Page 418 - Social Issues
NGO reports custodial deaths, tortures in China's Xinjiang
A US-based NGO on Friday said that there were credible reports of Muslim re-education centres in China's Xinjiang region where custodial deaths and torture were taking place.
UN summit on TB seeks to put spotlight on killer disease
It's the world's number one killer among infectious diseases, but tuberculosis has been eclipsed by HIV/AIDS as a focus of global attention and donor funding. When world leaders gather at the United Nations next month, they will be asked to change that by committing to end the tuberculosis pandemic by 2030 and come up with USD 13 billion annually to achieve that goal. A row between the United States and South Africa threatens, however, to cast a pall over the first high-level meeting on tuberculosis, to be held on the sidelines of the General Assembly meeting in New York. Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates whose global fund has done game-changing work to boost public health in poor countries will be among the headliners of the TB summit on September 26. "TB is not a disease of the past, but if the world works together to fight it, I have no doubt it can be," Gates said in post on Twitter. Two months of negotiations on a final declaration were scheduled to wrap up in July, but the ..
Delhi: Railways to run Ladies Special Trains on Raksha Bandhan
To make the occasion of Raksha Bandhan special for women, the Delhi Division of the Indian Railways has decided to run ladies special trains to help women travel in a safe and secure manner.The day, which is meant to be a celebration of the love between siblings, will now see a thoughtful gesture by the Indian Railways, making it easier for females to travel and meet their brothers in distant parts with ease and comfort.The decision by the Indian Railways will be a welcome move by women across Delhi, who otherwise, have to brave tremendous crowd on a daily basis.Raksha Bandhan, which falls on August 26 this year, is symbolised by the tying of a Rakhi, a thread, bracelet or talisman on the wrist as a form of bond and ritual protection.
U.S. CEOs warn of harm from Trump administration's immigration policy
(Reuters) - A group of chief executive officers at the largest U.S. companies expressed serious concern about the Trump administration's immigration policy and said the rules increase uncertainty and undermine economic growth.
Mobile app in the offing for differently-abled voters
The state election department is preparing a mobile app for persons with disability to ensure greater participation of physically challenged people in the electoral process. The app christened 'Anubhab' has been designed keeping in mind the needs of physically challenged persons - to address their complaints, queries and facilitate their enrolment in the electoral rolls, said Ariz Aftab, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal. "It has been designed in such a way that it will help people with physical impairments to enrol themselves and if they face any problem, there will be an option to call at number '1950' and our officials will visit the person for assistance," he said. According to another official, the app will be launched during the 'Special Revision of Electoral Rolls, 2019' from September 1 to October 31, 2018. "The ECI had asked us to prepare this app and it will be used by officials of other states as well," said a senior state election official. Apart ...
Umar Khalid's attackers sent to judicial custody till Sept 6
A Delhi court on Thursday sent the attackers of Jawaharlal Nehru University student activist Umar Khalid to judicial custody till September 6.The accused, identified as Naveen Dalal and Darvesh Shapur, were arrested by the Special Cell of Delhi Police on August 20.Khalid was attacked outside the Constitution Club of India on August 13; he escaped unhurt.He was supposed to speak at an event titled- 'Towards a Freedom Without Fear', organised by United Against Hate Initiative.According to an eyewitness, who identified himself as Khalid Shafi, "A man in white shirt pushed Khalid down on the ground and fired on him, while he was standing at a tea stall outside the Constitution Club. The shot missed him and the gunman fled from the spot leaving behind his pistol as people standing near Khalid rushed towards him."The JNU student activist sought protection from the Delhi police few hours after the attack."I have received threats in the past too, but this was the first time there was an ...
Assam: 14 lakh fake children registered with Anganwadi centres
Around 14 lakh fake children have been found registered with Anganwadi centres in Assam, drawing benefits from the POSHAN Abhiyaan (National Nutrition Mission), the Women and Child Development (WCD) Ministry said on Thursday.
70 dalit families in Barmer allege harassment after row over social media post
Seventy Dalit families in the district have alleged that they were ostracised and harassed by 'upper caste' members in Kaludi village here following a row over social media post. Police said they were probing the matter. Additional security personnel have been deployed in the area in view of the prevailing tension. Rawta Ram, a dalit, had lodged a complaint against a few boys belonging to 'upper caste' under SC/ST Act for posting objectionable content on social media. Annoyed over this, the 'upper caste' people called a meeting and decided to socially boycott the Dalit families, according to police. The dalit families alleged that they were not being allowed to move in the village and upper caste people were threatening them. We have set up a temporary police chowki. Additional policemen have been deployed in the area and the matter is being probed, a police officer said. The dalit families lodged a case against 17 persons at Balotra police station on August 16 and the matter is being
HC questions SFIO on continued custody of Bhushan steel promoter
The Delhi High Court today asked the Centre what was the need for continuing the judicial custody of Bhushan Steel's erstwhile promoter Neeraj Singal if the government has determined that he is guilty of allegedly siphoning off funds worth over Rs 20 billion. A bench of Justices S Muralidhar and Vinod Goel said that under the powers of arrest granted to the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), the agency has to be fully satisfied of the guilt of a person before taking him into custody. "They (SFIO) have set a high threshold for themselves," the court said and asked the agency "if you have arrived at determination of guilt, then what is the need for judicial custody". The court also observed that the agency, which comes under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, has "made a hodge-podge" of the matter. SFIO was granted the power of arrest in August last year. Singal's lawyers -- senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Siddharth Luthra -- told the court that their client's arrest and ...
Bihar: Tejashwi calls for CM, Dy CM's resignation over crimes
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday called for the resignation of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Sushil Modi, over failure to maintain law and order in the state."If Nitish Kumar and Sushil Modi do not resign, we will make it happen. We will make them resign if they don't voluntarily do so," the former deputy Chief Minister said.Yadav's comments come in the wake of the incident of a woman being allegedly thrashed and stripped by a mob in Bihar's Bihiya, and the recent cases of alleged sexual harassment in shelter homes in the state."It is the most shameful incident. Criminals are now running loose in the state. They don't fear the government or the law and order anymore. There should be stringent action against the culprits so that these incidents are prevented in the future. However these incidents have become recurrent," Yadav said."In Patna, government officials are killed in their houses. The Supreme Court has said that the incident ...
S. Africa hits back at Trump's tweet on land reform
South Africa hit back at US President Donald Trump on Thursday after he criticized the country's land reform policies in an overnight tweet.
Saudi seeks death penalty for woman activist: Campaigners
Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor is seeking the death penalty against five human rights activists, including, for the first time a woman, campaigners say. The five stand accused of inciting mass protests in mainly Shiite areas of the Sunni-ruled kingdom's oil-rich Eastern Province and human rights groups charged that the execution threat was a calculated bid to stifle dissent. It comes as Saudi Arabia takes an increasingly combative approach to international criticism of its human rights record, imposing a raft of sanctions against Canada after it spoke out earlier this month. Female activist, Israa al-Ghomgham, who has documented the protests in Eastern Province since they began in 2011, would be the first woman activist to face the death sentence for rights-related work. She was arrested at her home along with her husband in December 2015, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said in separate statements this week. "Israa al-Ghomgham and four other individuals are now facing .
Gymnastics chief expects 1,000 calls to new abuse hotline
More than 1,000 victims of sexual abuse in gymnastics are expected to call a new, global abuse helpline in its first year of operations, the sport's president told AFP. Morinari Watanabe was speaking at the Asian Games after Larry Nassar, a former USA Gymnastics doctor, was handed a life sentence in January for sexually assaulting women and girls. Nassar, 55, was accused by some 265 women of sexually abusing them over more than two decades. His conviction led to profound questions for gymnastics about how the abuse went undetected for so many years. In the wake of the scandal, Watanabe outlined plans to establish a call centre that "an athlete or parent can call" from anywhere in the world. "I think that in the first year more than 1,000 will call to report sexual harassment," said Watanabe, who heads the international gymnastics federation (FIG). But he said the helpline would also act as a deterrent to potential abusers, and that he expected the number of callers to shrink as time ..
Sri Lanka to hold talks with Pakistan over drug convicts
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena said on Thursday that he will initiate talks with Pakistan's new Prime Minister Imran Khan over extraditing five Pakistani nationals on death row in the island nation for their involvement in drug cases.
Odisha approves proposal for supplementary budget in Assembly
Odisha government today approved a proposal to present the supplementary budget in the state's Legislative Assembly, which begins its monsoon session from September 4. Finance Minister S B Behera said a council of ministers' meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, approved the proposal. It would to be presented on the first day of the monsoon session that will continue till September 20, officials said. "Since the state government has been announcing its own new welfare schemes on health, social security and food security, additional financial allocations have been made in the budget," Behera said. The council of ministers approved a supplementary budget of Rs 12,768 crore, sources in the state's finance ministry said.
Humanitarian access for Rohingyas limited in Rakhine: UN
The United Nations has said that there was little progress in terms of humanitarian aid organisations entering Myanmar's strife-torn Rakhine state, where the Rohingyas are facing brutal discrimination by the security forces.Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres's spokesperson, Stephen Dujarric was quoted by Anadolu News Agency as saying, "Substantial progress is urgently needed in granting effective access for aid organisations and addressing the root causes of the crisis, including freedom of movement, safety, and a pathway to citizenship for all communities."He underscored that humanitarian access in northern Rakhine was "severely limited" and the situation in the state was "deeply worrying."Dujarric further said that the lack of humanitarian access meant denying life-saving support to those who needed attention. He added that the UN was "standing ready to go where we have effective access, but this has not yet been granted by the ...
Resilient and resourceful, Rohingya diaspora carve out new lives
Driven from Myanmar over decades, Rohingya Muslims have been labelled the most persecuted people on earth. But resilience and ingenuity have led members of the stateless community to carve out new lives -- everywhere from refugee camps in Bangladesh to the hospitals of Europe. Many fled Myanmar as children. Some have been granted refugee status, others live in the shadows with no legal status or protection. Half a million of the Muslim minority remain in their ancestral homeland of Rakhine state inside Myanmar -- the country that denies them citizenship -- in camps or hemmed in by hostile neighbours. Their history is of oppression. But success stories are being forged and those who have escaped are often willing to give back to those left behind. A "proud Yorkshire boy", Nijam Uddin Mohammed arrived with his family in Bradford, in northern England, in 2008 after 17 years in a Bangladeshi refugee camp. He is 36, or close enough. Like many Rohingya, his parents were barred from ...
Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt agree to continue interim custody agreement
Estranged Hollywood power couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have reportedly agreed to continue their interim child custody agreement. A source confirms to People magazine that a planned custody hearing was cancelled after the divorced stars went ahead with continuing the temporary agreement. "Nothing has changed since the judge made an interim custody agreement a few months ago in which he said Angelina must let Brad see the children," the insider says. Pitt, 54 and Jolie, 43, pledged to settle their case confidentially in last year, but are currently fighting over the issue of child support for their six children - Maddox, 17, Pax, 14, Zahara, 13, Shiloh, 12, and 10-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne. The kids spent much of the summer with Jolie in London as she filmed "Maleficent 2" Pitt has been shooting Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood". The kids, along with Jolie, are now back in the country.
Patna High Court pulls up CBI in Muzaffarpur case
The Patna High Court on Thursday expressed unhappiness over the CBI's failure to submit an action taken report (ATR) in the court in connection with the mass rapes at the Muzaffarpur shelter home.
China investigates top Buddhist leader for sexual assault
The former head of China's government-run Buddhist association is under criminal investigation for alleged sexual assault, the country's top religious authority said today. Xuecheng, a Communist Party member and abbot of Beijing's Longquan Monastery, is one of the most prominent figures to face accusations in China's growing #MeToo movement. He stepped down earlier this month after a report by fellow monks accused him of sexual and financial improprieties. In the 95-page report that circulated online late last month, two monks accused Xuecheng of sending explicit text messages to at least six women, threatening or cajoling them to have sex with him, claiming it was a part of their Buddhist studies. The National Religious Affairs Authority said it had confirmed Xuecheng had sent "harassing messages", adding that authorities had begun a criminal investigation into the report's charges of sexual assault. Investigators had also uncovered evidence that the Longquan Monastery had violated ..
