Page 291 - Social Issues
Snowden criticizes indictment of Assange over unspecified documents
Former US National Security Agency (NSA) contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden on Saturday voiced his concern over the indictment of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on the basis of unspecified documents. He has been charged in the United States after unsealed court documents inadvertently revealed his name.Sputnik reported that the former NSA contractor is himself facing capital punishment in the US for leaking classified information on numerous US secret surveillance programmes. He has been granted a political asylum in Russia, at present.The Justice Department has prepared an indictment against the WikiLeaks founder in which prosecutors inadvertently mentioned charges against him. The information was contained in a court filing in an unrelated case. The charges are unclear since they were not revealed.Sources confirmed Snowden's concern that the US Justice Department's alleged plans to prosecute Assange may turn out to be a dangerous precedent for stifling press ...
Sabarimala protests: Detained religious leaders granted bail
Religious leaders who were taken into preventive detention from the Sabarimala temple premises on Friday night were granted bail on Saturday.
Maratha reservation: Opposition to move privilege motion against CM
Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra state assembly, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil on Saturday said that he will be moving a privilege motion against Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for saying there will soon be reservations for the Marathas."We will move a privilege motion against the Chief Minister who announced celebrations on December 1, without any legislative consideration on state Backward Commission's report on Maratha reservation. We will also bring a privilege motion against the member of state Backward Commission who made public the report on Maratha reservation before it being tabled in the Cabinet or in the legislative assembly," Patil said.Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday had said that Maratha community would get the reservation in the government jobs and in admissions in academic institutions from December 1.Addressing a rally in Ahmednagar in Maharashtra, he said, "We will complete all legal formalities in the month of November itself and the Maratha reservation
Festival organised to showcase talent of children living at childcare institutions: WCD
A four-day festival to showcase the talents of children living in childcare institutions across the country will kick off from November 26, the Women and Child Development Ministry said. The children will be participating in various events like painting competition, athletics meet, football, chess competition and speech writing, WCD Secretary Rakesh Srivastava said. Under the festival, a safe neighbourhood day would also be observed to educate people about the children residing in childcare institutions. The festival 'Hausla 2018' will kick off from November 26 on the theme of'Safety of a Child'. "We believe protection is more important than prevention and we want to empower children to make them understand what is wrong and right," he said. Srivastava said the festival aims to showcase the talents of children living in childcare institutions across the country and various events have been organised under the event. This is the second edition of the festival. Last year's festival ...
Police attach absconding Bihar Minister's properties
Police in Bihar on Saturday started attaching properties of absconding former Minister Manju Verma after a court order in an arms case connected to the Muzaffarpur shelter home horror.
Sabarimala Karma Samithi calls for statewide shutdown
The Sabarimala Karma Samithi has called for a statewide shutdown on Saturday from 6 am to 6 pm, to protest against the arrest of Hindu Aikya Vedi state president KP Sasikala at Marakkoottam on Friday night.Sasikala, who is over 50 years of age, was arrested by Police when she was protesting against the entry of younger women into the holy shrine. Before the Supreme Court waived off age related restrictions with regard to women's entry into the shrine, girls below the age of 10 and women above 50 were allowed to worship there.The Hindu Aikya Vedi state president, along with her group and Sabarimala Karma Samithi, has been protesting against the entry of women in menstruating women into Lord Ayappa's shrine.This comes after activist Trupti Desai was forced to return to Pune without visiting Sabarimala Temple owing to protests against her visit.Trupti on Wednesday wrote a letter to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, stating that she would not leave the state if she were not allowed .
Female IndiGo employee found dead at Gurugram guest house
A female employee of IndiGo Airlines allegedly committed suicide at a guest house in Gurugram's Sushant Lok on Thursday night.The deceased was identified as Mausumi Gautam, who was a resident of Assam's Guwahati.The 35-year-old had come to Gurugram for a three day training programme and was found hanging from a ceiling fan at the guest house.A police investigation has been initiated in the matter; however, no suicide note was recovered from the spot. A case has been filed as part of the ongoing probe.The Airline issued a statement over the matter expressing grief over their employee's demise."We are saddened to hear about the unfortunate passing away of our colleague in Gurgaon this morning. At this point, our thoughts and prayers are with her family and loved ones," IndiGo said in a press statement.The autopsy will be conducted on Saturday.
UN committee condemns rights violations against Rohingya
A key UN committee overwhelmingly approved a resolution Friday strongly condemning the continuing "gross human rights violations and abuses" against Rohingya Muslims who are treated as outsiders in Myanmar and were victims of a brutal campaign by the country's military. The General Assembly's human rights committee approved the resolution by a vote of 142-10, with 26 abstentions. It is virtually certain to be formally adopted by the 193-member world body in December. Among those voting against the resolution were Myanmar neighbours China, Cambodia and Laos along with Russia. Bangladesh, which hosts 1.1 million Rohingya refugees, voted in favour. The resolution expresses deep concern that violence by Myanmar's military against the Rohingya has forced over 723,000 people to flee to Bangladesh since August 2017. It urgently calls on Myanmar's government to end discrimination and provide a path to citizenship for the embattled minority. Buddhist-majority Myanmar has long considered the ...
Lives at risk as drug prices soar in crisis-hit Zimbabwe
Since starting treatment five years ago, 50-year-old Alice Chenyika kept her blood pressure under control by adhering to doctors' strict instructions to take two daily doses of nifedipine. Now Zimbabwe's worsening economic crisis has pushed prices up, and the medicine is far beyond her reach -- one of many signs of the country's painful transition since the fall of Robert Mugabe a year ago this month. His successor Emmerson Mnangagwa had promised economic revival after the farm seizures, hyperinflation and international isolation of the Mugabe era -- but the last 12 months have been tough for Zimbabweans. "When I went to the pharmacy to buy medication, I was told on two occasions that nifedipine was out of stock, which had never happened before," Chenyika, a widow and mother of one adult daughter, told AFP at her home in Eastview, outside the capital Harare. When the medicine was back in stock weeks later, the pharmacy was charging USD 24 (21 euros) instead of $6 before for a month of
Chidambaram responds to Modi, lists out names of Congress presidents
Former Union minister P Chidambaram Saturday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for targeting the Congress, reminding him of the party's legacy by listing out the names of its presidents from outside the Nehru-Gandhi family. He asked the prime minister to now speak on the Rafale aircraft deal, unemployment and suicide of farmers during his rule. In an election rally in Chhattisgarh on Friday, Modi had asked the Congress to make a Congressman, from outside the Nehru-Gandhi family, president of the party for five years. In a series of tweets, Chidambaram listed out the names and said the Congress was proud of the humble origins of its post-Independence leaders like Babasaheb Ambedkar, Lal Bahadur Shastri, K Kamaraj and Manmohan Singh and many others besides thousands others during pre-Independence days. "To jog PM Modi's memory: among the Congress Presidents since 1947 were Acharya Kripalani, Pattabhi Sitaramayya, Purushottamdas Tandon, U N Dhebar, Sanjiva Reddy, Sanjivaiah, ...
Saudi women mount 'inside-out' abaya protest
Saudi women have mounted a rare protest against the abaya, posting pictures on social media wearing the obligatory body-shrouding robe inside out. The conservative petro-state has some of the world's toughest restrictions on women, who are required to wear the typically all-black garment in public. Powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in March said wearing the robe was not mandatory in Islam, but in practice nothing changed and no formal edict to that effect was issued. Using the hashtag "inside-out abaya", dozens of women have posted pictures of flipped robes in a rare protest against the strict dress code. "Because #Saudi feminists are endlessly creative, they've come up with new form of protest," activist Nora Abdulkarim tweeted this week. "They are posting pictures of (themselves) wearing their abayas inside-out in public as a silent objection to being pressured to wear it." Another woman on Twitter said the online campaign, which appears to be gaining traction after it ...
Britain's Johnston Press to transfer to bondholders
(Reuters) - Britain's Johnston Press , publisher of The Scotsman, The Yorkshire Post and "I" newspapers, said on Friday it would file for administration, a form of creditor protection, and then be sold to its bondholders, allowing it to continue to trade.
Smriti Irani bats for rise in women entrepreneurs
Union Minister Smriti Irani has pitched for the need to further empower and encourage women to come forward and work as entrepreneurs, adding that the total number of women entrepreneurs in the country is still less.Attending a women awareness programme organised by FICCI here, Irani said, "As per the sixth economic census, the total number of women entrepreneurs was pegged at 13 per cent, of which only five per cent of women were engaged in non-farm enterprises with the remaining working in the agricultural sector."The Union Textiles Minister observed that there was a time when a nation's success was measured in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, when a woman is empowered financially, measurement of success of the society go up in terms of human development index (HDI), she added."When you empower a woman financially you actually, in terms of measurement of success of your society, go up in the human development index. Why is this important today? There was a time when ..
M'rashtra will have to consult NCBC on granting Maratha quota
The Maharashtra government will have to consult the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) before taking a policy decision on granting reservation to the Maratha community, according to a law passed by Parliament earlier this year. The Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission (MSBCC) Thursday submitted its report on the social and economic conditions of the Marathas, with a government source saying the panel has "favoured" grant of quota to the community. Section 338B, sub-clause 9 the 102nd constitutional amendment bill passed in both the houses of Parliament in August this year states, "(9) The Union and every State Government shall consult the Commission (National Commission for Backward Classes, NCBC) on all major policy matters affecting the socially and educationally backward classes". This means the state government will have to consult the NCBC before it goes ahead with granting reservation to the Maratha community based on their social and ...
WCD nominates three members of NCW
The Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) on Friday said it has nominated three persons as members of the National Commission for Women (NCW).
Insurance firms told to settle claims on crop loss soon
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) Chairman Subhash Chandra Khuntia on Friday urged the state-run insurance companies to settle claims of farmers on crop loss at the earliest.
1,023 fast track courts to be set up under Nirbhaya fund: WCD ministry
The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development has decided to use Nirbhaya Fund to set up 1,023 fast track courts to dispose off pending cases of rape of children and women. In July, the Ministry of Law and Justice had proposed setting up over 1,000 'fast track special courts' across the country, as part of a new scheme to try cases related to rape of children and women. "The Empowered Committee of Officers under Nirbhaya Fund, under the chairmanship of secretary, Women and Child Development (WCD) Ministry has approved the following three major proposals which include setting up 1,023 Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) to dispose off pending cases of rape, and POCSO Act across the country," the WCD Ministry said in a statement. The project has a total financial implication of Rs 767.25 crore. In the first phase, 777 FTSCs may be set up in nine states, and in the second phase, 246 FTSCs will be set up, it said. The second proposal is of procurement of forensic kits for sexual assault
Gujarat: two farmers commit suicide; eight cases in 2 months
Two farmers ended their lives in Gujarat in the last four days owing to mounting debts and crop failure due to a weak monsoon, taking the number of such suicides in the last two months to eight, police said Friday. While 31-year-old Viram Khunti, resident of Nagadia village of Devbhoomi-Dwarka district, died at a hospital in Junagadh on November 12, Hira Parmar (45) allegedly committed suicide at his house in Nagadka village in Surendranagar district Friday, police said. Junagadh district police said Khunti was hospitalised on November 10 after he consumed pesticide at his village in Kalyanpur tehsil of Devbhoomi Dwarka district. While the Kalyanpur police are yet register a case as they are waiting for medical reports, Khunti's relatives told the media that he was under a huge debt and saw no hope of being able to repay it as the monsoon failed this year. "He was under huge debt following his father's hospitalisation. In addition, this year was weak in terms of rains. ..
WCD Ministry nominates three members of NCW
The Women and Child Development Ministry (WCD) has nominated three people to be members of the National Commission for Women. The three members are Chandramukhi Devi, Soso Shaiza and Kamlesh Gautam, the ministry said in a statement. "The Ministry of Women and Child Development, in pursuance of Section 3 of the National Commission for Women Act, 1990, has nominated the following as members of the National Commission for Women (NCW)," the WCD said. They shall hold office for a period of three years or till the age of 65 years or until further orders from the date of assumption of charge of office, whichever is earlier, the statement said. Devi is from Bihar and has been on state women commission from 2011 to 2014. Soso is a BJP national council member and hails from Manipur while Gautam is from Kanpur.
Satyarthi meets Pope seeking law against online child sexual abuse
Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi met Pope Francis at Vatican seeking support for a new legally binding International law against 'online child sexual abuse', a statement said.
