Salman Rushdie attacker found guilty of attempted murder, assault
New York: Hadi Matar, a 27-year-old from New Jersey, has been found guilty of attempted murder and assault for the stabbing attack on British-Indian author Salman Rushdie. The verdict was delivered by a jury in Chautauqua County Court, New York, after a two-week trial.
The attack, which took place in August 2022 during a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution, left Rushdie with severe injuries, including damage to his liver, permanent vision loss in one eye, and paralysis in one hand due to nerve damage. Matar also injured interviewer Henry Reese, who sustained a minor head injury during the assault.
Matar now faces over 30 years in prison, with sentencing scheduled for April 23, 2025. In addition to state charges, he faces federal accusations of providing material support to Hezbollah, a group designated as a terrorist organization by multiple countries.
Rushdie, 77, testified during the trial, recalling the terrifying moment when Matar charged at him. He described the attack as targeted and relentless, with 15 stab wounds inflicted across his body, including his eye, neck, chest, and thigh.
The attack comes more than three decades after Rushdie faced a death fatwa from Iran’s Supreme Leader over his novel The Satanic Verses, which some Muslims considered blasphemous. Though Rushdie believed threats against him had diminished in recent years, the incident proved otherwise.
Matar, who pleaded not guilty, declined to testify during the trial. His defense argued that there was insufficient evidence to prove intent to kill. However, prosecutors presented slow-motion video footage of the attack, emphasizing the deliberate nature of the assault.
Matar, born in Fairview, New Jersey, to Lebanese immigrant parents, had previously expressed admiration for Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini and claimed to have read only a few pages of The Satanic Verses.
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FM Sitharaman launches 'VijAIpatha' labs in govt schools in Karnataka
Hampi (PTI): Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday launched Cyient AI Labs (CyAILS) -- 'VijAIpatha', aimed at democratising access to Artificial Intelligence, STEM and Robotics education in government schools here.
In a series of posts on 'X', the minister's office shared pictures of the initiative launched at a girl's government school in Hosapete taluk and said that under the pilot phase, five world-class AI, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and Robotics laboratories are being established in government schools.
Each lab will be equipped with high-performance computers, AI-ready software, robotics kits, IoT devices, sensors and secure broadband connectivity.
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"Aligned with NEP 2020, Digital India and Hon'ble Prime Minister @narendramodi's mission of Viksit Bharat 2047, the programme integrates CBSE's AI curriculum and strengthens technology-enabled learning in public education," it said.
Focusing on rural and semi-urban India, the initiative introduces future technologies at the school level, helping build early digital fluency, computational thinking and innovation capacity among students, the minister's office said.
"Benefiting over 2,000 students and training more than 200 teachers, 'VijAIpatha' is a scalable CSR model fostering innovation, career readiness and grassroots digital empowerment," it added.
According to the office, the initiative has been designed as a scalable, replicable and sustainable model that can be adopted across districts and states in collaboration with government education departments, positioning it as a benchmark CSR model for a national AI education rollout.
