WASHINGTON: US First Lady Michelle Obama has selected Indian-American Swetha Prabakaran for 'Better Make Room' campaign's Student Advisory Board in recognition of her efforts to educate youth in the field of computer sciences. The board members will visit White House to attend Michelle's School Counsellor of the Year Ceremony. Born in Indianapolis to Indian parents, Swetha is among 17 students selected by the White House to serve on 'Better Make Room' Student Advisory Board. The inaugural Board has 12 high school students and five college students.
PIA plane hits Air France jet at Toronto airport
TORONTO: A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) aircraft hit an Air France plane while taxiing at Toronto International Airport. The PIA flight from Toronto to Lahore was suspended after the plane clipped the wing of the Air France plane which was parked at Terminal 3. No one was injured and the damage to the plane was minor. A PIA spokesperson said the matter was under investigation. There's some damage to the equipment which may need replacement, he added.
Pak arrests 150 trying to rally in support of blasphemy law
ISLAMABAD: Police arrested 150 people, mostly clerics and seminary students, who had gathered in Lahore to celebrate the assassination of Punjab's former governor Salman Taseer on his sixth death anniversary. The supporters of blasphemy law had planned to march from Lahore's Kalma Chowk to Liberty Chowk. The provincial government, however, did not grant them permission for the rally.
“Over 150 members of religious groups have been detained,” a police officer, said. Blasphemy law is a sensitive subject in Pakistan and several persons have been gunned down in the past for opposing the legislation.
Bangla police kill prime suspect in July cafe attack
DHAKA: Bangladeshi police shot dead two Islamist militants in a gunfight in Dhaka, including a prime suspect in the killing of 20 hostages, mostly foreigners, in a cafe in the capital last year. Nurul Islam Marjan, 30, a commander of a splinter group of the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), was killed along with another suspected militant, Saddam Hossain, 35, the chief of Dhaka's counter-terrorism police, Monirul Islam, said. Marjan was wanted by police for his role in the attack on the cafe last July, which raised alarm over the rising threat of Islamist militancy and cast a shadow over foreign investment in the poor Muslim-majority country.
Turkey nightclub attacker identified
ANKARA: Turkish police have confirmed that an Uzbek national was behind the attack on the crowded nightclub on new year's eve in Istanbul. Abdulkadir Masharipov arrived in Istanbul from the central Anatolian province of Konya on December 15, 2016, police sources said. He was part of an Islamic State (IS) cell in Konya that consists of Uzbeks. They continued to provide logistical support to Masharipov, who was also known as "Ebu Muhammed Horasani." The attacker remains on the run after escaping the Reina nightclub despite the massive deployment of police to prevent attacks targeting New Year's celebrations.
Pakistan test-fires cruise missile
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan last week successfully test-fired submarine-launched cruise missile Babur-III, an official said, and claimed the missile has been developed indigenously. The range of the missile is 450 km, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor said. The development came less than a month after Pakistan conducted a successful test of an enhanced version of Babur cruise missile. Babur weapons system version II incorporates advanced aerodynamics and avionics that can strike targets both at land and sea with high accuracy at a range of 700 km.
Obama selects 4 Indian-Americans for awards
WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama has chosen four Indian-American scientists for the highest honour in recognition for keeping the US on the cutting edge with their innovations. They are part of the list of 102 scientists and researchers who are recipients of the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers. These scientists are Pankaj Lal from Montclair State University, Kaushik Chowdhury from Northeastern University, Manish Arora from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Aradhna Tripati from University of California, Los Angeles.
