Page 147 - Social Issues
Pompeo: Diplomat dad means US-born IS woman not citizen
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that the diplomatic status of the father of an Alabama woman who joined the Islamic State group means she is not a US citizen. Under orders of President Donald Trump, Pompeo made the highly unusual determination Wednesday that 24-year-old Hoda Muthana, who traveled to Syria on a US passport and wants to return, is not an American citizen. Pompeo did not outline the legal rationale but in an interview Thursday, asked if the key issue was that her father had been a diplomat, Pompeo said, "That's right." "She may have been born here. She is not a US citizen, nor is she entitled to US citizenship," Pompeo told NBC television's "Today" show. Muthana was born in 1994 in New Jersey to a father who had served as a diplomat from Yemen, according to her lawyer. But the lawyer, Hassan Shibly, told AFP that her father had ended his diplomatic service "months" before Muthana was born and that she was in fact a US citizen. The United States grants ...
Gujarat Cong MLA brings private bill on 20% quota for EBCs
A private member's bill seeking a separate 20 per centreservation for candidates from Economically Backward Classes (EBCs) in Gujarat was Thursday introduced in the Assembly by a Congress MLA, but it was eventually rejected by the House. "The Gujarat EBC (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions in the State and of Appointments and Posts in Services under the State) Bill-2018" was brought by Congress MLA Amit Chavda. Following a heated debate between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress members, the bill was eventually rejected by a majority vote. Introducing the bill, Chavda said though the Narendra Modi government recently made a constitutional provision to provide 10 per cent reservation in government jobs and education for the poor in the general category, it was not enough to cover a large population. "We feel that such reservation should be 20 per cent in Gujarat. Education isalso very expensive in the state. "As a result, poor citizens are not able ..
Kazakh president sacks government over economic failures
Ex-Soviet Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev dismissed the government on Thursday, complaining that "positive changes were not achieved" in the oil-rich state's economy. "In many areas of the economy, despite the adoption of many laws and government decisions, positive changes have not been achieved," the long-ruling Nazarbayev said in a statement on the presidential website. While some ministers and deputy ministers are likely to be reinstated, the decision marks the end of Bakytzhan Sagintayev's premiership, which began in 2016. The 55-year-old was viewed by some analysts as part of a leadership transition in the country, which 78-year-old Nazarbayev has ruled over for close to three decades. Nazarbayev's statement comes amid rising dissatisfaction in Kazakhstan, whose commodity-dependent economy has struggled to recover from a 2014 plunge in oil prices and Western sanctions against key trade partner Russia. "GDP growth is mainly achieved due to raw materials," Nazarbayev ..
Committee constituted for formulating pension schemes for farmers in Hry submits report
The committee constituted for formulating the pension scheme for farmers in Haryana has submitted its report to the state government, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said here Thursday. The government has received the report of the Committee constituted to explore the possibilities of launching the 'Kisan Pension Yojana' and the report is being studied now, Khattar told reporters here on the sidelines of the ongoing budget session of the state assembly. The Finance Department would be consulted to find out the additional financial burden on this account, he said. The committee had held its third meeting here last month. The first meeting of the committee was held in December last year, while two meetings were held last month. The committee, headed by Haryana BJP president and Tohana MLA Subhash Barala, has other members, including ruling BJP's MLAs Abhay Singh Yadav, Mahipal Dhanda, Ghanshyam Das Arora and Pawan Saini. Senior IAS officer and Director, Agriculture and Farmers' ...
Alliance of all-women parties to fight polls in 283 seats, asks other parties to help win
An alliance of two all-women parties, which has decided to field candidates in 283 Lok Sabha constituencies in the upcoming elections, Thursday asked other political parties to help them win these seats if they were serious about 50 per cent representation of women in Parliament. The alliance of National Women's Party (NWP) and the All Indian Women's United Party (AIWUP) also unveiled its election symbol -- bangle for Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and a gas stove, allotted to it by the Election Commission, for the rest of the states. While the AIWUP was formed in 2014 in Delhi, the NWP was formed in 2012 by Telangana-based doctor Shetha Shetty. Among the NWP members are Padma Venkataraman, daughter of former President R Venkataraman, and Naina Jadeja, sister of cricketer Ravindra Jadeja, and actor Nithya Menen, who played J Jayalalithaa in the late Tamil Nadu chief minister's biopic. Shetty stated that social and economic upliftment of women and increasing political awareness among ..
Seven farmer suicides in MP since Cong govt came to power
Seven farmer suicides were reported in Madhya Pradesh since the regime change last December, the Assembly was informed Thursday. In a written reply to a question, Minister for Farmers Welfare Sachin Yadav said seven farmers have ended life in the state since December 11, when the assembly election results were announced. In his reply, the minister also stated that indebtedness was not the reason for any of the seven suicides. The Congress ended the BJP's 15-year-rule in the November 2018 elections. The new government announced a loan waiver for farmers on the very first day in the office. BJP MLA Vishwas Sarang had asked a question about two farmer suicides in Khandwa and Shajapur districts. Jawan Singh (42), resident of Astaria village in Khandwa who committed suicide, was a habitual drinker and had had a dispute with the wife over money, the reply said. Premnarayan (65), resident of Sukliya in Shajapur district, committed suicide allegedly because another man in the ...
Serbian PM's same-sex partner gives birth to baby boy
The same-sex partner of Serbia's Prime Minister Ana Brnabic has given birth to a boy in what the Prime Minister's office called a "historic event" in a country that does not recognize gay marriage.
India-UK tie-up creates wheelchair-accessible maps of Delhi
A collaborative project between the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and University College London (UCL) is developing wheelchair-accessible maps of Delhi using innovative sensing platforms. The Street Rehab project has been designed to gain a clear understanding of user needs, available technology and the accessibility of India's capital, UCL researchers said on Wednesday. "Infrastructure in India can often make pushing a wheelchair or tricycle difficult. We are trying to identify how people are currently getting around in Delhi, to find new ways of facilitating rehabilitation and identifying ways to improve infrastructure," said Dr Catherine Holloway of the UCL's Interaction Centre and Academic Director of the Global Disability Innovation Hub. The UCL team has developed low-cost sensors that can identify features of the sidewalk and gauge how the wheelchair or tricycle users propel themselves. The sensors are linked to the user's mobile phone, to make their mobility device part .
SC to hear PIL seeking protection of Kashmiri students on Friday
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear on Friday a PIL seeking direction to authorities to protect Kashmiri students who are allegedly being attacked in various parts of the country following the Pulwama terror strike. A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices L N Rao and Sanjiv Khanna on Thursday took note of senior advocate Colin Gonsalves' submission that the plea needed to be heard urgently as it relates to the safety and security of students. The bench, which refused to list the plea for hearing on Thursday, however, assured Gonsalves that it will be listed for consideration on Friday. The petitioners Tariq Adeeba and Olivia Bang alleged in their plea that students from Kashmir Valley are being attacked at different educational institutions across the country after the Pulwama terror attack and authorities concerned should be directed to take actions to stop such assaults. "Order directing the Centre to direct the heads of all institutions particularly, but not ...
'Killing people for making money': NGT raps Haryana over delay in adopting brick kiln tech
The National Green Tribunal Thursday rapped the Haryana government for extending time limit for adoption of Zig Zag technology for running of the brick kilns in the state, saying it was killing people for making money. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel slammed the state government for not monitoring the air quality and asked why it should not stay the operation of impugned order till further orders. "Did you check the air quality before issuing extension orders. You are killing people for making money. How can you exercise your power in such a manner, don't you owe any duty towards people. You have no concern for people," the bench observed. The tribunal has posted the matter for hearing on April 5. During the hearing, the lawyer appearing for the state government told the tribunal that extension of the time limit for the adoption of the Zig Zag technology has been done in non-NCR regions. The tribunal was hearing a plea filed by Haryana residents Dinesh ...
Inner Line will be applicable to entire Nagaland including
Nagaland Governor P B Acharya Thursday said the state government has decided to make Inner Line Permit (ILP) applicable throughout the state, including the commercial hub of Dimapur. "ILP will be made applicable to the entire state including Dimapur and we are committed to streamline the system of issuing ILPs to ensure that no illegal immigrant is able to come to Nagaland," Acharya said in his address on the first day of the state Assembly budget session. Under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act of 1853, non Nagas should have ILP in order to visit the state of Nagaland but Dimapur district was not included under the provisions. The governor said "while the government will be taking all legal and administrative steps to ensure this, we would also need active support of civil society, village councils and people in achieving this objective." He said that while Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) was of serious concern to all sections, "we are also aware of the ...
Pope: Concrete measures needed to curb child abuse at Church
Pope Francis said here on Thursday the world was waiting not only for the Catholic Church to condemn child sexual abuse by members of clergy but also for "concrete measures" to eradicate it.
Polish activists overturn statue of priest accused of sex abuse
Three activists overturned a statue of a Polish priest accused of sex abuse in the northern city of Gdansk early Thursday, local police said. Video footage on social media showed the men use a rope to topple the statue of Father Henryk Jankowski, who died in 2010 and has faced accusations of paedophilia. On the fallen statue the men placed underwear and altar boy clothing in reference to the priest's alleged victims. Jankowski has faced renewed claims of child abuse since the liberal Gazeta Wyborcza daily published an article late last year reviving previous accusations that first surfaced years ago. "They were detained around 3 am and taken in for questioning," Gdansk police spokeswoman Karina Kaminska told AFP, referring to the three activists The pulling down of the statue came just hours before the opening of a landmark summit at the Vatican on fighting child sex abuse. The statue has been vandalised before. The activists who toppled the statue are Warsaw residents known for ...
Centre to carry out pan-India survey to gauge public perception on police services
The Union Home Ministry will carry out a pan-India survey to assess public perception on citizen-centric police services like women safety and reporting of crimes, officials said Thursday. The survey will commence next month and cover a representative sample of 1.2 lakh households spread over 173 districts across the country, based on the National Sample Survey framework. All the states and the Union Territories would be included in this survey and it will be completed in nine months, a Home Ministry official said. The survey is aimed to understand public perception about police, gauge the level of non-reporting of crimes or incidents to police, the position on ground relating to crime reporting and recording, timeliness and quality of police response and action and experience about women and children's safety. The outcome of the survey is expected to bring out useful suggestions for stakeholders in formulating and implementing appropriate policy responses and changes in the ...
Budget Session of Delhi Assembly from Friday
The Budget Session of the Delhi Assembly will begin from Friday with an address by Lt Governor Anil Baijal.
Procter & Gamble announces the newest commitment to gender equality across the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East and Africa region
Procter & Gamble (P&G) announced a new commitment around a number of initiatives that will promote gender equality across the Indian subcontinent, Middle East and Africa (IMEA) region. The declaration, which was made by P&G's IMEA and APAC President, Magesvaran Suranjan during the company's inaugural #WeSeeEqual Summit in partnership with UN Women in Mumbai, is part of the company's citizenship focus on being a Force for Good and Force for Growth."Gender equality is a core belief at P&G. Creating a world free of bias with equal representation and an equal voice for everyone is both the right thing to do and the right business choice," explained Magesvaran Suranjan. "We also want to spark conversations and change mindsets as champions for the cause of gender equality across the region. We will leverage the full strengths of our business and operations, and our advertising voice to tackle gender bias and encourage women's economic empowerment", he stressed. Over the ..
Cars and cheap loans a shaky foundation for Hungary's baby boom plan
BUDAKESZI, Hungary (Reuters) - Tucked away in a leafy hillside suburb west of Budapest, Julia Scharle lives the family-centred life Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has long promoted with the slogan "three kids, three rooms, four wheels."
'Concrete measures' on sex abuse needed, pope tells Vatican summit
Pope Francis opened Thursday a landmark summit at the Vatican on fighting child sex abuse, saying that the world expected "concrete measures" on tackling paedophilia in the Catholic Church. The pontiff will dedicate the next three and a half days to discussing the Church's response to child abuse by members of the clergy with bishops from around the world. "The Holy people of God are watching and waiting not for simple and obvious condemnations but concrete and efficient measures," he said as the summit opened, the first of its kind. "Let us listen to the cry of the young ones who ask us for justice," he said. The pope is aiming to tackle the continuing scandal, which again hit the Church in 2018 in countries across the globe, including Chile, Germany and the United States. The 82-year-old hopes to raise awareness about abuse through prayers, speeches, working groups and testimonies from victims. "I ask the Holy Spirit to support us in the following days and help us to transform this .
Mixed response to Odisha bandh by farmers' body
A 12-hour bandh called by the Naba Nirman Krushak Sangathan (NNKS) demanding price, prestige and pension for farmers in Odisha evoked a mixed response in several parts of the state on Thursday.
Blockchain Summit India 2019 to bring together experts and stakeholders
The Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, is all set to organise the "Blockchain Summit India" on 22nd and 23rd February 2019, to channel India's potential around blockchain and crypto economy. An initiative by Auxesis group, a Blockchain technology company working towards building technology infrastructure and protocols for mainstream enterprise adoption, the event has already created a buzz in the international blockchain front.Connecting over 5,000 people including politicians, decision makers, knowledge tanks, and tech innovators, the event has already managed to create a buzz. To be hosted at the Noida campus of IIM, Lucknow, the summit aims at harnessing India's potential in blockchain and crypto. The event will see eminent speakers from the Union Ministry, entrepreneurs from across the globe and noteworthy faculties from the leading educational institutions of the nation come together to present their thoughts."Emerging fields, including artificial .