In a suspected robbery case at Ohio State University in the United States, a student from Andhra Pradesh was fatally shot by an unidentified assailant. Veera Saiesh, 25, a native of Eluru in Andhra Pradesh, was killed at a petrol station in Franklinton, Columbus, on West Broad Street. According to information received by his family, the assailant shot Saiesh at the Shell fuel station, where he was working as a clerk. Saiesh, who was pursuing his master’s course and also doing a part-time job at a fuel station, was rushed to a hospital and was pronounced dead.
Indians in Oz want suburb named ‘Little India’
Before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's anticipated visit to Australia next month, members of the Indian community in a western Sydney neighbourhood have resumed proposals to rename their neighbourhood "Little India." Indian businesses in Harris Park refer to the cluster of Indian restaurants and retail shops as ‘Little India’ believing that making the sobriquet official would boost the area’s appeal to tourists.
Indian gets key post in Biden admin
The US Senate has confirmed Radha Iyengar Plumb, a national security expert, as the deputy under secretary of defence for acquisition and sustainment. Plumb, who is now the chief of staff of the deputy secretary of defence, had been nominated by President Joe Biden to fill this prominent job in June 2022.
Lankans demand justice for victims
Thousands of Sri Lankans protested in this location while dressed in white and black, calling for justice for those who perished in the tragic Easter bombings of 2019 that claimed the lives of about 270 people, including 11 Indians. Nine suicide bombers belonging to National Thawheed Jamaat linked to ISIS carried out a series of blasts that tore through three Catholic churches and as many luxury hotels on April 21, 2019, killing more than 270 people.
Pak assembly notifies law to curtail powers of CJP
According to media sources, the Pakistan National Assembly has notified the Supreme Court (Practise and Procedure) Bill 2023, a law that would limit the chief justice of Pakistan's (CJP) authority. According to Geo News, the Supreme Court's eight-member bench, presided over by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, blocked the bill's execution. However, due to Clause (2) of Article 75 of the Pakistani Constitution, it was believed to have received the President's assent (with effect from April 21) and was notified as a law.
Landslide kills three, buries vehicles in Pak
In Pakistan's northwest Khyber tribal district, close to the Torkham border crossing with Afghanistan, a massive landslide was followed by rain and lightning storms that buried three people, including two Afghan nationals, alive. Several other people were also injured. Nearly two dozen vehicles were buried under the debris, police said. Authorities feared that dozens of people were trapped beneath the rubble as rescue efforts were underway to clear the main road connecting the two countries. “This is a big landslide and the evacuation process will take some more time. Around 20 to 25 vehicles were buried in the wreckage,” said Abdul Nasir Khan, deputy commissioner of the Khyber district.
China steps up threats against Taiwan
Taiwan has come under increased Chinese threats, with the foreign ministry of China warning that those who resist Beijing's demands to take control of the island are "playing with fire." Qin Gang’s remarks came at the end of a speech espousing China’s contribution to the global economy and the interests of developing nations, in which he repeatedly praised Communist Party Secretary General Xi Jinping’s Global Security Initiative. Toward the end of his speech in Shanghai, Qin turned to what China calls the “Taiwan problem.” While China has taken a consistently hardline position on Taiwan, it delegated threatening statements to spokespeople or lower-lever diplomats.
32 die in two fire incidents in China
At least 32 people were killed in two separate fire incidents involving a hospital and a factory in China. A hospital’s admissions building in Beijing’s Fengtai district caught fire last week, leaving 21 dead, stater un China Daily reported. A total of 71 patients were evacuated and transferred. The cause is currently under investigation, the report said. In a separate incident, 11 people died in a factory fire in Wuyi county, Jinhua city in China’s eastern Zhejiang province.
85 dead, hundreds injured in Yemen crush
At least 85 people died and hundreds were hurt in a crush at a Ramadan cash distribution in Yemen, as the impoverished nation experienced one of its biggest disasters. Three people were detained over the stampede in Sanaa, the rebel held capital, after big crowds gathered at a school to receive gifts of 5,000 rial (about $9) - enough for a large family meal – at the end of Ramzan. A footage screened by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels’ media showed a tightly packed crowd screaming and shoving, unable to move, while others attempted to haul stricken people out of the crush.
Top poll official in Myanmar killed
A top election official in Myanmar was fatally shot in his car in Yangon, the country’s commercial capital, in the latest attack attributed to militants opposed to military rule. According to claims in the media, Sai Kyaw Thu, deputy director-general of the Union Election Commission, which the military appointed, was shot numerous times. The information office said the attack was carried out by the People’s Defense Force, the loosely organised armed wing of the pro-democracy National Unity Government.
Cleopatra docu-drama sparks off colour war
The upcoming Netflix docu-drama "Queen Cleopatra," in which mixed-race actress Adele James portrays the first-century Egyptian pharaoh as a queen with African ancestry, is causing controversy in Egypt. Egyptian academics are claiming that Cleopatra, who was born in the Egyptian city of Alexandria in 69 BCE and belonged to a Greek-speaking dynasty, was of European descent and not black. An Egyptian lawyer has reportedly filed a complaint demanding that legal measures are taken to block Netflix outright in Egypt, to prevent the show from airing, the report added. The lawyer claimed that the docu-drama, which drops on May 10, violates the country’s media laws.
60-year-old climbs Paris skyscraper in protest
The "French Spiderman," a free climber, scaled a 150-meter, 38-story skyscraper in Paris to show his support for demonstrators upset over a pension law that will raise the retirement age in France. Using only his bare hands and a pair of climbing shoes, 60-year-old Alain Robert climbs without a harness. He told the journalists, "I'm here to demonstrate my support for people who reject the pension change.”