Unruly Indian passenger forces Air France plane to land
Sofia, March 7: An Air France plane en route from Paris to New Delhi made a forced landing in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Friday evening due to an unruly Indian passenger, according to a media report.
Citing prosecution sources, the report by Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) said the passenger behaved arrogantly with others, attacked crew members and knocked on the cockpit doors.
The disruptive passenger was detained for 24 hours, Xinhua news agency quoted the BTA report as saying.
The Indian Embassy in Sofia has been notified of the incident, the report added. (IANS)
Nine apes get Covid vax in US
San Diego, March 7: Nine great apes at the San Diego Zoo have been vaccinated against the novel coronavirus after some gorillas were infected with the disease.
Four orangutans and five bonobos received the Covid-19 injections in January and February, the zoo confirmed earlier this week.
The vaccinations followed a January outbreak at the zoo’s Safari Park, reports Xinhua news agency.
Eight western lowland gorillas were infected with the virus, probably due to exposure to a zookeeper who had tested positive for Covid-19, officials said.
The gorillas’ symptoms were mild and limited to coughing, congestion and fatigue.They have fully recovered, according to the zoo.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), several animals in zoological facilities have tested positive for the novel coronavirus earlier, including large cats and great apes. (IANS)
Bloody Sunday memorial to honour late civil rights giants
Selma (Alabama), March 7: The commemoration of a pivotal moment in the fight for voting rights for African Americans will honour four giants of the civil rights movement who lost their lives in 2020, including the late US Rep. John Lewis.
The Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee will mark the 56th anniversary of Bloody Sunday — the day on March 7, 1965, that civil rights marchers were brutally beaten by law enforcement officers on Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge.
Lewis, the Rev. Joseph Lowery, the Rev.CT Vivian, and attorney Bruce Boynton are the late civil rights leaders who will be honoured on Sunday. Bloody Sunday became a turning point in the fight for voting rights. Footage of the beatings helped galvanize support for passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
This year’s commemoration comes as some states seek to roll back expanded early and mail-in voting access and efforts have been unsuccessful to restore a key section of the Voting Rights Act that required states with a history of discrimination to get federal approval for any changes to voting procedures. (AP)
