Page 51 - Social Issues

With prisoner headcount down, 17 jails closed in Telangana

: Seventeen out of the 49 jails in Telangana have been shut down temporarily following reduction in number of prisoners getting lodged in the jails and the state prisons department intends to use the closed prisons for social welfare centres. According to the department, the 17 jails were closed down over the past five years due to insufficient prisoners which, it is said, is the result of the reformation and rehabilitation measures undertaken by them and motivating the prisoners to act as partners in the elimination of crime from society. The number of prisoners has come down from about 7,000 to about 5,000, the department said. The department, which has been striving to reduce crime, had launched different social service initiatives, and also started the concept of 'Aftercare Services' to facilitate and help the ex-prisoners lead normal life and not fall back upon crime. The closed prisons can be used for social welfare centres or special homes for beggars, destitute,

Columbine school shooting survivor found dead in home

A Colorado man who survived the 1999 Columbine school shooting and later became an advocate for fighting addiction has died. Routt County Coroner Robert Ryg said Saturday that 37-year-old Austin Eubanks died overnight at his Steamboat Springs home. There were no signs of foul play. A Monday autopsy was planned to determine the cause of death. Eubanks was shot in the hand and knee in the Columbine attack that killed 12 classmates and a teacher, including Eubanks' best friend. He became addicted to drugs after taking prescription pain medication while recovering from his injuries. He later worked at an addiction treatment center and travelled the U.S. telling his story . Eubanks' family says in a statement that he "lost the battle with the very disease he fought so hard to help others face," KMGH-TV reports. The family added: "We thank the recovery community for its support. As you can imagine, we are beyond shocked and saddened and request that our privacy is respected at this time.

Your vote is precious, says Anupam Kher

Veteran Bollywood actor Anupam Kher on Sunday appealed to voters here to exercise their franchise as Chandigarh went to polls in the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha elections.

Sweden set to ban outdoor smoking

Sweden is set to ban outdoor smoking from July this year, in a bid to prevent diseases associated with smoking and passive smoking, such as cancer, according to the Minister for Health and Social Affairs.The latest ban is a step towards achieving the "Smoke-Free Sweden 2025" goal. The initiative is aimed at reducing smoking to less than 5 per cent of the population by 2025, Xinhua reported.Under the ban, smoking will not be allowed in outdoor serving areas at cafes and restaurants, along with public playgrounds, bus shelters, and train platforms, sports arenas and entrances to civic buildings. Vapes or e-cigarettes are also covered under the ban.Around 8,30,000 US dollars have been allocated to Sweden's Public Health Agency for 2019 to run a national awareness campaign to implement the change in law. They will also be extending support to municipalities to implement the law locally."The contribution to the voluntary sector is an important part. We need to have a community-based ...

Sri Lankan President releases 762 inmates on the occasion of Buddha Purnima

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Saturday granted amnesty to 762 prisoners on the occasion of Vesak, also known as Buddha Purnima, a media report said. The prisoners released included 736 males and 26 females from various prisons, who were in jail for minor offenses and did not include convicts jailed for rape, child abuse or heroin use and drug trafficking, the Colombo Gazette reported. An event was held at the Colombo's Welikada prison to free the inmates which was also attended by Sirisena and other senior officials. "The President used the powers vested in him to grant pardon to the 762 prisoners," Justice Minister Thalatha Atukorale was quoted as saying by the paper.

Delhi needs NRC exercise to expel illegal migrants: Manoj Tiwari

Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari Saturday said a National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise was needed to expel illegal migrants from the national capital. Tiwari met the family members of Dhruv Tyagi who was allegedly killed in Moti Nagar for objecting to his daughter getting eve-teased. The BJP leader expressed "deep sympathy" to Tyagi's family and said there is no place for such violence in society. "I was told by locals that the killers of Tyagi could be illegal Rohingya or Bangladeshis. I have also talked to the Commissioner of Police in this regard," Tiwari told PTI. He alleged there was a spurt in criminal activity in the city due to the increased presence of illegal migrants. An NRC exercise is "necessary" for Delhi, Tiwari said. The Kejriwal government should not only identify and expel illegal migrants for the safety of the people but also ask the Centre for an NRC exercise in the capital, he said. "Delhi BJP will continue to fight for justice in this case and for ...

Pak-origin London Mayor calls for separate norms for Indian biz, students

Pakistani-origin London Mayor Sadiq Khan has called for similar preferential norms for Indian companies and students as those offered to China in order to boost foreign direct investment (FDI) from India into the British capital. Indian businesses employ around 50,000 people in London and are the second-biggest foreign investors in London. According to a data of London & Partners (L&P), the Mayor of London's promotional agency, FDI from India into London increased by 255 per cent from 2017 to 2018. The mayor, who reiterated his London is Open message, attacked the UK government's hostile immigration policies as a barrier to increased investments and students coming from India into London. "The government's got to make it easier for businesses to come to London. Immigration policies have got to change, it's got to be easier for Indian students and business people to come here," Khan said on the sidelines of the annual Asian Voice Charity Awards here on Friday evening. "The ...

Bhim Army chief says atrocities on Dalits on rise Gujarat, warns of agitation

Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad on Saturday warned of a large-scale agitation in Gujarat, alleging that atrocities against the Dalit community in the state were on a rise. Citing an instance of Dalits being allegedly boycotted by upper caste people in Lohr village in Mehsana district after a youth from the community took out a wedding procession, he said several such incidents have happened in the state. Following the incident, tensions ran high in the area and Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel visited the village. The Bhim Army chief met the Dalit youth Friday. He cited another incident in an Aravalli district village where stones were hurled at a wedding procession of a Dalit groom allegedly by upper castes people last week. The incident resulted in violent protests. "The CM and the government is doing nothing when atrocities against Dalits are on a rise. No action is being taken against erring officers. The incidents are in violation of the basic principles of the ...

Protesters warned against blocking roads in J&K's Kishtwar

Authorities in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir Saturday warned protesters against disrupting traffic. "Strict action shall be taken against the protesters indulging in blockade and disruption of traffic," District Magistrate Angrez Singh Rana said in a statement. According to a district administration spokesperson, "The initiative has been taken to contain the growing incidents of protests and road blockades by a section of Panchayati Raj Institution members and villagers thus creating public nuisance". Rana has asked the Kishtwar senior superintendent of police to ensure strict action against protesters, the spokesman said. The district has witnessed a series of protests over various demands including inadequate supply of water and electricity.

If dissenting opinions made by SC judges can be made public, why can't those of ECs? asks Yechury

If dissenting opinions made by judges in the Supreme Court can be made public then why cannot those of the election commissioners, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury asked on Saturday. Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa is learnt to have written to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEO) that he will be recusing from Election Commission (EC) meetings as his dissent was not being recorded on clearances given by the poll panel to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over alleged poll code violations. "Whatever is happening in the EC is dangerous for democracy. This has raised a serious question on the neutrality of the Election Commission itself. Even in the Supreme Court, there are minority and majority opinions. There are so many cases in which there have been dissent among judges, but the minority dissent opinion has always been made public. "If the opinion of dissenting judges comes out in public, then why not EC's?" Yechury asked.

2 Maltese soldiers arrested in drive-by slaying of migrant

Malta's prime minister has announced that two armed forces members have been arrested in connection with a fatal drive-by shooting of a migrant from Ivory Coast. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said Saturday on Twitter that an internal investigation would determine whether the men acted alone "or as part of something wider." It is believed to be Malta's first racially motivated murder. Lassana Cisse, 42, was killed in the drive-by shooting on April 6 as he walked on a road near a migrant center. Two other men, a 22-year-old from Guinea and a 28-year-old Gambian, were injured in the attack. Authorities are investigating whether either suspect was also involved in a hit-and-run on the same road that injured a 17-year-old from Chad. Opposition leader Adrian Delia condemned the slaying as "a hate crime.

Disabled dog rescues baby buried alive in Thailand

A disabled dog has become the pride of his village in northeast Thailand by rescuing a baby boy who was buried alive by his teenaged mother.

EC deploys three EVMs at each Chandigarh booth

Each polling booth in Chandigarh, going to the polls on Sunday, will have three electronic voting machines (EVMs) to accommodate 36 Lok Sabha candidates.

No change in our stand on support to Congress: Karnataka CM

Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Saturday said Janata Dal (S) had already committed its support to the Congress for formation of government at the Centre and there was no change in its stand.

Nina Dobrev trolled over post against abortion bill

"The Vampire Diaries" fame star Nina Dobrev is being slammed by a slew of social media users for expressing her views against the Alabama abortion bill.

1984 riots survivors say they still await justice

As Gurjal Kaur, 75, stares blankly at the dirty, moldering wall of her house, her nightmarish memories of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots turn into fresh bleeding wounds. With Punjab going to polls on Sunday, Congress leader Sam Pitroda's flippant remark that "1984 hua to hua" and the BJP's relentless offensive over it has brought the anti-Sikh riots back into the political discourse. The survivors of the riots in the CRPF colony of Ludhiana claim that successive Congress governments delayed justice to the affected families. Kaur, who lost two of her sons, Harbhajan Singh and Amarjit Singh, in the 1984 communal flare-up, claims the Akalis have helped the survivors of the riots the most and that the previous Congress governments at the Centre and in the state "ruined our lives". Charanjeet Kaur, 59, who lost her two sons and husband in the riots, says, "We saw what people would not have seen during Partition. Mobs burnt thousands of Sikh men alive and raped the women." Gurdeep Kaur of the ...

Undertrial commits suicide in Rajasthan

An undertrial prisoner allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in Deeg subjail of Bharatpur, the police said on Saturday. "Sunder Jatav (30), a murder accused, was lodged in the jail since September 2018. He hanged himself in the jail barrack last (Friday) night," SHO, Deeg Police Station Mahendra Singh said. He said that senior officials have reached the jail premises and the matter is being probed.

Bangladesh stops 84 Rohingyas from perilous sea journey

Bangladesh authorities prevented 84 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar from attempting a perilous boat journey to Malaysia, officials said Saturday. Police in Pekua said 67 Rohingya Muslims from Kutupalong -- the largest refugee settlement in the world -- were stopped as they waited to board a fishing trawler. They included 31 women and 15 children. On Saint Martin's, a small Bangladesh island in the Bay of Bengal, the country's coast guard stopped 17 other Rohingya and five Bangladeshi traffickers before they could board a rickety fishing boat. Fayezul Islam Mondol, the regional coast guard commander, said they were acting on a tip off. About 740,000 Muslim minority Rohingya have fled Myanmar for Bangladesh since a brutal military crackdown began in August 2017. They joined another 300,000 Rohingya already living in overcrowded camps in the Cox's Bazar area following previous bouts of violence. Thousands of refugees attempt to flee the camps each year in pursuit of better opportunities .

Kerala Muslim body serves Iftar to 2,500 people every day in Dubai

A Kerala Muslim centre here is serving Iftar meal every day to more than 2,500 people from all walks of life, according to a media report. Iftar is the evening meal with which Muslims end their daily Ramzan fast at sunset. There are 210 volunteers, divided into seven groups, who ensure smooth and clean distribution of Iftar meals, Gulf News reported. "Most of the volunteers are drivers, A/C maintenance workers, office assistants and people who do other routine jobs. But, we also have businessmen and professional executives who have been volunteering with us," Ebrahim Elettil, president of the Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre's (KMCC) said. "When we started the community Iftar in 2012, we were serving only 1,500 people. Over the years, the number of people coming to have iftar increased. On average we serve 2,550 Iftar meals. Our volunteers are the pillars of this success, E lettil said. Even people with disabilities are part of the team. The preparation for the volunteering team, who ...

NRC should be implemented in Delhi as soon as possible: Manoj Tiwari

The National Register of Citizens (NRC) should be implemented soon in Delhi if the people do not want to live under the fear of attack from illegal Rohingya immigrants, said BJP MP Manoj Tiwari on Saturday."I got to know that the attackers were from a Bangla speaking community, like Rohingyas. The people for whom murder, fighting and crimes are a daily affair. I think NRC should be implemented in Delhi as soon as possible to throw these illegal immigrants out, that is the only way to keep our citizens safe," Tiwari told ANI.He was talking after meeting the family of late Dhruv Raj Tyagi in Moti Nagar area, who was murdered by goons on Sunday night. The victim's son was also attacked and is undergoing treatment. All four accused in the case were arrested by the police.Tiwari expressed grief and solidarity with the family and demanded setting up of a fast track court to ensure speedy justice to the family."The family is suffering from a great loss. A daughter mistreated in front of her .