Page 282 - Social Issues
Tiwari reiterates demand for identification, deportation of illegal immigrants in Delhi
Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari on Saturday reiterated the demand for identification and eviction of illegal immigrants living in the national capital and accused the ruling AAP of protecting them. Earlier in August, the Delhi BJP had written a letter to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on the issue. "Arvind Kejriwal's party is protecting Bangladeshis and Rohingyas living illegally in Delhi," Tiwari said. The Delhi BJP wants introduction of an exercise like Assam NRC for identification and deportation of illegal immigrants in the city, he added. Tiwari also accused Kejriwal of hatching a controversy to eliminate him. "CM Delhi Arvind Kejriwal is protecting Bangladeshis and Rohingyas to destabilise the nation... what a shame...few days ago I also got 2 threat calls from overseas newly-made friends of Dubai-returned Kejriwal who is hatching a conspiracy to eliminate me.." he tweeted. On Wednesday, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had alleged that the BJP wanted Kejriwal eliminated, a day ...
Gujarat: month before kids' weddings, farmer kills himself
A farmer, facing financial worries after his cotton crop failed, allegedly committed suicide by drinking pesticide in Junagadh district of Gujarat Saturday, police said. This is the seventh such incident in the state in the last two months following a poor monsoon. Bodubhai Dal (45), resident of Akha village, killed himself just a month before two marriages were to take place in the family, sub-inspector N K Vinjora of Vanthali police station said. "Dal's wife Naseemaben said the weddings of their elder son and daughter were scheduled for the next month, and he was worried about expenses after losing the cotton crop sown over 2.5 acres," Vinjora said. He allegedly consumed poison at home Saturday morning, the police officer said. Dal was first rushed to a hospital at Keshod and later to the government hospital in Junagadh. "He passed away half an hour after being admitted to the hospital in Junagadh," Vinjora said. "We have registered a case of accidental death and ...
Centre denies Delhi Health Minister permission to visit Australia; AAP livid
Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday flayed the BJP government at the Centre after it declined Health Minister Satyendar Jain permission to travel to Australia.
Death toll rises to 33 in Pak's Orakzai suicide blast
The death toll in Friday's suicide explosion in lower Orakzai district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan rose to 33, with two more persons succumbing to their injuries, officials said on Saturday.Initially, the suicide attack which targeted a busy marketplace in Kalaya area of lower Orakzai district claimed 31 lives, Geo News reported.The death toll was confirmed by District Health Officer Dr Nawab and added that around 56 people were undergoing treatment at a local hospital.On Friday, a powerful bomb tore through a bustling local market, after a suicide attacker entered into the area on a motorcycle, the police said.Following the explosion, the entire area was cordoned off as security forces launched an investigation into the incident.
Amazon warehouse employees hold 'we are not robots' protest to mark Black Friday
Amazon warehouse workers in Europe staged a wave of protests and strikes against the tech giant's unhealthy work culture on the day of Black Friday.Black Friday which marks a crazy day of sales for the customers, and a big day for the retailers to see bumper profits, comes with its own share of disappointments when it comes to the warehouse workers who have to work prolonged hours to meet the demand.According to Cnet, union workers in the UK, Spain, Italy, and Germany staged "We are not robots" protests against Amazon's dangerous, high-pressure work culture, and its aggressive anti-union actions.The UK-based GMB union said that the conditions are inhuman, there are instances of the workers breaking bones, being knocked unconscious, and taken away in ambulances. Meanwhile, Amazon refuted all these claims and said that it is a fair and responsible employer with positive and safe working conditions.
Flesh trade racket busted, three held
Three persons, including two women, were arrested for allegedly running a prostitution racket at Mira Road in Thane district of Maharashtra, police said on Saturday. The arrests were made by the Thane district rural police following a raid at a massage parlour-cum-saloon at Mira Road on Thursday, in which five girls were also rescued. Assistant Superintendent of Police Atul Kulkarni said nine women hiding in secret rooms at the parlour were also rescued during the operation. "Police had got a tip-off that a saloon in the locality was running a prostitution racket. Swinging into action, police conducted a raid at the saloon and arrested its three operators, including two women," he said. "During the raid, five girls found in the parlour and nine women hiding in secret rooms there were rescued," police said. An offence under IPC section 370 (trafficking of persons) and different sections of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act was registered at Naya Nagar police station ..
14,000 unaccompanied immigrant children in US custody
A record number of unaccompanied immigrant children, about 14,000, were currently in US custody, according to a Health and Human Services (HHS) spokesman.
Maratha quota: SBCC surveyed 43,629 households, says Maha govt
The Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission (SBCC) surveyed 43,629 households before submitting its report on the social and economic conditions of the Maratha community, which has been demanding reservation. State Social Justice Minister Rajkumar Badole has told this to the Legislative Council in response to a question asked by Congress MLC Sharad Ranpise, Leader of Opposition Dhananjay Munde, NCP member Hemant Takle and others. In their question, the opposition members claimed that when the pro-quota protests by the Maratha community members turned violent, police had fired gunshots and many even ended their own lives over the issue. They also alleged that when a bandh was called on August 9 this year, police had registered false cases against innocent people. They added that leaders across the party lines had met the Superintendent of Police to demand withdrawal of such cases. In his response, Badole said police had taken action in accordance with the law, at ...
Three doctors face Belgium's first euthanasia prosecution
Three doctors will face a criminal trial in Belgium accused of failing to comply with the legal conditions for euthanasia, the first such case since it was decriminalised in 2002. "This is the first time that there has been a decision to refer such a case to a court of law," lawyer Jacqueline Herremans told AFP on Friday, confirming information from Belgian media. "There have already been legal cases involving doctors, but they have always resulted in dismissals before going to court," added Herremans, who chairs the Belgian Association for the Right to Die with Dignity. The case follows the announcement that Dutch authorities are prosecuting a doctor for euthanising an elderly woman with dementia in the first case of its kind in neighbouring the Netherlands. Belgium and the Netherlands became the first countries in the world to legalise so-called mercy killing, but it can only be carried out by doctors and under very strict conditions. The decision in Belgium, taken on Thursday by ...
BJP's eX-legislator from Gujarat held for raping woman
Delhi Police have arrested former legislator of Gujarat BJP for sexually assaulting a woman in west Delhi last year, an officer said, adding that the accused was arrested from Ahmedabad.
Chief Justice of Pakistan faces protest by Sindhi activists in London
The World Sindhi Congress (WSC) held a protest in London against the construction of large dams on River Indus in Pakistan.The Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar, who is currently in the United Kingdom, was the chief guest of a fund-raising event for the construction of controversial Diamer Basha dam in Punjab province.The protest was attended by a large number of Sindhis, Baloch and Kashmiris from across the UK. The demonstrators raised slogans against illegal, immoral involvement of the Chief Justice in the construction of the controversial dam.The speakers unequivocally and loudly said that Sindh is already facing huge crises due to current diversion through dams, canals,droughts, unavailability of water for agriculture and drinking. The devastation and destruction of delta, ecosystems, sea intrusion have resulted in the demolition of hundreds of villages besides displacing communities.The agitators highlighted that any new dam on Indus River will completely destroy Sindh and ...
#HearMeToo: UN's initiative to eliminate violence against women
As part of the global 16 days of activism campaign, the UN House in India turned orange on Friday, ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, marked annually on November 25.
Education neglected by all Muslim segments: Hamid Ansari
Former Vice President Hamid Ansari on Friday said among the identified issues faced by the Muslim community, education has been the most important one and is neglected by all the segments of the community.
Bring statutory time limit for detaining 'irregular foreigners' in Assam: Amnesty report
Global rights body Amnesty and a group of activists Friday alleged that individuals declared as "irregular foreigners" were living in "deplorable conditions" in detention centres in Assam, and sought introduction of a "statutory time limit" on their confinement. Amnesty India Friday also released a report here titled -- 'Between Fear and Hatred: Surviving Migration Detention in Assam' and urged the Assam government to ensure that an "operations manual" for detention centres is created that addresses the specific circumstances of detainees. Asmita Basu, Amnesty India's Programs Director, said, the nearly 30-page report draws from "empirical data gathered through semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders and informants, including six individuals who had been formerly detained, and families of seven individuals who had been or are in detention". "There is no statutory limit on the period for which individuals declared as 'irregular foreigners' can be detained. Also, such people ...
Nirupam demands case of forgery against Maharashtra minister
Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam on Friday demanded that a case of forgery be registered against Maharashtra Cooperation Minister Subhash Deshmukh. The Congress has accused the minister of forging documents and fabricating permissions to get a contract for Lokmangal Multistate Co-operative Society's milk processing plant in Solapur. The Co-operative Society has been founded by Deshmukh, a BJP leader. He has denied the allegations in the past. The state Dairy Development Department said Thursday that a Rs 24 crore contract granted to the plant has been scrapped. Nirupam wrote to Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao, demanding that a case of forgery be registered against Deshmukh and he should be sacked immediately.
Congress MLA Alpesh Thakor seeks survey of OBCs in Gujarat
Congress MLA Alpesh Thakor Friday said he would approach the Gujarat OBC Commission soon with a demand for a survey of all the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the state to find out if they have benefited from the existing reservation system. Thakor's statement came a day after Patidar quota leader Hardik Patel approached the commission with a demand to conduct a survey of the Patel community to prove their social and economic backwardness so that its members become eligible for reservation in jobs and education under the OBC category. "I believe that a survey of OBC castes should be carried out so that we would know how much they actually benefited from the reservation. Our delegation would meet the OBC Commission soon with this demand," Thakor said. In Gujarat, there are a total of 146 castes listed under the OBC category, also known as Socially and Educationally Backward Classes. "This survey is necessary to check if these castes have made any progress or they are ...
KCR worked only for himself and people close to him: Sonia
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi today lashed out at Telangana's TRS government, saying it neglected dalits, tribals, minorities, women and students with Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao working only for himself and those close to him. She also said the development that was expected following the creation of Telangana did not happen under Rao. "Chief Minister Rao has cared only for himself and his own people leaving the child (Telangana) to suffer," she told an election rally at Medchal near here. Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who also addressed the rally, said the TRS rule in Telangana was all set to end. "Dalits, adivasis, minorities, backward classes, women and students were all neglected. The chief minister should tell us what promises he made to them and he kept," Sonia, who visited Telangana for the first time since the state's creation in June 2014, said. She also said the Congress was committed to special category status for Andhra Pradesh. It was under the UPA 2
Plea in Madras HC seeks effective law against domestic violence
The Madras High Court Friday granted the Tamil Nadu government six weeks time to respond to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking necessary measures to bring a legislation for protecting women from domestic violence. A bench of Chief Justice V K Tahilramani and Justice M Duraiswamy, before which the PIL of advocate Sudha Ramalingam came up, granted the time as sought by the government pleader in-charge Jayaprakash Narayan. The bench then posted the matter for further hearing on January 25. The petitioner submitted that Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code, dealing with cruelty against women, was not enough to capture the entire spectrum of domestic violence or provide comprehensive relief to them. Hence, the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. was brought into effect on October 26, 2006, the petitioner said. The Act is aimed at providing more effective protection to women through specific, time-bound legal remedies, but it has not been effective in Tamil Nadu .
Country passing through rising intolerance, says ex-President Mukherjee
Former President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday expressed concern over rising intolerance and violation of human rights, coupled with a widening gulf between the rich and poor with top one per cent rich pocketing the lion's share of country's wealth.
UKIP leader names far-right leader as adviser
The head of the UK Independence Party has appointed a leading far-right activist as a personal adviser, prompting UKIP's former leader Nigel Farage to call for his ouster amid accusations of Islamophobia. UKIP chief Gerard Batten told the BBC on Friday that Tommy Robinson, a hugely divisive figure who founded the anti-Islam English Defence League, had been appointed as his adviser on "rape gangs and prison reform". Robinson's real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon and the name he has taken on is that of a well-known football hooligan. He has prior convictions for drugs and assault and was also imprisoned in Britain earlier this year for live-streaming outside a court in breach of reporting restrictions on a trial into a gang accused of sexual assault. Farage, who still represents the party in the European Parliament, said Batten was taking UKIP in a "shameful direction" and he would call a vote of no-confidence. Farage said Batten had a "sort of fixation" with Robinson and "discussing ...
