A 43-year-old Indian origin woman researcher in the US was killed while she was jogging in Plano, a suburb near Dallas, and police have initiated a homicide investigation, according to media reports. According to the police, Sarmistha Sen, was attacked and killed on August 1. Her body was found lying in the creek area by a passer-by, according to a report. Sen was a pharmacist and researcher who studied molecular biology and worked with cancer patients. She originally was from Jharkhand, India, and moved to Plano after marriage. She has two young sons. According to the reports, a person of interest in the case has been arrested on a burglary charge. “We have our suspicions, but we have to have proof,” Plano police spokesperson David Tilley said. The medical examiner has not released the cause of death, and police are not saying how Sen died.
Indian scientist to study Greenland ice
An Indian-origin scientist in the United States - who has a glacier in Antarctica named after him - is now a key primary investigator in a $7 million project that aims to drill through the Greenland ice sheet to study how the mass of ice, rapidly melting due to climate change, may contribute to rising seas in the 21st century. Sridhar Anandakrishnan, professor of geosciences at Penn State University, is part of a five-year project to study Greenland ice sheet named Green Drill. It aims to analyse the rock beneath the Greenland ice sheet to determine its history - how often in the past has it grown or shrunk and by how much. “That history will help us understand what the future of the ice sheet might be in a warming world,” Anandakrishnan said. Anandakrishnan has made more than 20 trips to Antarctica. His contribution to Antarctic studies has led to a glacier being named Anandakrishnan Glacier after him in 2003.
Stop using NAB to hound critics: Pak govt told
The Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged Pakistani authorities to stop using the country’s anti-corruption watchdog, National Accountability Bureau (NAB), for harassment and intimidation of opponents. In a statement, the international non-governmental organisation said Pakistani authorities should follow a recent Supreme Court decision and cease using the NAB to detain critics of the government. The authorities, the HRW said, should investigate and prosecute NAB officials responsible for unlawful arrests and other abuses. The Pakistan SC had on July 20 ruled that the NAB had violated the rights to fair trial and due process in the arrest of two opposition politicians - Khawaja Saad Rafique and Khawaja Salman Rafique - who were detained for 15 months without reasonable grounds. The court granted them bail.
Afghan govt agrees to free 400 Taliban prisoners
Afghanistan has agreed to release 400 Taliban prisoners, paving the way for peace talks aimed at ending almost two decades of war. Under election-year pressure from US President Trump for a deal allowing him to bring home US troops, the war-torn country’s grand assembly, or Loya Jirga, on Sunday approved the release, a controversial condition raised by the Taliban militants to join peace talks. Minutes later, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced, “Today, I will sign the release order of these 400 prisoners.” Among the 400 are Taliban members accused of major attacks, including a 2017 truck bombing near the German embassy in Kabul that killed more than 150. Talks between the warring Taliban and government will start in Doha this week, Western diplomats said. The Taliban have not commented on the decision to release the remaining prisoners.
Israelis rally against Netanyahu
Thousands of Israelis rallied outside PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem as anger mounted over corruption allegations and his handling of the coronavirus crisis. “Your time is up,” read the giant letters projected on to a building at the protest site, as demonstrators waved Israeli flags and called on Netanyahu to resign over what they say is his failure to protect jobs and businesses affected by the pandemic. The protest movement has intensified in recent weeks, with critics accusing Netanyahu of being distracted by a corruption case against him. He denies wrongdoing. Netanyahu, who was sworn in for a fifth term in May after a closely fought election, has accused the protesters of trampling democracy and the Israeli media of encouraging dissent.
Iran’s Khamenei opens a Twitter account in Hindi
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei has opened an official Twitter account in Hindi. The new account has his bio written in Devanagari script. The account had 1,009 followers. Khamenei has posted two tweets so far. Khamenei has also created Twitter accounts in other languages including Persian, Arabic, Urdu, French, Spanish, Russian and English. However, so far Khamenei has not followed any Indian politician from the Hindi account. Khamenei is a Twelver Shia Marja’ and the second and current Supreme Leader of Iran. He was previously president of Iran from 1981 to 1989. Khamenei is the longest-serving head of state in west Asia, in office since 1989.
Pope names 6 women to Vatican financial body
Pope Francis has appointed six women, including the former treasurer for Britain’s Prince Charles, to the council that oversees Vatican finances, naming them in one fell swoop to some of the most senior roles. The appointments to one of the Holy See’s most important offices marked the latest attempt by the pope to keep promises to improve gender balance made years ago. The new appointments marked the largest number of women named at one time to Vatican posts. The previously all-male Council for the economy consists of 15 posts. One cardinal is the coordinator and the 14 other posts are divided evenly among members of the clergy and lay people. The seven-member lay portion now consists of six women and one man.
Michelle Obama suffering from low-grade depression
Michelle Obama has revealed she is suffering from “low-grade depression” as a result of the coronavirus induced quarantine, ongoing racial tensions in the country and the Trump administration’s “hypocrisy”. The former first lady discussed the impact current events are having on her mental health during the second episode of her new podcast released last week. During the episode, Michelle said: “I’m waking up in the middle of the night because I’m worrying about something or there’s a heaviness. I know I am dealing with some form of low-grade depression. “Not just because of the quarantine, but because of the racial strife, and just seeing this administration, watching the hypocrisy of it, day in and day out, is dispiriting. I’d be remiss to say part of this depression is also a result of, what we’re seeing in terms of the protests, the continued racial unrest, that has plagued this country since its birth.”
