Bag containing weed, cash accidentally donated to New Zealand charity shop
Wellington, March 9:Two teenagers mistakenly left a knapsack containing marijuana and cash at a donation area outside a New Zealand charity shop, then returned in a panic to retrieve the bag, police said on Monday.
A volunteer at the store noticed a pungent aroma before opening the knapsack and finding plastic bags of marijuana amounting to 43.2 grams and 3,700 New Zealand dollars in banknotes, New Zealand Police said in a statement.
Using marijuana recreationally and selling the drug are illegal in New Zealand. Some medical uses are allowed with a doctor’s prescription. Police said the episode happened February 18 in the Southland region of the South Island.
The boy and girl had left the knapsack outside the shop as they waited for their vehicle to be serviced at a nearby workshop, the police statement said. Officers were called after the agitated teens returned to the store.
Police found an air pistol – which those under 18 can’t possess without a license and adult supervision – a police scanner, and more cash in the teens’ car. It’s not illegal to have a police scanner in New Zealand, but distributing or acting on information heard is a crime. (PTI)
Indian-origin World War spy Noor takes centrestage on UK’s Commonwealth Day
London, March 9: Noor Inayat Khan, an Indian-origin British spy dropped behind World War II enemy lines, took centrestage for her bravery and sacrifice during Commonwealth Day commemorations at the Memorial Gates in London on Monday.
This year’s ceremony was themed ‘Women in War’ to honour the extraordinary contribution of women who served during the First and Second World Wars, including those from the Indian subcontinent and beyond.
The keynote address was delivered by London-based historian Shrabani Basu, author of Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan, who recounted the immense courage of a gentle Sufi musician executed by the Nazis in 1944.
Commonwealth Day, marked annually on the second Monday of March, brings together diplomats, representatives of the Armed Forces, veterans and faith leaders in a solemn wreath-laying ceremony at the Memorial Gates – inaugurated by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2002, in honour of the 5 million men and women from the Indian subcontinent, Africa and the Caribbean who volunteered to serve during both World Wars. (PTI)
