Maulana Asim Umar, the chief of al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) is learnt to have been killed in US air strikes in Afghanistan in September. Umar was a resident of Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, where he was known as Sanaul Haq alias Sannu. He lived in Deepa Sarai locality and fled to Pakistan in the late 1990s. In July 2018, Umar was designated a ‘global terrorist’ by the US which added the regional branch of the global terror network on the list of ‘foreign terrorist organisations’. His death was confirmed by Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security on Twitter. It also confirmed that he and “six other al-Qaida operatives were killed in a Taliban compound in Musa Qala district of Helmand province on September 23”. Umar had graduated from Darul Uloom seminary in Deoband, UP, in 1991. Al-Qaida leader Ayman Al Zawahiri had announced the formation of AQIS to take the fight to India, Myanmar and Bangladesh in September 2014. Subsequently, he chose Umar as its chief and held a crowning ceremony in Miran Shah area of Afghanistan that year.
US firm to compensate to Indian, Syrian-origin staffers
Leading American multinational corporation Halliburton has agreed to pay $275,000 to two of its Muslim employees of Indian and Syrian-origins who were subjected to religious discrimination and accused of having links with terrorists by the company’s employees. The firm, one of the world’s largest providers of products and services to the energy industry, has agreed to pay the amount and furnish significant relief to settle a national origin and religious discrimination suit brought by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The lawsuit alleged that oilfield workers Mir Ali, a Muslim co-worker of Indian-origin and Hassan Snoubar of Syrian-origin were subjected to a hostile environment. Both of them were frequently called derogatory names and was accused of being associated with terrorism and the IS by supervisors and coworkers.
Another Hindu girl abducted in Pakistan
Another Hindu girl has been kidnapped from Pakistan's Sindh province allegedly by Muslim men and her family has alleged that she was forcefully converted to Islam. Meanwhile, The death of a Pakistani Hindu medical student who was found dead under mysterious circumstances in her hostel room last month, occurred due to asphyxiation or lack of oxygen, a report has revealed. The report compiled by the Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences was handed over to Larkana police where it indicated that Nimrita Kumari died due to asphyxiation. The report claimed that the medical student did not die by unnatural causes or being poisoned since that would have showed changes in her body parts. However, there were no unusual symptoms in her heart, kidneys, lungs or liver, it added. The police said the report did not mention the cause of Kumari's death and maintained that the evidence indicated she committed suicide.
NAB granted 14-day remand of Sharif
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) obtained 14-day physical remand of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in connection with the Chaudhry Sugar Mills (CSM) case. The court ordered the accountability bureau to present Nawaz on October 25. Sharif had been arrested earlier in the day by NAB from Kot Lakhpat jail and presented before an accountability court in Lahore. Members of the Sharif family are accused of being involved in money laundering under the garb of sale/purchase of Chaudhry Sugar Mills Ltd shares. NAB has accused Nawaz of being a direct beneficiary of CSM and his daughter, Maryam - who was arrested in connection with the case in August along with her cousin Yousuf Abbas - of holding over 12 million shares in the sugar mills.
Treason case against Mush to be heard from Oct 24
A special court in Pakistan said the high treason trial of former military dictator Pervez Musharraf will start on a daily basis from October 24 as his counsel is down with dengue fever. The bench had decided last month to conduct Musharraf ’s trial on a daily basis from October 8 to conclude the case pending since December 2013. However, an application was submitted on behalf of his counsel for deferment of the hearing for two weeks. The court accepted the plea. The previous government had filed the case against Musharraf in 2013 over the imposition of extra-constitutional emergency in Nov 2007, which led to the confinement of several superior court judges in their houses and sacking of over 100 judges.
World Economic Forum downgrades Pak's ranks
A report by the World Economic Forum says Pakistan has slipped three places and now ranks 110th on the international organization's annual Global Competitiveness Index. The index evaluates factors behind productivity and long-term economic growth. The report says Pakistan's ranking deteriorated due to poor performance in key areas of press freedoms, governance, innovation, corruption, life expectancy, productivity and human development. Pakistan made improvement in some areas such as budgetary transparency and reduction in organized crimes. The World Economic Forum's index maps out the competitive landscape of 141 economies, based on more than 100 indicators in a dozen categories.
Pak cops remove Afghan flag, envoy warns retaliation
Days after Afghanistan’s ambassador to Pakistan, Shukrullah Atif Mashal, warned that his country would close its consulate in Peshawar over a property dispute, he issued a statement threatening to shut down the facility over the Pakistan police’s removal of the Afghan flag from a market that the Afghan authorities claim is owned by their government. According to the statement, Pakistani police had entered Firdous market in Peshawar city and closed the market, which, Mashal claimed, was the sole property of the Afghan government.
Singapore to ban ads for sugary drinks
For the first time in the world, Singapore will ban ads for sugary drinks in its latest move to combat rising diabetes rates. Products deemed “less healthy” must now display labels grading their nutritional and sugar content, with those considered to be most unhealthy banned from appearing in ads across all media platforms, including broadcast, print and online channels. “This aims to reduce the influence of such advertisements on consumer preferences,” the ministry said, calling the ban a world first. It added that the measures were only a start and it will continue to explore the possibility of a sugar tax or ban. “We urge SSB (sugar-sweetened beverages) manufacturers to consider reformulating their drinks to contain less sugar even as we further study these measures,” it said. The ministry said it will obtain industry feedback in the coming months on how to implement the measures and announce more details next year.
Lanka’s ballot paper to be extra long: EC
Sri Lankan Election Commission said that plastic ballot boxes would be imported for next month’s presidential polls as the ballot paper has an extraordinary length due to a record number of candidates. A total of 35 candidates would be contesting the presidential poll on November 16 - the highest ever in Sri Lanka’s history. “The specimen ballot paper is 26 inches in length,” EC chief Mahinda Deshapriya said. He said existing ballot boxes might have to be modified and larger polling booths would have to be constructed. He said the government will have to incur a cost of more than Rs 4 billion to conduct the poll. “There will be 70 polling agents per candidate at each polling station.”
Ethiopia PM wins Nobel Peace Prize
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (43) won the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for his peacemaking efforts to end two decades of border conflict with Eritrea that had claimed tens of thousands of lives. Africa’s youngest leader had been the bookmakers’ second favourite to win the prize - the 100th Nobel Peace award since 1901- behind teenage Swedish climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg. Since he came to office in April 2018, he also begun political and economic reforms that promise a better life for many in impoverished Ethiopia. However, he faces increasing pressure to uphold the sweeping freedoms he introduced, with critics warning that his ability to deal with rising domestic unrest may be slipping.
Amnesty urges Malaysia to end death penalty
Amnesty International has urged Malaysia to abolish the death penalty, saying unfair trials and the use of harsh treatment to obtain confessions put people at risk of execution. In a reversal earlier this year, the government said the death penalty will continue but removed mandatory death sentences for 11 offenses. The human rights group said that 73% of the 1,281 people on death row were convicted of drug offenses, including 568 foreigners and many poor members of ethnic minorities. It said a pattern of unfair trials and secretive hangings has stained Malaysia's criminal justice system. It urged Malaysia to repeal the mandatory death penalty for all crimes and maintain a moratorium on executions until then.
Shooting near synagogue leaves 2 dead
At least two people were fatally shot in the German city of Halle, police said, with local news outlets reporting that at least one gunman had opened fire at a synagogue. The assailant fled the scene, and the authorities warned people to stay in their homes while they carried out a search. Police said that one suspect was arrested. “Several shots were fired,” police said in a statement on Twitter. “The suspected perpetrators fled in a vehicle.” A witness said that he had seen the armed man with several weapons firing at the synagogue. Other news outlets reported that a hand grenade was thrown into a Jewish cemetery nearby.
Woman in hospital after getting shot by dog
An Oklahoma woman was shot in the thigh when a dog inside the vehicle with her jumped onto a back seat console, causing a gun under the console to fire. The reports say that Tina Springer, 44, was in the passenger seat of the vehicle had stopped to wait for a train in Enid in Oklahoma. The yellow Labrador retriever, which belongs to the 79-year-old driver Brent Parks, was in the back seat and jumped onto the folding console. That’s when the .22-caliber handgun under the console went off.
Truckload of beer spills on highway
A truck filled with beer rolled on Australia’s busiest highway, spilling thousands of cans of the amber liquid and closing part of the road for hours, police said. The truck went off the road. Its trailer, full of Victoria Bitter beer, rolled, spilling “a large number” of cans, police said. The driver wasn’t hurt, but some of the cans were, sending beer gushing onto the road.
Dog saves South Carolina man
A South Carolina man says a house fire would have ended his life if it weren’t for his four-legged friend. News outlets report that Curly the dog saved Brian Rand by waking him during a house fire. Rand says Curly nudged him until he woke up. He says he saw smoke and grabbed Curly to run outside.