Page 5 - Social Issues
Appeal UP govt to help Lalita's family: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra
Congress's Priyanka Gandhi Vadra appealed Uttar Pradesh government to help Lalita who is suffering from aplastic anaemia and whose family had written to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath seeking help."Lalita's family should get all possible help for her treatment. It's very shameful if someone pleads for euthanasia because they cannot afford the treatment due to lack of money. I appeal Uttar Pradesh government to immediately help the grieved family," tweeted Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.On the other hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday sanctioned a grant of Rs 30 lakh for the treatment of Lalita. Her father had written to him seeking help for her treatment."I want the government to help my daughter in getting the treatment. I have sold my land. My house is mortgaged. I have spent Rs 7 lakh on her treatment already. If she cannot be cured, I wished to die," said her father Sumer Singh.Aplastic anaemia is a condition that occurs when the body stops producing enough new blood cells. ...
Cigarette consumption high in low-and-middle-income countries
Cigarette consumption has increased in low-and-middle-income countries, say recent studies, which have been published in the 'British Medical Journal' (BMJ).These studies question the widely held belief that the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) has been the most successful health treaty ever created.The research also puts the spotlight on the urgent need not only for investment in tobacco control practices but also an evaluation of the effectiveness of this international law and reporting practices."The policies promoted by this treaty -- plain packaging, smoke-free areas, tobacco taxes -- have been monolithically proven to be effective," said Steven Hoffman, the lead author of the study."What this study shows is that it's probably not enough at the global level to recognise these policies as important or to formally adopt them. We need countries to implement them to make sure they're affecting people's lives around the world," Hoffman added.In the first study, ...
Saudi launches special residency scheme to boost revenue
Saudi Arabia on Sunday launched a new special residency scheme aimed at luring wealthy expats as the petro-state seeks to boost non-oil revenue. The scheme offers a permanent residency for 800,000 riyals (USD 213,000) and a one-year but renewable residency costing 100,000 riyals (USD 27,000), according to the online portal for registrations. The scheme will allow expats to do business without a Saudi sponsor, buy property and sponsor visas for relatives, the website said. Analysts say the programme will largely benefit wealthy Arabs who have lived in Saudi Arabia for years without permanent residency or multinational companies seeking to do long-term business in the kingdom. The move appears aimed at boosting non-oil revenue as the kingdom seeks to diversify its economy. It was approved by the Saudi cabinet last month, but the portal began accepting applications on Sunday. Saudi Arabia is currently home to some 10 million overseas workers, many of whom are subjected to what labour ...
81 ex-prisoners in T'gana secure jobs in various companies
As many as 81 released prisoners from across Telangana have been placed in various jobs including, marketing executive and technicians with salaries ranging from Rs 10,000 to 30,000, through the efforts of state Prisons department. They were part of 129 released prisoners who attended the 'Job Mela-2019' organised by the department Saturday, in which eight companies took part. The others landed jobs as drivers, house-keeping, data entry operators, electricians, helpers and others, a prisons official said. They were recruited with salaries ranging between Rs 10,000 and Rs 30,000 depending on their skills, he said. After the formation of Telangana state in June 2014, the Telangana Prisons department has been implementing innovative schemes and programmes for transforming the lives of inmates such as 'Mahaparivarthan', 'Unnati', Vidhyadanam, skill development, loans to inmates, employment to inmates and After care services, he said. Though, the department has been ...
Chhattisgarh: 3 Divyang accuse Panchayat Secretary of not giving pension money; DM orders probe
Three visually impaired residents of Nagra village of Balrampur have alleged that they were not receiving their 'Divyaang pension' on time and accused Panchayat Secretary Mannauyar Hafni of committing irregularities."We don't have a house under the Awas Yojana. We are also not receiving the disability pension regularly. I don't even have a disability certificate," said Bifan Manjhi, one of the victims.The district administration has not been able to get their bank accounts opened, which is mandatory for the disbursal benefits under the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme.Usha Singh, another victim of administrative apathy, said: "I am not receiving any help from the government. There is no toilet in the washroom which I can access. I only get a pension once in five months. The Panchayat Secretary misbehaves with me when I ask him about the pension."However, District Collector Sanjeev Kumar Jha said: "This is not fair. Pensions should be disbursed timely. I have asked for a report ...
Pakistani brides being abandoned by UK-based families: Report
Hundreds of Pakistani brides brought into the UK to provide families for British Pakistani men are being abandoned back in Pakistan, with many separated from their young children, according to a UK media report. The women come to the UK after arranged marriages in Pakistan and often raise children before their husbands or in-laws tire of them or decide they are no longer of use, The Sunday Times' reported. The women are reportedly tricked into returning to Pakistan for a holiday or to see a sick relative. They are then abruptly divorced and discarded thousands of miles from their children, who grow up being told their mother is dead, mentally ill or chose to desert them. According to research collated from law firms and charities, the newspaper estimates that at least 1,000 cases of Pakistani wives have been abandoned since 2002. The UK Home Office routinely blocks mothers who try to re-enter the country, it found. Most came to the country on a spousal visa, which their husbands can ..
RJD student wing protests against Bihar government over encephalitis deaths
After death toll due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) reached 125 in Bihar on Sunday, members of Rashtriya Janata Dal's (RJD) students wing carried out a protest march against the state government.Amid slogans of "Nitish Kumar Murdabad" and "Mangal Pandey Isteefa Do", the protesting members demanded the immediate resignation of the state's Health Minister, Mangal Pandey.Holding posters and shouting slogans, they marched to Raj Bhavan in the state capital.Blaming NDA government in Bihar, a student representative said, "The condition of public health care has gone extremely bad in Bihar and Nitish-Modi government is majorly responsible for this.""We want Mangal Pandey to take due responsibility of the deaths of children and step down from the post of Health Minister", he further added.The protesters also demanded that a high-level committee be formed and families of all deceased get compensation."If a high-level committee is not formed and no compensation is given to families, we ...
Hinduism as a social category was invented by colonial rulers: Book
Hinduism came into existence after British colonisers "invented" this as a social category for their own "convenience and simplification", claims a new book. The book, "The Truth About Us: The Politics of Information from Manu to Modi", makes an argument that Hinduism was "made up" in India by the colonial rulers at a time when information was scarce and the coloniser's power over it was absolute. "What is now widely accepted as 'Hinduism' was, in fact, an ideology (or more accurately, a theory or fantasy) that is better called 'Brahmanism', which existed largely in textual (not real) form and enunciated the interests of a small, Sanskrit-educated elite," reads the book. Sanjoy Chakravorty, the author of the book, explains it further when he writes that the invention was done by first "elevating selected and convenient Brahmanvadi Sanskrit texts like the Manusmriti to canonical status, and later through the census and its categories". As per the religious data on Census 2011, Hindus ..
BJP's Manoj Tiwari says he received death threat, lodges police complaint
Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari on Sunday said that he has received a death threat through a text message from an anonymous person.The threat read as "I am under extreme compulsion to kill you."The BJP leader claimed that the unidentified person in his threat also said that he would "kill the Prime Minister if needed."After receiving the threat message, Tiwari lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police.He told ANI, "This is true that I received a text, it is not a rumour. We have taken this matter seriously because the threat message has also mentioned killing our Prime Minister. We have complained to the police and they will now look into the matter. A while ago, my house was attacked, some people entered my residence looking for me.
Sena's women workers remove mannequins from Mumbai streets
Activists of the Shiv Sena's women's wing removed illegal mannequins from some streets and shops in Mumbai. The action came after the Shiv Sena-ruled Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation recently asked garment shop owners not to put up mannequins displaying lingerie without the civic body's permission. Around 30 women workers from the Sena's local unit on Saturday marched to some streets in Vile Parle area here and removed such mannequins hanging from trees and placed outside shops. They also asked the shop owners to remove such mannequin busts put up inside their outlets. The Sena workers claimed that such a display of lingerie makes women feel embarrassed. "It could also attract unnecessary attention of children walking on streets," Rajani Mestri, a Sena worker from Vile Parle area, said. The name of a shop is sufficient for any person to know what kind of garments it sells and there is no need to display lingerie openly, another party worker said. The Sena local unit ...
Uighur activist to attend G20 Summit in Japan despite protest by China
Rebiya Kadeer, a prominent Uighur political activist, will join world leaders at the annual G-20 Summit in Osaka, Japan, later this month despite protest by China, the Japan Times reported on Sunday.United States-based Kadeer, who has been issued a visa by Tokyo despite repeated calls from Beijing to not to do so, plans to protest against alleged human rights violations by the Chinese government, the newspaper said.Kadeer's stay also is expected to coincide with that of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who will be attending the Summit.Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), the far-western province of China, is home to around 10 million Muslim-majority Uighurs.Beijing has been criticised for setting up of detention camps in Xinjiang and alleged oppressive treatment of the ethnic group, which the Chinese government has described as "education training centres" to help stamp out "extremism" and provide people new skills.Kadeer, a former president of the World Uighur Congress and current ..
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi calls International Religious Freedom report 'prejudiced'
India's Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Saturday rejected as "prejudiced" the US State Department's report on International Religious Freedom 2018 criticising the BJP government."Religious freedom is in India's DNA and we don't need a certificate from anyone. This report is far from ground realities and prejudiced," Naqvi told ANI.He said religious freedom in India is strong and it is the only country in the world where people from every religion and faith live in a harmonious atmosphere."People from every religion, faith and culture live here with religious fervor," he said.The annual report, released by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday, said that mob attacks, led by violent extremist Hindu groups against the minority communities, particularly Muslims, continued in India in 2018.It alleged that some senior officials of the ruling BJP made inflammatory speeches against the minority communities.The report said that India's Central and State governments as ...
Internal committee probes alleged sexual assault of Uzbek woman by customs officials
An Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) of the customs department is looking into the alleged sexual assault of a Uzbek woman by two customs officials posted at the Delhi airport. The two officials have been suspended by customs authorities. The panel, constituted to probe such matters under the provisions of The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, has started its work, officials said Sunday. The committee, that need to be mandatorily set up in an government organisation which has more than 10 workers for receiving complaints of sexual harassment, will look into charges of assault against two Superintendent of customs and come out with its findings, they said. The panel is headed by a senior-most woman employee at a work place and comprises at least two members from amongst employees preferably committed to the cause of women or who have had experience in social work or have legal knowledge and one member from amongst ...
Upset over divorce, UP man ends his life
A 30-year-old man allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from the ceiling fan at his residence in Khalapar locality here, a year after his divorce, police said on Sunday. The man, Shehzad, was living at his relatives' house and took the extreme step on Saturday, they said. When the relatives received no response after knocking at the door of Shehzad's room, they informed the police. A police team broke open the door and found his body hanging from the ceiling, they said. He was divorced from his wife a year ago and was probably under stress due to which he committed suicide, police said.
Telangana: Man climbs electric pole after police calls him for investigation
In a peculiar but life-threatening act, a man from Telangana climbed an electric pole after the police brought him to Hyderabad's Bachupally area to investigate him pertaining to a case of a missing woman, said Jagdeesh, Circle Inspector, Bachupally on Sunday.The man threatened to commit suicide while hanging from the extra high tension pole. The police managed to deal with the issue and brought him down.The man was later handed over to the Andhra Pradesh police.
Telangana: Public health department accountant caught red-handed taking Rs 20,000 bribe
Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) sleuths on Saturday caught a Senior Accountant of Public Health and Family Welfare, V Sanjeev Kumar, red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 20,000 in his office canteen.Based on a complaint lodged by Dr Baddam Surender Reddy, a retired deputy civil surgeon from Trimulgherry, an ACB team laid a trap at the accused's office in Koti.The officer demanded Rs 20,000 in return for an official favour to process the complainant's pension file.The bribe amount was recovered from the accused's possession. His hands tested positive in a chemical test.Kumar was later produced at the ACB court.
Uddhav Thackeray threatens insurance companies over non-payment of crop claims
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday threatened the insurance companies over the non-payment of farmers' crop claims under the Prime Minister Crop Insurance Scheme."The scam which took place in the insurance scheme is coming out slowly. The people who have taken the money of the poor farmers are not appearing here. Now when it is time to pay the farmers' claims. Their offices are in Mumbai. If the need arises, we will make their shops shut," Thackeray said here.He was speaking at an event organised to launch "Pick Bima Madad" to assist farmers to get their insurance claims.Thackeray also inaugurated a "Pick Bima Madad' centre at Lasur village here under the scheme. The centre will help farmers get their insurance claims.Talking to reporters, the Shiv Sena leader said: "We have got many forms filled for the insurance claims. We will take these forms to the Chief Minister. If the need arises, we will take farmers along with us to the CM.
Naqvi slams Congress for opposing Triple Talaq Bill
Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Saturday slammed the Congress party for opposing Triple Talaq Bill in the Lok Sabha, saying the Bill has nothing to do with religion but wrong practices."Congress leaders obstructed the path to make laws for women's empowerment and security. Triple Talaq has got nothing to do with religion but it pertains to wrong traditions and wrong practices," he told ANI.Citing references of child marriage and Sati system, he said that ending the menace of Triple Talaq is the need of the hour.He said: "To end wrong traditions and wrong practices, this country first ended child marriage, Sati system, and other such practices. So why should this be not done? The Bill will be passed in both the Houses."The controversial Triple Talaq Bill was introduced on Friday in the Lok Sabha amid a huge uproar from the Opposition parties, which are against criminalising the offence.The Opposition raised strong objections at the introduction of the Bill itself. After a brief ..
Man's plan to jump off Navi Mumbai police building foiled
A man Saturday tried to commit suicide from the terrace of the three-storeyed Navi Mumbai police headquarter building but his attempt was foiled by a quick response team (ORT), an official said. Yogesh Tandane is a resident of Beed district and is apparently mentally unstable, the official added. "He left home after a dispute some days ago. He climbed atop the police headquarters in Kalamboli crying out that there was no one for him and that he was good for nothing. When he refused to come down despite appeals, a QRT posse managed to get hold of him and bring him down to safety," he said. A QRT commando suffered injuries in the rescue effort, he said, adding that Tandane has not been charged and is most likely to be send to a rehabilitation centre.
Mob attacks by extremist Hindu groups against minorities continued in India throughout 2018: US
Mob attacks by violent extremist Hindu groups against minority communities, especially Muslims continued throughout the year (2018) amid rumors that victims had traded or killed cows for beef, says a State Department's report.The report titled - India 2018 International Religious Freedom Report -- said the government sometimes failed to act on mob attacks on religious minorities, marginalised communities, and critics of the government."Some senior officials of the Hindu-majority Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made inflammatory speeches against minority communities," reads the report.The report contends that at least 24 States in the country apply partial to full restrictions on bovine slaughter."The ban mostly affects Muslims and members of other Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. In the majority of the 24 States where bovine slaughter is banned, punishments include imprisonment for six months to two years and a fine of 1,000 to 10,000 rupees."The reports claimed that there is ...