Indian American student bullied

Wednesday 25th May 2022 06:40 EDT
 

A viral video showing an Indian American student being bullied in Texas has sparked anger and criticism on social media. The video has been shot by classmates of the student being bullied and shared online. It shows one student approaching the Indian American boy who is sitting on a bench and demanding that he stand up. When he refuses to give up his seat, the American student gets angry and starts choking him. The incident took place in Coppell Middle School in Texas and its superintendent Dr Brad Hunt said that the school was aware of the video and bullying as well as physical acts are never acceptable and do not align with who we are at CISD and our core values.” The statement which was also posted online, has been widely criticised with many users pointing out the fact that the video clearly showed assault. The incident, according to the Coppell Middle School, is being investigated.

PTI lawmakers lose seats for defying whip

The Election Commission of Pakistan “de-seated” 25 lawmakers of former PM Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf for defying a party directive and voting for Hamza Shehbaz of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for the Punjab CM’s post in April. The legislators had voted for Hamza in the Punjab CM elections on April 16 and their support gave him a majority with 197 votes. But Hamza lost his majority after EC “de-seated” the lawmakers - which means they are no longer members of the house and their votes won’t count. The EC’s decision has dealt a serious blow to PM Shehbaz Sharif’s fragile coalition government that has been struggling against grave financial and political challenges facing the country. The SC said votes of dissident lawmakers could not be counted in the case of a vote of no confidence.

Kabul hosting peace talks

The Afghan Taliban said it was hosting peace talks between Pakistan officials and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a Taliban-inspired militant group that has battled Islamabad for over a decade. Since the Afghan Taliban returned to power last year, Islamabad has increasingly complained of attacks by the TTP. A government spokesman tweeted, “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, in good faith, strives for a successful negotiation process and expects both sides to be tolerant and flexible.”A truce previously agreed for Eid will also be extended until May 30, a statement said. Pakistan government officials have not yet commented on the talks.

Taliban shut down Af human rights body

Taliban authorities have closed down Afghanistan’s independent human rights commission as it was “not considered necessary”. “We have some other organisations to carry out activities related to human rights, organisations that are linked to the judiciary,” deputy government spokesman Inamullah Samangani said. The work of the rights commission, which included documenting civilian casualties of Afghanistan’s two-decade war, was halted when the Taliban ousted a US-backed government last year. The national security council and a reconciliation council that promoted peace were also shut down recently as the government announced its first annual budget.

Shanghai reports new Covid cases

Shanghai announced its first new Covid-19 cases outside quarantined areas, triggering stricter curbs and mass testing in one district but plans to end a prolonged city-wide lockdown on June 1 appeared on track. The city found three new cases in the same family in Qingpu. All had taken three doses of vaccine and their infections were discovered during regular testing. The three had not left their district town over the past 14 days but had visited four places, including a supermarket, all of which were sealed off, authorities said.

Albanese elected new Australian PM

Australians awoke on Sunday to a new prime minister in Anthony Albanese, the centre-left Labour Party leader whose ascension to the nation’s top job from being raised in social housing by a single mother on a disability pension was said to reflect the changed fabric of the country. The 59-year-old career politician, who has described himself as the only candidate with a “non-Anglo Celtic name” to run for prime minister in the 121 years the office has existed, referred to his humble upbringing in the inner-Sydney suburb of Camperdown while thanking electors for making him the country’s 31st leader. But it remained unclear whether Albanese’s party could form a majority government or have to rely on the support of an increased number of independents and minor party lawmakers who won seats in Saturday’s election.

Biden among 963 barred by Russia

Russia said it had so far banned 963 Americans from entering the country, including previously announced moves against US President Joe Biden and other officials, and would continue to retaliate against what it called hostile US actions. Separately, the foreign ministry said it had added 26 new names to a list of Canadians it has barred from travelling to Russia, including Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, the wife of PM Justin Trudeau. Previously announced names on the list included secretary of state Antony Blinken, defence secretary Lloyd Austin and CIA chief William Burns. The new list was published after Canada introduced a bill that will ban Vladimir Putin and 1,000 members of his government from travelling there.

Colombian teen solves 3 Rubik’s Cubes in 4 minutes

Rubik’s cube is one of the most engaging and difficult puzzles. It takes a lot of effort, patience and strong will to completely solve Rubik’s cube by matching all the colours. But a teenager from Colombia in South America made it look like a child’s play by solving not one, not two but three Rubik Cubes while juggling them. And he set a world record, according to Guinness World Records (GWR). Angel Alvarado completed all three Rubik Cube puzzles in four minutes, 31. 01 seconds while juggling each of them, GWR wrote on its website. He achieved the feat on April 1 this year, the GWR website further said. With this, the 19-year-old beat his previous record time of 4 min 52. 43 seconds, which he had set in May last year.
US tests hypersonic weapon successfully

The US Air Force said it conducted a successful test of a hypersonic weapon, which flew at five times the speed of sound. The test was conducted off the coast of southern California when a B-52 bomber released an air launched rapid response weapon (ARRW), the Air Force said. “Following separation ARRW’s booster ignited and burned for expected duration, achieving hypersonic speeds five times greater than the speed of sound,” it said. Lt Col Michael Jungquist, 419th FLTS commander, said that the test team made sure it executed the test flawlessly. “Our highly-skilled team made history on this first air launched hypersonic weapon. We are doing everything we can to get this game-changing weapon to the war fighter as soon as possible,” he said.

Sandstorms shut schools in Saudi

Sandstorms across the West Asia have delayed flights, closed schools and hospitalised thousands - a phenomenon experts say could worsen as climate change warps regional weather patterns. Saudi Arabia became the latest country blanketed with dust that slowed traffic and made towers in the capital difficult to see from more than a few hundred metres away.

Need a tequila shot for my knee pain, jokes Pope

His doctors have prescribed a wheelchair, cane and physical therapy to help heal Pope Francis’ bad knee. He has other ideas. When Francis stopped near a group of Mexican seminarians from the Legion of Christ who asked him in his native Spanish how his knee was doing. “Do you know what I need for my knee?” Francis asked them from the popemobile. “Some tequila. ” The seminarians laughed and promised to deliver a bottle to the Santa Marta hotel where Francis lives. The pope, 85, has been suffering from strained ligaments in his right knee for months.


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