Lawmaker plans highest US civilian award for Gandhi

New York: An influential American lawmaker has said she would introduce a historic legislation to posthumously award Mahatma Gandhi a Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award in the US, for inspiring peaceful movements for civil rights around the world. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney from New York made the announcement at the 38th India Day Parade, the annual extravaganza celebrating India’s Independence Day. She said she is soon going to introduce the legislation and expressed confidence that the legislation will be successful. PTI

Pak-origin becomes first woman Muslim Australian Senator    

Melbourne: Mehreen Faruqi, a Pakistani-origin woman, on Monday became the first Muslim woman Senator to be sworn-in to Australia’s Parliament. Greens senator Faruqi was sworn-in less than a week after crossbench senator Fraser Anning called for curbs to Muslim migration and a “final solution” on immigration policy, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. “I’m here to shake up the status quo,” the 55-year-old Faruqi told reporters in Canberra. Faruqi migrated to Australia from Pakistan in 1992, representing the Greens in the New South Wales upper house since 2013. PTI