Monday, July 7, 2008
Police clash with thousands of Kashmiri protestors, angry at transfer of land
Thousands of Muslim protesters angry at transfer of land to a Hindu shrine trust in Kashmir rioted with police and shut down the region for the eighth day on June 30, even after authorities said the decision would be revoked.
In some of the biggest protests since a separatist revolt broke out in 1989, Kashmiris protested the transfer of about 100 acres to a Hindu trust to erect temporary shelters for thousands of Hindu pilgrims annually trekking to a mountain shrine.
They said the move was a conspiracy to change the demography of mainly Hindu India's only Muslim-majority state.
A week of protests, in which four people were shot dead by police, led the state government to say the land move would be revoked. But protesters say they would not stop until they saw the written order.
"I appeal to people to continue peaceful protests till government revokes the order," Kashmir's senior hard line separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani said before leading a protest in downtown Srinagar.
Shops, businesses, schools and government offices remained closed across the Kashmir valley, police said.
Ghulam Nabi Azad, the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, has not given a time frame for revoking the decision.
But Hindus in Jammu, the winter capital of Kashmir where Hindus are in a majority, protested the government's "back down" and carried out a strike.
To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
In some of the biggest protests since a separatist revolt broke out in 1989, Kashmiris protested the transfer of about 100 acres to a Hindu trust to erect temporary shelters for thousands of Hindu pilgrims annually trekking to a mountain shrine.
They said the move was a conspiracy to change the demography of mainly Hindu India's only Muslim-majority state.
A week of protests, in which four people were shot dead by police, led the state government to say the land move would be revoked. But protesters say they would not stop until they saw the written order.
"I appeal to people to continue peaceful protests till government revokes the order," Kashmir's senior hard line separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani said before leading a protest in downtown Srinagar.
Shops, businesses, schools and government offices remained closed across the Kashmir valley, police said.
Ghulam Nabi Azad, the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, has not given a time frame for revoking the decision.
But Hindus in Jammu, the winter capital of Kashmir where Hindus are in a majority, protested the government's "back down" and carried out a strike.
To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Labels: angry, clash, Ghulam Nabi Azad, government, Hindu shrine trust, Jammu and Kashmir, Kashmiri Muslims, Kashmiri protestors, majority, people, pilgrims, Police, Srinagar, transfer of land
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Tuberculosis killed 1.7 million globally in 2006, World Health Organization says
The rate of tuberculosis incidence fell slightly worldwide for a second straight year in 2006, but there were still 9.2 million new cases and the disease killed 1.7 million people, the UN health agency said a few months back.
The rate decline of 0.6 percent in 2006 compared to 2005 was so modest that the increase in the world's population meant there were actually more TB cases globally, the World Health Organization said in its annual report on tuberculosis.
And WHO officials cited worrisome trends suggesting that recent progress was stalling, while saying more money is needed to fight TB, which trails only AIDS as the world's leading killer among infectious diseases.
By region, Africa had the highest TB rates while Asia had the most cases. By nation, India had the most cases, followed by China, Indonesia, South Africa and Nigeria, according to the report based on data from 202 countries and territories.
"We're really in a very uncertain situation, so I don't feel happy at all, actually, that it is really getting controlled," Dr. Mario Raviglione, who heads WHO efforts against TB, told reporters in a conference call.
"The major concern is that there is a slowdown here, rather than an acceleration, in TB control efforts," Raviglione said.
To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
The rate decline of 0.6 percent in 2006 compared to 2005 was so modest that the increase in the world's population meant there were actually more TB cases globally, the World Health Organization said in its annual report on tuberculosis.
And WHO officials cited worrisome trends suggesting that recent progress was stalling, while saying more money is needed to fight TB, which trails only AIDS as the world's leading killer among infectious diseases.
By region, Africa had the highest TB rates while Asia had the most cases. By nation, India had the most cases, followed by China, Indonesia, South Africa and Nigeria, according to the report based on data from 202 countries and territories.
"We're really in a very uncertain situation, so I don't feel happy at all, actually, that it is really getting controlled," Dr. Mario Raviglione, who heads WHO efforts against TB, told reporters in a conference call.
"The major concern is that there is a slowdown here, rather than an acceleration, in TB control efforts," Raviglione said.
To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Labels: Asia, China, efforts, highest TB rates, Indonesia, infectious diseases, people, ple, South Africa, tuberculosis, WHO
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Self-help groups and micro-credit, pathway to poverty eradication
It was a life-long passion verging on obsession for uplifting the disadvantaged and down trodden that drove two siblings to volunteer with an NGO associated with the United Nations. Rajyashree and Shomik Chaudhuri, born into privilege and brought up with the best of education in Kolkata, India, volunteered time and resources to run programs to benefit the underprivileged in the city.
Over the years they saw the results of conflicting interests of other representatives that clogged the flow of resources to the ultimate beneficiaries that retarded development. As a source of a major inspiration was Shomik's selection to represent the United Nations System in India to the World Summit for Social Development at Copenhagen, Denmark in 1995. Being the youngest person in history to represent the U.N. at a World Summit, Shomik's experience and interactions open another dimension to what true development can create.
The siblings formed their own NGO with other like-minded people under section 25 of the Indian Companies Act in 1996, making it a public limited company equivalent but nonprofit in nature. That way, they believed, the organization would be transparent and the service rendered professionally inspired.
The founding members of the Institute also believed that human or moral values were the foundation of any sustainable, holistic development. To create a benchmark in that regard, the Institute organized the 'First International Conference on Values for a Better World' soon after its formation. It had the presence of a galaxy of eminent personalities including Dr. Robert Mueller, former Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations and presently the Chancellor of University of Peace, Costa Rica.
To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Over the years they saw the results of conflicting interests of other representatives that clogged the flow of resources to the ultimate beneficiaries that retarded development. As a source of a major inspiration was Shomik's selection to represent the United Nations System in India to the World Summit for Social Development at Copenhagen, Denmark in 1995. Being the youngest person in history to represent the U.N. at a World Summit, Shomik's experience and interactions open another dimension to what true development can create.
The siblings formed their own NGO with other like-minded people under section 25 of the Indian Companies Act in 1996, making it a public limited company equivalent but nonprofit in nature. That way, they believed, the organization would be transparent and the service rendered professionally inspired.
The founding members of the Institute also believed that human or moral values were the foundation of any sustainable, holistic development. To create a benchmark in that regard, the Institute organized the 'First International Conference on Values for a Better World' soon after its formation. It had the presence of a galaxy of eminent personalities including Dr. Robert Mueller, former Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations and presently the Chancellor of University of Peace, Costa Rica.
To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Labels: education, groups, india, kolkata, micro-credit; pathway, NGO, people, poverty eradication, United Nations, World Summit
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