Rohini Rustogi, an Indian origin woman, has been awarded the ‘Business Woman of the Year’ award for Tampa Bay by the INDO Chamber of Commerce for the year 2024. Rohini is CEO-cum-founder of The Brandon Montessori (BMS), Riverview Montessori (RMS), SouthShore Montessori (SMS) and Edward James Samuel (EJS) Montessori schools in the US. Rohini said, “With my roots deeply anchored in Kangra, my ancestral home, my educational journey largely unfolded in the picturesque town of Nainital as my parents were teaching in boarding schools there. Our winter holidays, however, were always spent in Kangra, where our sprawling ancestral home became a place of warmth, tradition, and cherished memories.”
Vikas Khanna’s NY restaurant gets Three Stars
Chef Vikas Khanna’s New York restaurant ‘Bungalow’ recently received a three-star rating from The New York Times. It is after “almost 25 years,” that an Indian restaurant has achieved such a rating. Earlier this month, the Michelin-star chef, who represents Indian cuisine on the global stage, shared a video on social media to thank everyone for their support. Khanna said, “Thank you everyone for believing in us and supporting us and standing in line in the rain and constantly trying to book the restaurant, bringing your parents, your grandparents, or making Bungalow a sacred space for our culture and for our cuisine. I owe it all to you. Thank you.”
Canadian Hindus, Sikhs send notice to KFC
Hindus and Sikhs in Canada have sent a notice to Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) after its decision to serve only halal-certified chicken (as prescribed by Islamic law) across most of its restaurants in Ontario. The switch to Halal meat began in when the company issued a memo to franchises informing them of the changes, saying it's committed to providing diverse and inclusive options for its customers. However, it excludes restaurants in Thunder Bay and Ottawa. Rahul Yendamuri, Director of Hindu Forum Canada said, “What if there are some people who are not necessarily aligned or their their religious practices do not accept the Halal practice of consumption of food and meat?”
Search for Indian woman in Malaysia sinkhole
Five days since an Indian woman, Vijaya Lakshmi Gali, disappeared in a sinkhole in Malaysia, authorities in Kuala Lumpur are continuing their round-the-clock search and rescue operation in an attempt to find her. The Indian High Commission has been in touch with Vijay Lakshmi's family and are updating them about the search and rescue operations. The 48-year-old Vijaya Lakshmi, who frequently travels to Malaysia and Singapore for business, disappeared after falling into the 8 m-deep hole. She was on her way to the temple when the ground suddenly caved in. Her husband and son managed to escape the collapse.
Pakistani origin man jailed for child sex abuse
A Pakistani origin man has been sentenced to 17 years in jail for over one of the worst online child sexual abuse schemes in Australia, targeting hundreds of victims in the country and overseas by pretending to be a 15-year-old social media influencer with a large following. Muhammad Zain Ul Abideen Rasheed, 29, pleaded guilty to 119 charges, relating to 286 people from 20 countries, including the UK, the US, Japan and France. Two-thirds of his victims were aged under 16, BBC News reported. A Perth court heard Rasheed coerced them into a cycle of increasingly extreme abuse by threatening to send explicit messages and images of them to their loved ones. He pretended to be a YouTube star and blackmailed children into performing sexual acts.
Terror attacks delay launch of airport in Pakistan
The start of operations of a Chinese-funded airport in Pakistan’s Balochistan has been pushed back for a security review after last week’s attacks by separatists in the area, govt and aviation sources said. More than 70 people were killed in the attacks, where militants seeking the region’s secession have been targeting govt forces and projects being developed as part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor. The $200-million airport in Gwadar, a joint venture between Pakistan, Oman and China, is close to completion. The initial plan was for PM Shehbaz Sharif to inaugurate it on Aug 14 alongside Chinese officials, but that was called off after an ethnic Baloch rights group started a sit-in protest, the officials said.
Afghan women sing to protest Taliban
An Afghan woman sings in a video showing just a sliver of her face, one of dozens of women taking part in an online protest against a law that bans women from raising their voices in public. Taliban authorities last week announced the law, which includes rules that women's faces, bodies and voices should be “covered” outside the home, among 35 articles dictating behaviour and lifestyle. In response, Afghan women inside and outside the country have posted videos on social media of them singing, along with hashtags such as “My voice is not forbidden” and “No to Taliban.”
French museum invites visitors to go naked
A museum in the southern French city Marseille is inviting visitors to discover Europe’s relationship to the naturist lifestyle by wandering its halls in the nude. Once a month, visitors to Museum of Civilisations of Europe and the Mediterranean (Mucem) can explore the history of naturism in Europe in only their shoes - a precaution not for modesty’s sake but simply to “avoid getting splinters,” the head of France’s FFN naturist organisation Eric Stefanut said. Though there is no official ranking, Mucem describes France as “the world’s leading tourist destination” for those who enjoy going nude outdoors.
Dolphins bite, Japan beachgoers told
Authorities in central Japan are urging beachgoers to steer clear of dolphins after a sharp increase in biting incidents, with one expert saying the culprit may be a rogue individual. This year has seen 18 swimmers bitten at several beaches in the Fukui region, which logged just a handful of injuries related to dolphins in each of the past two years. Most of the bites were minor.
Editors convicted of sedition in HK face 2 year jail
A Hong Kong court found two editors of the now-defunct Stand News media outlet guilty of conspiring to publish seditious articles in a case that has drawn international scrutiny amid a security crackdown in the China-ruled city. The two editors, Chung Puikuen and Patrick Lam, could be jailed for up to two years when they are sentenced on Sept. 26. Their conviction is the first for sedition against any journalist or editor since Hong Kong’s handover from Britain to China in 1997. Stand News was raided in Dec 2021, and had its assets frozen, leading to its closure. Chung and Lam had pleaded not guilty, with only Chung present in court for the verdict. He edited or authorised most of the articles that the court found to be seditious.
