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Illegal migrant from Bangladesh arrested in Dehradun

An allegedly illegal Bangladeshi woman living here in the Patel Nagar area was arrested by the police on Thursday.

Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ajay Singh said that during the COVID pandemic, Subeda Begum, 40, illegally crossed into West Bengal and married an Indian citizen.

He said that on a tip-off from an informer, the police detained Begum, who was living in Lok Sanskriti Colony in the Patel Nagar area. During questioning, she confessed that she is a Bangladeshi citizen and had been living under the fake identities of Subeda Bibi, Moni, and Priya Roy.

Police recovered fake birth certificates in the names of Subeda Bibi and Moni, voter ID cards in the names of Subeda Bibi, Moni, and Priya Roy, and an Aadhaar card, PAN, and other fake Indian documents from her possession.

Begum was booked under sections of the Indian Penal Code, Passport Act, and Foreigners Act and arrested. She told police that she had crossed the border four years and married Kauser shah of West Bengal.

Bengal guv gets death threat, police on high alert

West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose on Thursday night received a death threat email, following which his security has been tightened, a senior official at the Lok Bhavan said.

In the email, the sender threatened to "blast" the governor, the official added. "The accused also mentioned his mobile number in the email. We have informed the DGP and asked him to arrest the person immediately," the official told PTI. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has also been informed.

The matter has also been reported to the Union Home Ministry. State police and the CRPF are working together to ensure the governor’s safety, the official said. Bose, who enjoys Z-plus security, now has around 60-70 central police personnel deployed for his protection.

Tennessee university reinstates professor fired for Charlie Kirk post

Austin Peay State University has reinstated a professor who was fired for his social media post after the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The Tennessee school is also paying the teacher USD 500,000 in the settlement.

Austin Peay spokesperson Brian Dunn said Darren Michael returned to his position as a tenured faculty member at the public university in Clarksville effective December 30.

A copy of the settlement agreement obtained through a public records request includes a USD 500,000 payment and reimbursement of counselling, as reported earlier this week by WKRN-TV.

Tennessee's governor, attorney general and comptroller signed a document authorising the settlement payment.

Michael, a theatre and dance professor, was among people who reported facing a conservative backlash and punishment at work for their online posts about Kirk's fatal shooting in September. He was later moved to a suspension status.

In a December 30 email to the university community, Austin Peay President Mike Licari said the school did not follow the required tenure termination process. The communication was another requirement under the settlement.

NASA cuts space station mission short after astronaut's medical issue

NASA is cutting a mission aboard the International Space Station short after an astronaut had a medical issue.

The space agency said Thursday the US-Japanese-Russian crew of four will return to Earth earlier than planned. NASA cancelled its first spacewalk of the year because of the health issue.

The space agency did not identify the astronaut or the medical issue, citing patient privacy. The crew member is now stable.

Seven astronauts are currently living and working aboard the space station. The latest crew arrived in August after launching from Florida. 

Elon Musk's xAI to build USD 20 billion data centre in Mississippi

Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company xAI is set to spend USD 20 billion to build a data centre in Southaven, Mississippi, Gov. Tate Reeves has announced, calling it the largest private investment in the state's history.

The data centre, called MACROHARDRR, is being built in Mississippi's DeSoto County near Memphis, Tennessee. It will be the company's third data centre in the greater Memphis area. xAI CFO Anthony Armstrong said the cluster of data centres will house “the world's largest supercomputer" with 2 gigawatts of computing power.

The announcement comes as xAI faces scrutiny over its data centre projects in the Memphis area. The NAACP and the Southern Environmental Law Center have raised concerns over air pollution generated by xAI's supercomputer facility located near predominantly Black communities in Memphis.

A petition by the Safe and Sound Coalition, a Southaven group opposing xAI's developments, calls for shutting down xAI's operations in the area and has received more than 900 signatures as of Thursday afternoon.

xAI did not immediately respond when asked for comment about environmental concerns. A fact sheet released by the Mississippi governor's office said environmental responsibility is a “core commitment” for xAI.