Washington: Amul Thapar, an Indian-American legal luminary and US President Donald Trump's first nominee to a powerful appeals court, has been confirmed by the US Senate to the key judicial position. Thapar, the first Indian-American to be nominated by Trump for the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals, was confirmed by the Senate in a vote on party lines. With this, 48-year-old Thapar becomes the second South Asian judge to be on the US Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears appeals from Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio and Michigan. “Judge Thapar will make an outstanding addition to the US appeals court for the Sixth Circuit,” said Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell. Thapar, currently a US district court judge, was nominated by Trump on March 21.
US sends warship to South China Sea, irks Beijing
Washington: A US navy warship sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built by China in the South China Sea, the first such challenge to Beijing in the strategic waterway since President Donald Trump took office. US officials said the USS Dewey travelled close to the Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands over which China has territorial disputes with its neighbours. China said its warships had warned the US ship and it lodged “stern representations” with America. China said it remained resolutely opposed to so-called freedom of navigation operations. The US patrol, the first of its kind since October, marked the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing's efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters, and comes as Trump is seeking China's cooperation to rein in ally North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes.
Man shoots self, bullet goes through head, kills GF
Washington: A man attempted suicide by firing a bullet to his head but it went through him and fatally struck his girlfriend while leaving him severely wounded, according to US prosecutors. Victor Sibson, 21, from Anchorage, Alaska, has been accused of killing his girlfriend while attempting to kill himself. He appeared in court and a grand jury indicted him on a charge of second-degree murder. Police responded to a 911 call-in at a club last month, and found Sibson, and 22-year-old Brittany-Mae Haag suffering from critical gunshot wounds. Haag died later in the day. Prosecutors believe the incident involved a single bullet.
28 Coptic Christians killed in Egypt attack
Cairo: At least 28 persons were killed and over 20 injured in a shooting attack on a bus carrying Coptic Christians in a central Egyptian town, the Ministry of Interior said in a statement. The attack took place in the town of al-Adwa, about 80 km northwest of the city of Minya as the worshippers were travelling to the monastery of Saint Samuel, Efe news reported. Ten armed men in four cars surrounded the bus and began to shoot arbitrarily as the vehicle neared al-Adwa on the way to the monastery, the statement added. In a statement, the Coptic Church sad that it shares with the whole country the pain caused by this attack, which has targeted the heart of Egypt and its national unity.
Man on shooting spree kills 8 in US
Brookhaven: A man who apparently got into a dispute with his wife and in-laws was arrested in a house-to-house shooting rampage in rural Mississippi that left eight people dead, including a sheriff's deputy. “I ain't fit to live, not after what I done,” a handcuffed Willie Corey Godbolt, 35, said. The shootings took place at three houses - two in Brookhaven and one in Bogue Chitto - about 110 km south of Jackson, Mississippi. Bureau of Investigation spokesman Warren Strain said that charges were yet to be filed and it was too soon to say what the motive was. Authorities gave no details on the relationship between Godbolt and the victims.
Man hurling anti-Muslim slurs kills 2 on US train
Portland: Two men were stabbed to death in the US city of Portland when they tried to stop their attacker from harassing two women because they appeared to be Muslim, police said. The incident unfolded on a commuter train hours before the start of Ramzan. Local police said that before the stabbing, the assailant on the train was ranting on many topics, using “hate speech or biased language.” He then suddenly started yelling ethnic and religious slurs toward two women who appeared to be Muslim, one of whom was wearing a hijab, on a MAX train at the Hollywood Transit station. Three men who intervened and tried to calm him down were stabbed. Police said one of the men died at the scene while another died at a hospital.
Construct peace, Pope tells Trump
Vatican City: President Donald Trump and Pope Francis, two leaders with contrasting styles and differing worldviews, met at the Vatican, setting aside their previous clashes to broadcast a tone of peace for an audience around the globe. Trump smiled broadly, the pope smiled less, but both agreed, at least for a day, to settle on the same message: the need to avoid conflict. “It is my desire that you become an olive tree to construct peace,” the Pope said. Trump responded: “We can use peace.” The Pope gave the President a medal featuring an olive branch. Pope Francis urged Trump to be a peacemaker and three bound Papal documents that to some degree define his papacy and priorities, including the family and the environment.
Dozens dead in Afghanistan violence as Ramadan begins
KABUL: A suspected suicide bomber killed as many as 14 people in Afghanistan and fighting between militants and security forces left at least 36 people dead on the first day of Islam's holy Month of Ramadan. In eastern Khost province, a Taliban attacker detonated a car bomb near a football field that is close to a military base, officials said. At a local hospital, doctors received at least 14 dead bodies and eight wounded people, said Gul Mohammaddin Mangal, head of the public health department in Khost. "The bodies are not recognizable and it is hard to say if they are civilians or security forces," he said.
Nepal PM Prachanda resigns
KATHMANDU: Maoist Nepali Prime Minister Prachanda resigned last week, barely nine months after coming to power, creating a leadership vacuum weeks before the second round of local elections, the first to be held in more than two decades. Prachanda's exit, which had been expected under a power-sharing deal with the Nepali Congress party, could disrupt the schedule for the final phase of municipal and village assembly polls set for June 14. Prachanda, 62, a former rebel commander, announced his resignation in a televised address to the nation after the opposition Communist UML party threatened to block his speech in parliament, saying the government had created some local and municipal bodies without due legal process. Prachanda's final month in office was hit by a clash between his government and the chief of the Supreme Court over the appointment of a new police chief.
Pak hikes def budget by 7%
Islamabad: Pakistan proposed to hike its defence budget by nearly seven per cent to Rs 920 billion amidst growing tension with India along the Line of Control. “We have increased the defence budget to Rs 920 billion (from Rs 860 billion),” finance minister Ishaq Dar said as he presented the federal budget for 2017-18 fiscal in the National Assembly. Dar also announced a 10% increase of “special allowance” to the armed forces for their contribution in defeating militants throughout operation `Zarb-e-Azb' launched three years ago. Pakistan's proposed increase in the defence outlay and for its armed forces came as tension with India soared over a host of contentious issues. Last year, Pakistan recorded a 5.28% GDP growth - the highest in 10 years and the volume of its economy crossed $300 billion. The total estimated outlay of the budget will be 4.75 trillion rupees, according to minister Dar.
