Page 76 - Social Issues
Over 73,000 transgenders arrested for extorting money from railway passengers in past 4 years
More than 73,000 transgenders have been arrested for extorting money from railway passengers in the past four years, with over 20,000 alone in the last one year, the railway ministry has said in a reply to an RTI query. The data assumes significance as passengers have complained of harassment by transgenders who often board trains and extort money from them. Some of these passengers also had to face abuses, in the worst cases of physical assault, incase they refused to give in to such demands, officials said. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has been regularly conducting special drives to check such instances, they said. In the reply to the RTI query, the railway ministry said a total of 73,837 transgenders were arrested during 2015 and till January this year while extorting money from passengers. Of these, a total of 13,546 were arrested in 2015, 19,800 in 2016, 18,526 in 2017 and 20,566 in 2018, it said. As many as 1,399 transgenders were arrested in January this year, the ...
Aegon Life and MobiKwik launch a smart digital insurance product
In a bid to enable financial inclusion and ease of buying for the Indian masses, Aegon Life Insurance, pioneer of digital insurance in India and MobiKwik, India's leading FinTech Company; have joined hands to launch an Rs 20 smart digital insurance product.The strategic partners have announced the launch of an assorted insurance product called the Aegon Life Group Term Plus Plan with both death and accidental disability benefit, available exclusively on MobiKwik App. One can purchase this plan by paying as little as Rs 20 in premium for a sum assured of Rs 2 lakhs which includes term insurance and accidental disability.MobiKwik has created a lightning fast, fully digital in-app purchase flow on its App for this new smart insurance product. Buyers have the option to choose from 3 sums assured variants of Rs 1 lakh, Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 2 lakhs, which are bundled with an additional Rs 1 lakh, Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 2 lakhs of accident disability, at no additional cost. The policy can be ...
Texas executes white supremacist for killing black man
The US state of Texas has executed John William King, a white supremacist convicted two decades ago for killing African-American James Byrd Jr. in one of the most horrific hate crimes in modern American history.
IT raids ex-J&K Minister's properties in Srinagar
Income Tax (IT) officials on Thursday carried out raids in Srinagar city at the properties of former Jammu and Kashmir Minister Imran Raza Ansari, sources here said.
Class X student commits suicide
A Class X student is suspected to have committed suicide in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district over a family dispute, police said Thursday. The boy was found hanging from the ceiling of the house at Mimlana village in Muzaffarnagar area on Wednesday, an officer said. In another incident, a 30-year-old woman apparently committed suicide by hanging herself from the ceiling of the house over a family dispute. The incident happened at Sujru village in Kotwali area on Wednesday. The bodies of the deceased have been sent for post-mortem and investigations are on, the police added.
US white supremacist who lynched black man is executed
An avowed white supremacist convicted of a notorious racist murder -- chaining a black man to the back of a pickup truck and dragging him to his death -- was executed on Wednesday in the US state of Texas. John William King, 44, was put to death by lethal injection at 7:08 pm Central Time (0008 GMT Thursday) at the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas. King was one of three white men convicted of carrying out the 1998 murder of James Byrd Jr., one of the most gruesome racist killings in recent US history. Lawrence Brewer was executed in 2011 while Shawn Berry -- who cooperated with investigators -- was given life in prison. Berry testified during his trial that he and the two others were out drinking beer and cruising in a 1982 Ford pickup truck when they picked up Byrd, who was hitchhiking, and drove him to a remote country road. The men severely beat the 49-year-old Byrd before chaining him by his ankles to the back of the truck. Byrd was alive for some two miles (3.2 ...
Voters upbeat about living standards improving next year: IANS-C VOTER tracker
Most of the voters are upbeat about their future as close to 60 percent respondents in a CVOTER-IANS tracker felt that their quality of life will improve in the next one year.
Russia makes citizenship easier for Ukrainians
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday signed a decree on granting individuals permanently residing in certain districts of Ukraine the right to apply for Russian citizenship using a simplified procedure.Citizenship of the Russian Federation is obtained by birth, as a result of granting citizenship and in the event of changing Russia's state borders in accordance with an international agreement. But the new legislation provides for a general and even more simplified procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship, TASS agency reported.According to the new legislation, citizenship is granted without requiring a residence permit and uninterrupted residence in Russia for five years. The term considering the documents, in this case, does not exceed six months.For citizens of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, it has been reduced to three months in accordance with the four-party agreement signed on February 26, 1999, which took effect on November 4, 2000, the Kremlin said in a ...
UN evacuates 325 refugees from southern Tripoli
The United Nations on Wednesday evacuated some 325 refugees from a detention centre on the southern outskirts of Tripoli amid escalating violence near the Libyan capital.In a statement, the United Nations Refugee Agency said that those rescued from the Qasr bin Ghashir centre were transported to another detention facility in Azzawya, northwestern Libya, where they were "at reduced risk of being caught up" in ongoing fighting between renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar's eastern forces and troops loyal to the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA)."The dangers for refugees and migrants in Tripoli have never been greater than they are at present," said Matthew Brook, UNHCR Deputy Chief of Mission in Libya."It is vital that refugees in danger can be released and evacuated to safety," Brook added.The evacuation was triggered by reports on Tuesday regarding the use of armed violence against detainees who protested against the conditions in which they were being held.While
Trump to keep fighting opioids 'until our job is done'
President Donald Trump has pledged to battle the deadly epidemic of opioid drug abuse "until our job is done" and he claimed progress even though it is unclear whether the crisis has diminished. Trump spoke an annual conference of health, law enforcement, elected and other officials who work to combat drug abuse and addiction, and used the appearance to advocate for the wall he wants to build on the US-Mexico border, saying it will help keep drugs out of the US. His wife, Melania, introduced him. "My administration is deploying every resource at our disposal to empower you, to support you and to fight right by your side," Trump said on Wednesday. "We will not solve this epidemic overnight but we will stop. ... We will never stop until our job is done." Before leaving the White House for the Atlanta event, Trump claimed credit for progress in combating the drug scourge. "It's a big problem. It's a big addiction and we're handling it," the president told reporters. "We've made a ...
Trump threatens more troops to border after Mexico incident
President Donald Trump renewed his threat Wednesday to send more troops to the U.S.-Mexico border following an incident in which Mexican soldiers confronted U.S. personnel. Mexico blamed the incident on confusion, and said it was not looking for confrontation with the U.S. In morning tweets, Trump said that, "Mexico's Soldiers recently pulled guns on our National Guard Soldiers," claiming, without evidence, that it was done "probably as a diversionary tactic for drug smugglers on the Border." "Better not happen again!" he added. "We are now sending ARMED SOLDIERS to the Border. Mexico is not doing nearly enough in apprehending & returning!" Trump last year dispatched U.S. troops to the border to assist border personnel in response to several caravans of Central American migrants travelling through Mexico in hopes of reaching the U.S. Many are already armed. Earlier this month, two U.S. soldiers in a remote area of Texas were confronted by Mexican soldiers who thought the Americans
IIIT-Nuzvid student attempts to commit suicide
A student of the IIIT in Nuzvid in Andhra Pradesh attempted to commit suicide by consuming some tablets, police said Wednesday. The student was identified as V Varsha, a resident of Prkasam district in Andhra Pradesh. The incident took place on late Tuesday night. The student was rushed to the dispensary in the campus and later shifted to the Nuzvid Government Hospital, where her condition was stated to be stable. Apparently, she took the extreme step because of her unwillingness to continue studies, said the IIIT Nuzvid Director's Office. Police said a probe into the matter was underway.
UNICEF, NITI Aayog tie up for children empowerment
NITI Aayogs Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and UNICEF India on Tuesday signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to provide an open platform to promote participation, skilling and empowerment among young children across different communities.
Cong files complaint against BJP's Mandi candidate Ram Swaroop Sharma
The Himachal Pradesh Congress has lodged a complaint with the ECI against BJP's Mandi candidate Ram Swaroop Sharma after Income Tax officials condoned him for not filing his tax returns over the last four years. The IT officials condoned the delay within three days of his filing an application on April 15. Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) president Kuldeep Singh Rathore alleged that in his affidavit submitted to IT authorities, Sharma said he could not file his IT returns because he was busy serving as a public servant. "We have lodged a formal complaint with the Election Commission of India (ECI) and will wait for its decision. The party will decide future course of action after ECI's decision in this regard," Rathore said. The BJP MP was not immediately available for comments.
UK group renews call for justice for students accused of English test cheating
A migrant group lobbying the UK Home Office in favour of overseas students, many of them from India, "wrongly" accused of cheating in a compulsory visa-related English language exam renewed its call for justice on Wednesday. Migrant Voice believes UK home secretary Sajid Javid has reviewed the representations related to the case of thousands of these students and is expected to announce his decision on their plight soon. The group had found the backing of many British MPs last year, who set up an All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) to mount pressure on Javid to "rethink" the government's handling of the issue. The campaigners want the students to be allowed to re-sit the English exam in order to prove their innocence after a media sting operation exposed cases of fraud in the government-mandated tests back in 2014. "The core demand is for the UK Home Office/government to allow the students to re-sit the test and those who pass should be: given their visa back, allowed to return to ...
Tummy timetables: WHO has lifestyle advice for kids
The United Nations on Wednesday released its first-ever recommendations on physical activity for children under five, with disputed advice on subjects ranging from screen time to "tummy time". The guidelines from the World Health Organization may read to some parents like common-sense practices, including not exposing babies under one-year-old to screens. But several experts noted that WHO's broad recommendations were based on thin evidence and chastised the agency for adopting overly simplistic definitions of key terms, notably "sedentary screen time." WHO said the guidelines "fill a gap" in the global effort to promote healthy living. With obesity posing a rising public health threat and 80 percent of adolescents "not sufficiently physically active," WHO said it was necessary to outline best practices for children under five -- a crucial period for lifestyle development. Despite acknowledging that its "strong recommendations" were based on "very low quality evidence," the UN health .
Almost all Saudis in mass execution were Shiites: HRW
At least 33 of the 37 Saudis executed by the kingdom in a single day belonged to the Sunni-dominated country's Shiite minority, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday. The men were executed on Tuesday after being convicted of terrorism, according to the official Saudi Press Agency. "Thirty-three we know for sure are Shiites," HRW researcher Adam Coogle told AFP. The interior ministry said some of those executed were accused of "inciting sectarian strife", a charge often used in Saudi Arabia against Shiite activists. Rights group Amnesty International also said most of those executed were Shiite men. They were "convicted after sham trials that violated international fair trial standards (and) which relied on confessions extracted through torture", it said in a statement. The executions were "yet another gruesome indication of how the death penalty is being used as a political tool to crush dissent" from within the Shiite minority, said Amnesty's Middle East research director Lynn ...
Mehbooba demands release of Yasin Malik
Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday demanded the release of separatist leader Yasin Malik."Yasin Malik should be released immediately as he is really unwell. Also other members of Jamaat-e-Islami should be released. Sadhvi Pragya on whom there are several serious accusations has been set free," Mufti said.Delhi's Patiala House Court today sent Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Yasin Malik to judicial custody till May 24 in connection with a 2017 terror funding and conspiracy case.Mehbooba also lodged a note of protest against a slew of measures brought about in the valley recently."After the encounter, families of militants are harassed and the cross LoC trade which was taking place through Muzzafarabad has also been stopped. The National Highway is closed for traffic for two days in a week and security forces are interfering in the daily life of people. We are protesting against all these issues," she said.Elections in the state are
Police officer killed as gunmen open fire on polio team in Pak
A police officer was killed when unidentified gunmen on Wednesday opened fire at a polio team in northwest Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The police officer, Zafar Ali Jan, was providing security to polio workers in Buner District when the gunmen opened fire. Other members of the polio team remained unhurt as they were at some distance from the police official when the incident took place. On April 23, another police officer on security duty for polio workers was killed in Bannu. Chief Minister Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Mehmood Khan took notice of the incident and summoned a report from the province's Inspector General (IG). Pakistan is one of just three countries in the world, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria that have endemic polio. Immunisation efforts have in the past been hampered by militants. They have previously alleged the immunisation campaigns are a cover for Western spies. Local officials said they had recruited Muslim clerics to promote the immunisations for children .
Rights body moves government on JKLF chief's detention
The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) on Wednesday issued notices to the Jammu and Kashmir government on the detention of JKLF Chairman Muhammad Yasin Malik by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).