Page 374 - Social Issues
Indian-origin ex-councillor in S Africa arrested for racially abusing president
A former Indian-origin city councillor in South Africa has been arrested for allegedly making derogatory racist comments against President Cyril Ramaphosa in a video posted on Facebook. In the viral video, former Durban councillor Kessie Nair, who was earlier sentenced to six years in prison for fraud in 2005, called Ramaphosa a "kaffir" -- a derogatory term used against black people during the racist apartheid era. In the video, Nair said that he is prepared to take a bullet or go to prison for the rest of his life. "I... do hereby call for that kaffir state president Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, yes I mean the kaffir state president Cyril Ramaphosa, to be charged for frauding [sic] this nation, for oppressing this nation, for high treason, for failing and he's the source to all crime violence poor healthcare, poverty that prevails in a so-called true democracy," he said in the nearly five minute-long rant. "I'm ready to go to jail for the rest of my life or take a bullet, I just want to say .
Indian woman in New Zealand faces deportation after losing $33K to scamsters
An Indian woman is facing deportation in New Zealand after being duped by men who she says took more than $30,000 from her in return for work visas for jobs that did not exist.
PM Modi meets Asha workers from across the country
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met and interacted with a group of about 90 ASHA representatives from across the country.The ASHA activists expressed their happiness, and thanked the Prime Minister for the recent announcement of an increase in incentives, and insurance cover. They also shared accounts of how they had been instrumental in saving the lives of poor mothers and children through timely intervention.Prime Minister Modi also appreciated the skill and dedication of ASHA workers, and recalled that even Bill and Melinda Gates had praised the efforts of ASHAs towards eradication of diseases such as 'Kala Azar.'Recalling his recent interaction with the Asha and Anganwadi workers across the country, via video conference, the prime minister said that the experience and personal accounts shared by the workers will surely prove inspirational for many.He even encouraged the ASHAs workers to "devote their energies to work in coordination with other government agencies to ...
Rural health workers thank Modi for higher incentive
At least 90 rural activists, who work under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Thursday to thank him for the increase in their incentives, an official statement said.
Bihar Shelter Home: SC asks police to investigate former minister, seeks further report from CBI
The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Bihar Police to investigate former minister Manju Verma and her husband Chandrashekhar Verma in connection with the recovery of huge quantity of ammunition from them. Verma had to resign as the minister of Social Welfare from the Bihar government in the wake of the Muzzafarpur shelter home sexual abuse case where several women were raped over time. The apex court's order came after it perused the CBI status report into the investigation to the case in which it stated that "Chandrashekhar Verma and his wife has been in possession of illegal ammunition in large quantity". "We expect the local police to look into it," a bench comprising Justices M B Lokur and Deepak Gupta said. The bench said that the investigation seems to be going in the right direction and also asked the Income Tax Department to look into assets of the NGO which was running the shelter home and its owner Brajesh Thakur. The court also asked the state government to file affidavit
No blanket ban on media reporting in Muzaffarpur shelter home sexual abuse case: SC
The Supreme Court Thursday said there cannot be a blanket ban on media reporting in the Muzaffarpur shelter home sexual abuse case where several women were allegedly raped and sexually abused over time. A bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta vacated the August 23 order of the Patna High Court which had imposed a ban on media reporting about the investigations in the case. The apex court however asked both the print and electronic media not to sensationalise incidents of sexual abuse and violence. When the apex court on September 18 was hearing the matter, it had made reference of the recent Rewari gang rape case and asked as to why no action has been taken against media houses for flouting the law as "everything has been said" about the 19-year-old victim. The top court had also stayed a Patna High Court order to set up a fresh CBI team to probe the case, saying that such a move would not only be detrimental to the ongoing investigation but also to the victims. The Patna ..
India Post invites proposal for consultancy on setting up insurance arm
India Post has invited bids to appoint consultant for consultancy on setting up separate insurance services arm, according to official sources. "The consultant will prepare project report on setting up of Postal Life Insurance (PLI) Strategic Business Unit (SBU), impact assessment, conversion into government owned independent company within Department of Posts (DoP) and overseeing implementation thereof," the source said. The pre-bid meeting in this regard was held on September 18. "All known players- Boston Consulting Group, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst and Young, KMPG, Deloitte India etc were present," the source said. Communications Minister Manoj Sinha early this month told PTI that the DoP has plans to set up insurance firm as a special business unit in two years. At present, the postal department offers one of the oldest life insurance schemes for benefit of government and semi-government employees -- Postal Life Insurance (PLI), which was introduced in 1884. Rural Postal Life .
NCW again summons Kerala MLA for using abusive language against nun
The National Commission for Women has issued fresh summons to Kerala MLA P C George, asking him to appear before it on October 4 for allegedly using abusive language against a nun who has accused a bishop of sexual assault. The NCW had earlier asked George to appear before it today. However, George said he received the letter only on September 17 and would not be in a position to come to Delhi at such a short notice. "I have a lot of engagements as a MLA including official engagements. Moreover, I am fully engaged with flood relief activities. Hence kindly adjourn the matter to another date by giving me sufficient time to reschedule my engagements," George said in a letter to NCW Chairperson Rekha Sharma. Sharma, in response, rescheduled the summoning date of George to October 4, saying he needs to give an explanation over use of alleged abusive language against the nun. George, the lone Independent MLA in the Kerala Assembly, had asked the reason behind the nun not reporting the ...
PM meets Asha workers
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday interacted with a group of Asha workers, who recounted how they were instrumental in saving lives of poor mothers and children through timely intervention. The group of about 90 Asha representatives from across the country also thanked the prime minister for the recent announcement of increase in their incentives and insurance cover, a statement from the Prime Minister's Office said. There are a total of 10,23,136 accredited social health activists (Asha) across the country. Modi recalled his recent interaction with Asha and Anganwadi workers across the country via video conference and appreciated the experiences and personal accounts that had been shared by them. "Today, Asha activists shared some more accounts of how they had been instrumental in saving lives of poor mothers and children through timely intervention," the statement said. The prime minister appreciated the skill and dedication of Asha workers, and recalled that even Bill and ...
Indian-origin doctor warns of 'unconscious racism' in UK's state-run health service
A senior Indian-origin medic who heads Britain's leading doctors' union on Thursday called on the government-funded National Health Service to treat its black and minority ethnic doctors more fairly, alleging that there is an "unconscious racism" within the system. Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chair of the British Medical Association (BMA), said despite making up a third of the National Health Service (NHS) workforce, the Black And Minority Ethnic (BAME) doctors were not proportionately represented at senior managerial levels of the UK's health service. BAME doctors are more prone to bullying and being referred to the country's medical watchdog General Medical Council (GMC) over allegations of misconduct, he claimed. Nagpaul cited the findings of a new survey he launched as the first Indian-origin head of the association to warn against an "unconscious racism" within the system acting as a barrier for BAME doctors in the NHS, many of them Indian. "As well as a culture of fear and blame, the ...
Women who breastfeed for five months likely to have more kids
Turns out, women who breastfeed their first child for five months or longer are more likely to have more children as compared to women who breastfeed for shorter durations or not at all.Cornell University professor of sociology Vida Maralani, with Hunter College professor Samuel Stabler, reported that women who initiate breastfeeding did not differ in how many children they expected to have before they started their families.Rather, the number of children women actually bear differs by how long they breastfeed their first child. Women who breastfeed for shorter durations are more likely to have fewer children than they expected, while women who breastfeed longer are as likely to achieve their expectations to exceed them.The researchers caution that their results do not imply that breastfeeding duration causes women to have larger families. They write, "Our study reveals the opposite: the interconnectedness of family preferences and child investment across the life course.""Women hear .
By tradition, nationalism and ancestry, we are all Hindus: Bhagwat
RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat on Wednesday said that the Sangh has reservations on the use of word "minority" and noted that it would always maintain that the people of the country are Hindus by tradition, nationalism, and ancestry.
Building Ram Temple at earliest will end tension between Hindus, Muslims: Bhagwat
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat Wednesday strongly pitched for construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya at "the earliest", asserting that it will end tension between Hindus and Muslims. Describing Lord Ram as "Imam-e-Hind", Bhagwat said he may not a god for some people of the country, but he is an idol of Indian values for people from all sections of the society. "... As a Sangh worker, head of the sangh and as a part of Ram janambhoomi andaloan, I want that a grand Ram temple should be constructed at the earliest at the birth place (Ayodhya) of Lord Ram," he said. "It should have happened by now. The construction of a grand Ram temple will help in ending a major reason for tension between Hindus and Muslims, and if the temple is built in a harmonious way, then there will be no more pointing of fingers at Muslims," he said on the final day of the RSS's three-day lectures series. This is matter to "strengthen unity" and culture of the country, it is an issue of faith for crores of people of the
Salvini defends 'slave' remarks for African migrants
Rome, Sep 19 (IANS/AKI) Italy's anti-migrant Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini on Wednesday defiantly defended his recent remarks calling African immigrants "new slaves", saying his comments had been misinterpreted.
Ministry of Health introduces budget dashboard
In a bid to ensure transparency, the Ministry of Health has introduced 'budget dashboard', an internal web portal comprising information on budget, expenditure and bill payment positions. The 'budget dashboard' incorporates features for Ministry of AYUSH and Department of Health Research, an official statement said. The internal web portal is user identity and password enabled. On 'dashboard budget', expenditure information is available in a snapshot and details on various categories, such as flagship schemes, central sector expenditure, are available. Various related presentations, demand for grants and all relevant budget circulars would be available on the dashboard. The dashboard has unique features for bill position of all India pay and accounts offices (PAOs) of this ministry and it reflects the reason for return of bills. It is another step in transparency, the statement read.
Centre using Triple Talaq issue like political football: Congress
The Congress on Wednesday accused the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party government of treating the issue of 'Instant Triple Talaq' as a 'political football' for garnering votes rather than ensuring the welfare of Muslim women.Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said that for his party, the issue of Triple Talaq is about 'gender justice' and 'gender equity'."Subterfuge, subversion, suppression, and diversion of truth has become the DNA of the Narendra Modi government and the BJP. The perpetually misleading Union Law Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad, has now become the master of deception and abuse, when it comes to hurling lies and allegations against the Congress party on every issue in an irrelevant and incoherent manner," Surjewala said."An unnerved BJP finding itself cornered on the issue of repeated and gruesome rape incidents, as also issues of women security seeking to divert and reset the political agenda by hurriedly bringing an ordinance on Instant ...
Deposits upto Rs 1 lakh with credit societies to get
The Maharashtra government is going to come out with a scheme to protect deposits of upto Rs 1 lakh in cooperative credit societies, on the lines of similar protection offered to depositors of commercial banks. Coopeation Minister Subhash Deshmukh made the announcement Wednesday after holding a meeting with representatives of cooperative credit societies. "The name of the scheme would be Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Credit Society Deposit Protection Scheme. It will provide protection to deposits up to Rs one lakh," he said. The scheme will be launched by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on September 25, he said. "There are 8,421 credit societies in the state, with total deposits of Rs 40,000 crore. Under the scheme, if a society faces financial crisis, depositors will still get their money back (upto Rs 1 lakh)," Deshmukh said. Credit societies have been demanding this protection for a long time, an official of the cooperation department said. A similar protection is already
Sealing drive: Vijay Goel to meet SC-appointed monitoring committee over 'irregularities'
Union minister Vijay Goel Wednesday said he will meet the Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee to raise objections over "irregularities" committed in the ongoing sealing drive in the city. During a protest against the alleged arbitrary sealing in Trinagar in northwest Delhi, Goel said there were complaints that shops were sealed even after their owners paid conversion charges to municipal corporations. "Also, there were complaints that houses were getting sealed as shops in the drive and he will raise all these issues in his meeting with the monitoring committee," a statement from Goel's office said. The parliamentary affairs minister claimed people have committed suicide due to the sealing drive and cited the example of a 35-year-old tailor in Keshavpuram, it said. Goel said that stakeholders involved in the sealing process need to take cognisance of "resentment" among people and take immediate and corrective steps to address their grievances. The three municipal corporations
194 govt and pvt hospitals in Haryana on Ayushman Bharat panel: Haryana minister
Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij Wednesday said 194 government and private hospitals of the state have been empanelled under the Ayushman Bharat scheme. "It will directly benefit around 80 lakh people of the state with free medical facilities of up to Rs five lakh," he said here. Vij said "Haryana is the first state in the country to start this facility on pilot project basis from August 15." "Under this, it was implemented in one government hospital each in all 22 districts, one ESI hospital and Medical College Hospital. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate this scheme nationwide on September 23 from Ranchi," he said in an official statement. Under this scheme, 10 crore families of the country, including 15.50 lakh families of Haryana, will get free medical facilities up to Rs 5 lakh, he added. The "Ayushman Bharat" scheme aims to holistically address health (covering prevention, promotion and ambulatory care) at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. Vij said the facility ..
One nation, one code: RSS chief on UCC, population policy
Making a case for Uniform Civil Code and implementation of a uniform population policy, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Wednesday said that people of one nation should be governed by a common law.
