Page 66 - Social Issues
Some states seek to close loopholes in marital rape laws
Witches were still being burned at the stake when Sir Matthew Hale came up with his legal theory that rape could not happen within marriage. The 17th century English jurist declared it legally impossible because wedding vows implied a wife's ongoing consent to sex. Three and a half centuries later, vestiges of the so-called "marital rape exemption" or "spousal defense" still exist in most states remnants of the English common law that helped inform American legal traditions. Legislative attempts to end or modify those exemptions have a mixed record but have received renewed attention in the #MeToo era. The most recent efforts to roll back protections for spouses focus on rapes that happen when a partner is drugged, unconscious or otherwise incapacitated. Minnesota is the latest to take action. The state Legislature this week voted to eliminate the exemption, which had prevented prosecutions in those cases. "No longer will this antiquated and shameful law be on our books," Gov. Tim ...
Mamata confronts BJP supporters shouting 'Jai Sree Ram'
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday got angry at a group of purported BJP supporters shouting "Jai Sree Ram" in front of her convoy in West Midnapore district's Chandrakona.
Two outsiders found dead inside Visva-Bharati campus
The bodies of two outsiders - believed to be a couple - were recovered from the Visva-Bharati campus in Bolpur of West Bengal's Birbhum district, police said on Saturday.
Firefox certificate error is disabling all extensions for users
A bug in Mozilla's Firefox browser is reportedly disabling all extensions, leaving users clueless about what went wrong.According to TechCrunch, each extension is being listed as a legacy extension, alongside a warning that it could not be verified for use in the browser and hence, has been disabled.The issue appears to be related to a code signing certificate built into the browser that expired today, leading to the sudden failure of extensions. Meanwhile, Mozilla is working on a patch to fix the issue.
Yellow Vest protests hit Paris for 25th consecutive week
The Yellow Vest protesters took to the streets in Paris for the 25th consecutive week on Saturday.At least three rallies are expected in Paris on Saturday alone, according to Sputnik.The protests have continued despite French President Emmanuel Macron's pledge of a "significant" cut in income tax during a conference recently. Macron had previously unveiled an 'economic and social emergency plan' after the demonstrations started in November last yearThe protests reportedly attracted more than 23,500 people across France last week. Scores of people were arrested by the police as clashes erupted during the protests.The Yellow Vests also used the May Day rally to protest against the French President's economic policies. Police had to resort to using tear gas and sting grenades to control the crowd gathering near Paris' Montparnasse train station during Wednesday's protests. The demonstrators responded by throwing bottles and firecrackers at the police.At least 165 protesters were ...
Punjab CM reviews government employees issues
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Saturday directed minister Brahm Mohindra to meet representatives of government employees and resolve their issues after the Lok Sabha elections. Singh reviewed the issues relating to government employees with top officials and directed the Cabinet sub-committee headed by Mohindra to meet their representatives on May 27 to work out an early resolution. Polling to 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab will take place on May 19. Since the government can not take any decision in the matter till the model code of conduct is in place, it was felt that a meeting should be held immediately after the declarations of results to resolve the pending issues, an official spokesperson said. The government employees under the banner of 'Saanjha Mulazam Manch' had protested against the government in March, seeking clarity on dearness allowance issue, regularisation of contractual employees, reducing the term of probation period, restoration of old pension scheme, among ...
Under Modi govt development for all without discrimination on caste, religion, region: Naqvi
Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Saturday said providing equal opportunities of development to all sections of the society, without any discrimination or political prejudice has been the major achievement of Narendra Modi government during the last five years. He said Prime Minister Modi has put corruption on 'ventilator' and development on 'accelerator' in the last five years. "This has made the champions of corruption feeling suffocated in the atmosphere of honesty and transparency," Naqvi said at an election meeting here in support of the party's Jaipur candidate Ramcharan Bohra. He said in the last five years PM Modi has restored the dignity and stability of the government. "The Modi government has removed policy paralysis by taking bold and tough reformist decisions keeping in mind the welfare of the common man. It has proved to be a government of 'Iqbal' (authority), 'Insaaf' (justice) and 'Imaan' (integrity)," he said. Naqvi said PM Modi has provided equal opportunities of
U.S coach gets 180 years in jail for sexual abuse
An American youth basketball coach who pleaded guilty to multiple accounts of sexual exploitation of minors and child pornography was sentenced to 180 years in prison by a U.S. district court. Greg Stephen, 43, had been accused by prosecutors of sexually exploiting at least 400 boys over several years.
More than 1,000 dead in D.R. Congo Ebola epidemic
More than 1,000 people have now died of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities said, as aid workers warned that the highly contagious virus combined with insecurity in the restive region was creating a "deeply worrying situation". The current outbreak is the second deadliest on record, after an epidemic killed more than 11,300 people in West Africa in 2014-2016. Efforts to roll back the outbreak of the haemorrhagic fever have been hampered by fighting but also by resistance within communities to preventative measures, care facilities and safe burials. "In total, there have been 1,008 deaths (942 confirmed and 66 probable)," the health ministry said in a daily update late Friday. The central African country declared a 10th outbreak of Ebola in 40 years last August centred in the city of Beni in North Kivu province before the virus spread into the neighbouring Ituri region. The World Health Organisation had initially voiced hope it would be able to contain the outbreak, .
Telangana cop attempts to kill self with service weapon
A police official here attempted to commit suicide by shooting himself with his service weapon.Speaking to media on Friday, Kamareddy DSP Laxminarayana said earlier in the day, Armed Reserve Constable Srinivas, who is serving as a sentry guard, attempted to commit suicide by shooting himself with his service weapon."He was immediately shifted to Kamareddy government hospital for treatment. Doctors have said he is out of danger. We are shifting him to Hyderabad for better treatment," he added.The DSP said the reason behind the suicide attempt is yet to be ascertained."Further details will be revealed after investigation," he added.
No gold shifted outside India in 2014 or thereafter, says RBI
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday denied media reports that it had shifted part of gold holding in 2014 to other countries.In a statement issued on Friday the RBI said, "It is a normal practice for Central Banks world over, to keep gold reserves overseas with Central Banks of other countries for safe custody. No gold was shifted by RBI from India to countries in 2014 or thereafter.
Telangana CM directs officials to complete compensation process for displaced persons
Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Friday issued instructions regarding the reemployment, rehabilitation, and distribution of financial assistance program to those displaced who had lost land under Mallanna Sagar reservoir.Rao said that the compensation to the displaced person's has been almost completed and the remaining little bit shall be completed within a few days and a report has to be sent to High Court before May 11.Responding to the issue of payment of compensation and the observations made by the High Court, Rao reminded the state government officials about the government's commitment in providing relief to the displaced person's with a humanitarian approach.The chief minister expressed his displeasure over circumstances leading to frequent interferences of courts despite so much is being done. He has instructed state Chief Secretary SK Joshi to personally monitor and supervise the process of paying compensation to those displaced. Responsibilities of ...
RBI says no gold shifted out of India in 2014 or after
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday said no gold was shifted outside the country in 2014 or thereafter while stating it is a normal practice for Central banks world over to keep their gold reserves overseas with Central banks of other countries such as Bank of England for safe custody.
Muslim women protest against Saamana over burqa ban demand
Hundreds of Muslim women protested against the Shiv Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' at Mumbra near here Friday for demanding that India should ban burqa. Most of the women were wearing burqa or veil themselves. The Saamana editorial Wednesday said that India should follow the suit of neighboring Sri Lanka and ban burqa for security reasons. The Shiv Sena later said it was not its official stand. The protesters shouted slogans against Saamana editor Sanjay Raut and carried placards with message 'Samvidan Bachao, Desh Bachao' (save the Constitution, save the country).
Khiladi Akki one of highest taxpayers in B Town
With actor Akshay Kumar, the contemporary version of Manoj Kumars Bharat finally accepting that he is a Canadian citizen and being trolled relentlessly for that all day, it is interesting to find out who is supposed to pay taxes in India. After all, the Akki the Khiladi recently in the news for interviewing the PM has claimed that he works and pays his taxes like everyone else in India.
7 illegal immigrants dead in Turkish boat tragedy
At least seven illegal immigrants, including five children, died when a boat sank off Turkey's Aegean coast on Friday, the Turkish coast guard said.
Boat with 17 people capsizes off Turkey's coast, 7 dead
Around seven refugees, including five children, lost their lives after an inflatable boat carrying them sank off Turkey's Aegean coast on Friday, according to the Turkish coast guard.At least 17 people, including one human trafficker, were said to be on board when the boat capsized near the Ayvalik district in the northwestern province of Balikesir, Xinhua quoted the coast guard as saying.Five refugees have been rescued until now as authorities continue efforts to locate another five who are still missing.While Turkey's Aegean Sea was once the prime route used by migrants to flee from strife in their own countries to Europe, a deal between the country and the European Union in March 2016 reduced the flow of migration using the route.According to the Turkish coast guard, more than 7,100 migrants have attempted to cross over to the Greek islands through Turkey since the start of 2019.Thousands of immigrants have lost their lives until now after undertaking dangerous sea travel on ...
ISIS bride Shamima Begum will be hanged if she comes to Bangladesh: Foreign Minister
UK's runaway ISIS bride Shamima Begum will be hanged for supporting terrorism if she visits Bangladesh, the country's Foreign Minister has warned. Minister Abdul Momen said the 19-year-old girl - who fled Bethnal Green for Syria and is currently living in the al-Hol desert refugee camp in Syria - would be punished severely as the country has a "zero tolerance" for terrorism. Begum was one of three schoolgirls to leave Bethnal Green to join the terror cult in 2015 and resurfaced at a Syrian refugee camp in March. Now 19, Begum was stripped of her British citizenship in February by Home Secretary Sajid Javid. "We have nothing to do with Shamima Begum. She is not a Bangladeshi citizen. She never applied for Bangladesh citizenship. She was born in England and her mother is British," Momen told UK's ITV News. "If anyone is found to be involved with terrorism, we have a simple rule, there will be capital punishment. And nothing else. She will be put in prison and immediately, the rule is, ..
Two children die of starvation in Andhra: NGO
Two children have died of starvation after they resorted to eating mud in Andhra Pradesh's Anantapur district during the last six months, a child rights group has said.
Mallanna Sagar: CM directs officials to complete compensation
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao Friday asked officials to complete on a war footing the rehabilitation and distribution of financial assistance to those displaced by Mallanna Sagar reservoir. Observing that providing compensation to the displaced persons was almost over, he directed that remaining little bit be completed and a report sent to the state high court before May 11, according to a CMO release. The chief minister discussed the issue with the officials in the backdrop of recent observations made by the high court over compensation, it said. Observing that about Rs 800 crore was being spent towards compensation and rehabilitation of Mallanna Sagar displaced people, Rao said it is unfortunate despite so much is done, circumstances leading to courts interference are happening. Rao instructed Chief Secretary S K Joshi to personally monitor and supervise the process of paying compensation to the displaced persons, it said. The Mallanna Sagar reservoir is