Nobel Prize in chemistry for work on proteins
Stockholm, Oct 9: The Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded Wednesday to David Baker, Demis Hassabis and John Jumper for their work with proteins. Baker works at the University of Washington in Seattle, while Hassabis and Jumper both work at Google Deepmind in London. Hans Ellegren, secretary general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences that decides on the winner, announced the prize. (AP)
Macron views Ukrainian troops being trained in France
French Military Base (France), Oct 9: French President Emmanuel Macron is inspecting the training of Ukrainian troops at a military camp in eastern France, a show of support for Ukraine as its Western allies mull a victory plan championed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Ukrainian brigade that Macron is visiting Wednesday is being battle-readied and armed by France for front-line deployment against the Russian invasion. French military personnel are training 2,300 Ukrainian soldiers at the camp, teaching them how to use and maintain French-supplied weapons, and subjecting them to combat-like conditions, with stress, noise and drones. It’s the first time Macron has met with some of the 15,000 Ukrainian troops that France has trained since the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022. For security reasons, Macron’s office said the base’s specific location could not be reported. (AP)
Sri Lanka arrest Chinese nationals for cybercrime
Colombo, Oct 9: Over 20 Chinese nationals, suspected to be involved in cyber crime, have been arrested from a suburban area near Colombo where they were staying without a valid visa, police said on Wednesday. All 20 Chinese nationals, between the ages of 22 and 49, were arrested from a hotel in the Gorakana area of Panadura, a suburb south of Colombo. Acting on a tip-off, police raided the hotel and seized five laptops, 437 mobile phones, including two iPhones, 17 routers and other accessories, all material suspected to be linked to potential financial frauds, local media said. (PTI)
2 Hindu traders kidnapped by gangsters in Pakistan
Lahore, Oct 9: Two Hindu traders in Pakistan have been kidnapped by gangsters who have demanded the release of their accomplices from police custody in exchange for the safe release of the businessmen, police said Wednesday. The incident occurred in Rahim Yar Khan, over 500 km from Lahore, the capital of Pakistan’s Punjab province. “Hindu traders – Shameer Jee and Dheema Jee – were abducted by dacoits of the Katcha (riverine) area on Friday. They later demanded the release of their accomplices for their release,” senior police officer Rizwan Gondal told reporters on Wednesday. He said that the gangsters’ ringleader Kabul Sukhan, who carries a bounty of PKR 10 million on his head, is involved in the kidnapping. (PTI)