Page 88 - Social Issues
1,400 top firms in India hit by IL&FS pandemic (IANS Exclusive-1)
A hapless government slap bang in the middle of getting re-elected needs to be prepared for a harsh backlash in the eventuality that it returns to power. As of now, it appears that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should return to power, albeit short of a simple majority on his own.
Trump's controversial transgender troop ban takes effect
US President Donald Trump's controversial ban on transgender Americans in the military comes into force on Friday following a protracted legal battle. Trump's administration has insisted that there is "too great a risk to military effectiveness and lethality" to allow transgender people to serve -- reversing a policy enacted under his predecessor Barack Obama. The Pentagon says the restrictions are not a blanket ban, but they would bar many if not most people who identify as transgender from enlisting in America's armed forces. The policy -- which has undergone various iterations since Trump first announced it on Twitter in July 2017 -- has been widely criticized by rights activists and has been repeatedly challenged in court. The US Supreme Court ultimately ruled in January that the policy could take effect pending the outcome of ongoing litigation. Under the latest version of Trump's policy, no one who has transitioned to another gender, been diagnosed with "gender dysphoria" or who
US Senator slams Twitter, FB for blocking Mother Teresa's quote on abortion
A top US Senator has criticised Twitter and Facebook for blocking as hate crime a quote of Mother Teresa on abortion, saying the pattern of censorship by the two social media giants is "really dangerous". Mother Teresa, the founder of Missionaries of Charity who is revered for her work with the poor in India, was proclaimed a saint by Pope Francis at the Vatican in 2016. Texas Senator Ted Cruz on Thursday alleged that the top officials of Twitter and Facebook were unable to respond to a question on blocking Mother Teresa's quote on abortion as hate crime. He described it as a dangerous situation. "Here is a tweet that says abortion is profoundly anti-women and it is a quote from Mother Teresa and this tweet was blocked. Now it is fairly remarkable that Mother Teresa is now deemed hate speech. Do either of you would agree with the proposition that Mother Teresa is issuing hate speech? Is this hate speech?" Cruz asked during a Congressional hearing on Wednesday. Cruz said that there is .
Amit Shah should apologise for NRC remark: Kerala Christian Forum
The Kerala Christian Forum on Friday demanded an apology from Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah for his statement on the implementation of National Register of Citizens (NRC), citing that "it was a direct attack on the identity and integrity of the nation as a secular state".On Thursday, Shah had said, "We will ensure implementation of NRC in the country. We will remove every single infiltrator from the country, except Buddhists, Hindus and Sikhs.""We hope that Amit Shah and BJP tender an apology to the nation and especially to the minority communities of the country, which has felt persecuted by the statement," the forum said in a statement on Friday.NRC is a register containing names of Indian citizens, which was prepared for the only time in 1951 and is being updated currently for the state of Assam to weed out illegal immigrants.
Australia opposed to death penalty for Assange
Foreign Minister Marise Payne says Australia remains "completely opposed" to the death penalty amid fears that Australian native Julian Assange could be exposed to such punishment if he is extradited to the United States. Australian consular officials plan to visit the WikiLeaks founder in a London jail on Friday a day after he was arrested at the Ecuadorian Embassy where he'd been holed up nearly seven years. For now, he faces a single computer conspiracy charge in the U.S. that does not carry the death penalty, but his supporters fear more serious charges may be brought later. Payne said Friday the U.K. had sought assurances from the U.S. that Assange would not be exposed to the death penalty. Assange plans to fight extradition, but Australian leaders have indicated they wouldn't intervene.
Shillong BJP candidate threatens to kill himself if Citizenship Bill is implemented
Shillong BJP candidate Sanbor Shullai on Thursday said that he will "commit suicide" if his party tries to implement the Citizenship Amendment Bill.Shullai said, "As long as I'm alive, the Citizenship Amendment Bill will not be implemented."He said that he will kill himself in front of Prime Minister Narendra Modi but not let the Bill get implemented in the state."I will kill myself in front of Narendra Modi but I will not let it get implemented," Shullai said.The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in its manifesto has vowed to implement the Bill if it comes back to power at the Centre.The controversial Bill, which was passed in the Lok Sabha on January 8, seeks to provide citizenship to minorities including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Parsis from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who came to India before December 31, 2014.Attempts by the Central government to pass it through the Rajya Sabha were stalled by the Opposition.Under the proposed amendments in the Bill, the minimum residency ...
Pence says migrant family separations won't return
US Vice President Mike Pence has said that President Donald Trump's administration would not return to separating families at the southern border with Mexico as a way of deterring illegal immigration.
South Korea declares anti-abortion law as unconstitutional
South Korea's Constitutional Court on Thursday (local time) ruled as unconstitutional a 66-year-law that made abortion a crime punishable by two years imprisonment, signalling a major victory for those who campaigned extensively for the abolition of the strict and controversial legislation.A panel headed by nine judges declared the ruling in a 7-2 vote, in response to a complaint filed by an obstetrician in 2017, who is on trial for performing multiple abortion procedures.During the ruling, the court said that the anti-abortion legislation under the criminal law is against the Constitution and directed allowing termination in the early stages of pregnancy, Yonhap News Agency reported.The court gave the South Korean Parliament a deadline of 2020 to revise the law. If the lawmakers fail to respect the deadline, the law would become null and void."(The current law) limits the pregnant woman's right to choose freely, which is against the principle that infringements on a person's rights ..
People and the planet
Mr Morland offers remarkable insights - albeit entirely from the demographic perspective - into the progress of human society over the past two hundred years
 "People and the planet")
EC puts curbs on parole to drug offenders during polls
The Election Commission (EC) has put restrictions on the parole to drug offenders during 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
20 lakh patients treated under Ayushman Bharat within 200 days: JP Nadda
The Central government on Thursday claimed that around 20 lakh patients have been treated under Ayushman Bharat Yojana within 200 days of its launch."Marching forward with the vision of PM Narendra Modi I take pride in sharing the fact that we have accomplished a milestone of treating 20 Lakh patients and providing financial relief of more than 2600 Cr under Ayushman Bharat within 200 days since its launch," Union Health Minister JP Nadda said here.The health scheme targets the poor, deprived rural families and identified the occupational category of urban workers' families as per the latest Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) data for both rural and urban areas as well as the active families under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana.On the occasion of the 72nd Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced AB-PMJAY scheme from the ramparts of the Red Fort.
Royals celebrates empowered women of Rajasthan
At an evening that represented more than an exciting game of cricket, Rajasthan Royals hosted Chennai Super Kings at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium to celebrate the empowered women and their fights against social evils in the state.
Dalelpur ends boycott, crosses Yamuna on boat to reach poll booth
Of the 28 voters from Noida's Dalelpur, who had announced boycotting the Lok Sabha polls, 22 turned up at polling booths on Thursday, hoping the winning candidate would visit their village soon and bring 'vikas' (development). Dalelpur, under Dadri tehsil, is the only village in the Gautam Buddh Nagar constituency which falls across the Yamuna and towards the Haryana side, but is a part of Uttar Pradesh. If they have to go to vote, they should either risk their lives by crossing the polluted and stench-emanating Yamuna on a boat or come all the way through Faridabad and Delhi via Kalindi Kunj, covering about 70 km to reach their polling station in Gulawali village. "Initially we were reluctant, but then this is the only means we have left to draw the attention of the political leaders," Ghanshyam Sharma, 72, told PTI. He added, "Our only hope is that whoever wins the election, will come to our village and improve the situation for us. I don't even have a pension card, or a ration ...
National symposium on evidence synthesis held in Delhi
A national symposium on evidence synthesis began in Delhi on Thursday with a focus on making science and synthesised knowledge the bedrock of all societal and policy interventions in the areas of public health, medicine and social development. The symposium is being organised by The George Institute for Global Health and the Campbell Collaboration. Delivering the keynote address on 'Synthesising and Contextualising Evidence for Medicine and Public Health in India: Need and Way Forward', Professor Prathap Tharyan said evidence-informed health policy requires investments and partnerships between those who generate the evidence, those who disseminate it, those who frame policies and those who implement them. Every policy decision should have an evidence footprint, said Tharyan, the Director of B V Moses Centre for Research and Training in Evidence-Informed Health Care and Health Policy at the Christian Medical College, Vellore. Tharyan said that there was a need to recognise systematic ..
Social media platforms removed more than 500 posts, ads with objectionable content: EC
Social networking platforms Twitter, Whatsapp and Facebook have removed more than 500 posts, advertisements, accounts and other objectionable content found to be violating the poll code, following directions of the Election Commission between April 10 and 11, the poll body said Thursday. "Facebook -468 posts were reported and removed. The posts included violations of MCC and voter misinformation. One post from Karnataka, two posts from Assam and the remaining from Telangana. 32 ads active in Telangana were removed. Seven ads and two post are reported, awaiting action," the EC said. Micro-blogging site Twitter has removed two accounts while action on 39 others is awaited. "One was fake account of CEO UP, the account was deleted. The other account was promoting animosity between communities. The account was suspended. 39 tweets are reported on account of MCC violations," it said, adding that the account of one WhatsApp user from Manipur was disabled for spreading content promoting ...
Those going to temple, gurdwara are migrating from Pak, Bangladesh to India, says PM Modi
Criticising the Congress party for not thinking about religious minorities before the partition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that today the situation is such that the people going to temple and gurdwara are leaving Pakistan and Bangladesh and are coming to India.Addressing an election rally here, Prime Minister Modi said: "I urge first-time voters to cast their vote thoughtfully. History of Congress has always been one that creates a problem.""They don't understand how to resolve issues. In 1947, the partition took place on the basis of religious faith, but it was not thought what will be the fate of religious minorities in Pakistan, which was made on the name of Islam," he said."The Congress government of that time did not think what will happen to our brothers and sisters there in Pakistan. Is the Congress not guilty of the problems faced by minorities there," he asked.He added, "Today, the condition is such that those who used to go to temples and gurdwara, most ..
Raj HC asks govt to appoint mental health counselors in women shelter homes
The Rajasthan High Court has directed the state government to appoint female mental health counselors in all women shelter homes in the state. A division bench comprising justices Sandeep Mehta and Vinit Kumar Mathur gave the directions in pursuance of the observation that there were many mentally challenged and traumatised women in shelter homes but there were no counselors for them. The bench further directed the Social Welfare Department to appoint trained female officers in all the vacant posts by the next date of hearing on May 15. The high court had sought a detailed report after having learnt the deplorable living conditions in the women shelter homes in the state. Comprehensive inspection reports of the shelter homes from Ajmer, Bharatpur, Bikaner, Jaipur and Kota had been submitted by the secretaries concerned. Based on the reports, the amicus curiae had submitted suggestions to improve the situation, specially with regard to the condition of mentally challenged or ...
LS polls: Delhi to have 19 'pink booths'
As many as 19 pink booths -- staffed only by women - will be established for the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi, officials said. Polling in the national capital, which has seven parliamentary constituencies, is due on May 12. The first-phase of the election was held Thursday. A total of 13,816 polling stations will be established at 2,696 locations in Delhi, with a model polling station in each of the 70 assembly constituencies. The establishment of pink booths would be a first for the city during elections. 'pink polling booths' have been used in other elections, such as the Karnataka polls last year. Delhi's chief electoral officer (CEO) Ranbir Singh had said areas were being identified in the city for this purpose. "Some of the polling stations will be manned completely by women. The purpose of this exercise to showcase their abilities and engender a sense of woman empowerment," he had said. There are over 1.41 crore voters on Delhi's electoral roll. Out of the total electorate size .
Modi, Shah pitch for vexed CAB, NRC on campaign trail in Assam
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah Thursday raked up the hotly disputed Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and the NRC, as they went about stumping in Assam and West Bengal amid the intensifying cut and thrust of a bitter electoral debate. Reservations voiced by even the BJP's allies in the North-East notwithstanding, Modi told election rallies in Assam's Silchar and Kendukona that his party was committed to passing the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, a legislation set to expire with the term of the current Lok Sabha early June. However, in an effort to assuage the concerns of the people of the region and Assam, where there were massive protests against the bill, Modi said a fresh legislation will be brought only after consulting all sections of society. "We are committed to bringing the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB), but we will do it in consultation with all sections of the people in the state (Assam) and after taking their views into account," he said ..
Twitter records 45.6 mn tweets as India polls begin
Twitter recorded 45.6 million tweets on its platform during a one-month period in the run-up to the polls, registering 1.2 million tweets on the first day of voting on Thursday.