Page 306 - Social Issues

ULFA attack: Bengalis organisations calls for bandh in Assam

After five people belonging to Bengali community were killed by suspected United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) terrorists in Assam's Tinsukia district on Thursday, scores of Bengali organisations are observing a 24-hour bandh on Saturday to mark the protest against the killings.Five people, identified as Ananta Namasudra, Abinash Namasudra, Subal Das, Dhanai Namasudra and Syamal Biswas, were killed at around 7 pm on Thursday in Bishnoimukh village near Dhola-Sadiya bridge.Expressing angst over the incident, the All Assam Bengali Youth Students Federation on Friday had also called for a 12-hour shutdown in the town as a sign of protest against the gruesome killings.Taking cognizance of the matter, states' Water Resource Minister Keshab Mahanta announced compensation of Rs 5 lakh to each family of the deceased.State Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal had also condemned the attack and directed the law enforcement agencies to take stringent action against the culprits.The ULFA is a ...

Over 300 national, global neurologists participate in 11th Continuing Medical Education seminar

More than 300 national and global neurologists participated in a day-long 11th Continuing Medical Education (CME) seminar here Saturday which focused on increase in the number of stroke patients due to rising pollution levels in urban areas. More than 250 delegates from five countries participated in the seminar. P N Renjen, a leading neurologist who practices as senior consultant at the Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, elaborating on the stroke burden pointed out, "Increasing urbanisation is leading to increasing pollution in cities like Delhi and this in turn is causing a marked increase in the instances of stroke." "Towards managing this, advancement in vascular neurology is key and that is the best done when all come together and share experiences and best practices," he said. Stroke claims a life every 6 seconds and 15 million people worldwide suffer a stroke each year and 5.8 million people die from it. Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability in India, Renjen ..

Mentally disabled man shot dead by Army sentry in J-K

A mentally disabled man was allegedly shot dead by an Army sentry in the early hours of Saturday when he ignored his warnings and walked towards an Army camp in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said. A security guard at the Army camp shot at Rayees Ahmad Wani at 3 am, they said. Police said they have taken cognisance of the killing and a probe into the matter is underway. Army and defence officials said they were ascertaining the circumstances which led to Wani's death. According to sources, Wani had crossed the perimeter fencing and was walking towards the camp wall when the sentry challenged him. When Wani failed to pay heed to his verbal warning, the soldier fired in the air in a vain attempt to desist him, the sources said, adding that the sentry then shot at him, leading to his death. Meanwhile, family members of the deceased staged a dharna, demanding action against the security guard responsible for Wani's death.

SJM, Modi government want Patel out of RBI: Chidambaram

Former Union Minister P. Chidambaram on Saturday said the Raghuram Rajan story is being repeated as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to remove RBI Governor Urjit Patel from his post because the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) wants Patel to exit from the office.

BJP blames Odisha govt for suicide of farmers

The BJP has alleged that the BJD government has neglected the farm sector forcing many farmers to commit suicide in Odisha. The government is not supporting farmers by providing easy finance and for that reason they take loans from private money lenders at very high rate of interest, BJP state unit chief Basant Panda told reporters here Friday. "Many farmers who faced crop failure were unable to repay loans and faced huge debt burden forcing them to commit suicide," the BJP leader said. The government has also "failed" to make available inputs like nutrients, seeds and irrigation facilities to the farmers, he said adding that the farmers are also denied the Minimum Support Price (MSP) fixed by the Centre for their produces. Showing a list of farmers who allegedly committed suicide, he urged the state government to grant compensation to the kin of the deceased peasants at the earliest. He also demanded interest-free loan to farmers saying similar facility was being ...

Army, Assam Rifles helping Manipur govt eliminate poppy cultivation: CM

The Manipur government is taking the help of the Army and Assam Rifles to eliminate poppy cultivation in border areas as part of its war on drugs that also includes projects to wean away drug users, the chief minister has said. "Thousands of hectares of land are used for poppy cultivation in areas near the international border with Myanmar," Chief Minister N Biren Singh told a group of visiting journalists recently. The northeastern state, which is close to the infamous Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia known for drug trafficking, has been hit by drugs and a large number of HIV cases owing to intravenous drug usage. Singh said poppy is exported to other countries via the Golden Triangle. "We are taking help of the Army and Assam Rifles to root out the cultivation of poppy in Manipur," the chief minister said, adding that the poppy growers are being rehabilitated with lemon grass cultivation. Lalboi, a poppy cultivator from Joupi village in the southern part of the state, said during ..

Declared war on drugs, says Manipur CM

Manipur government has declared a war on drugs affecting a significant number of people in the state, Chief Minister N Biren Singh has said. The state government and the security forces have initiated projects to wean away drug users from the addiction, while initiating strict action against drug peddlers, he said. The chief minister said 600 peddlers were arrested this year and fast track courts have been set up to try the accused persons. The Northeastern state, which is close to the Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia -- infamous for drug trafficking, has been affected by drug usage and a large number of HIV cases owing to intravenous drug usage. "Thousands of hectares of land are used for poppy cultivation in areas near the international border with Myanmar," Singh told a group of visiting newspersons. He said the poppy is exported to other countries via the Golden Triangle. "We are taking help of the Army and Assam Rifles to root out the cultivation of poppy in ...

India at UN says terrorism most serious violation of human rights, emanating from beyond its borders

In a veiled attack on Pakistan, India at the UN said that terrorism is the most serious violation of human rights emanating from beyond its borders, urging the global community to take a resolute action against the menace in all its forms and manifestations. A lack of consensus in the Human Rights Council's actions in situation-specific issues is a worrisome development that compromises its effectiveness and credibility, First Secretary in the Permanent Mission of India to the UN Paulomi Tripathi said at a General Assembly 3rd Committee session on 'Report of the Human Rights Council' on Friday. "Terrorism is the most serious violation of human rights which emanates from beyond our borders. The international community must take resolute action against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations to prevent and stop abuse of human rights and fundamental freedoms of innocent people," she said. "Adoption of aggressive and confrontational approach and overly intrusive methods, without ...

Acko ties up with UrbanClap

New-age insurance company, Acko General Insurance, announced a strategic tie-up with UrbanClap, a mobile-based services marketplace, under which Acko has developed an accident insurance product for top performing UrbanClap professionals, also referred to as 'partners'.UrbanClap has a robust community of over 50,000 service professionals who are growing their business everyday leveraging the platform. This is a first-of-its-kind initiative by UrbanClap in providing benefits like insurance cover to select top partners. This insurance is offered as a performance linked benefit to its partners.Under this program, an UrbanClap partner will receive an insurance cover benefit for eventualities like death and disability for Rs 1 lakh each. There is also a loan protection cover of Rs 50,000 and a child education cover of Rs 60,000 for the partners' family in case of death or total disability. Claims can be made on Acko's website or through Acko's call centre number."Our partners are the ...

U.S. to end trade benefits for Mauritania over forced labor

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump intends to end trade benefits for Mauritania on Jan. 1 for not making sufficient progress on ending forced labor practices, the U.S. Trade Representative's Office (USTR) said on Friday.

Over 7,000 US troops in border states by end of weekend: military

More than 7,000 US soldiers will be pre-positioned in states bordering Mexico by the end of the weekend, a military spokesman said Friday. The pre-positioning -- part of what President Donald Trump has cast as efforts to counter "dangerous" would-be immigrants moving through Mexico toward the US border -- will be completed two days ahead of midterm elections in which the president has sought to make immigration a key issue. The figure of more than 7,000 American troops corresponds to what has previously been announced: that 5,239 active duty soldiers will join 2,100 members of the National Guard already deployed, said Michael Kucharek, a spokesman for the US military's Northern Command. The troops will be placed on main military bases in California, Arizona and Texas, but their final deployment has yet to be determined, Kucharek said. According to a Pentagon official who spoke on condition of anonymity, a thousand soldiers had already arrived Friday in McAllen, Texas, on the border ...

Yuva-HallaBol organises panchayats against graft in government jobs

Alleging massive corruption in the procedure for government jobs, Yuva-HallaBol on Friday organised 'youth panchayats' across the country on the rising unemployment in the country.

Donald Trump shows sympathy for those waiting for green cards

The US, he said, has the largest and most expansive immigration programmes anywhere on the planet

Diversity among Asians divides them on affirmative action

A federal judge in Boston is scheduled to hear closing arguments Friday in a highly publicised lawsuit alleging that elite Harvard discriminates against Asian-Americans. Much of the spotlight has been on affluent Chinese-Americans with stellar academic scores who say the college rejects Asians in favour of lesser-qualified applicants. They say factoring in race hurts Asian-Americans. But others in the Asian community say that a race-blind process relying solely on academic scores would also hurt Asian-Americans. Southeast Asians, for example, who largely came over as refugees from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, are under-represented in higher education. "The narrative right now is very focused on a very specific segment within the Asian-American community that does not represent the larger Asian-American community," said Quyen Dinh, executive director of the Southeast Asia Resource Action Centre. The centre signed on to a "friend of the court" brief by the Asian American Legal Defense ...

ULFA attack: Assam minister announces compensation for deceased's kin

Assam's Water Resource Minister Keshab Mahanta on Friday announced compensation of Rs 5 lakhs to the family of the people killed by the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) terrorists.Five people, identified as Ananta Namasudra, Abinash Namasudra, Subal Das, Dhanai Namasudra and Syamal Biswas, were killed by the ULFA terrorists on Thursday in Bishnoimukh village near Dhola-Sadiya bridge in Tinsukia district of Assam.Earlier in the day, Mahanta and Assam Minister Parimal Suklabaidya, accompanied by Director General of Police, Kuladhar Saikia, visited the spot to take a stock of the situation, even as some local women blocked the Dhola-Tinsukia highway and burned tyres in agitation.In the wake of the same, the All Assam Bengali Youth Students Federation called for a 12-hour shutdown in Tinsukia town as a sign of protest against the killings.Yesterday, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal had also condemned the attack in Tinsukia and directed the law enforcement agencies to take ...

Woman hailing from Bihar commits suicide

A 19-year-old woman allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself in Rohini's Sector-3 area on Friday, police said. The deceased was identified as Piya Mishra, a permanent resident of Bihar, they said. Mishra, working in a private company in Pitampura, used to live in a rented accommodation in Rohini's Sector-3 area. Around 7.30 pm on Friday, her landlord found her body hanging from a ceiling fan and informed police, said a senior police officer. When police reached the spot, they recovered a suicide note in which Mishra has mentioned that family issues and her career were the reasons behind her taking the extreme step, the officer added. Her friends told the police that Mishra's mother had passed away and her father married to another woman. She was not happy with her father's step and was suffering from depression, said the police. She used to live in the rented house with a friend, who hailed from Haryana. Her room partner left for Haryana on Thursday and on Friday evening, she ...

IPS Assn condemns digital attack against police officers

The Indian Police Service Association of Kerala Friday condemned the verbal and digital attack against certain police officers in the state in connection with the recent Sabarimala incidents. In a resolution passed at a meeting here, the association said attempt has been made to "vilify" and "intimidate" police officers who carried out their duties during the recent violent protests held against the entry of women of all ages into the Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala. Attempts have been made to intimidate through public speeches and social media the police officers carrying out law enforcement duties, an association statement said. "Statements have been made questioning independence and impartiality of senior police officers by implying their actions are based on their community. Vile and abusive language havebeen used against these officers," it said. Civil society should condemn such attempts against the officers, it said. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had on ...

'Governments should enable legislators to cope with technological advances'

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Friday warned people against the impact of automation technology and urged governments across the country to enable legislators to address the challenges emerging with it.

Haasan flays TN govt for alleged conversion of agri lands

Makkal Neethi Maiyam party president Kamal Haasan Friday hit out at the Tamil Nadu government for allegedly converting agricultural lands for other purposes and said it has caused "distress" to farmers. While Odisha and Telangana are allocating land for agriculture, Tamil Nadu is doing just the opposite, the actor-politician said. Haasan was taking questions from students at a private engineering college here. Asked about remedies for farmer suicides, Haasan said "like air is for survival, land is essential for a farmer. Destroying agriculture under garb of creating jobs cannot be justified. Telangana (government) has allocated 20 lakh hectares for agriculture, while Odisha has set aside 10 lakh hectares," he said. "Tamil Nadu and some other states are doing the opposite which is causing distress to farmers and resulting in suicides," he added. Haasan has opposed the Rs 10,000-crore Chennai-Salem expressway that seeks to acquire over 500 acres including farmlands, saying

WCD orders immediate closure of Bhopal-based specialised adoption agency

The Women and Child Ministry Friday directed the Madhya Pradesh government to immediately shut down a specialised adoption agency that was involved in giving a girl for adoption to a Spanish couple who later abandoned her, saying the Bhopal-based institution deceived them over her age. The Spanish couple abandoned the 13-year-old girl after they were allegedly deceived by the institution, which reportedly told them that she was seven-years-old at the time of adoption earlier this year. The Udaan institution has been accused of defaulting under various provisions and not responding to show-cause notices. An inquiry was initiated and its in-charge, Apoorva Sharma, was asked to appear before the ministry on September 6, an official said. The inquiry committee found gross violations by adoption agency Kilkari (Udaan) of the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 and the Adoption Regulations, 2017 pertaining to the sourcing, care and placement of children in adoption. Following the ..