Page 17 - Social Issues
Those living in Bengal will have to learn to speak in Bengali: Mamata Banerjee
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday insisted that those living in West Bengal will have to learn to speak in Bengali. The TMC supremo also reiterated that outsiders instigated the doctors' agitation in the state and accused the BJP of targeting the Bengalis and the minorities. "Outsiders are instigating the doctors. I had rightly said that they were involved in yesterday's protest. I had seen some outsiders raising slogans (at SSKM hospital)," she said, while addressing a rally here. Alleging that EVMs in the recently held Lok Sabha elections were "programmed", Banerjee also said that ballot papers should be brought back for conducting polls. "Just because they (BJP) won a few seats by programming the EVMs, it doesn't mean that they can beat up Bengalis and minorities. We will not tolerate this," the chief minister said. "The police will take action against the hooligans. If someone is living in Bengal, he or she has to learn Bengali," she added.
South Korean court tells cheating husband he must stay married
A cheating husband cannot divorce his wife despite having a years-long affair, a South Korean court ruled Friday, insisting only the injured party in a marriage could initiate a legal separation. Movie director Hong Sang-soo, 58, a Cannes film festival regular, filed for divorce in 2016, shortly after his relationship with actress Kim Min-hee became public. But Hong's wife, whom he wed in 1985, refused to play along -- leading to a drawn-out legal battle that has lasted for years. Seoul Family Court on Friday dismissed Hong's petition, and awarded costs against him. South Korea remains a conservative society, where until 2015, anyone indulging in extramarital sex risked a two-year prison sentence. Even since decriminalisation, public disapproval of affairs remains strong. Despite her successes on the silver screen, 37-year-old Kim -- who won best actress at Germany's pretigious Berlinale in 2017 -- has struggled to inspire warmth among the South Korean public. Her portrayal of an ...
ED files money laundering case in alleged K'taka ponzi scheme
The Enforcement Directorate has filed a case of money laundering in an alleged ponzi scheme in Karnataka, involving the IMA Jewels, which left thousands of gullible investors in the lurch, officials said on Friday. The agency's zonal office in Bangalore has filed an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), equivalent to an FIR, and has pressed criminal charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the officials said. The ED has taken cognisance of the complaint registered by the Karnataka police and the subsequent creation of a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the alleged fraud, the officials said. The agency is now gathering documents in the case and will soon summon few people, they said. As many as 26,000 complaints have been been filed by the investors with the police against the 'I Monetary Advisory (IMA) jewels' store after an audio clip surfaced with a person named Mohammed Mansoor Khan, alleged to be its founder and managing director, heard saying he
Constable kills himself in Chhattisgarh
A police constable allegedly committed suicide by consuming poison while on duty in Chhattisgarh's Raigarh district, police said Friday. Constable Ajay Gupta (26) allegedly consumed pesticide at Gharghoda police station, a local police official said. His colleagues took him to a local community health centre where he was declared dead. Gupta hailed from Charmar village in the same area and was posted at Gharghoda for the last four months. No suicide note was recovered from the spot. Further probe was on.
Kim Kardashian attends White House event on hiring former prisoners
Known for her work towards bettering the US criminal justice system, reality star Kim Kardashian West on Thursday spoke at 'Second Chance Hiring & Re-entry' event at the White House.'Second Chance Hiring & Re-entry' endeavours to help create opportunities for people after serving their sentence."It really is such an honor to be here today," West began as she addressed the gathering. She said that the support provided by president Donald Trump to the programme is 'magic'."Proud to partner on this initiative with @Lyft, a company with a history of taking bold action to do what's right for our community. Thank you for providing rideshare credits to formally incarcerated people when they come home," she said in a tweet."My whole journey with criminal justice reform started about a year ago when I came to see the president after speaking to Ivanka and Jared who really fought for me to get here and I pled the case of Alice Johnson who the president granted clemency to," West ...
Submit audited statements quickly, Bedi tells govt depts, PSUs
Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi Friday asked all government departments and public sector undertakings (PSUs) here getting financial support from the government to submit their duly audited statements without delay. In her whatsapp message to mediapersons, she said the Chief Minister V Narayanasamy holding the finance portfolio on Thursday took up a pre-budget exercise by holding meetings with the officials. "In the interest of financial system and welfare of the regular government employees, all government departments and PSUsand government-sponsored societies having government staff and getting loans or grants from the government should submit their audited statements without delay," she said. The objective of this requirement was to ensure that besides salaries the government staff should get pension, gratuity, provident fund and leave encashment on their retirement. "It has been seen that several retired personnel suffer for want of timely release of ...
FM Sitharaman's pre-budget meeting underway with Social Sector Groups representatives
A pre-budget meeting of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with the representatives of Social Sector Groups is underway here.This is the Sitharaman's 5th pre-budget meeting ahead of the upcoming General Budget 2019-20.Earlier, the Finance Minister also chaired a meeting with the stakeholders from Infrastructure and Climate Change Sectors and Financial Sector and Capital Markets.The session of the Lok Sabha will begin from July 17 and that of Rajya Sabha from July 20.Union Budget will be presented on July 5 followed by presenting the Economy Survey on July 4.
Women strike in Switzerland for fairer pay, more equality
Women across Switzerland are walking off the job, burning bras and staging other demonstrations to demand fairer pay, more equality, and an end to sexual harassment and violence the first such protests in the Alpine country in 28 years. Discontent over sexism and workplace inequality is underpinning the "women's strike." Many are also demanding higher pay specifically for domestic workers, teachers and caregivers, jobs typically held more by women. Around midnight in Lausanne, hundreds rallied at the city's cathedral and marched downtown to set wooden pallets on fire, then throwing items like neckties and brassieres onto the inferno. A few women scaled the cathedral to shout out the hour, a tradition that is rarely carried out by women. Supporters hoped for a "purple wave," so-called for the color adopted for a movement whose main logo features a clenched fist inside a cross-and-circle Venus symbol. The call to protest encouraged those taking part to avoid store purchases or trips to
Numbers of cases declining: Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Encephalitis
Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Thursday said the numbers of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) cases are declining in Bihar."Centre and Bihar government are doing their best. I have assured of providing all possible help. The numbers of cases are declining. I am sure the situation will be contained soon," Dr Harsh Vardhan told ANI.The health minister's comment comes after as many as 57 children died due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) in Bihar's Muzaffarpur while another 130 are hospitalised."A team of experts and senior doctors from centre visited the hospitals and are advising the state government there. I have held two meetings with the Bihar health minister. We are further analyzing the situation," the union minister said."The government of India will also help the Bihar government improve their health services and infrastructure to tackling a similar situation in the coming years," Harsh Vardhan added.
WB: Newborn dies due to lack of treatment amid doctors' protest
A new-born child died on Thursday in Agarpara here due to alleged medical negligence amid doctors' strike across the state."It is my bad luck. My child died due to lack of treatment. He was not attended by any doctor because of their strike," baby's father Abhijit Mallik told reporters here.Various medical bodies called doctors' strike across the country to protest over rising violence against the medical fraternity after a junior doctor of Nil Ratan Sarkar (NRS) Medical College and Hospital was allegedly attacked by the relative of a patient who died on June 10.According to Mallik, the child was born on June 11 and was ailing with a breathing problem. His condition deteriorated on June 12, the doctors of the hospital asked him to go to the child-specialist hospital.Mallik claimed that he went to several hospitals but they did not attend the ailing child after which the child died on June 30 in the morning.The deceased child's father also alleged that the state's health department did
Bihar launches pension scheme for poor
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday launched the Mukhyamantri Vriddha Pension Yojna for poor people above 60 years of age in the state.
Indian arrested for stealing Kuwaiti woman's credit card
An Indian national was arrested here for stealing a credit card of a Kuwaiti woman and misusing it, the media reported.
Odisha medicos join Bengal doctors' stir
Medicos in Odisha have extended support to the agitating doctors in Kolkata thus joining the nationwide hospitals' stir in solidarity.
Ajay Alok resigns as JD(U) spokesman, says he doesn't want to 'embarrass' Nitish
Firebrand JD(U) leader Ajay Alok has resigned from the post of party spokesperson stating that he does not wish to cause "embarrassment" to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who also heads the party. Although Alok, one of the most visible faces of his party, didn't elaborate on what might have "embarrassed" his political mentor, there have been murmurs of Kumar being upset over his party spokesperson going overboard in his criticism of the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal and the illegal immigration problem in that state. He shared his resignation letter, addressed to the party's state unit chief Vashishtha Narayan Singh, on his Twitter handle late Thursday night. "I am writing to inform you that I am resigning from post of spokesperson of the party as I feel I am not doing a good job for the party. I thank you and the party for giving me this opportunity but please accept my resignation," Alok said in the short letter of resignation. In a subsequent tweet, he said, "I have .
Ajay Alok quits as JD (U) spokesperson, says don't want to embarrass Nitish Kumar
Days after he took a dig at Home Minister Amit Shah, Janata Dal (U) Bihar unit spokesperson Ajay Alok on Thursday announced to step down from his post citing "incompetency for the job"."I am writing to inform you that I am resigning from the post of the spokesperson of the party as I feel I am not doing a good job. I thank you and the party for giving me this honour but please accept my resignation," Alok wrote in a letter addressed to the state party unit.Alok who is also a general secretary of the party's Bihar unit said that his views are personal and do not match with that of the party. "I have resigned as a spokesperson from JDU as I think I am not doing a good job as my views which are a mine of course do not match with my party," he wrote on Twitter.Thanking the party for its support, he said, "Thanks to my party and my president who has always supported me and I do not want to be a source of embarrassment for @NitishKumar."He on June 11 took a dig at Home Minister Amit Shah ...
Salman Khurshid downplays Centre's 'politically motivated' minority outreach programme
New Delhi (India), June 14 (ANI): Former Union Minister Salman Khurshid on Thursday sought to downplay the Centre's minority outreach programme which includes a scholarship to minorities and modernisation of Ismalic seminaries, terming the move as "politically motivated"."Prime Minister Narendra Modi in one of his speeches indicated that this is being done to somehow persuade minorities not to worry about the government and that the previous government (UPA rule) created a wrong impression about the BJP. If that is the purpose behind giving the scholarship, then it is clearly politically motivated," Khurshid told ANI.He slammed the ruling party for questioning the previous UPA government when it launched many schemes in the welfare of Muslims on the Sachchar Committee's recommendations.The Congress leader sought to downplay the announcement and maintained that every government is elected to work for citizens with equal priority.He said, "Every government has a responsibility to treat .
Chile president Pinera sacks FM in cabinet shakeup
Chile's President Sebastian Pinera sacked his foreign minister and announced a cabinet reshuffle Thursday as polls showed a dip in his popularity following an economic downturn. Pinera, a billionaire conservative, said at a ceremony at his La Moneda palace that Teodoro Rivera would replace Roberto Ampuero as foreign minister after pollster CEP showed Pinera's popularity plummeting 12 points. Pinera also dropped the ministers of health, economy, public works, social development and energy as he sought to bring fresh blood into the cabinet and kickstart the economy. "I want to share with all my compatriots some changes to the cabinet that I consider necessary," Pinera said, announcing the shake-up. The reshuffle is the second by Pinera since he won the December 2017 election to succeed leftist Michelle Bachelet. A spokesman for pollster CEP, Ricardo Gonzalez, said: "There is a deterioration of economic expectations and also a bad perception of the management of President Pinera." The ...
Top US health official to boycott all-male panels
The director of the US National Institutes of Health said Thursday he will no longer participate in all-male panel discussions, or "manels." The NIH is the largest public health research institution in the US with an annual budget of USD 39 billion, directly employing 6,000 scientists and funding the work of hundreds of thousands of others -- and the announcement was expected to have a ripple effect. "Too often, women and members of other groups underrepresented in science are conspicuously missing in the marquee speaking slots at scientific meetings and other high-level conferences," said Francis Collins, explaining the decision. "Starting now, when I consider speaking invitations, I will expect a level playing field, where scientists of all backgrounds are evaluated fairly for speaking opportunities. "If that attention to inclusiveness is not evident in the agenda, I will decline to take part." Collins said his decision was informed by a recent report on sexual harassment by the ...
US considers more options for detaining transgender migrants
About 300 migrants who identify as transgender have been booked into the custody of US immigration authorities since October 1, marking the highest number since officials began keeping track in 2015. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement is considering opening a second permanent facility where transgender migrants can be detained amid the influx of Central Americans crossing the US-Mexico border. The agency's Enforcement and Removal Operations field office director Corey Price says all options are being reviewed. Price on Wednesday led the first media tour of the agency's only permanent transgender detention unit. The rural New Mexico unit opened in 2017. He acknowledged a second unit would be a significant investment given the higher costs associated with transgender detainees. The agency has been criticized for the deaths of two transgender women.
US bishops approve changes to Church law on sex abuse reporting
The Catholic Church in the United States, which has been rocked in recent years by child sex abuse scandals and investigations, on Thursday approved a papal document that requires clergy to report suspicions of sexual assault. At a meeting of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore, participants approved by a large majority the changes to the US catechism, which also reinforces systems in place for victims to signal alleged abuse. The "motu proprio" -- a legal document issued under Pope Francis's personal authority -- declares that anyone who has knowledge of abuse, or suspects it, is "obliged to report (it) promptly" to the Church, using "easily accessible systems." The law only applies within the Church and has no force to oblige individuals to report abuse to civil authorities. Under the new measure, every diocese around the world is obliged by June 2020 to create a system for the reporting of sexual abuse by clerics, the use of child pornography and cover-ups of ...