Junior doctors in India’s eastern city of Kolkata on Monday called off a 17-day-old hunger strike launched in protest against the rape and murder of a colleague, in response to an appeal by the victim’s parents.
Protesters also met the chief minister of the opposition-led state, which has drawn scrutiny for its handling of sex crimes, to press their demand for better security and conditions at government hospitals, as well as justice for the woman.
A police volunteer was arrested for the crime, which sparked nationwide protests in August and last month, after the woman’s body was found at the city’s R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital on Aug. 9.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“They [the victim’s parents] expressed their worries about the fasting junior doctors’ health, as well as the defunct healthcare services that must have affected hundreds of ordinary citizens,” said Debasish Halder, a spokesman for the doctors.
Some strike participants suffered severe dehydration and had to be admitted to hospital.
The doctors said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee agreed to most of their demands when she met them on Monday.
“Our movement for justice and a healthy, secure healthcare system will continue,” Halder said, adding that the doctors would track the progress of her assurances and orders for change.
Government hospitals across India lack basic amenities such as restrooms for doctors, security personnel and closed circuit television cameras, doctors say.
The Indian Supreme Court also took up the matter, but junior doctors say its efforts have not been sufficient to ensure justice.
India adopted tougher laws to protect women after the horrific gang rape and murder of a woman in the capital, New Delhi, in 2012, but activists say women are still prey to sexual violence.
Russia and Ukraine have exchanged prisoners of war in the latest such swap that saw the release of hundreds of captives and was brokered with the help of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), officials said on Monday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that 189 Ukrainian prisoners, including military personnel, border guards and national guards — along with two civilians — were freed. He thanked the UAE for helping negotiate the exchange. The Russian Ministry of Defense said that 150 Russian troops were freed from captivity as part of the exchange in which each side released 150 people. The reason for the discrepancy in numbers
A shark attack off Egypt’s Red Sea coast killed a tourist and injured another, authorities said on Sunday, with an Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs source identifying both as Italian nationals. “Two foreigners were attacked by a shark in the northern Marsa Alam area, which led to the injury of one and the death of the other,” the Egyptian Ministry of Environment said in a statement. A source at the Italian foreign ministry said that the man killed was a 48-year-old resident of Rome. The injured man was 69 years old. They were both taken to hospital in Port Ghalib, about 50km north
‘MAGA CIVIL WAR’: Former Trump strategist Bannon said the H1-B program created ‘indentured servants,’ but Musk said that he was willing ‘to go to war on this issue’ US president-elect Donald Trump on Saturday weighed in on a bitter debate dividing his traditional supporters and tech barons such as Elon Musk, saying that he backs a special visa program that helps highly skilled workers enter the country. “I’ve always liked the [H1-B] visas, I have always been in favor of the visas, that’s why we have them” at Trump-owned facilities, he told the New York Post in his first public comments on the matter since it flared up this week. An angry back-and-forth, largely between Silicon Valley’s Musk and traditional anti-immigration Trump backers, has erupted in fiery fashion, with Musk
The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Poland on Tuesday expressed concern about “the political crisis” in Georgia, two days after Mikheil Kavelashvili was formally inaugurated as president of the South Caucasus nation, cementing the ruling party’s grip in what the opposition calls a blow to the country’s EU aspirations and a victory for former imperial ruler Russia. “We strongly condemn last week’s violence against peaceful protesters, media and opposition leaders, and recall Georgian authorities’ responsibility to respect human rights and protect fundamental freedoms, including the freedom to assembly and media freedom,” the three ministers wrote in a joint statement. In reaction
RSS