Page 386 - Social Issues
Register all child shelter homes, says Satyarthi's NGO
An NGO founded by Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi Tuesday called for a robust protective mechanism for strict execution of provisions aimed at curbing acts of crime against children. The NGO, Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), also pushed for an early passge of the Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018. "Even a single slip-up in enforcing the laws can jeopardise the future of many vulnerable children, a sad truth sustained by the innumerable cases of trafficking that have come to light lately," said Dhananjay Tingal, Executive Director of BBA. He said the Centre should pass the Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill at the earliest. Tingal said child shelter homes across the country should be registered and owners of unregistered shelter homes should be prosecuted for their failure to comply with the guidelines laid down by the authorities. Distinguished individuals from the civil society ...
Nadda, Lekhi attend live broadcast of Modi's dialogue with health workers
Union Health Minister J P Nadda attended a live broadcast of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dialogue with the health workers at West Patel Nagar in Delhi on Tuesday. The Delhi unit of the BJP had made arrangements for watching the live broadcast of the event at Pooja Park in West Patel Nagar. Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari and New Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi were present on the occasion. Addressing the Asha, ANM (auxiliary nurse midwife) and anganwadi workers after the end of the programme, the Union minister said with the efforts of Modi, the country was changing and the image of a strong India was emerging before the world, a Delhi BJP statement said. The Ayushman Bharat Yojna will be launched by the prime minister on September 23 from Jharkhand. It will benefit about 55 crore people of 10.74 crore families spread over 29 states of the country, the statement said. In good news for lakhs of Asha and anganwadi workers, Modi announced a hike in their monthly honorarium from October. In .
Mediterranean migrant deaths reach 1,565
Geneva, Sep 11 (IANS/AKI) A total 1,565 people died on the perilous boat journey from North Africa until September 9 while 73,676 migrants reached Europe, the UN migration agency the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday.
Debt-ridden farmer ends life by consuming pesticide
A 55-year-old debt-ridden farmer allegedly committed suicide by consuming pesticide at his farm in Latur district in Maharashtra, police said Tuesday. The deceased, Ashok Zatinga Gaikwad, had consumed pesticide on September 5 in Usturi village in Nilanga tehsil, following which he was admitted to a state-run hospital in Latur, an official said. However, Gaikwad died during treatment Monday evening, the official added. According to police, he had not been able to repay the loan which he had borrowed from private money lenders, due to which the latter were harassing him. Police have registered an accidental death report (ADR) in this case and a probe in underway, the official said.
CRY invites applications for 5 posts of research fellows
Leading child rights NGO CRY has invited applications for five posts of research fellows to explore various child issues. The 10thedition of the year-long fellowship programme, called National Child Rights Research Fellowship, aims at providing an opportunity for independent researchers to work on various issues, including evidence on relationships between ethnicity, inequality and conflict as witnessed or experienced by children and exploration of relationships a child has with other children, community, state and family, CRY (Child Rights and You) said in a statement. Up to five fellowships ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh will be awarded, the statement said. The last date for submitting the application is September 30and the names of selected researchers will be put up on CRY website in November, it said. During the course, the researchers can develop and interpret themes on the basis of their experiences and ideas. Research findings will be made available to activists, ...
HC sends ex-IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt to 10-day police custody
The Gujarat High Court Tuesday sent former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt to police custody till September 21 in a 1996 'drug planting' case. Last week, a court at Palanpur in Gujarat had rejected the police's plea seeking Bhatt's remand. Justice R P Dholaria sent Bhatt along with co-accused and retired police inspector, I B Vyas, to the custody of CID (crime), which is probing the case, for 10 days as against the 15 days custody sought by the government. The court maintained that the custodial interrogation of the two accused is required as there appears a deep-rooted conspiracy behind the case. The police had told the high court on Monday that they need the custody of the sacked IPS officer to find the source of the drugs, which his junior officers allegedly planted to frame a man. The police had moved the high court after a magistrate's court at Palanpur in Banaskantha district rejected the application of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID-Crime), seeking custody of Bhatt and ...
TN, Centre sign MoU on health scheme
The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday said it had signed an MoU with the Central government to implement Ayushman Bharat Yojana in association with state-run Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme (CMCHIS).
Over 100 migrants drowned off Libyan coast: NGO
More than 100 migrants drowned when the precarious and overloaded vessel they were using in a bid to cross the Mediterranean from Libya sank last week before help reached them, French NGO Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said in a report on Tuesday.
NDA govt trying to cause hostility between Dalits, OBCs: Tejashwi
The RJD Tuesday accused the NDA government of "masterminding" the recent nationwide protest against amendment to the SC/ST Act to drive a wedge between the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and the Other Backward Classes to fulfil the "RSS agenda" of reinforcing the varna system. At a press conference in Patna after a meeting of senior party leaders, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav demanded that the SC/ST Act be included in the ninth schedule of the Constitution and the caste census data be made public by the Narendra Modi government. "Bharat Bandh against the amendment to the SC/ST Act was masterminded by the BJP-RSS combine. It was a clever attempt to drive a wedge between the SC/ST and the OBC groups which is being understood by both the social segments," Yadav said. The comment by the leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly came amid reports in a section of media that the shutdown on September 6 received support from upper castes and OBCs who, the reports said, are anxious over the ..
Sri Lanka arrests 90 on Reunion-bound trawler
Sri Lanka's navy Tuesday detained 90 people illegally travelling in a trawler bound for the French territory of Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean, a spokesman said. Commander Dinesh Bandara said the fishing boat was seized off Sri Lanka's west coast and was being escorted to Colombo with 89 men and a woman on board. "Preliminary investigations suggest that the boat was heading to Reunion Island," Bandara told AFP. "From there, they may have planned to move to another destination." Sri Lankans are known to pay thousands of dollars to people smugglers to arrange highly risky boat rides to Europe, Australia or New Zealand in search of better economic prospects. However, the number of would-be emigrants leaving the island has drastically declined since Australia in 2013 closed its borders to illegal boat people with a military operation and zero tolerance policy. Canberra's hardline immigration policy sees asylum-seekers who try to reach Australia by boat processed in offshore compounds .
Chemists call for strike on Sep28 against online medicine sale
All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggist (AIOCD), announced that they plan to strike on September 28 to oppose online sale of medicines. "We are observing one day strike on Friday, September 28 to protest against any move by the government allowing sale of medicines through internet or allowing e-pharmacies to operate in India in any form," AIOCD said in a statement here. If the government does not consider our appeal positively then AIOCD shall not have any option but to go for nationwide indefinite agitation against online sale of medicine, AIOCD president JS Shinde said. The serious, among many concerns brought out by AIOCD were not only commercial business loss of its members, but online sale of medicines if allowed, it would be hazardous to the public health at large, more importantly the tech-savvy young generation of our country may have irreparable damage, the release said. We have made repeated appeals by memorandums to the government, concern ministers, .
Rohingya crisis: Bangladesh urges global pressure on Myanmar
Bangladesh on Tuesday urged the international community to put more pressure on Myanmar to provide a permanent solution to the Rohingya refugee crisis and ensure their safe return.
Rowling condemns Serena Williams' 'racist and sexist' cartoon
Harry Potter author J K Rowling has joined several celebrities in criticising an Australian cartoonist for his "racist and sexist" caricature of tennis superstar Serena Williams at the US Open. Mark Knight's cartoon, which appeared in Australian newspaper Herald Sun, depicted the 23-time Grand Slam champion stomping on her smashed racket as a dummy lay on the court after she lost the final to her Japanese opponent Naomi Osaka. Osaka is pictured as white and blonde despite her Japanese and Haitian heritage. The 20-year-old is seen reasoning politely with the umpire Carlos Ramos who asks, "can you just let her win?" "Well done on reducing one of the greatest sportswomen alive to racist and sexist tropes and turning a second great sportswoman into a faceless prop," Rowling tweeted on Monday. The cartoon has been blasted by numerous athletes, celebrities, journalists and activists. The National Association of Black Journalists said the cartoon was "repugnant" on many levels. "The ...
Labourer killed in Jammu and Kashmir
A migrant labourer died after his throat was slit on Tuesday in Jammu and Kashmir's Sopore district, police said.
China move points to possible end of birth limits
China is eliminating a trio of agencies responsible for enforcing family planning policies in a further sign the government may be planning to scrap long-standing limits on the number of children its citizens can have. The move was part of a reorganization of the National Health Commission announced Monday that creates a new single department called the Division of Population Monitoring and Family Development responsible for "establishing and perfecting a specialized system for supporting families." Expectations of an end to birth limits were also raised by the appearance of a postage stamp last month featuring smiling mother and father pigs with three piglets. Alarmed by the rapidly aging population and shrinking workforce, China abandoned its notorious one-child policy two years ago to allow two children, producing a nearly 8 percent increase in births in 2016, with nearly half of the babies born to couples who already had a child. However, that appeared to have been a one-time ...
China tells UN rights chief to 'respect' sovereignty
China on Tuesday told the new UN human rights chief to respect its sovereignty after she called for access to its regions following "deeply disturbing" allegations of mass detentions of Muslim minorities. Michelle Bachelet decried China's ongoing crackdown on the mostly Muslim Uighur minority in her first remarks as head of the United Nations rights watchdog in Geneva on Monday. "China urges the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and its office to strictly abide by the mission and principles of the UN Charter to respect China's sovereignty," said foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang. China has long imposed draconian restrictions on the lives of Muslim minorities in its Xinjiang region in the name of combating terrorism and separatism, with police measures intensifying in recent years. Upwards of one million ethnic Uighurs and other Turkic Muslim minorities are being held in counter-extremism centres, according to estimates cited by a United Nations panel on racial discrimination .
Centre, not TN govt, can tackle escalating fuel prices: Palaniswami
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Tuesday said that the State government was not in a position financially to reduce sales tax on petrol and diesel, appealing to the Centre to reduce excise duty it charges on the commodity."Funds are required for various programmes for the government. You are all aware of Tamil Nadu's financial position. We are not in a position to reduce sales tax. The central government should reduce the excise duty on petrol," Palaniswami said.Fuel prices continue to sky-rocket, which is being sold at Rs 80.87 and diesel at Rs 72.97 per litre in the national capital. Both petrol and diesel were hiked by 14 paise.Meanwhile, petrol and diesel prices in Mumbai have soared up to Rs 88.26 and Rs 77.47 per litre respectively.This comes despite Opposition's protests against the rising fuel prices. The Congress party, along with other opposition parties, called for a nationwide strike across the country on Monday to protest against the rising fuel prices
Working to identify leaders among minorities: Cong minority cell chief
Congress minority cell chief Nadeem Javed said Tuesday his department was running a programme to identify leaders from minority communities to strengthen the party at the district level. He alleged that the BJP was "attempting to attack" minorities, Dalits and people from other backward and deprived sections. The BJP is also trying "to change the country's narrative", Javed told reporters. "We want to give voice to those, the BJP and the Sangh are trying to suppress," he said, adding that the party was working to unite the marginalised. Javed said his department was running various programmes, including one to identify leaders from minority communities at the district and assembly levels so that they can play a prominent role in strengthening the party.
Greece won't repeat mistakes that led to economic crisis: PM
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Tuesday his country would not repeat the mistakes that led to his country's economic crisis.
Women want to share responsibilities with men during festivals
A majority of Indian women want men to actively help in household chores during festivals, reveals a survey.
