Islamabad: A day after India sought consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav for the 18th time, Pakistan turned down the request, with its foreign office spokesman saying that Jadhav is no ordinary prisoner and that India is attempting to deny the fact that he is a spy. The rejection comes after India and Pakistan exchanged lists of prisoners in each other's jails under the 2008 Agreement on Consular Access. Since Jadhav's arrest last year, Pakistan has rejected every Indian request seeking consular access to him. Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said equating Jadhav's case with civilian prisoners and fishermen is a “travesty of logic.”
US to honour two PIOs as 'Great Immigrants'
New York: Indian-Americans, Adobe chief Shantanu Narayen and former US surgeon general Vivek Murthy, are among 38 immigrants to be honoured for their role in helping advance the country's society, culture and economy. Murthy, 39, born in the UK and a Harvard and Yale alumnus, was appointed as the youngest surgeon general of the country by former President Barack Obama in 2014. Narayen, 54, a native of Hyderabad, has an undergraduate degree in electronics engineering, a master's in computer science and an MBA from UC Berkeley. He is a board member of Pfizer and US-India Business Council. He was among a select group of CEOs who met PM Modi in Washington during the leader's visit for the first bilateral meeting with Trump last week.
Amitabh, Aishwarya, Aamir invited to join Oscar Academy
Los Angeles: Actors Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone, apart from directors like Mrinal Sen, Buddhadeb Dasgupta and Goutam Ghose are among the Indians invited to be a part of the Oscar Academy's 'Class of 2017'. "We're proud to invite our newest class to the Academy. The entire motion picture community is what we make of it," Cheryl Boone Isaacs, President of the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences, was quoted as saying on the official Oscar website. "It's up to all of us to ensure that new faces and voices are seen and heard, and to take a shot on the next generation the way someone took a shot on each of us," Isaacs added.
Trump picks Indian American to be ambassador to Peru
Washington: US President Donald Trump has nominated Krishna R Urs to be the ambassador to Peru, the White House announced. The appointment of Urs, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, would have to be approved by the Senate. He is currently Charge d'Affaires of the US Embassy in Madrid. Urs took over after James Costos, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, resigned. Urs, a 30-year veteran of the foreign service was earlier the Deputy Chief of Mission in Spain. Urs, who knows Spanish, Hindi and Telugu, has specialised in economic issues and has developed extensive policy experience in the Andean region of South America, the White House said.
Death toll in Pakistan tanker explosion reaches 206
Islamabad: The number of deaths caused in an explosion of a tanker loaded with petrol in Pakistan a week ago has climbed to 206, officials said. Out of 206 bodies, 125 remain unidentified due to the serious burns following the June 25 explosion, according to the latest data released by authorities of Victoria Hospital in Bahawalpur in Punjab province. Another 65 people remain hospitalised, many of whom are in a serious condition. Hospital spokesperson Amir Bukhari said that "almost all the 26 patients admitted in Lahore and Multan have more than 70 per cent burns and have less chances of survival. "When there are more than 70 per cent burns, then there are more chances of fatalities. Out of 26, 10 are in very critical condition at the moment," Bukhari said.
Etihad flights exempted from US laptop ban
Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi-based Etihad said US-bound passengers can now take electronics on board its aircraft as America has lifted the ban on electronic devices on its flights from Abu Dhabi to the country. The US had on March 25 banned electronic devices in passenger cabins of direct flights to the country from 10 airports in the Gulf, North Africa and Turkey. “The US Immigration facility at Abu Dhabi Airport not only enables you to clear US immigration before you fly to the US, but with the additional security checks in place, you can now take all your electronic devices safely on board with you,” Etihad said in a mail.
EU fines Google €2.4 billion over search results
BRUSSELS: The European Union has hit Google with a record €2.4 billion anti-trust fine for favouring its own shopping service in a fresh assault on the US tech giant. European Commission competition chief Margrethe Vestager said Google had “abused its market dominance” as the world's most popular search engine to give illegal advantage to its Google Shopping service. “What Google has done is illegal under EU antitrust rules. It denied other companies the chance to compete on the merits and to innovate,” Vestager said. “And most importantly, it denied European consumers a genuine choice of services and the full benefits of innovation.”
Saudi columnist suspended for equating King with God
Dubai: Saudi Arabia's king Salman bin Abdulaziz has ordered an over-enthusiastic columnist to be suspended from his job after he equated him with God. King Salman has frequently been lauded by columnists in local media, in traditional deference to authority, since the 81-year-old assumed office in 2015. But Ramadan al-Anzi's column in al-Jazirah newspaper describing King Salman as “Haleem,” or forbearing, and “Shadeed alEqab,” strict in punishment - both terms associated in Islam with God - appeared to have gone too far. Attributing divine qualities or giving individuals any of the 99 names of God is frowned upon in the kingdom. Following the publication of the report, the king has ordered action against the newspaper.
College goers can now carry guns in Kansas
Chicago: Students and professors will be legally allowed to carry concealed handguns onto college campuses in the American state of Kansas. The law was enacted four years ago and applied to all public buildings, but colleges in the state were exempted until July this year. The law is the latest in a series of legislative efforts in states around the country to address the issue of campus safety from potential shooters. Some approaches tightened restrictions on guns while others made them more available with the goal of allowing potential targets of gun violence to defend themselves with their own weapons.
Pak scribe held for criticising forces on FB
Quetta: A Pakistani reporter has been detained and charged under cybercrime laws for criticising security forces on social media, the latest sign of a state crackdown on free speech. Zafarullah Achakzai, who works at Urdu daily Qudrat, was picked up from his house by the paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC). “FC personnel came and raided my house. They cordoned the streets and asked for my son without mentioning any charge,” Achakzai's father Naimatullah Achakzai said. “We did not know where they took him... After five days they handed him over to the FIA (Federal Investigation Agency), which charged him under cybercrime laws for criticising the FC,” Achakzai said.
Failure to sing national anthem may land Filipinos in jail
Manila: Filipinos will be required to sing the national anthem when it is played in public - and to do so with enthusiasm - under a bill that the House of Representatives approved. If the bill, which will be considered by the Senate, is approved and signed into law, a failure to sing the anthem with sufficient energy would be punishable by up to one year in prison and a fine of $1,000 to 2,000. A second offence will include both a fine and prison time, and violators will be penalised by “public censure” in a newspaper. “The singing shall be mandatory and must be done with fervour,” the bill states.
`Love wins' as Germany legalises gay marriage
Berlin: Germany legalised same-sex marriage despite the personal objections of Chancellor Angela Merkel, as the nation joined many other western democracies in granting gay and lesbian couples full rights, including adoption. The move, criticised by some in Merkel's ruling conservative bloc and by the Catholic Church, brings Germany into line with many European nations, including France, Britain and Spain and follows Merkel's surprise decision this week to allow her lawmakers to follow their own conscience rather than the party line on the issue. Merkel, daughter of a Protestant pastor, voted against the bill.
Iraq recaptures mosque where IS proclaimed its caliphate
Mosul: After eight months of grinding urban warfare, Iraqi government troops captured the ruined mosque in Mosul from where the Islamic State terror group proclaimed its self-styled caliphate three years ago, the Iraqi military said. Iraqi authorities expect the long battle for Mosul to end in the coming days as the remaining IS fighters are now bottled up in just a handful of neighbourhoods of the Old City. The seizure of the 850-year-old Grand al-Nuri Mosque is a huge symbolic victory for the Iraqi forces fighting to recapture Mosul, which had served as IS' de facto capital in Iraq.
