With over 70% of Americans ignorant about Sikhism, schools in New York state will now include lessons on the minority community in their curriculum to educate students about Sikh religion and its tradition, according to a report. The United Sikhs, a non-profit organisation, in collaboration with New York City’s department of education has taken up the initiative to educate American students about Sikhism. The new curriculum for fifth and sixth graders was formally announced on Friday, the report said. An estimated 5,00,000 Sikhs live in the US.
Indian techie’s killer was first arrested at 15
The man who killed 25-year-old Indian student Sharath Koppu in Kansas City had an extensive criminal background and was just 15 when he was first arrested, according to reports. Marlin James Mack, 25, who was shot dead last week after shooting three police officers, was first arrested in Tulsa, Oklahoma, when he was 15 for breaking into cars and two years later he was held again for bringing a gun to school, reports said. At 17, he was jailed for five years for robbing a woman. Police noticed him only when he became the lead suspect in the killing of Koppu, who hailed from Telangana. Koppu, a University of Missouri-Kansas City student, was fatally shot on July 6 in the back during a suspected attempted robbery at a restaurant where he worked in Missouri.
Indian trainee pilot killed in Florida
A 19-year-old trainee pilot from India was among three people killed when two small training aircraft from a flight school collided mid-air in US’ Florida, authorities said. The small planes likely piloted by trainers smashed into each other over the Florida Everglades near Miami, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The two aircraft belonged to Dean International, a Miami flight school that has a history of over two dozen incidents and accidents from 2007 till 2017. Police confirmed at least three deaths and are investigating whether a fourth person was killed. Police identified the three victims as Nisha Sejwal from India and Jorge Sanchez, 22 and Ralph Knight, 72. Sejwal had enrolled in flight school in September 2017, according to her Facebook page.
Indian students now prefer Australia than UK
A new research has revealed that Australia is on way to overtake UK as the second most popular destination for international students. The Centre for Global Higher Education (CGHE) has published a report which states that UK, which currently attracts the second-highest number of international students after the US, is likely to be overtaken by Australia and fall to third place. It may have already happened, it states. Professor Simon Marginson, director of CGHE, who authored the report, said: “The UK government has held down the growth of international student numbers for five years by limiting new student numbers and post-study work visas.” He found there has been little growth in the number of international students entering the UK since 2012. While the number of international students entering the US rose by 30% from 2011-15, the UK experienced an increase of less than 3% during the same period.
Pakistan identifies man it says killed 149 at election rally
Pakistani police say investigators have identified the suicide bomber who attacked an election rally in the country's southwest last week, killing 149 people, including a candidate participating in the July 25 elections. Senior police officer Aitzaz Ahmad Goraya said that alleged attacker Hafeez Nawaz and his family lived in the southern Sindh province. The breakthrough in the investigation comes days after Nawaz in a horrific July 13 attack allegedly killed Siraj Raisani and 148 others in Mastun, a town in Baluchistan province. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. Goraya said Nawaz and his brother were members of IS-linked Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a Sunni extremist group that has killed thousands of minority Shiites and security forces in bomb and gun attacks since 1980s.
Pak election candidate killed in suicide attack
A suicide bomber has killed a candidate in Pakistan's general election in the northwestern town of Dera Ismail Khan, the latest in a series of deadly attacks targeting the polling process. Ikramullah Gandapur was killed after his convoy was attacked in the town's Kulachi area on Sunday, police said. Gandapur's party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, condemned the attack, but campaigning continued ahead of Wednesday's polls. "Saddened to learn that Ikram Gandapur succumbed to his injuries," tweeted party chief Imran Khan. "My prayers go to his family. May Allah give them the strength to bear this loss." Dera Ismail Khan, located adjacent to the South Waziristan district, which was once a stronghold of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has seen several such attacks in recent years.
Pak military calls for probe against allegations
Pakistan’s top court said it had begun reviewing statements made by a judge alleging the country’s spy agencies were influencing judicial proceedings, as the military called for an investigation. Pakistan’s general election on Wednesday has been hit by accusations of pre-poll rigging with ousted PM Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party accusing the military of influencing the judiciary. Islamabad high court judge Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui accused the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), of interfering in legal cases. He also alleged that the agency had told the court not to release ousted Sharif and his daughter Maryam until after the elections.
Additional jail term for former S Korean president
A South Korean court sentenced former president Park Geun-hye to eight more years in prison after finding her guilty on charges of causing loss of government funds and interfering in a 2016 parliamentary election. Park has already been sentenced to 24 years in jail after she was found guilty by a lower court in April of separate charges including bribery, abuse of power and coercion. All sentences must be served consecutively, a court spokeswoman said. Park became South Korea's first democratically elected leader to be forced from office last year when the Constitutional Court ordered her out over a scandal that exposed a web of corruption between political leaders and the country's powerful conglomerates, or chaebol. Park, 66, has denied wrongdoing and was not present in court. It was immediately unclear whether Park would appeal.
‘14 injured’ in knife attack in Germany
A man armed with a knife attacked people on a bus in the northern city of Luebeck, injuring several including one seriously before he was arrested, police and the local state prosecutor said. The local Luebecker Nachrichten, said the attacker was a 34-year-old man originally from Iran who now had German nationality and had lived in Luebeck for years. The interior minister of Schleswig-Holstein, the state where Luebeck is located, did not assume there was a terrorist motive. “The exact number of injured is still unclear. There were casualties,” the police said. The local Luebecker Nachrichten reported at least 14 people were wounded, two seriously.
Iran offers visa on arrival to Indian citizens
Indian travellers can obtain visas on arrival in all 12 international airports in Iran, reads a letter sent from the Civil Aviation Organization to airport directors and airline companies. The measure was finalised during President Hassan Rouhani's visit to India back in February. Nationals of all countries, except for those from Colombia, Somalia, USA, UK, Canada, Bangladesh, Jordan, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, holding valid ordinary passports and wishing to visit Iran's mainland, can obtain a 30-day visa upon arrival in international airports. Iran's international airports include Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport and airports located in cities of Mashhad, Shiraz, Isfahan, Tabriz, Ahvaz, Kish, Qeshm, Kerman, Uremia, Bandar Abbas and Bushehr.
Man opens fire into Toronto cafes, kills two
A man walked along a Toronto street firing a handgun into restaurants and cafes, shooting 14 people and killing two before dying after an exchange of gunfire with police. Police Chief Mark Saunders did not rule out terrorism as a motive, though officials did not immediately identify the attacker, other than to say he was 29 years old. Sunday night's mass shooting, just three months after the driver of a van ploughed into pedestrians on a Toronto sidewalk, killing 10 people, shook the confidence of many in this normally safe city.
Laos dam collapse: hundreds missing
Hundreds of people are missing and an unknown number dead after a dam under construction collapsed in south-east Laos, state media reported. The collapse at the hydroelectric dam in Attapeu province on Monday sent flash floods through six villages, Lao News Agency said. More than 6,600 people have been made homeless, it added. Pictures showed villagers stranded on the roofs of submerged house and boats carrying people to safety. "The disaster has claimed several human lives and left hundreds missing," the agency reported. Construction of the dam began in 2013 and it was due to begin commercial operations next year.
No time limit set on N Korea's de-nuclearisation
United States President Donald Trump has said that there is no time limit set for North Korea to get rid of its nuclear weapons program. According to Yonhap, Trump's remarks come a month after his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore. During the summit, Kim Jong-un vowed to work towards a "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula in return for security guarantees from the US. "We have no time limit. We have no speed limit. We're just going through the process," Yonhap quoted Trump, as saying during a Congress meeting at the White House. The US president also accused the past administration of engaging North Korea in endless negotiations, something which eventually went on to defeat the purpose.
