Page 378 - Social Issues
Monthly pension of workers hiked to Rs 2,700 in Haryana: CM
The monthly pension of workers, who are registered with the Construction Workers Welfare Board, was hiked from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,500 in Haryana on Monday, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said. Besides, Khattar also announced the setting up of the Haryana Unorganised Workers Social Security Board. The chief minister made these announcements while speaking at the state-level Rajkiya Sharamik Divas Samaroh organised by the Labour Department, on the occasion of Vishvakarma Jayanti, in Karnal, as per ab official release. Organised and unorganised are two sectors engaging workers. In Haryana, about 25 per cent workers are working in the organised sectors, while 75 per cent are in the unorganised sector. "Our focus is not only on the organised sector but also on the unorganised sector. Which is explained by the fact that the Haryana Unorganised Workers Social Security Board has been constituted," Khattar said. At present, over 7.76 lakh workers are registered with the Building and other ...
Trump's Supreme Court pick ready to testify over sex assault allegation
US President Donald Trump's conservative Supreme Court pick, Brett Kavanaugh, struck back Monday at an allegation that he committed sexual assault as a teenager, saying he was ready to "defend my integrity" before the Senate. "I have never done anything like what the accuser describes - to her or to anyone," Kavanaugh said in a statement released by the White House in response to the accusation made by a California college professor. "I am willing to talk to the Senate Judiciary Committee in any way the Committee deems appropriate to refute this false allegation from 36 years ago and defend my integrity.
Pakistan-born Afghan, Bangladeshi refugees to get citizenship: PM
Pakistan's new Prime Minister Imran Khan has announced that his government will give citizenship to all Afghan and Bangladeshi refugees who are born in Pakistan, according to media reports Prime Minister Khan, during his maiden visit to Karachi on Sunday after forming the government, said that Pakistan-born Afghan and Bangladeshi refugees would get National Identity Cards (NICs) and passports, the Express Tribune reported. "These poor migrants from Bangladesh, they have been here for more than 40 years, their children are grown older now...we will give them passports and ID cards, as well as those Afghans whose children have been raised here, who were born here, we will also give them (citizenship)," Khan was quoted as saying by media reports. Pakistan is home to more than 1.39 million Afghan refugees, according to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), many of whom have been resident in the country for more than 30 years. There are also more than 200,000 Bangladeshis .
Maharashtra town stages 'silent protest' against minor's rape
Hundreds of people on Monday staged a silent protest outside the Collectorate's office here, demanding justice for a 10-year-old victim of rape.
TN govt announces 2 pc hike in DA for its employees
Tamil Nadu government Monday announced a two per cent hike in Dearness Allowance (DA) for its employees, which will incur an additional annual expenditure of Rs 1,157 crore. Chief Minister K Palaniswami said the government's decision to increase the DA from seven per cent to nine per cent with effect from July 1, 2018 followed the Centre earlier approving an additional two per cent DA instalment for its employees. Various sections of government employees and pensioners would benefit from the move, he said in a statement and expressed joy over announcing the revision. The increase will be in the range of Rs 314 to Rs 4,500 for various government employees and Rs 157 to Rs 2,250 for pensioners and beneficiaries of family pension, he said. About 18 lakh persons will benefit from the move. DA arrears will be paid for the period July-August 2018, while the revised amount will be paid along with the salary starting September, he said. "Due to the DA hike, there will be an ...
Haryana gang rape: Women rights activists protest outside Haryana Bhawan
Members of several women rights organisations protested outside the Haryana Bhawan in New Delhi on Monday to demand justice for the young woman who was gang-raped in Haryana's Mahendragarh district and stringent action against the accused. The 19-year-year-old woman from Rewari, a recipient of the President's award for her academic achievements at school, was allegedly abducted and gang-raped by five men last week. The Haryana Police Sunday arrested three men, including one of the prime accused. "Only one of the (prime) accused has been arrested. Police's failure to nab the others shows the government's insensitivity towards the issue," a member of the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) said. "One of the accused is an Army man. If he cannot be punished, what is the credibility of our system all about?" asked Sheena Chibbar from the All India Progressive Women's Association (AIPWA). Maya John from the Centre for Struggling Women (CSW) alleged that the Khattar government .
Macron, Austrian Chancellor seek tougher EU border security
French President Emmanuel Macron and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on Monday promoted a policy to strengthen the external borders of the European Union ahead of an informal summit on immigration.
SC directs UP govt to ensure treatment, award compensation to Nikah halala petitioner
The Supreme Court Monday directed the Uttar Pradesh government to ensure medical treatment and compensation to a Muslim woman petitioner in a case concerning polygamy and 'nikah halala', who suffered an acid attack and has sought protection. The apex court directed the Chief District Medical Officer of Bulandshahr town, where she was attacked, to ensure proper treatment to Shabnam Rani and asked the administration to consider granting her additional security. Rani was last week attacked with acid in Bulandshahr and it has been alleged that a close relative and his friend were involved in the attack. While polygamy allows a Muslim man to have four wives, 'nikah halala' deals with the process in which a Muslim woman can re-marry her husband after divorce, only when she marries another person, consummates the second marriage and then gets a divorce. In her plea against 'nikah halala' and polygamy, Rani had alleged that her husband had divorced her through 'triple talaq' and forced her to
ECHS contributions eligible for IT benefits: Jaitley
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday announced that contributions made under the Ex-servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) would be eligible for claiming deduction under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act from the current financial year.Jaitley also said that the decision would benefit members of the Armed forces who would join the scheme on retirement."Contributions made under Ex-servicemen Contributory Health Scheme or ECHS would be eligible for claiming deduction under section 80D of Income Tax Act from this financial year. This would benefit the armed forces personnel joining this scheme on retirement," Jaitley tweeted.Section 80D of the Income Tax Act allows an individual to claim a deduction up to Rs. 25,000 per budgetary year for medical insurance premium instalments. In case the individual is over 60 years of age, the limit goes up to Rs. 30,000.The ECHS, which was first introduced by the Government of India in April 2003, is a publicly-funded medicare scheme for ...
UK Opposition wants ban on foetus gender tests to counter South Asian bias for male child
Britain's Opposition Labour Party on Monday called for a ban on sex determination tests for pregnant women to counter a bias among South Asian communities in favour of male babies. Indian-origin Labour MP Tan Dhesi said gender determination tests during pregnancies should be controlled to ensure the "social evil" of aborting female foetuses can be kept in check in Britain. "Communities in South Asia have made huge strides in tackling this social evil. That's been primarily through legislation, banning gender determination clinics," the UK's first turbaned Sikh MP said. In the UK I think we need to be doing likewise, with regards to the private sector as well," he said. Choosing an abortion for gender reasons is illegal in the UK but it is difficult to detect as women often cite other reasons for having the procedure. The UK's Non-Invasive Prenatal Test (NIPT) is used by the state-run National Health Service (NHS) to test for genetic conditions, but people can pay for it privately to ..
Hold ward sabhas to restore missing names of voters in R'than: Civil society groups
Alleging discrepancies in the electoral rolls, civil society organisations on Monday demanded that the Election Commission hold ward sabhas to restore the names of missing legitimate voters. Social activist Aruna Roy said a similar analysis was conducted in Karnataka, following which more than 15 lakh voters' names were restored and the EC extended the last date of finalising the draft roll to three weeks before the assembly elections. The EC should immediately hold ward sabhas in the state to ensure that names of all missing voters are restored, Roy said at a press conference in Jaipur. Gujarat Independent MLA Jignesh Mevani said the EC should have had proactively conducted special drives in other states as well after it conducted the Karnataka exercise. The Dalit leader claimed that names of roughly 50 lakh legitimate voters were estimated to be missing from the electoral rolls in Rajasthan. Kavita Srivastava of the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) alleged that shocking ...
Provide treatment, security to acid attack victim, SC tells UP
The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Uttar Pradesh government to provide free medical treatment and adequate security to a woman attacked with acid in Bulandshahr for refusing to accept 'triple talaq' and undergo 'nikah halala'.
Rohingya return must be safe, sustainable: Indian envoy
Rohingya refugees' return to Myanmar's Rakhine state should be safe, speedy and sustainable, Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Monday.
India does not discriminate against tourists based on their sexual orientation: Alphons
India does not discriminate against tourists based on their sexual orientation and everyone is welcome to come to the country, Tourism Minister K J Alphons said on Monday. The minister was responding to a question about the government's view on promoting LGBT tourism in the country in the backdrop of the Supreme Court decriminalising homosexuality and Thailand promoting itself as a safe destination for the community. "Our tourism is for all. We do not discriminate against sexual preferences of anyone. Everybody is welcome here, absolutely everyone. We believe in tourism for all," Alphons told newspersons at the launch of the India Tourism Mart. The minister, however, had initially refused to answer the question, terming it as "irrelevant". Later, he addressed it. On September 6, the Supreme Court ruled that gay sex between consenting adults is not a crime saying sexual orientation is natural and people have no control over it. Thailand held the very first LGBT+ Travel Symposium in ...
Work of law schools across globe helped SC verdict on section 377
Research work of several law universities, international judgements and psychological institutes came in handy to the Supreme Court in delivering the historic verdict that decriminalised consensual gay sex. Some of the universities whose research papers found mention in the apex court's verdict include National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS) and O P Jindal Global University (JGU). While striking down part of a British-era law that criminalised consensual gay sex earlier this month, the five-judge constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, took note of various international judgements, quoting from similar verdicts passed by the constitutional courts of the United States, Canada, South Africa, Republic of Philippines and European court of Human Rights. CJI Misra noted that the Supreme Court of the United States in Obergefell v Hodges, Director, Ohio Department of Health had highlighted the plight of homosexuals and held that the Constitution allows homosexual ...
Migration from Kerala declined 11% in 5 years: Study
Factors like the declining population in the 19-25 age-group and stagnant wages in the Gulf countries could be responsible for migration from Kerala declining 11 per cent between 2013 and 2018, a new study says.
7 die of suspected drug overdoses at Vietnam music festival
Seven people have died of suspected drug overdoses during a music festival in Vietnam. The Capital Police newspaper said five other people were still in comas Monday after overdosing at the festival Sunday night. The music festival was held in a water park near Hanoi's city center and attended by thousands of people. The state-run media outlet said all the victims tested positive but it didn't identify which drug or drugs were involved. It said police had seized suspected drug substances at the scene. Police and local officials were not available for comment Monday. Government data say Vietnam has 220,000 drug addicts with police records and some 1,600 overdose deaths annually. Methamphetamine and heroin are the most common drugs used and overdosed, with meth use rising in recent years.
30-yr-old man commits suicide in UP's Muzaffarnagar
A 30-year-old man allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree at Dewal village here, police said Monday. His body was found hanging from the tree in an area under the Ramraj police station on Sunday evening, Station House Officer Kuldeep Singh said. The reason behind him taking the extreme step is yet to be ascertained, he said. The body was sent for post mortem and the matter is being investigated, police said.
Thousands in anti-Ortega protest in Nicaragua capital
- Thousands of demonstrators marched Sunday through Nicaragua's capital Managua to demand the resignation of President Daniel Ortega and the liberation of hundreds detained during months of deadly government repression. Whole families -- including young children and the elderly -- took part in the so-called "Rescuing the Homeland" march, many sounding noisy vuvuzelas, waving Nicaraguan flags and shouting slogans as they made their way through the streets. Months of turmoil in the Central American country has left more than 300 people dead, according to rights groups. The march, called by opposition groups, began in the northeast of the capital, monitored by hundreds of riot police. Some of the marchers shouted "murderers" as they passed in front of police cordons blocking streets. "We want Ortega to leave because he has done so much damage to Nicaragua," one of the demonstrators, Javier Franco, 49, told AFP. "He has to go, whether he wants to or not. We want the elections to be ...
Medical camp for specially-abled children organised in J-K's Udhampur
A medical assessment-cum-measurement camp was organised for specially-abled children under the Centre-sponsored Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur.The camp, which was organised on Sunday at the campus of a school, hosted around 200 specially-abled children of the age group 6-18 years from Udhampur, Tikri and Jib.The camp was aimed at assessing the artificial enhancement needs of these children. After the check-up, the children will be provided with aids like hearing aid, wheelchairs', artificial limbs, etc later.Speaking to ANI, Mohd Sadiq, the father of a specially-abled child, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Central Government for launching such schemes which is beneficial for poor and needy people."We are thankful to the Central Government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for providing such scheme which is helpful for poor and needy people. The doctors here are helpful and advised us proper medications for our specially-abled children," the ..
