Two students from India studying in the University of Texas drowned at a popular tourist destination in Oklahoma. Police say the students died at Turner Falls, near Davis. One of them was struggling in a pool near the falls and the other jumped in to help. Neither resurfaced. According to the police neither of them were wearing life jackets. The students were identified as 23-year-old Ajay Kumar Koyalamudi and 22-year-old Teja Koushik Voleti. Two other people from India drowned at Turner Falls during the July Fourth holiday weekend.
Indian in UAE wins ₹39,00,000 over wife’s wrongful death
An Indian expat in the UAE has been compensated for his wife’s death due to medical negligence, a report said. The Sharjah civil court has ordered Dr Sunny Medical Centre and its doctor Darshan Prabhat Rajaram P Narayanara, who treated the victim, Blessy Tom, to pay 200,000 dirhams (about Rs 39,04,709) in compensation and another 200,000 dirhams in legal costs to her husband Joseph Abraham, and their kids. Originally from Kerala, Blessy, 32, a nurse, was treated for a breast infection in 2015. The doctor had given her an antibiotic injection without a mandatory test dose. Blessy fell unconscious due to a reaction to the drug. She was taken to a hospital, but died within hours. After her death, Dr Narayanara left the UAE to evade prosecution.
Mass wedding: 99 couples tie the knot in Malaysia
Ninety-nine couples tied the knot in a mass wedding ceremony at a Chinese temple in Malaysia last week, the ninth day of the ninth month that is considered an auspicious date by ethnic Chinese. The ceremony at the Thean Hou temple in Kuala Lumpur is an annual event for couples seeking a Buddhist wedding. The number nine in Chinese sounds like the word for "long lasting". Most of the couples donned black suits and white bridal dresses, but a few opted to wear red, a colour that symbolizes luck, joy and happiness in Chinese culture. Red is also a traditional color worn by Chinese brides. The couples were blessed by a priest in a red robe before taking their vows.
Eight children knifed to death in Chinese school
Eight children were knifed to death at an elementary school in central China on the first day of the new academic year, police said. The attack occurred in Chaoyangpo village of Enshi city in Hubei province. How the children were attacked was not disclosed. The motive for the attack was unclear. The suspect, a 40-year-old local resident, was arrested immediately after the incident. The man was an ex-convict who had spent over eight years in jail for attempting to gouge out his girlfriend’s eye, the report said. He was released from jail in May.
Pak student dies after teacher thrashes him
A group of students set a school on fire after their classmate died following thrashing by a teacher. The student was thrashed for not memorising his lesson. Hafiz Hunain Bilal, a Grade 10 student of the American Lycetuff School in Gulshan-i-Ravi area in central Lahore, was tortured to death by his teacher. According to police, teacher Muhammad Kamran punched the boy repeatedly, grabbed his hair and hit his head against a wall for "not memorising" his lesson. The boy collapsed in the classroom and died on his way to hospital, they said. A group of students threw petrol on the school building, triggering a fire that soon engulfed the whole structure. The firefighters managed to control the fire after a few hours, while a police team dispersed the protesters and arrested a few of them.
Pak police raid militant hideout near Quetta; 6 killed
Security forces in Pakistan raided a militant hideout on the outskirts of the southwestern city of Quetta, triggering a gunbattle that killed all six suspects, including a woman. A statement from the counter-terrorism department says five police officers were wounded in the raid. The raid came as Pakistan stepped up security across the country ahead of the annual commemoration of Ashoura, the holiest day on the Shiite Muslim calendar that mourns the 7th century death of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Islam's Prophet Muhammad.
25 killed in California boat fire
At least 25 people were killed and nine others went missing after a boat fire near an island off the Southern California coast. Divers were scouring for bodies on the wreckage of a scuba diving boat off California, after the fast moving fire trapped dozens of people below deck. Five of the six-person crew who were above deck on the bridge managed to escape. US coast guard declined to confirm the figures as authorities launched a probe into one of the area’s worst maritime disasters.
14-year-old kills 5 family members in US
A 14-year-old American boy shot and killed five family members at their home in Alabama, before throwing away the pistol and calling police, officials said. The shooting occurred in the town of Elkmont, said a spokesman for the Limestone County Sheriff ’s Office. The sheriff ’s office said five people were shot, with three dying at the scene and two later in hospital. “The 14-year old caller was interviewed and confessed to shooting all five members of his family in the residence.” “He is currently assisting investigators in locating the weapon, a handgun that he said he tossed nearby.”
US woman held at Manila airport with baby in bag
An American woman who attempted to smuggle out a 6-day-old baby out of the Philippines hidden inside a sling bag has been arrested at Manila’s airport and charged with human trafficking, officials said. They said Jennifer Talbot was able to pass through the airport immigration counter without declaring the baby boy but was intercepted at the boarding gate by airline personnel. Talbot was unable to produce any passport, boarding pass or government permits for the baby. She had planned to board a Delta Air Lines flight to the US with the baby, airport officials said. After discovering the baby, airline staff called immigration personnel, who arrested Talbot at the airport.
Former first lady of Honduras sentenced to 58 years in jail
The former first lady of Honduras Rosa Elena Bonilla, wife of ex-president Porfirio Lobo, was sentenced to 58 years in jail on charges of fraud and undue appropriation of funds, a spokesman for the nation's highest court said. Bonilla, 52, has been in custody since February 2018. Her defense attorney said Bonilla was innocent and an appeal would be filed with the Central American nation's Supreme Court. Bonilla was accused of misusing the equivalent of $779,000 in funds between 2010 and 2014 that came from international donations, and which were meant to be used for social programs. Bonilla used the money to pay for medical bills, jewellery, tuition for her children and construction work.
Robert Mugabe is no more
Robert Mugabe, who ruled Zimbabwe for 37 years and finally forced to resign in 2017, died at the age of 95. His successor President Emmerson Mnangagwa confirmed Mugabe's death. He did not provide details. Mugabe, who took power after white minority rule ended in 1980, blamed Zimbabwe's economic problems on international sanctions and once said he wanted to rule for life. But growing discontent about the southern African country's fractured leadership and other problems prompted a military intervention, impeachment proceedings by the parliament and large street demonstrations for his removal.
Underwater observatory vanishes without a trace
A German research organisation is searching, so far in vain, for an underwater environmental monitoring station that was moored on the sea bed and went missing last month. The device, which measured water flow and methane concentration among other things, was located 72 feet under the surface of Eckernfoerde Bay in northern Germany. It weighed some 740 kg and was moored by thick cables. The Geomar ocean research centre says data transmission ended abruptly on August 21. Researchers first suspected a transmission failure, but divers sent down last week discovered that the equipment was missing and saw only a frayed cable.
Japan to put surname first for Japanese names in Eng
Japan will start using the traditional order for Japanese names in English in official documents, with family names first, a switch from the Westernised custom the country adopted more than a century ago, government officials said. The idea has been floated for years and but some ministers in PM Shinzo Abe’s ultra-conservative Cabinet recently started pushing for it again. The cabinet agreed to begin making the change with government documents, though no timeline was given for its start.
IS rigs cows with bombs in failed attack on Iraqi forces
IS militants reportedly rigged cows with explosives in an attack on Iraqi security forces, in what is thought to be the first time the group has weaponised cattle. The two cows were strapped with explosives belts and were heading towards a military checkpoint in Diyala when Iraqi soldiers opened fire and “blew them up”, Rudaw news reported . One civilian was injured in the attack.
Texas restaurant runs out of sandwiches, man pulls gun
Police say a man pulled a gun at a Popeye’s restaurant in Houston after being told they were out of chicken sandwiches. Police lieutenant Larry Crowson said officers were called to the eatery after a group of people tried to order a chicken sandwich. Crowson said, “When the manager told them they were out, one of the males became upset and pulled a pistol and demanded a chicken sandwich.” No one was injured. Police was investigating, he said.
2 WWII bombs discovered, defused in German cities
German authorities say two World War II-era bombs found in two cities have been disposed of. Dpa news agency reported that 15,200 people were evacuated overnight in Hannover before experts defused the bomb. Another bomb was defused in Cologne after 4,800 people were evacuated.
