Four Indian nationals, including two children, belonging to the same family died of suffocation after they were crushed beneath a pile of gunny sacks in Nepal, the second tragedy to strike Indians in the Himalayan nations this month. The incident happened in Gallamandi Pipariya area of Siddharthanagar Municipality in province No 5 of western Nepal. According to police, Sahajad Hussain, 30, his wife Saddab Khatun and their two-year-old daughter and six-year-old son were found dead beneath a pile of sacks in their rented room. They belonged to Bihar. The four, who had been working as rag pickers for one and a half decade in the area, might have died of suffocation, according to preliminary reports. Their bodies have been kept in a hospital for post-mortem. Earlier, eight Indian tourists from Kerala died in Nepal last week after they fell unconscious due to a suspected gas leak from a heater in their room at a resort in Makwanpur district.
Indian jailed for scams in US
A 28-year-old Indian national was sentenced to 5 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for participating in several scams involving call centres and defrauding victims of over $377,000. Safder Iqbal was also ordered to pay over $377,800 in restitution to the victims, a US attorney said. Iqbal was remanded into custody after the sentencing hearing. Iqbal came to the US from India in April 2018 to work at a hotel in Colorado through the J-1visa programme. He was involved in different scams. Court records show that even before coming to the US, Iqbal was involved in various India-based fraud schemes. He had worked as a call centre agent working to defraud victims in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and South Africa. He had also served as a “broker” helping to connect the India-based owners of scam call centres with receivers who could accept money from victims in their native countries.
Indian-Americans organise 'sit-in Satyagraha' in US
A group of Indian-Americans organised a 'sit-in Satyagraha' in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue near the Indian Embassy, highlighting the need for pluralism in India. The sit-in-Satyagraha was organised by 'Young India', a policy advocacy group. Speeches from community members were also made in the memory of the Mahatma. The speakers highlighted the need for pluralism in India. 'We have gathered here to remind us of Mahatma's message, method and also insistence to activate our conscience in times of trial. World's two largest democracies have found themselves in positions where many see democratic evolution is under duress,' said Indian-American Rohit Tripathi, the founder and current president of 'Young India'.
2 Indians killed in tanker fire off UAE
Two Indian sailors were killed and several others were reported missing after a Panamanian-flagged tanker caught fire off the UAE’s coast, a media report said. The federal authority for land and maritime transport said the fire broke out on board the tanker 21 miles off the UAE coast and was quickly brought under control by fire-fighters. Efforts are on to trace the missing persons, it said. According to reports, the tanker had around 55 people on board, including 12 crew members at the time of the accident. Two Indians died in the fire while two others are reported to be critical. Another 10 are said to be missing, the report said.
Five Indian asylum seekers on hunger strike in US
Five Indian asylum seekers have been on a hunger strike for 90 days at a detention centre in the US state of Louisiana, a media report said. Each of the men - four Hindus and one Sikh - have formal sponsors in the US who have committed to housing and supporting them while they fight their asylum case, the American Bazaar report said. It added all the five men were undergoing forced-hydration and force-feeding at the La Salle centre in Jena. Michelle Graffeo of NGO ‘Freedom for Immigrants’, who has been regularly visiting the men in the facility, said: “Three of the five men are now being held in isolation as punishment for not drinking Boost. All five men are wheelchair bound and unable to get out of bed without assistance. ”
20 killed in a stampede at church service in Tanzania
At least 20 people were killed and more than a dozen hurt in a stampede as worshippers rushed to be anointed during a church service in northern Tanzania, officials said. Thousands of people crammed into a sports stadium for the service in the town of Moshi near Mount Kilimanjaro, with many getting crushed after the pastor called them to be anointed with “blessed oil.” The pastor was arrested, officials said. “Twenty people died and 16 others were injured in the incident,” Moshi district commissioner Kippi Warioba said. Five of the dead were kids. Pastor Boniface Mwamposa had been drawing crowds by promising prosperity and cures for diseases to worshippers who step in what he calls “blessed oil” during his services. According to the home affairs minister George Simbachawene, the stampede took place after the pastor instructed worshippers, who numbered some 10,000, to rush to one side of the stadium all at once to get anointed.
Pak court denies bail to Pashtun leader
A court in Pakistan rejected the transit bail plea of a prominent Pashtun minority leader, known for criticising the country’s powerful military, and ordered his transfer to another jail, a day after he was arrested for alleged sedition, leading to calls for his immediate release. Manzoor Pashteen, chief of the rights-based alliance Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement, attended a gathering on January 18 in Dera Ismail Khan city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where he had allegedly said that the 1973 constitution violated human rights, reports said. District and sessions judge Muhammad Younis accepted the police’s request to shift Pashteen, 27, to a jail in Dera Ismail Khan.
Pak PM to visit Malaysia to pacify Mahathir
Pakistan PM Imran Khan will visit Kuala Lumpur next week to placate Malaysia after he skipped a major summit of Muslim nations reportedly under pressure from Saudi Arabia, media reported. Khan had confirmed Pakistan’s participation in the December 19-21 summit hosted by Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad, but skipped the event at the 11th hour due to pressure exerted by Saudi Arabia and the UAE - key financial backers of the cash-strapped country. After pulling out from the event, Khan spoke to his Malaysian counterpart and offered him to visit after the summit. It is believed that Khan will use the visit to explain to Mahathir the reason why Pakistan pulled out from the summit, the report said.
Ex-king acknowledges long-dismissed daughter
Belgium’s former king Albert II admitted that he is the father of a daughter born from an affair half a century ago after a DNA test he was forced to take came back positive. Recognising he is the “biological father” of artist Delphine Boel, the 85-year-old ex-monarch said he had decided to halt a “painful” paternity legal battle that has dragged on since 2013, the year he abdicated and lost his immunity. Albert had repeatedly denied being the father of Boel, who had made her claim over the past two decades before turning to the courts. The former king agreed in May last year to take a DNA test to resolve the matter after a Brussels court levied a fine of €5,000 ($5,500) for each day he refused. Boel, now aged 51, has maintained that her aristocratic mother, Sybille de Selys Longchamps, had an affair with Albert between 1966 and 1984. She was raised by her mother’s husband, Jacques Boel, but won a court decision that he was not her “legal father”.
Netanyahu formally indicted on corruption charges
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was formally indicted in court on corruption charges after he withdrew his request for parliamentary immunity from prosecution. The immunity bid seemed doomed to fail from the beginning since Netanyahu, who denies any wrongdoing, lacked sufficient votes in the legislature for approval. The request for protection from prosecution had effectively blocked the filing of the indictment until now. As proceedings move toward trial the timeline remains unclear and it could take months or years. In addition to his legal battle, Netanyahu is fighting for his political life in a March 2 election, Israel's third in less than a year after inconclusive ballots in April and September. Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, said in a statement that an immunity debate in parliament would have been a "circus" and he did not want to take part in this "dirty game".
Carolina woman wins lottery two days in a row
A woman from South Carolina won the lottery for 2 straight days and ended up winning a total of $100,001. The woman, who is from Charleston, South Carolina, told the South Carolina Education Lottery officials that she purchased a multi-draw Palmetto Cash 5 ticket. The woman, whose identity was not revealed, won $100,000 in the January 18, 2020 jackpot draw. The next day the woman found out that her second ticket won another prize, which was only $1.The woman said the $100,001 she won will allow her to help her family help the less fortunate people.
Drug store fined for hiking price of masks
A drug store in Beijing will be fined 3 million yuan ($434,530) for hiking the price of face masks by almost six times the online price amid the coronavirus outbreak, the Beijing municipal market regulator said. The regulator has issued a notice of administrative penalty to Beijing Jimin Kangtai Pharmacy for sharply raising the price of N95 masks, it said. Jimin Kangtai raised the price of 3M brand masks to 850 yuan (Rs 8,738) per box, while the price of the same type of masks sold online was 143 yuan (Rs 1,470) per box, state TV said. The Beijing municipal regulator has stepped up supervision on prices of epidemic protective equipment and punished illegal activities such as hoarding or fabricating information about price hikes. It has probed 31 cases of price violation, it said.
Harvard professor charged in US
US prosecutors charged a leading academic at Harvard University with hiding his alleged role in a Chinese government programme that security officials say steals trade secrets. The arrest of Charles Lieber, the chairman of Harvard’s chemistry and chemical biology department, is the latest development in a long-running saga over suspected intellectual property theft. Two other scientists, both Chinese nationals, were also charged, the department of justice said in a statement. One is a Boston University science student who prosecutors say failed to inform US immigration that she was a member of China’s armed forces. The other is a cancer researcher who is accused of trying to smuggle vials containing biological research out of the US in his socks. Lieber’s arrest is unusual because he is not of Chinese descent and is a prominent figure at one of the world’s most respected universities.
Fishermen stranded on giant ice slabs rescued
Russia’s emergency services rescued 536 ice fishermen after they got stranded on a giant ice floe that broke off the island of Sakhalin in Siberia, officials said. Around 60 more people were able to get back on the shore on their own. The rescue operation lasted almost seven hours. Footage showed people using smaller pieces of ice as rafts. It is the third time in a week that emergency services in Sakhalin had to rescue fishermen stuck on drifting glacial masses.
Woman, kids survive 34 days in jungle by eating wild berries
A mother and her three children have been found alive after getting lost in a jungle between Peru and Colombia, and surviving on wild berries and fruits for 34 days. The family - the 40-year-old woman and her children aged 14, 12 and 10 - were reported missing on 19 December. While lost, the group followed a river until they crossed into Peru. Members of the Secoya indigenous group found the family and alerted the Peruvian navy, who told their Colombian counterparts. The four were treated for malnourishment, dehydration and minor injuries.
Oscars go green with plant-based menus
Food at this year’s Oscar events will be almost entirely plant-based, the Academy of Motion Pictures said, in line with other events this awards season. Menus for the annual luncheon for Oscar nominees, and finger food served before the ceremony on February 9, will be 100% plant-based. The menu for the post-ceremony Governors Ball will be 70% plant-based and 30% vegetarian, fish and meat. Plastic bottles will also be eliminated.
Dog rides bus to and from dog park every day by itself
Eclipse is an independent dog who doesn’t need humans. The dog leaves her house in Seattle every day by herself to catch a bus to a park. A couple of hours later, she takes another bus to get home using the ticket attached to her collar. It started when Eclipse’s owner was taking her to the park one day but couldn’t finish his cigarette before the bus arrived. Unwilling to wait, Eclipse left him behind and hopped onto the bus.
Egypt sentences militant, 36 others to death
An Egyptian court sentenced Hisham al-Ashmawy, a former special forces officer turned Islamist militant, and 36 others to death after they were convicted of terrorism. Ashmawy was captured in the eastern Libyan city of Derna in late 2018 and transferred by authorities loyal to commander Khalifa Haftar to Egypt in May last year. He was convicted on several charges, including plotting a 2014 attack that killed 22 military guards near the frontier with Libya, and involvement in an attempt to kill a former interior minister in 2013, a military statement said. The other 36 defendants tried with him were also convicted of terrorism charges, the court ruled. Their cases were referred to the Grand Mufti, Egypt's highest Islamic legal official. Egyptian law requires any capital sentence to be referred to him for an opinion before executions can take place.
