Page 823 - Social Issues
Kidnapped Indian businessman in SA released after 137 days
A 76-year-old Indian-origin South African businessman who was allegedly kidnapped has been released after 137 days in captivity, a media report has said. Omar Carrim was kidnapped outside his store in Pretoria on August 3 and released after 137 days, TimesLive reported. Carrim is now recovering at home. "I can confirm the release of Carrim. He was released in Olifantsfontein on Monday" said anti-crime activist Yusuf Abramjee. The Carrim family has thanked relatives friends and the community "for all the support and assistance since he disappeared in early August". "We are most grateful to everyone and we thank the Almighty for returning our father and brother to us. Thank you for all the prayers and the moral support from the public" the family said in a statement. At the time of his alleged kidnapping, pleas were made for his release on humanitarian grounds as Carrim was seriously ill and needed constant medication. He was due to undergo heart surgery the day after he ...
Baby born from embryo frozen for 25 years
A woman in the US has successfully given birth to a healthy baby from a 25-year-old embryo - the longest known frozen human embryo. The baby, Emma Wren Gibson was delivered last month by Jeffrey Keenan, medical director of the US National Embryo Donation Center. The embryo was originally frozen on October 14, 1992. It was thawed for implantation on March 13 this year. "I just wanted a baby. I don't care if it's a world record or not," said Tina Gibson, mother of the baby. Previously, the oldest known frozen embryo that came to successful birth was 20 years old. Created for in vitro fertilisation by another, anonymous couple, the embryo had been left in storage so they could be used by someone unable or unwilling to conceive a child naturally. Tina's husband Benjamin Gibson suffered from has cystic fibrosis, making the couple unable to conceive. They have fostered several children, according to the 'CNN'. The couple signed up for embryo adoption, and underwent a series of .
Withdraw UPCOCA bill: Mayawati
BSP chief Mayawati has demanded the withdrawal of the UPCOCA bill, which was introduced in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly today, saying the ruling government might misuse it to suppress dalits and religious minorities. The state government introduced the bill to enact a stringent law on the lines of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) to combat land mafia, mining mafia and organised crimes in the state. Mayawati said the Adityanath government is already miusing various laws for communal and political reasons, and the UPCOCA bill, if passed, will only worsen the situation. "Laws are grossly misused in the state to the extent that any BJP worker walks up to a police station and the police registers false cases against people," Mayawati said in a statement here. "The UPCOCA will be used for suppression of poor, dalits, backwards and the religious minorities," she said, adding that the she wanted the bill be withdrawan in public interest.
Muslim bodies not consulted on triple talaq bill: Govt
Muslim organisations were not consulted before the government framed a draft bill to criminalise the practice of instant triple talaq, the Lok Sabha was informed today. Law Minister Ravi Shankar said the government believed that the proposed bill would help ensure gender justice, gender equality and dignity of women. The government has maintained that since the practice of instant triple talaq or 'talaq-e-biddat' continues despite the Supreme Court striking it down, there is a need to bring a law. To a written question on whether the government consulted Muslim organisatons before framing the draft law, Minster of State for Law P P Chaudhary replied in the negative. In a separate written reply, Prasad said, "The government is of the view that the issue arises from the humanitarian concept of gender justice, gender equality and dignity of women and not arising from faith and religion." He said that since the Supreme Court struck down the practice of instant triple talaq, .
Over 1,000 cases of fake caste certificates to get govt jobs
Over 1,000 cases of people securing jobs using forged caste certificates have been reported by various central government departments, the Lok Sabha was informed today. The Department of Personnel and Training had in June sought data from all central government organisations regarding appointments made on the basis of fake caste certificates. "As per information received from 48 departments/ ministries/organisations till December 10, 2017, around 1,040 cases of fake/false caste certificates have been reported by them," Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said in a written reply. Out of these, nearly 65 cases have resulted in termination of service, he said. "In respect of about 570 cases, the matter is pending before the concerned government authorities for verification/scrutiny. In respect of nearly 145 cases, the matter is pending before various courts of law," the Minister said. "In the remaining 260 cases, the matter is at initial stage of examination ...
Facebook launches new tools to prevent harassment
Facebook has introduced new features that will prevent unwanted friend requests and messages from reaching you, a move the social media giant said will save a user, especially women, from harassment. Facebook created the new features after working with New Delhi-based non-profit organisation working for women empowerment, the Centre for Social Research and the US-based social change organisation, the National Network to End Domestic Violence. These new features will help the network identify bogus accounts quickly and block them every day. "A apart from it, the latest tool also lets a user tap on an unwanted message and ignore the conversation. The social network will automatically disable notifications about that message and move it to your filtered messages folder. From there, you can read the message without the sender knowing that you have read it," Facebook said in a statement. As of now, this new feature would only be available for a one-on-one conversation, but ...
India, Myanmar sign MoU on Rakhine state development
In the wake of the massive outflow of Rohingya refugees sparked by violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state, India and Myanmar on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the development of the state.
Uttar Pradesh assembly passes UPCOCA bill
The Uttar Pradesh Control of Organised Crime Act (UPCOCA) bill was passed by the state assembly on Wednesday.
HC orders CBI probe into Rohini ashram accused of confining
The Delhi High Court today ordered CBI probe into an ashram in north Delhi where girls and women were allegedly kept in illegal confinement. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar asked the CBI Director to set up a special investigation team forthwith and seize all records pertaining to FIRs lodged in connection with alleged rape and suicides of the girls there. Yesterday, the high court had asked the police to conduct an inspection of the ashram, 'Adhyatmik Vishwa Vidyalaya' in Rohini here saying it was "extremely dangerous" that girls and women have been allegedly kept in illegal confinement in the name of preaching about God. The high court-appointed panel has told the court that they were assaulted and confined for nearly an hour by the some ashram inmates when it went to inspect the premises yesterday. It also informed the court that over 100 girls kept there in confinement and most of them are minors. The high court also ordered ...
Policybazaar.com launches first ever TV campaign on travel insurance
Policybazaar.com (twitter handleThe campaign emphasizes particularly on the unforeseen medical emergencies that a traveller may face in a foreign land which may burn a hole in their pocket without an adequate travel insurance cover.Some people travel abroad for medium to long term work, and they are generally insured by their employer. However, there are 40 to 50 percent Indians who are eligible to take travel insurance from India but they don't due to various reasons."We have found through our internal research that people tend to believe travel insurance takes care of only air accidents, while some others assume their regular health policy will take care of any unforeseen incidents abroad. Both these assumptions are incorrect. If you fall sick or become a victim of an accident abroad, it is only travel insurance that can give you protection against substantial expenses in a foreign land," said Tarun Mathur- Director, Policybazaar.com.As per the estimates of the United Nations World .
Jaishankar in Myanmar to discuss security cooperation
Amid the raging Rohingya refugee crisis, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar arrived in Myanmar to discuss security cooperation starting with a meeting with Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar Security Forces Min Aung Hlaing on Wednesday.
Tired of spam messages, friend requests? Here's what Facebook's doing
Amid increasing social media spamming and cyber bullying being reported across the globe, Facebook announced a series of tools to prevent harassment on the platform and in Messenger, in addition to the ongoing efforts to build a safe community.Taking cognisance of the feedback Facebook has received in the recent past, the firm decided to take up the matter more stringently by introducing new tools to curb users from receiving spam messages and friend requests.A major update is the introduction of a tool that can help proactively recognise and help prevent unwanted contact like friend requests and messages, especially when someone you blocked is attempting to reach out to you through a new account or tries to contact you from another account they control.Along with this, Facebook has created an option to ignore a Messenger conversation and automatically move it out of your inbox, without having to block the sender."We already prohibit bullying and harassment on Facebook, and people can
Maoists abduct ASM, porter; torch signalling panel
Armed Maoists today abducted an assistant station master (ASM) and a porter from a railway station in Munger district and set on fire the signalling panel, disrupting railway traffic early this morning. Around 15 Maoists including women attacked Masudan railway station at around 2 AM, said Kripasagar, SHO of GRP police station at Jamalpur. They caught hold of ASM Mukesh Kumar and porter Nirendra Mandal and took them away. The left wing extremists also set ablaze the signalling panel and threw official papers into the fire, the SHO said. He said railway traffic was disrupted on Jamalpur-Kiul section for about an hour due to torching of the signalling panel. Movement of trains was restored after the fire was extinguished. Efforts were on to trace the abducted railway personnel and secure their release, the SHO said. The attack comes on a day when Maoists had called for a 24-hour bandh across Bihar and neighbouring Jharkhand in protest against operations against them.
US seeks dignified return of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar
The US has appealed for dignified and voluntary return of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh to Myanmar, while it said that conditions are not conducive enough for such a move. Some 625,000 Rohingya refugees have fled the Rakhine state of Myanmar to neighbouring Bangladesh in the last six months. "In terms of the repatriation plan, we'd like to see the plan. We've heard about it in concept, but one of the things that would be important to be in that plan is the voluntary, safe and dignified return," State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters here. "It (repatriation) has to be voluntary. People have to feel like it's safe to go home. If they don't feel like it's safe to go home, it's probably not going to be safe to go home. They have to have a dignified return. That means treating the people well as they decide to return home," she said. Insisting that repatriation needs to be voluntary, she said the refugees can't be forced to leave one country to go ..
Govt to bring new rehabilitation policy for drug addicts
The Centre informed the Lok Sabha that it will bring a new rehabilitation policy for drug addicts on the basis of national survey.Responding supplementaries during question hour, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot said that rehabilitation policy of 2001 is under scrutiny by the Government and a survey of drug addicts is underway across the country."Government has authorized an institution associated with All India Institute of Medical Sciences for the survey. He said, 38 crore rupees have been sanctioned for the purpose and 18 crore rupees have already been provided to the agency," he said.He further said, "on the direction of Supreme Court, an action plan has been prepared for the rehabilitation of drug addicts. He said as of now, four to five rehabilitation centres are functional in 257 districts."Gehlot also said that government has set up a committee consisting of representatives from his ministry along with the Ministries of Home, Health and Finance to ...
RSS worker attacked at Kannur
A Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker was attacked by a group of unidentified men at Kathiroor in Kannur district of Kerala, on Tuesday.RSS Ponnyam Mandal Karyavah Praveen was attacked by a gang wearing mask when he was riding on bike.The RSS worker, who was admitted to the hospital in a critical condition in Kozhikode, is currently undergoing treatment.Last month, four RSS workers were attacked in Kerala's Kannur district.In October, a RSS activist was injured, while bombs were hurled at a BJP party office.In last few months, similar incidents of assault have been reported. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been accusing the Left Government of killing the political leaders, and had also held a rally 'Jan Raksha Yatra' in Thiruvananthapuram recently to protest against alleged political killings in the state.
Tata Steel to launch new early separation scheme
Steel major Tata Steel will launch a new early separation scheme - 'Sunharae Bhavishya ki Yojna' for its non-officer grade employees from tomorrow. The scheme has multiple options to choose from compared to the earlier scheme, Suresh Dutt Tripathy, vice-president, HR, said today. He said the company decided to bring in some changes to the scheme, as the response to it had gradually gone down in the last couple of years. The new SBKY has three options - 'Long-term Masik Pratidan Scheme', 'Lumpsum-cum-Masik Pratidan Scheme' till 60 years and 'Masik Pratidan Scheme' till 60 years, he said. Tripathy said only 40 employees had availed the SBKY in 2016-17, compared to 1,486 in 2015-16.
No religion accepts terrorism: Vice President
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said today that no religion accepts terrorism and terror groups were misusing religion to achieve their political ends. Stating that some people had objections to his recent comment that terror has no religion, he said, "Anybody who is taking the name of religion and choosing the path of terror is against humanity. This is what I meant." "I am very clear. Every religion has to be understood properly," Naidu said while delivering the 10th annual lecture of the National Commission for Minorities here. The vice president said "no religion accepts terrorism" and terror groups were misusing religion to achieve their political ends. "If you encourage terror, you will become the victim of terror tomorrow. This is what is happening. We are seeing it in our neighbourhood also," he said, adding that some countries were aiding and funding terrorism. Noting that people are free to pray to any God they believe, Naidu said he visits 'dargah' whenever he .
Rouhani urges Iranians to speak out over rights
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani today called on people to speak out to defend their rights, as he took aim at the country's powerful security apparatus. "The people are right, not the government," the moderate cleric said, in a speech marking one year since he launched an Iranian bill of rights. "We must work to make the rights of citizens a culture," Rouhani said, urging the youth and social media users to air their grievances if rights are not "implemented". Rouhani's landmark bill of rights is meant to guarantee freedom of speech, protest, fair trials and privacy. But reformist media have been critical of him for failing to deliver greater social freedoms. Many institutions in the Islamic republic, including the judiciary and the Revolutionary Guards, remain firmly in the grip of hardliners and do not answer to the president. Turning his sights on the security establishment, he called on them to "reduce interference" in people's lives and "let them mind their ...
Italian blue helmets to teach Lebanese girls self-defence
Beirut, Dec 19 (IANS/AKI) Italian blue berets serving in southern Lebanon with the UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL will give self-defence lessons to schoolgirls from the port city of Tyre, UNIFIL said on Tuesday.
