Twelve Indians were among the 17 people killed in bus accident in Dubai last week. The mishap occurred when a bus from Oman crashed into a road sign in the United Arab Emirates. Earlier in the day, the Indian Consulate in Dubai tweeted names of eight out of the 12 Indians who lost their lives. The deceased have been identified as Rajagopalan, Feroz Khan Pathan, Reshma Feroz Khan Pathan, Deepak Kumar, Jamaludeen Arakkaveettil, Kiran Johnny, Vasudev, Tilakram Jawahar Thakur. The bus which was carrying 31 passengers, crashed into a height barrier that slashed the rear window, cut into the left side of the bus and killed 17 passengers sitting on that side. According to reports, the driver wrongly entered a road not designated for buses towards Al Rashidiya metro station.
Indian American woman presides over US House
Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington, became the first South Asian American woman to preside over the US House of Representatives. Jayapal took to Twitter to share a clip the session where she can be seen presiding over the House as a temporary speaker. In the text that accompanied the clip, Jayapal wrote that she was "beyond proud" to preside over the House and serve in "the most diverse Congress in American history." Although Nancy Pelosi has been serving as the Speaker of the House of Representatives since January 2019, members of the majority party in the House periodically take turns to temporarily preside over the chamber. 53-year old Jayapal represents Washington DC's seventh congressional district. As a member of the Democratic Party, she represented the 37th legislative district in the Washington State Senate from 2015 to 2017.
PIO activist who yelled at Bezos arrested in US
Indian-American activist Priya Sawhney, who interrupted Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’s on-stage talk, has been arrested on trespassing and burglary charges, according to media reports. Sawhney, 30, rushed on stage during Amazon’s “re-:MARS” event and asked Bezos to do something about “chicken farms”. Sawhney evaded even security, as well as Bezos’s personal detail. Sawhney is due again in court on July 15 on false identification and burglary charges. Sawhney is co-founder of Direct Action Everywhere (DXE), an international grassroots network of animal rights activists founded in 2013 in San Francisco. DXE said it was protesting against what it claims is poor treatment of chickens at a poultry farm in California that supplies chicken and turkey to Amazon and others.
Indian American arrested
A 38-year-old Indian-American was arrested in Washington for threatening a person with an air gun and causing a stampede during a gay pride parade, leaving several people injured as thousands of participants fled in panic fearing a mass shooter. Aftabjit Singh pulled out the gun after another person allegedly threatened his “significant other”, police said. The police arrested him and seized his BB gun - a type of air gun designed to shoot metallic ball projectiles - from his brown bag. He has been charged with the illegal possession of a BB gun, carrying a dangerous weapon and disorderly conduct.
Indian wins $3m in monthly raffle draw in UAE
An Indian expat won a staggering $2.7 million in a monthly raffle in the UAE, a media report said. Sanjai Nath R, who had purchased the ticket at Big Ticket Abu Dhabi, was announced the winner of the bumper prize, 10 million dirham ($2.7 million), the Khaleej Times said. While Nath won the first prize, five other Indian expats were in the top 10 winning list of the raffle, the report said. The second price of 100,000 dirhams was won by Indian expat Binu Gopinathan, it said.
Former Pak president Zardari arrested
Former Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari was arrested from his Islamabad residence in connection with a fake bank accounts case. The arrest came soon after the Islamabad High Court rejected his plea seeking protection from arrest. Zardari’s sister Faryal Talpur is a co-accused in the case. According to reports, warrant for Zaradari’s arrest was issued on Sunday and no warrant has been issued for Talpur as yet. The arrest was made by National Accountability Bureau, the country’s anti-corruption watchdog. The case pertains to a serious of suspicious transactions worth Rs 4.4 billion allegedly carried out through multiple fictitious bank accounts. Zardari is accused of receiving payments to the tune of Rs 30 million from the purported fake accounts. His son and PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has appealed to party supporters to remain peaceful.
10 killed in Pakistan during Eid clashes
Two rival groups opened fire at each other after Eid prayers in Pakistan's Punjab province, killing at least 10 people and injuring 17 others. The incident took place in Jalalpur Pirwala Tehsil of Multan district. The two groups resorted to indiscriminate firing after a dispute, reports said. According to sources, the members of one group were returning to their homes after offering Eid prayers when assailants from another group attacked them. Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar sought a detailed report from the regional police officer (RPO) of Multan on the incident. He directed the RPO to arrest the culprits without delay.
NZ plans to withdraw troops from Iraq
New Zealand said that it will withdraw all of its troops from Iraq by next June. New Zealand has a small contingent of 95 so-called non-combat personnel deployed at the Taji Military Complex northwest of Baghdad, where they are tasked with training Iraqi security forces. The training mission is a joint operation with Australia, which has about 300 troops stationed at Taji. New Zealand's Defense Minister Ron Mark said Australia also planned to downsize its presence in Iraq, although he didn't offer any details. Australia had not made any formal announcements about its plans. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said it would reduce the number of troops to 75 by July and then to 45 by January before they were all withdrawn.
Massive extradition bill protest fills Hong Kong streets
Hundreds of thousands of protesters marched through Hong Kong on Sunday to voice their opposition to legislation that would allow people to be extradited to mainland China where they could face politically charged trials. The demonstration took place three days before the semi-autonomous Chinese territory's government plans to bring the highly contentious bill to the full legislature in a bid to win approval by the end of the month. Police estimated the crowd at 240,000, but organizers said more than 1 million took part. The protest was one of the largest in recent Hong Kong history, underscoring fears over China's broadening footprint in the former British colony. It appeared to be even bigger than a massive pro-democracy demonstration in 2003 against a proposed national security law, according to reports.
Teen faces execution in Saudi
Saudi Arabia is seeking to execute a teenager who has been imprisoned ever since his arrest as a 13-year-old, human rights experts said. Murtaja Qureiris, 18, is facing the death penalty over charges, including anti-government protests, joining a “terrorist organisation”, firing at security forces and making Molotov cocktails which were later thrown at a police station. The 18-year-old denies the charges, claiming confessions which the prosecution has relied on were obtained under duress. Amnesty International said it had confirmed the country’s public prosecutor was seeking the death penalty for offences which date back to when Qureiris was just 10 years old. The organisation said he was allegedly beaten and intimidated during his interrogation. Qureiris is a member of Saudi Arabia’s minority Shia community.
Muslims in Athens finally get a mosque
Greek authorities said that Athens would open its first official mosque probably by September when the 850,000 euro ($967,000) construction project is completed. Although there are mosques in other parts of Greece, the capital has not had a formal mosque since it drove out occupying Ottomans in 1833, and the few that are left have been repurposed. Plans to build a mosque began in 1890 with an act of parliament, but all fell through, including one timed for the 2004 Olympics. "Soon the first prayers will be made by the imam.. We hope that can take place by September," Education Minister Kostas Gavroglou told journalists. Stymied by red tape, a financial crisis, a predominantly Christian Orthodox population and opposition from the rise of the far right of the country, getting approval for the mosque took years, forcing Muslims to pray at makeshift sites dotted across the city, ranging from crowded basements or dark warehouses.
Former US President Carter to get statesmanship award
Former US President Jimmy Carter will receive the inaugural George HW Bush Award for Statesmanship in US-China relations. The foundation said that the award goes to people who have made "profound contributions to the development of constructive and mutually beneficial relations" between the US and the People's Republic of China. A private award ceremony is scheduled for June 12 at the Carter Center in Atlanta. Emory University in Atlanta this week announced that the 94-year-old former president was granted tenure there. Carter has served as Distinguished Professor at Emory for 37 years. Carter, a former Georgia governor, was president from 1977-1981.
Serial-killer nurse gets life for 85 murders
A former nurse who confessed to killing more than four dozen patients was found guilty in Germany of murdering 85 people and was sentenced to life in prison, with the judge calling his crimes “incomprehensible.” It was the third conviction for the nurse, Niels Hogel, who is believed to be the most prolific serial killer in peacetime Germany, and perhaps the world. But for the families of the 100 people he was accused of killing, the trial had aimed to serve as a form of belated justice. “Your guilt is incomprehensible,” judge Sebastian Buerhmann said. “I felt like an accountant of death”. Hoegel worked at a hospital in Oldenburg between 1999 and 2002 and another hospital in Delmenhorst from 2003 to 2005. The killings took place between 2000 and 2005.
Father saves daughter from shark attack
A girl from North Carolina got an up, close and personal of her superhero dad when he fought off a shark to save her! Paige Winter, a 17-year-old girl is currently in the hospital recovering from severe injuries she received after being attacked by a shark. Her father Charlie who is a firefighter decided to take charge to rescue his daughter from danger and punched the huge fish five times so that it let go of his girl. Winter was enjoying a beach day with her family at Fort Macon State Park in North Carolina when she was suddenly pulled under the water. She was attacked by a bull shark, which is a dangerous species. She began screaming and her father Charlie Winter knew he had to save his child even if it meant tackling the shark himself. He punched away the fish not once but five times. The people on the shore were also left in horror as they watched Paige crawl out of the water with blood on her hand and Winter is now recovering from the surgery and is said to be in good condition.
Mom finds girl’s grad cake was made of plastic foam
A Texas woman says a Walmart store lost her order for a two-tier cake that she wanted for her daughter’s graduation party and instead gave her one made of plastic foam. Marsy Flores says the manager told her to pick any other cake on display. All was well until it was time to cut the cake and the family discovered plastic foam under the frosting. She returned to the store where a manager gave her a $60 gift card for the value of the cake, another gift card and a real cake. Walmart said it was “the result of a misunderstanding.”
Workers block world’s biggest Nutella factory
French workers frustrated over salary negotiations are blocking the world’s biggest Nutella factory. Tensions are mounting at the site in Normandy, where activists from the Workers’ Force union have been barring trucks from entering or leaving the factory for a week. The site produces 600,000 jars of the spread every day. After six days of failed efforts to end the standoff, Nutella owner Ferrero started threatening fines for workers involved in the blockade.
Climate activist Greta Thunberg, 16, gets Amnesty prize
Sweden’s teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg was awarded the Amnesty International prize for mobilising world public opinion on the looming peril of global warming. The 16-year-old said it was “a huge honour to receive Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience Award”, adding it was recognition for everybody inspired by her “Fridays for Future” movement that has seen students strike from school to take part in climate protests. “To act on your conscience means that you fight for what you think is right,” she said.
14 lions escape South Africa’s Kruger Park
A pride of 14 lions is on the loose near a mining community bordering South Africa’s Kruger National Park, officials said, and warned people to be alert. The lions have been spotted outside Phalaborwa. It is suspected the lions escaped from the park, said the local government, which has allocated rangers to monitor the pride.
Boy leaves ‘does it matter?’ note on scales for mum
A 12-year-old boy left his mother a note on her scales to remind her than she is not defined by her weight. Kelly McCarron, from Australia, has been trying to improve her health by changing her diet and exercising more. But, in her bid to lose weight, McCarron found herself stepping on the scales everyday. Her son decided to take action. She spotted a note on the scales which read “does it matter?”, and prompted McCarron to revaluate her preoccupation with assessing her weight.
‘Russian Zuck’ gives up food to come up with ideas
Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, has given up eating food in the hope of coming up with new ideas for the app. “I’ve been on a water fast for the last six days and am feeling great so far. Since zero food consumption improves clarity of thought, I also got many things done on the product-management side,” Durov, who is sometimes referred to as the Russian Mark Zuckerberg after founding the social network VK
