MANILA: A Sikh couple from India was gunned down last week by two bike-borne assailants in the Phillipines' Camarines Sur province. Bahagwant Singh Buttar, 45, and his wife Jaswinder Kaur, 36, of Sipocot town, were killed by two gunmen, the police said. Suspects Marvin Magdaong and Rodolfo T Gumatay have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the incident after a chase by the police. Two pistols and live ammunition were recovered from their possession, the police said, adding that a case has been registered. There have been several attacks on Indians in the past. The last such incident occurred in August, when a 26-year old man, from Phagwara was shot dead.
Pak parliamentarians to get 146 pc hike in salaries
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan government has approved a pay hike of the Members of Parliament up to 146 per cent. Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Marriyum Aurangzeb said there were only two meagre pay rises in the last 14 years for the members of the National Assembly and the Senate. A five-member ministerial committee to review rules of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority was constituted by the Prime Minister, other than ratifying nine agreements already signed with six countries, she said. Salary of members of the National Assembly and the Senate has been raised from Rs. 60,996 to Rs. 150,000 which is a rise of 145.9 per cent. The cabinet has also approved a 26 per cent rise in the salary of the National Assembly speaker and the Senate chairman and a 23 per cent rise in the salary of the deputy speaker and deputy chairman of the two houses of the parliament.
Sever trade ties with India: Imran
ISLAMABAD: Cricketer turned politician Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf has urged the government to immediately sever trade ties with New Delhi over the death of 13 people, including three soldiers in alleged Indian firing along the border. PTI vice-chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi said, "Indian forces are killing innocent civilians and our army personnel along the LoC but our PM is fondly eating bananas being imported from India. It is high time we sever trade ties with India and unite on one platform to pat the enemy in the same coin." he said defence minister Khawaja Asif should have been at the border to defend the country and that the ruling PML-N government "had no courage to respond to the Indian PM's bluff." Qureshi lashed out at the government for a lack of full time foreign minister who was needed to fight the Kashmir case at the international level.
NZ to deport Indian evangelist
MELBOURNE: An Indian evangelist who claimed "Hindu extremists" in India were threatening to kill him, will be deported by New Zealand after twice rejecting his asylum plea. Identified as BD, the Christian evangelist was arrested in 2012 for overstaying his visa in New Zealand, and has been fighting his deportation order on humanitarian grounds since 2015, when his claim for refugee status was rejected by the Immigration and Protection Tribunal. One of his several absurd statements include claiming his stint in jail had strengthened his Christian faith so much that the preaching he would be compelled to do when back in India would put his life in danger.
`America' becomes a US citizen at 99
NEW YORK: America Maria Hernandez, who was born in Colombia in 1917 and was brought to the US by one of her daughters in 1988, signed her naturlisation certificate and took the oath of allegiance in a ceremony. "I live in New York, the capital of the world," she said. Born in Cordoba, Colombia, she had 12 children, and now has 22 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren. America arrived with a green card arranged by her daughter who had married an American citizen. When asked if she wanted to become a US citizen instead of renewing her card, the 99 year old said yes. When asked what her secret for a long life is, she said, "Being well, with my children. They all work. They are all good."
Indian-origin man jailed for printing fake notes
SINGAPORE: A 29 year old Indian-origin man has been jailed for over three years for printing fake Singaporean currency notes. Sasi Kumar Lakshmanan decided to print fake currency notes of SGD 100 and SGD 50. Deputy Public Prosecutor Magdalene Huang said Lakshmanan decided to print some counterfeit currency notes as he was in a financial difficulty and owed loan sharks more than SGD 5000. He realised the photocopy of the 100 SGD note was almost similar to the genuine one, and soon photocopied notes. The next day, he produced one of the fake notes to pay for two packets of cigarettes. The fake currency was noticed by a stall supervisor who complained to the police, two days after Lakshmanan first printed the fake notes. Police raided Lakshmanan's home and found a counterfeit SGD 500 note among other things.
Hijab-clad woman called 'terrorist' in US
LOS ANGELES: A hijab-clad woman was approached at a US store by another customer who called her a "terrorist" and told her to "get out" of the country, in yet another incident prompted by hate following Donald Trump's win. Eyewitness Barney Lopez said, "I went down the aisle to go get sodas and then all of a sudden I hear somebody starting to yell at her (the hijab-clad woman). And... saying things like 'Get out of our country, you don't belong here, you're a terrorist!" The incident occurred at Smith's store in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
US mosques receive letters threatening Muslims
WASHINGTON: Several mosques in the United States have allegedly received threatening letters and emails against the community in the country. An anonymous handwritten letter, which has so far, been received by three mosques in California and one in Georgia, warned Muslims to "pack your bags and get out of dodge as Trump is going to cleanse America and make it shine again." The letter states, "There's a new sheriff in town- President Donald Trump. He's going to cleanse America and make it shine again. And, he's going to start with you Muslims. And, he's going to do to you Muslims what Hitler did to the Jews." The paper has prompted council chapters in California to appeal for more police protection of mosques. "This hate campaign targeting California houses of worship must be investigated as an act of religious intimidation, and our state's leaders should speak out against the growing anti-Muslim bigotry that leads to such incidents," said Hussam Ayloush, leader of the council's Los Angeles branch.
