Former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi has a memoir coming out this fall that her publisher is calling an “unvarnished take” on her rise to becoming one of the world’s most powerful women. “My Life in Full: Work, Family and Our Future” will be published Sept. 28, Portfolio Books announced. Nooyi, 65, will trace her life from her childhood in India to her experiences as an immigrant at Yale University’s business school to her many achievements as the rare woman and person of color in the upper echelons of the corporate world. The Indian American executive worked at PepsiCo for 24 years, 12 of them as CEO, before stepping down in 2018. While she was CEO, PepsiCo’s revenues grew from $35 billion to $63.5 billion and she became known for promoting such “good for you” snacks as Baked Lay’s potato chips and Naked juices made of fruits and vegetables. The mother of two children, she also spoke candidly while at PepsiCo of the difficulties in balancing commitments.
Indian charged with cyberstalking
An Indian cybersecurity expert in Seattle, Washington, has been charged in a US federal court with cyberstalking five people, including a deputy prosecutor and a police officer investigating him, and sending them threatening messages, according to Acting Attorney for the Western District of Washington Tessa Gorman. A grand jury indicted Sumit Garg on the cyberstalking charges. He was detained in a federal detention center on March 15 and will be produced before a judge on March 25. According to court documents, he also sent threatening emails to local judges with an implied threat of assassination in a list of judges and prosecutors killed. He used email and social media platforms, including some under fake identities, to cause "reasonable fear of death and bodily harm" and "substantial emotional distress" to various people over a year, the documents revealed.
Indian arrested for abusing Sikh youth on FB
An Indian-origin man living in New Zealand was arrested for posting threatening and derogatory comments against a Sikh youth and also abusing a couple of others. The offensive comments were posted on the wall of a Facebook group named "Indians in New Zealand." The Sikh youth, on whose complaint Auckland police registered a case and then arrested the Indian, was called a "Khalistani terrorist", his mobile number was listed on the website, and he was accused of running a malicious hate campaign against all Indians. His photographs were also posted on the social media site and people were urged to report about him to police. The accused, in his comments in the same FB group, had threatened he would reach the Sikh man’s house "to teach him a lesson". He had also abused two others in the same comment.
Indian American to play lead role in Disney TV movie
Indian American actress Avantika Vandanapu plays the lead role of Rhea Kumar in the Disney Channel's TV film titled, “Spin.” The plot is centred on Indian culture. “Spin,” according to a report, follows Rhea Kumar (Vandanapu), an Indian American teen who learns she has a passion for creating DJ mixes that blend the textures of her Indian heritage and the world around her. Her life revolves around her eclectic group of friends, her after school coding club, her family’s Indian restaurant and her tight-knit, multigenerational family, which has only grown closer since her mother’s passing. The movie is directed by Manjari Makijany, an Indian writer-director now based in the US. The cast includes Bollywood actor Abhay Deol as Rhea’s father Arvind, UK comedian/actor Meera Syal as Rhea’s grandmother Asha, and Indian American actor Aryan Simhadri as Rhea’s younger brother Rohan. Simhadri has also been cast in the Disney+ remake of “Cheaper By The Dozen.”
Nepal's nod to emergency use of Covaxin
Nepal last week gave emergency authorisation to India's Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin, becoming only the third country to approve the shot, developed by Bharat Biotech and a state research institute. Covaxin was shown to be 81% effective in an interim analysis of late-stage trial data on some 26,000 people in India. The vaccine was approved for emergency use in India in January and Zimbabwe cleared it early this month. "Conditional permission has been granted for emergency use authorisation," Nepal's Department of Drug Administration said in a statement. Wedged between India and China, the Himalayan country has already received more than 2.3 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from India, including 1 million doses as a gift. China has also promised 800,000 doses of its own vaccine but the time for the delivery of the Chinese shots is unknown.
Pair sentenced to death for raping woman in Pak
Two men have been sentenced to death for raping a woman in front of her children on the side of a motorway after her car ran out of fuel near Lahore in Pakistan. Abid Malhi and Shafqat Hussain were also sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment, time that must be served before any executions can take place, a judge in Lahore said. The sentence is seen as a key landmark in Pakistan where many rapes remain unpunished, but many death sentences are later commuted to life imprisonment. Prosecutors said Malhi and Ali found the woman waiting for help in her car after she ran out of fuel.
She had locked the car doors but the attackers broke a window and dragged her outside where they attacked her at gunpoint in front of her terrified children. The men also stole money, jewellery and bank cards before fleeing.
Hindu temple attacked in Bangladesh
Miscreants attacked and damaged the murti of the Hindu goddess Kali at a temple in Uttargaon village of Thakurgaon’s Ranisankail Upazila in Bangladesh. Police said the attackers vandalised the temple and burned the Kali murti. The local people rushed to the spot, however, the murti was already reduced to ashes, the police said. The police officer said patrolling in the area has been stepped up and an investigation is underway. Sadhan Bosak, general secretary of Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council’s upazila unit said a complaint will be registered in this regard.
Denmark bans foreign countries from funding mosques
Denmark has banned foreign countries from funding and financing mosques in the country. This step comes after reports of Muslim countries like Algeria, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and UAE disbursing hundreds of millions of Euros to spread Islam in Europe. The new law garnered support from all major political parties of Denmark. The country’s Social Democrat Immigration and Integration Minister Mattias Tesfaye labeled the law as an important step to curb ‘Islamist extremism’. The law states, “The purpose of the Act is to prevent natural and legal persons, including foreign state authorities and state-run organizations and companies, from working against or undermining democracy and fundamental freedoms and human rights by making donations.” “Anyone who receives donations above DKK 10,000 within 12 consecutive calendar months, from a natural or legal person who is included on the public ban list … is punishable by a fine.”
Woman accuses US actor Armie Hammer of rape
A woman accused US actor Armie Hammer of raping her four years ago in Los Angeles and police said they were probing the matter. Hammer’s lawyer called the claim “outrageous” and said all the actor’s sexual relationships were “completely consensual”. The allegation follows claims on social media by several women who accused the 34-year-old actor of emotional and physical abuse, and said he shared violent sexual fantasies. Hammer said at the time that he would not respond to “vicious online attacks”, but he was dropped by his representatives and from two projects. Last week, a woman who identified herself only as Effie told a video news conference that she had been in a four-year relationship with the actor, who was married to TV personality Elizabeth Chambers at the time. “On April 24, 2017, Hammer violently raped me for over four hours, during which he repeatedly slammed my head against a wall, bruising my face... I thought that he was going to kill me,” Effie, now 24, said.
Ivory Coast pays tribute to the late PM Hamed Bakayoko
Ivory Coast's Prime Minister Hamed Bakayoko died last week while on cancer treatment in a German hospital, President Alassane Ouattara said. Bakayoko took over as prime minister in July last year from Amadou Gon Coulibaly, who died after returning to the Ivory Coast from two months in France where he had been treated for heart problems. But Bakayoko, who was also the country's defence minister, himself travelled to France for health reasons on February 18 and was later transferred to Germany. Tene Birahima Ouattara, a younger brother of the president, was named interim defence minister. Official results handed Ouattara's party a parliamentary majority after legislative elections held at the weekend, with observers hoping the peaceful process has broken with past outbreaks of electoral violence.
Myanmar protesters defiant
Demonstrators in Myanmar maintained their dogged opposition to military rule despite a rising death toll, with two more people killed as the junta appeared equally determined to resist growing pressure to compromise. The country has been in turmoil since the military overthrew an elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. One man was shot dead and several were wounded when police opened fire on a group setting up a barricade in Monywa, a doctor there said. Later, one person was killed and several were wounded when security forces fired on a crowd in the second city of Mandalay. At least 249 people have now been killed since the coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners group. The spokesman for the junta was not available for comment but has previously said security forces have used force only when necessary. State media said that men on motorbikes attacked a member of the security forces who later died. The military said two policemen were killed in earlier protests. Western countries have condemned the coup and the violence. Asian neighbours have also begun speaking out.
'Massive' fire in Rohingya camps forces 50,000 to flee
Bangladesh has launched an investigation into a huge blaze that ripped through a sprawling Rohingya refugee camp and forced at least 50,000 people to flee. Seven people are feared dead in the biggest fire to hit the shanty settlement to date. Nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar live in cramped and squalid conditions at the camps in the Cox’s Bazar district. Officials said the fire was believed to have started in one of the 34 camps before spreading to two other camps. Police have so far confirmed only two deaths after recovering the bodies. But Rohingya witnesses said several people had died in the blaze that has left tens of thousands with no shelter.
