Page 31 - Social Issues

FinMin may retain allocations made in interim Budget

Finance ministry has indicated that it will retain the interm budget allocations made to ministries and departments, in the final budget for the current financial year, to presented in the Lok Sabha on July 5. In run-up the Lok Sabha elections, the finance ministry came up with an interim budget in February, authorising government expenditure for a limited period. With the new government in place now, a full-year budget will be presented by the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on July 5. In a circular, the finance ministry also said it will only consider additional allocations towards "unavoidable commitments" for which funds have not been earmarked in the interim budget. "Allocations projected in the Interim Budget 2019-20, will not be altered," said the finance ministry circular. However, if there are any requirement on account of unavoidable commitments that have not been fully provided for in the February budget, "Ministry/Department may propose the same for consideration for .

Haney slams Woods over women's golf furore

Veteran golf coach Hank Haney hit back at criticism from Tiger Woods following his own remarks about women's golf which triggered uproar. Haney was suspended from his SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio show last week after comments about the US Women's Open field which were branded "racist and sexist" by golf star Michelle Wie. Several women's players joined the condemnation of Haney's remarks, while Woods, a former student of Haney's, also backed his suspension, saying the instructor had "got what he deserved." "Just can't look at life like that," Woods told reporters. In a post on Twitter on Tuesday, however, Haney responded angrily to the criticism from his former student. "Amazing how @tigerwoods has become the moral authority on issues pertaining to women," Haney wrote. "I spent 6 great years coaching Tiger, and not one time did he ever hear me utter one sexist or racist word," he continued, before alluding to the former world number one's 2009 sex scandal. "Now, in addition to being a ...

Homelessness jumps 12 percent in LA over past year: report

The number of homeless people in Los Angeles County jumped 12 percent over the past year, with nearly 59,000 people living in shelters, vehicles or on the streets, officials said Tuesday. Despite tens of thousands of people being moved off the streets and into permanent housing in the last year, California's most-populous county was just unable to keep up with the constant rise in the number of people falling into homelessness. "We have the largest unsheltered population in the nation and one of the largest homeless counts across America," Peter Lynn, executive director of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, said while presenting an annual report on the crisis. "Only New York has more people experiencing homelessness on any given night." The increase in the number of homeless is largely due to a lack of affordable housing and rising rental prices, officials said. Lynn said the city of Los Angeles saw the steepest rise, with more than 36,000 people counted as homeless, an ...

Nearly 100 refugees moved to safety in Tripoli

Geneva, June 4 (IANS/AKI) A total of 96 refugees held in the squalid Zintan detention centre in the war-wracked Libyan capital, Tripoli, have been moved to a safe location, United Nations refugee agency UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch said on Tuesday.

Will empower minorities through education, employment: Naqvi

Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Tuesday that ensuring socio-economic empowerment of the minorities through "3E" - education, employment and empowerment - was the target of the government.

Delhi won't implement Ayushman Bharat, says Jain; Tiwari says AAP govt 'anti-people'

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain Tuesday said the AAP government will not implement Ayushman Bharat scheme in the national capital as the Arvind Kejriwal dispensation seeks to provide equitable treatment to all residents here. In an interaction with reporters after inspecting the GTB Hospital in east Delhi and meeting patients there, Jain said, "They (Centre) should first get it (properly implemented) done in Uttar Pradesh." "One woman has come from Modinagar. People are not able to get treatment there despite Ayumshan Bharat scheme in place. Get it done in UP, Haryana, Delhi we will take care of (itself)," Jain said. The Centre "should not worry" about Delhi, the minister said. "They are not worried about the poor of UP... 70 per cent of patients coming to this hospital are from Uttar Pradesh," Jain said. The Ayushman Bharat scheme plans to cover over 10.74 crore poor and vulnerable families as per the socioeconomic caste census (SECC). It provides a cover of up to Rs 5 lakh per .

Delhi's Asha Kiran shelter home gets two new dormitories

Delhi's Social Welfare Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam Tuesday inaugurated two dormitories in the male wing of the Asha Kiran shelter home here to decongest the existing facility. The dormitories can accommodate 80 inmates of the shelter home which houses around 350 mentally challenged people. The government has sanctioned Rs 5 crore for carrying out development works in the Asha Kiran Complex and Rs 53 lakh for upgradation of CCTV cameras in the facility. The facility, run by the Delhi government's Social Welfare Department, was established in 1989 in Rohini's Sector 1.

Minor girl sexually assaulted in Gurugram

A four-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by a youth in Gurugram's Hari Nagar area, police said on Tuesday.

Single but not straight? Tinder wants to find you a match

There is good news for those who are single, but not straight. In a major step towards inclusivity, dating app Tinder has now started allowing users in some countries, including India, to share more information about their sexual orientation on their profile - whether they are heterosexual, gay, queer, asexual or bisexual.

Anti-ragging panel found Payal Tadvi was harassed: source

The anti-ragging committee of the Topiwala National Medical College here has concluded that Dr Payal Tadvi, who allegedly committed suicide last month, faced harassment from the three accused seniors, a source said Tuesday. Tadvi (26), a post-graduate medical student who belonged to a tribal community, allegedly committed suicide on May 22. Speaking to PTI on the condition of anonymity, a member of the anti-ragging committee said, "We questioned several people, her friends and fellow students, and corroborated their statements. It was evident that Payal was harassed over her caste and tribe." The committee comprised senior officials of the medical college, representatives of the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD), police officials, and social workers. "The report has been sent to higher authorities in the state government," the member said. The crime branch of Mumbai police Tuesday approached the Bombay High Court seeking fresh custody of the accused ...

Trump says Mexico tariffs 'likely,' Mexico predicts a deal

President Donald Trump said he expects to begin hitting Mexico with tariffs next week in a long-running dispute over illegal immigration, while Mexican officials predicted an agreement to avoid the penalties would be reached during upcoming negotiations. Trump said Tuesday that the parties would try to work something out, but continued to dangle the threat of tariffs to force Mexico's hand. "We're going to see if we can do something. But I think it's more likely that the tariffs go on," he said from London, where Trump is on the second day of a state visit to Britain. The president commented during a news conference with outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May. But Mexico said earlier Tuesday that an agreement was likely to avoid the threatened 5 per cent tariff on Mexican imports , effective Monday. "By what we have seen so far, we will be able to reach an agreement," Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said during a news conference at Mexico's Embassy in Washington. "That is why I ..

Apps, social media fuel 'booming' online prostitution: study

Apps like Facebook and Tinder are fuelling the "soaring industry" of online prostitution and sexual exploitation, according to a worldwide study published by a French anti-prostitution group on Tuesday. Prostitution has moved "from the street to the Internet", where pimps recruit young girls via Snapchat and Instagram before prostituting them in apartments rented on Airbnb, said anti-prostitution group Fondation Scelles. The report, "Sexual exploitation: New challenges, news answers" looked at trends in 35 countries. In Israel, dating app Tinder is the most popular tool to find prostitutes, while in Zambia students in cybercafes join Whatsapp and Facebook groups to connect with prostitutes and pimps in a few clicks, the report said. In France, gangs contact underage girls from "welfare homes and high schools" on social networks such as Facebook and Snapchat, promising "opportunities to make money very quickly" before posting online advertisements and prostituting them. Adverts on ...

Take up TB elimination on a mission mode: Harsh Vardhan

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan Tuesday directed the ministry officials to take up elimination of TB on a 'Mission Mode', asking all stakeholders to come together and chalk out an aggressive strategy for making India tuberculosis free by 2025. Harsh Vardhan was chairing a high level meeting to review the status of Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP). "The Prime Minister has given a clarion call to made India free of Tuberculosis by 2025, five years ahead of the global target. Let us develop a comprehensive and focussed high profile strategic action plan by bringing together synergies of all systems and available resources across the government and non-government sectors," he said at the meeting. The Minister suggested adoption of innovative approaches to address TB and directed elimination of the disease be made a 'Jan Andolan' (mass movement). The Health Minister also suggested roping in other ministries, state governments, MPs, MLAs, NGOs, civil society ..

Odisha agrees to examine Ayushman Bharat scheme

The Odisha government on Tuesday said it would examine the fresh proposal of the Centre to implement the Ayushman Bharat scheme in the state.

Cataract treatment inventor Dr Patricia Bath dies at 76

Dr Patricia Bath, a pioneering ophthalmologist who became the first African American female doctor to receive a medical patent after she invented a more precise treatment of cataracts, has died. She was 76. Bath died on May 30 from complications of cancer at a University of California San Francisco medical center, her daughter, Dr. Eraka Bath, said Monday. Bath was born in Harlem in New York City. Her mother was a domestic worker and her father worked on the city subway system. Bath won a National Science Foundation scholarship while a teenager. She graduated from Howard University's medical school and interned in New York. Bath moved to California where she became the first African American surgeon at the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center and the first woman ophthalmologist on the faculty of UCLA's Jules Stein Eye Institute. She also co-founded an ophthalmology residency program and in 1983, Bath was appointed Chair of the King-Drew-UCLA Ophthalmology Residency ...

World's biggest Nutella factory blocked by French workers

No more Nutella? French workers are threatening as much, bringing the world's biggest Nutella factory to a near-standstill in a showdown over salary negotiations. Tensions have been mounting at the site in Villers-Ecalles in Normandy, where activists from the Workers' Force union have been barring trucks from entering or leaving the factory for a week. The plant produces a staggering 600,000 jars of the chocolate and hazelnut spread every day a quarter of the world's production of a product cherished by children and adults alike. After six days of failed efforts to end the standoff, Nutella owner Ferrero on Monday started threatening fines for workers involved in the blockade, according to a company statement. But that didn't deter unions. Workers' Force says 160 of the factory's 350 workers are taking part in a walkout to demand 4.5 per cent salary increases, one-time 900-euro bonuses and better working conditions. "It's war, anger is mounting," union activist Fabien Lacabanne said .

Group of Muslim personalities laud Modi's remarks on need to earn minority community's trust

A group of eminent personalities from the Muslim community hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks on the need to earn the trust of the minorities and asked him to draw his "immediate attention" on the issues of education, healthcare and skill development. In a letter to Modi, they referred to his speech in the first meeting with BJP MPs when he committed to work for and serve all sections of society. "We share the belief with your honour that unless the poor and the marginalised are brought into the mainstream and their full capacities are utilised, this great dream of every Indian patriot will not come true," they said in the letter. They also extended their cooperation and inputs for the agenda on minorities. "We feel that the following three focussed points need immediate attention education and healthcare, skill development and confidence-building measures by ensuring adequate protection under Constitution and the law of the land," the letter said. The signatories of the .

Funding for post-matric scholarship scheme for SCs will be remoulded: Thaawarchand Gehlot

Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawarchand Gehlot, who took charge of the office on Tuesday, said his ministry has drafted a "new fund-sharing formula" wherein the Centre will shoulder a majority of the financial burden of its post-matric scholarship scheme for Scheduled Caste students. As of now, the scheme is being run on the concept of committed liability, under which a majority of the financial burden was on the states as they struggled to meet the demands due to limited budget. If the draft proposal goes through, the Centre will fund 75 per cent of the scheme and the rest would be borne by the state, the minister said. According to sources, the ministry is likely to move a cabinet note over the proposal which is currently awaiting approval of the Expenditure Finance Committee. Gehlot, who has been assigned the Social Justice and Empowerment portfolio for a second term, said clearing arrears to the tune of Rs 3,000 crore under the post-matric scholarship scheme

Odisha to examine Centre's fresh proposals in regard to

Odisha government Tuesday said it would examine fresh proposals of the Centre in regard to implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Scheme in the state. A delegation led by CEO of Ayushman Bharat, Dr Indu Bhusan met state Health minister Naba Kishore Das and chief secretary A P Padhi and told them that Odisha should take advantage of the national health assurance scheme. "Though we had rejected the Ayushman Bharat scheme earlier, now they (Centre) has come with some fresh proposals. We will examine those proposals and accept if they benefit the people of Odisha," Das told reporters after a meeting with the Ayushman Bharat officials. Though 25 states have already implemented the Ayushman Bharat scheme, only four states like Odisha, Telengana, West Bengal and Delhi governments have not accepted it. "We have requested the Odisha government to accept the Ayushman Bharat scheme like other states in order to make it a national scheme. I am sure, the Ayushman Bharat will certainly

Rs 55 crore Haj House inaugurated in Jharkhand

Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das on Tuesday inaugurated the Rs 55 crore Haj House in Ranchi, on the eve of Eid-ul-Fitr.