LONDON: The mother of a backpacker slain in an Australian hostel wrote an open letter to US President Donald Trump, rejecting the decision to label her daughter’s death as a terror attack.
The August slayings of Mia Ayliffe-Chung, 20, and fellow Briton Tom Jackson, 30, were on a list of 78 attacks the White House says were “executed or inspired by” the Daesh militant group — and under-reported by the media.
Rosie Ayliffe says the possibility of terrorism was discounted early in the investigation.
“My daughter’s death will not be used to further this insane persecution of innocent people,” she wrote.
Police in Australia said there was no indication the assault was motivated by extremism. They have said they are investigating whether Ayad, who is French and was 29 years old at the time of killing, had a romantic obsession with Ayliffe-Chung.
Ayad’s lawyer told a court in October that her client had been given a preliminary diagnosis of schizophrenia. The case has been referred to the Queensland state Mental Health Court, which determines whether a person is competent to stand trial.
The attack took place in front of dozens of backpackers at a hostel in northern Queensland. Ayliffe-Chung was found dead at the scene. Jackson tried to stop the attack and was fatally wounded.
“This vilification of whole nation states and their people based on religion is a terrifying reminder of the horror that can ensue when we allow ourselves to be led by ignorant people into darkness and hatred,” Ayliffe wrote.
Mother of backpacker slain in Australia criticizes Trump
Mother of backpacker slain in Australia criticizes Trump
India plans AI ‘data city’ on staggering scale
- ‘The data city is going to come in one ecosystem ... with a 100 kilometer radius’
NEW DELHI: As India races to narrow the artificial intelligence gap with the United States and China, it is planning a vast new “data city” to power digital growth on a staggering scale, the man spearheading the project says.
“The AI revolution is here, no second thoughts about it,” said Nara Lokesh, information technology minister for Andhra Pradesh state, which is positioning the city of Visakhapatnam as a cornerstone of India’s AI push.
“And as a nation ... we have taken a stand that we’ve got to embrace it,” he said ahead of an international AI summit next week in New Delhi.
Lokesh boasts the state has secured investment agreements of $175 billion involving 760 projects, including a $15 billion investment by Google for its largest AI infrastructure hub outside the United States.
And a joint venture between India’s Reliance Industries, Canada’s Brookfield and US firm Digital Realty is investing $11 billion to develop an AI data center in the same city.
Visakhapatnam — home to around two million people and popularly known as “Vizag” — is better known for its cricket ground that hosts international matches than cutting-edge technology.
But the southeastern port city is now being pitched as a landing point for submarine internet cables linking India to Singapore.
“The data city is going to come in one ecosystem ... with a 100 kilometer radius,” Lokesh said. For comparison, Taiwan is roughly 100 kilometers wide.
Lokesh said the plan goes far beyond data connectivity, adding that his state had “received close to 25 percent of all foreign direct investments” to India in 2025.
“It’s not just about the data centers,” he explained while outlining a sweeping vision of change, with Andhra Pradesh offering land at one US cent per acre for major investors.
