Indians stranded in Saudi Arabia: All you need to know about the issue

Indians stranded in Saudi Arabia: All you need to know about the issue

Nearly 10,000 Indians stuck in Saudi Arabia are set to be evacuated and provided with food in the meanwhile, Sushma Swaraj, External Affairs Minister, informed the Parliament on Monday.

Minister of State, VK Singh, will be travelling to Saudi Arabia soon to oversee the operation, which involves airlifting people.

The minister was making a statement in the House after other members of Parliament (MPs) raised concerns over the plight of workers there.

Here’s a gist of the entire issue and the Centre’s issue to provide relief to such workers.

What is the issue?

The Saudi government was forced to cut its spending last year on the back of plummeting oil prices As a result, it created pressure on the financials of local construction companies. Such firms employ foreign workers and rely on state contracts. The resultant strain on the firms led to nearly 10,000 workers being laid off, and left them with no money to even eat food. More than 2,500 Indians are said to be living in labour camps with no food for the past 10 days.

Are Indian migrant workers treated well in normal circumstances?

No. Wrongful treatment by the employer is an open secret about these nations. Such workers, sometimes, are detained even after their work documents expire. They are usually paid very less or no salary for months together. The crux of the problem is the ‘kafala’ system. Under the system, migrant workers’ visas are tied to the employers so that they cannot change jobs without the consent of their employers, Human Rights Watch says. (more)

Who is Irom Sharmila? Ten things to know

Who is Irom Sharmila? Ten things to know

Fifteen years after civil rights activist, Irom Sharmila, began a fast seeking the repeal of AFSPA, she is set to end it on August 9. She also announced her decision to fight elections as an independent candidate in the Manipur polls, early next year.

“I will end my fast on August 9 and contest elections on an independent ticket," Sharmila said. She had just come out of a local court after attending a trial for attempting suicide.

Business Standard lists out ten things to know about the Iron Lady of Manipur.

How did it all start?

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'Pakistan group uses disfigured celebrity faces to campaign against use of pellet guns in Kashmir'

'Pakistan group uses disfigured celebrity faces to campaign against use of pellet guns in Kashmir'

Pellet guns were first introduced to Jammu and Kashmir police in 2010 during Omar Abdullah government. The use of such guns, however, has shot to the forefront after protests against the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani saw the use pellets for crowd control. (more)

Pune businessman who became famous for 'gold shirt' murdered

Pune businessman who became famous for 'gold shirt' murdered

A 48-year-old businessman from Pune, who shot into the limelight after buying a 'gold shirt' worth over Rs one crore some years back, was allegedly bludgeoned to death in front of his son, police said today.

Datta Phuge, the businessman from the industrial township of Pimpri-Chinchwad in the district, had become the talk of the town after he presented himself a 'gold shirt' weighing about 3.5 kg and worth Rs 1.27 crore in 2012.

At least 12 persons attacked Phuge at an open ground in Dighi area here at around 11.30 PM last night with stones and a sharp weapon, killing him on the spot.

"As per preliminary information, Phuge and his son were invited by one of the suspects, who know each other, to celebrate a birthday. However, we are investigating how Datta Phugereached the open ground where he was murdered," Dighi police station inspector Navnath Ghogare said.

Phuge's 22-year-old son, who too had reached the spot following a similar 'birthday' invitation and witnessed his father's murder, was spared by the attackers, police said. Read More

Kashmir gets out of hand

Kashmir gets out of hand

Funerals of militants have become a public expression of rage and alienation in Kashmir. While the Union home ministry’s official estimate for the number of militants in the Valley is now a little less than 200, against over 3,500 in the 1990s, the army and paramilitary report an unprecedented rise in local support to insurgency.

This is manifested in efforts by villagers to hamper counter-insurgency operations in the Valley, including by women. Army units have been reporting efforts to snatch weapons, something unprecedented. Earlier north Kashmir Valley used to be the centre of insurgent activity. It is now south Kashmir.

Militants, dead and alive, are present in public consciousness everywhere. Burhan Lions, Aabid Khan Qalandars and Khalid Aryans were the names of cricket teams that played IPL-type matches in south Kashmir this April. These teams were named after militants from the region killed in army action. The cricket matches went ahead as scheduled and neither the police or army tried to disrupt an activity that glorified slain militants. Read More

Indian worker in Australia tells court his pro-ISIS post was 'sarcastic'

Indian worker in Australia tells court his pro-ISIS post was 'sarcastic'

An Indian-origin aviation worker in Australia who was sacked last year for posting pro-Islamic State messages on Facebook has told a court that his comments were "sarcastic".

Nirmal Singh was facing the 'Fair Work Commission' to argue that his dismissal was 'unfair' by his previous employer Aerocare and was seeking $7,000 in lost wages.

The Commission heard Singh had written "We All Support ISIS" above a shared post from HT (Hizb ut-Tahrir) Australia about the shooting of police account Curtis Cheng by Islamic youth Farhad Khalil Mohammad Jabar in Sydney.

There were five posts in total that concerned Aerocare, two of which included pictures of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

Under cross-examination by solicitor Stephen Hughes for Aerocare, Singh said he made the posts on Facebook under a different name and believed he was conversing with a "secret group". Read More

KFC, Pizza Hut, Domino's, McDonald's outlets selling toxic breads: CSE study

KFC, Pizza Hut, Domino's, McDonald's outlets selling toxic breads: CSE study

Major multinational fast food outlets — KFC, Pizza Hut, Domino’s, Subway and McDonald’s — are selling pizzas and burgers made of breads laced with toxins such as potassium bromate and potassium iodate, says the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).

“Except Domino’s, others have denied use (of these chemicals) in a response to CSE,” went its press statement on the study, limited to the geographical area of Delhi. Domino's did not respond to the CSE queries Potassium bromate is a Category 2B carcinogen, meaning it can cause cancer. Potassium iodate could trigger thyroid disorders.

According to a Press Trust of India (PTI) report, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India said it had decided to remove potassium bromate from the list of permitted additives, while it was examining evidence against potassium iodate before restricting its use.

CSE had urged the food regulator to ban the use of the two chemicals with immediate effect.

Bread products of Perfect Bread, Harvest Gold and Britannia were also found with a high amount of these two toxic breads, CSE said. Unlike in this country, the use of these chemicals in the bread-making sector has been banned in many countries for being hazardous to public health. Read More

Assam: How BJP learnt from past mistakes and Rahul Gandhi let it slip

Assam: How BJP learnt from past mistakes and Rahul Gandhi let it slip

In Assam, the Congress might blame its defeat on a 15-year anti-incumbency. However, it was worsted as much by the effective strategy of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the nonchalance of its Vice President Rahul Gandhi in retaining talent.

A more audacious leader could have tried harder to keep Himanta Biswa Sarma and his group of rebel legislators in the party. After he quit the Congress last year, Sarma bitterly spoke about how Rahul Gandhi would show more interest in petting his dog than focus on the discussion at hand when Sarma met him over several meetings in 2014-15.

In contrast, the BJP leadership had an eye on the Assam Assembly polls ever since it won seven of the 14 seats and 37 per cent vote share in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. BJP chief Amit Shah underlined the importance of the victory on Thursday. He said it was a huge achievement for the party as Assam is a border state, hinting at the over 30 per cent minority population in the state. “A BJP government in Assam is as surprising for some people as our government in Jammu and Kashmir,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.Read more.

4000 people rendered homeless due to flood in Tripura

4000 people rendered homeless due to flood in Tripura

Around 4,000 people from 800 families were rendered homeless due to flood at Dharmanagar, the headquarters of North Tripura district, while the arterial Assam-Agartala National Highway remained water logged cutting the state off from the rest of the country.

Due to incessant rain since Tuesday night, entire Dharmanagar town and its periphery were waterlogged and 4000 people took shelter in five relief camps, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Pradip Acharya told reporters.

He said 10 boats were pressed into service to rescue the people in the affected areas and added that the water had started receding.

Acharya said neighbouring Karimganj district in Assam was also affected by the flood and no vehicles could enter Dharmanagar from that side since yesterday and no long-distance buses plied from Dharmanagar.

Tripura was cut-off from the rest of the country as the Assam-Agartala National highway, considered to be the life line of the state, was blocked due to flood.

Meanwhile, two labourers engaged in MGNREGA works at Krishnabari village of Khowai district died in incident of lightning yesterday, a police official said.

They were identified as Bipul Debbarma (19) and Basana Debbarma (42), the officer added.

Are we moving to a cashless society?

Many consumers in metros have seen their cash transactions go down significantly because of growing e-commerce, expansion of mobile wallets and online banking.

This is only the start of a march towards becoming a cashless society. Things are expected to change dramatically in a few years for urban consumers. Many entities are working on different electronic payment mechanisms that can usher in a digital payment revolution.

Wallet companies are aggressively tying up with retailers to let customers use mobile payments. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), a company promoted by banks, is working on a mechanism that will allow consumers to transfer money and make payments almost as easily as they send a text message.Read More

World T20: Confident India commence title bid with New Zealand game

The superb build-up run has made India the clear favourites for an unprecedented second World Twenty20 title but the in-form hosts will have to guard against complacency when they take on a spirited New Zealand in their campaign opener here tomorrow. Click Here

**Samsung kicks off price war in premium phone segment**

Consumers looking to buy premium smartphones - priced at Rs 30,000 or more - are in for good times, as a price war seems to have erupted in the segment.

Last week, the largest smartphone maker in the world, Samsung, launched its flagship Galaxy S7 and S7 edge for Rs 48,900 and Rs 56,900, respectively. Read More

Flipkart in talks to raise $1 bn to expand business: Report

India's largest e-commerce marketplace Flipkart is said to be in the market to raise as much as $1 billion, but at a valuation lower than its peak of $15.2 billion. The company is looking for investments to expand its business and ward off attacks from well-funded rivals Snapdeal and Amazon. Read More

Uber turns to Bengaluru's tech talent to beat Ola

San Francisco-based ride hailing company Uber was forced to develop a mechanism for accepting cash payments from customers in India, given the extremely low penetration of credit cards in the country. Seen as an inconvenience at first, the company has exported the solution to other emerging markets such as Vietnam and Indonesia.

To mine the country for more such innovations to grow both locally and globally, Uber has picked Bengaluru to open its first engineering centre in Asia.

The city is home to India’s largest pool of tech talent and also to rival taxi-hailing service Ola. Read More

Tech Mahindra pulls out of race to acquire Mphasis

Tech Mahindra has decided to pull out of the race for Mphasis to avoid a bidding war with other suitors.

“Tech Mahindra is no longer contesting to acquire Mphasis,” sources privy to the development told Business Standard. A company spokesperson declined to comment on the matter.

Read Full Article Over Here: Tech Mahindra