Friday, July 12, 2013

Ireland enacts legislation for abortion in limited cases

Posted on July 12, 2013 by sagarmedia

Ireland’s Parliament has decided landmark legislation to allow abortion in certain cases when the mother’s life is at risk.

Ireland’s coalition party won the motion by 127 to 31 votes, in spite of the massive protests held by anti-abortion groups across the conservative Catholic country, path-breaking legislation comes in the wake of the death of Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar due to Sepsis in an Irish hospital.

Halappanavar died after a miscarriage, days after her requests for an abortion had been denied repeatedly by hospital authorities.

CAIT HAILS REPEALING OF DELHI RENT ACT BY UNION CABINET TODAY

DEMANDED FORMATION OF EXPERT PANEL FOR FARMING NEW RENT LAW

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), apex body of the business community hai hailed the decision of the Union Cabinet to repeal the Delhi Rent Act, 1995 today and termed it as a wise step of the Union Government to protect distributive character of trade of Delhi. “Since last eighteen years we were fighting against the provisions of Delhi Rent Act 1995 and were demanding amendments to protect traders and tenants from eviction of their current business place on frivolous ground of “Bonafide Need” . It is a long battle and ultimately saner counsel prevail upon the Government and realising the ground realties; the Act has been repealed.-said CAIT National Secretary General Mr. Praveen Khandelwal while addressing a Press Conference today at New Delhi.

The CAIT has complimented Union Urban Development Minister Shri kamal Nath, Law Minister Shri Kapil Sibal, Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Smt. Sushma Swaraj and in Rajya Sabha Shri Arun Jaitley and Delhi Chief Minister Smt. Shiela Dikshit for their efforts in get the Act repealed and removing the hanging sword on tenants of Delhi.

It is remembered that CAIT, Delhi Rajya Vyapar Sangthan, Federation of Delhi Trade Association, Delhi Tenants Association, Tenants and Landlords Forum of Delhi, Forum of Social and Economic Justice and Traders and Tenants Association of Delhi were struggling since 1995.

Mr. Khandelwal further demanded the Government to set up an “Expert Panel” consisting of Senior Government Officials and representatives of Traders, Tenants and Landlords to frame a balanced act to protect the interests of traders, tenants and landlords based on some amicable formula. The issue needs to be debated and legislated in a broader perspective. He has also demanded that like Rent Act in Maharashtra and West Bengal, there should be cut off date in Rent Act and a foolproof provision by which the rent may be increased in proportion to price index so that landlords must not be at receiving end.

There are about 10 lakh traders in Delhi out of which about 5 lakh traders are conducting their business on rental properties and these 5 lakh traders provide livelihood to more than 20 lakh people in Delhi. Therefore, the Rent Act in Delhi assumes much significance as it will have wider impact on large number of people .

Mr. Khandelwal dismissed the argument of blaming the traders for paying a lower rent as he said that post independence Delhi was mainly comprised of leasehold properties which could not be divided and sold in parts. To overcome this restriction and to dispose of the property in parts, a practice evolved whereby “Pugree” or “Key Money” which was equivalent to the then market price of the property was paid by the tenant to the landlord, making the tenant a defacto owner of the premises. A nominal amount was fixed as rent of the premises with the understanding that the premises could not be got vacated especially under the then prevailing rent act. Whenever a tenancy changed hands, “Pugree” was paid by the new tenant and the landlord. The concept of “Pugree” has been acknowledged by not only the landlords and the tenants, but the Courts and the legislature as well. In the year 1988, the then Government while taking cognizance of the report of economic Administration Reforms Commission and National Commission on Urbanization, amended the Rent Act provided a clause of a 10% increase in rent every three years.

US sends $553 million to Assad top arms supplier

Dear Naresh:

The Pentagon is giving Syria’s top arms supplier $553 million. Why? To buy thirty Mi-17 helicopters for Afghan forces who can neither fly nor maintain them.

I didn’t think this deal made sense either.

This arms sale not only wastes American taxpayers’ money, it goes against American values of freedom and democracy by benefiting the same Russian state arms dealer that has enabled Assad to slaughter Syrian civilians.

Urge Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to help end the human rights catastrophe in Syria by canceling the contract with Rosoboronexport. A bipartisan group of nine U.S. Senators have already demanded this action, but so far, the Pentagon isn’t listening.

President Obama said that stopping mass atrocities is not just a “core moral responsibility” of the United States but also a “core national security interest." This manifestly applies to Syria. Congress agrees. It passed a 2013 defense budget bill that bans U.S. ties to Rosoboronrexport.

Yet even after the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction concluded that the arms sale is unnecessary and that Afghan forces are not ready or equipped to fly and maintain the Mi-17s, the Pentagon went through with its purchase.

In a time of fiscal austerity and a deepening crisis in Syria, the Pentagon should not be wasting money on an unnecessary arms sale from the same Russian arms dealer whose weapons have helped enable the murder of tens of thousands of Syrians.

If the United States wants to halt atrocities in Syria, it must isolate, pressure, and disrupt the enablers of mass atrocity. We can start by urging Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to cancel this arms sale with Rosoboronexport.

Sincerely,

Sadia Hameed
Human Rights First