A student from Hyderabad has gone missing in Cleveland while his family in India has received a ransom call. Mohammed Abdul Arfath, 25, who was pursuing a master’s degree in information technology at Cleveland University has not been in touch with the family since March 7. He came to the US in May 2023. His parents residing in Malkajgiri district near Hyderabad have received a call demanding a ransom of $12,000. The unidentified caller informed them their son had been kidnapped and threatened to sell his kidney. The caller demanded the ransom but did not mention the mode of payment. Saleem, the father, informed his relatives in the US, who filed a missing complaint with the Cleveland police, which issued a watch order.
Indian professional dies in US car accident
A 24-year-old Indian professional was killed in a car accident in the US state of Pennsylvania. Arshia Joshi lost her life in a car accident in Pennsylvania on March 21, the Consulate General of India in New York said in a post, expressing deep condolences to her family. Joshi had completed her graduation last year. The Consulate said it was in touch with Joshi’s family and local community leaders. “Extending all possible help to transport her mortal remains to India at the earliest,” it said, without divulging more details about the deceased. Volunteer-based nonprofit organisation TEAM Aid is assisting in sending Joshi’s mortal remains to Delhi to her family. It has been working to help repatriate the mortal remains to India of people who have lost their lives while in the US.
Yogesh Raut is Jeopardy champ
Blogger, freelance writer, and podcaster Yogesh Raut has won the 2024 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions. Raut took home the $250,000 grand prize and punched his ticket to the upcoming Jeopardy Masters competition, where he will face off against some of the top-performing players in Jeopardy history. Raut, from Vancouver, Washington, defeated Ben Chan, a philosophy professor from Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Troy Meyer, a music executive from Tampa, Florida. Raut has been on the show before – in January 2023 – when he won $98,000 after being on air for four days. He was not a popular contestant drawing ire online for what was dubbed as his bad sportsmanship.
Deaths for 2 Pak students over blasphemy killing
A court in northwestern Pakistan has sentenced two female seminary students to death and another to life imprisonment for killing their teacher on blasphemy charges in March 2022. The three women from Jamia Islamia Falahul Binaat seminary in Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province were arrested two years ago for murdering their teacher, Safoora Bibi, alleging she had committed blasphemy. The assault took place at the seminary’s gate where the students beat their teacher with sticks before slitting her throat. After learning of the incident, the teacher’s uncle had informed the police that his niece had been tortured and killed in the street. Subsequently, police said, the accused had confessed to the crime, claiming that a teenage relative had dreamt of the victim committing blasphemy.
137 killed in Moscow concert hall carnage, IS claims attack
Russia said that it had arrested all four gunmen suspected of carrying out a shooting massacre in a concert hall near Moscow, and President Vladimir Putin pledged to track down and punish those behind the attack. The so-called Islamic State claimed responsibility for Friday’s rampage but there were indications that Russia was pursuing a Ukrainian link, despite emphatic denials from Ukrainian officials that Kyiv had anything to do with it. Russia’s state Investigative Committee said 137 people had been killed. State TV editor Margarita Simonyan, without citing a source, had earlier given a toll of 143. In a televised address, Putin said 11 people had been detained, including the four gunmen.
Wickremesinghe asks cabinet to prepare for presidential elections
Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has instructed his Cabinet to prepare for the presidential election to be held later this year, as the cash-starved nation strives to recover from its worst economic crisis. The next presidential election must be called by the elections commission by September and must be held by mid-November. The parliament election is not due before August of 2025 but President Wickremesinghe has the power to hold it anytime now by dissolving the 225-member Assembly elected in August 2020. Ending speculation, Wickremesinghe during a Cabinet meeting announced that the presidential election will be held first and instructed it to prepare for the polls, Daily Mirror, quoting sources.
12 miners killed in explosion
At least 12 miners have been killed in a gas explosion at a coal pit in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan. The explosion at the private pit in Harnai, in the mining region of Khost, leaving workers trapped about 240 metres (800 feet) underground in the subsequent cave-in. Rescuers worked overnight, recovering the bodies of the 12 miners. Eight people attempting to rescue their colleagues were also trapped for several hours. They were later brought to safety – some of them unconscious – by a government rescue team.
Iran currency hits a record low
Iran’s currency fell to a record low on Sunday, plunging to 613,500 to the dollar, as its people celebrated Persian New Year. On Sunday, people were trying to exchange rials for foreign currency at Tehran’s main hub of exchange shops in Ferdowsi Street, but most were closed due to Nowruz holidays. Mohsen, an employee at one of the exchange shops, said the holiday was contributing to low prices. The two-week holiday is an opportunity to travel abroad, driving demand for US dollars and Euros. The price was 590,000 to the dollar on March 18, the last workday before the holiday. Many Iranians have seen their life savings evaporate as the currency has depreciated. The rial’s record low came less than a month after a parliamentary election that saw the lowest turnout since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, whose results were dominated by hard-line politicians.
Burglar caught doing yoga before break in at bakery
A woman caught on security camera doing a yoga routine before allegedly breaking into a bakery and stealing an almond croissant, a pair of shoes and cleaning products has been charged, Australian police said. The woman was captured on CCTV stretching for at least two minutes in a Melbourne bakery’s carpark in the dead of night. After various yoga inspired manoeuvres, she entered Phillippa’s Bakery headquarters. The woman has been charged with theft, burglary and going equipped to steal. She was later released on bail.