Page 89 - Social Issues
Quito withdraws Assange's Ecuador citizenship
President Lenin Moreno's government withdrew the Ecuadoran citizenship granted Julian Assange, acting before the WikiLeak founder's arrest in London Thursday, Foreign Minister Jose Valencia said. Assange was evicted from Ecuador's embassy in London and arrested by British police, ending a nearly seven year standoff after Quito ended asylum for the Australian-born fugitive. Moreno tweeted that Ecuador acted within its "sovereign rights" when it withdrew Assange's asylum "for repeatedly violating international conventions and the protocol of co-habitation." Valencia said that on Wednesday the Ecuadoran government withdrew the citizenship it had granted Assange in 2017 "due to various irregularities found in his paper work." "The effects of the concession of Ecuadoran nationality to Mr Assange have been suspended," he said. Assange has been living at Ecuador's embassy in London since 2012 when he sought refuge there after being accused of sexual assault in Sweden. British police entered .
Ownership of life, term insurance lower among women compared to men: Survey
The number of women with life and term insurance policies is lower as compared to men in urban India, according to a survey. The 'India Protection Quotient' survey, conducted by Max Life and Kantar IMRB, said while about 59 per cent of women as against 68 per cent men in urban India own life insurance policies, only 19 per cent women are term insurance owners in comparison to 22 per cent men. The survey covered around 4,500 respondents across the country's 15 top cities having with an average income of Rs 2 lakh per annum and an age group of 25-55 years. Only about 44 per cent of the youth are aware of term insurance and just 17 per cent own it, added the survey. It gave cities ratings between 0 and 100 based on the awareness and ownership of life insurance, level of preparedness for future uncertainties and the degree of preference for pure protection plans, among other things. Among the cities surveyed, nearly 43 per cent people in Ludhiana, Punjab, own life insurance, it said. As ..
Quito withdraws Assange's Ecuador citizenship: Foreign minister
President Lenin Moreno's government withdrew the Ecuadoran citizenship granted WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange before his arrest in London Thursday, Foreign Minister Jose Valencia said. Valencia said the citizenship, which was granted in 2017, was withdrawn on Wednesday "due to various irregularities found in his paper work." "The effects of the concession of Ecuadoran nationality to Mr Assange have been suspended," he said.
Amit Shah relates TMC to Tushtikaran-Mafia-Chit Fund
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah on Thursday said West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) actually stood for 'tushtikaran' (appeasement), mafia and chit fund and urged the people to uproot it from the state.
UN expert says plans to visit Assange in UK custody
A UN rights expert said he would ask British authorities for access to visit Julian Assange in custody, after the WikiLeaks founder was arrested Thursday at Ecuador's London embassy. UN special rapporteur on the right to privacy Joe Cannataci said the arrest would not change his previously announced intention to meet with Assange later this month or to investigate his claims that his privacy had been violated. The arrest merely means that "instead of visiting Mr. Assange and speaking to him at the Embassy of the Republic of Ecuador in London, I will visit him and speak to him in a police station or elsewhere in the UK where he may be held in custody," Cannataci said in a statement.
39.3 per cent polling till 3 pm in Sikkim
Around 39.3 per cent voters exercised their franchise till 3 pm in 32 legislative assembly constituencies and the lone Lok Sabha seat in Sikkim on Thursday. Polling for the lone Lok Sabha seat and the Sikkim assembly is being held simultaneously. Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling exercised his franchise at Namchi New Secondary School in South Sikkim's Namchi-Singhiyhang assembly seat. There has been no report of any untoward incident till 3 pm, the office of the chief electoral officer (CEO) in the state said. Polling is being held in 567 polling stations spread across four districts in Sikkim. As many as 39 of 567 polling stations are being manned by all-women personnel. A total of 4,32,306 voters comprising 2,20,305 males and 2,12,001 females will exercise their franchise on Thursday and 30,480 voters will cast their votes for the first time. Special arrangements have been made at the polling stations to enable people with disabilities (PWD) to exercise their ...
Middle class shrinking around the world, says study
Middle-income households are disappearing in developed countries around the world, according to a new study by the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Assange will not be extradited to country with death penalty: Ecuador president
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, arrested in London on Thursday after Quito withdrew his political asylum, will not be extradited to any country where he could face "torture or the death penalty," Ecuador's president said. "I asked Great Britain for the guarantee that Mr Assange will not be extradited to any country in which he could suffer torture or the death penalty," President Lenin Moreno said in a video message posted on social media. "The British government has confirmed in writing" that they will meet this requirement, Moreno said. Moreno earlier tweeted that Ecuador was within its "sovereign rights" to withdraw Assange's asylum "for repeatedly violating international conventions and the protocol of co-habitation." Assange has been living at Ecuador's embassy in London since 2012 when he sought refuge there after being accused of sexual assault in Sweden. He was arrested by British police who entered the embassy on Thursday after Quito withdrew his asylum. Rafael Correa, ...
Lack of nutritious food hampers learning in Indian teens: Study
Food insecurity -- limited access to sufficient safe and nutritious food at home -- negatively impacts the learning ability of adolescents in India, a study has found. Researchers from BITS Pilani in Goa and Imperial College London in the UK investigated inequalities in learning achievements at 12 years by examining test scores. The study, published in the journal Economics of Education Review, looked at whether food insecurity at home at the ages of 5, 8 and 12 was linked to lower test scores at age 12. Some 47 per cent of children studied had experienced household 'food insecurity' -- including skipping meals, eating less when needed and families not having enough money to put food on the table -- at some stage during the observation period. "Our findings really highlight how even very early experiences of food insecurity can have a lasting impact on outcomes across the life course," Jasmine Fledderjohann, of Lancaster University in the UK, said in a statement. About 18 per cent of .
Ex-leader Correa slams Ecuador's Moreno as 'traitor' after Assange arrest
Former Ecuadoran leader Rafael Correa on Thursday slammed current president Lenin Moreno as a traitor, after a decision to allow the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. "The greatest traitor in Ecuadorian and Latin American history, Lenin Moreno, allowed British police to enter our embassy in London to arrest Assange," Correa wrote on twitter. "Moreno is a corrupt man, but what he has done is a crime that humanity will never forget," added Correa, who granted Assange asylum when he was president in 2012. The former leader, who nows lives in Belgium, underlined that Assange is "not only an asylum holder, but also an Ecuadorian citizen." With the arrest, Moreno "has shown the world he is a miserable reprobate," the former leader said. A left-wing former economist, Correa was president of his Andean nation between 2007 and 2017, during which Moreno served as his vice president. Correa has lived near Brussels with his family since 2017 and has requested asylum in Belgium. He is ...
Assange will not be extradited to a country with death penalty, Ecuador president says
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, arrested in London on Thursday after Quito withdrew his political asylum, will not be extradited to any country where he could face "torture or the death penalty," Ecuador's president said. "I asked Great Britain the guarantee that Mr Assange will not be extradited to any country in which he could suffer torture or face the death penalty," President Lenin Moreno said in a video message posted on social media. "The British government has confirmed this in writing," that they will meet this requirement, Moreno said. Assange has been living at Ecuador's embassy in London since 2012 when he sought refuge there after being accused of sexual assault in Sweden.
Shillong BJP candidate dead against citizenship bill
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Sanbor Shullai from the Shillong parliamentary seat on Thursday said he would rather "kill himself than allow" the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill to be implemented in Meghalaya and other northeastern states.
Ecuador says was 'sovereign right' to terminate Assange asylum
Ecuador acted within its sovereign rights when it decided to withdraw diplomatic asylum from WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, President Lenin Moreno said Thursday. Assange was arrested at the Ecuador embassy in London after Quito withdrew his asylum, and police entered the embassy. Moreno said: "Ecuador has decided with sovereign rights to withdraw the diplomatic asylum to Julian Assange for repeatedly violating international conventions and the protocol of co-habitation".
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrested in London
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been arrested at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, the BBC reported citing the police on Thursday.
S. Korea overturns abortion ban after 66 yrs
South Korea's Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday as "unconstitutional" a 66-year-old law that made abortion a crime punishable by up to two years in prison, calling for its amendment in a landmark decision that signals a major change in various aspects of society.
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange arrested in UK
Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange has been arrested after seven years in Ecuador's embassy in London, UK police said Thursday. The Metropolitan Police said he had been taken into custody and will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court "as soon as is possible". The 47-year-old faces allegations that he publicly released secret documents relating to the US. He had been in the embassy in London since 2012. Assange had originally sought asylum at the embassy after Swedish authorities wanted to quiz him over allegations of sexual assault and rape.
BJP MP Baliyan alleges fake voting, says burqa-clad women should be checked
'Without checking the face, how can you allow anyone to cast vote,' he asked
South Korean constitutional court eases abortion ban
South Korea's constitutional court on Thursday ordered the country's decades-old abortion ban to be lifted in a landmark ruling over a law that campaigners say puts women at risk. South Korea remains one of the few industrialised nations that criminalises abortion, except for instances of rape, incest and when the mother's health is at risk. But the nine-member bench ruled by seven to two that the 1953 statute aimed at protecting lives and traditional values "goes against the constitution" and ordered the law to be revised by the end of next year. "The abortion ban limits women's rights to pursue their own destinies, and violates their rights to health by limiting their access to safe and timely procedures," the court said in a statement. "Embryos completely depend on the mother's body for their survival and development, so it cannot be concluded that they are separate, independent living beings entitled to rights to life." Hugging and celebrating, hundreds of women -- including ...
South Korea abortion ban ruled 'unconstitutional'
South Korea's Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday as "unconstitutional" the current ban on abortion and called for its amendment in a landmark decision that signals a major change in various aspects of society.
White House power players at odds over immigration policy
As President Donald Trump rails against an influx of migrants at the border, two of his most influential White House power players are at odds over the future of his immigration policy. Fresh off orchestrating a shake-up at the Department of Homeland Security, an ascendant Stephen Miller is making a renewed push to impose tougher policies at the border. That's setting up a face-off with senior adviser and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner, who has been quietly working on his own immigration reform package for months. Their divergent approaches to the president's signature campaign issue speak to more than the ideological gulf between the two men: They echo a long-standing philosophical divide within the West Wing over how to best position the president ahead of his re-election campaign. Miller, the mastermind of the president's Muslim travel ban and other hard-line immigration policies, has long been the combative ideologue, urging Trump to take ever-more-drastic action to stanch .