The Government of Singapore on Friday pledged a seed money of USD 50,000 in humanitarian assistance for the people of Pakistan, affected by devastating floods. “The Singapore Government will contribute US$ 50,000 as seed money to support the Singapore Red Cross (SRC)’s public fundraising efforts towards the humanitarian crisis, caused by floods in Pakistan,” Singapore Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The contribution by the Singapore Government will supplement the SRC’s pledge of S$50,000 to support the immediate needs of affected communities, it added. The Singapore foreign ministry also conveyed deepest condolences to the families of the victims of the floods.

Pakistan Embassy in Singapore said in a statement that the contribution by the Singapore government reflected Singapore’s solidarity with the people of Pakistan during this difficult time.

It will support ongoing relief and recovery efforts to assist families and communities impacted by the floods, according to a press release by Pakistan embassy in Singapore. The Singapore Red Cross launched its fund-raising appeal last week to support those in Pakistan impacted by the mid-August monsoon floods. It also committed US$ 39,000 to support humanitarian efforts in Pakistan and the contribution by the Singapore government will supplement this pledge.

DALLAS: A horrifying incident has sent shockwaves across the community in East Dallas, Texas after a 50-year-old Indian-origin man was brutally murdered and beheaded by his co-worker in front of his wife and teenage son.

The gruesome incident took place early morning on September 10 at the Downtown Suites Motel located on Samuell Boulevard, where the victim, Chandra Nagamallaiah, had been working as a manager for the past three years.

According to Dallas police, the dispute began when Nagamallaiah told his employee, Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, not to use a broken washing machine. The argument quickly escalated into a violent confrontation.

Suddenly, Cobos-Martinez pulled out a knife and repeatedly stabbed Nagamallaiah, forcing him to flee toward the motel office while badly injured. Nagamallaiah’s wife and 18-year-old son, who were already inside the office, desperately tried to intervene, but Cobos-Martinez was unstoppable.

The suspect beheaded Nagamallaiah in front of his family, then kicked the severed head toward the parking lot before later placing it in a dumpster. The chilling scene was captured on the motel’s security cameras, which showed a trail of blood stretching from the room to the front office.

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) called the killing “unthinkable” and admitted that Cobos-Martinez had been released from ICE custody earlier in 2025 under an order of supervision due to the lack of available deportation flights to Cuba. 

ICE acknowledged that, in hindsight, releasing him had been a mistake and that he should not have been free.

The suspect, a Cuban national, has now been arrested and charged with capital murder. He is currently being held at the Dallas County Jail, and detectives have obtained a search warrant to collect additional evidence from the crime scene.

Nagamallaiah, originally from the Indian state of Karnataka, was known as a hardworking, honest, and family-oriented man who deeply cared for his loved ones.

The Consulate General of India in Houston expressed deep sorrow over the incident, stating:

“We are in continuous contact with the bereaved family and providing all possible assistance. The accused is in Dallas Police custody, and we are closely monitoring the case.”

The shocking murder has left not only the Indian community but also other Asian immigrant groups in deep grief and anger.

On social media platform X (formerly Twitter), many users expressed outrage over the lack of mainstream media coverage and raised serious concerns about the safety of immigrant workers and the rising incidents of anti-Asian violence.

• Officials release video of man fleeing from sniper’s perch.
• No motive established for killing of influential conservative.
• Utah governor asks for public’s help to identify gunman.

OREM: The sniper who killed the conservative activist Charlie Kirk was still on the loose on Friday even as investigators flooded the internet with photos and video of a man believed to have carried out Wednesday’s politically charged killing at a Utah university.

President Donald Trump said investigators were making progress in tracking down the gunman who fired a single rifle shot on Wednesday that struck the neck of Kirk, a 31-year-old author and podcast host who helped galvanise the conservative youth vote and return Trump to the White House.

Officials were still calling the man captured on video a person of interest, not a suspect, but placed him at the scene of the crime at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.

Kirk was on campus for one of his student-outreach events, featuring his trademark format of taking questions and challenging opponents to debate on the most polarising issues of the day, including gun violence and race. About 3,000 people were in attendance.

The shooting has punctuated the most sustained period of US political violence since the 1970s.

Reuters has documented more than 300 cases of politically motivated acts of violence across the ideological spectrum since supporters of Trump attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Trump himself has survived two attempts on his life last year, one that left him with a grazed ear during a campaign event and another two months later, foiled by federal agents.

Video played at a press briefing late on Thursday showed a man walking across the roof of the building where the gunfire originated, before climbing down and dropping to the ground and leaving the campus.

Across the road, he entered a small wooded area where officials recovered what they described as a high-powered, bolt-action rifle they believe was used in the shooting.

Bolt-action rifles, unlike self-loading semi-automatic rifles often used in mass shootings, are popular with American game hunters, target shooters and snipers in militaries around the world.

They require the manual loading of each cartridge into the chamber with a turn of the bolt, but are perceived as more accurate at longer ranges when a single, fatal shot is all that is needed.

Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said the man left some palm impressions and smudges where investigators were looking to collect DNA.

“There’s a shoe imprint where we believe the suspect is clearly identified as wearing Converse tennis shoes,” Mason added.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox, appearing at a press briefing with FBI Director Kash Patel and other officials, asked for the public’s help in identifying the slender young man, whose appearance was partially concealed by a dark baseball cap and sunglasses.

“We cannot do our job without the public’s help right now,” Cox said. “So far, we’ve received more than 7,000 leads and tips. I would just note that the FBI hasn’t received this many digital media tips from the public since the Boston Marathon bombing of 2013”.

The FBI offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Kirk’s killer.

Lawmakers, commentators and online sleuths have already filled social media and message boards with speculation about the killer’s identity and blame-casting about his ideology.

Kirk, 31, a husband and father of two, was dear to many in Trump’s MAGA political movement. Vice President JD Vance credited him with helping Trump win the 2024 presidential election and select people appointed to the Trump administration.

Vance cancelled a trip to New York and instead travelled to Utah to see Kirk’s family and to fly them and Kirk’s casket home to Arizona aboard Air Force Two.

Trump said he would award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honour.

“Charlie Kirk was a great person, a great man — great in every way, especially with youth”, Trump told reporters.

“Investigators are making great strides on finding Charlie Kirk’s assassin. Hopefully, we’ll have him and we will deal with him very appropriately,” Trump said.