News in Brief-(24-5-2018)

May 24, 2018 00:00:00

Hundreds attend Pakistani girl Sabika’s funeral

KARACHI, May 23: The funeral of a Pakistani student killed in last week's Texas school shooting has taken place in Karachi. Sabika Sheikh, who was 17, was among the eight students and two teachers killed in the attack in Santa Fe. Her body was flown back to Pakistan on Wednesday. Senior politicians were among hundreds at the funeral. The gunman, identified as 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis, is being held on murder charges and could face the death penalty. Sabika Sheikh had been due to return home to Pakistan in just a few weeks' time, ahead of the Muslim festival of Eid. — BBC

Netherlands PM to visit India

NEW DELHI, May 23: Prime Minister of Netherlands Mark Rutte will arrive in New Delhi on Thursday for a two-day visit, announced India's external affairs ministry on Wednesday. This will be Rutte's second visit to India since June 2015, and the first after being re-elected as PM last year. His visit comes within a year of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Netherlands last June. The visit is expected to boost the bilateral economic and political cooperation. — Xinhua

First black female nominee for US governor

GEORGIA, May 23: A former Georgia lawmaker and author has taken a major step towards becoming the first ever African-American female governor of a US state. Stacey Abrams won the Democratic Party primary on Tuesday, telling voters that trying to "convert" Republicans into Democrats had previously failed. A Democrat has not held the red state's governor's mansion since 2003. Ms Abrams, 44, will face a Republican candidate in the high-stakes mid-term contest in November. Lt Gov Casey Cagle won the Republican primary on Tuesday, and will face Georgia's secretary of state Brian Kemp in a run-off on 24 July to decide her eventual opponent. — BBC

0.25pc of Vietnamese pregnant women have HIV

HANOI, May 23: Vietnam has some 2 million pregnant women each year, and 0.25 per cent of them have HIV, according to its Health Ministry on Wednesday. Vietnam also has high rates of pregnant women with hepatitis B virus or syphilis. — Xinhua