Page 61 - Social Issues
Mukesh Ambani breaking all barriers to connect next billion
As Asia gears up for the next wave of digital transformation to connect the next billion people online, infrastructural and affordability barriers are being broken in India by Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani and his initiatives, a new survey said on Friday.
CPI demands judicial probe into Telangana intermediate result goof-up case
The CPI Friday demanded that the Telangana government initiate a high-level judicial probe in the alleged goof-up in the intermediate results that led 25 students to commit suicide in the state. CPI National Secretary K Narayana said the state government should ban the Globarina Technology company that was roped in by the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Hyderabad (JNTUH) for evaluation of intermediate answer papers. He not only sought suspension of the state education minister but also requested the government to pay ex-gratia amount of Rs 1 crore to each of the bereaved families of the student who died after declaration of intermediate results. "As many as 25 students have committed suicide. A student who obtained 99 per cent was shown as having secured zero and even those who obtained 33 per cent were shown as having secured zero. These lapses by Globarina has led to students' suicide," Narayana told reporters here. Demanding a high-level enquiry into the matter, the CPI ..
1,000 IPS officers under MHA scanner for non-performance
Over 1,000 Indian Police Service (IPS) officers are under the scanner of the Home Ministry for non-performance, an official said on Friday.
Online bullying leads to depression in teenagers
Parents, please take note. Teenagers who experience cyber bullying are more likely to suffer from poor sleep and depression, warns a study.
Evacuate all refugees trapped in Tripoli war zone: UN
Geneva, May 9 (IANS/AKI) The United Nations has appealed for all refugees and migrants to be evacuated from detention centres in conflict areas of Libyan capital Tripoli, where deadly fighting between rival militias flared last month.
SC wants to meet wife of IPS officer who committed suicide
The Supreme Court on Thursday said that it will meet, in July, the wife of a former IPS officer of the West Bengal cadre, who committed suicide and held Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee "directly responsible" for his death.
Pope Francis issues new rules requiring priests, nuns to report sexual abuse
Pope Francis issued new laws for the Catholic Church on Thursday, mandating that all priests and nuns report sexual abuse and cover-ups to church authorities.The new rules require all Catholic dioceses around the world to have a "public and accessible" system in place for reporting abuse by June 1, 2020. Furthermore, investigations into credible reports of sexual abuse must be completed within 90 days.However, the norms do not require the priest and nuns to report to the police. Additionally, they do not deal with the question of what happens to a priest or bishop who breaks these rules.This has come after a series of shocking revelations about sexual abuse of minors at the hands of clergymen that rattled the world last year. Although, for decades, the Catholic church has been plagued by sexual abuse scandals in different countries around the world.To date, no church official has been publicly sanctioned for a cover-up, and a lack of accountability is something that survivors have ...
13 suspects, including 11 Chinese, remanded in custody for girls' trafficking in Pak
Eleven Chinese were among 13 suspects remanded in custody by a Lahore court on Thursday for a probe into a transnational gang allegedly involved in forced prostitution of Pakistani girls and running an organ trade racket. Judicial Magistrate Amir Raza directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officials to complete the probe within two days and produce the suspects in court on May 11. Over 20 Chinese nationals have been arrested from various Pakistani cities for their alleged involvement in arranging fake marriages of Pakistani women and removing their organs and forcing them into prostitution. According to the FIA, the suspected ring involves large sums of money changing hands for the contracting of fake marriages between vulnerable Pakistani women and Chinese men. The women are allegedly trafficked into prostitution in China, the Dawn newspaper reported. A woman from Lahore was married off to a Chinese national after her father was approached by an 'agent' claiming to run a ...
Discussion about death still a taboo for some: Poll
While death could be a pain-free event, people are most worried about loved ones being in pain or frightened in the final hours or minutes of life, says a new poll that suggests that most people know nothing about dying.
BBC fires presenter over racist royal baby chimp tweet
Veteran British broadcaster Danny Baker was fired on Thursday by the BBC after using a racist picture of a chimpanzee holding hands of a couple in a tweet, tagged with the caption "royal baby leaves hospital". Meghan Markle, wife of Prince Harry, gave birth on Monday to a baby boy, Archie, the first mixed race child to be born into a senior position in British royalty in recent history. The now deleted tweet, which has been circulated on social media, showed a black and white picture of a well-dressed couple holding hands with a chimpanzee dressed in clothes with the caption: "Royal Baby leaves hospital". The 61-year-old presenter was accused of mocking the Duchess of Sussex's racial heritage. A BBC spokesperson said: "This was a serious error of judgment." The corporation added that Baker's tweet "goes against the values we as a station aim to embody. "Danny's a brilliant broadcaster but will no longer be presenting a weekly show with us," the spokesperson said. Harry and Meghan, ...
Indian Embassy in UAE urges expats to report salary delay
The Indian Embassy in the United Arab Emirates has urged Indian expats to report any delay in payment of salary by their employers, according to media report on Thursday. In a public notice on Wednesday which was shared on Twitter, it urged Indians to report to any such instance to the Embassy in Abu Dhabi or the Consulate General in Dubai, the Khaleej Times reported. Amid growing cases of duping and visa frauds, the Embassy also cautioned Indian jobseekers in the UAE not to come on visitor visas. The jobseekers must authenticate their employment offers and permits before arriving in the country, it added. The Embassy also shared videos of Indians who fell victim to fraudulent recruitment agents. According to information from the Embassy's Twitter handle, Vikram Kumar from Pali, Rajasthan, was duped by an illegal agent from Mumbai. He said that he had paid Rs 55,000 (Dh 2,800 approx) to the agent and travelled to the UAE from Mumbai on a visit visa. He was repatriated to India, the ...
Chicago Cubs ban fan for racist gesture
The Chicago Cubs, an American professional baseball team, on Thursday banned a fan till further notice for making an alleged racist gesture at Wrigley Field here.
Pope makes it mandatory for clergy to report sex abuse
Pope Francis on Thursday issued new global rules for reporting sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, making it mandatory for the first time for all dioceses to set up systems for reporting abuse and cover-ups.
'Hugs not walls' Mexico border reunions cancelled as US refuses permits
US authorities have denied permits and forced the cancellation of the "Hugs not walls" event which since 2016 has allowed families separated by illegal migration to reunite for a few minutes on the border with Mexico, organizers said. Some 150 families had already registered to take part in the seventh "Abrazos No muros" meeting, scheduled for Saturday on the border between Mexico's Ciudad Juarez and the US city of El Paso in Texas. "(US) border agencies and institutions created all possible obstacles and invented all possible pretexts to prevent this important and historic family reunion on the border," organisers the Border Network for Human Rights (RFDH) said in a statement Wednesday. "Everyone clearly followed the xenophobic script of (US President Donald) Trump," it added, noting that both the police and the US Border Patrol had hampered the initiative. RFDH director Fernando Garcia regretted the cancellation of the event, which he said since 2016 has brought together members of .
Students struggled with shooter, stopped further bloodshed
The three students who disarmed a gunman in a Colorado school shooting leapt up from their desks without a word and with no thought for their own safety when they spotted the gun, recounted one of the young men. They slammed the teenager, a classmate of theirs, against the wall and struggled with him when shots rang out. Kendrick Castillo, who led the charge, slumped to the ground. His close friend, Brendan Bialy, wrestled the gun away and called out to Castillo. There was no response, Bialy told a roomful of reporters on Wednesday as he recalled what happened the previous day at STEM School Highlands Ranch. "Kendrick went out as a hero," Bialy said. "He was a foot away from the shooter and instead of running the opposite direction he ran toward it." Authorities said the actions of Castillo, Bialy and Joshua Jones minimised the bloodshed from Tuesday's attack at the school south of Denver that wounded eight students along with killing the 18-year-old Castillo. The injured includes ...
Rahul slams Modi over unemployment, recalls his pakoda remark
Congress president Rahul Gandhi Thursday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over unemployment, taunting him for a remark that selling 'pakodas' is a job worth doing. Addressing an election rally here, Gandhi claimed that unemployment in the country is the highest now in 45 years."This is Modi's contribution," he said. "Make in India, start up India, sit down India, pakodas, the Congress leader said, mocking the schemes started by the BJP government at the Centre Initially, he talked about Make in India, then Startup India, then Stand-Up India and finally he ended on pakodas," Gandhi said. In an interview last year, the prime minister had given pakoda-selling as an example of worthwhile employment. Rahul Gandhi also accused Modi of spreading hatred. "Wherever he goes, there is hatred. In Haryana, one community is made to fight against the other. When he goes to Tamil Nadu, he will criticise somebody. In Maharashtra, he will speak against the people of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. ...
Decomposed body of class 11 student found in Rajasthan's Kota
The decomposed body of a class 11 student, who had gone missing from his home last week, was found in a nearby forest, police said Thursday. According to police, 17-year-old Budhiprakash Mali, a resident of Rampura Kunda village in Baran district, committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree. However, no suicide note was recovered from the spot. The body was spotted lying under a tree by a local shepherd on Wednesday, Nahargarh SHO Dalpat Singh said. The boy had left home after lunch on May 4 and did not return following which his parents lodged a complaint with police, he said. The body was handed over to the family after postmortem and inquest proceedings were initiated under Section 174 of the CrPC, the SHO added.
SC expresses willingness to interact with wife of deceased IPS officer
The Supreme Court on Thursday expressed its willingness to meet with the wife of former senior police officer Gaurav Dutt who allegedly committed suicide and blamed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the extreme step in his suicide note.A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said it will interact with Sreyashi Dutt in July to ascertain why she wants to withdraw her plea for an independent inquiry into the death of her husband.Sreyashi, the wife of the retired West Bengal cadre IPS officer from the 1986 batch, has sought to withdraw her petition, saying she was not in a proper mental condition when she agreed to file the case.Dutt had accused Banerjee in his suicide note of pushing him to take the extreme step by "victimising" him for over 10 years. He was suspended and sent on compulsory waiting in 2010 following allegations of sexual assault of a male constable.He was found with a slit wrist at his home in Kolkata on February 19. Dutt had taken voluntary retirement .
Man working at charity commissioner's office ends life
A peon employed with the charity commissioner's office in Akola district of Maharashtra allegedly committed suicide on Thursday, police said. Mohan Sankat came to the office early in the morning and locked himself in a room where he hanged himself from the ceiling using a piece of cloth apparently between 7 am and 8 am, Akola's Superintendent of Police Rakesh Kalasagar said. "We got the information about the incident around 10.15 am. Prima facie, it seems that the deceased had some family issues and adispute with his sons," he said. No suicide note was found, he said, adding that a probe was underway to ascertain the reason behind his extreme step. Akola is located around 250 km from Nagpur.
'Nearly 1,200 IPS officers under scanner for non-performance'
Nearly 1,200 officers of Indian Police Service (IPS) have come under the scanner of the Home Ministry for non-performance, an official said Thursday. The ministry has reviewed service records of a total of 1,181 IPS officers in the past three years to check deadwood from the government, he said, adding the numbers of officers under the lens could go up as such a review is a continuous process. The review of service records was carried out under Rule 16 (3) of All India Services (Death-cum-Retirement Benefits ) Rules, 1958 during 2016 and 2018 to check non-performers, the official said. The rule says that the central government in consultation with the state government concerned may ask an IAS officer to retire in public interest by giving at least three months previous notice in writing or three months' pay and allowances in lieu of such notice. Of the total of 1,181 IPS officers, ten of them were recommended for premature retirement from the service in public interest, he said, ...