Page 414 - Social Issues

CITU to hold march in Kolkata on Aug 29

Pushing for a 10-point charter of demands, including social security, standard minimum wages and annulling certain changes in labour laws, the West Bengal unit of Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) on Monday said it will organise a march to the state labour department on August 29.

China may scrap limit on number of children: Report

China appears poised to scrap the limit on the number of children couples can have, with a state-run newspaper today citing a draft civil code that would end decades of controversial family planning policies. The wide-ranging code would get rid of a policy that has been enforced through fines but was also notorious for cases of forced abortions and sterilisation in the world's most populous country. The Procuratorate Daily said the code omits any reference to "family planning" -- the current policy which limits couples to having no more than two children. The draft code would go to a vote at the rubber-stamp legislature, the National People's Congress, in 2020. The Communist Party began enforcing a one-child policy in 1979 to slow population growth. The limit was raised to two children in 2016 as the nation scrambled to rejuvenate its greying population of some 1.4 billion. Concerns are mounting that an ageing and shrinking workforce could slow down its economy, while gender ...

4 Bru refugee families return to Mizoram from Tripura

Altogether four Bru refugee families have returned from the relief camps in Tripura after the final repatriation process started on Saturday, a senior state home department official here said. A total of 32,876 Brus belonging to 5,407 families living in six relief camps in North Tripura district were identified by Mizoram government during November 2016 as bona fide residents of the state and could be repatriated. The official said two Bru families, to be resettled at Rasdali and Meidum villages in Mizoram-Assam border district of Kolasib, returned today, the second day of the repatriation. Yesterday being Sunday, it was not an official day for repatriation but one family returned. Another family had come back to Mizoram on Friday, a day before the repatriation commenced, he said. The official said the state government would continue to undertake the repatriation process scheduled to be conducted from August 25 till September 25 in accordance with the road map for ...

Burglary at election office in Mizoram

The voter enlistment forms duly filled in by the displaced Bru people in the relief camps of the neighbouring Tripura have gone missing following a burglary at the election office of Mizoram's Mamit district, a top police officer said here today. The burglary comes at a time when the final phase of repatriation of Bru families from Tripura to Mizoram is under progress. The district administration in Mamit has filed an FIR in the matter and an investigation is being carried out to solve the case, Superintendent of Police H L Thangzuala said. "In an FIR filed on August 24, the administration said that the election office of Mamit was burgled the night before and crucial documents have gone missing," he said. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted, with Sub-Divisional Police Officer as the chief, to probe into the complaint, the SP said, adding that no arrest has been made in the case so far. Thousands of Bru refugees from Mizoram fled to Tripura after ...

First asylum seeker boat in 4 years reaches Australia

The first asylum seeker boat has reached Australia in more than four years, a government minister said today, as new concerns were raised about the psychological state of children who arrived earlier and were banished by the government. Australia has virtually stopped such boat arrivals by using the navy to turn them back and sending asylum seekers who arrive by ship to immigration camps on the poor Pacific island nations of Papua New Guinea and Nauru. But a group of people recently arrived in northeast Australia on a fishing boat from Vietnam, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said. "We will work with the agencies to make sure we can repatriate these people back to their country of origin, once we understand the facts of the matter," Dutton told reporters. Vietnamese asylum seekers have been accepted by Australia as legitimate refugees in the past. But Vietnamese have also been intercepted at sea by Australian authorities, had their refugee claims rejected at sea and been sent back .

Sexy selfies by women linked to economic inequality: Study

Women tend to post sexy selfies online more in environments with greater economic inequality, rather than where they might be oppressed because of their gender.

Major NGO wants NRC in Mizoram

A major NGO wants the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to be introduced in Mizoram in order to check the inflow of illegal immigrants in the Christian-dominated state, an official said here on Monday.

Women, men in US march topless for gender equality

Hundreds of women, and some men, marched on Sunday through numerous cities in the US to show their breasts, demanding gender equality and to protest against the "commercialization and the double standards" which affects their lives and jobs.

Pope: parents of gay kids shouldn't condemn them

Pope Francis says parents of gay children shouldn't condemn them, ignore their orientation or throw them out of the house. Rather, he says they should pray, talk and try to understand. Speaking to reporters after closing out a Catholic family rally in Ireland, Francis said: "There have always been gay people and people with homosexual tendencies." Francis was asked what he would tell a father of a child who just came out as gay. Francis said he would first suggest prayer. "Don't condemn. Dialogue. Understand, give the child space so he or she can express themselves." Francis said it might be necessary seek psychiatric help if a child begins to exhibit "worrisome" traits, but that it's something else if an adult comes out as gay. He urged parents not to respond with silence. "Ignoring child with this tendency shows a lack of motherhood and fatherhood." He said: "This child has the right to a family. And the family not throwing him out.

As pope visits Ireland, protesters demand justice over clerical abuse

As the faithful flocked to witness Pope Francis celebrate mass, protesters gathered in central Dublin to demand recognition, reconciliation and reparations for the historic wrongs of the Catholic Church in Ireland. In a city decked out in yellow-and-white Vatican flags, thousands of demonstrators -- some visibly emotional -- marched under the rainbow flag yesterday, calling for action from a Church they say is yet to redress decades of abuse. The "Nope to the Pope" demonstration called for gay and transgender recognition, a clearer separation of religion and state in Ireland and the acceptance of contraception by the Vatican -- as well as action on abuse. "I think he should get on his knees and beg forgiveness of the people of Ireland," Lisa Barcaen, who was dressed as a nun with fake blood on her hands, told AFP. Placards read "Victims need more than prayers", "Pope Francis you're out of chances" and "Religion is fine, rape is not" as the crowd heard speeches, songs and works by ...

Peru PM says 'unprepared' for migrant influx but vows 'solidarity'

Prime Minister Cesar Villanueva today said that Peru was "not prepared" for the huge flow of migrants streaming in from crisis-wracked Venezuela but insisted that his country would stand in "solidarity" with the arrivals. He compared the influx to a sudden "gust of wind," with more coming every day. But while Peru has imposed tougher border controls to cope with the wave of migrants -- generally requiring a passport and not simply an ID card -- Villanueva confirmed that there would be exceptions for pregnant women, people older than 70 and children joining their parents. Peru had earlier partly reversed course on the passport requirement, saying it would still allow entry to those seeking asylum. Yesterday, Peruvian authorities allowed hundreds of Venezuelans without passports to enter through the northern border post at Tumbes. They were required to fill out refugee applications, allowing them to remain legally in the country. Still, Peruvian migration officials today said that in ...

Moroccans mobilise for 'gang-raped' teen

Hundreds of Moroccans have signed a petition urging authorities to provide urgent medical and psychological care to a teenage girl who says she was gang-raped. Khadija Okkarou, in a video posted online Tuesday, said she was abducted in mid-June outside the home of a relative in central Morocco by young men alleged to belong to a "dangerous gang". "They held me for about two months, and raped and tortured me," the 17-year-old said, showing what appeared to be scars from cigarette burns and tatoos carved into parts of her body. "I will never forgive them. They have destroyed me," she said. Her testimony has sparked anger in Morocco with social media users launching the "we are all Khadija" hashtag and a petition urging King Mohammed VI to provide her with medical and psychological care. More than 3,400 people had signed the petition by Sunday night. The girl's father, Mohammed Okkarou, said three suspects had been arrested on Saturday in connection with her abduction and that a trial ...

HC urged to revoke order restraining media from reporting on

Senior journalists of Patna today urged the Patna High Court to "reconsider and revoke" its August 23 order restraining the media from reporting the investigation into the Muzaffarpur shelter home abuse case. It was because of media reports that abuse of inmates of the Muzaffarpur shelter home had come to the notice of all and even the Supreme Court had taken cognizance of it, a statement signed by senior journalists of prominent houses of both print and electronic media said. In the statement, the scribes urged the HC "to reconsider and revoke its decision to uphold the principles of free media in a democracy and allow media to report on the ongoing investigation related with the Muzaffarpur shelter home case." The Patna High Court was monitoring the probe into the sordid episode at the government-funded short stay home for girls at Muzaffarpur on the request of the Bihar government. A division bench of Chief Justice Mukesh R Shah and Justice Ravi Ranjan on August 23 ...

Peru relaxes entry requirements for some categories of Venezuelans

Peru, which has imposed tougher border controls to cope with a wave of Venezuelan migrants fleeing their crisis-hit country, has announced a relaxation of the rules for pregnant women, people older than 70 and children joining their parents. The order, which was issued yesterday, came after Peru implemented a new rule requiring Venezuelans to carry a passport to enter the country. Previously, only an identity card was required. But Peru had already partly reversed course on that decision, saying it would still allow entry to those claiming asylum. Peru has one of the region's fastest-growing economies, with 4.7 per cent growth projected for next year. But anti-immigrant sentiment is on the rise, and stricter requirements for Venezuelans enjoy popular support. An estimated 400,000 Venezuelans are already in Peru. According to the UN, as many as 4,000 people have been arriving daily in Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and Brazil, where migrants have been violently turned back by locals concerned

Dead babies remembered in Ireland as Pope visits

Hundreds of people have marched through the town of Tuam, Ireland, reading aloud the names of an estimated 800 babies who died at a Catholic Church-run orphanage and were buried in a mass grave near a sewage area on the grounds. The somber protesters read out: "Elizabeth Murphy, 4 months. Annie Tyne, 3 months. John Joseph Murphy, 10 months" and on and on. They lit candles and placed hundreds of pairs of tiny shoes around a tiny white coffin to honour the babies. The demonstration took place near the Marian shrine at Knock, which Pope Francis visited earlier today. The demonstrators were hoping to draw attention to the plight of the Tuam babies, who were exiled to the home because they were born to unwed mothers. An amateur Irish historian, Catherine Corless, researched the deaths of some 800 children at the Bon Secours home. Last year, a government-mandated survey of the grounds determined there was a mass grave at the site. Corless said of the Tuam protest: "This is much more moving

Italy lets migrants off stranded boat as deal reached

Nearly 140 migrants who had been stranded on a boat at a port in Sicily were allowed to disembark early today after Ireland and Albania agreed to take some of them in. The boat docked at Catania port on Monday but Italy had refused to let those on board disembark in the absence of any EU commitment to relocate them, prompting a new bitter row with Brussels. But following a deal brokered by the Catholic Church late yesterday, Italy's far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini agreed to allow them to leave the Diciotti, the Italian coastguard ship which rescued them some 10 days ago. There were initially around 180 migrants on board when it arrived at Catania, but Rome allowed 27 unaccompanied minors to disembark on Wednesday and another 12 people left on Saturday following a health authority request. Albania, which is not a member of the EU, offered safe haven to 20 of the migrants, with Ireland saying it would take up to 25. It was not immediately clear what would happen to the ...

Asiad 2018: Govindan disqualifed in men's 10,000m

India's Govindan Lakshmanan missed out on taking a medal in the men's 10,000 metres category at the 18th Asian Games here on Sunday as he was disqualified following an official review.

Raj: Curfew relaxed for two hours in violence-hit Malpura town

Curfew was relaxed today for two hours in violence-hit Malpura town of Rajasthan's Tonk district, where a clash had erupted involving members of a minority community and Kanwar Yatra pilgrims, police said. No fresh incidence of violence was reported in the areas under curfew, and considering the law and order situation, the clampdown was relaxed from 11 am to 1 pm. However, mobile internet services remain suspended, Superintendent of Police, Tonk, Yogesh Dadich said. He said people were permitted to buy essential commodities like water and milk. Over 20 people have been arrested so far for disturbing peace, Dadich said, adding the situation now is under control. Curfew was imposed in the town on Friday after members of the minority community allegedly pelted stones at kanwariyas, injuring 15 among them, on Thursday. The attack was followed by arson in which a vehicle was torched, forcing the authorities to impose Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which prohibits an ...

We stand by Muslim women in quest for social justice: Modi

Ruing that the triple talaq bill could not be passed by Parliament in the last monsoon session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the "whole country" stands by the Muslim women to ensure them social justice.

Spl prayer sessions mark St Teresa's 108th birth anniversary

Special masses and prayer sessions were held in the city today on the occasion of Mother Teresa's 108th birth anniversary. At the Mother House, the global headquarters of Missionaries of Charity, nuns and shelter home inmates, along with general public, lit candles and offered prayers to the patron saint of Kolkata this morning. The Vatican had declared Mother Teresa Patron Saint of the 'Archdiocese of Calcutta' on September 6, last year, in recognition of her selfless service towards helping the poor and the undeprivileged in the city. A large number of people also gathered at the Archbishop House, around 1km from the Mother House, to offer floral tributes to the life-size bronze statue of St Teresa. The statue, designed by Church Art, was donated in 2016 to mark a symbolic link between Kolkata and Macedonia's capital Skopje, where she was born. Archbishop Reverend Thomas D'Souza, who shares his birthday with Mother, cut a cake on the occasion in the presence of ...