SAN FRANCISCO: A Silicon Valley internet mogul of Indian origin, Gurbaksh Chahal, 34, has been sentenced to a year in jail for violating his probation in a domestic violence case. However, he will not immediately begin serving the sentence as judge Tracie Brown cited questions regarding evidence, giving him time to appeal her ruling. The judge determined Chahal violated the probation ordered after he pleaded guilty in 2014 to misdemeanour charges of battery and domestic violence. Prosecutors said surveillance footage from his San Francisco penthouse showed him punching and kicking his girlfriend, also trying to smother her with a pillow. Chahal was accused of violating his probation by kicking another girlfriend who also didn't cooperate with prosecutors.
Sikh holy book defiled in California
CALIFORNIA: An unidentified person tore a Sikh religious scripture in front of the public in broad daylight in California. The American Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee coordinator Pritpal Singh said a man tore the Sukhmani Sahib gutka at Contempo Park, Union City and fled the spot. He said, "This is a popular place among people of Indian-origin, especially Sikhs, where they gather to discuss varied subjects in leisure. Last week, everyone was taken aback when an unidentified person tore pages of the Sikh religious scripture and threw them in the park." Mayor Carol Dutra-Vernaci and police officials arrived at the park to look into the situation.
Bangladeshi immigrant assaulted in US
NEW DELHI: An immigrant of Bangladeshi-American origin has called on the Queens Criminal Court in New York to file hate crime charges against a person who attacked him yelling "F*** Indians." Ali Najmi who will represent Gazi Rahman, the victim, posted a photo of the bleeding man with a tweet that read, "This is what hate looks like. My client Gazi Rahman assaulted by a complete stranger who yelled f**k Indians." Rahman, 46, said he was talking on the phone outside a grocery store on Hillside Avenue when a person named Christopher Porr asked for money. "I said, I'm sorry I don't have any money," and then the man punched him and said "F*** Indians". He said he was treated for a concussion, a broken nose, and lacerations to his face.
12 newborns killed in Baghdad fire
BAGHDAD: A fire that broke out in a maternity ward in a Baghdad hospital killed 12 prematurely born babies. Around 12 other newborns and 29 women were rescued from the fire and transferred to other hospitals. It took joint efforts by fire-fighters and the hospital staff about three hours to put down the blaze at Yarmuk hospital. Concerned parents rushed around hospitals looking for their children. One of the babies' mother, Shaima Hussein said, "My son's birth was difficult. I came with milk powder for him, and then this happened...they shut the electricity and the doors." The hospital has long been battling accusations of corruption and mismanagement. Pictures of its state were shared on social media, showing cockroaches crawling from between broken tiles, patients lying in the courtyard, and overflowing dustbins.
33 killed, 28 injured in Nepal bus mishap
Kathmandu: An overcrowded bus veered off a mountain highway in Nepal on Monday, killing at least 33 people and injuring 28 others, a government official said. The injured people were brought by helicopter to Kathmandu and are being treated in two hospitals, Home Ministry official Chiranjivi Nepal said. The bus veered off Arniko highway and rolled about 150 meters (500 feet). Police were still trying to determine the cause. The highway is wide enough for two vehicles to pass but has sharp turns and no guard rails. Parts of the bus, bodies and luggage were scattered on the forested slopes below the highway. Army and police rescuers were combing the slopes near Deurali village, 80 km east of the capital.
Blast wounds 13 in Pakistan's Quetta after huge suicide attack
QUETTA: A bomb struck a Pakistani security vehicle, wounding 13 people in Quetta, just days after a suicide bombing at a hospital claimed 74 people. Home Minister Safaraz Bugti said the home made bomb targeted police personnel escorting a judge, who was left unhurt in the attack. He said, "It was a judge's car that was passing, but I believe that it was the police who were the target. It was a remote-controlled device with 3-4 kg of explosives. I think these kinds of cowardly acts will not reduce our morale." Medical superintendent Abdul Rehman Miankhel said that 13 wounded people, including four members of the security forces, were being treated at the Civil Hospital.
Bangladesh sentences ex-MP to death for war crimes
NEW DELHI: A special tribunal for war crimes during Bangladesh's independence war against Pakistan in 1971 has sentenced a former lawmaker to death and seven others to life in prison on charges of murder and other crimes. Sakhawat Hossain, a former member of Parliament with the Jamaat-e-Islami, was present in the court along with one other defendant. Six others were tried in absentia. All the accused must remain in prison until their deaths, which usually is 30 years in Bangladesh. The country says Pakistani soldiers killed 3 million people and raped 200,000 women during the war. PM Sheikh Hasina initiated the prosecution of suspected war criminals, by forming the tribunal in 2010.
India shouldn't get entangled in SCS dispute, says China
BEIJING: A Chinese daily said that India should avoid "unnecessary entanglement" in the South China Sea dispute during Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi's visit to New Delhi. The article said, "India may want to avoid unnecessary entanglement with China over the South China Sea debate during Wang's visit if the country wishes to create a good atmosphere for economic cooperation, which would include reducing tariffs on made-in-India products exported to China amid the ongoing free trade talk. If India wants China to be more generous in terms of tariff reduction, it would be unwise for the country to let its relationship with China deteriorate further at this moment." It said, "Considering that India does not face territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea, is it worth letting the South China Sea issue become another factor that will impact India's cooperation with China? India should consider this."
Pak lawyers go on strike after dozens killed in attack
ISLAMABAD/QUETTA: Lawyers in Pakistan staged a strike across the nation, after dozens of colleagues were killed in the suicide attack last week. The deadliest militant attack in the country this year, most of the victims were said to be lawyers. "How weak and pathetic are these people who target hospitals, where women and children, where patients, go to get treatment?" said Ashtar Ausaf Ali, Pakistan attorney general. Supreme Court Bar President Ali Zafar asked the government to do more. "Lawyers are relatively more vocal against militancy and they are fighting cases against people accused of terrorism, so it would make sense that they are being targeted," said Ali Malik. "An attack on lawyers makes a mockery of the law enforcement agencies, it undermines the promises of the state against terrorists and breeds fear among vulnerable citizens."
Pak okays bill to tighten grip on online content
ISLAMABAD: Controversial Pakistan Electronic Crimes Bill was passed last week, giving the government the power to take down online content "in the interest of the glory of Islam". The bill was sent to the national assembly for approval after amendments by the Senate in July, and only needs the signature of President Mamnoon Hussain. Activists had slammed the proposed legislation earlier, and now express fear over the new law. Ali Aftab Saeed, a band member of Beyghairat Brigade, said, "This is not going to harm us. Our satire helped democratic parties. The bill is going to bite back in a few years' time. They don't realise it now." IT Minister Anusha Rahman said criticism of the bill is "baseless as proposed amendments have been included."
