Indian nurses freed from Iraq return to Kochi

1.    Indian nurses freed from Iraq return to Kochi

i. Air India special aircraft, AI 160, ferrying them along with the remaining 137 evacuees made a smooth touchdown at 11.52 a.m. as a motley crowd of relatives, friends, officials, and the media gathered outside the international terminal.

ii. Emotions ran high in Cochin International Airport on Saturday as 46 Indian nurses briefly held hostage by ISIS militants arrived in a special Air India (AI) flight around noon.

iii. The entire nation prayed for us. The prayers helped us return unscathed," said Marina Joseph, one of the abducted nurses.

iv. Marina said the captors — whom many in the group termed "bearded boys" — never misbehaved with them.

"What really scared us was they always covered their faces. They often changed the guard (who kept watch on the nurses). So, it was tough to be friendly with them.

v. "Besides, language was a big problem. There was a Bangladeshi employee in the hospital (in Tikrit where the nurses worked) who knew Arabic. We used to travel with her," she added.

v. A team of State officials led by chief minister Oommen Chandy was present at the airport sharing the joy. He attributed their smooth return to the deft and meticulous diplomacy of the Centre and State governments. “It’s a victory of Indian diplomacy,” thundered the leader.

2.    Satya Nadella among 4 Indian-Americans felicitated in US on Independence Day

i. Four Indian-Americans were among 40 people who were honoured for their contributions to the US in the annual great immigrants tribute in New York on the country's Independence day.

ii. Microsoft Corp chief executive Satya Nadella, comedian and actor Aasif Mandvi, Carnegie Mellon University president Subra Suresh and former president of the University of West Georgia, Beheruz Sethna were honoured along with 36 others, the Wall Street Journal reported.

iii. Mumbai-born Mandvi first moved to England before migrating to the US when he was 16. He became famous as a correspondent on "The Daily Show," where he was known for his satire on issues such as Islam, the Middle East and South Asia.

iv. Suresh, who is an engineer and scientist, was born in Chennai and moved to the US to work on a postgraduate science degree, graduating in 1979. He is the ninth president of the Carnegie Mellon University.

He served as director of the National Science Foundation from 2010 to 2013. Appointed by US President Barack Obama, he led the federal science agency in its mission to advance the fields of science and engineering research.

v. Sethna was born in India in 1948 and served as the sixth president of the University of West Georgia ? the first Indian-American to lead a university in the US.

3.    Goa Governor B V Wanchoo resigns

i. B V Wanchoo on Friday resigned as Governor of Goa as government went about finalizing its plans for replacing the Governors appointed during the previous UPA regime.

ii. 63-year-old Wanchoo sent his resignation after he received a call from Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami on Friday morning asking him to resign, official sources said. 
iii. The resignation of Wanchoo, a former chief of elite Special Protection Group, will be sent to President Pranab Mukherjee for acceptance. 
iv. A 1976-batch IPS officer, Wanchoo's resignation came a few days after former National Security Advisor M K Narayanan quit from Governorship of West Bengal. 
v. Wanchoo was quizzed by CBI as a witness in connection with AgustaWestland deal bribery scandal as was Narayanan just before his resignation.