Page 52 - Social Issues
UP Police recruitment exam: Pass out candidates from 2013 batch stage protest
Candidates who had cleared Uttar Pradesh Police recruitment exam in 2013 staged a protest outside District Magistrate office in Lucknow claiming that even candidates from 2018 batch were appointed but not from the batch of 2013."It has been six years but we have not been appointed yet. Even the candidates from 2018 batch have been appointed. If our demands are not heard we will commit suicide" one of the protestors said on Friday.Another protestor told ANI that they have approached Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, State Home Secretary and other concerned officials but of no avail.Narrating their ordeal, the protestors have threatened to commit suicide as no option is left with them."We had won the case in High Court. The court said that we are given appointment letters but it did not happen. We have met State Home Secretary, Chief Minister and DG-UP Police Recruitment and Promotion Board but to no avail. We have no other option but to commit suicide, also written to the ..
Italy reaffirms commitment to LGBTI rights
Rome, May 18 (IANS/AKI) Italy has reaffirmed its commitment at international level to fight all forms of discrimination, including that based on sexual orientation and gender identity, the Foreign Ministry has said.
Over 270,000 Rohingya refugees receive first ID cards: UN
The United Nations on Friday confirmed that more than 270,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh have been registered and provided with identity cards (ID) for the first time in an attempt to safeguard their right to voluntarily return home to Myanmar in the future.In a statement, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHRC) said that despite living in Myanmar for generations, the refugees were not able to acquire formal citizenship and documentation that comes with this, leaving them stateless and deprived of basic rights."Having an identity is a basic human right," said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi during a recent visit to Cox's Bazar."And remember: many of these people, all their life, did not have proper identification. So, for them, it's also an incredible step into a more dignified life," he said.The exercise also improves the accuracy of data on refugees in Bangladesh, which will help the authorities and humanitarian partners to better understand the needs of the refugee ...
Dalit groom beaten for riding horse in Bikaner
A Dalit groom was allegedly beaten by upper caste people for riding a horse at a village in Napasar area in the district on Wednesday night, police said.According to police, people from the Rajput community in Belasar village of the district raised an objection when the groom belonging to the Meghwal community rode the horse."Rajputs were saying that there is no tradition of groom sitting on a horse in our village," Napasar police station in-charge Suman Parihar said.She said that Rajputs beat up some people of the Meghwal community and one of the vehicles in the groom's convoy was also vandalised."Police reached the spot and ensured that marriage was conducted with traditions of Meghwal community," Parihar said.A team of police is currently deployed at the spot to maintain peace, she added.The bride's family member and villagers protested at Napasar police station, demanding the arrest of the accused.Bride's father Poonam Chandra said that his community never interfered in the ...
Irdai proposes non-exclusion of critical illnesses in health policies
Insurance regulator Irdai mulls barring insurers from excluding several critical illnesses such as mental problems, genetic diseases, neurodevelopment disorders and psychological disorders from health insurance policies. With the increase in the number of health insurance companies as well as health insurance products in the market, Irdai in draft guidelines proposes that the health insurance industry should adopt a uniform approach while incorporating exclusions in the health insurance products. The Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority of India (Irdai) had constituted a working group on the standardization of exclusions in health insurance contracts. After examining the recommendations of the working group, the regulator has proposed to issue guidelines on exclusions in the health insurance products. No health insurance policy shall incorporate exclusions in the terms and conditions of the policy contract on diseases contracted after taking the policy. Also, impairment of ..
Teen pregnancy in India linked to child undernutrition
Stunting and underweight prevalence were 10 per cent higher in children born to adolescent mothers than in children born to adult mothers.Researchers at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) have found that children born to teenage mothers were underweight as compared to children born to older women."Reducing adolescent pregnancy in India can hasten our progress towards achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those related to poverty, health, nutrition, general wellbeing, equity, and education," said IFPRI Research Fellow and study co-author, Phuong Hong Nguyen."Our study sheds empirical light on pathways between teenage pregnancies and child undernutrition. People have talked about these pathways before, but this data allowed us to put some numbers to those pathways," explained study co-author Samuel Scott.India is home to the more stunted children than any other country and is one of the ten countries with the largest burden of ...
Three arrested for taking bribe in Rajasthan
An engineer of the public health and engineering department, a patwari and and a land assessor were arrested on Friday in two separate cases of accepting bribe, Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials said. PHED Executive Engineer Major Singh Dhillon was arrested from Hanumangarh district for taking Rs 5,500 bribe, ACB ADG Saurabh Srivastava said. In another incident, Pratap Singh, a patwari, and Bhavnesh, a land assessor, were arrested for taking bribe of Rs 3,500 in Sanganer town of Jaipur district, Srivastava said.
Some 250,000 Rohingya refugees receive first ID cards: UN
The UN said Friday it has registered more than 250,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, providing many with their first ever identification cards and proof of their right to return to Myanmar in the future. The UN refugee agency also said the registration could serve as a tool for law enforcement to help counter human trafficking. "Over a quarter of a million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar have now been jointly registered and provided with identity cards by Bangladesh authorities and UNHCR," spokesman Andrej Mahecic told reporters in Geneva. Some 740,000 Rohingya refugees fled a military crackdown in August 2017 to cross into Bangladesh where 300,000 members of the persecuted Muslim minority were already in camps. Many Rohingya refugees who fled said there had been mass rapes and slaughters in the villages, and in a report published last September, the fact-finding mission said there were reasonable grounds to believe the atrocities amounted to "genocide". UNHCR puts the number of ...
Embassies urge Romania to protect LGBTI community
A joint statement from the embassies of 29 mostly Western countries in Bucharest, as well as the European Commission, urged Romania on Friday to protect its LGBTI citizens from discrimination. "On the occasion of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, we express our solidarity with all marginalised groups in Romania, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity and sexual characteristics," said the statement, a copy of which was sent to AFP by the British Embassy. "LGBTI persons continue to face discrimination... We believe that only when diversity is appreciated and supported can a country achieve its full potential,, the statement added. Romania ranks 25th out of the 28 EU countries for progress in eliminating discriminatory legislation and hate speech against LGBTI people, according to the ILGA-Europe network of rights groups. Only Bulgaria, Poland and Latvia have a worse raking in the European Union. Romania's left-wing government was ...
New production of Vijay Tendulkar's 1981 play to explore complexities of homosexual relationships
Social taboos surrounding homosexuality will take centre stage in a new production of iconic playwright Vijay Tendulkar's pathbreaking 1981 play "Meeta ki Kahani". Directed by Sameep Singh, the play will be staged on May 25-26 at Shriram Centre for Performing Arts (SRCPA) here. The play, known for being "ahead of its time", is the story of Meeta coming to terms with her feelings for another woman, Nama. Singh, an NSD alumnus and SRCPA Repertory Chief, said the play had a "hard-hitting message on the rotten taboos, high-handed and dominant patriarchal society". "With a paradigm change in the fast changing socio-economic society, the theme of the play forces us to expose the bigoted mindset of Indian society. It forces us to think beyond dark curtains and leaves us with questions on stark realities. "It is rather ironical that when modern day lifestyle with its associated challenges allows us immense flexibility to think and express," Singh said. First staged in 1981, the play broke the
MP: Teams in Guj to get migrant workers from Jhabua to vote
Eight teams formed by the Jhabua district returning officer (DRO) Friday reached Gujarat to bring back migrant workers to enable them to vote here on May 19, district panchayat chief executive officer (CEO) Jamuna Bhide said. According to officials, thousands of poor workers, mostly tribals, migrate from these parts to neighbouring Gujarat in search of jobs. "The teams have been asked to contact the managers of establishments employing such migrant workers and facilitate leaves so that they can vote here on May 19," said Jhabua DRO and Collector Prabal Sipaha said. He said the teams sent to Gujarat have been asked to contact 38,000 people there as per the district's record. He said the move has been initiated under Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation Programme, better known as SVEEP, an Election Commission initiative for education, awareness and promoting voter literacy in India. The teams are going to contact migrant workers in Ahmedabad, ...
US envoy meets Mizoram CM discuss health, infra
US Ambassador to India Kenneth Ian Juster met Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga and discussed possible areas of cooperation in road infrastructure and health care among others, an official release said here on Friday.
Keyboard predators: SE Asia's kids targeted by online paedophiles
Southeast Asia is in the grip of a fresh surge of paedophile activity with predators orchestrating and watching abuse on live-streaming sites and via webcams, and paying for it with near-untraceable cryptocurrency, victims and children's charities warn. With widespread poverty, lax laws, and creaking judicial systems, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and the Philippines have long been seen as soft spots by foreign and local paedophiles seeking out underage sex in person. Tougher policing and greater awareness has deterred some offenders, but technology has shifted the patterns of abuse in a region with growing access to broadband internet and encrypted technology. Paedophiles can now use an array of mobile and online tools -- including social networks, video-sharing sites, and the dark web -- to direct and watch child rape and sexual abuse with anonymity, experts warn. "Predators watch the rapes on large platforms that are not likely to close," said Francois Xavier Souchet, of ...
Egypt deports 33 Sudanese migrants trying to reach Libya
Egypt has deported 33 Sudanese migrants who were trying to reach Libya to head onward to Europe. Cairo airport officials said on Friday the Sudanese were arrested earlier this month in the western coastal city of Marsa Matruh, not far from Libya's border, along with dozens of Egyptians and other African nationals. The officials say the migrants had planned to take fishing boats from the Libyan port of Zuwarah to Italy. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to talk to reporters. Libya became a major conduit for African migrants and refugees fleeing to Europe after the 2011 uprising that killed Moammar Gadhafi. Thousands have perished while making the perilous sea crossing while others have been detained and abused in Libya by smugglers and armed groups.
Morocco says it's cutting illegal migrant crossings to Spain
Morocco's border security chief says the North African kingdom is using new tactics to cut into the surge of migrants seeking to reach Europe, stopping about 25,000 attempts to reach Spain so far this year. Khalid Zerouali says this amounts to about 30 per cent more failed bids to cross to Spain, mainly via the Strait of Gibraltar, compared with the same period last year. Speaking to The Associated Press on Thursday, Zerouali attributed the decrease in crossings to new surveillance technology and reinforced manpower, as well as action against human traffickers. The number of migrants arriving in Spain last year was about 60,000, eclipsing the figures for Italy and Greece. Almost all arrived by sea. Despite EU aid and cooperation, Zerouali mainly credited his own country with making a dent in migrant crossings.
JNU student commits suicide in study room
A JNU student allegedly committed suicide Friday by hanging himself from a ceiling fan in a study room of the university, police said. They said they were informed about the incident around 11.30 am. The MA 2nd year student of the prestigious university was rushed to a nearby hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead, a senior police officer said. Police and crime team are at the spot and further details are awaited.
Poet, lawyer jailed in fresh crackdown in Bangladesh: HRW
Bangladesh authorities made a series of new arrests in their crackdown on the right to free speech, Human Rights Watch said on Friday. The arrests were based on vague charges such as "hurting religious sentiment" or undermining "law and order".
Mamata doing 'didigiri', lost her mental balance: Rupani
Slamming West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the violence at BJP chief Amit Shah's Kolkata road-show, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani Friday said she had lost her mental balance and was indulging in 'didigiri' (bullying). Talking to media in Vadodara, also said people of West Bengal would give a fitting reply to Mamata and her party, All India Trinamool Congress. "It seems that Didi (Mamata) has completely lost her mental balance. She is losing her ground. She tarnished the democracy and indulged in 'didigiri' (similar to Hindi word 'dadagiri', meaning bullying)," Rupani told reporters. "People of India and West Bengal will not tolerate such behaviour. People of West Bengal will give a befitting reply to her in the polls," he said. During the last phase of campaigning, there was a pitched battle between BJP and TMC in West Bengal. Clashes broke our during Shah's roadshow on Wednesday. A statue of social reformer Ishwarchandra Vidhyasagar was vandalised, ..
LGBT employees feel less wanted at federal agencies: Study
People belonging to LGBT community, working in federal workplaces, report worse job experiences than their colleagues, leading to higher intentions to leave their job, recent findings suggest.The research also claimed that women from the LGBT community and people of color consistently suffer more negative consequences--such as less respect and low job satisfaction--than men and white LGBT workers.According to the team of researchers, it's important that workplace inequality among federal employees be addressed in organizations and through public policy,"Federal agencies set legal and cultural precedents for how diversity and inclusion are to be institutionalized in U.S. workplaces and, unlike in other employment sectors, LGBT employees are protected under anti-discrimination legislation," said Erin Cech, a faculty associate at U-M's Institute for Social Research.The researchers documented LGBT workplace inequalities, noting where and for whom these inequalities are most prevalent. The
Indians likely to benefit as Trump unveils new immigration policy for merit-based professionals
US President Donald Trump has unveiled a new merit and points-based immigration policy that replaces the existing green cards with 'Build America' visa and substantially hikes the quota for young and highly-skilled workers from 12 to 57 per cent, a move likely to benefit thousands of Indian professionals. Trump said the current "broken" system of legal immigration has failed to retain and attract the brilliant talent from across the globe. The president said he was proposing a merit-based immigration system wherein permanent legal residency would be given based on points for age, knowledge, job opportunities and civic sense, besides passing English and civic tests. "We discriminate against genius. We discriminate against brilliance. We won't anymore once we get this passed, and we hope to get it passed as soon as possible. We want these exceptional students and workers to stay, flourish and thrive in America," Trump said. "Under the senseless rules of the current system, we're not ...