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11 - 17 August 2018
Delhi-born mathematician, Cambridge professor among Fields medal winners NEW YORK: Akshay Venkatesh, 36, an Indian origin mathematician in Australia and Caucher Birkar, a Kurdish refugee teaching at Cambridge University in England, were among four mathematicians who were conferred the Fields medal, which is popularly known as Nobel Prize for mathematics. Venkatesh who was born in Delhi won the medal for his research in number theory. A child prodigy, Venkatesh has been winning Mathematics awards since he was a teenager. "A lot of the time, when you do Maths, you're stuck. But you feel privileged to work with it: you have a feeling of transcendence and feel like you've been part of something really meaningful," Venkatesh said. Venkatesh completed his PhD from Princeton University and post-doctorate from Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT). Caucher Birkar was born in a village in the Kurdish province of Marivan, near the Iran-Iraq border. Birkar said: "Kurdistan was an unlikely place for a kid to develop an interest in mathematics. To go from the point that I didn't imagine meeting these
2018 Fields Medallists (from left) Caucher Birkar, Alessio Figalli, Akshay Venkatesh, and Peter Scholze.
people to the point where someday I hold a medal myself - I just couldn't imagine that this would come true," Birkar said. Italian Alessio Figalli and German Peter Scholze were the other co-winners of the mathematics award. "Until high school, Figalli's only concern was playing
football," the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM), which oversees the prize, said in its announcement. "I have work for the next 30 or 40 years. But there is one problem I really hope to solve soon: that is me and my wife living in the same city," Figalli said.
Sunita Williams picked for first pvt space flight HOUSTON: Indian-origin US astronaut Sunita Williams is among nine astronauts named by Nasa to fly on commercial spacecraft made by Boeing and SpaceX to and from the International Space Station, the research laboratory that orbits around Earth. Their voyages are scheduled to begin next year, and they would be the first American astronauts to launch from United States soil since 2011. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) retired its space shuttle fleet that year, and started sending astronauts to the ISS aboard the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, at a cost that has risen to $81million per seat. “What an exciting and
Indian-origin US astronaut Sunita Williams
amazing day,” Jim Bridenstine, Nasa’s administrator, said at Nasa’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Saturday. The seven
men and two women pumped their fists in the air and gave thumbs-up as they strode onto the stage. Williams has been named for the Boeing programme - the first test flight scheduled to take place in the middle of 2019. She will be accompanied by commander Josh Cassada of the American navy, who will be making his first space journey. Williams has spent 322 days aboard the ISS since becoming an astronaut in 1998. While she was there in 2007, she completed the Boston Marathon - on a treadmill - in 4 hours 24 minutes, marking the first time an entrant had finished the race from orbit.
Mnangagwa wins Zimbabwe election
HARARE: Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa won the presidential election with just over 50 per cent of the ballots in the first vote since the fall of longtime leader Robert Mugabe. Mnangagwa received 50.8 per cent of the vote while main opposition challenger Nelson Chamisa received 44.3 per cent. The opposition has threatened to challenge the results in the courts or in the streets. While election day was peaceful, deadly violence against alleged vote-rigging claimed at least six lives. 'Humbled' by victory "Though we may have been divided at the polls, we are united in our dreams," Mnangagwa said. "This is a new beginning. Let us join hands to build a new Zimbabwe for all!" Western election observers expressed concern at the military's "excessive" force in the capital, Harare. Their assessments of the election are crucial to the lifting of international sanctions on a country whose economy collapsed years ago. Shortly before the election commission's announcement, Morgen Komichi, the chief agent for Chamisa's opposition alliance said his party "totally rejects" the results and refused to sign the election results, adding that they would be challenging the election in the courts. Commission chair Priscilla Chigumba urged the country to "move on" with the hopeful spirit of election day and beyond the "blemishes" of Wednesday's chaos.
A rare rebuke to Xi Jinping as China's troubles pile up
Pakistan's first Sikh cop fired for being absent from work ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's first Sikh police officer has been sacked from service for being absent from office for over three months. "Superintendent Police Traffic Asif Sadiq, after an inquiry against Gulab Singh (53) for staying absent from office over three months, has dismissed him from service. Gulab Singh He could not defend himself before an inquiry committee," traffic police spokesperson Ali Nawaz said. I was forcibly evicted from my house: Singh Nawaz said Singh can file an appeal in the office of the deputy inspector general traffic police against his dismissal. Last month, Singh had claimed that he was forcibly evicted by the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), the parent body of Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC) from his
house in a village near Lahore along with his children and wife. Singh alleged that the traffic police SP had taken action against him on the request of the ETPB. "The board had approached the traffic police and asked SP Sadiq to pressure me to withdraw a case against the board officials for illegally evicting me and my family members from our house at Gurdwara Janaesthan Bebey Nankay, Dera Chahal Lahore," he said. Medical certificate presented Singh said he had an accident and presented a medical certificate along with his leave application to the department. "Since the department had no other legal point to initiate action it chose to proceed against me
on the leave issue," he said, adding he was confident that the DIG traffic would listen to him and restore him during the course of appeal. Singh said he would not withdraw his case in the court against his and his family members' illegal eviction by the ETPB. "Even the Supreme Court has taken notice of our illegal eviction and the board is worried about that," he said. Contempt notice issued against ETPB The Lahore's Sessions Court issued a contempt of court notice to the ETPB, that looks after the holy-places of minorities in Pakistan, and police Inspector Imtiaz Ahmed for evicting Gulab Singh and his family members from their house. Singh is the only Sikh warden in the Punjab Traffic Police who joined the service in 2006. Singh said despite the case being pending in the session court the officials of the ETPB and police raided his house on July 10 and forcibly evicted his family, declaring that it is its (ETPB) property.
Indian American becomes graduate of US Air Force academy CALIFORNIA: In a rare feat, nection to his faith. He credits his gurus Indian American Jaydevsinh Pramukh Swami Maharaj and Ghanshyamsinh Zala became a Mahant Swami Maharaj for graduate of the US Air Force guiding him throughout the Academy. Zala said that while most challenging moments at growing up, his parents, father the academy, and appreciated his Ghanshyamsinh Zala and mothparents for nudging him closer er Gaytriba Zala, would take him to his roots and faith. On May 22, and his sister Savitri to their Zala and his fellow classmates ancestral village in Saurashtra were commissioned second lieualmost every year. It was there tenants in the US Air Force. that he developed a deep appreJaydevsinh Zala During his time at the academy, ciation for his heritage and culZala served as a squadron commander, and ture that would later bring him a closer con-
was in charge of more than 100 cadets for all four years. “Being a squadron commander was the most difficult and rewarding position I held during my cadet career,” he said. As squadron commander, he was responsible for the health, morale and welfare of the squadron, among other things. He was in charge of establishing squadron goals, processes, policies and mechanisms to achieve success, and mentored other cadets. Additionally, Zala was a Basic Cadet Training element leader where he was in charge of about 30 basic cadets during basic training.
BEIJING: Chinese president Xi Jinping seemed invincible when lawmakers abolished a term limit on his power early this year. But of late, China has been plagued by economic slowdown, a vaccine scandal and trade battles with Washington, emboldening critics to question his sweeping power. Censorship and punishment have muted dissent in China since Xi came to power. So law professor Xu Zhangrun of Tsinghua University in Beijing took a big risk last week when he criticised Xi's policies. Lawmakers urged to curtail Xi's tenure Xu urged Chinese lawmakers to reverse the vote in March that abolished a two-term limit on Xi's tenure as president. The essay appeared as a burst of troubles has given a focus for criticisms of Xi's strong arm ways, and it has spread through Chinese social media, despite censors. Other less damning criticisms, petitions and jibes about Xi's policies have also spread. "Over recent months, China has been grappling with a growing trade dispute with the United States. Some Chinese foreign policy experts have suggested that the trade fights with the Trump administration could have been contained if Beijing had been more flexible and moved faster to douse triumphalist statements about its goals. "China should adopt a lower profile in dealing with international issues," professor Jia Qingguo, who teaches international relations at Peking University, said at a recent forum in Beijing.