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Deccan Herald
3 days ago
- Science
- Deccan Herald
Women-led initiative from India wins prestigious UN award
A women-led initiative from India is among the winners of a prestigious United Nations award that honours nature-based solutions led by indigenous peoples and local communities aimed at promoting sustainable development and ecological resilience. The Bibifathima Swa Sahaya Sangha (Bibifathima Self Help Group) is among the 10 winners of the Equator Prize 2025 announced by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Friday. Founded in Karnataka, the Bibifathima Self Help Group is a women-led initiative that supports over 5,000 farmers across 30 villages through millet-based multi-cropping, seed banks, and solar-powered processing. "Combining traditional knowledge with regenerative agriculture and renewable energy, it restores biodiversity, boosts food security, and empowers marginalised women and youth as agripreneurs, advancing climate resilience and equity,' UNDP said in a statement. UNDP, through its Equator Initiative, announced the winners of the Equator Prize 2025 on the occasion of International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. This year's winners are from Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Papua New Guinea, Peru, and Tanzania and showcase the power of nature-based solutions led by communities on the frontlines of climate change.
New Indian Express
3 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Muthuva Sanghamam marks largest gathering since revival of tribal collective
IDUKKI: For decades, the Muthuvan tribal community, spread across the forested high ranges of Idukki, Thrissur, Ernakulam, Palakkad, and the Kerala–Tamil Nadu border, had the will to demand their rights but allegedly lacked a collective voice. That changed in 2024 with the revival of the Muthuvan Adivasi Samudaya Sangham, an organisation now uniting hundreds of settlements under one banner to protect their culture, secure their rights, and push for development. The impact of that revival was on full display at Muthuva Sanghamam 2025, a three-day gathering at Chembakathozhukudi in Chinnakkanal that concluded on Sunday. Around 3,000 Muthuvans from nearly 140 settlements came together in what leaders call the biggest event since the Sangham's rebirth, timed to mark the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. 'This event shows what unity can achieve,' said C. Rajendran, district panchayat member and state committee member of the Sangham. 'Our aim is to make our people aware of their rights and uphold our traditions. We have been treated as mere vote banks for too long. That will change,' he said.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Breaking News Live Updates: "Will not allow second partition of Ukraine": Zelenskyy ahead of Trump-Putin meet in Alaska
10 Aug 2025 | 06:41:17 AM IST Breaking News Live Updates: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Ukraine will not allow "a second attempt to partition" the country, stressing that peace must come through a "just end to the war" rather than territorial concessions to Russia. Breaking News Live Updates: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Ukraine will not allow "a second attempt to partition" the country, stressing that peace must come through a "just end to the war" rather than territorial concessions to Russia."We will not allow this second attempt to partition Ukraine. Knowing Russia, where there is a second, there will be a third. That is why we stand firm on clear Ukrainian positions. We must end the war with a dignified peace, based on a clear and reliable security architecture," Zelenskyy remarks come days before US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to meet in Alaska next Ukrainian leader accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of attempting to "legalise" occupied territories in exchange for halting the fighting. Show more Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday underscored the significance of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) responsibly to protect the rights of indigenous communities while inaugurating the state-level celebrations of the golden jubilee of the Kerala Scheduled Tribes Development Department. The occasion also coincided with the International Day of the World's Indigenous said, "Today, we are celebrating the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. Alongside, we are also inaugurating the state-level celebrations of the golden jubilee of the Kerala Scheduled Tribes Development Department. Various development projects for the Scheduled Tribes are also being launched here today. This year's theme, 'Artificial Intelligence and the Protection of Indigenous Peoples' Rights, ' is especially relevant in today's era of advanced technology." It was as hard-earned a victory as the 19-year-old Connor Zilisch has claimed in his brief NASCAR career -- answering his win from pole position a year ago in his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at the historic Watkins Glen International road course with a second consecutive victory Saturday afternoon in a crash-heavy Mission 200 at The Zilisch climbed out of the cockpit and onto the door ledge of his No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet to celebrate his series-best sixth trophy of the season, he slipped and fell to the ground. Medical teams arrived immediately to tend to Zilisch, who had removed his helmet before falling, and transported him on a backboard to the trackside medical confirmed Zilisch was "awake and alert" and that he was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation. His father posted on social media that his son is "conscious and back to himself .. off to the hospital for further evaluation but is not in any danger," according to President Donald Trump said on Saturday he was nominating State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce as the next U.S. deputy representative to the United has been the State Department spokesperson since Trump took office in a post on social media in which Trump announced her nomination, the president said she did a "fantastic job" as State Department spokesperson. Bruce will need to be confirmed for the role by the U.S. Senate, where Trump's Republican Party holds a press briefings, she has defended the Trump administration's foreign policy decisions ranging from an immigration crackdown and visa revocations to U.S. responses to Russia's war in Ukraine and Israel's war in Gaza, including a widely condemned armed private aid operation in the Palestinian territory. At least nine passengers were injured when a Bangkok-bound special express train derailed in Thailand's Kui Buri district early on Saturday, The Bangkok Post to The Bangkok Post, the special express train No. 38/46, consisting of 12 carriages, was travelling from Su-ngai Kolok district in Narathiwat province to Krungthep Aphiwat (Bang Sue) station in Bangkok when the accident incident happened around 5 am near the Kui Buri railway station, when three of the rear carriages numbers 10, 11 and 12, came off the track but did not overturn, The Bangkok Post reported. China's State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters has issued a Level IV emergency flood response in several provinces as heavy rains continue to batter large parts of the country, Global Times to Global Times, the emergency response was activated for Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei, and Chongqing at 3:00 pm (local time) on Saturday, with work teams dispatched to Anhui and Hubei to assist local authorities in flood China's Ministry of Water Resources also initiated a Level IV flood-control emergency response in Henan, Hubei, Chongqing, Sichuan, and Shaanxi, while maintaining the same response for Anhui and Gansu provinces, Global Times reported. Bo Hines, who headed Republican President Donald Trump's Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, said on Saturday he was leaving his current role and returning to the private last month, a cryptocurrency working group led by Hines and including several administration officials outlined the Trump administration's stance on market-defining crypto legislation and called on the U.S. securities regulator to create new rules specific to digital after taking office in January, Trump had ordered the creation of the crypto working group and tasked it with proposing new regulations, making good on his campaign promise to overhaul U.S. crypto policy. Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, has welcomed the agreement reached between Armenia and Azerbaijan, brokered by the United States and signed by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Secretary General commended the commitment of President Aliyev and Prime Minister Pashinyan to dialogue and confidence-building, and praised the efforts made by US President Donald Trump in facilitating the agreement. European leaders on Saturday welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump's plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on ending the war in Ukraine, while stressing the need to keep pressure on Moscow and protect Ukrainian and European security plans to meet Putin in Alaska on August 15, saying the parties, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, were close to a deal that could resolve the three-and-a-half-year conflict. A Georgia man who opened fire on the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters, shooting dozens of rounds into the sprawling complex and killing a police officer, had blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on 30-year-old shooter also tried to get into the CDC's headquarters in Atlanta but was stopped by guards before driving to a pharmacy across the street and opening fire late on Friday afternoon, the official said. He was armed with five guns, including at least one long gun, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to publicly discuss the investigation. California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Saturday that a $1 billion settlement offer by President Donald Trump's administration for UCLA amounted to political extortion to which the state will not bow. Israeli leaders on Saturday night praised the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace accords signed in Washington. Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed an agreement brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump to end a decades-long conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region."Congratulations to President Trump! Your bold leadership and global vision have made another peace agreement possible," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted. "I also congratulate President Aliyev, Prime Minister Pashinyan, and the peoples of Azerbaijan and Armenia on signing this historic agreement."Netanyahu added, "May you all enjoy a new era of reconciliation and shared prosperity." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Ukraine will not allow "a second attempt to partition" the country, stressing that peace must come through a "just end to the war" rather than territorial concessions to Russia."We will not allow this second attempt to partition Ukraine. Knowing Russia, where there is a second, there will be a third. That is why we stand firm on clear Ukrainian positions. We must end the war with a dignified peace, based on a clear and reliable security architecture," Zelenskyy remarks come days before US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to meet in Alaska next Ukrainian leader accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of attempting to "legalise" occupied territories in exchange for halting the fighting.
The Star
3 days ago
- The Star
The indigenous and AI
ON Saturday, we joined millions of indigenous peoples around the world in celebrating our identity, rights and struggles. This year, the theme of the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, commemorated every Aug 9 – 'Indigenous Peoples and AI: Defending Rights, Shaping Futures' – may sound futuristic, but for us at Apa Kata Wanita Orang Asli (AKWOA), it is something very close to the medium of our struggle. Since the beginning of our establishment, access to information technology (IT) has been a catalyst for AKWOA's development. A group of Orang Asli women participating in a video content creation workshop in Kampung Petoh, Pahang. The writer says the positive use of technology has brought women from the community together. AKWOA Firstly, technology connects Orang Asli women's communities from various states, even though separated by forests, rivers, and mountains. Secondly, it documents stories, culture and traditional knowledge through photos, videos and social media. And thirdly, it elevates our voices to the national and international levels and allows us to participate in discussions about human rights, the environment, and the future of our communities. Now a new wave of technology, artificial intelligence (AI), has opened up greater opportunities and challenges. AI can help us translate our mother tongue, map ancestral lands, or archive ancestral knowledge in safer and more accessible ways. However, it also risks becoming a tool that marginalises us if developed without understanding or respecting indigenous rights. For us, defending rights in the age of AI means: > Ensuring that our community's data is controlled by us (data sovereignty). > Ensuring AI does not take or imitate traditional knowledge without permission, prior notice, freedom, and transparency (free, prior and informed consent). > Developing AI applications that are friendly to the language, culture, and life context of indigenous peoples. Shaping the future means we are not just passive users, but also partners in decision-making in technology development. Making it theirs: The writer (far right) says Orang Asli are not just passive users of technology, but also partners in decision-making in technology development, especially AI. — RAJA FAISAL HISHAN/The Star(Below) A group of Orang Asli women participating in a video content creation workshop in Kampung Petoh, Pahang. The writer says the positive use of technology has brought women from the community together. — AKWOA We want to see AI that strengthens the relationship between humans and nature, not destroys it; AI that adds value to humanity, not replaces it. For AKWOA, true progress is not only measured by machine intelligence, but by the wisdom of the human heart. From the forests we protect to the digital world we navigate, we will continue to defend our rights and shape the future we dream of together. Happy International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples 2025! Eliana a/p Tan Beng Hui is a founding member of Apa Kata Wanita Orang Asli (AKWOA), a collective of young Orang Asli women using social films to advocate change and raise awareness among indigenous communities about their rights.
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Kerala marks golden jubilee of State Scheduled Tribes Development department
The government will always stand by the tribal populations, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said. He was speaking after performing the State-level inauguration of the golden jubilee of the Scheduled Tribes Development department at Nishagandhi auditorium on the Kanakakkunnu Palace compound on Saturday. The Chief Minister said a separate department was formed for the welfare of tribal communities in the State 50 years ago, on July 1, 1975. Since then, the department had taken up a number of initiatives. 'Hope the jubilee will help examine how many of these initiatives were successful, how many failed to realise their objectives, and which new should be taken up in these changing times,' the Chief Minister said. In Kerala, tribespeople comprised 1.45% of the total population. The State government earmarked 2.83% of the annual Plan outlay in the Budget for their welfare and development. In contrast, tribal communities formed 8.06% of total population of the country. However, the Union government earmarked 3.08% of the budget outlay for them, he said. He pointed out that tribal communities could live in the State without discrimination or attacks in the name of caste. However, this was not the situation in other States. Projects Since 2016-17, the allocation for the State's projects for Scheduled Tribe projects came to ₹5,752 crore. Of that, ₹4,733 crore had been utilised. An amount of ₹697 crore had been earmarked for tribal communities in this year's budget, Mr. Vijayan pointed out. He also spoke of projects implemented for the tribal communities in the area of education and land allocation. Steps were being taken to prevent dropouts and improve the functioning of model residential schools and pre-and-post matric hostels for them. A total of 8,680 acres of land had been distributed to 9,162 landless ST families in the past nine years of the Left Democratic Front government, the Chief Minister said. The department's golden jubilee coincided with International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. The theme of this year's day was 'Indigenous Peoples and AI: Defending Rights, Shaping Futures.' This was an apt theme in the time of modern technology such as AI and machine learning. Mankind has benefited a lot from them. However, their irresponsible use was creating many difficulties. The United Nations, he said, had pointed out that AI content that spread misconceptions about indigenous peoples was being created. Some of it was being used to harm their land and resources, he said. There were 48 crore indigenous people in 90 countries, according to figures. That was less than 6% of the world population. However, indigenous people comprised 15% of the poor in the world. Indigenous peoples spoke 7,000 languages and followed 5,000 different cultures. Against this backdrop, they should become visible and projects prepared for them, Mr. Vijayan said. The Chief Minister also inaugurated the Smart Padhanamuri project of the Scheduled Tribes Development department. Announcement of various projects for the tribal communities was also held. Minister for Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes O.R. Kelu presided over the function. V.K. Prasanth, MLA, who was the chairman of the welcome committee, welcomed the gathering.
