THE HAGUE: A schoolgirl of Indian-origin won this year's International Children's Peace Prize for her fight to save the planet, in the UAE. Kehkashan Basu, 16, was presented the award by Nobel Peace laureate Mohammad Yunus at a ceremony held in The Hague. Basu, at the age of eight, organised an awareness-raising campaign for the recycling of waste in her Dubai neighbourhood. She soon found her own organisation, Green Hope, in 2012, which carries out environment-focused campaigns. Praising her initiative, Yunus said, "It is a great achievement for such a young person to already have such reach and impact with her important message. Kehkashan teaches us that we all have a responsibility to work towards a sustainable future." Accepting the award, the teen said she would "keep campaigning to encourage children and adults to create a more sustainable future." She added, "I call upon everyone to think of how they can contribute to the preservation of the environment... Time is not on our side, we have to act now, or we will have polar bears under palm trees."
Italian PM quits after losing reforms vote
Rome: Italy plunged into political and economic uncertainty on Monday as PM Matteo Renzi said he would resign after voters decisively rejected constitutional changes, a step to reverberate across a European Union already buffeted by anti-establishment anger. “The `no' won in an incredibly clear way,” Renzi said from the Chigi Palace. Renzi's defeat, and the instability that his resignation is likely to cause, raised the prospect of punishment in the markets, but also of a caretaker government staffed with technocrats appointed by the Italian president.
34 militants killed in Afghan operations
KABUL: Over 34 militants were killed and 12 injured in a series of operations in Kandahar, Helmand and Uruzgan provinces recently, an Afghan military spokesman said. The Afghan army launched new operations codenamed 'Attal', meaning hero, which would last until all militants are swept out of the region. Taliban militants who have boosted their activities, and are now fighting the government forces in the region, are yet to release a statement confirming the news.
New Zealand PM quits
Wellington: Popular New Zealand Prime Minister John Key announced his resignation on Monday, saying he was never a career politician and it was the right time to go after eight years in the job. The former Merrill Lynch currency trader called it “the hardest decision I've ever made,” with no plans on what to do next other than spend more time with his family. “Being leader of both the party and the country has been an incredible experience,” he told a regular weekly news conference. “But despite the amazing career I have had in politics, I have never seen myself as a career politician.” Key recently marked his eighth anniversary as prime minister and 10th year as leader of the centre-right National Party, which will meet next week to elect his successor.
S Korean prez offers to resign over corruption
SEOUL: South Korean President Park GeunHye, who remains surrounded with scandals, has expressed her willingness to resign, a move critics call a bid to delay the impending impeachment. Park who faces several allegations of influence peddling and claims of tens of millions of dollars changing hands, made a speech saying, "I will leave the issue of my departure, including the (possible) reduction of my term in office, to a decision by the National Assembly. Once lawmakers come up with measures to transfer power in a way that minimises any power vacuum and chaos in governance, I will step down." She has been named a suspect in a probe, making her the first sitting president in the country to be subject to criminal probe. Accusations also rose against Park's close aide Choi Soon-Sil aka 'Korea's Rasputin' extracting over $60 million in payments from some of the country's top firms.
Austria passes bill to seize Hitler's home
VIENNA: Internal Committee of the Austrian National Council has given its approval for the expropriation of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler's birth home from its current owner. Representatives from both parties of the coalition government and the Greens and NEOS parties gave their approval for the bill put forward by interior minister Wolfgang Sobotka. Reports suggested the interior ministry now planned to consult both the governor of Upper Austria and the mayor of Braunau am Inn regarding the future use of the building. The approval is another step at making the building "unrecognizable". The department aims to prevent the place from being a pilgrimage site for Neo-Nazis and the architectural changes intend to alter it from being a place of remembrance.
Raheel fan kills himself over Gen's retirement
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's ex-army chief General Raheel Sharif is known to have a loyal fan following and one of them recently killed himself in protest against his retirement. Lutf Amim Shibli, 66, former chairman of the Progressive Workers Union at the Karachi Port Trust, began his protest on November 1, camping outside the Karachi Press Club and threatening that he would commit suicide if General Raheel was not given an extension in service. "Gen Sharif is a messiah. I am his fan. Only he can save the country from terrorism and social ills," read posters and banners placed outside his camp. Sources said he took his life by consuming poison, but it could not be verified as his family did not allow his post-mortem. Police officer Saqib Ismail Memon said, "Shibli suffered from high blood pressure. He was taken to Jinnah Hospital on November 27 and passed away on Wednesday."
Saudi Arabian deserts receive snowfall
RIYADH: Fancy making a snow man in the desert? You could now if you land in Saudi Arabia. Deserts in Saudi were found covered in layers of snow last week after temperatures dipped to as low as -3 degrees Celsius in the northern parts of the country. The snowfall came after temperatures dropped below 0 °C (32 °F) in central and northwestern regions of the country, that tend to see daily high temperatures of around 20 °C (68 °F), even in November.
US professor fatally stabbed on campus, student arrested
LOS ANGELES: A professor was fatally stabbed in the University of Southern California campus resulting in the arrest of a male student as suspect. Los Angeles Police Officer Meghan Aguilar refrained from releasing the names of the victim, the suspect and the motive behind the attack that took place over the weekend. However, LA Fire Department spokeswoman Margaret Stewart said the deceased was around 25 years old and was pronounced dead at the scene. Following the incident, the university's Trojans Alert emergency texting service quickly sent out messages urging students, faculty and employees to stay away from the Seely G Mudd building. "Police-related incident in progress at Seely G Mudd. No danger to USC or the community. Stay away from the area." Just last year, the university was shaken by the death of a graduate student who was attacked by a group of people as he walked back to his off-campus apartment late at night.
California warehouse fire death toll climbs to 33
OAKLAND (US): Death toll from a fire at a California warehouse rose to 33, with authorities stating they had no idea how many more bodies were to be expected. Hell broke loose at a rave party last week, held at the warehouse where artists and students worked and lived. While the cause of the blaze remains under investigation, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said the district attorney had opened a criminal investigation as precaution to preserve options as the case unfolds. "The scope of the tragedy is tremendous. We have many, many witnesses to interview. We are in the process of doing that," she said. Eight victims were identified based on fingerprints, all ranging in the age from 17to 35. The fire was the deadliest incident in Oakland since the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake in northern California, which killed 63 people."When we started this investigation, if you would have told us we would have 33 victims, we wouldn't have believed you," Sergeant Ray Kelly of the Alameda County Sheriff's Department said.
Hotel fire in Karachi leaves 11 dead, 75 injured
ISLAMABAD: A fire at a hotel in Karachi, killed at least 11 people, and injured 75 others including several foreigners. The fire broke out in the kitchen on the ground floor of the four-star hotel, soon sweeping through the building, trapping scores of hotel guests in their rooms. Chief Fire Office Tehseen Siddiqui said most of the victims suffered from smoke inhalation or suffocated, adding that the hotel has been evacuated since. Police Senior Superintendent Saqib Memon said the cause of the fire in the Regenta Plaza Hotel remains unclear and an investigation has been launched. He also confirmed the death toll and said it took three hours for the fire to be brought under control. Among the injured were international and domestic cricket players who were among those injured in the blaze.
Doctor fired for calling Michelle `monkey face'
LOS ANGELES: An American doctor has been fired for calling First Lady Michelle Obama "monkey face" and saying she spoke in "poor ebonic English'. Pediatric anesthesiologist Michelle Herren was sacked from the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine where he held an unpaid faculty position. The facility also confirmed she quit her post at Denver Health Medical Centre. The move came after Herren wrote a comment on Facebook below a post praising the First Lady. She posted an unflattering photo of Obama and wrote, "Doesn't seem to be speaking too eloquently here, thank god we can't hear her! Monkey face and poor ebonic English!!! There! I feel better and am still not racist!!! Just calling it like it is!" The incident came weeks after a police officer was fired for posting her racist Facebook memes.
US pledges $900m in aid to Pak, but with a rider
ISLAMABAD: The US House of Representatives passed a defence bill pledging $900 million in economic and other assistance to Pakistan, a major chunk of which depends on a Pentagon certification that the south Asian country is taking demonstrable steps against the dreaded Haqqani network. The US National Defence Authorisation Act for fiscal year 2017 was passed in the House of Representatives. It limits the overall amount available for reimbursement to $1.1 billion, of which $900 million is available for reimbursement to Pakistan. It also extends Congressional notification and certification requirements reimbursements and specifies that certain reimbursements to Pakistan are ineligible for a national security waiver unless Department of Defence makes specified certifications regarding the activities of Pak with respect to the Haqqani network.
`Haqqani greatest threat to US troops'
WASHINGTON: Pak-based Haqqani network continues to pose the "greatest" threat to US troops in Afghanistan, as revealed by a top US commander based in the war-torn country. Underlining that the terror outfit remains America's principal concern, General John Nicholson, commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said, "The Haqqanis still pose the greatest threat to Americans and to our coalition partners and to the Afghans."
We can't afford to have bullet trains: Pak minister
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Railway Minister said the country can't afford to have bullet trains on par with foreign nations as it lacks market for the high-speed rail project. Khawaja Saad Rafique told the National Assembly that even the Chinese advised against such train. "When we asked the Chinese about it, they laughed at us. We should consider the 160kmph train under CPEC as a bullet train. We cannot afford an actual bullet train, there is no market for it," he said. He admitted their party had faced a lot of criticism over not launching the project despite earlier having made it part of election manifesto. "Even if we do, we do not have such a big range of upper and middle class passengers who will buy tickets," he said.
