areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the past two weeks, the United Nations said Tuesday. "This latest flare-up has sent more than 300,000 people into displacement," Babar Baloch, a spokesman for the UN refugee agency, told reporters in Geneva. The situation in DRC's volatile Ituri Province had deteriorated significantly since the middle of last week, with "multiple attacks" involving the Hema and Lendu groups, he said. The cause of the flareup was not immediately clear, but it occurred in a region where tens of thousands died in clashes between the Hema and Lendu ethnic groups between 1999 and 2003. Baloch pointed out that attacks between the two communities had also displaced some 350,000 in late 2017 and early 2018, "but the situation had calmed". He said that "large-scale displacement" had been reported in three of Ituri's five administrative territories, with people fleeing attacks and counter

Activists protest outside Bihar Bhawan, seek Nitish Kumar's resignation over deaths of children

Several activists from different organisations staged a protest outside the Bihar Bhawan here Tuesday and demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as more than 100 children have died due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) in the state. They accused the Centre and the Bihar government of not being serious about containing the outbreak, and said the healthcare system in the state was mismanaged. Many held placards with the message "Give adequate compensation to affected families". Other banners asked Kumar and Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey to resign. "Ayushman (Bharat) ki jumlebazi band karo," another read. Several women activists raised slogans against Kumar, who once was called 'sushashan babu' because of his governance, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi outside the Chanakyapuri-based Bihar Bhawan. A delegation of the activists later submitted a memorandum to the resident commissioner of Bihar in New Delhi. The memorandum was addressed to Kumar. "We are anguished

Bid to install Ambedkar statuein Hyderbad foiled, Ex-Cong MP

A former Congress MP and some of his supporters were Tuesday taken into preventive custody when they attempted to install an Ambedkar statue near Panjagutta circle here without permission, police said. V Hanumantha Rao and around 20 of his supporters had transported the Ambedkar statue in a vehicle and tried to install it, but the police prevented them from doing so and took all of them into preventive custody, they said. "There was no permission (for the statue installation). We asked him to produce permission documents from authorities concerned like GHMC, but they failed to produce any such documents and instead argued with police. We shifted the statue and took Hanumantha Rao and his associates into preventive custody," Assistant Commissioner of Police (Panjagutta Division) Thirupathanna told PTI. A case has been registered in this connection, the official added. In April this year, a group of people had attempted to install a life-size statue of Ambedkar at the same .

Mizoram police rescues 8 minor Rohingya girls

Eight Rohingya girls, suspected to be victims of human trafficking, were rescued from a village near the Mizoram-Myanmar border in Champai district, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police of Northern Range Lalbiakthanga Khiangte said here Tuesday. The girls, all of them minors, were rescued from Dungtkang village on Monday, the DIG said, adding that they were being taken to Myanmar from Bangladesh via India. Khiangte told PTI that the girls were produced before the chief judicial magistrate on Tuesday. He said police have not ruled out the involvement of human traffickers operating in the Sabulara area in Bangladesh where the Rohingya refugees were given shelter. "Though they were travelling and entering Mizoram without valid documents, the court is not likely to send them to police custody. They will be either handed over to NGOs or women protective homes run by the Social Welfare Department," he said. Eight Rohingya women, who were trying to enter Mizoram without any travel ...

Punjab tightens noose around drug trafficking

To combat the menace of drug trafficking in Punjab, the Director General of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) held meetings with state officials on Tuesday.During the meetings, the officers deliberated upon the current extent of drug menace in Punjab and the ways to counter the same. Besides, collaboration in training, operations, enforcement and other areas were discussed and modalities were also agreed upon.In addition, significant deployment of NCB's officers has been made in the state to effectively counter the drug trafficking problem.The officers have been given a task to specially target the trafficking in opioids (opium, heroin, poppy husk) and cannabis apart from checking diversion and abuse of pharmaceutical drugs especially Tramadol. They have also been instructed to target large Drug Trafficking Operatives (DTOs) and take action for seizures/forfeitures of their properties.The Director General of the NCB held meetings with the Director General of Punjab Police, Additional ...

Nearly 50% of Japan's singles have no dating prospects: Survey

Nearly 50 per cent of singles in Japan who wish to get married are unable to find a suitable partner, with 61.4 per cent of the group stating they are not doing anything to change the situation, a government survey revealed on Tuesday.

Indian-American population grew by 38 percent between 2010-2017: report

The population of Indian-origin people in America grew by 38 per cent in seven years between 2010 and 2017, a South Asian advocacy group has said in its latest demographic report. In 2017, the population of Indian-Americans with multiple ethnicities was recorded as 44,02,363, up 38.3 per cent from 31,83,063 in 2010, the South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) said in its snapshot. There are at least 630,000 Indians who are undocumented, a 72 per cent increase since 2010, it said. The increase in illegal Indian-Americans can be attributed to Indian immigrants overstaying visas, it said. Nearly 250,000 Indians overstayed their visa in 2016 therefore becoming undocumented, it said. In general, the population of American residents tracing their roots to South Asia grew by 40 per cent. In real terms, it increased from 3.5 million in 2010 to 5.4 million in 2017, SAALT said. The Nepali community grew by 206.6 per cent since 2010, followed by Indian (38 per cent), Bhutanese (38 per ...

CPWD to reconstruct Women Police Training Centre in Myanmar

The CPWD, the prime construction agency of the Indian government, will reconstruct the Women Police Training Centre in Myanmar's Yamethin at a cost of Rs 280 crore, an official aware of the matter has said. According to the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), a team of engineers recently visited Yamethin for site inspection. The official said the agency had prepared a detailed project report (DPR), which had been submitted to the Centre. The existing building of the Women Police Training Centre in Yamethin was built long ago, he added. "The CPWD will reconstruct the Women Police Training Centre with all modern facilities. The project will be executed at a cost of Rs 280 crore. It is expected to be completed in 36 months," the official said. The new building will have the capacity to simultaneously impart training to five batches of 200 women personnel each, he added. "The project will be executed in two phases. The DPR has been submitted to the Ministry of External Affairs," the ..

Maha govt panel to probe hysterectomy cases in Beed: Minister

A committee headed by Maharashtra health department's principal secretary will conduct a probe into several cases of hysterectomies that have come to light in Beed district, state health minister Eknath Shinde said on Tuesday. Raising the issue in the state Legislative Council, Shiv Sena member Neelam Gorhe said some women engaged in sugarcane cutting work in Beed got their wombs removed to avoid hindrance in work and fines due to menstruation. Responding to her, Shinde said in the House that around 4,605 women underwent womb removal surgeries in Beed district in last three years. "A committee headed by Beed district's civil surgeon found that 99 private hospitals carried out 4,605 womb removal surgeries from 2016-17 to 2018-19," he said. He said a sizable number of women who underwent hysterectomy were not engaged in sugarcane cutting work. The minister also pointed out that the percentage of natural deliveries was higher than the cesarean ones in the district. He said .

Trump threatens to begin deporting undocumented immigrants

US President Donald Trump has said that immigration enforcement authorities would begin deporting millions of undocumented migrants from the country in the coming week.

V-Mart Retail opens two new store

In Bihar and Madhya Pradesh

Trump says US to begin removing 'millions' of illegal migrants

The United States will start removing "millions" of illegal migrants next week, President Donald Trump said Monday, adding that Guatemala is preparing to sign a safe third country deal. "Next week ICE will begin the process of removing the millions of illegal aliens who have illicitly found their way into the United States. They will be removed as fast as they come in," Trump said on Twitter, referring to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. He added that "Guatemala is getting ready to sign a Safe-Third Agreement," an apparent reference to a pact in which migrants entering Guatemalan territory would have to apply for refugee status there, not in the United States. The US is facing a surge in migrant arrivals from Guatemala and other impoverished Central American countries which are plagued by gang violence. The numbers have overwhelmed the ability of US authorities to temporarily shelter and process them. Trump has called it "an invasion," and has made the fight against ...

Indian-American population up by 38% in 7 yrs, 630,000 undocumented: Report

The increase in illegal Indian-Americans can be attributed to Indian immigrants overstaying visas, the report said

Death of Indian girl reflects 'tragic culmination' of a 'broken' immigration system: advocacy group

The death of six-year-old Gurupreet Kaur, a victim of human smuggling, near the remote and deserted US-Mexico border due to heat stroke is reflective of the "tragic culmination" of America's "broken" immigration system, according to a Sikh advocacy group. The girl, who was a month shy of turning 7, was found by the US Border Patrol officials 27 kilometres west of Lukeville, Arizona on Wednesday, 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. This story reflects the tragic culmination of a broken immigration system, immigration policies that deny basic human dignity and human rights particularly for asylum seekers and the unfortunate practice of individuals moving the most vulnerable for profit, Kiran Kaur Gill,

2 Cong leaders arrested for trying to set up Ambedkar's statue in Hyderabad

Congress leaders V Hanumantha Rao and Harsha Kumar on Tuesday were arrested when they were allegedly trying to install a statue of Dr BR Ambedkar at Punjagutta centre here.The duo was arrested in the early morning hours of Tuesday and taken into custody by the Panjagutta Police.Police said it had seized the statue and also the lorry in which the statue was brought in.

India's population explosion: To surpass China's, be 10 times US' by 2050

The Earth will be home to some 9.7 billion people in 2050 and by 2100 the number will increase to 11 billion. India's population will surpass China's by 2027, and despite being one-third the size of the US will hold a population 10 times higher than America, the UN has announced.

KTR helps 39 Indians stranded in Saudi Arabia to return home

As many as 39 Indian workers from Telangana stuck in Saudi Arabia were able to return home due to the intervention by TRS Working president KT Rama Rao."About 60 daily wage labourers went to Saudi Arabia last year to work in a construction company. Most of them belonging to Karimnagar, Nirmal, Nizamabad and Adilabad districts. The company, which hired these labourers had not been paying salaries to them for the past six months and were made to live in terrible condition, without proper food," a statement said Rao's office said.When Rao was approached for help over Twitter, he immediately requested the Indian Embassy Riyadh to help the victims stranded in Saudi Arabia.TRS working president also requested Chief Secretary SK Joshi to come up with a proper solution to address the problems of the labourers."The Indian Embassy swiftly responded to KTR's request and helped the victims return to India. The Embassy had arranged for temporary exit visas and also the flight tickets for the ...

India will overtake China as world's most populous country in just 8 years: UN report

India will overtake China to become the world's most populous country in just eight years, according to a United Nations report.In the world' populated country by the century ends. Meanwhile, the Chinese population will decrease by 31.4 million, or around 2.2 per cent, between 2019 and 2050.The report titled 'The World Population Prospects 2019: Highlights' estimated that the world's population is expected to increase by two million by 2050, from 7.7 billion today to 9.7 billion.Moreover, Indian along with eight other countries will constitute half of the population.The nine countries expected to show the biggest increase are India, Nigeria and Pakistan, followed by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Indonesia, Egypt and the United States of America. In all, the population of sub-Saharan Africa is expected to practically double by 2050, the report said.The report has mentioned that the growth in population will come despite the slowing of the global fertility ...