Ankara: A British couple and their four young children detained in Turkey last month on suspicion of seeking to travel the part of Syria controlled by Islamic State militants will be deported to Moldova, a senior Turkish official said. Asif Malik, his partner Sara and the four children – who are aged between less than 12 months and 7 years old – were detained in Ankara just over two weeks ago after British police appealed for information on their whereabouts. "The family will be deported to Moldova of their own will," the Turkish official said. A second Turkish official confirmed that the family were being deported to a country other than Britain but gave no further details. The British Foreign Office said it could not immediately comment on it. It was not immediately clear why the family asked to be deported to Moldova, a former Soviet republic sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine.
Another blogger hacked to death in Bangladesh
Dhaka: A blogger was hacked to death by assailants using machetes in Bangladesh on Tuesday, the third attack in less than three months on a critic of religious extremism in the Muslim-majority nation. Ananta Bijoy Das, a blogger who advocated secularism, was attacked by four assailants in northeastern Sylhet district on Tuesday morning, senior police official Mohammad Rahamatullah said. Rahamatullah said Das was a 33-year-old banker.
500,000 Indians arrive in Saudi Arabia in 16 months
Riyadh: Nearly 500,000 Indian workers arrived in Saudi Arabia in the last 16 months, making them the largest group of expatriates in the Gulf nation, a media report said. The number of Indian workers in the kingdom has reached about three million after an agreement to manage and organise their recruitment was signed between the two countries in January 2014, Arab News quoted an Indian official as saying. The official said India has not received any request from Riyadh to amend the recruitment agreement, according to which sponsors must pay a guarantee of $2,500 for each worker. The agreement with Saudi Arabia exists only to ensure that the rights of Indian citizens who wish to work abroad are guaranteed and maintained, the official added.
Bilawal gets his Master's from Oxford
Islamabad: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party, has obtained a Master's degree from the Oxford University. Bilawal, 26, was congratulated on twitter by his father Asif Ali Zardari, and his sisters Aseefa and Bakhtawar. In his tweet, Zardari congratulated Bilawal and said by graduating with an MA from Oxford, he has followed in the footsteps of his grandfather Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and mother Benazir.
Indian techie's body fished out of US river?
Houston: US authorities have recovered a body believed to be that of an Indian IT professional who went missing last week after a suspected drunken driver knocked him into a river when he tried to help the victims of a crash. Divers recovered a body, thought to be Puneet Nehra, from a stretch of the Brazos River in Brazoria County, Fort Bend County sheriff 's officials said. Nehra, 43, of Sugar Land, went missing on May 3 while he was assisting a motorist involved in a minor wreck at a bridge crossing the Brazos River at the Grand Parkway, ABC news reported. A passing driver struck the stranded car while Nehra and another person were trying to push it to safety, authorities said. Nehra migrated to the US from Noida, Uttar Pradesh, in 2005 and was working in Avanade -a Microsoft and Accenture joint venture.
Obama nominates IIT alumni to key post
Washington: US President Barack Obama has nominated an IIT alumni to his advisory commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs). Obama announced the nomination of Sanjita Pradhan, an MBA from the Indian Institute of Technology, along with other nominations for several key administration post. "These men and women bring extraordinary dedication to their roles and will serve the American people well. I look forward to working with them," Obama said while making the announcement. Pradhan, a Nepali American, is currently serving as an Executive Officer of the Office of Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs at the Iowa Department of Human Rights, a position she has held since 2013.
