Page 34 - Social Issues
Duterte says he 'used to be gay' before 'curing' himself
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said that he "used to be gay" before he "cured" himself, a media report said on Monday.
Govt Announces New Pension Scheme For farmers, Extends Support Under PM-KISAN As Well
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved a new Central Sector Scheme. It is estimated that 5 crore small and marginal farmers will benefit in the first three years itself. The Central Government would spend Rs. 10774.50 crore for a period of 3 years towards its contribution (matching share) for providing social security cover as envisaged under the scheme.
Protesters strip outside Facebook office against nudity censorship
About a 100 people stripped naked in front of Facebook's New York headquarters as part of a protest against what they view as censorship regarding Facebook and Instagram's policies around artistic nudity.
OIC appoints Yousef Aldobeay as special envoy for Jammu and Kashmir
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has appointed Yousef Aldobeay of Saudi Arabia as its special envoy for Jammu and Kashmir.The appointment was made during the 14th OIC summit held in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Makkah on Friday, which was attended by several leaders of Muslim countries, including Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Pakistan's foreign ministry said on Saturday.The Summit reiterated the Conference's principled support for the legitimate right to self-determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir in accordance with UN resolutions.The OIC called for the adoption of a comprehensive strategy to combat Islamophobia, building on proposals made by Pakistan in the OIC Ministerial Executive Committee meeting in March 2019.Speaking at the summit, Imran Khan articulated Pakistan's views on the situation in Kashmir, Palestine, Islamophobia and the need for science, technology and innovation for Muslim countries.The OIC is a 57-nation grouping which claims to be the .
Mexico secures Monday talk in Washington on US tariff threat
Mexican Economy Minister Graciela Marquez plans to meet in Washington on Monday with US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in an effort to defuse rising trade tensions. Marquez says via Twitter Sunday that she scheduled the meeting with Ross while both attended the Saturday inauguration of El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, accompanying the message with a picture of her smiling next to Ross. President Donald Trump has threatened to slap a 5 per cent tariff on all Mexican goods starting June 10 if the country fails to stem the flow of migrants and drugs into the US, and gradually raise that tariff to 25 per cent if he remains unsatisfied with the results. Mexican trade and foreign relations officials have meetings scheduled as well for Wednesday in Washington.
Trump steps up attacks on Mexico, tariff threat called 'deadly serious'
Donald Trump stepped up his attacks on Mexico over immigration Sunday as a top aide warned that the US president is "deadly serious" about slapping tariffs on imports from the southern neighbour. The attacks came despite efforts at conciliation by Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who said Saturday that US officials were willing to "reach agreements and compromises." "People have been saying for years that we should talk to Mexico. The problem is that Mexico is an 'abuser' of the United States, taking but never giving," Trump said in a series of tweets Sunday. Unless Mexico stops the "invasion," he warned, he would use tariffs to bring back "companies and jobs that have been foolishly allowed to move South of the Border." Trump's surprise threat Thursday to slap tariffs on all Mexico imports, beginning at five per cent on June 10 and rising to as high as 25 per cent, shocked Republican allies in Congress. It also rattled world markets, already shaky over trade war ...
Italian navy ship with 100 rescued migrants docks in Genoa
An Italian navy ship docked Sunday in the northern port city of Genoa carrying 100 migrants rescued from the Mediterranean Sea, where the number of migrant crossings has picked up in recent weeks. The Italian news agency ANSA reported that 23 minors and 17 women, including a few who are pregnant, were among the migrants. They were rescued Thursday from a dinghy in distress off Libya's coast. Italy's hard-line interior minister, Matteo Salvini, said that the migrants would be transferred to five other European Union nations and taken in by the Vatican. Since taking office last year, Salvini has vowed to stop migrants from arriving in Italy. The migrants who arrived in Genoa were from Libya, Cameroon, Somalia, the Ivory Coast, Mali and Nigeria, ANSA reported. Paolo Cremonesi, the director of emergency services at the Galliera hospital, said the migrants described suffering while they were at sea for two days and that people on the dinghy with them died. Meanwhile, Dutch sea rescue ...
Khandu extends leave benefits for women contingency and
On his first day at office in his second term, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu Sunday extended maternity leave and child care leave benefits to women contingency and contractual employees of the state government. Khandu was sworn in as chief minister of the state for the second term on May 29 along with 11 cabinet ministers. He signed the first file for the benefit of women contingency and contractual employees, an official release said here. Earlier, the maternity and child care leave was given only to regular government employees in Arunachal Pradesh. Now, the women contingency and contractual employees will also get 180 days of maternity leave and 60 days of child care leave in the service period, the release said adding that the decision will benefit around 20,000 women.
Parindey March: 9th LGBTQ pride march organised in Pune
"Parindey March", Pune's 9th LGBTQ pride parade, was organised today, where hundreds of members from the LGBTQ community participated in the march. For the first time ever an Indian couple participated in the pride parade along with all other foreign national couples.Sameer Samudra and Amit Gokhale, the only Indian couple to participate in the march, tied the wedding knot recently. Their main purpose behind participating in the parade was to spread awareness about their community rights.The pride parade is celebrated by people of Pune every year. The march started from Balgandharva Chowk, passing through FC Road and later came back to the same starting point."The purpose of this pride march is to make the LGBTQ community aware of their equal opportunities and rights so that they can come out of their closet without any fear. People belonging to this community are not able to walk freely in society, they are afraid of revealing their sexuality. So, we celebrate this day in order to ...
TSBIE flip-flop on result of girl who "killed self after
A girl intermediate student in Telangana, who committed suicide allegedly after results showed her as 'failed' in the annual exams, was declared pass following re-verification, but within hours the board reversed the decision, citing a "clerical error". The Telangana State Board of Intermediate Education (TSBIE), which took up the re-verification of answer-sheets after facing flak over alleged bungling in publication of the results on April 18, has been announcing the fresh results since May 27. As per the re-verification, the girl, a first year student, got 48 marks in Telugu Paper I, an addition of 28 to the marks she had originally been awarded, and declared pass', her sister told reporters here Saturday. She held the TSBIE responsible for her sister's suicide, soon after the original results were announced. However, the board within hours issued a press release saying the deceased student's "marks were wrongly uploaded as 48 instead of 21 because of clerical mistake .
Nine French jihadists now on death row in Iraq
Nine French jihadists are now on death row in Iraq after a court sentenced two more to death on Sunday for joining the Islamic State group, rejecting a claim of torture. Fodil Tahar Aouidate and Vianney Ouraghi were among 11 French citizens and one Tunisian handed over to Iraqi authorities in January by a US-backed force fighting the jihadist group in Syria. Described as violent and ready to die for the extremist IS ideology, Aouidate first appeared in court on May 27 but a judge delayed his trial and ordered a medical examination after the 32-year-old claimed he was tortured into confessing. "The medical report shows that there are no signs of torture on his body," the judge told the court before handing down his sentence. His trial was quickly followed by that of 28-year-old Ouraghi, who acknowledged in court that he "worked with" IS but said he did not participate in any fighting. Baghdad has handed capital punishments to seven of the other French jihadists and the Tunisian over ...
Banks ignoring credit issue of distressed farmers: Tiwari
Alleging indifferent attitude on part of banks in providing loans to distressed farmers, a Maharashtra government body has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "empower" Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to take action against bank officials concerned. Kishore Tiwari, who heads the Vasantrao Naik Sheti Swavlamban Mission, demanded that Fadnavis be made chairman of the State Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC). The SLBC is expected to discuss issues, consider alternative solutions to the various problems in the field of banking development and evolve a consensus for co-ordinate action by the member institutions. The VNSSM, set up by the state government, is empowered to recommend and ensure implementation of a host of measures for the welfare of farmers to prevent more incidents of suicides in the parched farmlands in 14 districts in its jurisdiction. "Despite the chief minister's stress on providing bank finance to all farmers, public sector and other commercial banks
Punjab CM writes to PM Modi; reiterates demand for national drug policy
Reiterating his demand for a national drug policy to check the drug menace, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Sunday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urged him to advise the Ministries of Home, Social Justice & Empowerment and Health & Family Welfare to address this important issue with a little more seriousness than it has received so far.In his letter, the Chief Minister sought the personal intervention of the prime minister for the formulation of a national policy on all three components - Enforcement, De-addiction and Prevention of drug abuse in the country.In the letter the Punjab Chief Minister asserted that a national policy will enable all States to follow similar, if not the same, approach and strategy to curb this menace, which has substantially hampered the health of the people, particularly the youth.The Chief Minister wrote, "In the last two decades, the prevalence of illicit trafficking of drugs has assumed alarming proportions in ...
Beating malnutrition, misogyny in Beed district of Maharashtra
Given the skewed sex ratio, rampant sex determination, female foeticide, malnutrition and tradition of giving a disturbing name to girls, the state Women and Child Development Department has gone into mission mode to 'save girls' in Beed. The department has developed and is implementing a people-centric awareness programme with the help of local civil society organisations.Beed district is an administrative district in the state of Maharashtra in India. The district occupies an area of 10,693 km2 and has a population of 2,585,962 of which 17.91 per cent were urban (as of 2011). According to reliable sources, the urban population has gone up by a mere 2 per cent since the 2011 census.Beed has been notorious for its discrimination against the girl child. From 2001 to 2011, child sex ratio (calculated as the number of girl per 1000 boys in the 0-6 year age group) dropped from 894 to 807.In other words, for every 1,000 male children in the district, there were 807 female ...
Kit Harington's fans raise over $45k for charity amid his treatment
Days after it was reported Kit Harington checked into a rehabilitation centre, fans of the "Game of Thrones" star have raised over USD 45,000 for a charity he supports. According to Entertainment Weekly, fans of the show and Harington's character, Jon Snow, have created a JustGiving account for the UK charity Royal Mencap Society that has already raised over 36,000 pounds out of a goal of 50,000 (approximately over USD 45,600 out of a USD 63,000 goal). The actor first endorsed Mencap, which works with people with learning disabilities, in August 2017. "Kit Harington has given so much to the fans of 'Game of Thrones' over the past decade playing the King in the North, Jon Snow. He absolutely nailed his performance and we loved every second of screentime we had with him. "This fundraiser is here to show Kit that we're incredibly thankful to him for the sheer amount of love and skill he put into Jon Snow for us to enjoy. To show our gratitude, Freefolk and other fans want to contribute ..
Taylor Swift pens letter in support of LGBQT equality act
Pop star Taylor Swift has written a letter to show her support of the Equality Act, the bill that extends civil rights protections to gay and transgender Americans. The singer posted the letter, addressed to Tennessee's Republican Senator Lamar Alexander, asking him to protect the rights of the LGBTQ community and support the Equality Act. "I've decided to kick off Pride Month by writing a letter to one of my senators to explain how strongly I feel that the Equality Act should be passed," Swift wrote on Twitter on the first day of June, which is regarded as the Pride Month. She also posted a link to a change.org petition that she started, which on the first day reached more than 70,000 signatures, where supporters of the legislation can add their names to a document urging the Senate to pass the Equality Act. "For American citizens to be denied jobs or housing based on who they love or how they identify, in my opinion, is un-American and cruel," Swift wrote. "Please, please think ...
Amarinder calls for a national policy to tackle drug menace
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has reiterated his demand for a national policy to tackle drug abuse. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, Singh urged him to advise ministries of Home, Social Justice and Empowerment, and Health and Family Welfare to address the issue. "This important issue needs to be addressed with a little more seriousness than it has received so far," he wrote, according to an official statement released here. The chief minister sought Modi's personal intervention for the formulation of a national policy focusing on three components -- enforcement, de-addiction and prevention -- to tackle the menace of drug abuse in the country. Singh said a national policy would enable all states to follow a similar, if not the same, approach on drug abuse, which, he said, "has substantially hampered the health of the people, particularly the youth". The chief minister expressed his state's willingness to associate with the officers concerned of the Centre
US visa applicants to provide their social media details
Nearly all applicants of US visas will have to provide information on their use of social media under the new rules adopted to enhance vetting of foreign nationals seeking entry into America. The State Department adopted a new policy on Saturday under which most visa applicants, including temporary visitors, will be required to list their social media identifiers in a drop down menu along with other personal information. Applicants will have the option to say that they do not use social media if that is the case. If a visa applicant lies about social media use, they could face "serious immigration consequences" as a result, a US Department of State official told Hill.TV. For now, the drop down menu only includes major social media websites, but the applicants soon will be able to list all sites that they use. This is a critical step forward in establishing enhanced vetting of foreign nationals seeking entry into the United States," the official told Hill.TV. "As we've seen around the .
Punjab CM seeks PM Modi's help to curb drug menace
Reiterating his demand for a national drugs policy to check the drug menace, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention, an official said on Sunday.
Telangana Intermediate Board 'fails' deceased student again
There appears to be no end to the bungling by the Telangana Board of Intermediate Education (BIE) as it once again failed a deceased student, hours after declaring her pass.
