London: Britain's Shaker Aamer, the last man held at Guantanamo Bay, will receive £1 million in compensation after 14 years in captivity without trial. His lawyers confirmed that he was bringing legal proceedings against the British government. After he was brought into London, Aamer was taken to a private hospital, where he will spend two weeks. “He was going to give up all hope,” Saeed Siddique, his father-in-law, said after speaking to him on the phone. “He is very happy and he is feeling it is unbelievable. He did not think that he would come out from this place alive. It is everything. He is back alive.” Aamer, who was taken prisoner in Afghanistan in 2001, said in a statement, “The reason I have been strong is because of the support of people so strongly devoted to the truth. If I was the fire to be lit to tell the truth, it was the people who protected the fire from the wind. My thanks go to Allah first, second to my wife, my family, to my kids and then to my lawyers who did everything they could to carry the word to the world.”
Triple first class holder turns down lucrative job to be a yoga teacher
London: Former Cambridge student Rosie Sargeant, who graduated from the prestigious university with a triple first has left her £40,000 paying position at a prominent investment firm to become a yoga teacher. The 23 year old said she had accepted the job because it was 'sensible', however, qualified as a yoga instructor in her final year. “I was looking at the light on the horizon and I started to think 'actually, I love yoga'. I decided to take the nature of the job-yoga and fitness, and take it out the equation and think about my own personal development. My responsibilities are from the ground up and can be very broad. From cleaning the mats after a class, to negotiating potential invest and teaching classes- a little bit of everything.”
Condom sales slump as China announces end to one child policy
Beijing: While companies that make nappies, prams and other baby products, got a boost, the maker of a popular brand of condoms in China is not too elated with the country's decision to scrap its one-child policy. Investors are betting on a bump in sales for companies with baby or child-related businesses after China's Communist Party announced that all married couples would be allowed to have two children.
American seeks asylum in Canada saying ‘police will kill me because I’m black’
Washington: A black American, Kyle Lydell Canty, has applied for a refugee status in Canada, claiming he risks being killed by police in his home country due to his race. Filing a claim for asylum, he told a hearing of Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board that black people in America were “being exterminated at an alarming rate”. Using the examples of Michael Brown in Ferguson and the death of Eric Garner, who was put in a choke hold by the police in New York, he told the hearing that, “I'm in fear of my life because I'm black. This is well rounded fear.” He has also submitted a “significant amount of evidence” to back up his claim.
11-year-old Indian-origin girl in US sells cryptographically secure passwords
New York: An 11 year old of Indian-origin has started her own business of selling cryptographically secure passwords generated by dice roll, in the US. Sixth grader Mira Modi has her own website and generates six-word Diceware passphrases for her customers at $2 each. “This whole concept of making your own passwords and being super secure and stuff, I don't think my friends understand that, but I think it's cool,” she said. Her mother, Julia Angwin, author of Dragnet Nation, employed her to generate Diceware passphrases as a part of research for her book, which is when she had the idea to turn it into a small business.
Nepal gets first woman President
Kathmandu: Nepal elected its first female President, Bidhya Devi Bhandari, of the Communist Party of Nepal Unified Marxist-Leninist. She received 327 votes as opposed to her opponent's 214. The new Constitution adopted by the country last month required Nepal to name a new President. Bhandari is an active campaigner for women's rights in Nepal, and was among the leaders who campaigned to ensure women's rights in the new Constitution. She is known for leading demonstrations against then King Gyanendra, in 2006, resulting in an end of his authoritarian rule. She is Nepal's second President since it was turned into a republic.
India loses fuel supply monopoly as Nepal signs deal with China
New Delhi: Nepal and China have signed an agreement which will end to Indian monopoly to supply fuel in the former state. Both Nepal and China have signed an agreement on the supply of petroleum products to alleviate shortages caused by the blockade of land routes from India due to unrest over the new constitution. A senior Nepali bureaucrat said, “Nepal Oil Corporation and China National United Fuel Corporation formalised a long-term commercial agreement in Beijing.” Under the agreement, China will supply fuel at international rates, which Kathmandu might find cheaper than its imports from India.
Imran Khan, Second Wife Reham Khan divorce
Islamabad: Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan's whirlwind romance with former BBC journalist Reham Khan, has come to stop as the couple has filed for divorce. Writing on Twitter, Reham Khan said, “We have decided to part ways and file for divorce.” Imran Khan also took to the microblogging website to express his “greatest respect for Reham's moral character and her passion to work for and help the underprivileged.” He said, “This is a painful time for me and Reham and our families. I would request everyone to respect our privacy.” Khan's previous marriage to British socialite Jemima Khan, the daughter of the financier James Goldsmith, ended in 2004. Khan's political rivals used the marriage to attack Khan by emphasising her Jewish roots.
Hafiz Saeed gets extra cover after `threat'
Lahore: Pakistan's Punjab province government has enhanced the security of Mumbai attack mastermind, Hafiz Saeed, after a home department alert that a “foreign intelligence agency” may make an attempt on Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief's life. An official of the Punjab government said, “We have enhanced the security of Hafiz Saeed in accordance with the directive of the home department.” He said more policemen have been deployed at his residence in Jauhar Town and JuD headquarters Chauburji, Lahore.
Female students beaten for playing cricket in Karachi
New Delhi: An example of blatant sexism in Pakistan, girl students playing cricket to pass the time were allegedly attacked by IJT activists, resulting in a University of Karachi campus clash between Islami Jamiat Talaba and the Punjab Student Association. At least five people, including female students were wounded in the clash. KU Student Advisor Prof Dr. Ansar Rizvi said, “The students were playing cricket near the van stop along with their male classmates. The IJT workers showed up and demanded that they stop. The boys then questioned the identity of the IJT workers, leading to an exchange of heated words. They beat up the boys who argued with them and injured one of them... We rushed the injured boy to the varsity clinic where he disclosed that some girls were also injured in the attack.” PSA activist Mansoor said, “IJT activists had warned female students against playing cricket three days ago, at least 20 IJT workers came with sticks and batons.” IJT is the largest students' organisation in Pakistan, with a stated mission to preach Islam to students of modern institutions throughout Pakistan.
German official, who accidentally opened Berlin Wall, dies at 86
Berlin: Former senior East German Communist official who had accidentally announced the opening of the Berlin Wall has died at the age of 86. Guenther Schabowski, was a member and spokesman of the Soviet bloc state's ruling Politburo, and was speaking at a news conference on November 9, 1989,when he was asked about current travel rules. An unprepared Schabowski had replied, “Therefore... um... we have decided today... um... to implement a regulation that allows every citizen of the German Democratic Republic... um... to... um... leave East Germany through any of the border crossings.” When asked when the new rule would take effect, he had said, “According to my information... immediately, without delay.” It was later known that the announcement was not supposed to be released until the next morning.
Indians top buyers in Dubai realty
Dubai: Indians have emerged as the top foreign property investors in Dubai, spending over Rs 30,000 crore last year alone, more than a quarter of the total of around Rs 1 lakh crore of non-Arab property investments recorded in 2014, as per the Dubai land department. In the first half of this year, Indians were again the most prolific foreign investors, with 3017 transactions worth over Rs 13,000 crore. The department said 123 different nationalities spent over Rs 42,000 crore in the same period. Data shown by the department shows foreigners accounted for 78 per cent of the total real estate investment in the first half of 2015. Of these, Indians, British and Pakistanis accounted for 15 per cent, 9 per cent, and 6 per cent respectively.
`No Indians' ad for flatmates in NZ sparks outrage
Melbourne: An advertisement for flatmates in New Zealand's biggest online marketplace has sparked an outrage among the Indian community. Put on TradeMe by a man who goes by the name Alistair, the ad states “no Indians or Asians”. Viewed hundreds of times before it was removed, the man insists he isn't racist, “but did not want to live with people who cook curry every night or couldn't speak English.” “The honest answer is that the majority of them either don't speak English very well, and I've had problems with communication in the past, where I've tried to tell them that they're doing something wrong and they don't understand,” Alistair was quoted by a media source . “The other thing is, the Indians in particular are quite arrogant... I don't want to get people turning up and not being able to speak English, or people who cook curry every night. I don't want to come home to a house that smells...” he said.
