The new US House Speaker Mike Johnson has tapped Raj Shah to be his deputy chief of staff for communications. The Indian American who has played the roles of deputy press secretary and deputy assistant to the president, was among those who were embroiled in the lawsuit Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit brought and won against Fox Corp. Shah’s internal messages along with other Fox executives, where he was a senior vice president helped go toward the news outlet having to make a $787 million settlement. It also exposed him as promoting the election lies of Donald Trump. Shah had to leave the job under a cloud. Shah has also been a research director and deputy communications director for the Republican National Committee. In his new job, Shah will be Johnson’s chief spokesperson and “help run messaging for House Republicans.”
Indians can visit Thailand without visa for 6 months
In a good news for travellers, Thailand will allow visa-free entry for tourists from India and Taiwan for a period of six months from November 10 to May 10, 2024. The decision has been taken with an objective to draw in more tourists as the tourism season approaches, a Thai government official said. Those arriving from India and Taiwan can enter Thailand for 30 days, according to Thai government spokesperson Chai Wacharonke. He added the authorities hoped that the scheme would attract 1.4 million extra tourists, generating additional revenue. As of now, Indian and Taiwanese tourists have to apply for a 15-day visa-on-arrival at immigration checkpoints, present bank statements and proof of accommodation.
Young Pak couple killed in the name of 'honour'
A young couple was shot dead in the name of "honour" in Punjab province of Pakistan, police said, days after a top court warned the girl's relatives not to harass them. Adil Afzal and Zubair Afzal, the brothers of Ramsha, 20, along with two accomplices barged into 23-year-old Nasir Gill's house and shot them dead, a police official said. Gill and Ramsha, who stayed in the same locality, secretly held a court marriage after the boy sent a marriage proposal to the girl's parents, which they declined, police official said. Ramsha had gone to her parent's house after the marriage, assuring Gill that she would persuade her parents to accept him as their son-in-law, Ahmad said.
Cornell pupil held for antisemitic threats
A junior at Cornell University was charged with making death threats online to Jewish students in an incident that roiled a campus battling anti-semitism. Patrick Dai, 21, was charged with posting threats to kill or injure another using interstate communications, according to a statement by Carla Freedman, the US attorney for the Northern district of New York. Dai allegedly threatened to “stab” and “slit the throat” of Jewish males he sees on campus, to rape and throw off a cliff any Jewish females, and to behead Jewish babies, according to the statement.
Russia revokes nuclear test ban treaty
President Vladimir Putin signed a bill revoking Russia’s ratification of a global nuclear test ban, a move that Moscow said was needed to establish parity with the US. Putin has said that rescinding the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, also known as the CTBT, would “mirror” the stand taken by the US, which has signed but not ratified the nuclear test ban. Both houses of the Russian parliament voted last month to revoke Moscow’s ratification of the bill. The CTBT, adopted in 1996, bans all nuclear explosions anywhere in the world, but the treaty was never fully implemented. In addition to the US, it has yet to be ratified by China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, Israel, Iran and Egypt.
China sends 43 aircraft, 7 ships close to Taiwan
Taiwan said that China sent 43 military aircraft and seven ships near the self-ruled island, the latest sign that Beijing plans no let-up in its campaign of harassment, threats and intimidation. Taiwan’s defence ministry said 37 of the aircraft had crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait, which China no longer recognises as an informal divider between the sides. It said Taiwan had monitored the situation, scrambled jet fighters, dispatched ships and activated land-based missile systems, all standard responses to Chinese military activities, which include crossing into Taiwan’s air defence identification zone but not into its actual airspace. China’s military maneuvers are seen as intended to break down Taiwanese morale, exhausting its pilots and other personnel and wearing down its equipment.
Woman shouting death threats shot by Paris cops
Paris police shot and critically wounded a woman wearing a hijab who was behaving in a threatening manner and shouted “Allahu Akbar” and “You’re all going to die” in a metro station, Paris police chief said. France is on its highest state of alert after the October 13 murder of a schoolteacher in a suspected Islamist attack, which officials have linked to what they called a “Jihadist atmosphere” linked to the Israel-Gaza war. The fully-veiled woman was shot at the Bibliotheque François-Mitterrand station. Commuters had reported her “uttering aggressive, Jihadist comments,” a government spokesman said.
Philippine radio anchor shot dead
A radio anchor was fatally shot by a man inside his Philippine station in a brazen attack that was witnessed by people watching the programme live on Facebook. The gunman gained entry into the home-based radio station of provincial news broadcaster Juan Jumalon, 57, by pretending to be a listener. He then shot him twice during a live broadcast, police said. The attacker snatched the victim’s gold necklace before fleeing with a companion, police said. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. strongly condemned the shooting and ordered the national police to track down, arrest and prosecute the killers. The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines said Jumalon was the 199th journalist to be killed in the country since 1986.
The US infant mortality rates rise last year
The US infant mortality rate rose 3% last year - the largest increase in two decades, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. White and Native American infants, infant boys and babies born at 37 weeks or earlier had significant death rate increases. The CDC’s report also noted larger increases for two of the leading causes of infant deaths - maternal complications and bacterial meningitis. “It’s definitely concerning, given that it’s going in the opposite direction from what it has been,” said Marie Thoma, a University of Maryland researcher who studies maternal and infant mortality.