For his 16-year-old daughter’s wedding last year, Makhanlal Ahirwal bought Bhawani saris, bangles and anklets, got her in-laws a water cooler, a bed, and utensils as dowry and threw a feast for 500 people in his village in central India. The celebrations added 200,000 rupees ($2,800) to an unpaid debt of about 100,000 rupees that he’d already taken on for the wedding of another daughter. To repay the original debt he had traveled 800 kilometers (497 miles) to Delhi the previous year, where he was lured by a promise of good pay at a construction site. Instead, he was held against his will and denied wages and food for three months before he was rescued. His experience is not uncommon in India, which is home to 8 million of a global estimated total of 40 million slaves - and where many poor families take out loans to cover marriages and then fall into modern slavery while trying to repay the money. "I worked over 12 hours and lived in a tent, but wasn’t paid a penny," … [Read more...] about Wedded to debt: Fathers of Indian child brides trapped in bondage
Uncommon indian girl names
Indian festival of lights to be celebrated in Hanoi
One of the biggest Indian festivals – Diwali – will be celebrated at the JW Marriot Hotel on November 24. Yoga Master Bharat from India will perform at the Diwali Festival.-Photo courtesy of Incham Dubbed “the festival of lights,” the event will be organised by the Indian Business Chamber in Viet Nam (INCHAM) along with the Indian community. Diwali or Deepavali celebrates the victory of good over evil and light over darkness as told in the ancient epic - the Ramayana, which narrates the struggle of the divine prince Rama as he rescues his wife Sita from the demon king Ravana. It has major religious significance for Indian religious groups including Hindus, Sikhs and Jains ¬– not only in India, but also for Indians living abroad. In the western calendar, Diwali falls in the month of either October or November every year, just after the monsoon season in India. The exact date varies and is calculated based on the Hindu Luni Solar calendars. … [Read more...] about Indian festival of lights to be celebrated in Hanoi
Indian festival of lights to be celebrated in Hà Nội
Yoga Master Bharat from India will perform at the Diwali Festival. — Photo courtesy of InchamViet Nam News HÀ NỘI — One of the biggest Indian festivals – Diwali – will be celebrated at the JW Marriot Hotel on November 24. Dubbed “the festival of lights,” the event will be organised by the Indian Business Chamber in Việt Nam (INCHAM) along with the Indian community. Diwali or Deepavali celebrates the victory of good over evil and light over darkness as told in the ancient epic - the Ramayana, which narrates the struggle of the divine prince Rama as he rescues his wife Sita from the demon king Ravana. It has major religious significance for Indian religious groups including Hindus, Sikhs and Jains – not only in India, but also for Indians living abroad. In the western calendar, Diwali falls in the month of either October or November every year, just after the monsoon season in India. The exact date varies and is … [Read more...] about Indian festival of lights to be celebrated in Hà Nội
Thai girl named world’s drone racing champ
Wanraya Wannapong (centre) with her first-place cheque after winning the women's event at the FAI World Drone Racing Champion in Shenzhen, China (Source: Federation Aeronautique Internationale) Bangkok (NNT/VNA) – An 11-year-old girl from Thailand has won an international drone racing competition in China, taking home about 260,000 baht. According to reports, Wanraya Wannapong aged 11, a contestant from Thailand claimed the women’s title at the 2018 FAI World Drone Racing Championships, which took place in Shenzhen, China earlier this month. A total of 71 contestants from around the world participated in the women’s category of the event. In the final round, Wanraya’s drone came in first, beating those of her 12 rivals. The Thai winner was awarded a trophy and a cash prize of 8,000 US dollars or approximately 260,000 baht. In the men’s race, first place went to 15-year-old Rudi Browning from Australia. – … [Read more...] about Thai girl named world’s drone racing champ
German tourist saves Vietnamese 7-year-old girl at midnight
At dawn of June 11, Hoa Hiep Nam Border Guards received the girl named N.T.Q.A (7 year old) from Kainz (20 years old, a German citizen who was travelling in Vietnam for tourism). According to Major Do Trong Dai, head of the Hoa Hiep Border Guard Station, Kainz informed him that he caught the girl at midnight of June 10 while riding on a motorbike on the road from Da Lat City (Lam Dong Province) to Quy Nhon City (Binh Dinh Province). At that time he saw the girl alone running and crying on the No 1 National road at Ca pass. Kainz then stopped to pick up the girl and intended to go to the nearest police station for help. Kainz had to block many automobiles on the road, as he could not speak Vietnamese, he had to use the "Google Translate" app on the smart phone to tell a driver go to the nearest police station. . Then, the driver carrying seafood in Dong Hoa district agreed to help Kainz to take the girl to the fishing port and hand over to the … [Read more...] about German tourist saves Vietnamese 7-year-old girl at midnight
Vietnamese singer detained over girl’s death after ‘exorcism’
Police in Hanoi have arrested a pop singer for a criminal investigation into the death of a 20-year-old girl whom he allegedly killed in an ‘exorcism’ ritual while both were under the influence of narcotics. The 40-year-old singer Chau Viet Cuong, whose real name is Nguyen Viet Cuong, told police he had arrived at a friend’s house in Ba Dinh District at around 3:30 am on Monday for a party. Joining him was his friend Doan Quy Nguyen, who is also a singer going by the stage name of Nam Khang, and two girls H. and A, both in their early twenties. The group reportedly consumed narcotics over the night, which led Cuong to start having hallucinations at around 8:00 am. Convinced that H. was possessed by an ‘evil spirit,’ Cuong went to buy a large amount of fresh garlic for ‘exorcism.’ After scattering garlic around the house, Cuong and H. started putting garlic cloves into their mouths. Cuong reportedly held H. down by one hand and … [Read more...] about Vietnamese singer detained over girl’s death after ‘exorcism’
‘105 girls missing’ in NE Nigeria after Boko Haram school attack
Hassana Mohammed, 13, seen outside her Dapchi home, scaled a fence to escape an alleged Boko Haram attack on her technical college which left more than 100 girls reported missing. (Photo: AFP/Aminu Abubakar) But locals in the remote town of Dapchi, in Yobe state, said they had been left vulnerable to attack because soldiers had been withdrawn in the last few weeks. Nigeria's government has been scrambling to contain a growing crisis that has revived memories of the 2014 mass abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls from Chibok that shocked the world. The attack has also raised questions about the military's repeated claims that the Islamist militants are on the verge of defeat, after nearly nine years of bitter fighting. Terrified pupils fled the boarding school on Monday night when heavily armed fighters in military fatigues and turbans stormed the town, shouting "Allahu Akbar" ("God is greatest"). The authorities initially denied that any student had been kidnapped but fears have … [Read more...] about ‘105 girls missing’ in NE Nigeria after Boko Haram school attack
Gov’t chief greets Indian leading CEOs
PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc hosts receptions for top executives of several leading Indian businesses, namely Tata, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), ONGC, and vDoIT, New Delhi, January 24, 2018 - Photo: VGP/Quang Hieu The enterprises have had cooperative projects in Viet Nam and hope to broaden operation in the country.At the receptions, PM Phuc stressed that the bilateral ties have flourished especially in economics, trade, and investment. Receiving Managing Director of Tata Power Anil Sardana, PM Phuc said the Vietnamese Government will create favorable conditions for the two countries’ enterprises to bring investment and business activities on par with the sound political and diplomatic ties. He asked Tata to increase investment in Viet Nam on the basis of Vietnam’s legal regulations on environmental protection. Sardana affirmed his group’s commitment to expanding production and business projects in Viet Nam in a long-term and … [Read more...] about Gov’t chief greets Indian leading CEOs
At Saigon orphanage, babies are left with no names and lots of questions
It was a cold winter night and the stray dogs were barking endlessly. It wasn't unusual for the dogs in this rural village on the outskirts of Saigon to be noisy, but there was something about their tone that night that prompted a guard to go and check. He flashed his torch at the window of a nearby orphanage and spotted a small plastic basket. Inside was a screaming baby, a little bit bigger than an ear of corn and wrapped in an old towel. The umbilical cord was still hanging from her belly, and she was bruised, wrinkled and cold. The watchful guard quickly woke the staff inside the house, and they attempted to warm the tiny baby up by hugging and massaging her, but to no avail. Eventually, they had to drive the baby more than 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) to a major hospital, where she was treated for pneumonia. She’s a healthy two-year-old now, and lives with more than 60 other children who have been left at the orphanage over the past seven years. The orphanage is named … [Read more...] about At Saigon orphanage, babies are left with no names and lots of questions
Finding their voice, trafficked Indian girls testify against abusers
This year, Pinki, the lead singer of a rock band in southern India, wants to learn to play the guitar. She wants to "strum the guitar like a boy" on stage and use music to forget her journey from a brothel to the band that is hired to perform at weddings and parties, the 19-year-old said. Her new year's resolution comes a year after an Indian court convicted 40 people of buying and selling girls in the southern state of Karnataka - among them Pinki's own abusers. Thanks to her testimony, the woman who trafficked her from her home into prostitution and the man who owned the brothel in the town of Ballari where she worked for eight months before she was rescued were found guilty. "They should have got life instead of the 10 years imprisonment," she said, sitting on her bed, guitar in hand and a teddy bear beside her, in her village home in Andhra Pradesh. "But I don't want to think about it. I want to think about music instead and my boyfriend, who I hope to marry later this year." A … [Read more...] about Finding their voice, trafficked Indian girls testify against abusers