In a first, Sikh-American set to join US Air Force
washington, July 14: Chirag Veer Singh Sarao has become the first ‘keshdhari’ Sikh American to join the US Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, the American Sikh Council said.A ‘keshdhari’ Sikh maintains unshorn hair (kesh) and beard as articles of faith. Sarao was appointed to the US Air Force Academy (USAFA) on April 4 and received the ‘religious accommodation’ on June 20 to serve with his articles of faith and remain grounded in his core identity, the Council said. He officially joined the USAF Academy on June 24, on In-Processing Day (I-Day) and is currently undergoing six weeks of boot camp. Before joining the USAF Academy, Sarao also received full scholarships from both the Air Force Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) and the Naval ROTC. He was also accepted into the University of Southern California and the University of Washington. (PTI)
Senior Chinese Communist leader expelled over corruption
Beijing, July 14: The ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) on Tuesday expelled its former chief of Xinjiang province, Ma Xingrui, from the party and dismissed him from public service for corruption and violating party discipline.Ma, who was also a member of the influential Politburo, the country’s top decision-making body was found to have “lost his ideals and beliefs”, abandoned his “political conviction”, betrayed the party’s principles and “seriously violated political discipline and rules”, state-run Xinhua news agency said. The 67-year-old is the third member of the 24-member Politburo to come under investigation during the current party term that began in 2022, a rare occurrence in the recent history of the 105-year-old party. President Xi Jinping has overseen a sweeping anti-corruption drive since taking power in 2012, with hundreds of party and military officials punished for corruption and disciplinary violations. (PTI)
Two more jail officials die from Sri Lanka prison clash
Colombo, July 14: Two more officials from the riot-hit Negombo jail in Sri Lanka have succumbed to their injuries, bringing the overall death toll to 32, prison spokesman CI Gajanayake said on Tuesday. The number of prison officials killed has now gone up to 10, while at least 22 inmates died and another 20 remain hospitalised. On July 5 and 6, violent clashes erupted in the Negombo jail following a narcotics dispute among rival groups of inmates. Later, it turned into a violent clash between the prisoners and jail officials. Prison officials said the inmates brutally assaulted them, while inmates said officials opened indiscriminate gunfire at them from a peephole on the main door. Gajanayake said three more prison officials are in hospital, and one of them is “very critical”. At the time of the clashes, there were 2,400 inmates, almost four times its capacity, in the prison at Negombo, a western coastal city about 35 odd kilometres north of Colombo. Gajanayake said only 600 inmates are currently held temporarily at Negombo jail. They will also be transferred elsewhere, like the over 2,000 inmates transferred to other jails across the island, he added. (PTI)
