Indian student Harshit Agrawal from Madhya Pradesh was attacked with acid and robbed of his valuables in Rome. He narrowly escaped unhurt. Harshit, an MIT Pune student, had gone to Paris and Rome to present a research paper. He was attacked at Rome metro station while he was on his way back home. The assailants tried throwing acid on the young man and looted his valuables including his passport, wallet and luggage. Upon losing his necessary documents, Harshit was stopped from boarding his flight to India. Besides, he was left penniless and failed to even travel to the Indian Embassy in Rome. Utterly helpless after the fatal attack, Harshit sought help from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar on Twitter. Harshit’s father said that he had received a call from the Chief Minister’s Office and the Indian embassy in Italy where officers informed him that his son was safe. A free pass has been issued to Harshit for metro and the Embassy is preparing his documents, said the victim’s father.
Gujarati bizman shot dead in Lesotho
Younus Vohra, a 51-year-old Gujarati businessman in Lesotho, the country enclaved in South Africa, was shot dead by an unidentified person on June 20. According to Salman Vohra, his father Younus was at his shop when four unidentified persons assaulted him and one of them shot him dead. The attackers looted the shop and broke the CCTV cameras, according to Salman. Younus was waiting for a friend to pick him up when the assailants broke into the shop. The family are from Thasara and they migrated to Ahmedabad eight years ago. Younus worked at a super-market in Ahmedabad before he left for South Africa nine years ago, where he opened his own shop in partnership with a friend.
Malaysia detains 4 Indians; seizes drugs, turtles
Malaysian authorities have arrested four Indians and seized more than 14 kg of drugs and over 5,000 turtles from their luggage at the Kuala Lumpur airport. A customs official said that the agents found a total 5,255 red-ear slider baby turtles kept in small baskets from the luggage of two Indian nationals who flew in from Guangzhou, China on an AirAsia flight. The official said the men had no permits for the turtles and told investigators that the terrapins, estimated to be worth $12,700, were meant to be sold as pets in India. The men are expected to be charged and could face up to five years in jail and a fine. In a separate case, officials also found 14.34 kg of methamphetamine worth $174,000, hidden in special compartments in boxes that were hand-carried by two other Indians. One of them flew in from Hyderabad, India on June 19 and another on June 20 from Bengaluru.
Pak airspace ban to continue till July 12
Pakistan has extended its eastern airspace ban for commercial flights to and from India for the fourth time till July 12, the country’s Civil Aviation Authority said. CAA said Pakistan’s airspace for nine eastern routes for flights to and from India was to remain shut for another fortnight. The two southern routes that Pakistan had opened for Indian flights in April will remain functional. It said the government will review the matter after two weeks. Islamabad had shut the airspace on February 26 following the Balakot airstrike. Well-placed sources said that Pakistan was likely to keep the airspace shut for India until there was some assurance from New Delhi that Balakot-like incident will not be repeated.
Pakistan receives $500 from Qatar
In what comes as a relief to cash-strapped Pakistan, Qatar has deposited the first tranche of $500 million in the State Bank of Pakistan. Doha had announced that it has decided to invest $3 billion in Pakistan which is grappling to overcome a severe financial crisis. This was announced after a two-day visit of Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani to Pakistan as the Imran Khan-led government continues to battle a ballooning balance-of-payment crisis. With this new investment package, the size of the Qatari-Pakistani economic partnership will amount to $9 billion, it said. Qatar is the fourth country to provide a bailout package to Pakistan, after China, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Last month, Islamabad had reached an agreement with the IMF for a bailout package of $6 billion. The deal is expected to be approved by the IMF Executive Board on July 3.
Taliban bombers kill 19 in Afghanistan
Taliban bombers targeting a district centre in southern Afghanistan have killed at least 19 people, including eight election workers, officials said. The attack comes as a new round of talks between the US and the Taliban to end the 18-year-long war in Afghanistan entered a second day in Qatar. The militants rammed four armoured vehicles packed with explosives into a government compound in Maruf district, a police spokesman in Kandahar province said. “Unfortunately 11 policemen were martyred and 27 more injured,” Qasim Afghan said. Eight election workers who were stationed at the centre to register voters ahead of the presidential polls in September were also killed in the attack, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission said.
Omani bus driver faces 7 years in jail
Dubai’s public prosecutor has called for the bus driver responsible for a crash that claimed 17 lives to be jailed for seven years. The prosecution has sent the case to court demanding the Omani driver also pays Dh3,400,000 in compensation to the families of the deceased and the 13 people injured. The bus ploughed straight through a steel barrier on June 6, during a scheduled journey between Muscat in Oman and Dubai in the UAE. In a statement, Dubai public prosecution said: “The prosecution shall seek to apply the penalties provided for in the law against the driver, in accordance with the federal laws in force, penalties, traffic and blood money- as the penalty is imprisonment of seven years as well as fine, in addition to oblige him to pay a sum of Dh3,400,000 to the heirs of the deceased as a result of the incident.”
Dubai ruler’s sixth wife flees UAE
Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, the sixth wife of Dubai’s billionaire ruler, has reportedly fled the UAE with £31 million and their two kids following the breakup of their marriage. According to reports, the wife of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum - the vice-president and PM of the UAE - is believed to be in hiding in London. The princess, the half-sister of King Abdullah of Jordan, is said to be seeking a divorce after initially fleeing to Germany with her children where she requested political asylum. Oxford educated Princess Haya has not been seen in public since May 20 and her social media accounts, which are usually full of photos of her charitable work, have not been active since February.
Three astronauts return from space station
Three astronauts safely returned to Earth last week after spending more than six months aboard the International Space Station. The Soyuz capsule with astronauts from Canada, Russia and the United States landed in Kazakhstan after a 3 hour flight from the orbiting lab. Two of the astronauts had completed their maiden flights - Anne McClain of the United States and David Saint-Jacques of Canada. The expedition commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia has ended his fourth space mission. All three spent 204 days in space. Americans Nick Hague and Christina Koch and Russia’s Alexey Ovchinin remain aboard the space station. The space veteran Kononenko who was the first one to have been extracted from the capsule looked visibly tired and pale. McClain and Saint-Jacques were more energetic and gave a thumbs-up to the recovery team who greeted the three with applause.
International prosecutor signals Rohingya investigation
The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor says she wants to open an investigation into alleged crimes against Rohingya Muslims as they fled Myanmar and into Bangladesh. The court announced that a panel of judges will consider whether to authorize Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda's request, which has not yet been filed. The court says Bensouda wants to investigate alleged crimes "within the context of two waves of violence in Rakhine State" in Myanmar and any other crimes "sufficiently linked to these events." Last year, the court ruled that it has jurisdiction over alleged deportation of Rohingya to Bangladesh. Myanmar is not a member of the global court, but Bangladesh is. Myanmar's military has been accused of widespread rights violations leading about 700,000 Rohingya to flee the country since August 2017.
US couple charged with murder after newborn dies
The parents of a Houston newborn who suffered a cracked skull and more than 90 fractures just days after being brought home from the hospital were arrested in their daughter's death, according to police and Harris County prosecutors. Jazmine Robin, who was born prematurely, was 10 weeks old when she died after leaving the hospital, prosecutors said. Her father, 24-year-old Jason Paul Robin, is charged with murder. Her mother, 21-year-old Katharine Wyndham White, faces a count of injury to a child by omission. "The evidence shows that Baby Jazmine fell victim to the very people who were supposed to protect her the most in this world," Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said.
Teenager catches two-year-old falling from second floor
A video going viral on social media shows a shocking moment when a baby falling from a building was caught by a teenager. The chilling CCTV footage is from Istanbul in Turkey. Reportedly the 'hero' teenager is a 17-year-old named Feuzi Zabaat. He was simply standing there when he saw a child falling to the ground from the window of the second floor. Feuzi looked up for a moment and realised that the girl is going to fall from the window at any moment. Thanks to his presence of mind, he stretched out his arms and caught the child in his hands. The 'alert' Algerian immigrant works at a frame workshop on the street.
Two injured in shooting near French mosque
Two people were injured in a shooting in front of a mosque in the French city of Brest, authorities said and added that they were searching for the attacker. Interior minister Christophe Castaner said in a tweet that he ordered security tightened at places of worship around the country after the shooting. The regional administration said that the two wounded people were hospitalized but are not in critical condition. It said the suspected shooter fled the scene in a car, and urged residents to avoid the area while the police investigate. Authorities released no details about the identities of the suspect or the victims.
Man tries to steal Magna Carta manuscript, charged
A man has been charged with attempting to steal one of the oldest surviving copies of the Magna Carta from Salisbury Cathedral. Mark Royden is accused of trying to smash his way into a glass box where the 13th century manuscript was on display. The 46-year-old will appear at the court on one count of attempted theft and and one of criminal damage, police said. The incident occurred on 25 October last year. The Magna Carta was not damaged.
