An Indian-origin woman in the US has been convicted by a jury of killing her nine-year old stepdaughter in 2016 and faces up to life in prison at sentencing. Shamdai Arjun, 55, of Queens, New York was convicted of second-degree murder. The judge indicated that he would sentence her on June 3. Arjun was convicted for the August 2016 strangulation death of her nine-year-old stepdaughter Ashdeep Kaur, who was left in her care. Kaur had arrived in the US from India just three months before she was killed in August 2016 and was living with her father and Arjun in Queens.
Pic shows Sikh mayor as Arab dictator in US
Ravi Bhalla, the first ever Sikh mayor of a city in New Jersey, has been allegedly racially targeted after his photoshopped image as an Arab dictator was published on a local website. The New Jersey-based website, “Hudson Mile Square View”, ran an image of Hoboken mayor Bhalla that resembled the lead character played by British actor Sacha Baron Cohen in the comedy film “The Dictator.” Sikh activists denounced the image as racist. The website said that the image was submitted by a reader. The site has previously too photoshopped his images. In February 2017, it posted a photo of Bhalla with a “Pinocchio” nose.
2 Indian mountaineers killed in Nepal
Two Indian mountaineers have died on Nepal's Himalayan peaks, while another two climbers were missing, officials said. Indian climber Ravi Thakar, 28, died while he sleeping in his tent at Mount Everest's highest camp site, according to Thaneswar Guragai of the Seven Summit Treks, which organized the expedition. Thakar had successfully scaled the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) summit but did not appear to be well on the way back and was discovered to have died a few hours after entering his tent. Another Indian climber Narayan Singh fell sick and died on Mount Makalu and attempts are still being made to bring down his body, said Mira Acharya, a director at Nepal's Department of Tourism. Irish climber Seamus Lawless and a Chilean climer went missing while returning from Everest's summit, Acharya said.
Christian graves vandalised in Pakistan
In an act of wanton violence against Christian symbols, unknown miscreants have attacked a cemetery in Okara district of Punjab province, destroying over 30 graves and defacing crosses fixed on others. The vandalism took place on May 12 and was discovered by catechist Samson Masih and other locals when they visited the graveyard. A police complaint against unknown individuals has been registered. “It is very sad to see that some people attacked our cemetery. They broke crosses and damaged graves. It is an offence to our faith and it has hurt us. The guilty must be arrested,” said James Bahadur, the priest in Okara.
‘Hero’ dog saves baby buried alive by mother
A dog with only three legs has rescued a newborn baby that was buried alive - reportedly by its teenage mother. Ping Pong is being hailed a hero in Thailand for saving the child whose 15-year-old mother was believed to have been hiding her pregnancy from her parents. The dog was barking and scratching at dirt by a field, alerting his owner, who then found an infant’s leg sticking up. Locals rushed the baby to hospital, where doctors cleaned him up and declared he was healthy. Police said they had arrested the mother and charged her with child abandonment and attempted murder.
Austria bans headscarf in primary schools
Austrian MPs approved a law aimed at banning the headscarf in primary schools, a measure proposed by the ruling rightwing government. So as to avoid charges that the law discriminates against Muslims, the text refers to any “ideologically or religiously influenced clothing which is associated with the covering of the head”. The government says the patka head covering worn by Sikh boys or the Jewish kippa would not be affected. However, representatives of ruling parties have made it clear that the law is targeted at the Islamic headscarf.
Former French president Sarkozy set for trial
France’s Constitutional Council cleared the way for former president Nicolas Sarkozy to be tried over alleged illegal financing of his failed re-election campaign in 2012. Sarkozy had appealed to the council invoking the “double jeopardy” principle because he had already been convicted in 2013 and ordered to pay more than 360,000 euros for breaching campaign-finance rules. But in its decision, the council ruled that the penalty Sarkozy was ordered to pay in 2013 was for different violations and different amounts than the fraud he and 13 co-defendants are now being investigated for. The case now hinges on the country’s top appeal court where Sarkozy, 64, has lodged a separate appeal. If that too is rejected, the case will return to prosecutors who will decide whether he should be tried.
US woman killed, baby cut from womb
A Chicago woman who sold baby clothes to a pregnant woman and lured her back to her house with an offer of more clothing has been charged with murder after allegedly strangling the woman with a cord and cutting the infant from her womb, police said. Clarisa Figueroa, 46, apparently wanted to raise another child two years after her adult son died of natural causes, investigators said. Figueroa’s 24-year-old daughter, Desiree Figueroa was also charged. The mother’s boyfriend was charged with concealment of a homicide. The charges come three weeks after 19-year-old Marlen Ochoa-Lopez disappeared and a day after her body was discovered in a garbage can in the backyard of Figueroa’s home.
Saudi slaps sin tax on e-cigs, sugary drinks
Saudi Arabia has imposed a special tax on electronic cigarettes and sugary drinks, extending similar taxes introduced in 2017 as it seeks to reduce a budget deficit caused by low oil prices. The General Authority of Zakat and Tax said a 100% tax would be levied on electronic cigarettes and products used in them, and a 50% tax on sugared drinks. The authority took the decision on May 15 and it became effective last week. The taxes fall under the category of selective taxes on products deemed harmful to public health. The Arab nation already had a 100% tax on cigarettes and tobacco products, a 100% tax on energy drinks and a 50% one on fizzy drinks.
Australian PM seizes an unexpected election win
Australia’s ruling conservative coalition won a surprise victory in the country’s general election last week, defying opinion polls that had tipped the center-left opposition party to oust it from power and promising an end to the revolving door of national leaders. PM Scott Morrison compared his Liberal Party’s victory for a third three-year term to the births of his daughters, Abbey, 11, and Lily, 9, who were conceived naturally after 14 years of in vitro fertilisation had failed. Opposition Labour leader Bill Shorten had earlier conceded defeat as the coalition came close to a majority in the 151-seat House of Representatives, where parties need a majority to form a government. The tight race raised the prospect of the coalition forming a minority government. The conservatives became a rare minority government after they dumped Malcolm Turnbull as PM for Morrison in an internal power struggle last August. The government then lost two seats and its single-seat majority as part of the blood-letting that followed.
