UK refugee professor's Fields Medal stolen
Rio de Janeiro, Aug 2: The world's most prestigious maths medal -- the Fields Medal -- was stolen from a British refugee professor just half an hour after he was awarded the prize here.
Caucher Birkar, 40, was one of the four joint winners of the medal -- regarded as the Nobel Prize of mathematics -- who were given the award at the International Congress of Mathematics on Wednesday, the Guardian reported.
Birkar had left the medal in a briefcase with his cellphone and wallet on top of a table in the pavilion where the event was being held. The security team later found the briefcase under a bench but the medal was missing.
Brazilian newspaper "O Globo" has claimed that the thief had already been identified from a security camera footage.
Organisers lamented the theft in a statement: "The organising committee of the International Congress of Mathematics profoundly regrets the disappearance of mathematician Cauchar Birkar's briefcase, which contained the Fields medal he received at this morning's ceremony."
"Images recorded at the event are being analysed. The organising committee is cooperating with local police authorities in their investigation," they said.
The ceremony was held at Riocentro, a convention centre on the western edges of Rio - a city struggling with soaring crime rates.
Birkar was born in Iran and moved to the UK as a refugee two decades ago.
The other three winners of the medal were Indian-origin Stanford University professor Akshay Venkatesh; Alessio Figalli of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, and Peter Scholze of the University of Bonn.
The Fields Medal was first awarded in 1936 and since 1950 is presented every four years to up to four mathematicians under 40.
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Bomb threat at Mangaluru RTO turns out to be hoax
Mangaluru (PTI): A search operation was carried out at the Regional Transport Office here on Monday after the office received a bomb threat email, which later turned out to be a hoax, police said.
The email was received on Sunday night but came to the notice of the authorities only on Monday afternoon, following which immediate precautionary measures were taken, they said.
According to police, the RTO office staff were evacuated as a safety measure, and the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad was pressed into service to conduct a meticulous search of the building.
Police personnel and the dog squad were also deployed at the spot.
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“The email claimed that bombs were kept in the RTO office. The Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad checked the premises thoroughly and no suspicious object was found. It was a hoax email,” a senior police officer said.
Officials said the authorities are treating the incident seriously and have launched an investigation to trace the source of the email.
“A case has been registered at the South police station in this regard and further investigation is underway,” he added.
