Page 209 - Social Issues
Maharashtra police action: Youth Congress moves rights panel
The Maharashtra Youth Congress on Monday called on the state Human Rights Commission chief demanding stringent action against police personnel who allegedly assaulted its workers during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Solapur on January 9, an official said.
Students, daily wagers and employees staged separate protests in Jammu
Jammu was rocked by a chain of protests Monday as university students, daily wagers and employees of different departments took to streets in support of their various demands. A group of students from the University of Jammu blocked the main road for over an hour to protest against the recent decision of the State Administrative Council (SAC) to adjust stipendiary Rahbar-e-Taleem (ReT) teachers on vacant posts of staff teachers. "It is an anti-student decision and we want its immediate revocation. Where will we go because there is no corporate sector and our only hope is government jobs," a student protester said. He said there are 28,000 vacant posts of teachers and if all these are filled up with stipendiary ReT teachers, which means "we will have to wait for at least 12 more years for applying for the post of teachers". The students threatened to intensify the strike if the governor's administration did not repeal the order. Last month, the SAC approved an action plan recommended ..
Man arrested for providing arms to suspected terrorist group sent to judicial custody
A Delhi court Monday sent Muhammad Naeem, arrested for allegedly providing weapons to members of a suspected ISIS-inspired terrorist group, to judicial custody on Monday. Special Judge Rakesh Syal sent the accused to custody till February 6 after Naeem was produced on the expiry of his NIA custody and the probe agency did not seek his further custodial interrogation, his advocate Muhammad Noorullah said. The 21-year-old was arrested from Meerut in western Uttar Pradesh on January 3 and produced before the court the next day, who sent the accused to 10 days of NIA custody. Naeem, the probe agency said, supplied weapons to the members of a suspected Islamic State-inspired terror group which was busted on December 26, wherein the NIA had arrested 10 men, including a 'mufti' from Amroha in western Uttar Pradesh. The agency said the terrorist group were planning suicide attacks and serial blasts targeting politicians and government installations in Delhi and other parts of north India. The
IT exemption threshold may go up in interim budget (IANS Special)
With middle-class apathy on the rise, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley may double the income tax exemption threshold for the salaried from the present Rs 2.5 lakhs to Rs 5 lakhs while also reinstating tax-free status for medical expenses and transport allowance, providing some relief to the section already under strain since demonetisation.
Rajnath to meet NE CMs over Citizenship Bill 'soon'
With northeastern states facing massive protests against the Citizenship Amendment Bill, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has decided to meet the chief ministers of these states "very soon" to discuss protection of rights and people's interests.
Crocodile population rises to 1742 in Bhitarkanika
The number of crocodiles rose to 1742 from last year's census of 1698 in the Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha's Kendrapara district, a forest official said Monday. The census of estuarine or saltwater crocodiles was carried out along the water-bodies of Mahanadi deltaic region in and around the Bhitarkanika National Park between Thursday and Monday. The enumerators sighted 619 hatchlings, 347 yearlings, 273 juveniles, 178 sub-adults and 325 adults, according to the census report. Of these reptiles, they found 12 white or albino crocs, four giant male crocodiles measuring more than 20 feet long, 43 large-size crocodiles that are 14 to 19 feet long, Rajnagar Mangrove (wildlife) Forest Division, Bimal Prasanna Acharya said. The giants included a 21 feet long croc which finds a pride of place in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's largest living crocodile, he said. The latest census figure of these reptiles, which was released by forest department Monday, has ...
New DNA tool can trace your origins to Vikings
Think, that your ancestors were Roman Britons, Vikings or ancient Israelites? A new DNA tool can help you trace your similarity to these ancient people who once roamed the earth, say researchers.
SC keeps pending petitions challenging notification on entry of minorities
The Supreme Court on Monday kept in abeyance a challenge to two notifications on the Passport Act and the Foreigners Act that permitted religious minorities facing persecution in the neighbouring countries, except Muslims, to stay in India even if they had entered without valid documents.
Singapore mulls stricter laws after gay adoption case
Singapore said Monday it is considering tightening adoption laws after a gay man won a landmark court battle to adopt a child he fathered via a surrogate in the US. While Singapore is affluent and modern in many ways, attitudes towards homosexuality are often highly conservative. Gay marriage is not permitted and sex between men remains illegal under a law that dates from the British colonial era, although it is rarely enforced. In the latest case, the man -- who is in a long-term relationship -- first enquired about adopting in Singapore but was told a homosexual couple was unlikely to get permission. He found a surrogate in the United States who agreed to carry his child for USD 200,000. A son was born and is now five years old. The man, a 46-year-old pathologist who has not been identified, brought the boy back to Singapore and applied to formally adopt him, in the hope of securing him Singapore citizenship. After a lengthy legal battle, the High Court last month sided with him in .
K Dhanya Sanal first woman trekking to Agasthyarkoodam peak after HC order
The 38-year-old K Dhanya Sanal, a spokesperson for the Union Ministry of Defence here, has become the first woman, who is trekking to Agasthyarkoodam peak, after the Kerala High Court lifted the ban on women's trekking on December 9 last year.In an exclusive interview to ANI, Sanal, while trekking to the Agasthyarkoodam, said that she would follow the instructions given by the state's Forest Department and would avoid going into the prohibited areas where the tribal people are residing."I will take the pathway and will not go into the prohibited areas and hurt the sentiments of the locals," she told ANI.According to media reports, this peak was banned for the women trekkers as for the Kani tribal people the hilltop is the final resting place of the sage Agasthya, who holds similar importance as Lord Ayyappa at Sabarimala temple.Kani tribal people contend that if the women trekkers are allowed to climb the hill top, it will violate their religious beliefs and customs. Unhappy with the .
DNA pioneer stripped of honours over race comments
A Nobel Prize-winning American scientist who co-discovered DNA has been stripped of his honorary titles at the laboratory he once led. The move came after he repeated racist comments in a documentary.James Watson, who discovered the double-helix structure of the DNA alongside Francis Crick in the 1950s based on the work of British chemist Rosaling Franklin, said in a PBS film that genes cause a difference in intelligence between white and black people in IQ tests.Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) labelled the nonagenarian scientist's comments 'reprehensible', reported CNN.James Watson had been the director of CSHL from 1968 to 1993.The laboratory said that it "unequivocally rejects the unsubstantiated and reckless personal opinions Dr. James D. Watson expressed," noting the statements were "reprehensible [and] unsupported by science."The statement further added that it condemns the misuse of science to justify prejudice.CNN further wrote that Watson had in a previous occasion told .
SC keeps PIL filed against Citizenship Act (Amendment) Bill pending
The Supreme Court has kept the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed against Citizenship Act (Amendment) Bill pending."Bill is yet to be passed in Rajya Sabha," Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi said.The Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019, was passed in the Lok Sabha on January 8.The Bill, which was introduced by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, will facilitate citizenship of six identified minority communities namely Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Christians and Parsis from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh who came to India before 31 December 2014.The proposed amendment in the Bill will make these persecuted migrants eligible to apply for citizenship. Under the proposed amendment, the minimum residency period for citizenship is being reduced from the existing 12 years under the present law to seven years. However, citizenship will be given to them only after due scrutiny and recommendation of district authorities and the state government.The Bill will apply to all states and union
December retail inflation rate drops to 2.19 percent, lowest since June 2017
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's retail inflation rate dropped to 2.19 percent in December from a year earlier, the lowest level since June 2017, government data showed on Monday. The decline was helped by a fall in food prices and smaller increases in fuel costs.
Subdued Bihu festivities in Assam amid stir against Citizenship Bill
Protests over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill have cast a shadow on the three-day Assamese Magh or Bhogali Bihu festivities that began on Monday with agitators from several indigenous organisations urging people to keep the celebrations subdued. Magh Bihu marks the end of the harvesting season in the month of Maagha. The three-day festival is celebrated with lavish feasts and bonfires. The members of the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), which is spearheading the agitation along with 100 other organisations, are observing a 24-hour hunger strike to register their dissent. KMSS chief Akhil Gogoi said the protesters had decided to skip the celebrations this year. He added that he would give the community feast, "Uruka", a miss and go without food throughout the day. Forum Against Citizenship Act Amendment Bill (FACAAB) president Hiren Gohain, along with its convenor Manjit Mahanta, requested the public to burn copies of the Citizenship Amendment Act, 1955 and Citizenship ...
Traffic cops fined half of Goa's population in 2018
Police in Goa have prosecuted around 7.74 lakh traffic violators in 2018, which amounts to more than half of the state's population of 1.5 million, according to statistics released by Director General of Police Muktesh Chander.
Citizenship Bill stir: Black flags greet Sonowal in Majuli
Black flags were waved at Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in Majuli on Monday as protests against Citizenship (Amendment) Bill continued unabated in the state. The CM arrived at the river island by a helicopter in the morning to participate in an official function. As soon as he landed, the agitators shouted slogans against him and the Union government, demanding the withdrawal of the controversial bill, which seeks to grant nationality to non-muslims who fled religious persecution from three neighbouring countries and entered India before December 31, 2014. The legislation which was passed by Lok Sabha last week is likely to be tabled in the Rajya Sabha in the budget session. Several protesters were taken into custody, while others were dispersed by the police. On Sunday too, Sonowal was shown black flags by protesters of Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chhatra Parishad (AJYCP) and Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) outside Kaziranga University, where he had gone to attend the ...
First-year premium income of life insurance sector jumps 19.1% in December 2018
Sales of life insurance policies rise 2% to 25.16 lakh in December 2018
December WPI inflation eases to eight-month low of 3.8 percent
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's annual wholesale price inflation eased to an eight month low of 3.80 percent in December, helped by a smaller increase in food and fuel prices, government data showed on Monday.
DNA pioneer stripped of honours over racist comments
A Nobel Prize-winning American scientist who co-discovered DNA has been stripped of his honourary titles after repeating racist comments in a documentary.
Polish mayor stabbed at charity event, attacker in custody
A Polish mayor is battling for his life after being stabbed with a knife at a charity event here on Sunday.Gdansk mayor Pawel Adamowicz was stabbed near his heart and was rushed to a hospital in a serious condition. Currently, he is undergoing surgery, Sputnik reported.The police has apprehended the attacker who is in custody, although the motive behind the attack is unclear.Confirming the incident and noting that the mayor's condition was still critical, Polish President Andrzej Duda later took to his Twitter handle saying that he "received information that the doctors managed to restore the heartbeat of President Pawel Adamowicz.
