Page 203 - Social Issues
3 committees looking into issues related to displaced people:
Jharkhand government Friday informed the state Assembly that committees set up at three levels are looking into the long pending issues of people displaced following the establishments of public sector units in the state over the decades. "We have committees at three levels, separately headed by deputy commissioners at the district level, divisional commissioner at divisional level and development commissioner at the state level. These committees are working for speedy initiation and solutions of issues related to the displaced people," Revenue & Land Reforms Minister Amar Kumar Bauri said. Stating that members of the House had raised the issue earlier too and that these pending issues have been there for the last 40 to 50 years, Bauri said the government has taken it seriously and efforts were on to speed up the matters. The minister also said that Jharkhand had contributed in the development process, but borne the brunt of displacement. The ministers reply came ...
redBus, goibibo partner with Acko to offer customized insurance products
New age insurance company, Acko General Insurance Limited has announced a strategic tie-up with Ibibo Group to offer customized travel insurance products to users of redBus and GoCabs.redBus, India's largest online bus-ticketing platform, has the largest customer base of over 16 million.Two innovative insurance covers are the highlights of Acko's travel insurance for redBus users and novel in the industry. The first is an insurance cover on cancellation where the user can claim 50% of the ticket value in case a bus operator cancels and does not provide a replacement on the same day.The second is a bus-type mismatch, where a customer can claim 50% of their ticket value in case the bus that is provided is not what they had booked (for eg. if a customer booked an AC bus but the bus was non-AC).On an average around 500-600 buses get cancelled daily by bus operators, impacting a large number of users every day. With this, customers can not only seek a refund for their cancelled trip from ..
Agriculture agreement with EU confirms Sahara status: Morocco
The adoption by the European Parliament by an overwhelming majority of the Moroccan-EU Agriculture Agreement confirms that "any agreement covering the Moroccan Sahara can only be negotiated and signed by the Kingdom in the exercise of its full sovereignty over this part of its territory", according to the Moroccan government.
400 migrants detained after crossing under fence into US
Nearly 400 migrants burrowed under a fence on the US-Mexico border earlier this week and crossed into the US, informed sources told CNN.
Twitter bug exposed private tweets for five years
Yet another Twitter bug is to be blamed for exposing private tweets of some Android users since 2014.The bug affected the tweets of some Android users which were intended to be private. According to Engadget, the problem occurred when people using the Twitter for Android app attempted tweak settings on their account such as updating their email address.Twitter auto-disabled the 'Protect your Tweets' setting after a user made the changes. The bug affected Android users who made changes between November 3, 2014, and January 14, 2019.Twitter has reached out to the affected users and recommended them to double-check the settings to ensure the 'Protect your Tweets' is enabled.
Bills introduced in US Congress to hold China accountable for human rights abuses
A bipartisan group of powerful US lawmakers Thursday introduced legislations in Congress to hold China accountable for its alleged human rights violations against ethnic and religious minorities. The legislation, introduced in the Senate and the House of Representatives, seeks to provide policymakers with new tools and information to address the egregious human rights abuses committed by the Chinese Communist party officials and local authorities in the country's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Over a million Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim ethnic minorities in the region have been interned in "political reeducation" camps and the entire families of Uyghur advocates for human rights in China have disappeared, including many US citizens, the lawmakers said. China has denied the allegations of human rights violations and persecution of Muslim minority groups. The legislation was introduced in the Senate by Senators Marco Rubio and Bob Menendez and in the House by Congressmen Chris ...
Tulsi Gabbard apologizes for her past statement on LGBTQ
Democratic presidential aspirant Tulsi Gabbard apologised Thursday for her past remarks that were critical of the LGBTQ community, saying now she has a strong commitment to fight for their rights. Gabbard, 37, the first Hindu elected to US Congress and a four-time Democratic lawmaker, last week announced she will run for President in 2020. In the past, she "forcefully defended" her father who was fighting against gay rights and marriage equality in Hawaii. In a video message, Gabbard said: "In my past I said and believed things that were wrong, and worse, hurtful to the LGBTQ community and their loved ones. Many years ago, I apologised for my words and, more importantly, for the negative impact that they had". "I sincerely repeat my apology today. I'm deeply sorry for having said them. My views have changed significantly since then, and my record in Congress over the last six years reflects what is in my heart: A strong and ongoing commitment to fighting for LGBTQ rights. "When we ...
New Twitter bug exposed Android users' private tweets
A bug in Twitter exposed private tweets of some Android users for over five years when they made changes in their settings, like changing the email address linked to their accounts.
On Rohith Vemula's death anniversary, his mother vows to fight communal forces
The mother of Rohith Vemula, the research scholar of University of Hyderabad (UoH) who committed suicide in 2016, on Thursday vowed to fight the communal forces, which she alleged were responsible for her son's death.She took the pledge for justice at a march, 'Rohith Shahadath Din 2019' organised by University of Hyderabad (UoH) here inside the varsity campus on the third death anniversary of Rohith Vemula.Vemula, a Ph.D. scholar at the varsity, was found hanging from a ceiling fan in a hostel room on January 17, 2016. He was reportedly upset over the disciplinary action that was taken against him by the university authorities.In a press release issued by the JAC students, Radhika Vemula said, "I have decided to fight with a conscious determination against the Hindu communal and anti-constitutional forces responsible for the death of Rohith.""Though there were national wide movements, yet these communal forces didn't change. Instead, the same forces are responsible for the ...
Tata AIG introduces 'MediCare' to take care of health contingencies
Tata AIG General Insurance Company Limited introduced its new healthcare variant 'MediCare' - a 'no compromise' product for customers to meet any health contingencies on Thursday.Having three feature-packed variants - 'MediCare Protect', 'MediCare' and 'MediCare Premier', the company reinforces its focus on the health insurance segment to offer customers with an ideal health protection plan that does not compromise on coverages and features, read a statement.'MediCare' is a flexible and all-inclusive product offering life-long renewal benefit to its customers. With flexibility at its core, 'MediCare' policy has all the salient features of an ideal health insurance such as Global Cover up to the full Sum Insured value, which empowers customers with a choice to avail treatment anywhere in the world, provided the diagnosis was made in India and the insured travels abroad for treatment.It also provides Restore Benefit Cover which automatically restores the basic sum insured upon ...
ECI wants action on fake election dates
After fake dates of 2019 Lok Sabha polls were circulated on social media, the Election Commission of India on Thursday directed the Chief Electoral Officer of Delhi to ask the police to investigate teh episode.
CBI registers FIRs in four more Bihar shelter home cases (Lead, with Corrections)
The CBI has registered four more FIRs over alleged abuse of children in four shelter homes across Bihar, an official said on Thursday.
Odisha man records video alleging corruption, commits suicide
A man is suspected to have committed suicide in Odisha's Khurda district after alleging that he failed to get a house under the rural housing scheme for being unable to pay a bribe. A video, purportedly shot by the deceased -- Laxmidhar Behera -- before taking the extreme step, went viral on social media. Behera's body was recovered near a canal on Wednesday, after which his family members and relatives claimed that he had committed suicide. In the video, Behera, a resident of Nirakarpur Patanasahi, alleged that government officials demanded a bribe of Rs 15,000-20,000 from him for sanctioning a pucca house under the rural-housing scheme. "I had approached everybody, but no one listened to me. The officials asked me to pay something between Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000. From where I can arrange the money? I work as labourer," he said in the video. Behera's family members said the deceased, who was in his mid-thirties, faced a debt burden of over Rs 1.5 lakh. Khurda District Collector ...
CBI registers four more FIRs in Muzaffarpur shelter home case
The CBI has registered four more FIRs in the alleged abuse of children in four shelter homes across Bihar, an official said on Thursday
Punjab govt to launch special recruitment drive for persons with disabilities
The Punjab government will launch a special recruitment drive to clear the backlog of vacancies for persons with disabilities (PWDs) in various departments of the state, an official spokesman said Thursday. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has directed the chief secretary to clear the backlog of vacancies meant for persons with disabilities in a time-bound manner, he said. The directive came in view of Singh's meeting with a specially-abled international level Para Badminton player Sanjeev Kumar, who had called on the former at the Punjab Bhawan on Thursday. The chief minister ordered the Social Security Department to immediately identify the vacancies in all the departments so as to initiate the process for special recruitment drive for persons with disabilities at the earliest, the spokesman said. As many as 577 disabled persons have already been provided employment by the state government, he said. Besides providing monthly disability pension of Rs 750 each to nearly 1.69 lakh ...
35 sites in Punjab to be developed as world-class tourist destinations: Sidhu
Thirty-five tourist sites in Punjab will be developed as world-class facilities, Tourism and Cultural Affairs Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu said on Thursday. 'Sarais' (inns) would be turned into wedding destinations and old palaces into five-star hotels to generate revenue, he told reporters here. He said the Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board of the Tourism and Cultural Affairs Department has spent Rs 7.90 crore for the development and expansion of Chhatbir zoo in Mohali district. Sidhu also conducted a tour of the zoo and announced the adoption of a pair (male and female) of white tigers, named Aman and Dia.
Protests continue in Assam against citizenship bill
Protests against the citizenship bill continued unabated across Assam on 'Shilpi Divas' on Thursday, with people and student unions taking out processions, forming human chains, putting up black flags and burning copies of the contentious legislation. Singer Zubeen Garg, who had demanded that Sonowal return the votes the BJP had got in the 2016 Assembly polls using the election song sung by him, pledged at a function at Tezpur to continue his protests against the bill. A 'Black Day' was observed at Mangaldoi town, where Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal was present at a 'Shilpi Divas' function, which marks the death anniversary of cultural icon and first Assamese film-maker Jyoti Prasad Agarwala. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which was passed in the Lok Sabha on January 8 and is pending in the Rajya Sabha, seeks to provide citizenship to non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) adviser Akhil Gogoi, who is in the ...
25-year-old security guard of Delhi school commits suicide on campus
A 25-year-old private security guard of a school in Swaroop Nagar here allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan on its premises on Thursday, police said. The deceased has been identified as Sham Singh, they added. Police were informed about the incident on Thursday morning, following which they rushed to the spot Gaurav Sharma, Deputy Commissioner of Police (outer-north Delhi), said. No suicide note was recovered from the spot, he added. A post-mortem will be conducted, the police said, adding necessary proceedings have been initiated.
'533 workplace sexual harassment cases reported in country in first 7 months of 2018'
As many as 533 cases of sexual harassment of women at workplace have been reported in the country in the first seven months of 2018 as compared to 370 cases in 2014, Rajya Sabha Secretary General Desh Deepak Verma told a workshop here Thursday, citing official data. Verma inaugurated the two-day sensitisation workshop on various aspects of the issue and provisions of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act. The workshop was organised by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, according to an official statement. The harassment of women at workplace violates their right to equality, life, liberty and dignity of living as envisaged under the fundamental rights, it said. "...based on the complaints received in the National Commission for Women as well, the cases of sexual harassment of women at workplace increased from 371 cases in 2014 to 570 in 2017 and as many as 533 such cases have already been reported in the first seven months of 2018," Verma was
Police stops Krushak Morcha activists from entering
The activists of BJP's Krushak Morcha Thursday forcibly tried to enter the state secretariat protesting alleged distress sale of paddy and mismanagement at different mandis across Odisha but were stopped by police. A large number of BJP activists marched towards the secretariat shouting slogans and demanding resignation of Cooperation Minister S N Patro. The police intercepted agitators and a scuffle ensured. Some of them were taken into preventive custody, police said. Cooperation Minister SN Patro had challenged the opposition to prove the allegations that paddy is being procured at prices below stipulated MSP of Rs 1750 per quintal in mandis. "We were going to give evidence to the minister on the distress sale of paddy at different mandis," said Surath Biswal, the general secretary of Morcha.
