Indian Student Found dead in Auckland, two suspects arrested May 14, 2015 12:32
Indian youth from Karnal was found dead under suspicious circumstances at Mission Bay in Auckland yesterday. He was actually scheduled to receive a management degree on June 20, for which his parents were planning to visit New Zealand. The youth, Manjit Singh, reportedly had injury marks on his face. Police have been investigating the case to find the causes of his death. Meanwhile, his parents have approached the local deputy commissioner in Karnal to help them in bringing back his body. According to the brief of his uncle, he had no issues with anybody of his college ‘International College of Auckland’ and with any others outside the campus. However, the police have taken two suspects into custody based on the footage of CCTV at a restaurant, where they were seen separately from Manjit’s place. The members of the deceased’s family are planning to meet Minister for External Affairs for ensuring government’s support in the investigation and to bring back his body asap. -Kannamsai
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Indian-origin Priti Patel, new Employment Minister May 12, 2015 11:40
Prime Minister David Cameron appointed one of Britain's most prominent Indian-origin MPs Priti Patel as the new Employment Minister. Ms Patel was re-elected from Witham in Essex with a big majority in the general election. The 43-year-old replaces Esther McVey, who lost her seat at the polls. Priti Patel, who was born on 29th March 1972 is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament from the Witham constituency in Essex since 2010. Her parents migrated from Uganda and were of Gujarati origin who came to Britain in the 1960s. Ms. PritiPatel attended Watford Grammar School for Girls in Watford, studied economics at Keele University, completed her postgraduate studies at the University of Essex. She joined the Conservative Party when John Major was Prime Minister. It was a Ladies' Day at Downing Street as British Prime Minister David Cameron completed his cabinet formation, in which many ladies found the place. Amber Rudd is made Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Anna Soubry and Priti Patel are appointed as small business and employment ministers. Pakistani-origin Sajid Javid is moved from Culture Secretary to Secretary of State for Business and London Mayor Boris Johnson has been made a minister without a portfolio. By Premji
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10 Indian-Origin MPs in Britain House of Commons May 08, 2015 16:00
The number of Indian-Origin members in House of Commons has not changed as only 10 members have become successful in Thursday’s election. Nine out of ten of previous house have won the election, while Paul Uppal of the Conservative party lost in Wolverhampton South West in the West Midlands of England in the hands of Rob Marris of the Labour party by a margin of 801. The constituency is having storng hold for Sikhs from India. However, Uppal’s loss was compensated by son-in-law of N.R. Narayana Murthy, Mr. Rishi Sunak of Conservative party, from Richmond in Yorkshire. And the nine members, who won their seats again, Keith Vaz (Leicester East), who has been an MP from 1987; his sister Valerie Vaz (Walsall South); Sajid Javid (Bromsgrove), who is half Indian-half Pakistani and was minister for culture, media and sport in the outgoing cabinet; Virendra Sharma (Ealing Southall); Seema Malhotra (Feltham & Heston); Lisa Nandy (Wigan), who is half Indian-half English; Priti Patel (Witham), who was a junior minister; Alok Sharma (Reading West); and Shailesh Vara (Cambridgeshire North West), another junior minister who has been an MP since 2005. Over 50 Indian-origin members have contested in the neck to neck elections this time. -Kannamsai
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Amitabh to Lead a campaign initiated by NRI doctors April 30, 2015 15:52
Indian movie legend Amitabh Bachchan will be leading an awareness campaign on road safety initiated by the American physicians of Indian Origin. There are several road safety missions and programmes existing in India, but they are unable to drop the number of accidents as expected or as needed. Association of American Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) and pharma company Abbott jointly organizing the campaign in order to minimize the accidents and there by injuries and deaths. The campaign would include the posters with the messages on road safety endorsed by Amitabh will be showcased in all the clinics and hospitals across the country to remind the importance to the visitors. “I am with you in this campaign to create awareness about head injury and trauma because of road accidents”, said Bachchan in a press statement issued by Abbott. “AAPI is committed to building the right foundation to address the serious concerns of head injury and trauma,” said Dr. Ravi Jahagirdar, president of AAPI. AAPI and Abbott have conducted a country-wide road safety awareness drive, which reached over 800,000 people as the Abbott is having larger base in Indian hospitals. The campaign includes the safety precautions like adequate protection, speed limits, concentrated driving. "With our vision of 'Zero Injury Zero Incidents', Abbott’s field force is trained on safe two-wheeler driving. This has resulted in reduction in accidents to the tune of 83 percent amongst Abbott employees," said Bhasker Iyer, Abbott management representative in India. "AAPI has been working with multiple stakeholders and professional associations like NSI, NSSI and AASAN in developing the first trauma and brain injury guidelines for India," said Anwar Feroz Siddiqi, honorary advisor to AAPI. They have designed the project in Indian context to nullify the accidents in India. Renowned actor and potential organizational support can help the NRI doctors to realize their aspirations. - Kannamsai
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Yoga Events at Indian Embassy in Washington April 30, 2015 14:12
The Indian Embassy in Washington has started a series of curtain raiser events to promote the ancient Indian practice called ‘Yoga’. The embassy along with the practitioners, organizers and community associations are planning to conduct a day-long Yoga event at the Mall in Washington on June 21, coinciding with the International Day of Yoga. "Yoga is an invaluable gift of India's ancient tradition. It embodies unity of mind and body, thought and action, restraint and fulfilment, harmony between man and nature, a holistic approach to health and well-being," Charge d'Affaires Taranjit Singh Sandhu quoted Prime Minister Narendra Modi as saying at the UN last year. Most of the practitioners have been suggesting yoga as perfect tool to combat all difficulties and to discover the sense of oneness oneself. Yoga will create the social consciousness and help the practitioners to deal with the climate change. In just 75 days the United Nations General Assembly adopted an India-led resolution declaring June 21 as the 'International Day of Yoga' on December 11 with 177 countries becoming co-sponsors. India is planning to celebrate the day by organizing events in several parts of the world including US. Yoga is said to be a better mean to develop the best communication among the people and between people and environment. -Kannamsai
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Raja Rajeswari, the first India-born judge in New York City April 28, 2015 13:08
India-born Raja Rajeswari has been sworn-in as a criminal court judge in New York by Mayor Bill de Blasio. She had immigrated to the US in her teenage. She had worked with the Richmond County District Attorney's Office. During her service, she worked in several bureaus including Criminal Court, Narcotics, Supreme Court, and the Sex Crimes Special Victims Bureau. She was deputy chief at Sex Crimes Special Victims Bureau. The 43-years old Rajeswari was sworn-in along with 27 other judges appointed earlier this month to the Family Court, Criminal Court, and Civil Court, which are part of the New York State Unified Court System. The ceremony took place on Monday in New York. The tenure of the judges will be 10 years in the New York City Criminal Court and the Family Court within the city. “To ensure New Yorkers have access to a fair, equitable justice system, we need judges who are qualified, honest and reflective of the people of this city,” said Mayor de Blasio. “With their wealth of legal experience, these appointees represent all five boroughs and all walks of life. From the first female South Asian-American judge in New York City to a former NYPD First Deputy Commissioner, these talented leaders truly reflect the diverse range of communities that make up our great city,” he said. Mayor has lauded the language skills of Rajeswari as she can speak in Indian, Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian languages and also praised the India-born judge for her extraordinary empathy for others. “For someone like me, an immigrant who comes from India, I’m beyond grateful,” Raja Rajeswari said. “I told the mayor this is not only my American Dream, but it shows another girl from a far away country that this is possible,” She said. She has worked on cases involving women and children and said they are the ones that touched her the most. She said that she hopes to use her new position to improve the judicial system by encouraging interpreters to have more access to aid immigrants. -Kannamsai
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Satish Vemana and his panel wins TANA Elections with huge majority April 27, 2015 10:41
The results of the Telugu Association of North America (TANA) elections have been announced on Saturday. Contestants have campaigned the elections as if the parliamentary elections. Satish Vemana has won the election for post of Executive Vice President with a majority of more than 5,000 votes. After serving two years in this post he will automatically become the President of the association. Satish Vemana has secured 8257 votes, and his opponent in the election Mr. Ram Yalamanchili got 3137 votes. Madhu Tata from Satish’ panel has won the election for the post of Secretary with 7039 votes while Baktha Balla got 4235 votes. For the Treasurer's post Murali Vennam got 7187 votes his opponent Mr. Paturi got 4033 votes. In the election for Joint Secretary Post, Ravi Potluri got 7934 votes and Mr. Bullaiah Chowdary who contested against him got 3293 votes.Laxmi Devineni has won the Regional vice presidential election for New York and New Jersey region in the tough fight on Vidyadhar Garapati. And Mr. Sivaram won Regional Vice President post for the North region and SK Vemuri won for the West. Doctor Chaudary Jampala will take the presidentship from the current president Mohan Nannapaneni at the 20th grand meet in Detroit. Satish Vemana will get the executive vice president charge on that stage. Other members will also take oath for their positions. -Kannamsai
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Indian-origin woman scientist wins USD 2,50,000 Heinz award April 27, 2015 09:58
The prestigious Heinz Award for Technology, the Economy, and Employment with USD2,50,000 was given to Indian-origin scientist Sangeeta Bhatia for her work in tissue engineering and disease detection. She has developed artificial human microlivers for drug testing. The prestigious Heinz Awards conferred on individuals for their extraordinary contributions to arts and humanities; environment; human condition; public policy; and technology, the economy, and employment. The MIT scientist has said, “This type of recognition helps to bring science into the public eye so that everyone can appreciate the dedication and innovation that is happening in laboratories all over the country.” Her team has excelled in the fabrication of artificial human microlivers, which are widely used for testing the toxicity of drug candidates by many biopharmaceutical companies. The Indian-origin scientist at MIT is also using the using microlivers in the lab to model malaria infection and test drugs that can eradicate malaria parasites completely. She will receive the award on May 13 at a ceremony in Pittsburgh. The recipients in four other categories include Roz Chast, a best-selling illustrator and cartoonist (arts and humanities); Frederica Perera, an environmental health researcher at Columbia University (environment); William McNulty and Jacob Wood, founders of Team Rubicon (human condition); and Aaron Wolf, a geoscientist and professor at Oregon State University (public policy). All the awardees will be honoured at the event. -Kannamsai
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Indian Woman’s brain has a baby inside with bone, hair and teeth! April 24, 2015 12:20
The medical case of a student from India, Yamini Karanam (26), was shocked the doctors in US, who diagnosed an embryonic twin complete with bone, hair and teeth in her brain. She has approached doctors when she started having trouble in reading and talking. The PhD student at Indiana University faced severe problem at eating and pain from top to bottom. According to the report of Washington Post, she was diagnosed with pineal tumour – a tiny pea-like structure in the centre of the brain. In March last year Yamini went to Hrayr Shahinian, a doctor performing radical 'keyhole' brain surgeries at the Skullbase Institute in Los Angeles. Dr Shahinian strung an endoscope into Yamini’s skull through a natural channel in her brain to the suspected tumor, after making a tiny incision in the back of patient’s head. The doctor then discovered that the tumor was a teratoma (a clump of bone, hair and teeth). According to some medical specialists, teratoma’s are believed to be a twin that never quite develop and are instead absorbed into the surviving baby's body. Dr Shahinian has successfully removed the teratoma and expecting Yamini to get full recovery. The Hyderabadi woman told NBC 4 that she was stunned to learn that her tumour wasn't just a lump of cells, but her "evil twin sister who's been torturing me for the past 26 years". The rare case really worried Yamini and her family. Image Credits: Telegraph.co.uk -Kannamsai
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Vivek Murthy is Highest Ranking Indian-American in Obama Administration April 23, 2015 10:18
British-Indian American Vivek Hallegere Murthy has sworn-in as the Surgeon General. The oath taking ceremony was administered by Vice President Joe Biden in Virginia on Wednesday. The 37- years old Murthy is youngest-ever in-charge of country’s public health. He is highest ranking Indian-American in the Obama Adminstration. The swearing-ceremony was attended by eminent Indian-Americans and the Health Secretary Sylvia Burwell, and Murthy took the oath on holy Gita. Murthy is an ex-officio Vice Admiral rank holder. Biden said that he was eminently qualified for the job and also described Murthy’s family as an incredible. Murthy felt the job as an honour and profound responsibility; he thanked President Obama for believing in him. He termed his family’s support as an asset for his growth. “My family was never supposed to have left our ancestral village. My father is the son of a farmer in rural India. He was supposed to have been a farmer, as was I. But for my grandfather’s insistence that his son get an education, even if that meant going into debt we might have never left that village to go out in the world and as my grandfather also insisted start fixing what needed fixing,” he said. “We were not supposed to have become Americans. My parents stopped in three other countries including a brutal dictatorship on their journey to get here. They saved up money and scrounged for information about job opportunities, always knowing that America was the destination,” Murthy said. He vowed to improve the public health in the country and said the Affordable Care Act can cover millions of Americans, and also said that much more is there to do. He said public health is an independent area and it is linked to education, employment, the environment and country’s economy. -Kannamai
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Indian Passport Ranked at 48 ! April 22, 2015 18:14
Indian passport is one among 50 most powerful documents in the world, it came at 48th place in a survey conducted by Germany-based Go Euro travel comparison website on the basis of passport's eligibility for visa-free entry, cost of application as well as number of hours worked to acquire the document. Among the list Sweden stood in first place, and Iraq and Afghanistan came at 49th and 50th position, while our neighbor Pakistan has not even placed in the list of 50 countries. India offered visa-free entry to 52 countries and $ 24 and 87 hours of working time. The topper in the list Sweden has 174 visa-free countries, costing $ 43 and just one hour of working time. Sweden, Finland, Germany, the UK, and the US came in top five respectively. Passport plays a vital role in International travel and it is an authentic identity card in abroad. -Kannamsai
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NRIs are Proud of PM, says Lord Swraj Paul April 21, 2015 19:27
NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul has praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his remarkable initaiatives in connecting NRIs globally. He said that the new government has been moving in right direction and striving to uplift the poor. "PM is moving in the right direction. He has raised the profile of India and Indians all over the world. From an NRI's point of view, he is the first PM after 35 years who has recognised the strength and ability of NRIs. For that, NRIs are proud of Modi," Paul said, as per media report. The Chairman of UK-based Caparo Group, Mr Swaraj Paul, said that Modi has lots of ideas, desire and dynamism to strengthen the country. He lauded the government which created a buzz all around with good initiatives. He also extended his support to empower the education in Gujarat, India. He visited Caparo Group’s plant in Sanand, after meeting with Chief Minister Anandiben Patel. The Indian-born Paul has set up Ambika Paul Foundation in memory of his daughter. Recently the foundation has donated one million pounds (Rs 10 crores) to the University of Wolverhampton. -Kannamsai
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