1) Indian Priest released in Afghanistan after 8 months.
- Father Alexis Prem Kumar, who hails from Tamil Nadu’s Sivaganga district, had serves as country director of international NGO Jesuit Refugee Service in Afghanistan for four years before he was abducted on June 2, 2014.
- Less than a week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached out to Christians and resolved to protect them from groups inciting hatred, his government pulled off a diplomatic coup by securing the release of a senior Jesuit priest abducted by the Taliban in Heart, Afghanistan, last year.
2) Mohamed Nasheed arrested in Male under anti-terror law.
- Former President of Maldives Mohamed Nasheed was arrested under anti-terrorism laws.
- He is facing criminal charges over his order to arrest a criminal court judge Abdulla Mohamed in January 2012.
- Nasheed is a leader of Maldivian Democratic Party and was the first democratically elected President of Maldives. He stepped down as the President of Maldives in 2012.
- Indian Yoga teacher creates a new Guinness World Record.
- Hong Kong based Indian Yoga teacher Mr. Yogaraj C.P. created a new Guinness world Record by continuously performing more than 1500 asanas for 40 hours and 15 minutes.
3) ONGC technical director shashi Shankar was suspended by oil ministry.
- The oil ministry has suspended ONGC director Shashi Shankar over allegations of irregularities.
- The ministry wrote to Oil and Natural Gas Corporation that a disciplinary proceeding against Shankar is being contemplated.
- Madhya Pradesh Governor named in exam scam FIR.
- Madhya Pradesh governor Ram Naresh Yadav sent his resignation after the Union home ministry asked Yadav to step down after he was named in an exam scam in the state.
- The STF probing the MPPED scam registered an FIR against Ram Naresh Yadav in connection with alleged irregularities in recruitment of forest guards under various section of IPC, including 420 for cheating case.
4) Abu Salem got life term for Pradeep Jain’s murder.
- A special TADA court sentenced Abu Salem to life imprisonmet and slapped Rs. 8 lakh fine on him.
- He was found guilty in the murder case of builder Pradeep Jain in 1995.
- On March 7, 1995, Jain was shot dead outside his Juhu bungalow after he refused to part with his property to Salem.
- TADA judge G.A. Sanap, however, said the court had to apply the law, while the government can exercise its power in the matter of “execution of the sentence awarded by this court”.
5) Rajendra K. Pachauri has quit as chairman of the UN’s IPCC.
- Rajendra K. Pachauri has quit as chairman of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change days after the police began investigating charges that he sexually harassed a 29-year old woman employee in Delhi.
- Dr. Pachauri is one of the world’s top climate change officials. A researcher at his Delhi-based the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
- In 2007, the IPCC was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with former U.S. Vice President AI Gore for their part in galvanizing international action against climate change.
6) Jihadi John named as Mohammed Emwazi from London.
- The masked Islamic State militant known as “Jihadi John”, who has been pictured in the videos of the beheadings of Western hostages, has been named.
- He is Mohammed Emwazi, a Kuwaiti-born British man in his mid-20s from west London, who was previously known to British security services.
- Emwazi first appeared in a video last August, when he apparently killed the US journalist James Foley.
- He was later thought to have been pictured in the videos of the beheadings of US journalist Steven Sotloff, British aid worker David Haines, British taxi driver Alan Henning, and American aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig, also known as Peter.
7) FBI announced 3 million US dollar award for information on Evgeniy Mikhailovich Bogachev.
- Evgeniy Mikhailovich Bogachev, one of the world’s most prolific cyber criminal from Russia.
- US State Department, the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced a reward of 3 million US dollars for information on him.
About Bogachev:
- Bogachev is alleged for his involvement in a major cyber racketeering enterprise in which he played a role of administrator for the GameOver Zeus botnet.
- It is believed that he is responsible for the theft of more than 100 million US dollar from businesses and consumers in the US and around the world.