Indian-origin Sikh taxi driver assaulted in US
An Indian-origin Sikh taxi driver has been assaulted and racially abused in the US state of Washington in a suspected hate crime here, according to media reports. Grifin Levi Sayers, 22, verbally and physically abused his Sikh Uber driver on December 5 in Bellingham city, Bellingham Herald newspaper quoted police as saying. While strangling the Sikh man, Sayers made “racially biased comments about the victim’s dark skin, the fact he was from India and the turban he was wearing”, police officer Claudia Murphy said. After a struggle, the driver, who was not identified, managed to escape from his car, left the rider inside and called 911 for help. Sayers was later arrested from his house. Police charged him with second-degree assault and with failure-to-appear, Bellingham Herald reported. Sayers was released on December 6 on $13,000 bail.
Afghan war can end if Pak wants: US Senator
The war in Afghanistan would end in a few weeks if Pakistan denied the Taliban safe heaven, a top US senator has said, urging the Trump administration that it should start negotiations with Islamabad rather than the Afghan insurgents to stop the deadly conflict. The comments by Republican Senator Lindsay Graham came amid reports that the US has resumed talks with the Taliban in Qatar, three months after President Trump abruptly halted diplomatic efforts that could end America’s longest war. Pakistan is said to be assisting the US in reopening the talks with the Taliban. “I think we got this wrong. I think what we should do is start negotiating with Pakistan. If Pakistan denied the Taliban safe haven in Pakistan, the war in Afghanistan would end in a matter of weeks,” Graham said. He also said he wants to change the “behaviour” of Pakistan.
New Jersey gun battle leaves six dead
Police waged hours-long gunfight with two men armed with high-powered rifles in and around a New Jersey cemetery and kosher market, leaving six people dead, including one officer and both suspects, authorities said. The violence began after noon in the heart of Jersey City, the state's second-largest municipality, prompting a lockdown of all Jersey City schools as law enforcement swarmed the area. Police arriving on the scene immediately came under "high-powered rifle fire," Jersey City Police Chief Michael Kelly told reporters. While the gunmen's motives were not known, there was no immediate evidence the bloodshed was either a hate crime or terror-related, Kelly said, adding, "but that's certainly on the table." Investigators believe the two suspects, who were not yet identified, acted alone, officials said.
Banana-eating performance artist was ‘hungry’
Performance artist David Datuna waited two hours until “I was hungry” before eating a banana artwork in Miami, he said after returning to New York. “It’s the first time one artist eats art of another artist,” he said. The Tbilisi-born Datuna, who has lived in New York for 22 years, shook up the Art Basel art show on Saturday when he ate the real banana that had been plastered to the wall as part of a work by artist Maurizio Cattelan. The work had been sold for $120,000. In spite of the price, “it tasted like a regular banana”, Datuna said. He said a clip of his “performance” had got 40,000 to 50,000 messages on Instagram, many of them congratulatory.
US President Trump tweets ‘very close’ to China trade deal
Trump tweeted about the latest development about the China deal as the two largest economies in the world are locked in a wide-ranging trade war. President Donald Trump tweeted that the United States is “VERY close” to a trade deal with China, days before new tariffs are due to take effect. The two largest economies in the world are locked in a wide-ranging trade war but negotiators have been working to reach at least a partial resolution before Washington increases tariffs on Sunday.
Indian couple sentenced for spying on Germany’s Sikhs
A married Indian couple living in Moenchengladbach were sentenced by a German court after admitting to spying on Sikh and Kashmiri communities for the Indian secret service. The couple admitted to having passed on information to intelligence services in a trial which began last month. Manmohan S. was handed a suspended prison sentence of 18 months for acting as a foreign intelligence agent, while his wife Kanwal Jit K. was fined 180 days’ wages for aiding him. According to a court statement, S. was recruited by the Indian foreign intelligence agency Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW) at the beginning of 2015, and asked to spy on the Kashmiri opposition movement. The 51-year-old was paid 200 euros ($223) a month for the information he provided, and attended regular meetings with an Indian intelligence officer from July 2017. His 50-year-old wife, to whom the court ascribed financial motives, accompanied him to the meetings.
Toni-Ann Singh of Jamaica crowned Miss World
Jamaica's Toni-Ann Singh has bagged the Miss World 2019 at an annual beauty pageant held here, with India's Suman Rao becoming second runners-up. Born to her Indo-Caribbean father Bradshaw Singh and African-Caribbean mother Jahrine Bailey, Singh is a student of women's studies and psychology at Florida State University and she aspires to be a medical doctor. The Jamaican was crowned by last year's winner, Vanessa Ponce de Leon of Mexico. Singh celebrated her win on Instagram, expressing gratitude to her fellow Jamaican's for "believing in me". Singh also urged girls all around the world to believe in themselves and their dreams. "Please know that you are worthy and capable of achieving your dreams. This crown is not mine but yours. It's for you to truly understand that no matter where you're from and the cards you're dealt in life - your dreams are valid. You have a PURPOSE," she added.
Nearly 10,000 Indians detained in US in 2018: Report
Nearly 10,000 Indians were detained in the US in 2018 by law enforcement agencies as part of their operations to identify and remove aliens who present a danger to national security or are a risk to public safety, according to a government report. Of these, 831 were removed from the US, the report said. According to the report titled Immigration Enforcement: Arrests, Detentions, and Removals, and Issues Related to Selected Populations by Government Accountability Office, the number of Indians detained by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the ICE has more than doubled between 2015 and 2018. In 2015, the ICE had detained 3,532 Indians, which increased to 3,913 in 2016; 5322 in 2017 and 9,811 in 2018. According to the report, the ICE removed 831 Indians in 2018. The figure was 296 in 2015; 387 in 2016 and 474 in 2017.
